Alcohol Policy Change?

[peachygreen]

I just got a tweet from Barb @ themeparkwriter that Sept 19th DCL is changing their alcohol carry on policy. Has anyone seen this elsewhere?


http://m.examiner.com/examiner/pm_60874/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=1i9lMvun


Sorry for the typo in the title. I was on my phone


ETA by jilljill: According to a poster this afternoon, Tuesday, DCL has recinded this new policy and has reverted back to the old policy of allowing any kind of liquor to be carried on.

Update - This is the official response from DCL 8/31/2011

The information regarding the change to our alcohol policy is no longer
applicable.

Our current policy regarding bringing alcohol onboard is still in place.

As a reminder, Disney Cruise Line does not prohibit Guests from bringing
alcohol onboard. Any fragile items (including alcohol) must be
hand-carried onboard in a day bag and/or carry-on, which cannot exceed
22" wide, 14" high and 9" deep. Beverage coolers are not permitted
onboard (cannot be checked or hand carried).

Disney Cruise Line reserves the right to remove fragile items (including
beverages) from the Guests' luggage and the items will be stored to
return to the Guest at the end of the voyage. Beverage containers are
considered fragile and such items have caused damage in checked luggage
(e.g. carbonated cans "explode", glass bottles break).

Guests who request a Wine Steward to open and serve a bottle of
champagne or wine that has been brought onboard will be charged a
corking fee. If the guest opens the bottle in the stateroom and brings
it into the dining room, including Remy or Palo, they will still be
charged a corking fee.

Alcohol brought onboard cannot be consumed in any lounge or public area.

I hope this information has been helpful. If you require further
assistance in planning your visit, please feel free to contact us.

Sincerely,

Wilma
Email Guest Services
Disney Cruise Line

 

[Nikki'sMommy]

NOOOOOOOO......

 

[eva]

Wow! I need to watch this thread for verification. We have a large group of adults cruising on the Fantasy next fall and were planning to bring quite a bit of alcohol with us. We've never brought on with us before. After reading the article, I wondered if they are now only going to allow wine or beer. I would love to bring a bottle of rum or vodka on with me.

 

[MoranClan]

I wonder how large of a bottle of wine per person.

 

[cathicool]

Ugh...when big companies make policy changes, they should let their clients know way in advance. I am a repeat DCL cruiser and feel that they should've made this change with their release of the 2013 cruises. I've already booked my 2011 and 2012 cruises and just feel it's unfair to make this change which impacts people with existing reservations. No one has a 2013 reservation and that is when they should've said they would be enforcing this new policy.

Just my 2 cents....

 

[cathicool]

I wonder how large of a bottle of wine per person.

Hehehe!

 

[designertravels]

Oh I hate that! We are always bringing PLENTY of our own beer and have a couple flasks in the suitcases. This would probably mean you could not buy a bottle at a port stop and bring it on either. I guess beer or wine would be ok.
Jill

 

[maria-fan-22]

I wonder how large of a bottle of wine per person.

10 Liters…

 

[Twinprincesses]

So no rum or anything????

 

[eva]

I wonder how large of a bottle of wine per person.

Great question! You could buy a Melchizedek! If you don't know what that is, check out the different sizes of wine bottles you can buy: Wikipedia Wine Bottles Now how would you transport a bottle that holds 40 regular bottles of wine?!?

 

[peachygreen]

I'm hoping we can get this substatiated from at least 1 additional source if it is true.

I do not like that they would make a policy change like this with such little notice. Sept 19th is only 3 weeks out from now. It could make a significant impact on someones budget to change this at that short a date. It also seems unfair if it is 2 bottles regardless of length of cruise. 1 bottles on a 3 night (or for that matter the 2 nights out of NYC) would be more reasonable then say 1 bottles for a 7,10 or 14 night cruise. That wouldn't even give you one glass per dinner on a longer cruise.

And I agree, what is considered a bottle? What about liqour,

I hate posting a rumor but I would normally consider the source to be reliable.

 

[cathicool]

It also seems unfair if it is 2 bottles regardless of length of cruise. 1 bottles on a 3 night (or for that matter the 2 nights out of NYC) would be more reasonable then say 1 bottles for a 7,10 or 14 night cruise. That wouldn't even give you one glass per dinner on a longer cruise.

I agree! The length of cruise should also have something to do with the amount of alcohol you can bring on board. But, just like when DCL started the "levels" of CC, they may not take length of cruise into consideration.

I have 5 cabins booked next April, 2012-- our family and a bunch of other families all spending Spring Break together. We are not big drinkers, but this still throws a monkey wrench into the works!

Also, we are sailing 10/2--- just shy of 5 weeks from now. We typically like to fly in the day before the cruise and go to the supermarket. We buy a case of water, some liquor and some snacks for the cruise. And just how will they "find" the liquor in your checked bags?

 

[Twinprincesses]

http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/faqs/prohibited-items/food-storage-containers/

This says "Alcohol is permitted on board. However, be aware that any fragile items (including bottled alcohol) must be hand-carried on board in a day bag and/or carry-on bag, the dimensions of which cannot exceed 22" wide, 14" high and 9" deep. Alcohol brought on board may not be consumed in any lounge or public area. Guests who arrive in the dining room with a bottle of champagne or wine that has been brought on board will be charged a corking fee of $20.00 per bottle. "

So it does nto say they are not allowed or restricted.

 

[Mickeygolf]

That is a real bummer if it's true. And I have no reason not to believe it. Just seems like we would have heard something from DCL before a tweet. At any rate this will be one of those threads that will be huge by the time it's all done.

If true why oh why couldn't they have waited until after our first cruise at the end of October We'll have a great time either way, but I was planning on bringing rum and vodka so it will impact the budget a bit.

 

[CurlyBlueEyes]

unless I see something in print on the DCL website, I'm bringing it with me. I sail October 1st and am trying to stay under budget. Bringing my alcohol with me will allow me to purchase spa treatments and other excursions that I otherwise wouldn't do.

I just got my cruise documents the other day and there was nothing in that booklet about no or restricted alcohol. I too would think they would have a large website announcement well in advance and not just a tweet

 

[tinkmom2]

We aren't big drinkers so I think the one wine bottle will be fine for us. So if you go to Nassau and buy rum or beer you can't carry it on? That's what we've done in the past.

 

[mmouse37]

http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/faqs/prohibited-items/food-storage-containers/

This says "Alcohol is permitted on board. However, be aware that any fragile items (including bottled alcohol) must be hand-carried on board in a day bag and/or carry-on bag, the dimensions of which cannot exceed 22" wide, 14" high and 9" deep. Alcohol brought on board may not be consumed in any lounge or public area. Guests who arrive in the dining room with a bottle of champagne or wine that has been brought on board will be charged a corking fee of $20.00 per bottle. "

So it does nto say they are not allowed or restricted.

This has been what the DCL website has said for the past year or so....if they are going to make a change to the booze policy, the website would not have been updated yet.

People...please remember that DCL has been very generous over the years with allowing us all to bring on unlimited amounts of alcohol and beverages. I, for one, do not think need to contact current reservation holders about this (unless this is sole reason people cruise DCL)..Honestly, are people going to cancel if this policy does go into effect?.....other cruiselines have always had the policy that DCL may now enforce. I am not really surprised, especially when I read that many people still do put booze in their checked luggage and not carried on like requested. But, it most likely is the bottom line that is driving this change, if it does indeed happen.

I wonder how the new policy will affect alcohol brought on in ports or if it will not be allowed at all now.

I think of it is as "it was good while it lasted" type thing...not "how dare they do this" type thing.

MJ

 

[FergusBC]

No way! We sail September 20! Argh...I wonder if we could find some tea-totalers in the embarkation lounge that would carry an extra bottle or two for us

 

[gdulaney]

I just called the Castaway Club number and the cast member stated that she had not heard of that policy change.

Maybe it's just being talked about?

Ginny

 

[kathi]

Disney charges more for their cruise than other "comprable" cruise lines. I have always assumed this is because 1) they do not have a casino and 2) they do not sell a ton of alcohol (since it's mostly family travel). Thus they do not make a big markup on booze or a killing on the casino games.

The corrolary to that (in my mind) was that you could bring on your own booze because they were charging more for my base price and not trying to make a ton of money off of me on booze.

I will be less inclined to automatically sign up for a Disney Cruise without checking out other lines if they change their policy on hand-carried alcohol. I love DCL, but I will love it a whole lot less if I pay more for my cabin and then get raked over the coals for my drinks.

Hopefully this is just an unsubstantiated rumor.