I usually bring 4- 6 bottles and never had a problem (wife and I have specific types we enjoy and not always available on ship or on occassion when available, outrageoulsy priced !). HAL is the most leniant on their wine polices as carryon items.
__________________ Your Travel "angel" ~~~ Curtis
"January" Blizzard Flavored Treat & Cake Of The Month "Strawberry CheeseQuake"
This is one of the differences between the lines, like P&O have lower tips, no tips on drinks, free buses in ports AND we can take as much drink as we want. Some take cases of wine that they particularly like & is not available on the ship.
__________________
Some answer questions...I also question answers
JTD 2010
I normally bring a couple bottles of wine on board, unless I'm going direct from the plane to the port; in that case I try to find a wine shop at our first stop. Last trip, in Spain, I bought some sherry that turned out to be particularly nice. Couldn't find it at my next stop, but did find some Spanish brandy, and a super-cheap boxed wine claiming to be the "best-selling Spanish wine in the world". HAL gave me no grief at all about bringing any of it on board. The wine was mediocre but made decent spritzers; and when it was gone I poured the rest of the brandy into the box, squeezed out the excess air, capped it tightly, wrapped it in tissue and put it in a plastic zip-top bag and then into my checked luggage for the flight home. It made it all the way with only one tiny damp spot on the tissue.
I must add though on P&O just out of interest the booze onboard is really reasonable £12 for a litre of Bacardi....Cokes now...that's different really expensive!
__________________
Some answer questions...I also question answers
JTD 2010
Wow...good to know. Perhaps I should get some wine in Vancouver.
THANKS!
Where does your cruise originate? If the states, you'd probably do better finding a local liquor/wine store near the cruise terminal or your hotel if you're coming in early.
HAL lets you take on as much wine as you can carry. I've seen folks put their printed luggage tags on cases of wine, soda, water and they arrive just fine in your cabin. During the course of your cruise, you can pick up wine in ports and carry it on. No problem.
Where does your cruise originate? If the states, you'd probably do better finding a local liquor/wine store near the cruise terminal or your hotel if you're coming in early.
HAL lets you take on as much wine as you can carry. I've seen folks put their printed luggage tags on cases of wine, soda, water and they arrive just fine in your cabin. During the course of your cruise, you can pick up wine in ports and carry it on. No problem.
Originates in Vancouver for an Alaska cruise/tour. Thanks for confirming that it could be brought on at ports of call.
__________________ Snoozeman Moderator
My Personal Cruise Blog: Ray's Cruise Blog
Booked Cruises: Carnival Legend 9/1/2013, Carnival Sunshine 11/1/2013, Carnival Sunshine 2/16/2014, Navigator of the Seas 3/23/2014.
Just got our travel documents and they have raised the corking fee to $18.00
a bottle.
I have 2 cases of wine and I'm a little nervous about just leaving it with luggage. I don't want 2 cases of broken bottles.
I've always carried it on, usually in my roll-on small luggage bags. I have seen folks "check" their wine and it seems to show up, along with cases of water and soda. I believe that the $18 includes the 15% service charge for a total of $18. Still a deal.
Usually the stevedores at Port Everglades will accept cases of wine/water/soda for delivery to the cabins but sometimes they do not so you should only bring what you are able to carry aboard yourself. In the event they won't take it, you wlll have to lug it.
We always find wine on the list that suits us. If it isn't one particular wine, we order another. We've enjoyed many very good bottles.
Usually the stevedores at Port Everglades will accept cases of wine/water/soda for delivery to the cabins but sometimes they do not so you should only bring what you are able to carry aboard yourself. In the event they won't take it, you wlll have to lug it.
We always find wine on the list that suits us. If it isn't one particular wine, we order another. We've enjoyed many very good bottles.
Hey, Judy, nice to "see" you here on CRUISEMATES! :-D It must keep you busy "floating" between this message board and the HAL CCB! (Although your post count here is not anywhere near your 40,000+ posts on the HAL CCB)!
On one of our cruises on HAL, we were cruising with a group of 18. We planned to host a sailaway party in our suite and brought 2 cases of champagne. We gave it to the porters at the port along with a $20 tip. The two cases of champagne were the first things to show up in our suite.
We have always brought wine on board and have never been questioned. I have stashed a bottle of my favorite Scotch in my checked luggage and never had a problem there either. But some people frown upon that, so do it at your own risk.
__________________
As a child, a library card takes you to exotic, faraway places. When you're grown up, a credit card does it.
-- Sam Ewing (Readers Digest, Dec, 1997)
When we sailed Eurodam, we purchased our wine through Total Wines on their site. Had the cabby stop there, DH ran in and picked up our wine, nicely packaged in a box that we could carry on the ship. There were two of us and we carried on 5 bottles no problem.
As for Vancouver, I am not sure how wine is sold there. In Ontario we have the LCBO and Quebec has the SAQ; both run by the province. Maybe some here is from BC and can let you know how wine is sold there. Just a heads up that wine is not cheap in Canada. Our import taxes are heavy. Wines that are under $10.00 in the US sell for $20 or more dollars in Canada. Accordingly, to avoid hassle, you may just want to pay the premium and buy your wine on the ship. If you pay double the price here for your favourite wine and add the 18.00 corkage fee .... well it may just be cheaper to buy it from HAL.
__________________
Disney Fantasy - 2013 [pending]
Disney Dream - 2012
Royal Freedom of the Seas - 2011
HAL Eurodam - 2011
Royal Grandeur of the Seas - 2010
Carnival Dream - 2010
Grand Princess - 2002
Royal Voyageur of the Seas - 2000
Royal Sovereign of the Seas - 1999
Carnival Ecstacy - 1991
i believe that you are NOT allowed any booze to carry on they will take it away & give it to you at the end of your cruise unlike carnival which you can take a bottle of wine on board
You can pre-order in cabin bar setup from HAL's Bon Voyage department. Their prices are quite reasonable.
HAL is also one of the few mainstream cruise lines that you can still order a bottle of liquor through room service. You can on other lines but it's ridiculously expensive.
The bottle service through HAL is a very good option. Sure its more expensive than what you would pay on a land based liquor store, but its not outrageous. Bottle service at most bars here in Pittsburgh is $200-300 per bottle. If you add up the per drink price, its going to be close to $200 for most drinks purchased on board. And, remember all of the bottles are 1 liter bottles compared to the typical 750ml bottles sold on land.
__________________
As a child, a library card takes you to exotic, faraway places. When you're grown up, a credit card does it.
-- Sam Ewing (Readers Digest, Dec, 1997)
Who in the world would pay that kind of money for booze, ashore or at sea?
Things people choose to buy never cease to amaze me.
Probably most of the people slapping back that $225 booze wonder why I will pay $100 an ounce for caviar.
A one liter bottle will give you about 22, 1.5 oz. drinks. On board the ship that would run you about $154 for a well drink. That $70 bottle of Grey Goose is a pretty good deal even if you add another $20 for the mixers. It's an even better deal if you drink Stoli or Absolut.
If you don't drink then any price is too high or irrelevant.
Take care,
Mike
__________________ Cruisemates Community Leader/Moderator
"There is a great difference between being well traveled and just having been to many places." ~Me
A one liter bottle will give you about 22, 1.5 oz. drinks. On board the ship that would run you about $154 for a well drink. That $70 bottle of Grey Goose is a pretty good deal even if you add another $20 for the mixers. It's an even better deal if you drink Stoli or Absolut.
If you don't drink then any price is too high or irrelevant.
Take care,
Mike
Those prices appear cheaper than Carnival. When I was on Imagination back in December, it was $40+tax for a 1l bottle of Absolut Citron. There were 4 of us, so we had 3 12pk of Sprite and some Pepsi for my friend. Also 4 bottles of wine. My bar tab for that cruise was well over half of what it was for the same cruise the year before.
I can't wait for DCL Wonder in December. Their current policy is you can bring whatever on, as long as it is carried on, not checked. So for a 14n cruise I figure 2 handles of booze. A split between vodka and rum.
__________________
Past cruises:
Disney Dream - Dec 2012 4n Bahamas
Carnival Imagination - Dec 2011 4n Western
Carnival Imagination - Nov 2010 4n Western
Costa Atlantica - Dec 2009 7n Eastern
My opinions are mine and mine alone. They do not represent the opinions of The Walt Disney Company nor any of its subsidiaries.
If you don't drink then any price is too high or irrelevant.
Aha!
Now there is the bottom line.
We get a free mini bar setup as Elite on princess, and we usually wind up giving the little bottles away to cruise mates ...
So we get week long passes to the Thermal Suite for the same price we might pay for a cocktail hour in the cabin. Many people think the price for that is too high ...
We have had 18 cruises on HAL ships and have always packed a couple of bottles of liquor in our checked bags and have never been stopped. We also bring wine with us, usually in a suitcase wrapped in plastic and take 1 bottle for every 2 days of cruising. We buy drinks and wine on board as well since we only use our liquor in the cabin. I have never had to hide a bottle once we are in our cabin.
Who in the world would pay that kind of money for booze, ashore or at sea?
Things people choose to buy never cease to amaze me.
Probably most of the people slapping back that $225 booze wonder why I will pay $100 an ounce for caviar.
Americans moan when gasoline goes over $4 per gallon, yet happily stand in long lines to pay $32 per gallon for Starbucks coffee (which they could make better at home for a tiny fraction of the cost).
Last year Americans spent $12 Billion for gasoline, and $13 Billion for bottled water - mostly from municipal water suplies in Atlanta and Houston. Neither city is very famous for high quality drinking water. Then those millions of empty plastic water bottles ended up in land-fills all over America. What's that all about?
Those prices appear cheaper than Carnival. When I was on Imagination back in December, it was $40+tax for a 1l bottle of Absolut Citron. There were 4 of us, so we had 3 12pk of Sprite and some Pepsi for my friend. Also 4 bottles of wine. My bar tab for that cruise was well over half of what it was for the same cruise the year before.
I can't wait for DCL Wonder in December. Their current policy is you can bring whatever on, as long as it is carried on, not checked. So for a 14n cruise I figure 2 handles of booze. A split between vodka and rum.
The $154 was based on 22 $7 drinks. A well drink is about $7 on Carnival. i.e. Whiskey/Coke and they use a brand like Seagrams 7.
Take care,
Mike
__________________ Cruisemates Community Leader/Moderator
"There is a great difference between being well traveled and just having been to many places." ~Me
Connect with Facebook
Carry-on Liquor policy
Liquor on board
Linear Mode
