Comments on: Ten Tips For Cutting Cruise Costs http://www.shipcriticblog.com/ten-tips-for-cutting-cruise-costs-259/ Cruise Chat, News & Bargains Wed, 20 Aug 2008 08:52:06 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Tbone http://www.shipcriticblog.com/ten-tips-for-cutting-cruise-costs-259/#comment-863 Tbone Fri, 02 May 2008 14:54:12 +0000 http://www.shipcriticblog.com/ten-tips-for-cutting-cruise-costs/#comment-863 Purchasing alcohol; beer, wine, mixed drinks, onboard is ridiculously pricey. We recently cruised the Mexican Riviera and our barbill was $800 for 7 days. I guess you could accuse us of being heavy drinkers, but I thought we were just having a good time. :) Some tips I've gleaned from people to keep your barbill down are: 1. If you plan to drink wine with dinner bring a case of wine onboard. Most cruise lines allow one bottle per passenger, but I've never seen security balk when people bring on an entire case. Usually there's a corking fee at the table, maybe $15, but thats better than paying $55 for a bottle of Robert Mondavi that I can get at Safeway for $20. 2. Bag checks coming back from port seem to be more lax than the embarkation bag checks. So when you're in port be sure to purchase some cheap booze and bring it back to the ship. On our last cruise I witnessed a man carrying on a case of Modelo Negro onboard from Cabo San Lucas. He breezed right through security with the beer under his arm. I also talked to numerous people on the boat(Golden Princess) who said they passed bottles of hard alcohol through the security check with no problems. FYI, the punishment if they do flag your alcohol is that they secure it for the rest of the cruise and it is returned to you when you disembark. So even if you do get caught you don't lose your bottle. 3. My least favorite tip, but its valuable. My wife and I have put rum and vodka into water bottles and carried them on in our carry on's and we've never had a problem. Once onboard I usually purchase a soda card and carry a flask with me to mix rum and coke or vodka and sprite/7 up. No one seems to mind. I know its sneaky, but the drink prices are a little steep for my wallet. Purchasing alcohol; beer, wine, mixed drinks, onboard is ridiculously pricey. We recently cruised the Mexican Riviera and our barbill was $800 for 7 days. I guess you could accuse us of being heavy drinkers, but I thought we were just having a good time. :)

Some tips I’ve gleaned from people to keep your barbill down are:

1. If you plan to drink wine with dinner bring a case of wine onboard. Most cruise lines allow one bottle per passenger, but I’ve never seen security balk when people bring on an entire case. Usually there’s a corking fee at the table, maybe $15, but thats better than paying $55 for a bottle of Robert Mondavi that I can get at Safeway for $20.

2. Bag checks coming back from port seem to be more lax than the embarkation bag checks. So when you’re in port be sure to purchase some cheap booze and bring it back to the ship. On our last cruise I witnessed a man carrying on a case of Modelo Negro onboard from Cabo San Lucas. He breezed right through security with the beer under his arm. I also talked to numerous people on the boat(Golden Princess) who said they passed bottles of hard alcohol through the security check with no problems. FYI, the punishment if they do flag your alcohol is that they secure it for the rest of the cruise and it is returned to you when you disembark. So even if you do get caught you don’t lose your bottle.

3. My least favorite tip, but its valuable. My wife and I have put rum and vodka into water bottles and carried them on in our carry on’s and we’ve never had a problem. Once onboard I usually purchase a soda card and carry a flask with me to mix rum and coke or vodka and sprite/7 up. No one seems to mind. I know its sneaky, but the drink prices are a little steep for my wallet.

]]>