Liquor Smugglers Beware~!! (Multi-ship experiences - merged)

[Cruise doggie]

How did you get these in your luggage? Any special way of packing them?

 

 

We simply wrapped the bottles in bubble wrap. taped it really well. No problem at all. In fact we meet a guy who packed a case of beer in a carry on bag. We met up with him a few times during the cruise and he said he had no problem keeping his beer cold.Im definately going to try that next time. With that all said. Our sea pass was still over $800

[robtulipe]

Oh, don't buy the wine packages, they're really horrible stuff. But their regular wine menu isn't that bad. It's not that great either, but there are a few acceptable bottles at reasonable prices.

This is in your opinion only as this is very subjective to the likes/dislikes of the person doing the ordering. We have found a few wines on the W&D packages to our liking. Maybe we are not wine snobs, but do know what we have enjoyed on our past cruises. We also do have a wine cellar in our basement cold room with over 60 bottles in the racks, some of which are over 15 years in age. I would suggest that some of the wine onboard be tried to see if that particular offering is to your liking. You can go to the RC web site for a list of the different wines offered and simply try them before you even get onboard your cruise.

[EMTRa]

ugh. What are the chances they all got on Saturday and will get off Thursday??? This might be our first and last March cruise...

[MakinGold]

Hey MM,

Are you bustin' on Cabela's...that's where I got my gown for formal night.:D

 

 

 

hubba - hubba . . .

[EMTRa]

I just got off Enchantment on Saturday -- We didn't have any trouble smuggling alcohol on in Rum Runners. The staff we were talking to said there were about 300 spring breakers between the ages of 21 and 23 on the boat our week and that the following week (this week) there were going to be 1000. I can definitely assume that is the reason they are checking so thoroughly this week, it was wild enough last week and that was less than a third of the spring breakers this week.

ugh..what are the chances they meant all of them would be getting OFF the ship on Thursday??? This will most likely be our first and last March crusie.

[Gregg20]

Hey MM,

Are you bustin' on Cabela's...that's where I got my gown for formal night.:D

 

 

 

do you have any more pix???

[Cruise Junky]

Not on Princess.

 

Sorry, you're mistaken. It's always been allowed on Princess.

 

http://www.princess.com/learn/onboard/services/gifts/princess_cellars/index.jsp

[Cruise Junky]

This is in your opinion only as this is very subjective to the likes/dislikes of the person doing the ordering. We have found a few wines on the W&D packages to our liking. Maybe we are not wine snobs, but do know what we have enjoyed on our past cruises. We also do have a wine cellar in our basement cold room with over 60 bottles in the racks, some of which are over 15 years in age. I would suggest that some of the wine onboard be tried to see if that particular offering is to your liking. You can go to the RC web site for a list of the different wines offered and simply try them before you even get onboard your cruise.

 

The person asking the question was very much into her wines. If you enjoy fine wines you're not going to like their packages. Also the lady mentioned they had bought some from the packages to try at home before boarding and found them horrible. If you like fine wine, the packages are not for you.

[TYMAN]

Did they give you back your water to take onboard?

 

Thanks goodness! I needed it to mix with the scotch I smuggled on :D

[PH8]

So you know I had to google that ;)...get this:

 

http://www.yelp.com/biz/applebees-renton

 

"BYOB/Corkage: BYOB, No Corkage Fee"

 

Here's a good article on BYOB + Corkage.

 

http://terroir.winelibrary.com/2007/03/26/in-praise-of-the-byo-restaurant/

Haha,but I was only kidding.......It was a joke.(I dont even like Applebees)....I was just going to the extreme end of those "fancy" places you go to(and I had to LOOK them up cuz I never heard of them)

You put yourself into a place today none of us has put you in. You feeling haunted? From a certain cabin (or better them non-existing occupants)?;)

Yea and I didnt like it...:(

[Cruise Junky]

Haha,but I was only kidding.......It was a joke(

 

Ah, come on, their breakfast is good :) I knew it was a joke, I was shocked to actually see they let you bring a bottle. Applebees is now cross border, we have them in Canada!

[CaesarsNcruisin4me]

ugh..what are the chances they meant all of them would be getting OFF the ship on Thursday??? This will most likely be our first and last March crusie.

 

Unlikely.:eek: I think that you'll have alot of college kids on this cruise as cabins were selling for as low as $299pp for this sailing.

[Tra4]

Well we sail in 11 days, on the Jewel and I was going to go and pre-order our wine on their website and just have it in our cabin. However, there are only two or three that interest me, which is marked more than 45% above cost. I will gladly purchase bottles in the dining room and expect the exorbant over pricing, but to have a bottle in your stateroom be that high? And also, springbreak prices are extremely high to begin with. We are paying 1800pp for 4 in a cabin for an 8 day cruise! I think it would be accommodating if RCCL would let us bring in 2 bottles of wine instead of making us pay 44.95 for a Blackstone Merlot that retails at 10.99. Please charge me a corkage!!

 

And the wine list for plat. on the wine package is horrible in my opinion---not one bottle retails over 9.99 and its prices at 378.00 for 12 bottles? They are not even decent wines. And the 9.99 is what we buy it for in a liquor store, RCCL would get it cheaper than that wholesale. Yes, its a moneymaker, but don't price yourself out of business. No wonder people smuggle.

[obsessedsc]

i don't understand the whole smuggling thing. i don't understand the point in drinking THAT much on vacation. i can't imagine spending so much money on my sea pass on alcohol that I'd need to smuggle! don't get me wrong...i do love to party and have a good time but when you only have a 7 day cruise and 3 of them you have to wake up at 8am/9am for excursions i think the last thing I'd want is a hangover! my style is a few pina coladas by the pool and wine with dinner and get "A" drink in a different bar every night! to spend over 2,000 dollars on a cruise just to drink the whole time seems crazy to me, why not just sit at home and drink the week away! Plus the whole "denied boarding" concept is a little scary when you've spent the last 6 months saving for something like this! my parents have always taught me to be safe when it comes to drinking and i just pray that all the spring breakers (and cruisers all the rest of the weeks in the year) are smart and take care of each other that and no one goes missing from drinking too much on an island and- no one goes overboard.

[MakinGold]

i don't understand the whole smuggling thing. i don't understand the point in drinking THAT much on vacation. i can't imagine spending so much money on my sea pass on alcohol that I'd need to smuggle! don't get me wrong...i do love to party and have a good time but when you only have a 7 day cruise and 3 of them you have to wake up at 8am/9am for excursions i think the last thing I'd want is a hangover! my style is a few pina coladas by the pool and wine with dinner and get "A" drink in a different bar every night! to spend over 2,000 dollars on a cruise just to drink the whole time seems crazy to me, why not just sit at home and drink the week away! Plus the whole "denied boarding" concept is a little scary when you've spent the last 6 months saving for something like this! my parents have always taught me to be safe when it comes to drinking and i just pray that all the spring breakers (and cruisers all the rest of the weeks in the year) are smart and take care of each other that and no one goes missing from drinking too much on an island and- no one goes overboard.

 

 

But don't you get it? If you brought your own rum, pineapple juice, cream of coconut and blender, you could sit in your cabin mixing your own pina coladas and save a few bucks. ;)

[Cruise Junky]

i don't understand the whole smuggling thing. i don't understand the point in drinking THAT much on vacation. i can't imagine spending so much money on my sea pass on alcohol that I'd need to smuggle! don't get me wrong...i do love to party and have a good time but when you only have a 7 day cruise and 3 of them you have to wake up at 8am/9am for excursions i think the last thing I'd want is a hangover! my style is a few pina coladas by the pool and wine with dinner and get "A" drink in a different bar every night! to spend over 2,000 dollars on a cruise just to drink the whole time seems crazy to me, why not just sit at home and drink the week away! Plus the whole "denied boarding" concept is a little scary when you've spent the last 6 months saving for something like this! my parents have always taught me to be safe when it comes to drinking and i just pray that all the spring breakers (and cruisers all the rest of the weeks in the year) are smart and take care of each other that and no one goes missing from drinking too much on an island and- no one goes overboard.

 

I think spring breakers are another kettle of fish altogether. But I do honestly think that most people that want to take a bottle on, either wine, or the makings of a martini, etc. just want to be able to fix themselves a drink in their cabin or on their balcony. Now please notice, I said "MOST", you will always find some people who want to take their drinks to other public areas on the ship. Not everyone that wants to take a bottle on wants to get hammered every night.

[Tra4]

i don't understand the whole smuggling thing. i don't understand the point in drinking THAT much on vacation. i can't imagine spending so much money on my sea pass on alcohol that I'd need to smuggle! don't get me wrong...i do love to party and have a good time but when you only have a 7 day cruise and 3 of them you have to wake up at 8am/9am for excursions i think the last thing I'd want is a hangover! my style is a few pina coladas by the pool and wine with dinner and get "A" drink in a different bar every night! to spend over 2,000 dollars on a cruise just to drink the whole time seems crazy to me, why not just sit at home and drink the week away! Plus the whole "denied boarding" concept is a little scary when you've spent the last 6 months saving for something like this! my parents have always taught me to be safe when it comes to drinking and i just pray that all the spring breakers (and cruisers all the rest of the weeks in the year) are smart and take care of each other that and no one goes missing from drinking too much on an island and- no one goes overboard.

 

Not everyone who wants to take a good bottle of wine (which in my opinion is few on the wine list that they have on their website---hoping its better when we are on the ship) is taking it to be bombed each night!!! So please don't generalize all people on a ship that is drinking is going to be drunk and falling down each evening. That is quite a generalization!!! But I would like to be able to enjoy wine on my balcony at a reasonable cost---why does RCCL have to gouge you in this manner? If I must buy it from them, then have a mark--up, but not 45% + 15% gratuity for cabin consumpion (why gratuity on that????)

[jbond]

44.95 for a Blackstone Merlot that retails at 10.99.

I think that is closer to 450% than 45%!:eek: Their prices are outrageous.

i don't understand the whole smuggling thing. i don't understand the point in drinking THAT much on vacation. i can't imagine spending so much money on my sea pass on alcohol that I'd need to smuggle!

...and if you keep jumping to conclusions regarding peoples actions, you'll never understand. RCI used to let you buy a bottle of liquor in their onboard store. Then they charged a premium on it to allow you to take it back to your room. Now you can't buy any liquor to take back to your room. I liked a bottle of vodka/gin in the room so that I could have a drink while getting ready for dinner. Room service doesn't really hack it, too slow and inconvenient. So now I have to go to a bar and get a drink to enjoy in the room, Price has nothing to do with it, getting hammered is something that is way out of my league. I just want the convenience of a cocktail during the pre dinner time in our cabin.:D

[Tra4]

I think that is closer to 450% than 45%!:eek: Their prices are outrageous.

 

That is even more annoying!!! Thanks for pointing out that outrageous pricing!! ;-)

 

If they are eliminating us from smuggling, then all I ask is to make it reasonable and still obtain their profit!!! That much of a markup then to add gratuity is beyond reasonable! That is why people want to smuggle. They don't mind being charged, but hate to be taken advantage of!!

[HorrorFan]

And the wine list for plat. on the wine package is horrible in my opinion---not one bottle retails over 9.99 and its prices at 378.00 for 12 bottles? They are not even decent wines. And the 9.99 is what we buy it for in a liquor store, RCCL would get it cheaper than that wholesale. Yes, its a moneymaker, but don't price yourself out of business. No wonder people smuggle.

 

My sentiments exactly. I wouldn't mind paying $40 for a decent bottle but to pay that for $7.99 wine? I wouldn't buy that wine in a liquor store for $7.99. I sure won't pay $40 for it.

I was going to buy a wine package for our upcoming cruise, at least until I looked at what was offered. They are all marked up at least 300% and many are more than that.

No thanks.

[jbond]

That is even more annoying!!! Thanks for pointing out that outrageous pricing!! ;-)

I don't drink white zin, but if you check RCI's price for a bottle of Berringer White Zin, it's about $29 a bottlle. That plus 15% makes it $32 a bottle. Costco sells a six pack for under $19, that's just over $3 a bottle. RCI's mark up is about 1000%, that's one thousand. That's not a mark up, it's price gouging.:mad: :mad:

[kasandra1679]

i don't understand the whole smuggling thing. i don't understand the point in drinking THAT much on vacation. i can't imagine spending so much money on my sea pass on alcohol that I'd need to smuggle! don't get me wrong...i do love to party and have a good time but when you only have a 7 day cruise and 3 of them you have to wake up at 8am/9am for excursions i think the last thing I'd want is a hangover! my style is a few pina coladas by the pool and wine with dinner and get "A" drink in a different bar every night! to spend over 2,000 dollars on a cruise just to drink the whole time seems crazy to me, why not just sit at home and drink the week away! Plus the whole "denied boarding" concept is a little scary when you've spent the last 6 months saving for something like this! my parents have always taught me to be safe when it comes to drinking and i just pray that all the spring breakers (and cruisers all the rest of the weeks in the year) are smart and take care of each other that and no one goes missing from drinking too much on an island and- no one goes overboard.

 

 

I think you make a great point. I asked the same question once on another board and got slammed a bit. I guess I have never been that worked up about anything that involves liquor one way or the other. Maybe thats why the whole idea of a predinner drink completely confuses me; to me it makes more sense to have an at dinner drink, go figure.

[Bert64]

I think you make a great point. I asked the same question once on another board and got slammed a bit. I guess I have never been that worked up about anything that involves liquor one way or the other. Maybe thats why the whole idea of a predinner drink completely confuses me; to me it makes more sense to have an at dinner drink, go figure.

 

I enjoy sipping on a cocktail when I'm moving around the cabin, getting dressed and ready for dinner. When I'm getting dressed, it's really not at all convenient to run over to the bar to grab a drink. We're talking about ONE drink here...it's not like we're getting completely drunk to go to dinner.

[robtulipe]

The person asking the question was very much into her wines. If you enjoy fine wines you're not going to like their packages. Also the lady mentioned they had bought some from the packages to try at home before boarding and found them horrible. If you like fine wine, the packages are not for you.

So you are telling me that the wines you and little elm find horrible are going to be thought of the same by everyone else because you two are into fine wines. Now I find that very snobbish on your part because you are telling what I should like. I said we weren't wine snobs but we know what we like and dislike. I guess DW and myself and the other six people we have been on four different cruises with us in the last year actually don't know much about fine wines since we all enjoyed some of the wines on the wine & dine packages thus don't know what we should like in wines.

All I said was that individuals have different taste and suggested that others try some of their preferred types of wines on that list and decide for themselves whether they like them or not and not depend only on the opinions of others who only enjoy fine wines.

[Tra4]

I don't drink white zin, but if you check RCI's price for a bottle of Berringer White Zin, it's about $29 a bottlle. That plus 15% makes it $32 a bottle. Costco sells a six pack for under $19, that's just over $3 a bottle. RCI's mark up is about 1000%, that's one thousand. That's not a mark up, it's price gouging.:mad: :mad:

 

I'm cruising in a week and with what the boards are saying can't take my 2-3 bottles of wine in my luggage, which is fine, until I see how they price gouge us in the long run!!!! If the cruise lines have a "monopoly" on the liquor, then don't abuse that either!!!!

 

And at least make it a good wine for 44.95 for goodness sake!!!!!! I hate 7.99 marked up to 44.85, da***mm