goddamn that's a good idea. I took a cruise this year and the alcohol restrictions pissed me off.

I had to get smashed at every port right before I got back on the boat.

9/23/2011 11:25:41 AM

Has the mouthwash trick worked for everyone?

do they actually go through your bags looking for alcohol etc?

9/23/2011 11:33:41 AM

I knew we brought some on as 17 year old kids...but that was 10+ years ago. And one girl got caught.

I'd have to imagine it's a lot tougher these days.

9/23/2011 11:39:28 AM

I would also like to know why NCL sucks. I'm hoping because I'm not a cruise veteran, it won't be so bad for me. My aunt and uncle just went on a cruise through NCL and loved it.

9/23/2011 11:43:45 AM

The last cruise I went on, my friend got her "mouthwash" taken away. But my camelbak full of rum made it through. It totally depends on the cruise line and how detailed they are with checking.

We've bought liquor in the port (making sure it was an all plastic bottle/cap - or pour into an empty soda bottle) and put it in our bathing suit bottoms. This works best when wearing a flowy dress.

Carnival does let each 21+ passenger bring on a 750ml bottle of wine or champagne during embarkation (not each port). It just has to be in your carry-on luggage when you are boarding.

9/23/2011 11:43:56 AM

Quote :

"Has the mouthwash trick worked for everyone? do they actually go through your bags looking for alcohol etc?"

We've been on a few and never had probs. Even with ~2 gallons of mouthwash total

Just in case, I make another bottle and write "Enema Solution" on it... I figure if they have the balls to ask about that - then they can take it

[Edited on September 23, 2011 at 12:15 PM. Reason : Also, I would want to go on a cruise with ^ ]

9/23/2011 12:14:34 PM

on our last Princess cruise I had several bottles of liquor & wine in the bag (padded & waterproofed) we checked at the port & I carried on a 6-pack of beer. Had no issues getting any of it aboard. I'd read online previously about people just carrying cases on beer on with them in open bags (evidently Princess doesn't consider beer alcohol?). Worked great as I knew Princess would only have 5-6 kinds of beer on board. Saved a bundle too.

9/23/2011 2:01:29 PM

the one upside to Disney cruises is that you can bring as much alcohol as you want. The guy in front of me in line when boarding had his kid in a baby bjorn and had a case of beer in each hand. I had a bottle of liquor in each of my backpack mesh pockets. They understand that parents need it to cope. (actually it wasn't anywhere near as in-your-face-disney as i thought it'd be)

9/23/2011 2:06:30 PM

To handle that many kids in one place, I would need alcohol 24/7.

9/23/2011 2:24:54 PM

If you have kids, the Disney Dream rocks! Actually, the clubs for kids/teens are almost cooler than the ones for adults.

If you need a casino, then it's not for you. Otherwise, I highly recommend Disney for families. Amazing array of entertainment options. And the dining options are excellent.

I think the older Disney ships are a little better. Prefer the Magic over the Dream. The pool area aboard the Dream is a bit more crowded.

9/23/2011 2:29:57 PM

The Magic is the one we were on.

Love that they had significant chunks of the ship that were no children allowed.

9/23/2011 3:16:25 PM

after doing some quick pricing of various cruises, I would have to say we would need to leave the kids at home. For the size room we would need with the kids, it significantly ups the price. Disney wanted like $7k

I think I would rather just pick a destination and do a "normal" vacation for that price.

9/23/2011 3:56:51 PM

Most cruises you can add an all you can drink option...my friend paid 500 for it and we all drank the drinks

9/23/2011 9:15:00 PM

I've been on 4 cruises. The one thing you can bank on doing a lot of is EATING. I don't think I was ever "hungry" on the cruise because food is always available. You can eat as much of it as you want. The last one I went on was in December and it was Carnival. They had a 24 hour pizzeria and icecream machine.. the pool grill always had burgers, chicken tenders, mongolian stirfry (made to order), etc...

At night they had sushi - granted it was not the highest quality, but decent..

Also, as someone else already mentioned, water, juice, coffee, tea is included

sodas and alcohol are extra charge... You can buy a "soda card" for like 20-30 bucks and then you get unlimited sodas. Hint: only one person get this card.. that person can just get a soda and then give it to you. I was on a cruise with the whole family last december and that's what we did.. just don't make it so obvious that it is what you are doing.

on the last carnival cruise i went on, when i ordered a bud light, they gave you one of those aluminum bottles.. larger than a 12oz bottle.. i think it was more like 18oz... they were pricey at first because they add tax and fees...
however, once we got out to sea they didn't have to charge tax and the price of the drinks went down 1-2 bucks....
You could also order a "bucket" of beer (4 beers) for like 20 bucks... yeah it is pricey, but oh well, you're on vacation...splurge a little

9/23/2011 9:43:21 PM

Just returned from our honeymoon on the Norwegian Epic. I have to say...the freestyle dining is the way to go. There were times where we ate a late lunch at the port so we weren't hungry until 8:30 or 9:00. The free food was mediocre and they definitely didn't know how to cook a medium steak, but the specialty restaurants were amazing. They were anywhere from $10-25 extra, but well worth it. Entertainment was great too. Blue Man Group was hilarious...definitely the best entertainment on board. I was also impressed with the customer service. We immediately went to guest services upon boarding because British Airways lost my husband's luggage (from the night before) so we had to fill out some paperwork. It was no fault of their own, but Norwegian gave him a toiletry bag, a t-shirt, and free laundry services. He ended up buying clothes in the duty-free shop since he didn't get his luggage until the first port and they provided him with a sheet stating the date and place they received his luggage as proof for British Airways. We used rum runners for liquor in our suitcases and they worked well, although even after buying about 6 bottles of wine in Florence, we went right on through security and took it to our room. Same with Limoncello in another port, which surprised me since everyone said NCL was pretty uptight about it.

10/28/2011 10:16:43 AM

Which itinerary did you sail?

10/28/2011 11:46:20 AM

Our itinerary got changed bc of the hurricane..

Quote :

"The revised itinerary will be as follows: Saturday – Port Canaveral Sunday – Day at Sea (Formal Night) Monday – Day at Sea (Halloween) Tuesday – St. Maarten (Pirates IN the Caribbean) Wednesday – Tortola Thursday – Day at Sea (Semi-Formal Night) Friday – Disney's Castaway Cay Saturday – Port Canaveral "

We were supposed to do Port Canaveral> Key West> Cozumel> Cayman Islands> Castaway Cay> Port Canaveral


Anyone familiar with St Maarten and Tortola? We are planning on doing that bar in St. Maarten where the airplanes land right next to it

10/28/2011 12:05:26 PM

Ours was:

Sunday - Barcelona (depart)
Monday - Day at Sea
Tuesday - Livorno (Florence/Pisa)
Wednesday - Civitavecchia (Rome)
Thursday - Naples
Friday - Day at Sea
Saturday - Palma, Mallorca
Sunday - Barcelona (return)

10/28/2011 12:29:02 PM

I loved the St. Maartan stop on my last cruise. We took a taxi van ($5/person) to the French side of the island (St. Martin) to Orient Bay. The beach was amazing! For $15, we got two chairs with umbrella for the day and two rum punches. The French side is more liberal than the Dutch, so there are more nude beaches. I liked getting rid of my tan lines.

10/28/2011 12:35:32 PM

Unfortunately, the little lady is more Dutch-like and I probably can't sway her to the French side of things

10/28/2011 1:10:30 PM

Doing a 5-night cruise to the Bahamas with the girl in Feb on Carnival Fantasy.

Questions:

Cheaper to book shore excursions through the cruise line or with the locals?

Best way to get alcohol on board? Can someone confirm Carnival allows a 750ml bottle of wine per person to be carried on?

Is there a need to keep significant cash on hand for the cruise if I open an expense account with a CC?

1/3/2012 2:26:01 PM

Quote :

"Can someone confirm Carnival allows a 750ml bottle of wine per person to be carried on? "

Confirmed

Cheaper to book shore excursions locals than through the cruise line. But people tend to go through the cruise itself because you get 1. Security 2. Convenience 3. Money back guarantee (if you have to change your route, weather, etc.) and 4. Guarantee that it will fit your ship's itinerary by going through the ship (i.e. have to be back on the boat by 4 or whatever).

No need for significant amounts of cash ON the cruise, but you will want some for shore excursions, island purchases, and tips.

Where are you going? Being Carnival, if you stop at Half Moon Key, it's awesome. Sit on the beach, and drink. The water is beautiful and it's the perfect island to skip the pre-paid excursions. Nassau was not my favorite, it's dirty and the locals are very pushy, but the shopping is good.

1/3/2012 2:33:56 PM

^Agreed

Quote :

"Best way to get alcohol on board?"

I've had the best luck with a camelbak pouch. I've seen shampoo/conditioner or mouthwash bottles work sometimes, but other times they've been taken away.

Quote :

"Can someone confirm Carnival allows a 750ml bottle of wine per person to be carried on?"

This is 100% fact. HOWEVER, be sure you bring it to the boat in your carry-on bag. If you leave it in your checked bag, they will take it away.

1/3/2012 3:04:59 PM

My Dad had a 24 pack of water, and he filled the interior bottles with vodka. However, they will check random bottles, so you run the risk of losing all of it.

1/3/2012 3:11:48 PM

Seen one dude fill a (fake) colonoscopy bag with kaluha. Whatever works.

1/3/2012 4:41:42 PM

Just FYI, in addition to taking a bottle of wine on board, you can also take can sodas.

However, don't be a moron and forget that your backpack is filled with can soda and slam it down on the pavement while waiting in line...
"Hey man, something is running out of your backpack"
Yeah, that would be 3 dr. pepper cans that just busted open all over my travel documents

1/3/2012 4:51:16 PM

I cruised on the Fantasy last summer - good times. We left out of Charleston, so it was a much more 'Southern' crowd than most cruises. Going on the Freedom on Feb. 4th!

And those rum flask things that look like ziploc bags are ftmfw

1/3/2012 5:12:47 PM

each person is allowed 2 bottles of wine. thats better than nothing.

if you do mouthwash or water. it needs to be sealed.

the problem with water is the bubbles. thats why they've got to be stored in the interior of a 24 pack like someone mentioned... depending on the checker, they'll pick the whole case up and shake it expecting to see smaller bubbles.

there is a way to get the caps off with the seals still intact. involves some work. but well worth the money you'll save. it involves a stove with hot hot water and working the caps & seals off at the same time.

the only negative to the mouthwash is the smell/taste of mint. even the clear ones have faint smells.

1/3/2012 9:09:19 PM

Charleston has been a pretty popular port, especially for folks around here. They need to bring in more ships besides the Fantasy and offer more cruises from there.
A lot easier to get to than Florida and other ports.

1/3/2012 9:14:02 PM

I took a cruise last month out of Baltimore. Nice alternative to Charleston if you are trying to find a port you can drive to from NC. Plus IIRC only Carnival sails out of Charleston with the Fantasy, whereas Carnival and Royal Caribbean both sail out of Baltimore.

1/3/2012 10:28:16 PM

My dad and his girlfriend take a couple empty wine bottles and fill them with liquor and then go to a wine making store and buy corks and those heat seal wrappers that shrink when you run the hairdryer over them. His girlfriend also usually stashes a pint in her pants.
.

1/3/2012 11:31:37 PM

Yeah heading out of Charleston on the 10th of Feb. Pretty excited about it...this will be my first cruise. Going with a group of friends...the stops are Freeport and Nassau.

So i can bring two bottles of wine per person or just one per person?

^ thats a pretty sweet idea. Might give that a shot.

1/4/2012 9:21:20 AM

From the Carnival Website:

Quote :

"Liquor and Beverage Policy Bringing Alcohol On Board - Embarkation Day: Guests are prohibited from bringing alcoholic beverages on board. However, at the beginning of the cruise during embarkation day, guests (21 years of age and older) may bring on board one bottle (750ml) of wine or champagne, per person, only in their carry-on luggage. A $10 corkage fee per bottle will be charged should you wish to consume this wine in the main dining room; $14 corkage fee per bottle in the steakhouse. (A corkage fee is a charge exacted at a restaurant for every bottle of liquor served that was not bought on the premises) On embarkation day, each guest may bring a small quantity of non-alcoholic beverages on board and only in their carry-on luggage. A small quantity is considered a maximum of 12 bottles and/or cans, 20 ounces each or less. All alcohol/hard liquor/beer (sealed, unopened bottles/cans), wine/champagne over the allowable 1-bottle per guest (sealed, unopened bottles) or excessive quantities of non-alcoholic beverages (over 12 per person, sealed, unopened bottles/cans) will be confiscated and stored for safekeeping until the end of the voyage. The retained item(s) will be available for collection onboard in a designated location on the morning of debarkation. Unsealed liquids that are prohibited will be discarded, as well as any unclaimed items left after the voyage, and no compensation will be given in either case. "

1/4/2012 9:39:29 AM

They do charge the corkage fee if you drink it in the dining room. However, you can have your cabin attendant bring it to you chilled any night you want it, if you tell him a day in advance.

1/4/2012 9:49:06 AM

^ That or you can call room service and ask for a bucket of ice. I usually do that the first night, then I have the big ice bucket anytime I need it. Most cabin attendants will fill up the bucket anytime you need it (they are always out in the halls), so I do that right after I get back from an excursion (or wherever) and then it's chilled for pre- and post-dinner wine.

1/4/2012 10:48:50 AM

so what are fun shore excursions in Freeport or Nassau? Interested in snorkeling or something requiring physical activity.

1/4/2012 11:33:38 AM

Having been to Nassau, I would recommend snorkeling if you're into that. The water is really nice, and the city is absolutely nothing to write home about. When we went, I decided that we'd do something different and just rent a couple scooters and explore the city on our own. Bad idea. Bad, Bad idea. Really easy to get lost, people drive like maniacs (by US standards), and there's just not much to see unless you know exactly where you are going.

There are some places we've been where that would have been a reasonable alternative to a guided excursion, but Nassau is not one of those places. On the other hand, if you like shopping for stupid cheap liquor and clothing, St. Maarten is definitely a great place to DIY your day. We did the scooter thing at Key West and that was also a good time. If you're on a tight schedule and have a bit of a plan, a little urban exploration can be a good time.

1/4/2012 11:55:26 AM

I have been on a few cruises and for the most part they were fun. The biggest thing when planning one is to get on a bigger ship that takes a lot of stops at port and has the fewest days at sea, and you'll have a great time. Also, the food and entertainment while at sea needs to be excellent or you will have a bad time for sure.

1/4/2012 12:17:43 PM

We are trying to take a cruise this spring. How long does it take to get a passport nowadays? I have never had one.

1/4/2012 12:40:18 PM

I'd plan on 6-8 weeks, just to be safe. You can get an expedited one for an extra ~$100 or so that'll get there in 2-3 weeks.

1/4/2012 12:45:53 PM

I wrapped a bunch of airplane bottles in socks last time I went on one, that worked. The mouthwash bottle (with food coloring) worked for my brother.

1/4/2012 12:55:16 PM

^^^ You won't need a passport unless you're sailing from a foreign port. I guess it's good to have if you get stranded at a port and have to fly back to the US, but I rarely take my passport off the boat anyway when I'm in the Caribbean. But if you're going to get one, the sooner the better.

^ I've seen the mouthwash with food coloring used successfully. With airplane bottles anywhere on your person, you have to be sure they don't have metal caps because those will go off in the metal detectors.

1/4/2012 1:35:26 PM

jesus it's a cruise not a football game.

1/4/2012 1:51:45 PM

^^Every cruise I've ever been on required a passport regardless of where you are coming from or going to.

1/4/2012 4:18:45 PM

In most cases of traveling to the Caribbean, the cruiseline will take an official copy of your birth certificate in lieu of a passport. However, in the event someone in your party is required to stay on the island for medical treatment, or has to be flown home, etc., you will not be able to get a flight out without a passport. About half of our party did not have passports for the Bahamas/Grand Turk cruise, and it was not a problem. It should be on your cruiseline's FAQ page to be sure.

1/4/2012 4:23:19 PM

I don't understand people's resistance to getting a passport. If the reasoning is a lack of desire to visit other countries, I really really wonder what the hell is wrong with you.

1/4/2012 4:27:48 PM

Perhaps they don't want to pay $165 for something they don't have to have? I agree, if you can afford it, I don't see a reason not to get one. You never know when you'll need it.

1/4/2012 4:31:25 PM

on a closed loop cruise (starting and ending at the same US port) you dont need a passport, just two forms of ID. My wife didnt have a passport with her married name and rather than paying for another, we just did that on our cruise in December.

1/4/2012 9:51:36 PM

If your wife still has her old license with her maiden name and it hasn't expired, she can always travel internationally with her passport. That's what I plan to do anyway since they both don't expire for a while. I've also heard of people showing their marriage certificate with their passport...might be a hassle though.

1/5/2012 10:47:04 AM

^That's what happened with us. We went on a cruise last Christmas and had been married 2.5 years, but her passport still had her maiden name on it.

She just took the marriage certificate with her and it was fine. Wasn't that big of a hassle since we have a few extra copies of it in envelopes for matters like that.

1/5/2012 4:34:56 PM