Alcahol on Princess Cruise ships?

Question

We are going on the Princess Carribbean cruise ship in May. We heard that the drinks on board are very expensive and was wondering if we are allowed to bring our own bottles of alcahol on board to keep in our rooms. Any personal experiences or advice?

Answer 1

Most people tote a pint or 2 in their luggage. I keep the bottle in the cabinet beside the hotel safe. Even if the cabin steward would happen to see it, they are unlikely to worry about it. They don't want to offend you, hoping to have you back in the future. I still purchase some alcohol on board. In the deck bars and by the pool, if you get beer in buckets, you save a little money. Some people find a watering hole on land during shore days, but make sure to be back on board on time.

Bon Voyage!!!

Answer 2

Liquor and beer from off the ship aren't allowed onboard, though some people do smuggle it in through their checked luggage.

That said, alcohol on Princess really isn't any more expensive than at a regular restaurant on land.

Here's a photo of the beer and wine price list. (It's from '06 so prices may have increased a little, but it should be indicative):

http://www.cruisesavvy.com/pictures/juli...

Also, while Princess doesn't let you bring your own liquor onboard, they do have a special price list for "room service alcohol" which they will bring to your cabin and you can drink there.  It's much cheaper than buying by the glass in the bars.  Here's a link to an example:

http://www.cruisesavvy.com/pictures/juli...

You can see more Princess price lists here:

http://www.cruisesavvy.com/journals/juli...

Scroll down to the bottom, where the price lists and menus are.

BTW, it seems like there's some confusion about whether wine and champagne can be brought aboard.  It's possible they are revising their policies, but here's what I found in their passenger contract:

"A corkage fee of $15.00 per bottle (which is subject to change without notice) will be applied to wine and champagne brought aboard by You and consumed in the ship's restaurants."

Source: http://www.princess.com/legal/passage_co...

Have a great trip!

Answer 3

NO,  you cannot bring your own bottles of alcohol, except that Princess does allow each person age 21 and over to bring one bottle of wine or champaign for USE IN THE CABIN ONLY.  

Here's the quote from their web site:

"We kindly request that you do not bring alcoholic beverages (other than wine and/or champagne) onboard for consumption. Alcoholic beverages that are purchased duty free from the ship's gift shop or at ports of call will be collected for safekeeping and delivered to your stateroom on the last day of the voyage. A member of our Security Staff will be at the gangway to assist with the storage of your alcoholic beverage purchases."  

Their policy is the same as most other cruise lines.  But you can save a bit on beverages by ordering from the gift menu and having wine or small bottles of alcohol delivered to your cabin on the sail day.

Answer 4

You are allowed one bottle of wine per person for the cruise. We also took soda and some bottled water to cut costs. We buy them in our port city as the airlines have a very restrictive weight limit on bags now. You are not allowed to bring on board any liquor. If you are caught your bags will be held and you will have to go to the "naughty" room to collect them and your liquor will be held until the end of the cruise. If you are not 21 years of age they will not return them. That being said, most people try to smuggle it on board. Breakage is also a problem if left in your luggage at the port. They stack them in large metal bins sometimes 14 or 15 deep and breakage is a problem for you and everyone's bags below yours. If you bring them with you in your carry on, it will be screened in the same type of machine as the airports use.

The drinks are not that expensive on board. You can cut costs by drinking the "drink of the day" and requesting not to have them put it in a souvenior glass. Drinks on shore tend to be less also. Hope this helps.