400+ bags in naughty room with smuggled booze

[Snoozeman]

Just an FYI.

I just got off the Voyager of the Seas today and I had to go to the naughty room to collect my bag the first evening. I wasn't alone - there were over 400 other bags there too. They used the conference center and they had all the guests come and identify their bags to be searched. They found everything in all the usual hiding places. They were also limiting soft drinks to six. I had eight cokes and a wee bit of the Captain;-).

Did it cause me to purchase? NO. I didn't buy a single drink on the ship.

Overall the cruise was great! I have a review on my blog if your interested.
Ray's Cruise Blog: Voyager of the Seas Review 1.9.2011
(It's too long for the CM review form)

Again, this is just an FYI--not a comment on the merits of drinking or not drinking NOR smuggling or not smuggling liquor. Just what seems to be happening now, at least on this sailing.

[valtime]

Boy RCCL are getting tough. They had better watch out as there are more lines than theirs. First getting tough with return passengers and now this. Business must be good especially in this economy.

[Trip]

The large amount, has to be due to the fact, that most drive to this port. When I was in Galveston, I was amazed to see so many carrying on so much soda...cases actually!

As far a s smuggling on the liquor, sorry, I never understood the bother. RCI found all those,no one will find it in there spots . Would anyone bother the next time..lesson learned? What do you think?

Nice to have you back Ray...

[Donna]

Welcome Back Snoozerman,
Hope you had a good time on Voyager of the Seas? How is she holding up these days>

[T C]

Shame Shame Shame Another reason to drink "clear" rum ... and only bring on the allowable number of ;-) "7UP or Sprite" ;-) You can always purchase Coke on board.

[Snoozeman]

Originally Posted by T C

Shame Shame Shame Another reason to drink "clear" rum ... and only bring on the allowable number of ;-) "7UP or Sprite" ;-) You can always purchase Coke on board.

When I saw them find the clear vodka of the guy in front of me i Knew they were going to find any and everything. His was in a disguised bottle. They pour out all that are in mouthwash bottles, soda bottles, etc. They did return if it were in an 'unopened' bottle.

[Snoozeman]

Thanks Trip. Thanks Donna.

It's good to be back, but it was really a fantastic cruise. The Voyager has held up very well.

[Snoozeman]

Originally Posted by valtime

Boy RCCL are getting tough. They had better watch out as there are more lines than theirs. First getting tough with return passengers and now this. Business must be good especially in this economy.

You are correct. I saw a very well dressed distinquished gentleman cancel his VoS cruise for later this spring. I visited with him several times during the week, they lost a very good customer in him.

[Phil&Liz]

Originally Posted by T C

You can always purchase Coke on board.

Yep. And heroin, too.

Did you see the news last week about the busts on the ship on the east coast?

[Trip]

So, this cruiser will not sail again, because he got caught?

[Funnel]

Originally Posted by Snoozeman

You are correct. I saw a very well dressed distinquished gentleman cancel his VoS cruise for latter this spring. I visited with him several times during the week, they lost a very good customer in him.

I think that in the end they risk losing a lot more customers if they allow people to bring their own liquor onboard. When I'm onboard I often visit bars for bear or drinks but I am not interested to be on cruises with too much booze.
On the other hand I can live with that on the large "cruise ferries" between Sweden and Finland (for just two nights). Oh yes, there you can talk about booze.... Hope it will never be the same on the cruises.



I can agree that Voyager is still in good condition! I sailed her in the Med in October and even if it's possible to see some wear and tear I think that in general she looked very good for her age.

/Erik

[Mike M]

They must have implemented their new RRUDD. Rum Runner Ultimate Detection Device.

Take care,
Mike

[Snoozeman]

Originally Posted by Trip

So, this cruiser will not sail again, because he got caught?

I think he didn't care for the way he was treated. Not sure what exactly happened to him. I could tell that he spends a lot on cruising and on board as well. They had expensive cocktails every night and it wasn't worth the bother to go to the Diamond lounge and get a discount so it certainly was not a matter of $ or savings. He was a very nice man and not a complainer. I think it was a matter of principal.

[Snoozeman]

Originally Posted by Mike M

They must have implemented their new RRUDD. Rum Runner Ultimate Detection Device.

Take care,
Mike

Yeah, they did.

[johnthed0g]

Glad you had a good cruise, where did you go...we went everywhere!
On P&O they don't bother with this, they also sell reaonably priced booze for cabin use.eg Bacardi 1x litre £12 ($18 US). I don't see why some lines act this way, you should be able to take what you like (Legally) to your room.

[Mike M]

Originally Posted by johnthed0g

Glad you had a good cruise, where did you go...we went everywhere!
On P&O they don't bother with this, they also sell reasonably priced booze for cabin use.eg Bacardi 1x litre £12 ($18 US). I don't see why some lines act this way, you should be able to take what you like (Legally) to your room.

John,

In "The Good Ole Days" almost all cruise lines allowed you to buy liquor in the gift shop and take it back to your room. Lines like Royal Caribbean would add a few dollars to the price if you took it back to your room. Those days have been gone for around 10 years.

Take care,
Mike

[johnthed0g]

We must be lucky with P&O then, bring on what you want within reason & they sell cheap booze. You can even bring wine for dinner on too but they charge £10 a bottle corkage, well worth it if you can buy good wine at a good price I suppose.

[DiamondMember]

When I asked about the rationale behind this policy (no booze in your luggage or bringing purchased booze onboard/island to your cabin); I was told that it was a safety issue as the line can not "monitor" your consumption and "cut you off" if you've had too much when you're going at it alone in your cabin. Now, I'm sure there is "some truth" to this point; however, like many of you out there I'm sure it's more to do with onboard revenue generation.

[felix_the_cat]

I would think it's both reasons - can't monitor and cash cow. However to negate the first one, why do they give you a mini-fridge that has booze in it? They can't watch you drink that. Sorry - that one doesn't hold a lot of water - er booze.

The bottom line is the money. They very seldom cut anyone off for being too drunk. How many times have you seen or read about drunks.

Money, money, money, money.

[Snoozeman]

What is odd about my personal situation is that it cost RCCL money to hold my liquor.
I don't really drink that much, but when we have the nice balcony as we did on this cruise I prefer to have my cocktail there. Since I didn't have my cocktail we went to the Diamond Club and drank their wine every night. It cost them, I guess, 3-4 bottles of wine and several soft drinks they would not have had to use if I had had my wee dram of the Captain on my balcony.

[johnthed0g]

Well the monitor issue is nonsense.
Do they actually think that having been prevented from bringing your own rum on the ship or not being sold drink at a reasonable price (Celebrity wanted about £50 as I recall for a cabin drinks package) that you will order your balcony tipple from room service..no chance!

[Trackypup]

And this thread explains perfectly why we won't cruise RCL anymore. To my knowledge, it's also the only line that you can't buy a bottle of booze for your room.

[Mike L]

This is the exact reason why we have not cruised Royal Caribbean since 2008...we are not heavy drinkers but really enjoy sitting on the balcony with a a glass of wine or cocktail each evening...we can do that on Holland America, Celebrity and Princess and not feel like we broke the law..

[felix_the_cat]

I didn't realize til today we haven't sailed RCL since 2008. However, I, along with me SIL with be on the Allure on February 27 so I'll be checking everything again. Not that I think anything has changed..............I know it hasn't.

I see no reason why one shouldn't be allowed a pint and/or a couple of bottles of wine. We don't simply because we don't drink enough to use up a pint of rum and I'm not keen on wine.

[DiamondMember]

Why couldn't you have a drink on your balcony again? Go to the bar one deck up, buy the drink then walk back To your balcony. Or buy a bottle of wine and walk the bottle back to your cabin. I am unaware of any line that allows you to bring your own booze onboard without restriction, even celebrity has restrictions similar to royal.

[Snoozeman]

Originally Posted by DiamondMember

Why couldn't you have a drink on your balcony again? Go to the bar one deck up, buy the drink then walk back To your balcony. Or buy a bottle of wine and walk the bottle back to your cabin. I am unaware of any line that allows you to bring your own booze onboard without restriction, even celebrity has restrictions similar to royal.

Carnival allows one bottle of wine per guest, I believe most others do as well. RCCL is the one not in the mainstream on this. And the point is that I don't want to have to leave the cabin.

[Funnel]

Originally Posted by Snoozeman

Carnival allows one bottle of wine per guest, I believe most others do as well. RCCL is the one not in the mainstream on this. And the point is that I don't want to have to leave the cabin.

Last time I sailed on RCI (a couple of months ago) they had room service and I still think they have, so you don't have to leave your cabin...

This with bringing your own wine to dinner, is that common onboard (other) cruise lines? Is it common on land based restaurants in the US?

/Erik

[DiamondMember]

So Carnival allows you to bring one bottle of wine onboard the ship with you from home, I see your point. I know that the line has delievered a bottle of wine to the cabin on the first day of the cruise (for free as I am a Diamond Plus member). Anyway you slice this, it's a money maker for all cruise lines; each line will have various restrictions (for various reasons); but certainly would never be a deal-breaker for whether I choose to sail the cruise line or not.

[Snoozeman]

Originally Posted by Funnel

This with bringing your own wine to dinner, is that common onboard (other) cruise lines? Is it common on land based restaurants in the US?

/Erik

Yes, but some charge a corking fee when you bring your own wine.

[Paul Motter]

I want to know how they detected the runrunners?

They must have been doing baggage checks. Do you know?