Monday, April 1, 2024

Alcoholic Drinks on a Cruise Ship: What to Expect

how to get liquor on a cruise

As stealthy as you think you are, cruise lines know all the popular hiding spots. See where you can get quality suds at sea, in our list of the best ships for craft beer. So grab a drink and head to a show, dinner, the pool, casino, or just back to the cabin.

How To Get Liquor On A Cruise Ship

Whereas others are convinced alcoholic cruise drinks are watered down, so try to take their own. Drink packages can provide even greater value on cruises with more sea days compared to cruises that are more port-intensive. When you have many full days on the ship, you’ll have more opportunities and time to hit the bars. Yet for those who want to enjoy 6-8 (or more) drinks each day throughout the voyage, a cruise drink package can really make financial sense.

Double Bagging

how to get liquor on a cruise

These tasting events on cruises vary in cost, but are often priced around $25, giving half-pours or sometimes even full-sized pours. Cruise ship scanners can detect alcohol hidden in luggage. And the bottle-shaped outline is easy for security to identify. Keep in mind bringing a 32oz bottle of mouthwash on a 3-day cruise may arouse suspicion. As long as you're splashing chips (or inserting pennies) in Vegas or Atlantic City establishments, the beer tap remains open. Comped beverages generally aren't part of the action -- unless you're a player.

Rum Runners On Carnival Cruise

Actually, there are plenty of free non-alcoholic drinks to enjoy on a cruise. Yet cruisers looking for booze will find plenty of alcohol hacks to get cheap cruise drinks all throughout this post. All cruise lines check for alcohol, drugs, and other prohibited items during embarkation and port visits. Cruise lines use x-ray scanners and metal detectors to ensure passengers don’t bring prohibited items onboard. If the cruise line catches you smuggling alcohol on the ship, the prohibited items are confiscated by security.

Now Celebrity, Princess, Royal Caribbean, Holland America, most Norwegian ships, and many Carnival ships offer some sort of alcohol drink package. The worst-case outcome is that security will hold onto your beers for you until the final night of the cruise, as per most cruise lines’ alcohol policy. And you can still drink those beers on the final night of the cruise. So you really don’t have anything to lose by attempting to bring a few beers back aboard the ship with you. Coffee, hot chocolate, and (hot) tea are also free drinks available on most cruise ships. In fact, cruises tend to have a very nice assortment of complimentary teas.

The Ultimate Guide to Drinking Alcohol on Cruise Ships

For instance, if you’re from Texas then Shiner Bock is a well-known beer brand and served just about anywhere in the state… but not nationally. We have yet to see the brand on a cruise ship unless sailing from Texas. Still, for the most part you aren’t under any clearly defined limit. That said, don’t expect to continue to be served if you are showing signs of dangerous levels of intoxication. The cruise lines want you to relax, enjoy yourself, and have a good time, but not at the expense of your health or the well-being of other passengers.

Can I bring alcohol on a cruise ship? A line-by-line guide - The Points Guy

Can I bring alcohol on a cruise ship? A line-by-line guide.

Posted: Mon, 23 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

If you get caught with excess booze in your carry-on bag, you’ll have to suffer the humiliation of all the passengers in the line behind you, seeing you get busted. Rum runners won’t look immediately suspicious on an x-ray. The security team has a lot of people to check in and so will be focused on looking for bottle shapes. However, if caught you may have your alcohol confiscated and you could even be refused boarding. Cruise ships scan your luggage with an X-ray and, if they are suspicious of any items they see, open the luggage for a manual search. They also open bottles to check the contents, so the trick of using an old mouthwash bottle for spirits isn’t infallible.

Read Next: Park & Cruise Hotels for Every Port in America

If you see a bottle opener, it’s a clear indication it’s acceptable to drink on the streets while in port. The best part is that all of these local beers while in port will be at a fraction of the cost compared to the cruise ship’s pricey drinks. Below is an example of the Holland America wine packages we found during a recent cruise. Those particular bottles were priced at $35-$40 individually. So you would save $20-$40 by purchasing this package instead of buying the wines individually. If you know, you’re definitely going to be drinking these wines, it certainly would prove advantageous to buy the wine package.

What REALLY happens when you get caught smuggling booze on a cruise?

Mouthwash bottles have been a popular way of sneaking alcohol on cruises. Thoroughly rinse an old Listerine bottle and fill with your favorite clear liquors like vodka and gins. Then, color them with food coloring to match ordinary mouthwashes, typically pinks, blues, and greens. Drink package prices vary greatly among the cruise lines and the specific package.

Norwegian Cruise Line even has some ships with dozens of beers on tap. Bars usually have drink menus, but you can always ask the bartender to make you something off-menu. You might come across someone who has had a few too many, but most passengers will be well behaved.

Buying these packages online before your cruise usually gives a slightly bigger discount. For example, Celebrity offers a Taste of the Vineyards package online with either 3, 5, or 7 bottles. Alternatively, inquire about these wine packages at the ship’s wine bar. Best Wine Bars on CruisesWhether you prefer reds, whites, roses or bubbly, our five favorite cruise ship wine bars are sure to spark your grapelust.

For more on cruises and drinking ages, you can see our article here. To keep things simple, ships sailing from the United States have a drinking age of 21 years old. Ships sailing from points in Europe, Asia, and Australia typically have a drinking age of 18 years old.

As well, options will vary by cruise line and even from bar to bar on some ships. These are just a few questions you might have about enjoying alcohol on a cruise. We answer them all (plus roughly a dozen more) for you below. River cruises often include beer and wine with lunch and dinner. Some luxury ships include most or all alcohol in their cruise fares; the ultra-premium brands cost extra.

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