Celebrity policy on personal wine & liquor

[nanook21]

Hi, new to CruiseCritic, and can't find many answers to my question on Celebrity's policy on bringing wine on board for personal use in our cabin. I understand they have a 2-bottle limit on embarking, but I'm confused as to why they wouldn't allow pax to purchase wine in ports to bring back on board. Its not like we would be taking it out of our cabin. Celebrity offers various port excursions that include winery tours, so why would they not allow us to purchase samples to bring onboard? HAL, Oceania, have no problem with this, so what's the deal with Celebrity? This could be a deal-breaker for us planning our next cruise.:confused:

[sunlovermtl]

Hi, new to CruiseCritic, and can't find many answers to my question on Celebrity's policy on bringing wine on board for personal use in our cabin. I understand they have a 2-bottle limit on embarking, but I'm confused as to why they wouldn't allow pax to purchase wine in ports to bring back on board. Its not like we would be taking it out of our cabin. Celebrity offers various port excursions that include winery tours, so why would they not allow us to purchase samples to bring onboard? HAL, Oceania, have no problem with this, so what's the deal with Celebrity? This could be a deal-breaker for us planning our next cruise.:confused:

 

They don't mind you buying wine in port but they will hold it for you. Unless you can bypass the table. Sometimes there are alot of people so you can just walk by. They would rather you spend money onboard. With the rock bottom pricing theses days this is how they generate their revenus.

[JanineM]

The wonderful thing about a free market is that there are many choices for your vacation dollar. Celebrity sets its policies and if this policy is a dealbreaker then you do have other options. ;) Thank goodness for options!

[lifevicarious]

Hi, new to CruiseCritic, and can't find many answers to my question on Celebrity's policy on bringing wine on board for personal use in our cabin. I understand they have a 2-bottle limit on embarking, but I'm confused as to why they wouldn't allow pax to purchase wine in ports to bring back on board. Its not like we would be taking it out of our cabin. Celebrity offers various port excursions that include winery tours, so why would they not allow us to purchase samples to bring onboard? HAL, Oceania, have no problem with this, so what's the deal with Celebrity? This could be a deal-breaker for us planning our next cruise.:confused:

 

If you owned a hotel and bar that was completely cut off from any competition would you be OK with guests bringing their own effectively unlimited alcohol on board? I personally would not.

 

I for one think it's pretty generous that they even allow a bottle per person. Cruise ships are a business, they exist for one reason, to make money. And anything they can do to maximize profits is in their best interest. As another poster said, if you don't like their rules, you have other options.

[nanook21]

It sounds from some of the replies (thanks, by the way!) that pax are still allowed to purchase bottles of wine at the onboard duty free shops to take to your room? Or is that taboo now as well? I certainly don't want to take business away from the Cruiselines, but I was told that you just could not purchase ANY wines to take to your cabin. Is that incorrect?

And you're right we do have other options - unfortunately just very few for this particular itinerary.

[lifevicarious]

It sounds from some of the replies (thanks, by the way!) that pax are still allowed to purchase bottles of wine at the onboard duty free shops to take to your room? Or is that taboo now as well? I certainly don't want to take business away from the Cruiselines, but I was told that you just could not purchase ANY wines to take to your cabin. Is that incorrect?

And you're right we do have other options - unfortunately just very few for this particular itinerary.

 

You can not buy dutyfree on board and take back to your room, at least as far as I know (I haven't seen that on a cruise before but I am relatively new to this). That would be Celebrity shooting themselves entirely in the foot. You pick up duty free when you leave, just like you would pick up bottles you buy in port.

 

You can buy 'gift baskets' before the cruise that will be in your room. You can do this from the celebrity site. They are 80 to 100 bucks a bottle so certainly not cheap but more then likely cheaper then at the bar.

[Phxazzcruisers]

I am a little confused. we have taken over 8 cruises on Celebrity and NEVER had an issue buying wine at ports stopped at along the way and bringing the bottles back on the ship for consumption in our room. If you bring a bottle to dinner, you will pay a corkage fee. Again, we have never had an issue bringing wine on board the ship at the ports we stopped at along the way

[Gonzo70]

I am a little confused. we have taken over 8 cruises on Celebrity and NEVER had an issue buying wine at ports stopped at along the way and bringing the bottles back on the ship for consumption in our room. If you bring a bottle to dinner, you will pay a corkage fee. Again, we have never had an issue bringing wine on board the ship at the ports we stopped at along the way

 

Celebrity's rule is that wine purchased at port must be turned over to security when you reboard the ship. Security generally takes the bottle as you put your belongings thorugh the scanner, labels them, and they are reutrned either the last night or last morning of your cruise. On some occasions they for whatever reason do not enforce this. On my Cenutry cruise, I purchased some wine in France and when I came to reboard the ship I held the bottle up and looked around at the security staff. They all ignored me. There was no table even set up for them to store/label wine. This seems to occur more often in cruises in Europe than Caribbean or other destinations, but one cannot expect this to happen since their rule is still to store all wine purchased in port for you.

[Gonzo70]

It sounds from some of the replies (thanks, by the way!) that pax are still allowed to purchase bottles of wine at the onboard duty free shops to take to your room? Or is that taboo now as well? I certainly don't want to take business away from the Cruiselines, but I was told that you just could not purchase ANY wines to take to your cabin. Is that incorrect?

And you're right we do have other options - unfortunately just very few for this particular itinerary.

 

One can no longer purchase alcohol from duty free shop and take it to your room. You can order bottles of wine to be delivered to your room - but you are paying the same price as if you ordered it at dinner. You can also order a bar set up - your choice of one of several different bottles of liquor and I believe it also comes with a six pack of soda and nuts. It is a bit cheaper than buying drinks one-at-a-time at an on ship bar, but significantly more than purchasing the same quantity of liquor at a duty free shop.

 

As others have pointed out, Celebrity often has rather inexpensive base fares, so they need to make up for this by people's on board spending. Alcohol sales is a big part of what enables Celebrity to provide such a great overall prodcut at a very affordable price.

[nanook21]

Thanks for the info, people. About my reference to the duty free - many years ago we used to be able to buy wine at an onboard duty-free, that was on NCL in the Caribbean. I'm sure those rules have changed over the years, I don't recall seeing any such shop on our last two HAL cruises. But HAL allowed us to buy wine in the ports, especially France, and bring back on board. It just surprised me when I heard that Celebrity didn't allow this, as they do offer excursions to wineries where we would expect to be able to buy a couple of bottles to take back to the ship. I think we'll try it anyway - the worst that can happen is they take it away and give it back to us on the last day. We never try to use our own wine in the Dining Room, we just wanted to be able to enjoy a glass on our verandah. Cheers, everyone, & happy cruising!;)

[Gonzo70]

Thanks for the info, people. About my reference to the duty free - many years ago we used to be able to buy wine at an onboard duty-free, that was on NCL in the Caribbean. I'm sure those rules have changed over the years, I don't recall seeing any such shop on our last two HAL cruises. But HAL allowed us to buy wine in the ports, especially France, and bring back on board. It just surprised me when I heard that Celebrity didn't allow this, as they do offer excursions to wineries where we would expect to be able to buy a couple of bottles to take back to the ship. I think we'll try it anyway - the worst that can happen is they take it away and give it back to us on the last day. We never try to use our own wine in the Dining Room, we just wanted to be able to enjoy a glass on our verandah. Cheers, everyone, & happy cruising!;)

 

Holland America definitely has the best policy for wine lovers. That said, Celebrity overall is a great line. Hopefully they will not enforce the policy on your cruise. I see the purpose of them having that policy on cruises that do not go to regions famous for their wines, but I would like to see them permit passengers to bring back wine for cruises that do go to areas known for this. At least they do not always enforce the policy on such cruises, so you have a chance. Aside from this policy, Celebrity is IMHO the best of the mass market lines - especially considering there recent significant enhancements to their loyalty program.

[iancal]

Sooo, what is a bottle? We like to drink the odd glass of plonk while sitting our verandah. Is a bottle a 750ml, 1.5L, or is it a 3L box??? Has anyone really had a bottle of wine purchased on shore taken away on re-boarding? thanks

[happy cruzer]

RCI and Celebrity have the worst wine policies of all the cruise lines.

 

Carnival, HAL, Princess, and Disney all allow some carry on (and no reports of checked baggage wine problems) and sometimes get charged the corkage fee in the dining rooms. Reports are that on these lines buying a setup from the cruise line for alcohol is also available.

 

NCL for wine justs has you carry on the wine and pay the corkage fee as you embarc.

 

They all have more values on the wine list as well as more varied wine list compared to RCI.

 

for those that care, all the other lines besides RCI and Celebrity have better carry on policies.

[nanook21]

Holland America definitely has the best policy for wine lovers. That said, Celebrity overall is a great line. Hopefully they will not enforce the policy on your cruise. I see the purpose of them having that policy on cruises that do not go to regions famous for their wines, but I would like to see them permit passengers to bring back wine for cruises that do go to areas known for this. At least they do not always enforce the policy on such cruises, so you have a chance. Aside from this policy, Celebrity is IMHO the best of the mass market lines - especially considering there recent significant enhancements to their loyalty program.

 

 

We're planning our first Celebrity cruise on Infinity to S.America, so I was hoping that we could enjoy the wines from the Chile/Argentine regions, where Celebrity is offering wine tours in their excursions. Because of this, I'm also hoping they will 'look the other way' when we come back on board with our purchased wine!! Part of the fun on these tours is to purchase some samples to enjoy back on our verandah. It sure would spoil it if security took it away from us. We're previously sailed on HAL where we had no problem with this - so this policy was a surprise to us.

[pete_coach]

If you owned a hotel and bar that was completely cut off from any competition would you be OK with guests bringing their own effectively unlimited alcohol on board? I personally would not.

 

I for one think it's pretty generous that they even allow a bottle per person. Cruise ships are a business, they exist for one reason, to make money. And anything they can do to maximize profits is in their best interest. As another poster said, if you don't like their rules, you have other options.

 

All business exist to make money and all strive to maximise profits. I have never stayed at a hotel that would not let you take bottles of wine or spirits or even beer to your room. I did not even know they existed (and I travel here and to Europe on business).

If other all lines allow his practise then I can only see the rules Celebrity has on this as self serving. Only my opinion folks ;).

[silvercity]

Just got back from July 8th cruise on Summit. I brought on 5 bottles from my personal collection. Also bought two more from a fantastic wine shop in Venice and brought them all on board. I paid a $25 corkage fee for all 7 and it was never a problem. They decanted each bottle for me 3-4 hours before. Brought on some awesome bottles.:D

 

I read all your posts prior to departure and I'll I can say is you want too just pack them in your suitcase or buy some in store and bring them on board. I was never questioned and furthermore the wine sommelier loved my selections.

[samka]

Just came back from Solstice. We bought several bottles of wine in Santorini. They were taken at security when we re-entered ship and were delivered to our cabin the last night. Was on HAL Veendam to Western Carrib two yrs ago. We bought wine in Key West. When we got back on ship security told us they would hold or we would have to pay corking fee. Good news is Celebrity has excellent wine list at reasonable prices. Definitely cannot say the same for HAL.

[nanook21]

Its interesting that many cruisers have had different experience with this wine issue on Celebrity. I guess it depends on security on any given day. My agent actually phoned Celebrity today to check their policy, and of course was given the official company line of only 2 bottles per cabin allowed on embarkation, NONE allowed after that, from any port. My agent even talked directly to the S.A. desk, in case they may lift that ban on itineraries that include noted wine regions, but their policy was unwavering. Think I might try Oceania instead.....

[sunlovermtl]

Sooo, what is a bottle? We like to drink the odd glass of plonk while sitting our verandah. Is a bottle a 750ml, 1.5L, or is it a 3L box??? Has anyone really had a bottle of wine purchased on shore taken away on re-boarding? thanks

 

Never once in our 14 cruises. Even hard alcohol. I always buy some I won't want until at home so I check those or buy them onboard duty free and get them the last night. Every itinerary is different so security and liquor tables will vary. Security has never told us to go to the liquor table. If you are blazee about it you won't have a hard time. Some others have posted that they take the wine bag out of the wine box and wrap it carefully so it becomes undectable. Some even used a diaper.

 

happy cruising

[eandj]

Just got back from July 8th cruise on Summit. I brought on 5 bottles from my personal collection. Also bought two more from a fantastic wine shop in Venice and brought them all on board. I paid a $25 corkage fee for all 7 and it was never a problem. They decanted each bottle for me 3-4 hours before. Brought on some awesome bottles.:D

 

I read all your posts prior to departure and I'll I can say is you want too just pack them in your suitcase or buy some in store and bring them on board. I was never questioned and furthermore the wine sommelier loved my selections.

 

 

Bringing wine onboard is NEVER a problem if you pay the corkage to drink them at the dinner table or in a bar. The problem arises if you want to pick up an Italian wine at a port of call and drink it in your room....no can do.

[Gonzo70]

Some others have posted that they take the wine bag out of the wine box and wrap it carefully so it becomes undectable. Some even used a diaper.

 

happy cruising

 

Wow, I sure wouldn't risk that! If you are caught blatantly trying to sneak something past security in that manner they could refuse to permit you to board and leave you stranded at the port. That IMHO is not a risk worth taking. Just try bringing the wine on out in the open. If they let you (which sometimes happens) great. If not, that is within their policies, so one cannot be too upset.

[Friscorays]

Here is Celebrity Cruises policy on alcohol for guests:

 

http://media.celebritycruises.com/celebrity/content/pdf/faq/Cel_Alcohol_Policy_07-30-07.pdf

 

I won't comment on why they have the policy because those types of discussions often tend to spiral into ugliness.

[Wine-O]

Wow, I sure wouldn't risk that! If you are caught blatantly trying to sneak something past security in that manner they could refuse to permit you to board and leave you stranded at the port.

 

They won't leave you stranded at the port unless you try to smuggle drugs or weapons on board. They'll just confiscate the wine and give it back to you the night before you are to disembark.

[nanook21]

Bringing wine onboard is NEVER a problem if you pay the corkage to drink them at the dinner table or in a bar. The problem arises if you want to pick up an Italian wine at a port of call and drink it in your room....no can do.

 

Like a previous poster said, I've never stayed at a 5-star hotel and not been able to take my own personal bottle of wine up to my room. The cruise lines that confiscate at the pier have a captive market, and they are taking advantage of that. I sounds like the ONLY way we can enjoy a bottle of wine on our verandah, is to buy from room service at highly inflated prices, and with a limited selection. That just takes all the fun out of port excursions that feature wine tours. Celebrity, you disappoint.

[Friscorays]

They won't leave you stranded at the port unless you try to smuggle drugs or weapons on board. They'll just confiscate the wine and give it back to you the night before you are to disembark.

 

 

I'll quote the official policy:

 

"Guests who violate any alcohol policies, (over consume, provide alcohol to people under age twentyone (21), demonstrate irresponsible behavior, or attempt to conceal alcoholic items at security and or luggage check points or any other time), may be disembarked or not allowed to board, at their own expense, in accordance with our Guest Conduct Policy."

 

Do I think that they would actually go through with this threat? Probably not. Do it think that they could if they wanted to? Probably yes.