Alcohol & Excursions..

[agent99]

Hi All... Going on 1st cruise... I have read a few things about bringing alcohol on board. How is this done.. Can I take some in my carry on or on my luggage itself?? Also I see on the Carnival website that you can bring a bottle on wine or champagne for the embarkment. Is this true?? We have four people two cabins, Can we each bring one bottle per cabin?
Is it usually good to book a excursion BEFORE such as online with Carnival instead of waiting to book it when you are on board??

[jocelyn]

Hi...Would you by any chance be going on the western carribean cruise on april 10 ?

[penny3333]

If you want to book your excursions through the cruise line, I would definitely recommend doing it before sailing. The lines can be long once on board. I usually bring a 4 pack of wine (the splits) in my carry on. That way if they get picky about it, I'm not loosing much money. I've never been checked, but there's always a first time. Enjoy your cruise!!

[Jim C.]

You can bring Wine on board, but they will charge you a "corkage fee" (I think its $15??) They don't allow you to bring hard liquor on board. If you buy it in port, then they confiscate it when you come back on board and hold it until the last night for you. There are other topics that discuss methods of smuggling in booze, you can go read those.

As for excursions, book the popular ones before you go to ensure you get in. Sometimes there is room, but its better to be safe than sorry. I think if you change your mind you can cancel 24Hours in advance (but you may need to check on that for sure). I don't know what cruise you are going on, but if you are going to Grand Cayman and you want to do the stingray tour (which you do.. its great) that one you should book ahead of time.

Jim

[FSUberma]

You can bring wine on board, in your carry on if you wish. And there is only a corkage fee if you choose to drink the wine in the dining room. You can ask your cabin steward for a corkscrew and he will bring you one to keep for the length of the cruise(I know because I just came back from the 3/27 Carnival Sensation cruise and we did this.) As for liqour, my boyfriend and I put two bottles in our CHECKED luggage and had no problem with it. There is 24 hour access to lemonade, orange juice and sometimes even cranberry juice(all for free), so you don't have to worry about bringing mixers.

FYI: I found that mixed drinks on the ship were reasonably priced, but beer and wine were pretty expensive. I think it was something like $5.75 for a 16 oz Budweiser. And they were charging $20 for a bottle of Woodbridge Chardonnay(or $4-5 a glass.) Considering you can get the same bottle of wine at any grocery store for under $10, I would say bring as much wine as you can!

[Cruise Fanatic]

I have the bar menu from my cruse on the Fasciation in February. A 16oz Budweiser was $4.50 then the 15% gratuity would be added to that. I went out to eat last night in my small town and paid $3.00 for a 12oz. I think the prices for drinks on cruises are comparable to going out to any major chain restaurant.