Booze for Your Cruise

Are passengers allowed to bring liquor aboard a ship to celebrate a birthday or special occasion?

by: Peter Greenberg | from: AARP | August 2, 2010

Q: Peter, I'm going on a cruise this summer, during which my wife will celebrate her birthday. I wanted to bring a special bottle of wine on board for the occasion. Do you think the ship will allow this?

–Lawrence Bordwell, Sarasota, Fla.

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A: Lawrence, back in the day you'd be able to do that with no problems. But in recent years, many cruise lines, including Carnival and Royal Caribbean, have banned all alcoholic drinks from being brought on board.

You didn't hear this from me, but some cruisers have said that they've been able to sneak small quantities of drinks on board in their checked luggage. But if you try to put it in your carry-on, it's pretty much guaranteed that it will be confiscated.

— Michael Dunning/Getty Images

Here's my advice.You are not bringing on a case of wine, but just one bottle. Pack it well inside your laundry in a checked bag and bring it on board. If worse comes to worse, offer to pay a corkage fee and explain it is just one bottle for your wife's birthday. If they still confiscate it, then the cruise line has obviously forgotten why you booked passage in the first place — to have a great experience. Let me know what happens either way, OK?

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