Drunk at Sea!

I read an article recently about the amount of Alcohol consumed on Cruise Ships.

In a week an average cruise passenger consumes 42 bottles of beer, 16 cocktails, 7 bottles of wine, 16 shots of whisky and two glasses of champagne which amounts to a staggering 168 Units of Alcohol so new research claims.

The poll which was carried out by Bonvoyage.co.uk asked around 3,000 people with worrying results.

If this is the average weekly consumption then the average daily consumption per passenger might consist of six beers, a couple of cocktails, a bottle of wine and a pair of whiskies.

This is a staggering 8 times the recommended allowance for men of just 21 units, and 12 times in excess of the recommended consumption levels for women only 14 units.

Do you know your Limits? Do you know what constitutes a unit?

So the question is are cruise ships acting responsibly?

It is easy to say we are all adults and can make our own decisions and I do not disagree with this, nor am I saying people should not relax and enjoy themselves but when you are on a ship in the middle of the ocean or sea is it responsible to have passengers wandering around intoxicated?

Personally I blame the rise in the All Inclusive Fad. It all started in hotels mainly in the Caribbean and as a travel agent who has witnessed the rise of this phenomenon I have seen what used to be very good hotels go downhill as standards fell which I directly relate to hoteliers trying to cut costs due to the amount of money they were losing in relation to giving free alcohol away. This became even more evident when All inclusive hit the European hotels.

Recently this has started to spread into the Cruise industry with more and more people wanting all inclusive cruises. I do not really disagree with drinks packages as such as many do not take them up due to the cost it is the concept of free unlimited alcohol that worries me.

Several of the Luxury cruise brands offer drinks including Regent, Crystal, Seabourn, SeaDream and Silversea all include gratuities and soft and alcoholic drinks (including champagne) in the headline fare, although premium brands will not be included.

I have not heard of any issues regarding this from passengers of these cruise lines so maybe it is the type of passenger travelling which makes the difference but maybe you know differently?

I would hate to see standards on cruises go the same way because they are trying to cut costs elsewhere to cover the bill for alcohol as many hotels did during the 1990’s and early part of the millennium so maybe it is time for cruise lines to think seriously about this now.

Not to mention the health and safety aspect of having so many drunk passengers wandering around.

‘Man overboard!’ is a familiar cry at sea but not heard very often but it may well change to ‘Drunk overboard! and be heard far more frequently if cruise lines don’t act now.

Mediterranean cruises were the worse for alcohol consumption and surprisingly or perhaps not men and women were equal in their consumption!

I do like a drink. I am not a prude and I do like to enjoy myself but I am all for moderation.

What do you think about this? Are you Anti or Pro All Inclusive? Do you think people on cruises drink too much?

I would love you to share your thoughts.