Alcohol Policy Change?

[Twinprincesses]

I guess this includes everytime your board the ship? So at each port an adult could purchase addtional alcohol and bring it on board as long as you follow the rules.

Do they not take it till the end of your cruise now??? I have never bought alcohol onboard but once on Royal Caribbean. On that ship they took it and gave it back at the end of the cruise.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Just sent an email. Hope everyone else will too. I am so aggravated by this and it doesn't even effect me as I never carry alcohol on board. If DCL wants to stand above the rest then they need to stop their cutbacks.

OK, just sent email.

Personally, DH & I have never brought onboard any alcohol, but I think the original policy is just another example of the the uniqueness of DCL and should continue.

 

[Pudo]

There's a small part of me that doesn't have a problem with this. One of the bigger problems DCL has always had is teenagers getting into their parent's stash.

It is not unusual for teens to be up all night, getting drunk, and rowdy. My guess is if this ever happens that parents will be either less willing to share or will keep a better eye on what they have.

 

[plutolovr]

Wow.....and people accuse CARNIVAL of being nothing but a bunch of drunks!!


Pretty darn funny, if you ask me. DCL is sooooo wonderful....until they take away your liquor.

Ahhh, the difference is on Disney we are all "cabin drunks."

My DH and I have never sailed with kids, they're grown and out of the house, but I can understand many of these parents wanting to zone-out in their cabin with a few drinks after a day with their kids.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Do they not take it till the end of your cruise now??? I have never bought alcohol onboard but once on Royal Caribbean. On that ship they took it and gave it back at the end of the cruise.

DCL policy (old policy) was that you could bring onboard (at embarcation or at ports) as much as you want to have onboard, you just had to hand-carry in onboard. New policy is limiting how much and what you can bring onboard.

 

[cathicool]

Ok, so at this point, right now, the alcohol restriction has been lifted?????

I'm going to reiterate what I said earlier- they should make this change (if they feel they must) when they release the booking dates for 2013. At least people will "know" what they are buying. For those of us who have already made and paid for reservations thru 2012, it's wrong to impose this change on us.

Again, we are not heavy (or really even moderate) drinkers, but I like the control of bringing what I like and the amount I want. Most of the time, at least 50% of our liquor brought on board is left in our stateroom unconsumed/unopened. But it still beats buying it on the ship, plus I like leaving it for the stateroom host (in hopes s/he gets some time to unwind and share with his or her buddies).

 

[Twinprincesses]

I understand limitations and not allowing the bottles in public areas.

 

[Stinasmom]

Wow, I just read all 15 pages of this thread and went through a roller coaster of emotion from major disappointment to hopefulness!

I will send an email to encourage them to NOT change their alcohol policy but to emphasize NO breakable bottles in checked luggage.

We are "quality" alcohol drinkers and have been looking forward to our Alaskan Cruise next summer out of Seattle because we can drive to the port and therefore bring LOCAL wines and LOCAL craft brews.

The quality of wine and beer in the Pacific NW can't be beat.

It would be a huge bummer to be limited this much. And it is not fair that the amount per person would be the same no matter the length of the cruise.

So, here's to DCL ... DON'T take away this perk!! PLEASE!!

 

[Nikki'sMommy]

Ahhh, the difference is on Disney we are all "cabin drunks."



Speak for yourself...I'm just a drunk...(JUST KIDDING)

 

[Leshaface]

I too, am sincerely disappointed with this new change. However, lets make our voices heard and send an email. It only took me five minutes to do so and maybe something can happen.

 

[Harlemgirl720]

Just sent my e-mail. I am going on the 5 night new years eve cruise and I know one bottle will not suffice. I am taking my 11yr old son and 4 yr old grandson. ALONE. I will not leave them in the cabin alone. Thus reserving a veranda.

I was going to add the wine plan to my Dining plan. I am staying at my home resort prior to cruise. I was told they bring the bottle to your room (was told by CM and still trying to get someone to verify). That was my way on bringing wine on board. I get a bottle of wine a day. Oh lord. There for 6 nights I hardly think I can drink a bottle a day.

So if they do enforce it, I guess I will be handing out bottles of wine at the port.

 

[gdulaney]

I have to say that I'm starting to get offended by the assumption that because I want to bring alcohol that I'm a drunk. We should be able to post our joys or grips without being judged.

As a previous poster stated... take whatever "item" you really like (e.g. Disney quality entertainment, first run movies, free soda station, etc) and then attach either a limitation or cost to it.

Do you cruise "just to see first run movies"? No....but you might really enjoy it and if you were told you could only attend one free movie, you might get upset. Or if you were told movies would be $ 5.00 per person, you might get upset. Especially if you have 2 or 3 children that want to see the movie....and then they want to see another movie....

 

[declansdad]

I have to say that I'm starting to get offended by the assumption that because I want to bring alcohol that I'm a drunk. We should be able to post our joys or grips without being judged.

As a previous poster stated... take whatever "item" you really like (e.g. Disney quality entertainment, first run movies, free soda station, etc) and then attach either a limitation or cost to it.

Do you cruise "just to see first run movies"? No....but you might really enjoy it and if you were told you could only attend one free movie, you might get upset. Or if you were told movies would be $ 5.00 per person, you might get upset. Especially if you have 2 or 3 children that want to see the movie....and then they want to see another movie....

What I find funny is thaq amount of people who prefer DCL because of the family-friendly atmosphere and entertainment but yet complain about limitations about the amount of liquor they can bring on-board. Lots of liquor and family-friendly doesn't go together for me.

Sorry but saying that you are going to change to another line because of this seems kind of foolish to me. They all have the same restrictions on alcohol.

 

[gdulaney]

What I find funny is thaq amount of people who prefer DCL because of the family-friendly atmosphere and entertainment but yet complain about limitations about the amount of liquor they can bring on-board. Lots of liquor and family-friendly doesn't go together for me.

Sorry but saying that you are going to change to another line because of this seems kind of foolish to me. They all have the same restrictions on alcohol.

Darcy,

Please feel free to read all of my posts. At no time did I state that I'd change to another line. I find no correlation between my post (that you felt the need to quote) and your comment.

Thank you,
Ginny

 

[Christy323]

I have to say that I'm starting to get offended by the assumption that because I want to bring alcohol that I'm a drunk. We should be able to post our joys or gripes without being judged.

Responsible adult consumption of alcoholic beverages while on vacation is a perfectly legal, acceptable activity. Someone brought up in an earlier post that cruises were great venues for having a couple drinks as opposed to drinking at a bar on land because you don't have to worry about a designated driver.

Lots of liquor and family-friendly doesn't go together for me.

Not sure where you got the impression that anyone wanted to bring "lots of liquor." The change in policy stated NO liquor; only ONE bottle of wine or 6 beers is allowed. I would like to be able to bring one bottle of my preferred premium liquor, but under the policy change, that isn't allowed.

In any case, it appears that the policy change may have been retracted.

 

[darkwing818]

What I find funny is thaq amount of people who prefer DCL because of the family-friendly atmosphere and entertainment but yet complain about limitations about the amount of liquor they can bring on-board. Lots of liquor and family-friendly doesn't go together for me.

Sorry but saying that you are going to change to another line because of this seems kind of foolish to me. They all have the same restrictions on alcohol.

I too am truly amazed by the number of folks that are upset by this potential change. I just never figured that alcohol was so critical to having an enjoyable cruise with your children. But Who Knew??

 

[KristiMc]

What I find funny is thaq amount of people who prefer DCL because of the family-friendly atmosphere and entertainment but yet complain about limitations about the amount of liquor they can bring on-board. Lots of liquor and family-friendly doesn't go together for me.

Sorry but saying that you are going to change to another line because of this seems kind of foolish to me. They all have the same restrictions on alcohol.

This change doesn't bother me too much because I like the fruity drinks I get on the ship. My DH does like to bring a bottle of amaretto to put in his coffee though.

The other cruise lines have restrictions on alcohol but they also charge a lot less than DCL. That seems to be the biggest complaint of most on here. That DCL is starting to restrict/take away perks while still charging a premium.

 

[eva]

I sure hope that they have reconsidered this policy. It is not the amount of alcohol that they are allowing that disappoints us, but the type. Like others have mentioned, we really like to have a couple libations to enjoy while in the room. Plus, for some family members that are going with us on our next cruise this will come as a huge disappointment. We have a large group going from DH's family to celebrate our 30th anniversary. We have 4 staterooms reserved and were looking to add 3 more. But this could change everything. One of the sell points to the men was the ability to bring a bottle of fine scotch or cognac with them to savor on the balcony after dinner. With the increased price of Disney over Celebrity, I had to entice them with the promise of Johnny Walker Blue Label in their room and Disney's famous service. I have a feeling that this will cause us to cancel. I was looking forward to a couple of vodka tonics in the room too.

 

[kathi]

I said I would change to another line (or at least explore the options). We said concierge on Disney and it's exensive. But even if you are not concierge, it's still much more expensive than other lines of the same type (Celebrity, RC, HA, NCL).

I love Disney, we go to the parks at least 3 times a year, we go to Food and Wine Festival, we went on 3 DCL cruises last year and have 2 booked for this year. We had ever intention of booking another cruise for 2012.

But if they are going to charge MORE than the other lines, I expect the perks that were avilabile at the time of booking.

I think they probably realized that and will phase-in their new policy. Then we can all make educated decisions as consumers as to what we are willing to pay for and where we take our business.

 

[gdulaney]

Responsible adult consumption of alcoholic beverages while on vacation is a perfectly legal, acceptable activity. Someone brought up in an earlier post that cruises were great venues for having a couple drinks as opposed to drinking at a bar on land because you don't have to worry about a designated driver.

Thank you!! I'm usually the designated driver, so being able to have a wine cooler or two is a big deal for me.

I too am truly amazed by the number of folks that are upset by this potential change. I just never figured that alcohol was so critical to having an enjoyable cruise with your children. But Who Knew??

Alcohol isn't critical to have a great cruise without children (don't know about a cruise with children).