Celebrity policy on personal wine & liquor

[Wine-O]

We were on Solstice Transatlantic and on the way to Rome we hit ports in Portugal, Spain, France, and Italy. In each port I purchased wine, port, and sherry with my intention of bring it back to the States. It was never confiscated, and I just brought it back up to my cabin to store. I never tried to hide it -- it was in my backpack, and it went thru the ship's thingamabob (x-ray machine).

 

I guess it depends upon who's doing the screening, and if the ship's crew wanted to tick you off. :)

[nanook21]

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.

 

I wouldn't want to take that chance, but I might be willing to take a chance on finding a sympathetic security guy who'll let me keep it for my room! I figure the worst that can happen is they hold it for me or let me have it at dinner for a corkage fee. But really, I'd almost rather book my cruise on a line that I KNOW there won't be a problem. I don't get to cruise 3x/year like many of you, this is a very special 60th birthday cruise (my last cruise was 4 yrs ago!), so I don't want any nasty surprises to spoil my vacation!

[Peteymil]

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

 

Yes, on our med cruise 2 weeks ago, when we brought a bottle onboard from Italy, they took it and gave it back on the last night.

 

As far as bottle size, people have said they have brought on bigger bottles during embarkation and had no problem.

[Wine-O]

 

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.

 

You'd have to be a real dirtbag for them to do that. They just say those things for "the exception" rather than the rule. The lawyers wrote that for them. :)

[Peteymil]

double post

[Peteymil]

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.

 

But don't forget, you can bring 2 bottles of wine onboard with you to use on your verandah.

[happy cruzer]

I wouldn't want to take that chance, but I might be willing to take a chance on finding a sympathetic security guy who'll let me keep it for my room! I figure the worst that can happen is they hold it for me or let me have it at dinner for a corkage fee. But really, I'd almost rather book my cruise on a line that I KNOW there won't be a problem. I don't get to cruise 3x/year like many of you, this is a very special 60th birthday cruise (my last cruise was 4 yrs ago!), so I don't want any nasty surprises to spoil my vacation!

 

I agree I don't like to worry that I may be on the cruise where the cruise line decides to enforce the rules. Since RCI and Celebrity have alot of reports of taking the wine and returning it at the end of the cruise (or in some cases not returning it) then so far I have been able to find similar cruises on lines that have better wine policies. So far I have never seen a report of wine taken on any other cruise line.

[samka]

On the July 6 Solstice sailing they were enforcing the rule in a big way. As soon as you put the bottle through the xray machine you were directed to a table with a big sign and a security officer. They took the wine and gave you a ticket for the wine. There were big signs that very clearly outlined the policy as well.

[elvnga]

This policy is long standing, but enforcement varies. It seems that the poor economy is making X try to get more out of the people who are still cruising and therefore they are enforcing this rule more. To me that seems counterproductive. I have rarely taken a cruise that I did not bring on some Irish to enjoy before dinner. I still buy drinks at the pool and wine with dinner and a few other drinks in the bars. I spend money at the spa and on shore excursions. It is not just about the money. I want to pour my own drinks sometimes when I want and how I want. I want it before my shower as I sit on the deck after getting back from a busy tour on shore. I have never been to a hotel that did not allow me to bring drinks in and if this is policy is enforced on me in the future with a small bottle in my checked luggage, the I will end up switching lines. It is just not good business for X to be too ambitious on searching luggage.

[nanook21]

This policy is long standing, but enforcement varies. It seems that the poor economy is making X try to get more out of the people who are still cruising and therefore they are enforcing this rule more. To me that seems counterproductive. I have rarely taken a cruise that I did not bring on some Irish to enjoy before dinner. I still buy drinks at the pool and wine with dinner and a few other drinks in the bars. I spend money at the spa and on shore excursions. It is not just about the money. I want to pour my own drinks sometimes when I want and how I want. I want it before my shower as I sit on the deck after getting back from a busy tour on shore. I have never been to a hotel that did not allow me to bring drinks in and if this is policy is enforced on me in the future with a small bottle in my checked luggage, the I will end up switching lines. It is just not good business for X to be too ambitious on searching luggage.

 

Thank you, that has been my point all along. (Celebrity, are you listening??) In a down economy, why would they want to be scaring away potential cruise customers? We spend tons of money on excursions, in the bars, in the restaurants for drinks/wine, in the Spa, in the gift shop. To the point that our bill at the end is as much as, if not more than, the initial cruise fares. All we want to do is take a few bottles of wine (or whatever) on board, to our own private cabin, for our private enjoyment on our verandah. Really, its only a couple of wine bottles at each port - so whats the big deal? They risk losing potential customers for this?. For the cruiser who wants to really enjoy their holiday, and enjoy a verandah that they've paid extra for, whats a few bottles of wine?

[nanook21]

But don't forget, you can bring 2 bottles of wine onboard with you to use on your verandah.

 

Yes, but thats only on embarkation - what about the rest of the cruise after you've been into ports after a wine tour excursion and wanted to pick up a couple of bottles to enjoy back in your cabin? The original 2 they allowed at the beginning are long gone by then, and they won't allow any more. Don't know about you, but 2 bottles won't get us past 4-5 days, if that. I DO enjoy my wine!

[happy cruzer]

Hi, Nanook

 

All your logical arguments were made about 3 years ago when RCI and Celebrity changed their wine policies.

 

I had a booking on RCI at the time of the change. And even though only a few reports of wine confiscation happened at first. I decided to cancel and go on HAL instead so there would be not worries. At the time, we had a tread going trying to predict which RCI ships were enforcing the policy and which were allowing the wine onboard. Many said it was just for spring breakers, just to stop over board accidents, etc. But the bottom line appears to be money. The other lines can survive very well with wine friendly policies. So I just pointing out that this is probably a very dead horse, RCI corp is probably not going to make any changes after this long.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[dkjretired]

What has not been mentioned is that much of this is not policy of the cruise lines but the laws of the particular ports you visit as well as US law. That may account for the various ways in which things are handled. As an example if you ever buy anything duty free at a port or on the ship read the paperwork that comes with it, it is very interesting and explains a lot.

[nanook21]

Well, I started this thread looking for answers, and I certainly got lots of them from you very knowledgeable cruisers, so thank you. I figure this is now a dead horse, so thanks for letting me vent! I'll be closing this thread today (if I can figure out how to do that!). Cheers, happy cruising! I love this CruiseCritic forum, its the best resource out there.

[frannie]

I posted this question but had no replies . Does celebrity have a wine Pkg you can purchase when you board so you can have a bottle of wine at dinner each evening at a reasonable price . We did this on Rccl independence of the seas and legend of the seas and it was great .

[cookmg40]

I posted this question but had no replies . Does celebrity have a wine Pkg you can purchase when you board so you can have a bottle of wine at dinner each evening at a reasonable price . We did this on Rccl independence of the seas and legend of the seas and it was great .

 

Hi Frannie, Like you, I have enjoyed the wine packages on RCCL and it was a very nice savings. Unfortunately, Celebrity does not offer anything comparable to that (yet:confused:). You can pre-order bottles of wine before boarding but there are no cost savings.

Marilyn

[frannie]

Thanks Marilyn Maybe by the time we sail something will change .

[Cindy G]

There is an advantage to pre-ordering...you save the "service charge." And yes, you can take the wine to the MDR w/o the corkage fees if it's pruchased from Celebrity. We give our butler our table number and ask him to take it to the MDR. You can also do it with the "Welcome Champagne" in your cabin.

[dkjretired]

Well, I started this thread looking for answers, and I certainly got lots of them from you very knowledgeable cruisers, so thank you. I figure this is now a dead horse, so thanks for letting me vent! I'll be closing this thread today (if I can figure out how to do that!). Cheers, happy cruising! I love this CruiseCritic forum, its the best resource out there.

 

You can't close the thread, only the moderators can do that...

[nanook21]

You can't close the thread, only the moderators can do that...

Thanks, I'm new to this, so I didn't know that. That makes it easier!

[Gonzo70]

Thanks Marilyn Maybe by the time we sail something will change .

 

Celebrity did announce plans to introduce various alcohol packages later this year - but have not made public the details yet. I think it is likely one such package would involve a wine program similar to Royal Caribbeans. We will likely find out in a few weeks or so.

[YYC F/A]

As others have pointed out, you can certainly bring on 2 bottles at embarkation - and hey - if you and your SO both take two and go through with your 2 each in different luggage - I don't think there'll be any problem there - as long as any one guest has no more than 2 bottles I think you're fine - so you have 4 bottles right there.

 

Then, if you do find a 'gem' in a port of call, if you bring on 1 bottle (each of you) and in the event they do direct you to a check table - why not just explain that you are planning to pay the $25 corkage fee. If it's one bottle, I've NEVER had an issue when offering to pay the corkage fee.

 

Hard liquor is a different animal, but I've never (even in recent times since the new policy) had an issue bringing on one bottle of wine in downroute ports, 90% of time not questioned, 10% of time I offer to pay corkage and it's all good.

 

And if the cruiseline is getting $25 from you for serving something that costs them $0, what a bonus for them! It's certainly compensating any lost revenue. And if you happen to enjoy that bottle on your verandah without paying corkage - then enjoy!