Alcohol policy was changed August 2015

[Chrizzz]

We just got off the Disney Fantasy. The 7 day cruise was the best ever. We heard a rumor that Disney will be joining other cruise lines and will not be letting passengers bring their own alcohol onboard the ship in the near future. Has anyone else heard this? Our Head servicer told us that there has been issues with under age drinking because the kids have been tapping into the parents supplies. I hope this does not happen because we enjoy bringing aboard some of our own. I still enjoy the drink of the day (Key Lime Margarita yum) and don't mind spending money for drinks in the adult areas. If true we should fight this one. Too bad we have to pay for the few parents that are not responsible for their kids. Please post if you have anything on this subject.

 

[cwdefouw]

How exactly would you "fight this one"? If they want to make a change, they will do so. Your only effective recourse is to take your business elsewhere. Customers have been protesting vocally about changes in OBB, dining room dress code, constantly increasing prices etc. for years. DCL either does not listen or does not care about their customer's opinions on their policies. We too would miss the ability to bring some alcohol on board with us. But if they make a change, there really is no way to fight it, and if the reason you were given is the true reason behind it, that is at least a valid concern that the cruise line has a responsibility toward, unlike some of the seemingly arbitrary changes they have made over the last several years.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

Rumors from waiters on the vessels are like rumors from bus drivers in WDW.........Don't believe it until it happens. It is not impossible, but after the one time they tried to stop the perk, the biggest part of the complaints was the short notice, so I would doubt this rumors if for no other reason then the comment *real soon*. DCL would have to give this change lots of lead time.

Time will tell.

1st post I see??????

AKK

 

[wcw57]

and the target red card/gift card bonus is over......

the point being, rumors pop up from almost nowhere and then we spread 'em and they proliferate....

let me know when DCL posts this new rule (and, btw, I wouldn't blame 'em....IF they kept their fares in check to balance the situation)

 

[luvdisney24]

a

 

[over50visits]

I'd be surprised if this is true:
(1) It is one of the more popular benefits of cruising on Disney
(2) It doesn't hurt their profits much since drinking your own alcohol is only allowed in your cabin or taking your bottle of wine to dinner and pay a corking fee
(3) "I heard if from a waiter" (even the headwaiter) is generally not a reliable source
(4) There seems to be no other source for this information
(5) There was just about universal whining when they tried some reasonable restrictions a few years ago

I'd be surprised if this is not true:
(1) This is an abused privilege, with many guests figuring out how to "hide" the alcohol when taking it out of the cabin. As with many things, cheaters hurt everyone.
(2) It would increase profits with more alcohol sales, even if only a small increase. Consistent with recent Disney strategy (look at the parks)
(3) If they do have a problem with children drinking in the rooms this would go a long way to reduce that, and they can use that as a reason
(4) Every (as far as I know) other cruise line prohibits personal alcohol so they could use the excuse "everyone else does it" (and Disney and posters here use that often as justification)

 

[TheGenie Aladdin]

I'd be surprised if this is true:
(1) It is one of the more popular benefits of cruising on Disney
(2) It doesn't hurt their profits much since drinking your own alcohol is only allowed in your cabin or taking your bottle of wine to dinner and pay a corking fee
(3) "I heard if from a waiter" (even the headwaiter) is generally not a reliable source
(4) There seems to be no other source for this information
(5) There was just about universal whining when they tried some reasonable restrictions a few years ago

I'd be surprised if this is not true:
(1) This is an abused privilege, with many guests figuring out how to "hide" the alcohol when taking it out of the cabin. As with many things, cheaters hurt everyone.
(2) It would increase profits with more alcohol sales, even if only a small increase. Consistent with recent Disney strategy (look at the parks)
(3) If they do have a problem with children drinking in the rooms this would go a long way to reduce that, and they can use that as a reason
(4) Every (as far as I know) other cruise line prohibits personal alcohol so they could use the excuse "everyone else does it" (and Disney and posters here use that often as justification)

Completely agree!

 

[CruisingSarah]

I believe P&O is the only other line to allow it.

It will be a shame if they stop it. We usually bring wine on and maybe a bottle of gin. The convenience of being able to have a drink (without having to trek up to a bar) whilst getting ready for dinner is great.

We usually don't finish what we have in the cabin so it's not as if we are drinking heavily in there and depriving DCL of their profits. My hubby has the beer mug and we buy at least one but more usually two wine packages as well as a cocktail of the day most days.

I hope they don't stop it. For us it's much more about the convenience than the cost.

 

[DMMarla07860]

We bring a bottle or two that we might not be able to get on the ship, but for the most part it wouldn't affect us.

I could see why they would do it, but till Disney says something I don't believe it. Not going to complain if they did either. I can live with a few less drinks

 

[jedijill]

I believe that Royal Caribbean has relaxed their rules somewhat and now allow a couple of bottles of wine per cabin. Not as liberal as DCL but not as strict as they once were.

Jill in CO

 

[lbgraves]

How exactly would you "fight this one"? If they want to make a change, they will do so. Your only effective recourse is to take your business elsewhere. ....

Actually, when this actually happened a few years ago there was a letter/email campaign protesting it and DCL did return to the existing policy.

 

[4HppyCamprs]

I believe that Royal Caribbean has relaxed their rules somewhat and now allow a couple of bottles of wine per cabin. Not as liberal as DCL but not as strict as they once were. Jill in CO

Apparently Carnival allows alcohol in small supply (wine) to be brought onboard as I had this discussion with a relative who was trying to convince me that Carnival was a luxury cruise line....

 

[over50visits]

Actually, when this actually happened a few years ago there was a letter/email campaign protesting it and DCL did return to the existing policy.

Yeah! This board was burning up with people who thought the world had ended because they couldn't bring on huge amounts of alcohol LOL !!

 

[DynamicDisneyDuo]

Yeah! This board was burning up with people who thought the world had ended because they couldn't bring on huge amounts of alcohol LOL !!

Most complaints I saw were upset by the lack of notice. People inside their PIF window didn't have the option to cancel their cruise, if they felt it was a deal breaker.

Then there were the "I pay a premium price for DCL to enjoy this perk so they aren't losing money. They'd better not take it away", not realizing that the premium is because of the Mouse and friends. While DCL loses some money on this policy, I don't think there is much built into the fares. They charge more because they know their name will bring people willing to pay.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

We just got off the Disney Fantasy. The 7 day cruise was the best ever. We heard a rumor that Disney will be joining other cruise lines and will not be letting passengers bring their own alcohol onboard the ship in the near future. Has anyone else heard this? Our Head servicer told us that there has been issues with under age drinking because the kids have been tapping into the parents supplies. I hope this does not happen because we enjoy bringing aboard some of our own. I still enjoy the drink of the day (Key Lime Margarita yum) and don't mind spending money for drinks in the adult areas. If true we should fight this one. Too bad we have to pay for the few parents that are not responsible for their kids. Please post if you have anything on this subject.

I have also heard this not exactly because of the reasons you quote but I posted last month on an alcohol thread a change was coming. But do not get any campaign up until it's actually announced, I understood it to be a limitation, you might be allowed something but restricted.

And I posted about new ships but not in production, but an order.....

 

[CamColt]

I was on the Fantasy 2 weeks ago and was told the same thing by a bartender (I know...1 step up from a bus driver, LOL!). Supposedly there was an incident on the Wonder where a 14 year old drank his parent's vodka and as the bartender said "OD'd" on it. He told us within the next few months a new policy of 2 bottles of wine and 1 bottle of champagne will go into effect.

And just to clarify, I am not saying this is true at all, I have no knowledge of this happening, it's just what we were told in talking to the bartender. We were saying how great Disney is and how they don't nickel and dime you, and being able to bring alcohol on was great, and then he offered that information. So, take that for FWIW (very little).

 

[wcw57]

Most complaints I saw were upset by the lack of notice. People inside their PIF window didn't have the option to cancel their cruise, if they felt it was a deal breaker.

Then there were the "I pay a premium price for DCL to enjoy this perk so they aren't losing money. They'd better not take it away", not realizing that the premium is because of the Mouse and friends. While DCL loses some money on this policy, I don't think there is much built into the fares. They charge more because they know their name will bring people willing to pay.

what leads you to that conclusion? on (at least) some cruise lines there is a HUGE emphasis placed on liquor sales...HUGE!! to assume that DCL didn't bother to take the monetary loss into their fare calculations is to severely underestimate the corporate money machine that is Disney....I'm not sayin' it's a bad thing, just a real thing

 

[Probably his kids]

I have also heard this not exactly because of the reasons you quote but I posted last month on an alcohol thread a change was coming. But do not get any campaign up until it's actually announced, I understood it to be a limitation, you might be allowed something but restricted.

That caused this.
Just sayin'

Do as dad does.....

 

[mareed]

I've enjoyed being able to bring my boxed wine on Disney cruises and not be limited to 2 bottles as on other cruise lines. I hope that flexibility doesn't go away due to the misdeeds of a few.

We did encounter a group of drunk teens on our Thanksgiving 2013 Wonder cruise out of Galveston on the last night at sea. They didn't have alcohol with them that we could tell, but they'd definitely been drinking. They were out on the sports deck late at night (probably after 11:00). I wondered how they got the alcohol and if the parents were aware...

 

[DynamicDisneyDuo]

what leads you to that conclusion? on (at least) some cruise lines there is a HUGE emphasis placed on liquor sales...HUGE!! to assume that DCL didn't bother to take the monetary loss into their fare calculations is to severely underestimate the corporate money machine that is Disney....I'm not sayin' it's a bad thing, just a real thing

Just my opinion. I believe that most of the mark up for DCL is the Disney name, brand and characters.

I am well aware that other lines place a HUGE emphasis on liquor sales...HUGE!! Disney doesn't ignore it though. Where did I say they don't take it into account? I think they do but not to as large a degree as they do their own Disneymania.