DCL carry-on alcohol policy changing Sept. 30 2015

[ZephyrHawk]

I think what everyone is missing is this is still a very liberal policy compared to other lines. In fact - here is Cunards policy which is a line generally MORE expensive than DCL. https://ask.cunard.com/help/before-you-sail/alcohol

No, I do realize that. In fact, if you actually had read this thread you'd see where I and a number of others have said the change in policy will not affect us because we don't drink that much. My issue is the late change without warning. Disney took my money, some of which was intended to cover the drinks which I was allowed to make in my room. Disney then took away that right. Disney took my money and did not offer any other form of compensation.

Now, let's compare this to another recent issue which has affected my Disney trip: The construction at the Wilderness Lodge. I received MULTIPLE calls and emails from Disney advising me of this and offering me compensation. I was offered a room transfer, which I declined, and free ticket upgrades (I went for the park hopper upgrade). My family was offered free extra fast-passes. And that's for an issue which probably won't affect me either. THAT'S Disney service. THAT'S what I expect. THAT'S what I tout to my friends and co-workers, who use me as a free and willing travel agent for their own Disney vacations. I don't bleeping care what DCL's liquor policy is, I care that it was applied retroactively without fair compensation to already booked guests.

 

[NerosFamily]

That remains to be seen. I would think they have some sort of screening planned. I know other cruise lines have been doing just that for some time, maybe they'll get some suggestions from them?

Really? They do that? I will be watching these threads to see how people are going to try to get around this new policy once the date passes.
Good luck to the pioneers!

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

CCL actually just enacted a policy where the only liquids allowed to be brought on the ship are cans and boxed juice, milk etc. with that though the at least dropped the price of bottled water to $2.99/6 pack

 

[NerosFamily]

CCL actually just enacted a policy where the only liquids allowed to be brought on the ship are cans and boxed juice, milk etc. with that though the at least dropped the price of bottled water to $2.99/6 pack

Good to know. I hope it's not contagious!

 

[sweetpee_1993]

CCL actually just enacted a policy where the only liquids allowed to be brought on the ship are cans and boxed juice, milk etc. with that though the at least dropped the price of bottled water to $2.99/6 pack

I thought the drop in bottled water price was a very nice gesture to the guests. We all know why they don't want water carried on anymore. This is a nice olive branch to those who genuinely want the water. At this price, I would happily buy vs carry.

 

[cgolf]

There were people on my cruise who abused it and were Drunk and they caused so many others to be unhappy.

People like a 'target' to vent their annoyance, that's understood, but to many focus on the wrong target, history shows it time and again, go for a target you can get, not the underlying correct reason.

I get many are annoyed, I brought booze on in the past, for limited consumption, I brought drinks on the cruise this month.

Yes I get annoyed when one or two posters give answers and have never done what they are posting about. Maybe right maybe wrong, but when I see others accept answers not knowing the full truth it grates on me.

Can you please tell us how you know that the people abusing the policy and getting drunk and causing issues on the ship, security/liability concerns is the reason that this policy was put into place? Do you have a highly placed source at DCL? Any time someone has said something other than this, you shoot us down, and it is quite frustrating. A discussion is where all sides can have an opinion and many times we walk away disagreeing, but you are insistent so please share your sources.

I know that I personally have not witnessed the drunken behavior you have seen on any of our ten cruises. Maybe the off peak crowd is more mellow, not sure, but we haven't seen it. Once on the Hawaii cruise we saw a group passing a large bottle of rum making a deal of it, but they were not drunk.

Now where do you get that good Russian vodka you spoke of, sounds good about now

 

[darkwing818]

s.

I know that I personally have not witnessed the drunken behavior you have seen on any of our ten cruises. Maybe the off peak crowd is more mellow, not sure, but we haven't seen it. Once on the Hawaii cruise we saw a group passing a large bottle of rum making a deal of it, but they were not drunk.

After 15 cruises I can say the I witnessed "Total" drunken behavior only twice. What's interesting is that they both occurred at DCL Tastings. At the Tequila tasting the ladies involved came in drunk. One woman was so drunk she fell off her bar stool while toasting "New Jersey" with her tequila. I can't even repeat the off color jokes the women were telling at the Champagne tasting. They even invited the rest us to their cabins, "When the Bar is Open Flag" was out. So I guess 2 out of 15 isn't so bad.

 

[funfam]

I have never been totally wasted on a Disney cruise but the most drunk I have gotten while onboard was at mixology. 5 very full drinks with a lot of alcohol in each one will do that.

 

[Bella29]

This would be so much more reasonable if they said something like "2 items per adult passenger. 1 bottle of anything or a 6-pack of anything counts as one item." I can see having *some* kind of limit, as things seemed to be heading out of control - I half expected to read about someone wheeling a keg on board.

But to say only one bottle of wine or one 6-packs of beer seems crazy restrictive. They are telling us we can drink our own wine, but not our own whiskey? The Scot in me abhors and resents this policy change.

 

[littleblackegg]

I posted this earlier and left this thread when instead of being a discussion and constructive, it became personal by a few.

Others as above have posted it was abused by fellow cruisers, then some say its not common.

I have seen abuse on two Panama canal crossings, and my recent Northern Europe Baltic cruise.

My stance is I am sorry for the honest folk who were responsible and had it in their room and didn't abuse DCL policy.

Like everything, the majority suffer due to a few who always take it too far.


We have seen it time and time again here on these boards, we have seen people say they will drink near children pools they will drink in public places, contrary to existing policy.



My last cruise there was a group who were drunk, couldn't hold their booze or not use to English and Russian alcohol, and caused disruption in the early hours in the pool deck 9 and in D lounge. The poor cleaning staff at 3am/4am in D Lounge clearing up for byob containers etc left there, no profit for DCL but extra cost of cleaning up. The officers and security called to the deck and clearing up the after effects of a few drinking Russian vodka.

They thought it was fun but other people working for DCL are not employed to clear up after people who bring on their own booze.

Other fellow cruisers and people on these boards caused DCL to take this action, it isnt a conspiracy to get greater income it was abuse of a generous policy.

When you see new threads from some here, how to now smuggle booze on board, then you know some have a problem, not only they cant go on holiday and restrict booze, but want to openly on the open internet declare they intend to breach rules.

I do feel sorry for the responsible drinkers, the ones on long cruises with few ports of call. Or young kids who cant leave their rooms as the children are asleep. But remember, Fellow cruisers abused it, took it too far, and cause mess, disruption and cost to DCL. They are the focus of some peoples annoyance and not people posting their thoughts on these boards.

Actually, in my years of treating people who have problems with alcohol and other substances, I can assure you their anxiety and shame make them much less likely to announce their intentions to smuggle alcohol anywhere. They tend to not want to call attention to these behaviors if they are engaging in them.

 

[Bella29]

I thought the drop in bottled water price was a very nice gesture to the guests. We all know why they don't want water carried on anymore. This is a nice olive branch to those who genuinely want the water. At this price, I would happily buy vs carry.

I am not 100% sure but didn't they switch from Evian (spring) water to a cheaper brand of bottled tap water? I would guess that is why the price is lower, not as a gesture to guests. But I haven't been on board again yet to confirm this myself.

 

[Ofinn]

For a


For a 3 night cruise, you are correct. However, we cruise 7 nights or longer and with 3 adults usually, that is a lot of extra money PLUS the biggest deal is the inconvenience. If I want to not get dressed ...if I just got a shower, etc., its just a huge inconvenience. Its one of the biggest reasons we cruise DCL ...that plus the larger bathrooms. So taking away the convenience for me is a reason to go back to totally Celebrity ...lots cheaper and less kids and free cocktail hour for certain classes of loyalty program.

Its bad when a cm is jumping ship.Do you still work at BC? We used to stay there a lot when we had annual passes. We havent been to wdw in a couple of years.

 

[littleblackegg]

What's all this about drunken rowdiness and how come I've never been invited? I bring flat shoes and double Spanx specifically for these booze-fueled flings next to the kiddie pools.

 

[littleblackegg]

After 15 cruises I can say the I witnessed "Total" drunken behavior only twice. What's interesting is that they both occurred at DCL Tastings. At the Tequila tasting the ladies involved came in drunk. One woman was so drunk she fell off her bar stool while toasting "New Jersey" with her tequila. I can't even repeat the off color jokes the women were telling at the Champagne tasting. They even invited the rest us to their cabins, "When the Bar is Open Flag" was out. So I guess 2 out of 15 isn't so bad.

Toasting New Jersey? Bless her heart.

 

[darkwing818]

Her only problem was, she was so drunk she fell of her seat & spilled her Tequila.....

 

[Maggie'sMom]

Her only problem was, she was so drunk she fell of her seat & spilled her Tequila.....

What a waste of tequila!

 

[NerosFamily]

Glad to see there's some fun-loving non-judgmental people here!

 

[darkwing818]

Glad to see there's some fun-loving non-judgmental people here!

AMEN.......

 

[morgan98]

I have avoided posting on this thread but I just need to say this. Obviously you aren't a big drinker, I won't hold that against you , but you are way off about the alcohol in foreign beverages. Beer from the UK actually had less alcohol than US beer since they are taxed based on the amount of alcohol in the brew. The US has far more high gravity beers, and more coming out all the time, than can be found in the UK. Russians tend to drink more vodka than we do in the US but it isn't necessarily higher in alcohol content. Many of the vodkas available in the US have the same alcohol content or higher.
The people you encountered were drunk. They would have gotten drunk on their vacation no matter where they had gotten the booze. I have seen DCL bartenders serve people who were totally sloppy drunk without batting an eye. I love Disney but I will not be a Disney apologist. It is nice that some want to attribute the change to moral reasons or health and safety. This change was about money pure and simple.

I don't have a horse in this race, but I was going to post something similar. In addition, it is somewhat insulting to hear how these people were drunk because they were not used to UK beer and Russian vodka. How in the heck does the poster know what people's backgrounds or experiences are? I have an idea plenty of people understand there are some differences in alcoholic beverages (sometimes) between countries. However, I know I can read the bottles to look for the alcohol content/proof. Again, I don't cruise DCL, but the whole concept that people don't know about foreign alcohol is insulting.

 

[tinkerone]

well, we have hit the 1000 post mark on this thread. time for a drink??