How to carry wine on board

[Mary Smith]

Should you pack wine in carryon or in your checked bag? Which does Royal allow?

[KLA]

I've typically seen it recommended that you pack the wine in your carry on rather than your checked bag to avoid being sent to the 'naughty room'.

[rjac]

2 hours ago, klaconqueso said:

I've typically seen it recommended that you pack the wine in your carry on rather than your checked bag to avoid being sent to the 'naughty room'.

Putting full wine bottles in your checked bag could be disastrous. Imagine a bottle of red wine breaking in your bag, with all your dress clothes. Avoid the disaster and put it in a carry on bag. 

[DocLC]

Another reason to take it in your carry-on, besides the possibility of breakage, is to avoid needing to make a trip to the "naughty room" if they suspect you're bringing on more than you're allowed or something beyond what's allowed.

[rjac]

2 hours ago, DocLC said:

Another reason to take it in your carry-on, besides the possibility of breakage, is to avoid needing to make a trip to the "naughty room" if they suspect you're bringing on more than you're allowed or something beyond what's allowed.

Just out of curiosity, the "naughty room" has been mentioned twice in this thread. Are whips and chains involved or RC staff drinking your "smuggled alcohol" while you view it in your cabin on the tv? 

[DocLC]

1 hour ago, rjac said:

Just out of curiosity, the "naughty room" has been mentioned twice in this thread. Are whips and chains involved or RC staff drinking your "smuggled alcohol" while you view it in your cabin on the tv? 

Only on certain themed cruises. ;)

It's where they ask guests to come down to have their luggage inspected and seize anything that's not allowed. 

[FLGooner]

Carry on all day long, as others have said do you really want two bottles of red wine all over your clothes? Interestingly, last cruise I had 4 bottles of wine in my carry on and security just asked how many in our party, I said 2 suites and they said ok and waved me through, without asking for any documentation :)

[BrianAlt]

You're actually supposed to carry it on with you.  They usually make you take it out and show it to security.

[Matt]

11 minutes ago, BrianAlt said:

You're actually supposed to carry it on with you.  They usually make you take it out and show it to security.

Correct. If you put it in your checked luggage, your luggage will be flagged by security, and then you will have to go down to the security check on the ship to claim it.  This means it will take forever to actually get your luggage.

In short, only pack your wine in your carry on.

[KLA]

17 hours ago, rjac said:

Putting full wine bottles in your checked bag could be disastrous. Imagine a bottle of red wine breaking in your bag, with all your dress clothes. Avoid the disaster and put it in a carry on bag. 

There's actually a thing called "wine diapers" that protect against this kind of thing.

[rjac]

36 minutes ago, klaconqueso said:

There's actually a thing called "wine diapers" that protect against this kind of thing.

Son of a gun! $17.99 on Amazon, we learn something new each day on this forum. Why screw around with something like this in your suitcase when you can legally just carry them on board? 

[KLA]

1 hour ago, rjac said:

Son of a gun! $17.99 on Amazon, we learn something new each day on this forum. Why screw around with something like this in your suitcase when you can legally just carry them on board? 

This is true! BUT, may be a helpful thing for those who are flying in and bringing wine from home. 

[BrianAlt]

1 hour ago, klaconqueso said:

This is true! BUT, may be a helpful thing for those who are flying in and bringing wine from home. 

Better to just find a liquor store in the port city and buy it there.  Got some AWESOME wine in Barcelona for less than the "wine diapers" cost.

[rjac]

1 hour ago, klaconqueso said:

This is true! BUT, may be a helpful thing for those who are flying in and bringing wine from home. 

That's true.

[Matt]

46 minutes ago, BrianAlt said:

Better to just find a liquor store in the port city and buy it there.  Got some AWESOME wine in Barcelona for less than the "wine diapers" cost.

Agreed

[KLA]

4 hours ago, BrianAlt said:

Better to just find a liquor store in the port city and buy it there.  Got some AWESOME wine in Barcelona for less than the "wine diapers" cost.

Not disagreeing and I also do the same, but if it's a case of "special" wine or "special occasion" type of wine that has some sentimental value or whatever, this is also a solution. 

[FManke]

21 hours ago, klaconqueso said:

There's actually a thing called "wine diapers" that protect against this kind of thing.

I needed "wine diapers" once after about 6 bottles of wine! But that story is for another day!

[mworkman]

On 6/10/2017 at 9:32 AM, FManke said:

I needed "wine diapers" once after about 6 bottles of wine! But that story is for another day!

Pic's or it didn't happen! LOL

 

[FManke]

14 minutes ago, mworkman said:

Pic's or it didn't happen! LOL

 

Believe me. You wouldn't have wanted any pictures of that!

[RestingBird]

12 hours ago, mworkman said:

Pic's or it didn't happen! LOL

 

lol, my friends and I say "pics or shens".  Show us the proof or we'll be pulling some shenanigans on you for trying to fool us.

[BrianAlt]

On 6/9/2017 at 7:06 PM, klaconqueso said:

Not disagreeing and I also do the same, but if it's a case of "special" wine or "special occasion" type of wine that has some sentimental value or whatever, this is also a solution. 

I can see that.  Especially since the bottle you're taking with you is probably $200+.

[Longhorn Cruiser]

This is the policy:

Guests may bring personal wine or champagne onboard only on embarkation day, limited to two (2) bottles (no boxes) of 750 ml each per stateroom. Wine should be brought onboard via carry on if possible. Luggage containing wine or champagne will not be delivered to the stateroom and guests will need to retrieve their luggage from security once the ship has set sail.

Guests are not allowed to bring beer, hard liquor, fortified wines (vermouth, sherry, sake, and port wines) or nonalcoholic beverages onboard for consumption or any other use

Additional bottles of wine beyond two (2) bottles that are brought onboard or any alcoholic beverages purchased in ports-of-call or from Shops On Board will be stored by the ship and delivered to your stateroom on the last day of the sailing.

Security may inspect the bottles and if they appear to have been tampered with, they will not be allowed to be brought onboard. Security may also inspect containers (water bottles, soda bottles, mouthwash, luggage etc.) and will dispose of containers holding alcohol. Alcoholic beverages seized on embarkation day will not be returned.

[rjac]

On 6/9/2017 at 7:06 PM, klaconqueso said:

Not disagreeing and I also do the same, but if it's a case of "special" wine or "special occasion" type of wine that has some sentimental value or whatever, this is also a solution. 

OK, 2 bottles per stateroom. If the husband has two bottles and the wife has two bottles, and they go through security at the port and getting on board the ship separately, will they get caught? From what I remember the number of bottles of wine are not tallied against a cabin number by neither security scans. 

[Matt]

17 hours ago, rjac said:

OK, 2 bottles per stateroom. If the husband has two bottles and the wife has two bottles, and they go through security at the port and getting on board the ship separately, will they get caught? From what I remember the number of bottles of wine are not tallied against a cabin number by neither security scans. 

Likely not.  In my experience, they have never recorded how many you bring on.  That being said, can't promise anything and having to throw away bottles would be pretty awful.

[Great_Canadian_Pat]

I'm NOT condoning this, just sharing an experience I'd heard about that got 2 bottles of personal vodka on board...

All of the things you'd need can be purchased from a local wine bottling center and will likely cost you around $20-$30 to start, then about $10 each time after. What you'll need is:

- Dark colored wine bottle(s)

- cork and bottle corker (about $15)

- custom printed bottle labels

- beverage of choice

- funnel

- heat wrap for top of bottle

- hairdryer or heat gun

Fill liquor or beverage of choice into dark colored wine bottles using the funnel. Use the corker and cork to seal the bottle. Use the heat wrap and place over the top of the bottle, followed by applying heat from the hairdryer/heat gun until it is sealed firmly. Use the personally printed labels on the bottle to add your personal touch to the bottle and voila! Sneaky wine!

This has been proven to work in the past, but please treat the above "recipe" as purely a fun story and not something that should be tried. 

Happy Boozing Croozing,

GCP

[Matt]

17 hours ago, Great_Canadian_Pat said:

I'm NOT condoning this, just sharing an experience I'd heard about that got 2 bottles of personal vodka on board...

Goes without saying this is against the rules of the cruise line.  

My personal thoughts are like it or not, the drink prices are what they are and you can elect to limit your drinking to on shore and save a ton of money. 

[monorailmedic]

Aside from any moral argument, I personally don't find it worth it to bring booze onboard (beyond what is permitted). I've done it in the past, for sure. Ultimately I realized that I was then stuck with one or two options, only in my room, and was schlepping liquids around. The end result was pretty much always that I had a large bar tab in addition to the hassle. I guess in summary, yup, there are ways to do it, but I don't find it worth it either. As I get older, I also feel slightly more guilty about it, especially around the lack of beverage gratuities paid out to the hard working staff.

[Great_Canadian_Pat]

 

3 hours ago, Matt said:

Goes without saying this is against the rules of the cruise line.  

My personal thoughts are like it or not, the drink prices are what they are and you can elect to limit your drinking to on shore and save a ton of money. 

 

2 hours ago, monorailmedic said:

Aside from any moral argument, I personally don't find it worth it to bring booze onboard (beyond what is permitted). I've done it in the past, for sure. Ultimately I realized that I was then stuck with one or two options, only in my room, and was schlepping liquids around. The end result was pretty much always that I had a large bar tab in addition to the hassle. I guess in summary, yup, there are ways to do it, but I don't find it worth it either. As I get older, I also feel slightly more guilty about it, especially around the lack of beverage gratuities paid out to the hard working staff.

It would definitely not be worth the hassle as from what I understand, mix still had to be sourced, and then poured in secret. Save the worry and headache and buy a drink package if it's that important! Plus, support RCL! Thanks for the insights fellas! 

GCP

[cmcclelland]

On 6/8/2017 at 4:38 PM, klaconqueso said:

I've typically seen it recommended that you pack the wine in your carry on rather than your checked bag to avoid being sent to the 'naughty room'.

we always carry on 1 or 2 bottles depending on cruise length & also have ordered the scotch pkg for the room for Bud - if he wants drink before the D Lounge hours ... we're not big drinkers so are satisfied with that for the day & the drinks before dinner ... & whatever they offer at C&A party & over on Coco Cay, etc.