Using "Rum Runners" on a cruise

[susi-q]

I don't get it. Why can't you just put a bottle of booze in your bag?

I believe it's because you have to dump your luggage someplace before boarding and I guess there's the possibility your luggage might be searched and maybe if they find booze they kick you off the cruise?

So, by taking a cruise, you give the cruise line the right to search your belongings, not for any (purported) security purposes, but in order to maintain the alcohol gouging monopoly they have been able to create?  So, if you're taking a cruise in the Bahamas, notwithstanding spending lots of money on an oversized floating casino of midnight buffets and dysentery* you can't buy a bottle of rum and drink it because then the cruise line can't rape your pockets for $10 rum drinks??  Fuck. That.

*just my humble opinion...

For me, the cost of the cruise was such a deal to start with that factoring in overpriced drinks it was still worth it.  It's not for everyone, of course.   But when travelling with a large family, it offered enough variety to keep everyone happy.

[Go Sox]

Yep Dante.  They screen all passengers each time you get on at ports of call.  I never found it a hassle but I guess some people would.  I think the point is to make sure people getting on the ship are supposed to be getting on and not a stow aways.  But yes, that also gives them a good excuse to screen passengers.

I didn't mean to sound so harsh. A lot of people would detest the way I travel (stay in the guest room in Girona of some strange people you've never met?  Sure, why not!). Many of my friends love cruises and I give them the same shit and they give it right back to me.

Now, a liveaboard in Australia or the Bahamas or the Red Sea?  That I could do.

[susi-q]

Yep Dante.  They screen all passengers each time you get on at ports of call.  I never found it a hassle but I guess some people would.  I think the point is to make sure people getting on the ship are supposed to be getting on and not a stow aways.  But yes, that also gives them a good excuse to screen passengers.

I didn't mean to sound so harsh. A lot of people would detest the way I travel (stay in the guest room in Girona of some strange people you've never met?  Sure, why not!). Many of my friends love cruises and I give them the same shit and they give it right back to me.

Now, a liveaboard in Australia or the Bahamas or the Red Sea?  That I could do.

lol...no worries.  For me, it depends on who is part of my travelling party.   I prefer exploring in a less structured environement when it's just me and my husband.  He and I can agree on what museum to visit or what brasserie to have dinner at, etc.  But I have a very large family and the cruise has proved useful for travelling with them.  They are all crazy and no one agrees on anything...getting drunk at the pool to the tune of $100 a day was more relaxing than trying to get them to agree on one restaurant.

[Go Sox]

^ hahahaha!  Agreed!!

So, to recap, you can't sneek booze in your bags or rig a 1980's boom box into a minibar because they screen everything. Can you get a fat suit or fill a bra and claim moobs?  Do they screen people?

[susi-q]

^ hahahaha!  Agreed!!

So, to recap, you can't sneek booze in your bags or rig a 1980's boom box into a minibar because they screen everything. Can you get a fat suit or fill a bra and claim moobs?  Do they screen people?

Listerine bottle with dark rum in it worked for me.   I put that in my bags and that screened just fine.  It's sort of like going through a TSA check point except the security staff works for Carnival instead of the government and at least in my experiences were nicer.  The fat suit might not work though....just sayin.

[J. Grouchy]

Just how expensive are drinks on a cruise?

Not sure how current this is, but here:
http://cruises.lovetoknow.com/wiki/How_Much_Are_Drinks_on_Carnival_Cruises

Forget about the alcohol...$4 for friggin' water? 

[ManBearPig]

LadyBearPig and I's booze bill on a 7 day cruise was more than was paid for the cruise.  A lot of that was due to the fact that the cruise was so miserable that all there was to do was drink.  Our cruise was the last week before all the kids went back to school, so it was just one giant fucking romper room.  BTW apparently any responsibility you have as a parent ends once you pass over the ships rail.  I would sooner get waterboarded than go on another cruise.

[Cap'n Ken]

LadyBearPig and I's booze bill on a 7 day cruise was more than was paid for the cruise.  A lot of that was due to the fact that the cruise was so miserable that all there was to do was drink.  Our cruise was the last week before all the kids went back to school, so it was just one giant fucking romper room.  BTW apparently any responsibility you have as a parent ends once you pass over the ships rail.  I would sooner get waterboarded than go on another cruise.

So you had a good time?