Yesteryear

[B&D, Shepton Mallet]

Do you remember when embarking on your cruise, the last thing you would think of doing is taking alcohol with you? Drinking onboard was cheaper than going to a pub. It was duty free and one of the perks of cruising.

Beryl

[dst87, Falkirk]

I still wouldn't think to take alcohol on board. More hassle than it's worth.

I can understand why some might want to, but I have no need and mostly prefer to use the bars on board.

[Mrs M]

I still wouldn't think to take alcohol on board. More hassle than it's worth.

I can understand why some might want to, but I have no need and mostly prefer to use the bars on board.

I agree with you Duncan, apart from for our forum cruise on Wednesday when our now traditional cabin pre-dinner nightly meet ups for a large [ish!] group are pre-planned and herefore, to be honest, already having the wine is a pure convenience measure and convenience is why I always take a box!

I read of folk who take half a dozen bottles on board and I always used to think 'why', but I guess they could be hedging their bets in case the ship runs dry of a favourite tipple. The answer to that, in our experience, is move onto another label.

[Wilba]

Cruise ship drink prices were truly Duty Free in days gone by.

Cheaper than the Working Mens Club prices of the day, but then again few could afford the cruise ticket in those days.........Wilba

[Taffy, Wales]

Do you remember when embarking on your cruise, the last thing you would think of doing is taking alcohol with you? Drinking onboard was cheaper than going to a pub. It was duty free and one of the perks of cruising.

Beryl

It is still the last thing I think about doing, along with taking a marker pen to write some graffiti on a toilet wall??

Duty free was never profit free , and on most ships it isn't now...Taffy

[Bigsis, Waterlooville]

Our very first cruise 13 years ago was with Airtours on the Sundream and at embarkation in Southampton (which took hours and hours) we were sold the AI drinks package. It was a 15 night cruise and cost, if I remember correctly, £180 each which at the time seemed an incredible amount of money to spend on drinks. We kept all our bar receipts to add up and we managed to drink ourselves into profit by about £40! Drink prices on board were quite good then and with generous measures.

We've only taken alcohol on board twice in all our cruises and both times were QM2 at Southampton

[Topdeck, London]

Princess you used to be abe to buy spirit by the bottle at the bars at very reasonable prices only a little more than supermarket.
A few other lines had similar policy/prices.

Bar setups are much more expensive, now that $20 will be closer to $100.

Pick the right ships and on some lines cabin and it becomes a non issue.

Royal suites on celebrity can be very reasonable on some itinerary.