Just back from a cruise on Celebrity Mercury. I packed 3 bottles of wine in my luggage, no problem at all. I forgot to pack a corkscrew though, but the bartender at the pool was nice enough to open the bottles for me without a corkage charge. The corkage fee in the dining room is $12. I just tipped him and enjoyed a glass of wine in my cabin before dinner.

I just took a Carnival cruise last week. Some people in my party were able to bring on board in their checked baggage various bottles of liquor and even a few 12 packs of coke and diet coke. We still charged plenty of drinks to our bill, so it definitely helped keep our spending down. Keep an eye out for the drink specials (Bloody Mary's cost $9!) and the duty free liquor prices are great.

We have sailed on Princess twice in the last year and have never had our liquor confiscated, although have seen many in line with us who have. When boarding in the home port we buy liquor and put it in our luggage before we turn it over to the cruise line (we always do our own air and transfers). In ports we always place it in our back pack or tote and try not to be conspicuous about it. It seems that as long as you aren't blatant about it there is never a problem. By the way anyplace you can find Cuban rum (i.e. Mexico, Panama, etc.) it is a great buy, as low as $4 a fifth. Our favorite. Just be sure to finish it before the cruise ends since I am sure American customs would not be happy to see it. We are going on a cruise again in August and plan to bring several bottles on board with us again.

When we were returning from shopping in Cozumel, I had a huge bottle of Kahlua in my bag, along with some vanilla and other souvenirs. After going through security (where no one said a word about the bag) I noticed a table off to the left with a very bored looking fellow. I could have walked right past and he wouldn't have said a word, but I stopped and asked him if I was supposed to leave my bottle with him. He then took it. It was no big deal because it was a gift, but if I had wanted to take it back to the room to drink, no one would have noticed or cared. This was RCCL Explorer by the way.