Cruises - Carnival Cruise (Splendour): How To Bring Alcohol?

I've read threads from 2005 indicating that it was possible to bring alcohol on a cruise through bottled water. Is this still the case? If not, what would you recommend?

Also, does Carnival sell bottles of liquor (in a gift store or duty free shop)? Can I bring in liquor from our stops in Mexico?

Check on the CruiseCritic.com Carnival Forum. It's discussed ad nauseum over there.

Look at the Carnival website. You can bring a bottle of wine but no beer or hard liquor. You cannot bring a blender or any type extension cord for use in your cabin.

http://www.carnival.com/core/faq.aspx?faq=beverage

people do get around the rules by sneaking booz on board but be aware they will confiscate any they find

Welcome to Flyertalk.

You can sneak alcohol on board if you are lucky. There are a variety of ways to do it, water bottles, baby bottles, wine rack, beer belly, rum runner flasks, etc. There is a chance of course they will find it (you won't be the first to try to be sure) and take it from you.

You can bring one bottle of wine or champagne on board (you could fill it with vodka an reseal it as another way to sneak it on board)

You can buy bottles on the ship, and you can bring bottles back from port, but they will take them and hold them until the last night of the cruise, so you can not drink them on board.

You can also go through Carnival's Bon Voyage department and order booze through them to be delivered to your stateroom the day of departure. Sure, the prices are on the high-side, but at least you don't have to worry about your contraband being confiscated.

You can also go through Carnival's Bon Voyage department and order booze through them to be delivered to your stateroom the day of departure. Sure, the prices are on the high-side, but at least you don't have to worry about your contraband being confiscated.

+1

this is the best advice currently. 2 years ago, just toss it in your checked baggage and and no worries. Now the people working the xray units care and will see it and take it in a lot of cases.

I used to smuggle with the best of them. they're enforcing things now that they never enforced before. If you're up for the challenge hit cruise critic (as suggested above) for advice. Otherwise buck up. Bon Voyage is high, but not as high as per drink at the bar.

next cruise is 2 bottles of wine as carry-on and BV for a liter of booze.

First of all, on Carnival you are permitted to bring one 750 ml bottle of wine per passenger over the age of 21 aboard. This should be brought aboard in your carry-on luggage.

Your best bet for smuggling more aboard is to use Rum Runners (http://www.rumrunnerflasks.com/) in your checked bags. Word on the street is that even with these, much alcohol is being confiscated. Spread it out among several bags and some will probably make it aboard.

We'll be on the Carnival Miracle over New Year's. Eight adults, so eight bottles of wine; which means we'll have to buy a wine package midway through dinner on the 2nd day of the cruise. :D

I also imagine we'll be purchasing two bottles of whiskey, three bottles of gin, and a bottle of vodka through BV.

We'll be on the Carnival Miracle over New Year's. Eight adults, so eight bottles of wine; which means we'll have to buy a wine package midway through dinner on the 2nd day of the cruise. :D

I also imagine we'll be purchasing two bottles of whiskey, three bottles of gin, and a bottle of vodka through BV.

just remember they have a corkage fee

They only charge corkage in the dining rooms on Carnival I think. Unlike other cruise lines that charge you per bottle when you bring it on board.

just remember they have a corkage fee

Not if you open it in your cabin. ;)

If you make friends with a bartender on-board, they'll usually open it for you too.

Not if you open it in your cabin. ;)

If you make friends with a bartender on-board, they'll usually open it for you too.

Correct but the OP was talking about having to buy wine midway through dinner since they would have already consumed what they brought before dinner service was over. I made the connection that they would be drinking wine at dinner in the dinning room. You also have a corkage fee if you bring a bottle from home, already opened bottle to the dining rooms. Bring it already in a glass no problem, plunk down a bottle not bought on board, corkage fee.

Actually the OP never mentioned wine, somebody else did.

I would bet that many people will bring wine that cost less than the corkage fee and not bring it to dinner.

They only charge corkage in the dining rooms on Carnival I think. Unlike other cruise lines that charge you per bottle when you bring it on board.

We may be wandering off topic but HAL doesn't charge you any fees for bringing wine abaord and you can bring as much as you like.

One of our wine clubs did a cruise on HAL, there were 18 of us, they brought 25 cases. How can you not love them for not charging us for that?

You also have a corkage fee if you bring a bottle from home, already opened bottle to the dining rooms. Bring it already in a glass no problem, plunk down a bottle not bought on board, corkage fee.

It all depends on your waiter.

http://www.rumrunnerflasks.com/ - do this; couple of 32oz bags will really cut down on your booze costs.

And they are rarely able to spot these, but, I'd mix and match in a couple different pieces of luggage.

It all depends on your waiter.

True, but it's best to defer to the posted rules and not be surprised when they are enforced.

True, but it's best to defer to the posted rules and not be surprised when they are enforced.

In other words, the glass half empty approach, pardon the pun. :D

We usually bring screw top wine, which has previously been opened and replaced with vodka. Also, I have a friend that brings boxed wine on board as the machines supposedly don't detect it.

Why try to break the rules and sneak prohibited items on board? If you can afford the cruise, you can afford the booze.

Granted, we have taken wine on board, as Princess allowed. It was a 3-week cruise from SF to Vanc and Alaska, over to Russia, Korea, Japan and down to HK. We ordered 4 cases of wine and 2 cases of champagne (there were 6 of us! :D ) thru Safeway ... they even delivered to the ship!

On Cunard and Crystal and Seabourn, they did not allow us to bring our own, so we bought on board.

It's bad enough people try to sneak bottles on board in their suitcase .... but to go to the extent of putting liquor in water/wine/baby bottles .... :rolleyes: !

Why try to break the rules and sneak prohibited items on board? If you can afford the cruise, you can afford the booze.

It's bad enough people try to sneak bottles on board in their suitcase .... but to go to the extent of putting liquor in water/wine/baby bottles .... :rolleyes: !

Agreed....

Even though I purchased a set of the rum runners a got my initial booze onboard undetected and was able to continue to smuggle additional booze onboard at each port, I still ended up having a alcohol tab when the cruise was over... The goal for me was to be to defray the booze tab but not to eliminate it...

Looking forward to the January 2012 cruise now... Rum Runners ready as well... LOL

We'll be on the Carnival Miracle over New Year's. Eight adults, so eight bottles of wine; which means we'll have to buy a wine package midway through dinner on the 2nd day of the cruise. :D

I also imagine we'll be purchasing two bottles of whiskey, three bottles of gin, and a bottle of vodka through BV.

We gambled and brought two bottles per adult on-board with no issues (one bottle per carry-on, and one bottle in the checked bag). If half of them were confiscated, we would enjoy them after the cruise at the Miami Beach hotel over the weekend. 14 of the 16 bottles were consumed inside the cabins.

We also bought four 5-bottle wine packages (and two additional bottles) that were consumed during dinner. We received a shade of $1800 in OBC (for all five cabins). Monies were distributed to each cabin to pay for gratuities, and the rest was to pay for all the wine purchased on-board as well as some drinks at the bar.

Did not buy booze through the BV department.

Even though I purchased a set of the rum runners a got my initial booze onboard undetected and was able to continue to smuggle additional booze onboard at each port, I still ended up having a alcohol tab when the cruise was over... The goal for me was to be to defray the booze tab but not to eliminate it...

I'm kind of like you... I still buy it on board, but use the rum runners for bringing my favorite "sipping liquor" for sitting on the balcony before or after dinner... We've used the rum runners on four cruises now and haven't had a problem... Got this from a friend who does baggage scanning - if you put them in the leg of a pair of jeans and then roll the jeans up they don't show up as blatantly as if you randomly put them anywhere.

rum runner wrapped up in jeans or between jeans. has also worked between other things like sequenced dresses and stuff like that.

My friends brought 3 of those things per person on board and never paid for a drink the entire time...

rum runner wrapped up in jeans or between jeans. has also worked between other things like sequenced dresses and stuff like that.

My friends brought 3 of those things per person on board and never paid for a drink the entire time...
What order do the sequenced dresses need to be in for this to work?

:D

I personally recommend SHOT PACKS. These are one ounce vodka, gin, etc. plastic packages that don't look like bottles in the scanners. They are flat. Put them into the pockets of your pants in checked luggage and they simply don't show very much on the scanners. Or carry them thru the xray machine. That is what I do for domestic flights.

The Cruise Director for the Carnival Magic, which sails from Galveston, reported on his blog they confiscated 103 bottles of liquor from luggage this weekend. Not sure if that's a good rate or not, considering they have about 4000 passengers on board.

The Cruise Director for the Carnival Magic, which sails from Galveston, reported on his blog they confiscated 103 bottles of liquor from luggage this weekend. Not sure if that's a good rate or not, considering they have about 4000 passengers on board.

Not sure if wine is considered part of the "liquor" terminology. Then again, I can see them going after people who try to sneak in bottles of booze and letting wine bottles through without incident.

Not sure if wine is considered part of the "liquor" terminology. Then again, I can see them going after people who try to sneak in bottles of booze and letting wine bottles through without incident.

No, it's not wine.

>"On Cunard and Crystal and Seabourn, they did not allow us to bring our own, so we bought on board."

Seabourn definitely allows cruisers to bring their own wine on board, and corking costs are waived. Several oenophiles send crates from their cellars to enjoy. There is a premium wine list that can be bought if the usual wine selections are not to the diner's taste. And of course, all liquor is included in the fare.

The Cruise Director for the Carnival Magic, which sails from Galveston, reported on his blog they confiscated 103 bottles of liquor from luggage this weekend. Not sure if that's a good rate or not, considering they have about 4000 passengers on board.

We were on the Magic out of Galveston last week - we didn't see them grabbing any bottles while we were going through the line, and all of our RumRunners got through with no problem :-)

We were on the Magic out of Galveston last week - we didn't see them grabbing any bottles while we were going through the line, and all of our RumRunners got through with no problem :-)

They don't do it in the line, they do it when they scan the luggage, which is away from the passengers at that point. Obviously they don't catch everything in 5000 pieces of luggage, but they do pretty good, especially with regular liquor bottles, which is what John posted about.

If the scanner finds it when you board, they will keep the liquor and give it back to you on the last day. Confiscation does not mean they will keep it, you will get it back at the end. I got a bottle of Rum from the duty free at a port and brought it back on ship with no intention of drinking it on board. The scanner found it and told me to check it in. I waited in a long line for a long time and for the first bit, he kept an eye on people who he sent over to check in the liquor but after that they switched positions and the new person didn't keep track. Me and another person just walked away and went up to our room. I believe if the ship didn't charge such high prices for alcohol, people might be less motivated to sneak them on board. On a recent Carnival Cruise it charges $8.50 for a Budweiser or Coors Light when you include the 15% mandatory tip. That is quite excessive. I can imagine the bar tap running well over $340 for just one person if you drink 10 a day on a short 4 day cruise. That is why I still believe an All-Inclusive resort is a better way to go if you like to drink a lot. No hassle, no worries. No surprises on the last day. It was puzzling to see people drinking and gambling like crazy on the ship and supposedly there is a recession going on.

If the scanner finds it when you board, they will keep the liquor and give it back to you on the last day. Confiscation does not mean they will keep it, you will get it back at the end. I got a bottle of Rum from the duty free at a port and brought it back on ship with no intention of drinking it on board. The scanner found it and told me to check it in. I waited in a long line for a long time and for the first bit, he kept an eye on people who he sent over to check in the liquor but after that they switched positions and the new person didn't keep track. Me and another person just walked away and went up to our room. I believe if the ship didn't charge such high prices for alcohol, people might be less motivated to sneak them on board. On a recent Carnival Cruise it charges $8.50 for a Budweiser or Coors Light when you include the 15% mandatory tip. That is quite excessive. I can imagine the bar tap running well over $340 for just one person if you drink 10 a day on a short 4 day cruise. That is why I still believe an All-Inclusive resort is a better way to go if you like to drink a lot. No hassle, no worries. No surprises on the last day. It was puzzling to see people drinking and gambling like crazy on the ship and supposedly there is a recession going on.

Here's a link to a recent Carnival bar menu. http://www.zydecocruiser.com/Carnival-Bar-Menu/barmenu.pdf

16oz Bud, Coors, Miller etc, is $5.75 plus 15%, or $6.61. Although I'm not a drinker, I know that's obviously more than your typical local bar. As one would expect for a vacation.

You can also buy drink chits from the Bon Voyage Department, which will help defray the costs even further (I think an additional 10%).

You can also buy drink chits from the Bon Voyage Department, which will help defray the costs even further (I think an additional 10%).

Is there a link anywhere for the Bon Voyage menu? I'd like to do some preliminary investigation for our cruise in December.

Thanks!

Is there a link anywhere for the Bon Voyage menu? I'd like to do some preliminary investigation for our cruise in December.

Thanks!

http://www.carnival.com/BonVoyage/Default.aspx

The drink coupons are under the specialty items. I don't believe there is any deal though, as the 4 coupons cost $23 and the print says they are good for drinks up to $5.75 (incl gratuity).

>"On Cunard and Crystal and Seabourn, they did not allow us to bring our own, so we bought on board."

Seabourn definitely allows cruisers to bring their own wine on board, and corking costs are waived. Several oenophiles send crates from their cellars to enjoy. There is a premium wine list that can be bought if the usual wine selections are not to the diner's taste. And of course, all liquor is included in the fare.

The only real justification a cruise line can have for confiscating people's liquor when they come on board is so they can sell them more expensive beverages. As Seabourn is all-inclusive, they'd be happy for you to drink your own wine as it saves them money.

We've had much success with Rum Runners, and also, filling empty wine bottles with liquor and recaping them with a home wine making kit. Looks like wine in dark bottle, and its not as if they will open it.

Why would a grown adult be considering smuggling alcohol on board a cruise ship?

Why would a grown adult be considering smuggling alcohol on board a cruise ship?
Because they're cheap.