When booking a sea cruise, people often ask about the availability and conditions for purchasing alcoholic beverages on board the cruise ship. Well, it’s vacation! Overseas wines, cognacs, whiskeys, cocktails, sounds attractive and alluring. I want to relax, and maybe even allow myself a little more than usual.
What budget should I set for this part of the expenses? Is it possible to save money somehow? What kind of drinks are available? How much does this pleasure cost? Can I take it with me? I heard about packages of drinks at wholesale prices, there is such a thing? I will try to answer these and similar questions in this publication.
Alcohol on cruises
I’ll start with something pleasant — Alcohol is sold on the ships; its consumption is not prohibited. Moreover, I will say that most of the income of cruise companies comes from the trade in alcoholic beverages and the gaming business (casinos).
Therefore, looking ahead a little, I will tell you that the cost of 2 packages per cabin can be equal to the cost of some promotional cruise. That is, cruise lines receive the lion’s share of their income from the sale and provision of services on the ship, and not from the sale of the cruise itself.
This is why it is important for business owners to not allow outside alcohol on board. This means that you will not be able to bring alcohol onto the ship. You can only take one bottle in your luggage before boarding and most likely it will not be taken away.
According to the rules, all alcohol that you try to bring onto the ship will be confiscated until the end of the cruise. This applies to carrying at all stops along the route. The same thing happens if you buy liquor in the Duty Free area on a cruise ship.
Price of alcoholic drinks on board the ship
Have you ever drank beer for 500 rubles? (6.5 euros) for a half-liter mug? Moreover, this beer is not elite varieties, but ordinary, for example, light Heineken. I have. This is the price in terms of the rate before the outbreak of the epidemic. For residents of the Russian Federation, the cost of their favorite drink is still a bit expensive.
Non-elite spirits cost from 6.5 to 15 euros for about 100 ml. and 50 of them will be cola, sprite or whatever you ask for. Wine price per glass of 150 ml. from 7 euros and above. Again, I won’t say that this will be an exquisite wine, although you can find one on a cruise ship at a reasonable price.
How to save money
And with such limited possibilities you can still save money. There are two options:
- Buy a package of drinks;
- Still try to bring alcohol onto the ship.
About the first option below, but I’ll tell you about my “smuggling” experience. In fact, it is possible to bring in the treasured drinks, but this largely depends on the management and security team. On one shift you go “on the green”, and on another you will be detained and confiscated. It’s the same with ships, on one there is freedom, and on the other there is strict adherence to the rules. Nevertheless, there is a way out in any situation.
Don’t be greedy, everything is good in moderation. This will be the first rule of a smuggler. Be more modest, they might turn a blind eye to one bottle and pretend they didn’t notice. Well, don’t be lame, hide it better so that it’s not obvious.
Although on a cruise through northern Europe, in Hamburg we calmly brought 6 bottles of beer, 2 per person, and no one even said a word to us. But on a cruise around the islands of the Indian Ocean, my wife once got burned with a bottle of rum. My friend and I hid it well, but she went through the cracks, putting it right at the top of the package.
And finally, a life hack for the case when security is very strict. Take a plastic lemonade bottle and pour the strong drink into it. Your conscience will tell you which plastic container you can use. And if there is none, then a liter or less.
Pour cognac or whiskey into a bottle with a Pepsi label, vodka, gin, rum into a sprite. If the company is large, then distribute one container for each person. Use your wits, let the women smile during the check, joke, and generally divert attention to themselves. And if the guard is a girl, then vice versa.
And don’t forget that when you go ashore, no one restricts you from drinking alcohol. You can have a drink in a restaurant, somewhere during a wine tasting on an excursion, in a bar or cafe.
MSC drink packages
The cruise company MSC Cruises, as well as all other standard and some premium classes, offer their passengers “drink packages”. So to speak, wholesale for the entire cruise.
Why am I giving an example of MSC Cruises, everything is simple — This is the most loyal cruise line to citizens of the Russian Federation and Belarus. At the moment, the rest are not allowed on board, or under special conditions.
There are different drink packages and you choose which one is right for you. Let me make a reservation right away that if you purchase a package in advance, you will not pay an additional 15% for service; it will be more expensive directly on board the ship. It is also worth noting that there are promotions when the line or tour operator gives this package when booking a cabin above the inside one. Need to be clarified.
EASY PACKAGE. The simplest and most limited drinks package. The cost per day, as you can see from the screenshot of the official website, is 32 euros.
Multiply by the number of days of your cruise and get the package price for the entire trip. Standard seven-day cruise 32х7=224 euros.
EASY PLUS PACKAGE. More advanced features. Per day 44 euros.
44×7=308 euros for a regular cruise.
PREMIUM EXTRA PACKAGE. So to speak, an unlimited alcohol package. Costs 62 euros per day. 62×7=434 euros.
ALCOHOL-FREE PACKAGE. For those who do not drink alcohol at all, but want to have a variety of soft drinks, tea, coffee and ice cream, there is such a package. 23 euros per day and it’s yours. 23×7=161 euros.
MINORS PACKAGE. A children’s package will cost you 15 euros. Week 15×7=105 euros.
According to MSC Cruises rules, you cannot buy a package just for yourself; every passenger in your cabin, including children, must also have one.
Now let’s calculate how much an alcohol package costs for a family of 3 people. For example, the average package EASY PLUS PACKAGE and children’s package 308+308+119=735 euros were chosen. On sales and promotion days, you can find an inside cabin on a regular cruise for the same price for a family of three.
This is the arithmetic.
On the road
Remember your dignity and the dignity of the country you represent. Let’s destroy the stereotype about Russians with our morality. Don’t turn into animals. After all, from the outside it looks, to put it mildly, — disgusting.
Everything is good in moderation!
Calculate whether you need this package. Perhaps limit yourself to a glass of wine with dinner and it will be much cheaper. Perhaps everything I wanted to tell you about alcohol on a cruise ship.
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