My husband and I are going on our first cruise May 30, 1999 on the Carnival Paradise. I've been reading the messages on the board and a lot of people mention bringing their own liquor onto the ship. Is this allowed by Carnival? I think I had read in one of their brochures that this was prohibitted. I have heard that drinks are pretty pricey on the ships. It's not that my husband and I are big boozers, but if we could save a little by bringing a bottle or two on board, that would be nice. If any one has any suggestions or could give us a better idea of what Carnival charges for a bottle of beer or a marguerita, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a million! <BR> <BR>

They discourage bringing your own liquor on board, however, you can purchase liquor from the ship's store - which is reasonably priced. This is a good way to get around high priced drinks - you can take your own soft drinks onboard as well. <BR> <BR>

I'd go with taking your own bottle and keeping it put away while not using it. Have not traveled with Carnival but all the other ships I've been on will sell you bottles in the duty free shop but won't let you have them until you dock. Just another way to make you buy from them.

Technically you cannot bring liquor aboard in the US, but you can from any other port. However, nobody really searches your bags coming on board altho there is an x-ray machine. <BR> <BR>Personally, the drinks are not that expensive to be worth the hassle in my opinion. If you are a pop drinker mainly, Carnival has a new "Fountain Fun Card" deal - for $18 you can drink all the fountain pop you want, one glass at a time. Each person must have their own card. My group bought alot of "Buckets of Beer" - $10.50 for 5 domestic beers or $12.50 for imports. The drink of the day [it varies from day to day] are usually $2.75 for a regular sized one, $5.75 in the souvenir glass [just get regular ones unless you want to carry home a dozen souvenir glasses]. Regular drinks like rum and coke are about $3.50. Canned pop is $3 which is why the fun card is such a good deal. <BR> <BR>I've done 9 cruises - don't hassle with your own bottles - what are you going to do with a half empty bottle of booze when you get back to the States? Buy a different tropical drink each day and enjoy it. <BR>

if u buy on the islands they deliver the booze to u at the end of the ship. however, when we left out of san juan u could buy your booze and bring to your room then. unless you are a heavy drinker the price of the drinks on the ship arent that badly priced. HInt: if u have a souvenuir glass u can refill for half the price. Besides at home i spend 6.50 for a margarita so its comparable

The last Carnival cruise I went on, we bought bottles in the store on board, could drink them right then. Brought our own mixers from home, coke, pineapple & cranberry cans, and our own cups, also bottled water, this worked great. The Paradise is supposed to be awesome and no smoking, you'll have a great time!

I just wanted to say that you are in for a treat. We just returned from our cruise on the Paradise and it was a great trip. I hadn't been on a Carnival ship before but had been on NCL. I was prepared for a lesser quality experience but it was the best. The nonsmoking environment was super! Let me know if you have questions. We did the Eastern route and travelled with our three children and 3 other families!

We are going on the Sensation in June from Tampa. Anyone have any experience with liquor bottles on that ship? I have been told not to take any on board but in all previous cruises, we have done so with no problem.

I went on the Holiday 2 years ago. I am from Australia and I felt the prices on board quite reasonable. <BR> <BR>Remember that all drinks on board are actually duty free. They may put a premium on the drinks they make and sell but they are still cheap. <BR> <BR>I remember the wine list at dinner had a huge selection of US and other wines from all over and I remember seeing a bottle of Australian wine cheaper than what I would pay here in Australia.

I've been informed by Carnival that you can no longer buy bottles in the ship store and drink them on the boat. They are only available for delivery on the day you disembark.

This info is to late for Molly, but for others going Carnival I thought I would put my two cents in. We were on the Fascination in April. At every port especially in San Juan our bags and my purse were scanned through an X-ray machine (I really don't think they thought I had weapon!). We were not able to buy liquor at the ship store as on previous Carnival Cruises.The big joke was that my purse would glow in dark when we got home from passing through so many machines. A few people we heard were able to get there liquor purchases on board, they went through the outside of the line up when things were backed up a bit. We did not find the drinks expensive and we did not see any really drunk guests either. So maybe its not such a bad thing. Karen

I just got back on Sunday the 20th from the Elation cruise to the Mexican Riviera. It was our first cruise, and we are decided now to take a cruise on our honeymoon in September. This is the only way to travel! Anyway, regarding the booze. You can buy liquor on board the ship or in a port of call, but the liquor will be delivered to your room on the final night of the cruise. The only way to drink on the ship is to buy it from the bartender unforunately. It runs $5.75 for the drink of the day and most other drinks with the exception of well drinks. Once you buy one, you can refill it in the souvenier cup they give you for $4.50, so the prices aren't too bad in the whole scheme of things. The drinks are potent. If you are planning on bringing booze home, buy it on the ship. The prices are EXTREMELY reasonable! We bought two bottles of Absolut Vodka for $19.00, and a bottle of Crown Royal for $15.00. We would have payed twice that here at home in Seattle. When you return to the US though, customs only allows one bottle of booze for each person in your babin duty free, the rest you have to pay duty on, but it's only $3.00/bottle. If you have ANY questions at all about the Elation or this cruis line, please don't hesitate to email me directly. <BR> <BR>Jason

Just returned from a Carnival Cruise where we packed the bottle wrapped in a gallon trash bag inside a towel and it got there fine. Also hand carried some bottled water with us with no questions asked. You can also purchase drink tickets I think thru your travel agent. A $3.75 ticket buys up to a $4.50 drink. You can also pack some plastic mini bottles.