Many crusielines will not let you touch any liquor that you brought on board while shopping at ports of call.

Because the policies vary so much from cruiseline to cruiseline, here is the latest information.

Princess Crusies:

You can bring one bottle per person on board. The corkage fee to use it is $15.00
For alcohol shopping done at Ports of call, the cruise ship will hold for you!

Holland American:

You can bring wine and Champagne only. There is no limit as to how many bottles you can bring. The corkage fee is $15.00 per bottle!
Now if you are at a port of call and shopped for alochol, then the ship will hold your hard liquor until you disembark.
But not the wine and Champagne ( if you bought any)....but again corkage fee is $15.00 per bottle

Celebrity Cruises

You can bring wine only, two bottle per room ( not 2 bottles per person).Corkage fee is $25.00 (ouch)!!
If you shopped for alcohol( wine and liquor) at a port, then the ship will hold it for you until you disembark.

Norwegian Cruise Lines:

NO, you cannot bring alcohol on board with you.
If you bought wine on shore while shopping at a port , then there is a $15.00 corkage fee if you want to consume that wine on board.
All other alcohol will be held for you by the ship, until you disembark.

Royal Caribbean:

NO they do not want you bringing any alcohol on board and they reserve the right to inpsect any and all of your containers such as water bottles, mouthwash bottles soft drink bottles.
Corkage fee: This does not apply because you cannot bring any booze on board.

Any alcohol bough while shopping will be held for you until your last night of the cruise.

Carnival Cruise Lines:

Only Champagne and fine wine. You decide what is "fine " wine.
Corkage fee is $10.00
You can only bring one bottle per adult and this is only on the first day of your embarkment.!

Any addition alcohol that is brought on board will be confiscated without money back.

You cannot bring any alcohol back from port of call shopping and if you buy any alcohol on board in the gift shop ,then this will be held for you until the last night.

Happy Drinking

Percy

Along the same line as this, does anyone know which cruise lines are all inclusive of liquor?

Thank you percy. Do you know what they do about ETOH brought aboard on checked luggage? Do they screen the bags?

Percy, that may be the written policy, but the actual policy is much different. I cruised on Celebrity last October and put 6-7 bottles carefully bubble wrapped, with my checked baggage, and personally carried on 4-5 bottles. I brought a bottle to dinner each night and did pay the $15 corkage, but enjoyed the rest of the wine in my stateroom or soaking up the sun on one of the after decks.

I researched the written policy on Celebrity, and it said no alcohol could be brought on board. That was the recent mid-2006 policy. (

Budman

I agree that the policy varies as does the enforcement of the policy acording to the person who screens you.

I was on a Mediterranean Cruise about 6 months ago and the security guard took away the liquor that was bought at Port and said the ship would "hold it for you until the last day".

The fellow was a bit amazed,so the ship's rule on alcohol shopping at ports was explained to him.

I am sure other have perhaps shopped at Ports and brought the alcohol on board with no problem.

My outline is intended as a guideline from a fax that came across my Travel Agent's desk last week.

Don't buy alcohol on the Crusie Ship and then attempt to take it with you on your flight back home....unless the cruise ship's duty free shop will deliver it to the airport for you.

In Amsterdam last October EVERYONE who bought acohol on the ship and tried to take it through security at the airport had it ALL confiscated.

But how nice it was of the Security people in Amsterdam!!!
They gave you the choice to step aside and drink it all or in part...what you could not drink , was spilled out.

I took pictures of people drink out of a 40 ounce Vodka bottle and large Grand Marnier bottles etc.
Halarious is the best way to describe it.!!!

Yes, 2 fellows in our group of six stepped aside and drank all they could...I almost killed myself laughing.!!!
I took pictures BUT I asked the security guards first if I could take pictures. They said yes with a BIG grin on their faces.!

This is just food for thought as to what COULD happen.
It is no fun when it happens to you.

Hi jacketwatch:

Nice to hear from you again. You lucky dog,I know you are going on the Star Princess on June 11th doing the Baltic Cruise.

I do not know if they screen the checked luggage.
Whatever gets by them...you either drink it in your room or there is the corkage fee.

I hate mentioning this in case someone from a cruise ship line is reading this BUT...

My Travel Agent has a bottle of wine sent to my room every second day of my cruise.

This is compliments of my Travel Agent because she regards me as a special customer and also she tells the cruise ship that I have brought along about 10 other people ( not true!!)

I pay my Travel Agent for the wine that she gets at a much reduced rate!!
Yeah, Yeah ,I know , it's sneaky but it was her idea and not mine.

Besides, whether I have wine or not is not that big a thing with me.

Happy Travelling

Jacketwatch, I will want to know ALL about your trip.
Have you got private tour guides lined up for any of the Ports.
I know you have to have tour guides in St.Petersburg but how about the other places.

Thanks
Percy

I've mostly cruised with Celebrity and Royal Caribbean. It seems some enforce the rules & some don't. My experience with Celebrity is that they turn a blind eye. I haven't taken a Med cruise since 9/11, and with the new liquids policy, I would think everyone would be prepared by putting the "stuff" in their checked luggage.

Hi Percy: Nice to caht with you again too. You are always a pleasure to talk too. I will do a TR when we return. As for the excursions its like this. we are going with friends who are a bit shy about booking tours in St. petes w/ a Russian co so we decided to do the two day extravaganza thru Princess. Actually Denrus has the same tours w/ a smaller group and for less money but so be it. As fro the rest I looked into it and the other ports seem quite self doable. Basically for all of them you can get of, get a cab or shuttle into the town center and there is where most of the sights are and this fits us very well. We like to be on our own so I think this is what we will do. Try this site for great info:
www.portreviews.com.
When you read the info about the Baltic ports I think you will see what I mean. Cheers, Larry and thanks for remembering our date.

What if I bring bottles with screw tops? Will I have to pay a "screwage fee"? ;-)

Austin, good question. Maybe I should have uncorked my bottles in my stateroom prior to bringing them to the table. Or, just brought a glass full to the table, and gone back to my stateroom to recharge it.

Austin and Budman :

You guys are too funny!!!!! I got a chuckle from your comments!!

jacketwatch:

I think(like you said) that many of the ports you will be in are doable on your own from what I have read.

I think in Oslo you will be able to do the down town region on your own.

If you want to see the Bygdoy Peninsula where the ship museum is a short taxi ride is in order.

Also they say that the Vigeland Sculpture Park is nice to see and this is not walking distance from downtown.!

In Sweden ( Stockholm) I think that once you are in the old down town area called Gamla Stan , you will be able to walk around and see lots.
But to visit the Vasa Museum I think you will need a taxi.

I would like to see the Vasa Museum and see the ship that sank in the harbour on its maiden voyage after only going about 1/2 mile back in 1628.

Let me know if you get to see this place.
Let me know if they were plenty of taxi's and tour guides available when you disembarked at the various ports.

I was going to go on this same cruise in June but in early March the cabins I wanted were all sold out.

Besides I just got back from a full month(March) in South America and I thought June would be a bit too soon to go again.
I may try to go in late August, so take notes and let me know about the do's and don't's!!!

It is a pleasure reading your comments on other postings.
I read all your comments on your trip to the South Pacific.!
Good work

Take care
Percy

Percy, thanks for the update. I agree, the enforcement varies, I have cruised Holland America about ten times, and always bring on board from the port. But you do have to be discreet and keep on walking like you own the ship (my brother's advice)

Oddly enough-a couple of weeks ago Carnival just changed their non-alcoholic policy, no more water or soda allowed on board, they said it was way out of control, and I'm sure they want the extra $$...

So, Carnvial found that the soda and the water was getting way out of control!

I wonder if this means that the sugar high was turning everyone hyper or else the ship's pumps could no longer keep up with the bathroom effluent.

The Celebrity rules are way contradictory: print out the many.
We are taking two bottles of wine each on the Millennium next month.
M

Percy: Thank you for the tips. I didn't know about how to get to see the Vasa and really want to do so. Actually it was featured on a travel channel show about Stockholm. As it turns out it was a bad design; top heavy and not enough ballast. I too have heard that Gamla Stan is the place to see. I have a couple of Swedish acquaintainces and both said this as well. I can tell you one thing now though you probably know this. You can't get off the ship in St. Petes unless you have a pre-booked organized tour or have a Russian visa in your passport. A pre-booked tour there will suffice for a visa but I understand you can't go wandering off on your own. Also in Russia I would suggest paying for goods with cash only. Why? There is alot of CC fraud coming from Russia. Just recently I had to get my Visa cancelled and reissued because of fraudelent charges from MOSCOW!! Interestingly I was telling this to my PCP last month during my annual physical and HE had the same thing happen to him. See you later, Larry

Hi jacketwatch:

Yes, I know about the private tour guides in St.Petersburg and that if you use them , then you do not need a visa.

You still have to go through customs and show the customs officer that you do have a private tour guide waiting for you outside the building.
Thank you for tell me about the cash only purchase of any items.

I am counting on you putting out your usual excellent trip report when you get back.

Okay here is more info on the Vasa Ship Museum.

You can take a short ferry ride from Slussen Docks ( cost is $5.00) and then you get off the ferry and walk about 10 minutes right along the waterfront to the Museum.

The entrance fee is $13.00 and I hear it is very much worth seeing.

It is open everyday from 10 AM to 5 PM.
So if you get off your cruise ship early,then there is no use to rush over to the Vasa Museum ..but maybe walk around Gamla Stan and then do the Vasa Museum.

There is a nice restaurant there with reasonable prices.!

Take Care
Percy

Thank you again Percy. Now it seems we have St. Petes and Stockholm solidly planned. Larry

jacketwatch:

I am counting on you to give me some good guidance when you return.

I am booked on the Star Princess for August 20 to August 30th.

Please do not see everything,leave something for me.!!!

I will be going into Copenhagen a few days ealier and I have a private tour guide in Copenhagen when I arrive.

I also have St. Petersburg booked for two days with private tour guides so I will not need a visa there.

Right now I am trying to book a hotel in Copenhagen but I want it to be central and near the Stroget and Tivoli Gardens.

I called the Royal Radisson which is right across the street from the Tivoli but thye are all booked up for the 3 days I want !!!

Take care.
Will keep you posted.

Percy

What tour co. are you using in Russia Percy? We are doing the two day thing to the highlights offered by Princess. I would luv to see the Russian folk dancing show but we won't be able to. Darn!

Hi jacketwatch:

I am using Alla Tours and they just e-mailed me all the tickets and explained everything in detail.

I am doing the 2 day tour and I gave them a list of places I wanted to see and they told me "Good" ,because they are all in your 2 day tour that you will be doing!!!

Only two of us are going but now maybe another four will be going.

I told Alla that she can make a group of not more than 10 people, as long as they all speak English...but no more than 10.

This lower the price to less than 1/2 of what it is for 2 or 4 people in a group.

So our 2 day tour will be $285.00 per person US$, which I think is pretty good since it includes all costs of admission to palaces and places.

We are taking the "Strenuous Tour" as this is the one that you see the most over the 2 days.

Also I told her to reduce our lunch time to 1/2 hour, as we only need a quick lunch.. and she did.!

Let me know how you are making out.

Boy those hotels in Copenhagen are costly!

Take Care
Percy