How to cut your bar bill. (or how to be Miserable)

[Midnight Writer]

Great post.... and very applicable. I just came off the Celebrity Solstice and observed exactly the same thing in regard to drink prices.

 

I live my life according principles and, based on that, I cannot - and never will - allow myself to buy ONE beer for $7.38 when I can buy a case (24)for 13.99 at any supermarket (that's about .56 cents each). It's that simple.

 

I don't care that "I'm out to sea so I have no choice..." or "I'm on vacation...so what the hell..." or "this is how it is, so waddaya gonna do?..." whatever... I DO have a choice and I'm VERY aware where my money goes, at all times.

 

I don't mind paying certain mark-ups for things, but $7.38 for something that costs the cruiseline probably .30 wholesale is absolutely ridiculous. I would never support and encourage that.

 

- Rick

I totally agree Rick, the two jerks that went on the past cruise with my husband and I we met at the pool.. they were husband and wife No names, last year on the mariner, they thought they were being funny... I told her it would not even work she said she is doing it anyways... well they got caught, got thrown off the ship before it even sailed. we were behind them on boarding she had a suitcase fill actually half filled with tiny little bottles of peach liquior and he had baby bottles of jack daniels, about fifty total for all the seven long days. was it all worth it to ruin your vacation before it begins? they are still not allowed to go on a ship, I told them your gonna get caught she told me no I am not, well look where it got them a vacation home. and a arrest record. so do not be a smarty pants leave th booze at home, have one fancy drink and buyt eh rest while you are at home to spend a drink for alot of money is nuts...

[Midnight Writer]

Do not buy the monkey drink by the pool, my husband did not know what he was signing when we go the bill the monkey bank drink was 25.00 I was nearly peeed off by then... no one told us that was the cost. I wanted it for my niece and then he told me that the little monkey bank was 25.00 i said that is totally stupid on the mariner why does it cost so much, when they get those penny anny stuff for just less than 1.00 to screw the people having a good time on the ship for a few bucks that is really sad..

 

 

also do nto get taken fo rany thing, there is always a lady in the rest room looking for a few cents... never give her nothing ... you paid alot of money for this ship she gets paid well... then the bar tabs are high buy alot of soda packages they are better too.

[momofmeg]

I totally agree Rick, the two jerks that went on the past cruise with my husband and I we met at the pool.. they were husband and wife No names, last year on the mariner, they thought they were being funny... I told her it would not even work she said she is doing it anyways... well they got caught, got thrown off the ship before it even sailed. we were behind them on boarding she had a suitcase fill actually half filled with tiny little bottles of peach liquior and he had baby bottles of jack daniels, about fifty total for all the seven long days. was it all worth it to ruin your vacation before it begins? they are still not allowed to go on a ship, I told them your gonna get caught she told me no I am not, well look where it got them a vacation home. and a arrest record. so do not be a smarty pants leave th booze at home, have one fancy drink and buyt eh rest while you are at home to spend a drink for alot of money is nuts...

 

I have never heard of anyone being thrown off ship- but yes their liqueur is confiscated.

[Rick-cruiser]

Do not buy the monkey drink by the pool, my husband did not know what he was signing when we go the bill the monkey bank drink was 25.00 I was nearly peeed off by then... no one told us that was the cost. I wanted it for my niece and then he told me that the little monkey bank was 25.00 i said that is totally stupid on the mariner why does it cost so much, when they get those penny anny stuff for just less than 1.00 to screw the people having a good time on the ship for a few bucks that is really sad..

 

 

also do nto get taken fo rany thing, there is always a lady in the rest room looking for a few cents... never give her nothing ... you paid alot of money for this ship she gets paid well... then the bar tabs are high buy alot of soda packages they are better too.

 

I'm all for giving hard-working cruise staff TIPS for providing exceptional service, going out of their way for me, or just by doing something which makes my vacation experience that much more memorable..... it makes ME feel good to do it, and it makes THEM feel good by knowing that they did something which earned them more $$... It also reinforces to them that the more things they do like that for people, the bigger and more numerous tips they will get. It's a win-win situation.

 

but... to THROW MONEY AWAY by giving it to corporate greed (some boardroom executives deciding, just like that, that they're going to charge $7.50 for one beer / $11.50 for one marguerita - and see if they can get away with it) REALLY aggravates me....... and I would NEVER allow myself to partake in that greediness - which would essentially be ENCOURAGING them to do MORE things like that...

 

- Rick

[satxdiver]

I totally agree Rick, the two jerks that went on the past cruise with my husband and I we met at the pool.. they were husband and wife No names, last year on the mariner, they thought they were being funny... I told her it would not even work she said she is doing it anyways... well they got caught, got thrown off the ship before it even sailed. we were behind them on boarding she had a suitcase fill actually half filled with tiny little bottles of peach liquior and he had baby bottles of jack daniels, about fifty total for all the seven long days. was it all worth it to ruin your vacation before it begins? they are still not allowed to go on a ship, I told them your gonna get caught she told me no I am not, well look where it got them a vacation home. and a arrest record. so do not be a smarty pants leave th booze at home, have one fancy drink and buyt eh rest while you are at home to spend a drink for alot of money is nuts...

 

You cannot be arrested for bringing alcohol on the ship since it is not against any law that I am aware. It is however a breach of contract and the ship can exercise its right according to the contract. While the offenders may well have been blacklisted on a particular cruise line, the other cruise lines would welcome their business. Given the competitive nature of cruising these days, I seriously doubt they would blacklist anyone for trying to bring alcohol aboard.

 

It sounds like the pax tried to carry the alcohol on board instead of checking it. Your chances of getting caught are excellent if you bring it in your carry on luggage. They do watch. With a certain amount of stealth it can be done however. The voice of experience.

 

On the other hand, putting it in your checked luggage significantly reduces your chances of being caught. They have to check and load 7000+ pieces of luggage in about four hours or so. It does not give them a lot of time to inspect luggage. In addition, by the time they find your contraband and notify you to come to the "naughty room", the ship will have left the port. A bit difficult to deny you boarding while at sea!

 

I agree with a previous poster. I have never heard of anyone being denied boarding or put off at the next port because they tried to bring alcohol aboard. If it had happened, I imagine it would have appeared on CC along with the complaints. Every cruise I have been on I have brought along certain adult libations without a problem.

[coberg]

I know that water and ice and tea are complimentary in the restaurants. , but not around the pool on some cruiselines. What about the bars? Do they charge for ice water? My spouse doesn't drink alcohol.

[cfmarie79]

So how do you know when you are out of US waters?

[NolaZach]

Another reason why alcohol smugglers who think they are so cool affect those of us who abide by the rules........

Reply With Quote

 

I see how riled up you get on this issue, but I think you are wrong.

 

I brought on two liters of crown and a fifth of Special reserve. I still spent over $300 on drinks on my cruise. I think everyone who brought drinks onboard still spent money at the bar and on in-room sodas.

 

Also the more I save on my alchohol the more I have to spend in their shops, or casinos and that is were the big money is made.

 

So your theory that alchohol smuggling is one of the major causes of high alchohol prices is unfounded. I will agree that the prices on the boat are better than what someone would see at a bar or even a resturant. I just detest having to pay $1.95 per can of coke and having to pay 15% for every coke even if it was just left in my room.

 

The fountain card is okay, but I would rather have drink machines.

So I will just do like most other people at the terminal and bring some cases of cokes on board and some liquor.

That way I can use my OBC for something worth while. No matter what the cruise line is going to get your money.

[NolaZach]

I told her it would not even work she said she is doing it anyways... well they got caught, got thrown off the ship before it even sailed. we were behind them on boarding she had a suitcase fill actually half filled with tiny little bottles of peach liquior and he had baby bottles of jack daniels, about fifty total for all the seven long days. was it all worth it to ruin your vacation before it begins? they are still not allowed to go on a ship, I told them your gonna get caught she told me no I am not, well look where it got them a vacation home. and a arrest record.

 

 

Sorry, but I have to call BS on this one.

 

I just don't believe you.

 

They were by the pool and then asked to leave the ship?

Or are you saying that they got caught with a suitcase full of liquor and instead of confiscation they were arrested? For breaking no laws???

 

C'mon. This is like the third time I have read serious dis-information from you. I will agree that the liquor could be confiscated, I will say that it is slightly possible to be thrown off the ship, but I highly doubt it. But I will say there is just no chance, none at all that they were arrested. Unless they had a schedule I, II, or III narcotic on board and you didn't know about that.

 

There are two outcomes of brining liquor on board, either you get it on or it gets taken away. It would be stupid to kick people off for that.

[Sakamochi]

...reading some of the comments and thoughts!

 

Our bar bill on the Radiance South America to San Diego last month (15 days) was $1,738. By comparison our Jr Suite was $3,000. The bar bill would have been more but we received alot of free drinks. We are trying out a Grand Suite in Nov so that we can use the concierge happy hour for a few hours and maybe that will help reduce the cost, but the savings probably won't pay for the upgrade!:confused:

 

We have brought wine on thru the checked bags method a few times. Funny thing was, we ended up taking it home anyway (it was from other lands not available in the US). And yes, the TSA found it right away and left a nice note in our luggage telling us so.

 

People try to smuggle in liquor all the time after a shore excursion. They ALWAYS get caught by the airport style scanner when they come in and they complain, etc. The cruise line puts the booze in the duty free hold, gives the owner a claim ticket and returns the booze to the passenger the night before disembarkation. I suppose you could then chug down a quart of Jack Daniels and "really show 'em"!!:p

 

I've met people who try to take bottled water on the ship to save money. I think that this is a sign of illness - you know these people - they are the ones that leave a quarter for a tip, always know exactly what they ordered in a group meal and have a little change purse to get it exactly right. You know them alright.

 

I really enjoyed reading from peole that seem to know how much it costs to run a cruise line - that really cracks me up! Yeah, these same folks question the hospital bill after having surgery because they KNOW that gauze doesn't cost $18.73!!!! After all, its just cotton!!! And they can get the same thing from Wally Whirrled for $1.79!! Next time they're gonna bring their own, by God!!

 

Why does a dive bar charge $2.75 for a can of beer when you can "go to the supermaket and buy it for $0.52"???? A cruise ship couldn't possibly have a greater overhead than a dive bar, could it?

 

To be serious: RCI increased the beer price from $4.54 to $5.25 from last November to this April. That's a big change. They dropped the fuel surcharge at the same time. Co-incidence?

 

If you can't afford to go on a cruise and enjoy yourself - don't! It's kind of like joining a ritzy country club and then complaining that the green fees are too high. You don't belong there if that's the case.;)

[NewCruiser09/09]

Listening to all of you talk, it is the smugglers and you non-drinkers that are causing the price of my drinks to go up everywhere! LOL:D

[Ambrosia64]

Hardly. We took bottled water, soda (bought more in Mexico), and some smuggled booze. I never leave less than 20% tip in a restaurant for decent service, more if it was very good service. I tip the hair salon 20-25% also. We gave our room steward $20 upfront from each of 2 rooms (us and friend) and he was the best steward ever, and he got the normal tips plus more at the end. We also left him our 1 bottle of vodka that was still in the bottle and our sodas and water as we were flying home. I also wrote a letter to RC Miami about that steward and how great he was - they even called me at work about the letter. I have no problem rewarding hard working people who depend on tips - I do have a problem with spending $3 for a bottle of water out of a mini-fridge. Is it cheap? Dunno - in some eyes maybe, in mine it's being reasonable and fiscally responsible. And leaves me with more money to be able to be generous to the people who work for tips :)

 

I've met people who try to take bottled water on the ship to save money. I think that this is a sign of illness - you know these people - they are the ones that leave a quarter for a tip, always know exactly what they ordered in a group meal and have a little change purse to get it exactly right. You know them alright.

[glenn29]

Just wondering, do the folks who think that bringing liquor on board is killing profits because that's how the line makes money ONLY book their excursions through the cruise....I really don't see the difference, that's a really big money maker for the cruise line, so if you are booking cruises through private agencies you are forcing all of us to pay higher prices, damn you.

[glenn29]

OK, wow, that last post was very unclear, sorry, had the "want to get out of work" mind scramble going on. I tried to edit but the boards wouldn't let me for some reason.

 

So, trying to state clearer what I meant.

 

I read a lot of people on here who are very against bringing alcohol on board because it cuts into the ships profits, thus forcing them to pay more for their cruise.

 

My question is, do all these people ALWAYS book ALL of their shore excursions through the ship? Shore excursions are obviously a very big money maker for the cruise line, so why is booking private excursions any different then bringing alcohol on board.

 

As far as that goes, I'm sure these same individuals would never bring a camera on to take their own photos, we all know the cruise line makes big money on photos, so brining a camera would be like stealing from the cruise line wouldn't it?

[Cruisin250]

I love this thread! Am anxious to go back and read it from the beginning. There are few devisive, volitile issues but ultimately we each have to find ways to save that work for us. I thought it was alright to take bottled water and soda on board? We didn't but I do remeber coming back from excursions with half full bottles of water and don't believe they were confiscated.

I too struggle with paying overly inflated prices- $3 for a bottle of water that probably cost .15 cents. I'm torn between laughing and crying when the waiter opens our wine at dinner and has my DH swish and smell the cork... while we paid $25 it's REALLY still only a $5 bottle of wine :rolleyes:

[marne001]

Mr. Miserable,

 

You do not sound very miserable, in fact you sound like you have a good sense o' humor!

 

Two things I noticed before we sailed outta US waters; the beer offerings and cigarettes. The beers were very limited until we were ## miles away from US shores. Cigarettes could not be purchased (ah so sad, hehe) until we were about 12 miles, or so I was told by the crew.

 

Whoa!

That heading seems to attract a lot of readers!

Here's a new one on me - after 20+ cruises I'm never surprised at the new ways cruise companies find to increase their onboard revenues but this month on the Celebrity Century they got me!

I bought a beer at the sailaway - $6. OK I was thirsty and what the hell we're on board and leaving Miami - let's party! (We can share a bottle). I was expecting the usual 15% gratuity on top and sure enough it was there when I signed the tab. So now we're up to $6.90 - fair enough, steep but what the hell! When the charge is applied to my account, it has magically increased to $7.38.

Now I didn't get where I am today (broke!) by complaining about an extra 48 cents but since I was at the front desk (or whatever its called) querying another and more substantial incorrect charge that had been applied to my account I raised the matter of the extra 48 cents.

Tax was the answer. We were still in US waters and so tax was applied.

So next time you are tempted to have a Bahamarama Mamatini Colada or whatever, wait until the sailaway party is over!

I wonder if the Feds ever see that 48 cents?

[mac66]

On our recent trip to Hawaii we got a couple bottles of wine at the hotel we stayed at before the cruise. We only able drank one of them, so we put the other bottle in our checked through luggage and it arrived intact to our cabin.

 

I would formally like to apologize for raising the drink prices on the Pride of America that week by smuggling that bottle aboard. I feel horrible. I wish now that I had just poured it out. ; )

[Rick-cruiser]

I love this thread! Am anxious to go back and read it from the beginning. There are few devisive, volitile issues but ultimately we each have to find ways to save that work for us. I thought it was alright to take bottled water and soda on board? We didn't but I do remeber coming back from excursions with half full bottles of water and don't believe they were confiscated.

I too struggle with paying overly inflated prices- $3 for a bottle of water that probably cost .15 cents. I'm torn between laughing and crying when the waiter opens our wine at dinner and has my DH swish and smell the cork... while we paid $25 it's REALLY still only a $5 bottle of wine :rolleyes:

 

Whenever someone tells me they're selling a bottle of water for $3 I feel like saying to them "um, I'll pass on that... but I've got a dollar bill in my pocket I'll sell to you for $10".

 

It's the same markup.

 

If I ever did say that they'd look at me, like, "huh?...what?". Totally oblivious.

 

 

As far as the $5 bottle of wine..... they just do all that "swishing" and "smelling the bouquet" and all that other fancy-schmancy pretense to deflect you from the fact that they just charged you $25 for that $5 bottle of wine.

 

.

[Oceans3]

Great thread, here's my two cents, with no sales tax, since I live in Oregon

 

Even a $5 bottle of wine can go bad.

Buckets of beer are always a great value at sea.

Microbrews here cost $4.20 at the local tav, $3 extra on the high seas, your call, local tav, high seas, local tav, high seas, hum?

A glass of wine at a local winery is $9, hum, high seas?

If you want free drinks go to LV and gamble, if you don't, they cost big bucks, and no high seas.

Bringing booze and wine aboard in checked luggage has never lowered my OB tab, just a little easier than carrying something back to your room.

Story about 50 JD little bottles is BS.

 

Not really rooting for the man (cruise ship conglomerates) but realizing that they support their own economies and people. A NIMBY spending attitude gets all of us nowhere, if others apply it to something that strikes our own personal nerve, then what? Check out the MSNBC story on cruising, very informative. If anyone asks, I'll send the link. On this particular cruise the break even point for drink sales was $7.95 per person per day. They barely made it as I remember.

 

As a closing tip, order yourself a bon voyage bottle of booze to be delivered to your room at sail (and at specific ports if desired). It's not cheap, but reasonable, and beats $11 a pop martinis.

 

Happy sailing!

[WEELYNCRUZER]

Would you please send the link. Thanks

[Oceans3]

http://www.cnbc.com/id/29139914?__source=vty%7Ccruiseinc%7C&par=vty

 

The program will air again in July, it's very informative.

[Rick-cruiser]

Basically, the program conveys that the cruiselines make their most onboard money by: drinks, casino, and shore excursions. In that order.

[Pat&Paul]

Nice. Wish Carnival had that...

 

Carnival doesn't have a frequent cruiser program? I thought ALL lines did?!

 

:eek:

[SaltLog]

Beverage sales is the #1 source of revenue on board a cruise ship. It's NOT the casino, or the shore excursions, or the gift shop. Many people think it's the casino, but only 30% of passengers actually go to the casino whereas nearly everyone spends money on drinks every day. After all, alcohol and cruising are such a great combination.

 

AND since the cruise lines can buy the alcohol duty free, alcohol sales is even more profitable than a land based bar/restaurant.

 

For this reason, ships are specifically designed so that a bar is never more than a few steps away in any of the public areas.

 

So why are drinks so expensive? Because most passengers still buy them.

[cruiser_new]

:) Sure Glad my Rum-Runners came in the mail Monday for my cruise.

:eek::D;):eek:

 

What's a Rum-Runner?