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Explained: Duty-Free Shopping on a Cruise (Is It Worth It?)

When it comes cruising and duty-free shopping, don’t feel alone if you’re left confused. The labyrinth of regulations and rules regarding what is taxed and what isn’t can give you a headache.

At the same time, however, you can use these rules to your advantage and potentially save money on things like alcohol, cigarettes, and other pricey goods that are for sale in the duty-free shops aboard nearly every cruise (and in many ports of call).

So what exactly is duty-free shopping on a cruise? And does it really save you money? 

What Is Duty-Free Shopping?

If you’ve traveled on a cruise before or been to an international airport, you’ve likely seen the bright signs for duty-free shopping. Heading inside these stores is like a trip to a sinner’s paradise. You’ll find fancy jewelry, alcohol, cigarettes, perfumes, chocolates, and more.

Since a set of special rules apply for places like airports and cruise ships, they are able to sell goods in these stores without consumers having to pay the same taxes on them that you’d see in a typical store.

For example, if you were to buy a bottle of alcohol in Miami, it would cost you not just the price of the bottle, but also the sales tax (7.0%) that’s tacked on. 

In addition, many jurisdictions have heavy import taxes on things like alcohol or cigarettes, that are produced in another country. Most consumers never see these taxes or even know they exist as they are added into the price. So depending on where you live, there can be taxes at the federal, state, and city level. Of course, all that tax is then passed on to the final consumer in the form of a higher price.

Since duty-free shops get a pass on these rules, they can offer savings compared to back home. (We offer a price comparison of several example items below.)

How Duty-Free Shopping Works on a Cruise Ship or in Port

There’s no missing duty-free shopping on a cruise. There will be a shop on any large cruise ship you sail, attractively outfitted with a wide selection of alcohol, cigarettes, and other goodies. For those who like to have a drink or a smoke, you will be like a proverbial kid in a candy store.

As well, often when you head into port, duty-free shopping will be prominently featured. Some spots even have passengers walk through the shops as they walk off the ship into port.

Don’t go thinking, however, that you can buy discounted items to enjoy on the ship. If you buy a bottle of alcohol either on the ship or in port, you don’t get to enjoy it right away. Instead, it’s put in a sealed box. Your purchase will be held by the cruise staff and delivered to your room the last night of the trip.

If bought while in port, it will be taken by the cruise staff when you get back on board and returned at the end of the trip.

Duty-Free Doesn’t Always Mean Completely Tax-Free (Despite the Signs)

On the ship and in port, you’ll see signs advertising tax and duty-free. In that case, you can buy them on the ship without extra taxes. What you see is what you pay.

What this doesn’t mean, however, is that you are done with the taxman… or that you can simply buy barrels of booze and cigarettes to last you for years and bring them home.

That’s because once you get back home from your cruise, then you have to go through customs in the port terminal. At customs, you must declare everything of value that you are bringing back to the United States — including things you bought in duty-free shops.

To be honest, with most cruises, the official customs declaration is a thing of the past. These days you simply take a photo and walk out the terminal. But if you’re carrying a large amount of goods, don’t be surprised if an officer stops to ask what you have.

In most cases (there are all sorts of caveats), you are allowed up to $800 per person in goods before being charged duties on the amount. Duty amounts vary based on what item(s) you are bringing and the amount of goods you are bringing in. However, for many items, they run 3% for the first $1,000 over the $800 allowance.

There are exceptions for alcohol and cigarettes.

If you are bringing in alcohol, you are allowed only one liter of alcohol  per person under the personal exemption rules. You can bring in 200 cigarettes (or 100 cigars) per person under the personal exemption. Beyond that, you will be charged duty taxes on those items — even if the value is still less than $800.

So how much in alcohol or cigarettes can you bring back in? For alcohol there are no federal limits on how much you can bring, within reason. The rules call for the allowance for enough goods for “personal use.” So if you’re trying to lug home cases of booze, then you likely won’t get past customs (they’ll think you’re trying to import it for sale).

For tobacco, the limit (except in a few special cases) is 200 cigarettes or 100 cigars.

You can see the full details of duty rules at the Customs and Border Patrol website . 

How Much You Will Be Taxed 

How much will you be charged? It only comes out to be a few dollars per bottle. According to the Customs and Border Patrol website:

“The flat duty rate will apply to articles that are dutiable but that cannot be included in your personal exemption, even if you have not exceeded the exemption. For example, alcoholic beverages. If you return from Europe with $200 worth of purchases, including two liters of liquor, one liter will be duty-free under your returning resident personal allowance/exemption. The other will be dutiable at 3 percent, plus any Internal Revenue Tax (IRT) that is due. “

For that reason, it’s a good idea to save receipts.

Special Rules for Galveston Cruise Passengers

If you are sailing from Texas, things are a little different. There, you will be subject to state laws surrounding importing alcohol. Specifically, “the law limits personal importation by an adult to once every 30 days with limits of: 1 gallon of distilled spirits, 3 gallons of wine, and 288 ounces of malt beverages (24 12-ounce containers). “ Keep in mind that this is per adult. So a couple can bring in twice as much.

Furthermore, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission has enacted a tariff where “cruise travelers disembarking out of the Port of Galveston will need to pay the tax for alcoholic beverages and cigarettes imported into the state that were purchased either on the ship’s duty free store or at a foreign port of call.”

That means every bottle or cigarette you bring back home will see a small tax. The tax runs about $3.75 for a liter or alcohol and $1.50 per pack of cigarettes. And to our knowledge, there is no personal exemption. Every bottle is hit with this tax.

To recap, here’s what you can expect when you bring goods through customs in Galveston:

• Personal duty exemption of $800 of goods, including 1 liter of alcohol, and 200 cigarettes per adult. Amounts above your personal exemption are taxed at a rate of 3%.(Federal)
• Texas laws allow you to bring back a total of only 1 gallon of alcohol or 3 gallons of wine per adult. Every bottle of alcohol or pack of cigarettes brought into Galveston will be taxed ($3.75 per liter/$1.50 per pack). (State)

So if you bring back a single liter of alcohol per person from the duty-free shop on the ship or in a port, you can expect a tax of $3.75 from the state. Expect each additional bottle to be taxed at $3.75 (state) plus 3% of the purchase price (federal), unless traveling with more than one adult. Keep this in mind when you’re comparing prices to what you would pay back home. Even with the tax, items bought in the duty-free shop can still be cheaper.

Is Duty-Free Shopping on a Cruise a Good Deal?

So how much can you save from shopping duty-free? Much of that depends on what you’re buying and where you live. Those living in states that have high taxes on things like cigarettes and alcohol will obviously benefit more from shopping duty-free.

As well, there are often discounts for buying multiple bottles, although keep in mind they will see a tax when bringing in more than one liter into the United States. For example, bottles of Grand Marnier seen on a recent cruise ran $36 each for a one-liter bottle, but two bottles for $60.

Also, bottles are most often one-liter when for sale on a cruise duty-free shop, compared to 750 mL you often find on land. So bottles are typically 33% larger than usual .

Below is a round-up of prices seen on a cruise to give you an idea of what you’ll pay compared to back home. Remember, this doesn’t include any tax that you might have to pay on land. 

When we price compared these items to similar products at a local discount liquor store, we found prices in the duty-free shop were in-line or sometimes a few dollars cheaper in most cases. Deals from the duty-free shop were especially good when buying multiple bottles.

At the same time, the liquor store at home typically sells smaller bottles for around the same price as larger one-liter bottles on the ship. Finally, there isn't tax charged at a duty-free point of purchase, which saves you even more when compared to land.

In other words, the prices compared to back home aren't mind-blowingly lower, but can save you a decent amount, especially since there isn't any sales tax.

Further Reading:

• Customs Duty Information (U.S. Customs and Border Protections Website)

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I bought a bottle of Bailey’s last year because it was quite a bit cheaper than my local NYC store. Last month I bought a couple of bottles of rum & tequila because NCL mistakenly gave me some onboard credit! Most of the time the prices don’t seem like much of a bargain.

To clarify it’s not, “Customs and Border Patrol”. It is “U.S. Customs and Border Protection”.

I purchased a bottle of Johnny Walker Blue Label Scotch Whiskey on Mardi Gras in Sept. 2020 as a special gift to my son. He has kept it and has just moved into the home he had built, and we took it out of the nice box it was in and noticed that somewhere near the top, there is apparently a leak which has compromised the contents and also damaged the box it which it sat. This is a rather expensive bottle of whiskey. I notified the Grans Ambassador of Carnival (John Heald) and he stated the Duty-Free ships are not owned by Carnival and that I would have to contact the store Manager of that ship too see if anything could be done. I don’t know how to even go about calling store on a ship. I may just have to chalk it up as a loss but has anyone had this issue and if so, how did you fix it or is it something that just can’t be fixed? Any suggestions would be grateful.

Duty Free bubble has burst at Nassau airport. I flew NAS to MIA on Monday and my stop into the Duty Free was a major sticker shock. $84 for a carton of cigarettes. They cost around $65 in Miami. The alcohol was no deal either. I was told they no longer do the duty free tobacco thing.

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The Best Gift Ever for People That Love Cruises? This Might Be it…

Nearly 100 passengers fall ill with stomach virus on princess cruise, cruise news: carnival’s new ship, royal’s new beach club, ncl’s big milestone & more, hotels with cruise shuttles for every major port in america, 39 useful things to pack for your cruise (including 17 you’d never think of).

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Alcohol-Free Vacations: How to Join the Sober Travel Trend

Going booze-free on vacation has never been easier, thanks to these zero-proof tour operators, new hotel beverage programs, and other options for the sober-curious. 

By Joni Sweet

March 22, 2023

A high proportion of well-established vacation rituals seem to revolve around alcohol, from the preflight tipple in the airport lounge to the post-dinner nightcap at the hotel bar.  

But that could be changing. Like other forms of recreation, travel is now under the influence of the growing “sober-curious movement ,” giving rise to new ways of exploring the world without the risk of a hangover.

“Sober travel is a growing area. I’ve recently seen a boom in the inclusive offering at hotels, on airplanes, and in entertainment,” said Hilary Sheinbaum, author of The Dry Challenge: How to Lose the Booze for Dry January, Sober October, and Any Other Alcohol-Free Month .

Although the trend is buzzing right now, alcohol-free travel isn’t new. Sober Vacations International has been leading trips specifically for 12-steppers since 1987.

But these days, sober travel is no longer just for people in recovery from an alcohol use disorder—booze-free vacations are gaining momentum among other travelers as well. 

Darci Murray, founder of the alcohol-free travel company Hooked , said that participants on her trips often include people who drink occasionally but are interested in making a shift when they’re on vacation.

“They look at it as a sober challenge and a fun, healthy, active way of being,” she explained.

Drinking on the Decline?

The rise of sober travel comes amid changing attitudes around alcohol and its effects. 

At least 7 in 10 Americans say alcohol has a negative impact on drinkers and society, per Gallup . Research published by JAMA Pediatrics shows that the rate of alcohol abstinence is increasing among young adults. 

And sales of nonalcoholic beverages have surged over the last few years, increasing by more than 20% between 2021 and 2022. 

“More and more people every day are choosing this lifestyle or reflecting on their relationship with alcohol,” noted Lauren Burnison, founder of We Love Lucid , an alcohol-free travel company based in the U.K. “Alcohol-free travel opens a whole other reality for you—getting plenty of sleep, waking up with a clear head, not losing stuff, and feeling good in your body.”

An Upsurge in Sober Travel Offerings

Given the rising popularity of sober living, it’s no surprise that the travel industry has embraced the trend.

We Love Lucid, which launched in 2019, and Hooked, founded in 2021, are among the alcohol-free tour operators that have debuted in recent years. They give people the opportunity to join like-minded travelers on booze-free holidays filled with invigorating activities like tapas cooking classes in Spain, zero-proof gin tastings in England, and cold water plunges in Iceland.

New alcohol-free options have also popped up at conventional hotels and resorts.  Wynn Las Vegas launched a nonalcoholic beverage program in early 2023, incorporating health-promoting ingredients like reishi mushrooms and ashwagandha. 

At the recently opened Club Med Magna Marbella in Spain, the all-inclusive property has a Zen Pool with a bar that only offers alcohol-free cocktails for guests who want a break from drinking. 

And after a 2021 Hyatt Hotels survey found that 50% of travelers were likely to opt for a nonalcoholic drink over a beer or cocktail, the company rolled out a zero-proof beverage program across several of its U.S. properties.

As for cruises, Carnival announced in mid-March that guests can now order alcohol-free versions of their favorite drinks from the line’s popular Alchemy Bar, thanks to a partnership with nonalcoholic spirits company Lyre. Norwegian Cruise Line, for its part, earned recognition for having the best adult alcohol-free beverage program at the 2023 Vibe Vista Awards. 

Alcohol-free options that go beyond a can of soda have taken off on airlines as well—at least in the front of the plane. Virgin Atlantic, for instance, has stocked the bar of its upper class cabin with alcohol-free beer. And if you’re flying first or business class on Emirates, the flight attendant can serve you a tasty zero-proof cocktail such as an orange fizz or virgin cucumber gimlet.

“I was on a Qatar Airways flight recently and noticed they had a nonalcoholic sparkling white wine I had never heard of,” said Sheinbaum. “It was interesting to me, as someone who is so involved in this, to discover a brand I had never heard of in the air.”

The sober-curious movement has even slid into one of the most notoriously boozy travel experiences: après-ski. After hitting the slopes, you can now relax with a drink made with booze-free spirits from Seedlip at several of Bramble Ski’s chalets in Europe. 

In other words, it’s easier than ever to cut back on alcohol or avoid it entirely when you travel, without making compromises on the overall experience.

No matter where you go, though, experts say there are a few things you can do to make sure you have a great alcohol-free vacation. 

Sober Travel Tips

“ Be selective about the place you go and the people you go with ,” advised Burnison of We Love Lucid. “If you’re going away on a boozy holiday to Ibiza, for example, it’s going to be an uphill struggle to decide not to drink.”

Signing up for an alcohol-free tour group such as the ones mentioned above is one way to ensure you’re with people who share your interests. But if you’re traveling with friends and family who plan to drink on your getaway, you might find it easier to stick with your own plan to go booze-free if you take charge of some parts of the itinerary, said Sheinbaum.

“ Take the lead in planning nonalcoholic activities , whether that’s taking a hike, canoeing, or something else active that doesn’t give you time to have an alcoholic beverage in hand,” she suggested.

Finally, Murray of Hooked recommends that you research which bars and restaurants in your destination have exciting nonalcoholic options . She has noticed an uptick in booze-free dining throughout Europe and the United States, and said she only expects sober travel to become easier in the coming years.

“There’s a whole sober movement taking place, including people who’ve quit for recovery, or health, or just those who want to practice clean living and mindful travel,” Murray said. “I definitely see alcohol-free travel increasing over the next 5 years.”

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Disney cruise drink packages: How to save on beer, wine, cocktails and coffee

If you're looking for a Disney cruise drink package, you might be disappointed. That's because Disney Cruise Line doesn't sell a traditional all-inclusive beverage package like other cruise lines do. Still, passengers have plenty of ways to get alcohol or other specialty drinks on the ship at a discount.

Guests who look forward to a glass of Chardonnay with dinner, umbrella-clad drinks by the pool or a nightcap on their balcony can save with wine- and beer-focused packages or even by bringing their own drinks on board with Disney's generous policy.

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After sailing on seven Disney cruises, I've tried just about every trick to get a deal on drinks. Here's what you need to know to decide if any of Disney's cruise drink packages or money-saving hacks are worth it for your family.

Which drinks are included on a Disney cruise?

Your Disney cruise fare includes some beverages but not others; alcohol is not included, so a glass of wine, beer or cocktail will cost you extra.

One of the biggest perks to a Disney cruise, however, is that soda from specific onboard locations is included in the cost of your sailing. Soft drinks can be found at the beverage station on Deck 9 of Disney Magic and Disney Wonder and at two beverage stations on Deck 11 of Disney Wish , Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy. Teens can also find complimentary sodas in the teen-only lounge, Vibe. Soda is included at meals, as well.

However, if you order a soft drink from a bar or lounge, you will be charged a per-drink fee. Be careful about what you order so you don't pay for a drink that's free elsewhere on the ship.

Related: Are cruises all-inclusive? What's actually included in your cruise fare

Besides soda, other free-of-charge, non-alcoholic options available at beverage stands include coffee, milk and juice. At dinner, you can get soda, coffee and tea for free.

Disney cruise drink packages for wine

Wine lovers don't have the option of an all-inclusive drinks package, but they can take advantage of discounted pricing for pre-purchasing wine bundles. Disney Cruise Line says the packages offer a 25% savings over ordering bottles a la carte on board.

Wine packages range from $105 to $220 for three, four, five or seven bottles of wine from a pre-selected "classic" list of white, red or sparkling wines. The package goes up in price to $155 to $330 for three to seven bottles of wine from the premium wine list.

You can choose different vintages or the same for each night of your cruise. One perk of this package is that you don't have to order the number of bottles corresponding to your sailing length. You can order more than one bottle per night, and what you don't finish can be taken back to your cabin or enjoyed the following evening in the dining room. Or, you can order just a few bottles for a weeklong cruise if you'll easily split a bottle over two dinners.

Disney cruise drink packages for beer

If you want a beer package, the options are slightly more limited than the wine offerings. You can choose from seven different beers, including Blue Moon, Corona and Heineken, and each comes in a six-pack for the price of five beers at $36.25.

If you're a hard seltzer fan, you can also order a six-pack of Truly pineapple or wild berry for $32.50. These can be delivered to your cabin for you to enjoy at your leisure around the ship.

Related: Are cruise line drinks packages worth the price? What to know before you buy

How to book Disney's beer and wine packages

You can book Disney's cruise drink packages for beer and wine online before your sailing or after you get onto the ship.

To book before boarding your cruise, go to Disney's onboard gifts webpage and choose the beer or wine package that works for you. According to Disney Cruise Line, most of the items can be delivered to your cabin on embarkation day, but you can also choose to have them delivered to a dining room to enjoy at dinner.

Once you're on the ship, you can order packages in the main dining room on the first night of your restaurant rotation, from crew selling beverage packages at kiosks around the ship or by calling guest services or room service.

Disney Cruise Line's bring-your-own alcohol policy

If you're looking for additional ways to save on cruise drinks, you might want to consider bringing your own alcohol.

Compared to most cruise lines that allow guests to bring only a small amount of wine with them upon embarkation only, Disney's alcohol policy for guests is generous. Every person 21 or older can bring two bottles of unopened wine or Champagne or six 12-ounce beers on board at the beginning of the cruise and at each port of call.

All drinks that you are bringing with you must be put in your carry-on bag. If you accidentally pack these drinks in your checked luggage, they will be removed and not returned, even at the end of the sailing.

If you bring wine with a cork, your stateroom host can provide you with a corkscrew and glasses to use. Those who want to enjoy the wine they brought on board in the dining room must pay a $26 corkage fee per bottle, so plan to drink your own bottles in your cabin to save money.

Other ways to save money on drinks with Disney Cruise Line

Even without an all-inclusive drink package, you can save money on drinks on a Disney cruise. These are our six tried-and-true tips for ordering fun cocktails and specialty beverages for less.

Related: How to get free or cheap drinks on a cruise

Find happy hours across the ship

While alcohol isn't free on board any Disney Cruise Line ship, you can take advantage of daily happy hours to save money. You can find out when and where happy hour is by browsing through the Disney Cruise Line Navigator app each day. Happy hour is listed under daily events, and the app will tell you when and where you can find drink specials.

On my most recent Disney cruise, happy hour rotated around the various adults-only bars and lounges, though times did change depending on the bar. Select drinks were half-priced.

Try the drink of the day

If you're into tropical drinks, you'll want to try your ship's drink of the day every day, including on port days at Disney's private island, Castaway Cay. This rotating menu of drinks is offered at a discount.

Additionally, you can purchase a drink of the day souvenir cup, which is usually a plastic hurricane-style cup, to use throughout your cruise. This cup can only be used for a drink of the day purchase, but with the cup, you do get a larger serving of the daily cocktail special.

Check out the Sommelier Bin wines

Select bars on all Disney Cruise Line ships feature a menu with a small section called the Sommelier Bin. With this, you tell your server or bartender you want a glass of white, red or sparkling wine from the bin. They will select a wine based on the already open bottles, but you won't know exactly what you're getting until it's poured and delivered.

If you want to try something new or feel adventurous one evening, the Sommelier Bin is a great way to sample wine at a discounted price.

Enjoy free drinks in the concierge lounge

If you splurge and book yourself a concierge-level room on any of the Disney Cruise Line ships, you're privy to a host of extra amenities and benefits. One of them is free drinks.

All day, bottled water, soft drinks, milk and juice are available, and in the evening beer, wine and spirits are served by lounge bartenders. Upon arrival, you will get an information sheet with times for the daily food and beverage offerings so you know when your family should show up for meals or drink service. If you do get a cocktail or mocktail, you can take it outside the lounge if you have somewhere else to be around the ship.

Related: What it takes to get concierge lounge access on a cruise ship

Save with the Disney Cruise Line beer mug

For those who like to sip on a cold beer while enjoying a show, time at the pool or playing trivia, the beer mug savings package could be worth buying. You can buy the mug online before your cruise from the Onboard Gifts and Amenities area of the Disney Cruise Line website for $15.25. You can also purchase it once you're on the ship from one of the kiosks with crew selling drink packages.

The package allows you to get a 21-ounce refill of beer for the price of a 16-ounce beer from any bar on the ship that offers draft beer.

You also get a beer token with the package, which entitles you to all of the benefits of the package without having to carry the glass around with you. If you choose to go with the beer mug token, you can swap it in for a mug on the last night of your cruise. The mug makes a great souvenir to take home.

Get a coffee punch card

Just like other cruise lines, specialty coffee drinks are an added cost on Disney Cruise Line ships. You can find these drinks in the Cove Cafe, an adults-only coffee spot on every ship, or at the inside coffee bars near the main atrium.

If you plan on drinking more than five specialty coffee beverages throughout your sailing, ask the crew member making your drink for a punch card. Every time you visit the Cove Cafe or one of the atrium coffee bars and order a coffee-based drink, you can get your card punched. After five punches, your sixth drink is free.

Pro-tip: Put your card in your lanyard or wallet with your room key so you always have it with you. You don't want to go to pay for your coffee order only to find out you don't have your punch card with you.

Will you really miss the drink package if you're sailing on Disney Cruise Line?

If you've sailed on other cruise lines and bought the drink package, you might think that you will miss its benefits on Disney Cruise Line. The truth is that because Disney offers so many ways to enjoy specialty drinks and alcohol that are free or discounted, including being able to bring your own alcohol on at every port of call, you might end up saving money on drinks while sailing with Disney, compared to other lines.

Should you choose to have cocktails or specialty drinks, just be sure to set a daily drink budget and check yourself daily to be sure you're not spending too much on beverages.

The bottom line is that even though Disney doesn't have a traditional all-inclusive drink package, you can still find ways to save money on beverage purchases. Whether you bring your own alcohol on board at every port, try your luck with the Sommelier bin or save with a beer or wine package, you'll never go thirsty on Disney Cruise Line.

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11 Best Ways to Sneak Alcohol On a Cruise 2024

Drinking alcohol is one of the most popular pastimes on a  cruise vacation.    It’s no wonder then that with the relatively high price of individual drinks and drinks packages and alcohol playing such a large part in a cruise experience, guests talk about and attempt to sneak alcohol on board.

Most ocean sailing cruise ships strictly limit the amount of alcohol you can bring on the cruise.

Usually, it is only wine you can take on a cruise , typically one to two bottles.  Beers and liquors are often prohibited.

Before you decide whether to get around the rules, it might be worth checking out our drinks packages advice and tips, and ways to maximize value and even benefit from hacks such as those highlighted in our How to cheat royal Caribbean drinks package.

Either way, no doubt sneaking on your favorite alcohol and liquors, in particular, could potentially save you hundreds of dollars.

Some people think it’s the only way they can drink on a cruise at 18 to 20, although underage drinking should be discouraged. Whereas others are convinced alcoholic cruise drinks are watered down , so try to take their own.

Finally, it’s worth considering what happens if you get caught sneaking alcohol on a cruise , so you know what you are risking.

Also, its worth checking beforehand if you can bring alcohol on a cruise in the first place for your cruise line of choice. It might be more than you think, or may allow you to use some of the methods below to sneak liquor on instead of wine.

Disclaimer : I do not advocate trying to smuggle alcohol on a cruise.  The below methods for how to sneak alcohol on a cruise are methods of discussion for fun and entertainment purposes only, which we have picked up from amusing conversations with other guests and also doing our own research.  If you attempt to smuggle drinks onboard, you do so at your own risk.

How to Sneak Alcohol on a Cruise Ship

Most of these items are ideal for sneaking alcohol onto a cruise ship.

However, some can be extra useful for having once you are on the ship when it comes to sneaking the use of the alcohol into other drinks without being seen.

This is where small discreet flasks can come in handy.

1. Rum Runners

Rum runners are plastic bags like flasks in which you can pour alcohol and then pack it in your luggage to disguise its contents. 

To make your rum runners less detectable, pack them, so they don’t stand out clearly on the X-rays.  Put the funnel cap end mixed in near other small toiletries, so it doesn’t stand out as a cap to a liquid-filled bag.

If you have any other legit liquid containers, put them layered over the rum runners, so they show on the scan over the rum runners.  If the luggage gets called to be opened, there’s a chance that when they open it and see legit liquid containers, they’ll let it through rather than rummage through all your packed luggage.

If you have more than one item of luggage, split the rum runners into different bags, so if one gets called out for a manual check, the other bags might get through.

If security does a spot check and sees a rum runner, they will know what it is and confiscate it.

Rum Runners On Carnival Cruise

The couple below successfully smuggled their rum runners onto a Carnival Cruise.

The video shows how to fill the rum runners and pack in her luggage to finally to the unpacking in the stateroom.

Rum Runners on Person

Another way I’ve heard people use rum runners to sneak alcohol on a cruise is to use the smaller bags on their person.  For example, tucked in their cargo pants.

Rum runners are usually sold in multi-packs, which you can find on Amazon here.  Double check you get one with a funnel, so you don’t risk spilling any of your precious liquor.

They are undoubtedly one of the cheapest options for sneaking alcohol onboard .

2. Fake Shampoo Bottles (Disguised Flask)

Fake shampoo bottles are a great way to smuggle some alcohol onboard.  Many are specifically made with sneaking alcohol on cruise ships in mind.

You can purchase whole fake shampoo and conditioner sets, so in theory, you could take enough liquors to make a range of your own cocktails in your stateroom.

The bottles look realistic from the outside.  Make sure you choose one with foam security seals that stop leaks but, more importantly, make the bottles look sealed, so if they are opened by cruise staff, there is no smell of alcohol.

Don’t bother trying to reuse old shampoo bottles.   They are notoriously difficult to clean. You don’t want to contaminate your alcohol with any remnants you inadvertently missed after going through all the trouble of smuggling your favorite liquor onboard.

The other issue with reusing old bottles is they are much more likely to leak.  

The reviews show these are very successful ways of sneaking alcohol onboard.

3. Fake Suncream (Sneak Flask)

Fake suncream flasks are another good option because they naturally contain liquid, so they won’t look suspicious on a scan.

Also, it looks natural in a set if you’re taking different strengths sun creams but really taking different liquors.

The other advantage is they look like natural containers to have around while sunning yourself by the pool, so when you get the opportunity, you can add some alcohol to your soft drinks without suspicion.

They should come with funnels for easy alcohol pouring when filling and also factory seals to keep them watertight and make them look brand new opened.

4. Tampon Flask

Tampon flasks are plastic test tubes that you can fill with alcohol and disguise as a tampon.   Security won’t give them a close inspection if they are discovered in your luggage.

They are more commonly used for festivals and concert-type events rather than cruises.

While they can be used to sneak alcohol onboard, they are of limited use due to their small size.

However, some women carry them around in their bags while in public areas of the ship and use them to add alcohol to soft drinks.

If you use them, make sure you pack them in a water-tight plastic bag to avoid any problems with leakage.

5. Liquor In Wine Bottle Cruise Hack

Most cruise lines allow guests to bring wine on a cruise , typically just one bottle, but sometimes more.

This presents an opportunity to replace the wine with your favorite liquor.   

However, if you choose this method, you have to do it properly and make it look like the wine bottle has never been opened.

This is where Wine Corker Cruise Kits come in.  These allow you to re-cork your wine and even reseal it.

It can be a bit more time-consuming to set up compared to other methods.  Recorking the bottle isn’t always easy for some, and then you have to heat the seal so its looks as new as possible.

Here’s a video example of the wine resealing method:

6. Umbrella Flask

Depending on the cruise you are going on, an umbrella flask could be an option for sneaking alcohol use.  

They can be used both for smuggling alcohol onboard and on ships or excursions.  

Just carry the BoozeBrella in your bags as if you are ready for all weather.  Even though it’s purely a flask and not an umbrella anyone can use.

7. Binocular Flask

Binoculars are a cruise essential for many on a sightseeing cruise holiday, so what better secret alcohol container than a binocular flask ?

Not being bottle shaped its more likely to go unnoticed through the Xrays.

Another good thing is that each side is a separate flask so if you wanted you can put different liquors in each side, approximately 8 oz each side.

8. Booze Bra / Bra Flask 

A booze bra or, as otherwise known, Liquor bra or wine rack bra.

This is a more extreme way to smuggle alcohol on a cruise, but for some, it’s an option to hide up to 25 oz of alcohol on your person.

It’s one of those methods that sound good but maybe isn’t as good when put into practice.   It might not be a good fit or comfortable for some.  The tube needs to be hidden at all times.  There’s also the possibility it could leak.

However, 25 oz is 25 oz for some, so worth the effort.

9. Mouthwash Bottles

Mouthwash bottles have been a popular way of sneaking alcohol on cruises.  Thoroughly rinse an old Listerine bottle and fill with your favorite clear liquors like vodka and gins. Then, color them with food coloring to match ordinary mouthwashes, typically pinks, blues, and greens.

Or these days, you can buy colored variations of gin and vodka, so you might not even need to add the coloring.

The disadvantage of this method is the cruise lines know it’s an old trick.  Some even mention it in their terms of what they look out for in their alcohol policies, so if they spot it you can expect them to flag it up to be checked.

The temptation is also to buy the larger bottles of mouthwash, which most people wouldn’t normally take on a short vacation.

10. Hairbrush Flask

The hairbrush flask is a good secret alcohol container for carrying around with you.  Holding 6oz of liquor, you can keep it close by at all times in a bag and use it to discreetly top up soft drinks.

The bonus with this alcohol flask is that you can use it for its original intended function as well, as brushing your hair.  Some also double up with a mirror on the back.

11 Wine Backpack & Beach Bags

This Wine backpack or Wine beach bag is ideal for traveling with a large amount of hidden alcohol.  It can hold up to 1.5 liters, so 2 bottles of wine.

You pour your wine or liquor into a pouch hidden within a compartment in the bag.

You can also use it as a backpack in its own right as well.

It could be used to sneak alcohol through security, but more likely used to have it on you around the ship or on excursions, so you have your alcohol discreetly accessible and close by.

Most importantly, its leak proof.  As you can see from the reviews, it works very well.

Foolproof Way To Sneak Alcohol On A Cruise

The most foolproof way of sneaking alcohol on a cruise would be using factory-sealed shampoo flasks.    These are containers you naturally fill with liquid to avoid suspicion.

The factory seal hides any smell of alcohol should they be handled in an inspection.

This works for all cruises, even those that don’t allow any drinks onboard, such as MSC and Costa Cruises which don’t allow non-alcoholic onboard, and only water if it is for medical purposes. This saves the cruise lines time from having to check bottles to see if they sneakily contain alcohol. Plus they make more money from purchases on the ships.

However, guests will still try sneaking alcohol on MSC and Costa Cruises using these methods.

Related Reads

• Drinking Age In International Waters – for each Cruise Line

Frequently Asked Questions

Do rum runners show on xrays.

Although liquid can be detected on a cruise scanner because of the shape of the rum runner, it is much less likely to be noticed than the outline shape of a bottle full of liquid.

How to Sneak Alcohol On A Royal Caribbean Cruise?

Royal Caribbean limits guests to 1 bottle of wine. This allows using it to smuggle liquor onboard instead.  

Other disguised flasks also work well, including shampoo, conditioner, and fake sun creams.  

Rum runners are another popular option.

Does Royal Caribbean Check Luggage For Alcohol?

The Royal Caribbean guest policy states that their security may inspect containers and specifically mention mouthwash, water, and soda bottles, so avoid those options.   

How to Sneak Alcohol on a Carnival Cruise?

Carnival cruises allow one bottle of wine to be taken onboard.  This gives an option to fill it with liquor and reseal it.

Rum runners in checked luggage and other sneak flasks can work just as well with Carnival as with any other cruise line.

If Carnival does discover your alcohol, it will be confiscated and permanently discarded.

How To Sneak Liquor on a Cruise?

You can sneak liquor on a cruise using a variety of disguised flasks such as fake shampoo bottles and rum runners.  Filling a wine bottle with liquor is another option if the cruise line has a wine allowance for boarding guests.

How Do You Sneak Alcohol onto a P&O Cruise?

P&O Cruises allow guests to bring 1 liter of wine, beer or spirits onboard. This is more than most other cruise lines allow for alcohol , many of which don’t even allow spirits or liquor.

Still, if you wish to try and take more onboard use the methods like Rum Runners or containers to disguise the alcohol.

Do Cruise Ships Search your Luggage?

If security spots anything suspicious as your luggage passes through the Xrays, they can pull out bags to be searched, or sometimes they just do spot checks.  Even if your luggage is locked, they can remove them.

Can Sniffer Dogs Smell Alcohol on a Cruise?

Sniffer dogs can be trained to detect alcohol. However, they are not used for this purpose when boarding cruise ships.  

Related Posts

Can You Bring a Vape on a Cruise?  (2024)

Can You Bring Curling Irons On a Cruise Ship?

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Roaming Around the World

Travel Guides, Tips, and Tales

25 Best Tips: How to Get Cheap & Free Drinks on a Cruise Ship

October 12, 2022 By John Widmer 68 Comments

Indulging in many beverages can be so much fun when cruising. But in 2023, as drink prices on cruises hover around $10, those poolside piña coladas will add up before you know it. Splurging every night on costly cruise cocktails can be a blast. But it’ll also blast your onboard account before you can even say “mar-ga-ri-ta.”

During the past eight years, we used extreme budget travel tactics to drink our way across 100 countries and even cruise entirely around the world . After spending 237 days (8 months) as paying passengers on 21 different cruises, we’ve figured out the best strategies to drink lots on cruises while keeping our bar bill very low.

We’re now back on land to share all of our alcohol hacks, tips, and tricks on how to get cheap drinks on cruise lines such as Carnival, Norwegian, Royal Caribbean, Princess, Celebrity, Holland America, and more. Many of these strategies will even get you free drinks on a cruise!

As an example of our cheap cruise drink strategy, during a 14-day sailing on the Celebrity, we managed to keep our bar tab under $75 per person, while drinking quite well …and a lot! That’s less than $6 per day! During a transatlantic repositioning cruise with Royal Caribbean, we solely used a $100 onboard credit to drink throughout the cruise (for free) and we again drank very well during that 13-day voyage.

But it was on a two-week Norwegian Star cruise, that we scored unlimited drinks for free the entire cruise! How did we pull that off?

This article details tactics like how to get hooked up with a free beverage package and the truth about sneaking booze onto a cruise. But let’s play by the rules. As such, happy hours can make for happy cruisers! And knowing when the free cocktails are served is even better! Yes, many cruises regularly give passengers unlimited free drinks for short periods for those in the know. Cheers to that! 🍻

Creating your own mini-bar is another fun drinking cruise hack we regularly employ. And for those who want better coffee without paying inflated specialty coffee prices, we show how to be your own barista! Actually, there are plenty of free non-alcoholic drinks to enjoy on a cruise. Yet cruisers looking for booze will find plenty of alcohol hacks to get cheap cruise drinks all throughout this post.

So without further ado, here are 25 of our best cruise tips and hacks to get cheap (and free) drinks on a cruise. Let the party begin! 🍹

1) Exploit Cruise Ship Happy Hours

Sometimes cruise happy hours are only subtly advertised. Passengers must be observant and seek out these money-saving cruise drink deals. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for happy hour promotions on tabletop signs at cruise bars.

Know that cruise happy hours vary greatly by cruise line, ship, and even each sailing. Cruise happy hours change constantly. Cruise happy hours even change from bar to bar on the same ship.

Despite ongoing changes, here are each cruise line’s happy hours :

• Carnival : Known to offer happy hour with half-off cocktails and beer at specific times at particular bars (e.g., Red Frog Pub, casino bar) on certain days only (often embarkation days and port days).
• Celebrity : Previously offered two happy hours with greatly reduced-priced cocktails, wine, and beer. Although Celebrity’s happy hour is now focused on free drinks for Elite Captain’s Club members 5:00-7:00, occasional happy hours can still be found throughout some ships.
• Disney Cruise Line : Typically has several happy hours nightly at specific bars with up to half-off drinks.
• Holland America : Typically has two happy hours (e.g., 4:00-6:00, 10:00-midnight) with buy one drink, get one half-off (has replaced buy-one-get-one for $1/$2 happy hour)
• Norwegian : No regular happy hour on NCL, but sporadic BOGO happy hours have been found at specific bars, only on some ships.
• MSC : No regular happy hours across MSC cruise line, but in the past BOGO drink deals have been spotted at specific bars (e.g., Sports Bar) on certain ships.
• Princess Cruises : Formerly offered BOGO happy hours but this has been discontinued.
• Royal Caribbean : No regular happy hours on most bars, but specific bars on some RCL ships do offer happy hours such as Buy-One-Get-One drinks in late afternoons at low-traffic bars.
• Virgin Voyages : No known happy hours.

💡 Tip: Plan around two happy hours

When you find cruise bars that have two nightly happy hours, plan your drinking wisely to maximize your onboard budget during these two happy hour periods. For example, it is fairly common to find happy hours during 4:00-6:00 and again from 10:00-midnight. So be sure to hit the bar and drink up during these cruise happy hours, particularly if it’s BOGO or half-off drinks. Then use our subsequent cruise drinking tips to drink economically during the four-hour gap between 6:00-10:00.

In addition to the planned cruise happy hours, some lines, such as Carnival, have been known to just announce drink deals spontaneously on party nights. Listen up and you may hear the DJ announce $1 beers! It’s happened to us before and we stocked up, which leads us to our next cheap cruise drink tip!

2) Stock Up for Later During the Best Cruise Drink Promos

If beer prices are slashed for happy hour, during a big promotion, or at a free drink event, then consider ordering some unopened beers to stash them for a later time. Take those inexpensive beers back to your cabin and put them in the mini-fridge. Doing so will enable you to enjoy those discounted (or free) beers poolside the next day!

When ordering, kindly ask the bartender not to open the beer. Occasionally a bartender may insist on opening it. If that’s so, order a 16 oz. aluminum bottles with twist-off caps. Those beer bottles can be easily resealed. So during price drops and or complimentary drink soirées, stock up!

But typically bartenders have no issue with passengers buying several unopened beers during a promotion. In fact, on a Holland America cruise when a 2-for-1 craft beer promotion came up, a bartender offered to send an entire case of discounted beers to our stateroom! We did. This brought the price-per-beer down to $2.98, which is even cheaper than buying those same beers at a bar on land!

Cruise loyalty members may also be invited to events with complimentary drinks and high-tiered members even get access to nightly complimentary happy hours on some cruise lines. But since the timing is limited, this can be another situation to take a beer or two to-go, to enjoy later.

Lastly, rare circumstances may call for free drinks onboard, which can be another consideration to snag some free beers for later. For example, on another HAL cruise, we took, the weather had canceled a planned port call. So the captain actually gave all passengers a complimentary happy hour as a nice gesture to disappointed passengers. If something like this ever happens during your sailing, it can be an excellent time to stock up on a few free beers!

3) Attend Cruise Drink Tasting Events

Wine tastings, cocktail tastings, martini tastings, and even beer tastings can be some of the best drink deals at sea. Personally, it’s our favorite tip to partake in for cheap drinks on a cruise.

These aren’t free tastings (we’ll show you where to get those later). Drink tasting events are typically paid activities to try several cocktails during a fun and informative demonstration that can last about a half hour or so. And they often yield excellent value!

🤓 Let’s do the math! Specialty drinks, like creative martinis, typically cost $15 (or more), plus gratuity. So five fancy cocktails could easily cost a cruiser $90. These tasting events on cruises vary in cost, but are often priced around $25, giving half-pours or sometimes even full-sized pours.

Often with cocktail or martini tasting they give about 4-6 ounces tasting, which is a half-sized cocktail. So that’s an okay-ish value, equating to 2.5 cocktails for $25. For comparison, three of these same cocktails would otherwise cost $53 when priced at $15 +gratuities.

Yet occasionally at tasting events, we’ve been pleasantly surprised by receiving full-sized drinks! We’ve found that drink tastings on NCL (Norwegian Cruise Line) are of particularly good value, as they’ve poured some large and strong drinks. Norwegian usually does martini tastings, margarita tastings, beer tastings, and wine tastings during their regular cruises.

Five good cocktails on an NCL would easily set you back around $100. So enjoying them at a tasting event for $25 is excellent value.

If you don’t want to drink all five drinks, consider attending with a partner/friend and sharing the experience . These events are usually charged by the pour, not by the person.

These tasting events aren’t just good value, you get to try a variety of different cocktails you may have never thought to try before. Drink-tasting events are also a lot of fun and a great way to make friends during a cruise. We’ve even learned some drink recipes that we now use back home.

Keep an eye out for alcohol tastings in the daily itineraries. When you see them, reserve a spot and you may discover your favorite new libation, all while being mindful of your drink budget.

4) Why Never Order Wine By the Glass on a Cruise

Never ever order by the glass on a cruise, even if you’re only going to have one glass of wine with dinner. Here’s why: if you order a bottle of wine and don’t finish it, your server will gladly re-cork it for you so that you can enjoy the rest of that bottle on another night, at no additional charge. Also, most cruise ships even permit the server to send what’s left of the bottle to another bar or even to your stateroom.

As is the case with any land-based restaurant, wine by the bottle on cruise ships offers significant savings compared to ordering by the glass. So as long as you’re able to finish an entire bottle during the length of your entire cruise, there’s really no reason to order by the glass.

🤓 Let’s do the math! Glasses of wine priced at $7 may seem like a good deal, but it’ll add up to $42 (plus gratuities) over the course of six glasses. That’s over $50! On our last cruise, the $7-per-glass wine was priced at $29-per-bottle. So ordering the bottle will ultimately get you that same wine for far less money. Just finish the bottle another night or whenever you’re ready.

5) Wine Drinkers Should Buy a Wine Package to Save

Most all cruise lines offer wine packages in which you commit to a certain number of bottles throughout your sailing, at a reduced price. Typically the more wine you commit to, the greater the price reduction. So try to estimate how much wine you’ll go through on the front end of the cruise, which will lessen the blow to your onboard account by departure day.

You can often purchase these wine packages before you set sail. Buying these packages online before your cruise usually gives a slightly bigger discount. For example, Celebrity offers a Taste of the Vineyards package online with either 3, 5, or 7 bottles. The 3-bottle package starts at $109. Look online or ask your booking agent. Alternatively, inquire about these wine packages at the ship’s wine bar.

If you’re going on a 7-day cruise and you think you may share one bottle of wine each night for dinner, then it would make sense to order a 7-bottle package for nice savings!

🤓 Let’s do the math! Below is an example of the Holland America wine packages we found during a recent cruise. Their rates start at $119 for a four-bottle package. Those particular bottles were priced at $35-$40 individually. So you would save $20-$40 by purchasing this package instead of buying the wines individually. If you know, you’re definitely going to be drinking these wines, it certainly would prove advantageous to buy the wine package.

6) Find Cheap Drinks in Port

If you have an extra hour or two to burn while in port, skip the sugary overpriced drinks at Señor Frogs and Fat Tuesday. Instead, find a cozy local bar a little further away from the port to throw back a few. Not only will you have a more authentic travel experience with local flavor, but you also may find local prices!

Drink your Budwiesers and Heinekens once you’re back home or on the ship. Instead, take the opportunity on shore to explore a local beer or spirit.

We’ve found there to be some surprisingly tasty brews popping up all around the world. Many popular Caribbean and Central American cruise destinations even have local brewpubs near cruise ports.

Also, be aware that many places around the world don’t have open container laws like the US. This means you can go into a local convenience store, and get a cold beer to enjoy while relaxing on the beach, touring the city streets, or simply walking back to the ship while you sip .

Whatever you’re able to sip on while ashore will almost certainly be better priced than on the ship and likely more interesting too. So drink up!

💡 Tip: How to know if open containers are tolerated in port . Many countries officially have open container laws, but they are completely unenforced in popular cruise ports. The easiest way to know whether drinking alcohol in public is tolerated is if the cashier of a convenience store has a bottle opener at the counter .

If you see a bottle opener, it’s a clear indication it’s acceptable to drink on the streets while in port. So use it to pop open a beer. The best part is that all of these local beers while in port will be at a fraction of the cost compared to the cruise ship’s pricey drinks.

Get to know the local drinks in an area you’re visiting ! Local wine found ashore throughout a Mediterranean cruise is not only delicious but can be surprisingly inexpensive. That’s the same for rum throughout the Caribbean. And let’s not forget about all the yummy tropical cocktails found all throughout many of the world’s most popular island cruise ports.

Our favorite local drink to get is painkillers in the Virgin Islands! Although we’ll always seek out sky juice whenever porting in Nassau. Rum punch is a must in Jamacia, just as margaritas are obligatory in Mexico. Yet don’t overlook the panty ripper in Belize. There are so many delicious cocktails to explore throughout the Caribbean and elsewhere!

7) Go on Inexpensive Shore Excursions that Include All Your Alcohol

Instead of necking a bottle of beer in the streets, book a tasting tour, a booze cruise, or an all-inclusive beach pass while in port. Use a tour agency independent from the cruise line to save money on shore excursions.

We always use and recommend Viator shore excursions since they tend to be nearly half the cost of the cruise line’s excursions. Their ports of call tours include a worry-free guarantee promise to get you back to the ship. And if your cruise has to cancel a port for any reason, it’s nice to know that they automatically provide a full refund.

Where are you cruising to? Here are just a few booze-filled shore excursions in some of the most popular Caribbean cruise ports:

🇲🇽 Cozumel, Mexico Drinking Excursions:

• Mr. Sancho’s Beach Club   is the hottest drink ticket in Cozumel and is such incredible value! For the price of about five drinks on a cruise ship, this ticket gets you an all-day pass to this white-sand beach resort that includes a full open bar with unlimited drinks ! The day pass also includes a complete lunch menu, beach loungers, and even ocean kayaking along Cozumel’s coastline! But best of all, there’s a swim-up bar, so you don’t even have to leave the pool to get your next margarita. Drink up! ⚠️ Beware : this one regularly sells out in advance. Check availability now for your travel dates.
• Cozumel Coral Reef Snorkeling by Glass Bottom Boat : Although drinking is not the main activity, this snorkeling tour provides complimentary beers after getting out of the water. This high-rated tour is well-priced to pack in a boat ride, snorkeling, and cervezas ! Check availability .

🇧🇸 Nassau, Bahamas  Drinking Excursions:

• Rum Reggae and Rhythms Tour looks like so much fun and has so many excellent reviews to vouch for it. This tour the also the least expensive booze-filled tour we’ve seen in the Bahamas, and you’ll have to sip slowly while venturing out to a number of local Nassau drinking spots. Check availability .
• Nassau Food Tasting and Cultural Walking Tour focuses more on local Bahamian food. Yet it also includes some rum cocktails along the way. This tour gets great reviews and would be a fun way to taste Nassau while enjoying a few drinks along the way. Check prices .

🇰🇾 Cayman Islands Drinking Excursions:

• Rum & Beer Tour with Lunch : This is our top pick for the Cayman Islands, as this 3-hour tour packs a rum distillery, a rum cake factory, and a local lunch with local craft beers. It seems that there’s plenty of rum and beer to try all along the way so you definitely won’t return to the ship sober. Book now .

🇻🇮 St Thomas, US Virgin Islands Drinking Excursions

• Rum & Food Tour : This tour explores St Thomas’s rum history, as it includes two rum drinks, but also puts focus on the island’s local food scene. Perhaps best of all, you’ll learn how to make the signature drink of the Virgin Islands – the Pain Killer. And then drink it, of course. Sooo good! Check prices .

🇸🇽 St Maarten Drinking Excursions

• Orient & Maho Beach : If you’re going to visit St Maarten’s two most famous beaches, be sure to choose a tour that includes cold beer and delicious rum punch along the way. This fun tour does and is only $40 !
• Topper Rhum Distillery Tour : After touring this famed distillery, you visit the tasting bar for unlimited rum samples and even the opportunity to bottle your own rum! It’s another bargain-priced tour that gets rave reviews.

Other Boozy Shore Excursions Around the World

The above-listed shore excursions are only a few of the vast variety of excursions Viator has available on its tour booking site. You can find these boozy shore excursions all over the world, from a whale watching & brewery tour in Alaska to a vineyard excursion in Northern Italy. Search Viator excursions for your ports of call .

8) How to Get Cheap Booze in Your Cabin on the Final Night

Can you buy a bottle of liquor on a cruise ship?

Yes, there are two ways to buy a bottle of alcohol on a cruise ship:

• Buy a bottle from the duty-free liquor store on the cruise, but they hold it
• Order a bottle of liquor to your stateroom anytime (more info in the next tip, #9)

First, let’s discuss buying a bottle from the liquor store on a cruise. Most all cruise ships have duty-free liquor stores with a vast assortment of alcohol at decent prices. However, the cruise ship liquor store will not allow you to take those bottles back to consume in your cabin …that is, until the last night.

On the final afternoon of your cruise, any bottles that you purchased while ashore or from the cruise ship’s liquor store will be delivered directly to your stateroom.

So, at some point during your cruise, go to the duty-free liquor store onboard and buy a bottle if you want to use it on the final night to cut loose and have a few extra cheap drinks. This tax-free liquor is well-priced and you may even catch an additional sale on alcohol from time to time.

Also on the final evening of the cruise, the duty-free store will, in fact, allow you to walk out of the shop with any liquor you purchase. On one cruise, we noticed that an entire liter bottle of vodka at the duty-free shop was actually priced less than two shots of the exact same vodka if you were to purchase it at the bar.

Additionally,  any alcohol purchased while in port will also be delivered to your stateroom on the final day of your cruise. So don’t hesitate to buy that delicious Jamaican rum or snag that bottle of tequila while docked in Cozumel. When you return to the cruise ship, you can easily check the bottle with security. Then once the last night of your cruise rolls around, any bottles that you’ve purchased ashore will be delivered to your room.

Also, if you happen to be in port on the final day of a cruise itinerary, most cruise ships will actually permit you to bring any liquor purchases right back on board with you. No sneaky tactics are required. Just walk right on and put that bottle through the X-ray machine. But again, this tends to only be allowed when bringing liquor back aboard a cruise that has a port call on the final day of a cruise itinerary.

So on your last night of a cruise, have a party in your stateroom and enjoy! Just be sure to schedule a late disembarkation time the next day. 🤪

Tip for back-to-back cruise cruisers only : If you happen to be on a back-to-back cruise (consecutive cruises on the same ship) and are remaining in the same stateroom, we’ve discovered a loophole that helps to procure cheap drinks on a cruise. On the final night of your first cruise segment, you will receive your purchased liquor in your stateroom. It’s then available to enjoy on your subsequent cruise! While we haven’t seen any official policy that permits this practice, it’s worked for us every time we’ve taken back-to-back cruises.

9) Ordering Bottle Service in Your Stateroom Is a Good Deal

The previous cruise alcohol tip is great for a cheap bottle of liquor on the final cruise night of a cruise. But what about the rest of the cruise? Here’s how to legally buy a bottle of alcohol on a cruise ship that you can actually consume on the ship, anytime.

Most cruise lines offer standard 750-ml bottles of liquor that they’ll deliver to your room for a modest price. They’ll set it all up nicely with glasses and ice for you to use throughout your cruise. Sometimes, they’ll even throw in some free mixers too! The price of these liquor bottles with set-up ranges around $40-$60 , depending on the cruise line and your liquor preference.

While $50 for a bottle of liquor is much more than you’d pay for it at your local liquor store, the cost still comes out to being much less expensive than you would pay for several drinks at the bar on a cruise.

🤓 Let’s do the math on bottle service on a cruise

On a recent cruise aboard the Holland America Koningsdam, the cruise offered a Gin & Tonic package that includes a bottle of Bombay gin and three cans of tonic water for $46.25 + 15% service charge for a grand total of $53.19.

That $53 will yield at least 16 delicious gin & tonics that can be made and enjoyed right from the comfort of the stateroom throughout the entire cruise. So this comes out to about $3.31 per drink.

Meanwhile at the Koningsdam’s bars, that same Bombay gin and tonic comes to $8.34, after the 15% service fee. It would cost over $133 at the bar for 16 gin & tonics. So buying the bottle set-up for your stateroom ultimately results in a massive $80 savings!

Here’s the breakdown: $133 for 16 gin & tonics at the bar -$53 for 16 gin & tonics with bottle service in your stateroom =$80 in savings

Best of all, this bottle service set-up is a totally legal and acceptable way to have booze in your stateroom without having to sneak it on the ship! And with bottles starting at $40, it’s still semi-affordable too. If you’re a heavy cocktail drinker, ordering bottles of liquor to your cabin can really make financial sense. Use this tactic to help ease your onboard account in between drinks at the bar.

Ordering a bottle of alcohol to your room is also far more economical than tapping into a cruise’s minibar set-up. Unless you’re only going to have a drink or two, steer clear of the expensive mini-bar if you’re trying to keep your cruise budget to a minimum. Ordering a bottle of alcohol to your cruise stateroom will prove more economical.

Additionally, most cruise lines (excluding Carnival and NCL) do permit you to bring your own soda on board. So if you plan ahead, you can buy a $40 bottle of liquor on the ship and then use your own mixers that you’ve brought. There’s certainly no need to tap into the expensive minibar sodas!

10) Look for the Captain’s Toast to Get Free Drinks!

If you notice any event in the daily itinerary titled something like “Captain’s Toast” or “Captain’s Reception,” this always means there will be servers running around with trays full of complimentary cocktails, wine, and/or champagne . Don’t miss it!

Typically these events will last at least a half hour. So arrive promptly to get your fill of free drinks!

Hang out, find a nice cozy spot where the drink servers are coming out of, and then cheers to the captain!

11) Play to Win Free Alcohol on a Cruise

There are always a number of contests and competitions held on board cruise ships. You’ll find anything from karaoke to the newlywed game to craft competitions. Smaller activities like daily trivia may only reward winners with a trinket like a keychain. But the larger gameshow-style events dole out much better prizes, and almost always give away free bottles of champagne !

For example, the Newlywed game show (AKA, Love & Marriage) always rewards participants with a free bottle of bubbly. This game is played across every cruise we’ve been on and even the losers have been rewarded with champagne. Really, they’re rewarding participants for embarrassing themselves on stage. And what better reward than a free bottle of champagne on a cruise?

We’ve also seen champagne be rewarded for progressive trivia competitions and virtually every gameshow-style event requiring participants to get up on stage. So participate and bring your A-game. Then you just might get rewarded with oh-so-precious free booze on a cruise!

Once you’re gifted a bottle of sparkling wine from the cruise director, you’re welcome to drink it anywhere on the ship without a corkage fee. Personally, we’ve won a few times and have brought our free bottles, to be uncorked (for free) in the main dining room and to sip on poolside.

12) Be a Loyal Cruiser to Get Rewarded with Free Drinks

If you’ve come back on the same cruise line for a second cruise, cruise lines often reward you with alcohol! But that’s only if you’ve joined their loyalty club, which is totally free to do! So always be sure to join the loyalty program with every cruise line you ever go on.

Even with the lowest loyalty tier, most cruise lines will at least invite passengers to a complimentary cocktail party full of free drinks. Cruise a few more times on that same cruise line and you may find complimentary happy hours every single night for higher-tier loyalty members!

Cruise lines are quite fond of treating their loyal patrons with booze. So if this is your second or greater instance of cruising with the same cruise line, then be sure to check what alcohol perks you may be entitled to and take full advantage of your loyalty freebies.

We’ve found that Royal Caribbean and Celebrity have some particularly enticing loyalty perks for cruisers who enjoy free drinks! In addition to exclusive parties with free drinks, Celebrity rewards their Elite Captain Club members with a daily cocktail hour with unlimited free drinks from 5:00-7:00 at most bars and lounges. Meanwhile, Royal Caribbean rewards Diamond members of the Crown & Anchor Society by loading free drink tickets onto their SeaPass card.

So it can really pay off for drinkers to be loyal to those lines!

Don’t have a loyalty status? Make friends! Not everyone onboard the cruise may be as big of a drinker as you are. Some high-ranking loyalty members may have leftover drink tickets they’re just going to let go to waste. So they are often happy to give them away to anyone who can use them. Sometimes these drink tickets are non-transferable, but this tends to be widely unenforced on cruise lines we’ve sailed on.

13) Free Liquor Tastings on a Cruise!

Most all cruises have a duty-free liquor store. On at least one night (often multiple nights), the liquor store will sample some of their best liquors as a way to entice you to buy a bottle while on board.

Usually, these free liquor tastings tend to occur earlier on a cruise’s itinerary, such as the first or second night. Check the daily guide for times, then stroll on by for your free shot (err, I mean a sample of liquor).

14) Enjoy Free Champagne at the Art Auction

If you’d like to sip on a complimentary glass of champagne, then head on over to the art gallery. Nearly all ships will have multiple art auctions during the cruise, which usually extends a free glass of sparkling wine . You’re not required to bid. So just sit back, learn something about the art, and watch others fight for those limited-release prints.

It can be an entertaining experience. But if you get bored, there’s no shame in making a quiet exit. So perhaps be sure to pick an aisle seat in case you do want to leave early.

15) Beer Drinkers Should Buy Buckets of Beer to Save

Are you heading to the pool and want to kick back a few beers? Buy a bucket of five beers, which most cruises usually offer for the cost of four. It’s a win-win by saving the server a few trips to deliver your beer while saving you a few bucks.

Beer buckets may not be the best drink deal out on the high seas, but it still saves the $6-$7 cost of a bottle of beer. Even if you’re not planning to drink all of those beers in one sitting, it can be worth buying the bucket to bring whatever is left back to your cabin to put on ice or in the mini-fridge.

16) Order the Drink of the Day for a Discounted Cruise Cocktail

Many cruise lines have a specialty “drink of the day” which will usually save you $1-$3 off the regular price. Sure, it’s not as great of a deal as a Buy-One-Get-One happy hour, but the drink of the day deals last the entire day.

Waking up to find out the “daily drink” happens to be your favorite can be a wonderful surprise to take full advantage of.

An additional bonus to the daily drink specials is that you may even get a souvenir cup which can entail even further discounts when getting a refill. The drink of the day is usually outlined in the daily cruise newsletter.

17) Legally Bring Your Own Wine on a Cruise

Many cruise lines actually permit you to bring your own wine and champagne aboard the cruise ship. So take advantage of these bring-your-own-wine allowances!

But wine allowances can vary greatly by the cruise line. Some cruise lines forbid it altogether. Other cruise lines will allow you to bring wine but charge a fee per bottle, even if it’s opened in a private space like your stateroom. Yet thankfully most major cruise lines are gracious enough to allow passengers to bring a bottle of wine or two. But you need to know the rules.

Usually, the wine allowance is one 750 ml bottle per person or two 750 ml bottles per stateroom. Most cruise lines’ alcohol policies indicate that these wine bottles must be placed in your carry-on luggage only and can only be brought onto the ship on embarkation day.

Each cruise line’s wine allowance policy is slightly different and these beverage policies do change occasionally. So before you pack a few bottles of wine, be sure to check your cruise line’s official alcohol policy to confirm.

Wine allowance policy by cruise line:

• Carniva l: 🍾 1 bottle per person (source: Carnival Liquor & Beverage )
• Celebrity : 🍾 2 bottles per guest (source: Celebrity Alcohol Policy )
• Disney : 🍾 2 bottles per person (source: Disney: Carrying Alcohol Onboard )
• Holland America : 💲 Fee of $20 per bottle (source: Holland America FAQs )
• MSC : ❌ Not allowed (source: MSC Conditions of Carriage )
• Norwegian : 💲 Fee of $15 per bottle (source: NCL Beverage Policy )
• Princess : 🍾 1 bottle per person (source: Princess Pre-Cruise FAQ )
• Royal Caribbean : 🍾 2 bottles per stateroom (source: RCI Onboard Alcohol Policy )
• Virgin Voyages : 🍾 2 bottles per person (source: Virgin Help Articles )

4 More Tips When Bringing Wine on a Cruise:

💡 17a) how to avoid the corkage fee in the main dining room.

Most cruise lines that permit you to bring wine onboard still charge a corkage fee if pouring that wine in the main dining room. These corkage fees vary by cruise line but typically range between $15-$25 per bottle.

Meanwhile, you can enjoy your own wine from your cabin at no charge whatsoever. Your stateroom attendant will happily deliver wine glasses to your room and will even deliver an ice bucket to chill champagne or white wine. This is complimentary, with no corkage fee on most cruise lines.

You may want to bring a corkscrew with you to open the wine. Stateroom attendants can usually track one down, but this has proven problematic for us on a few cruises. So consider screw-top wine bottles. Otherwise, it may be a wise idea to pack a cheap corkscrew.

But what if you want to have that glass of wine with your dinner without the expensive corkage fee? Then you can simply pour a glass of wine in your cabin to then enjoy it anywhere else on the ship.

Usually, the wine glasses delivered to your room are the same glasses being used in the bars and dining room. As such, no one will know (or care) that you poured your own glass of wine. So fill up your wine glass in your cabin and then take it to dinner, thereby avoiding a corkage fee. Often the maître d’ will even carry your glass of wine for you as you’re walked to your table.

Go ahead and make it a big pour. You may even be able to make one big glass last all the way until the dessert course.

💡1 7b) The Best Wine to Take on a Cruise for Value

Generally speaking, the best wine to take on a cruise is whatever type of wine is most pleasing to your tastes. But if you’re really trying to get the most bang for your buck, bring some strong wine on your cruise . Many popular wines have a lower alcohol percentage of 11%-12%. For example, one of our favorite wines, Pinot Grigio, tends to have an alcohol content of about 11.5%, which is fairly low.

Champagnes and sparkling wines can be fun wine choices to take on a cruise, but their alcohol by volume often is around 12% or lower. Sparkling wines would be a bad choice to bring on a cruise if you’re trying to get your money’s worth in the few bottles of wine that you’re legally allowed to bring aboard the cruise.

Some of the best wine options that have higher alcohol that you can take on your cruise are: Shiraz or Zinfandel . Those two are stronger wines, often clocking in around 15% alcohol. Better yet, consider a dessert wine like port wine or sherry , each of which can run as high as about 20% alcohol by volume.

If you’re trying to drink cheap on a cruise, bringing these stronger wines will certainly help to stretch your alcohol a bit further.

💡1 7.3c) Bring Even More Wine Than the Limit

While many official cruise alcohol policies limit cruisers to two bottles per stateroom, we’ve found it can be possible to slip in an extra bottle, particularly when using multiple bags.

If you bring an extra bottle or two above what the cruise allows, then consider dividing your wine bottles into separate luggage. Cruise line security is likely not going to add up wine bottles that are in different bags being delivered to the same stateroom. So putting two bottles of wine in one suitcase and two in another could get four bottles to slip through to a stateroom.

Just know this is officially against the rules. But it regularly works.

Maybe you miscalculated and brought three bottles instead of two. Oops! Don’t worry about it, as there’s a fair chance it will go unnoticed.

💡 17d) How to Bring Your Own Beer on a Cruise Ship (Instead of Wine)

If you’re a beer drinker, you may want to know how to legally bring beer on a cruise (instead of wine). A few cruise lines do permit you to bring your own beer onboard, although it is rare. Disney is one of the only major cruise lines that allow passengers to bring their own beer on a cruise ship . Disney Cruise’s official policy permits passengers to carry on six beers per person. Thanks Mickey!

But most other cruise lines forbid passengers from bringing beer on a cruise ship, even though they allow wine. So here’s a hack for beer lovers to bring some beer on a cruise ship instead of wine.

Consider bringing a 750 ml bottle of craft beer on board . Such bottles often have the appearance of wine or champagne. So that has worked for us to bring a nice beer instead of an allowed wine bottle. (See adjacent image: the bottle on the left is beer).

These 750 ml bottles of beer have always been permitted on wine-allowing cruise ships we’ve sailed on, even though beer is technically against their official alcohol policy.

18) BYOB – How to Bring Alcohol on a Cruise: the Sneaky Way

Most cruise lines explicitly forbid passengers from bringing their own alcohol on cruise ships, as stated in their alcohol policies.

Still, cruise passengers have been known to sneak their own booze aboard cruises. We like to play by the rules and don’t particularly recommend sneaking liquor on a cruise ship. But we’d be remiss not to mention it as a strategy that passengers do use to achieve cheap drinks on a cruise.

If you are going to smuggle some liquor aboard your next cruise, consider a cruise ship flask kit that is specifically made for the purpose of being undetected when going through cruise security. These nonmetallic pouches are purposely designed to let no air bubbles when pouring liquor into the devices, making them undetectable .

Many of these cruise flask kits have a good track record of success. For example, this Concealable and Reusable Cruise Flask Kit is currently the most popular alcohol smuggling device on Amazon and receives overwhelmingly positive reviews, with about 90%+ of reviewers, indicating it got past security. Check the most recent reviews .

What happens if you get caught sneaking alcohol onto a cruise ship?

The biggest realistic consequence is (1) embarrassment and (2) potential confiscation of the alcohol brought onto the cruise ship.

If you do get caught sneaking booze onto the cruise, typically cruise security will just remove the liquor and may even offer to hold it for you until the end of the cruise. If you’ve put a bottle of alcohol into your suitcase that security finds, the likely outcome is that your luggage won’t arrive in your room and you’ll have to go to security to get it straightened out. The cruise ship’s security may even offer to hold onto a bottle of liquor for a passenger who didn’t know the rules.

But bringing a bottle of liquor does run the risk of being confiscated. So if you’re going to try to bring a bottle of alcohol on a cruise ship, don’t bring any bottles that are valuable to you. Meanwhile, if you took sneaky tactics like putting alcohol in a mouthwash bottle, security will almost certainly confiscate it.

Many cruise lines’ official policies do indicate that passengers can actually be removed from the ship for bringing alcohol on a cruise ship. But we’ve never heard of that actually occurring in practice. A far more realistic consequence is delayed baggage and possibly confiscated liquor.

19) Enjoy These Free Non-Alcoholic Drinks on a Cruise

Often the only free beverage offered in the main dining room is tap water. Non-alcoholic drinks, such as sodas or specialty coffees, come with an added expense on most cruise lines. Yet those who know to ask, or know where to look, can get more than just a measly glass of ice water!

So what drinks are free on a cruise ? It should be obvious at the buffets that juices and other flat drinks are provided complimentary. Yet many cruisers don’t realize that they can also go to the main dining room and order complimentary iced tea and lemonade with their meals. It’s never offered. But unsweetened iced tea and lemonade are available for free in the main dining room during lunch and dinner on nearly all the major cruise lines.

Coffee, hot chocolate, and (hot) tea are also free drinks available on most cruise ships. In fact, cruises tend to have a very nice assortment of complimentary teas . They’re all there – Earl grey, English, herbal varieties, and more. Personally, we’ve found that an after-dinner mint tea pairs quite nicely with decadent chocolate desserts. Also, we love sipping on some chamomile tea before bedtime if we’re taking a night off from drinking.

So be sure to enjoy some of these non-alcoholic drinks for free.

Also, tap water is always free on onboard cruises and is completely fine to drink. But some people complain about the taste. So bring flavored water drops such as  Mio Water Enhancement  to turn that water into a flavorful drink. A 4-pack that has enough for 96 uses will cost less than buying 6 sodas on a cruise. So bring some flavored drops to add a little squirt to your water during lunchtime or at the pool.

20) Save on Specialty Coffees by Making Your Own for Free

Don’t want to splurge the $5 on specialty coffee, but still looking for a little more flavor? Here’s our recipe to make a delicious cafe mocha :

• Empty approximately ¾ packet of hot chocolate mix to a coffee mug.
• Add 2 creamers.
• Fill mug with coffee.
• Enjoy an instant café mocha!

Sure, it may not be quite as good as a barista-made espresso-based drink. But this simple little cruise hack can save coffee drinkers about $35 over the course of a weeklong cruise, while still jazzing up a boring cuppa joe.

If your cruise has a 24-hour ice cream station, you can visit that and get even more creative with your coffee. To make your own caramel latte , jazz up a boring cup of coffee by adding some hot caramel. Heck, get some whip cream and sprinkles on top!

21) Bring Your Own Drinks to Stock Your Minibar

Most cruise lines permit you to bring your own sodas and other non-alcoholic beverages. Beverage policies vary by the cruise line on what drinks are permitted onboard.

So bring aboard some sodas or whatever you prefer. Then just ask your friendly stateroom attendant to empty out all of those expensive minibar drinks so that you can make use of the fridge. The mini bar offerings are usually overpriced and sometimes old. So just remove any temptation for overspending here and ask for these items to be removed. It’s not an uncommon request.

Once the fridge is clear, you’re free to chill down all of the beverages that you’ve brought onboard. You can use the empty minifridge to cool down:

• on-sale (or free) beers you’ve snagged on the ship (refer to tip #2),
• champagne you’ve won on the ship (refer to tip #11),
• white wine you’ve legally brought on the ship (refer to tip #17),
• booze you’ve snuck onto the ship (refer to tip #18), or
• beer you’ve been permitted to bring back from port, which leads us to our next tip (refer to tip #22)!

22) Attempt Bringing Beer on Cruise from Port Calls

Most cruise line policies strictly forbid passengers from bringing any alcohol back to the ship from port. This means alcohol, including beer, is technically not permitted to be brought back on the cruise.

But we’ve found that while security is typically strict on enforcing this rule with hard spirits, many ships overlook passengers bringing beer back onboard. To find out if our ship has lax rules on bringing beers back from port, we typically experiment with attempting to bring on a few cans during the first port day on our cruise itinerary.

We’re never sneaky about this and don’t attempt to hide the beer. Rather, we run it through the X-ray machine in plain sight. Sometimes the beer will be flagged by security and stored until the final night of the cruise. In that case, we know it’s probably not worth attempting to bring beer back aboard when in subsequent ports.

But in many instances, security actually allows the beer to be carried on the cruise, no questions asked. For whatever reason, we’ve had more success with beer cans being accepted , rather than bottles.

So go ahead and give it a try! The worst-case outcome is that security will hold onto your beers for you until the final night of the cruise, as per most cruise lines’ alcohol policy. And you can still drink those beers on the final night of the cruise. So you really don’t have anything to lose by attempting to bring a few beers back aboard the ship with you. And you don’t have to be sneaky about it.

During our last Caribbean cruise, security was lenient enough to allow us to bring beer back onto the ship from every port we visited. We gladly brought back our hauls to chill in our mini-fridge and hence have inexpensive local beers to enjoy back on the cruise ship.

23) How to Determine If a Cruise Drink Package Is Worth It

The above cheap cruise drink hacks and tips will help keep your bar bill low on your next sailing. But you’ll certainly need to put in some effort and strategizing to accomplish that. If you instead just want to enjoy your vacation and not have to worry about sneaky tactics or a growing bar bill, then a drink package may be the way to go. And they are often great value!

So this cheap cruise drink tip helps to carefully break down whether the drink package may be worth it for you.

These unlimited drink packages can seem expensive on the surface, but all-you-care-to-drink alcohol packages can actually be fantastic value for those who tend to tip back a few while cruising. Cruise drink packages are a trend in the cruising industry that cruise lines like to promote. Now Celebrity, Princess, Royal Caribbean, Holland America, most Norwegian ships, and many Carnival ships offer some sort of alcohol drink package.

Each cruise drink package varies on exactly what alcohol is included. But most of these cruise drink packages tend to be generous in their offerings, even including top-shelf liquors. Some of the cruise drink packages further include specialty coffees, soft drinks, and other non-alcoholic drinks to help you recover the next day.

But cruise drink packages can be costly. So how much is a cruise’s beverage package?

Drink package prices vary greatly among the cruise lines and the specific package. Cruise beverage packages range in price from about $38 (MSC Easy) to $165.60 (NCL Premium) per day. Yet drink package pricing often tends to fall somewhere between $60-$80 per day.

Cruise drink package daily prices and policies:

• Carnival CHEERS! : $59.95 +18% for 15 drinks per day, up to $20 each ( more info )
• Celebrity Classic / Premium package : $69 / $84 +20% for unlimited drinks, up to $9 / $15 ( more info )
• Disney Cruise Line : No drink package is offered
• Holland America Signature / Elite : $54.95 / $59.99 +18% for 15 drinks, up to $11 / $15 (more info)
• Princess Plus / Premiere : $59.99 / 79.99 +18% for 15 drinks, up to $12 / $18 ( more info )
• MSC Easy / Easy Plus / Premium : $38 / $51 / $71 for unlimited drinks, select / $9 / $15 ( more info )
• Norwegian Unlimited / Premium :  $109 / $138 +20% for unlimited drinks, up to $15 / nearly all ( more info )
• Royal Caribbean Deluxe : $63-$89 for unlimited drinks, up to $13 ( more info )
• Virgin Voyages : No traditional beverage package, but has run promos that include generous bar tabs (more info)

Note: above prices are current as of October 2022 and reflect online prices purchased prior to sailing.

When deciding on a drink package, understand that cruise beverage packages do tend to have restrictions. For instance, while some drink packages are truly unlimited; Carnival, HAL, and Princess limit their drink packages to 15 drinks per day.

Also, understand that you must purchase a drink package for the entire length of the cruise . No cruise lines allow purchasing a drink package for certain days only.

Also, it’s standard across all the lines that sharing a drink package is not allowed . Typically all adults in the same stateroom must all be on a drink package. To be clear, it’s not allowed for couples in the same cabin to share one drink package.

Is there a way to cheat a cruise drink package? It may be possible to discretely slip a friend a drink. But if you do this, it violates the terms of the drink package and risks your beverage package being revoked. So doing so may not be worth the risk.

Is a Cruise Drink Package Worth It?

Often the hefty cost of a drink package is not worth the expense. But it certainly can be!

We recommend splurging on drink packages in the following instances :

• moderate and heavy drinkers : your bar bill will be higher than the cost of a drink package.
• shorter cruise itineraries : fewer nights = less total expense.
• cruises with many sea days and/or short port calls : more time on the ship means more time you’re using the drink package.
• when ports include private islands : some cruise lines allow drink packages to be used at bars on their private islands.
• when the cost of a drink package is within your budget and think you might enjoy 6+ drinks daily .

Simply consider how much you may drink on the cruise and then do the math.

For those who may drink an average of at least 6+ drinks or so each day, cruise beverage packages will likely result in significant savings. An associated benefit is simply not having to be concerned about your growing bar tab on a cruise. While cruise drink packages are never cheap, the expense can be worth it and can ultimately save.

🤓 Let’s do the math! Let’s use Carnival for example, which currently (2022) promotes its CHEERS drink package for: $59.95 per day + 18% gratuities = $70.74 daily *7 days of the cruise = $495.19 *2 people per stateroom = $990.38 total cost of CHEERS! drink package on a 7-day Carnival cruise.

Spending nearly $1,000 for the privilege of 15 daily drinks may seem pricey, particularly for budget-conscious passengers. And it is! For those who are only going to have a few drinks per day, stay away from drink packages. It won’t be worth it.

Yet for those who want to enjoy 6-8 (or more) drinks each day throughout the voyage, a cruise drink package can really make financial sense. You’ll likely save yourself from spending even more than that if you were to purchase those drinks a la carte.

Let’s consider what an average of eight drinks per day would cost on a 7-day Carnival without the drink package : $15 drinks + 18% gratuity = $17.70 per drink *8 drinks per day = $141.60 per day *7 days of the cruise = $991.20 *2 people in the stateroom = disembarking with a $1,982.40 bar tab !

In the above example, a couple could have saved about $1,000 by opting for a beverage package before the cruise began.

Considering that Carnival’s CHEERS! beverage package allows passengers to purchase drinks up to $20, you can actually break even just by simply drinking 3-4 higher-priced drinks each day .

Shorter Cruises Have a More Reasonable Drink Package Total Costs

While a $1,000 beverage package may still seem out of reach, it must be realized this is over the course of a hypothetical seven-day cruise. Shorter cruises will incur a far more reasonable expense .

For instance, a beverage package during a quick 3-day Bahamas cruise on Carnival would come out to a grand total of $212.22 per person for a fun 3-day booze cruise. That’s a lot easier to swallow!

Beware How Unexpected Cruise Drinks Quickly Add Up

Moderate drinkers may think that having 6+ drinks in a day is excessive . But new cruisers may not realize how quickly those drinks add up. Consider that you may enjoy a few beers by the pool, then a couple of glasses of wine with dinner, a cocktail at the show, and then a few more drinks at the dance party on the lido deck. You’re on vacation!

The many cruise bars can be all-too-convenient. The party atmosphere may be more tempting than anticipated to knock back a few drinks. You may be surprised how quickly all those wonderful cruise drinks flow onto your onboard account.

More Time at Sea Means More Time to Drink

Drink packages can provide even greater value on cruises with more sea days compared to cruises that are more port-intensive. When you have many full days on the ship, you’ll have more opportunities and time to hit the bars.

Conversely, if you’re on an itinerary that calls on a port every day, with long hours, you’ll have less time at the ship’s bar to take advantage of a drink package. In this case, enjoy local drinks in port and perhaps forgo the cruise’s drink package.

The exception to this is if you’re visiting a cruise line’s private island.

Drinks Packages Can Provide Great Value When Allowed on Cruise Lines’ Private Islands

Sometimes a cruise’s drink package extends its use to the cruise line’s private island . Having all your drinks included on the private island can be a huge incentive to get the drink package. Just check to see if your cruise allows this (below).

Cruise line drink package policy at private islands:

• ✅ MSC allows their drink package to be used across Ocean Cay Marine Reserve
• ✅ Norwegian allows their drink package to be used throughout Great Stirrup Cay
• ✅ Princess does allow their drink packages to be used at Princess Cays
• ✅ Royal Caribbean and Celebrity allows their drink package to be used at Perfect Day at Coco Cay and Labadee, Haiti
• ❌ Carnival and Holland America do NOT allow their drink package to be used at Half Moon Cay

24) Buy Your Beverage Package Online Before Your Cruise to Save More

Most cruise lines offer a discounted rate, usually saving cruisers $5-$10 per day when the beverage package is purchased in advance. So buy online in advance of your cruise, or expect to pay a bit more if purchased once on the ship.

If cruising is just one big party to you, the investment of a beverage package can pay dividends. Do the math. Consider the splurge. If you decide to buy a drink package, enjoy it to the fullest! Just drink responsibly and stay afloat!

25)  Get a Cruise Beverage Package Included for Free!

Sometimes cruise lines will run special deals and offer these all-you-can-drink packages for free as an incentive for you to book the cruise. That is how we drank for free when we sailed on a Norwegian cruise on two different occasions. It was fantastic! It was an open bar the entire cruise and nearly the entire drink menu was included, even most top-shelf brands!

Search around to find cruise deals that include the unlimited beverage package. We tend to see such promos offered by Norwegian and Celebrity most often. Call a good travel agent who can let you know which cruise lines may be currently running such a beverage package promotion.

Just beware that these “free drink packages” sometimes require passengers to pay an extra gratuity charge for the bar service. Depending on the cruise line, this drink gratuity cost may range from $11 (Carnival) to $20 (Norwegian) per person, per day. Even if paying $20 per day for the gratuities on a “free” drink package, that’s still a heck of a deal for all-you-can-drink top-shelf alcohol!

Have Cheap Drinks on a Cruise but Don’t Miss Out on the Fun

Part of the fun of drinking on a cruise is the social element, hanging out at the numerous bars, lounges, and clubs on these awesome ships. The nightly parties can be a blast. Drunken karaoke sessions are hilarious. Late-night clubs can get interesting.

Yet some of the aforementioned cruise tips for cheap drinks may confine passengers to drinking in their staterooms. That’s boring. You’re on a cruise – go out and have fun !

Be sure to utilize those cruise happy hours, daily drink specials, tasting activities, and beverage package deals in order to truly make the most of your vacation, as you drink your way across the open seas!

More Ways to Save Before You Cruise

Bon voyage ! We sure hope this post has given you many tips and tricks to save money on drinks during your next cruise. But before you go , here are a few more links to our other money-saving  cruise articles and to our travel affiliate partners that you may find helpful:

🚢 Be sure to check out our huge list of cruise tips here :

• 50 Best Cruise Hacks to Save You Money, Hassle, WiFi and Weight Gain .

🏨 If you need a hotel before or after your cruise, be sure to book early . All the best hotels in port cities tend to get reserved by cruise passengers in advance. We like using hotelscombined.com  to compare all the top hotel sites and score the best deal before it’s too late.

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Publishing note: This article with tips on How to Get Cheap Drinks on a Cruise Ship was first written in June 2014 and is continually updated, most recently in October 2022 with the latest information and prices.

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Related Posts

July 16, 2019 at 2:30 PM

Thanks for all the great insights. I am going on a Holland America cruise in October and will purchase liquor to be delivered to my cabin, and try to bring a mixer in my carry-on. I know you gave the tip about being able to fill a wine glass in the cabin, then carry it around the ship. But what if i bring a travel cup, and make myself a mixed drink in my cabin, then carry it around? Do you think anyone would object? Is it frequently attempted?

July 26, 2019 at 1:23 PM

You could do that, but you’d probably stand out a bit walking around the ship. It’s doubtful, although possible, that anyone would object. But it would be very frowned upon bringing your own cup to the dining room. You’d likely be fine at the pool. But instead of using your own cup, when they deliver liquor to your cabin, they’ll bring you cocktail glasses. You can make a cocktail in the glasses provided and carry it around the ship, no problem at all. Usually the glasses they bring you are the same ones used at the bar. Have a great cruise!

October 9, 2019 at 3:23 PM

I did this on our last cruise with no problems. I even brought it on our catamaran party excursion and while everyone else was sipping out of tiny plastic cups I had my huge insulated cup 🙂

June 19, 2019 at 8:20 AM

Hahahaha the guy looks like a straight goober. Haha probably a five time gold medalist in the goober nationals.

June 19, 2019 at 7:03 PM

So that’s what you took away from this post about cheap drinks on a cruise and felt so compelled to drop a comment? Sounds like a classic goober move to me.

May 30, 2019 at 1:48 PM

Sailing on the RCCL Liberty of the Seas this upcoming week. It’s my first cruise in 19 years! Just bought 2 750ml bottles of corked and caged beers that look pretty much like wine. Hopefully they will make it through. I just want to sit on my balcony and sip on a beer before dinner a couple nights. Will update after the cruise to see if it worked.

June 2, 2019 at 5:41 PM

Awesome! Hope you have a great cruise and enjoy those beers on your balcony! I’d say it’s a pretty good chance those two caged bombers will make it onto the ship, but certainly no guarantees, of course. Let us know how it goes and enjoy the cruise! 🍻

April 28, 2019 at 1:29 PM

Your blog is full of great information! My friends and I are planning a Norwegian (Encore) cruise from NYC to Bermuda and some want the premium beverage package and others don’t. I drink only water and I might have a couple alcoholic drinks during the week. The “free” drink package (HaHaHa – you are forced to pay 20% gratuity) does not include bottled water! This is probably not worth it for me, but was wondering how much an average drink would cost? And, is tap water okay to drink?

May 4, 2019 at 4:44 PM

Yes, the tap water is A-ok to drink. That’s what we always drink ourselves, right out of the bathroom sink. And it’s simply chilled tap water that’s served in the restaurants. Unfortunately, NCL doesn’t allow passengers to bring on bottled water anymore, so you’ll either have to pay for it on the ship or drink the tap water. Note, NCL does serve free lemonade and iced tea too. If just sticking to water and the occasional alcoholic drink, you’ll likely be better just buying them individually rather than buying a drink package. Drink prices vary by ship and can even change from sailing to sailing. Yet with NCL, expect to pay somewhere in the ballpark of $7-$14 for a drink, plus automatic gratuity. So do the math and figure it out what may work best for you and your cabin mate.

December 10, 2018 at 2:52 PM

Just got back from a short 5 night on Majesty of the Seas. I bought the Deluxe Beverage Package and (as you list above) that includes drinks up to $12. However, I ordered many high end scotches which were 4 or 5 dollars over that as well as some specialty martinis for my wife (who didn’t have a beverage package…and often times at the same time) and wasn’t charged a dime. Is this just at the discretion of the particular ship we were on?

December 22, 2018 at 12:02 PM

Hmm, not sure. That’s kinda strange. But that’s great! Normally most beverage packages will require that passengers sharing a cabin all have a beverage package. So not sure how you may have gotten around that. But if so, sometimes the bartenders will be lenient with people on the beverage packages. The bartenders and drink servers earn a share of gratuities for serving drinks, whether you’re on a beverage package or not. So it’s in their financial interest to serve as many drinks as possible, in which case they may turn a blind eye to serving multiple drinks (and for other people), even though it’s technically against the rules of the beverage package. You benefit and so do they. That’s the only thing I can think of, unless there was otherwise some mistake or misunderstanding.

April 7, 2019 at 4:56 PM

Hiya 4 couples are planning to go on a Caribbean cruise on MSC. What do you think if we buy only 4 drinks packages (assigned to two cabins 2+2) These 4 would get free drinks to the other 4… Do you reckon we would be caught doing this? Cheers Pedro

April 9, 2019 at 9:33 AM

It may or may not work out. Really, it just depends on two things: (1) how lenient the staff is on that particular ship and (2) to the extent that you’ll be doing this. If it’s just discretely sliding a few drinks to friends here and there, you’ll likely be fine. But constantly doing it would be cumbersome and may raise suspicions. You’re only allowed to order one drink at a time. So it would be a pain to order a drink, give it to a friend, then wait a few minutes or go to a different bar to order another drink. Also ordering drinks during dinner could be problematic, as it would be very evident at the dinner table what you’re doing.

July 12, 2019 at 4:22 PM

I wanted to piggie bank off this question…. we are traveling on a carnival ship for a family vacation. My husband is a hard liquor drinker, I’m more of a cocktail drinker. It would make sense for me to get the drinking package but not so much for my husband…. carnival has a policy that requires all adults in a cabin to purchase the drinking package. We are willing to pay 414 for 1 drinking package but over 800 for both is just too much. Any suggestions on how to get around this? Btw we do have 2 cabins, 1 for our kids (17 and 14 year olds) and 1 for us in case that’s helpful…..

July 13, 2019 at 1:11 PM

That requirement is a tough policy to get around. We know passengers who have been successful in skirting this rule when citing health reasons that the second person can’t drink alcohol. But that’s really the only way I’ve ever heard of them allowing one person to purchase a drink package without the other adult in the cabin doing so. Even then, it’s ultimately up to the cruise line and they still may not allow it. $800+ is definitely a lot to spend on drinking for the week, so we feel your pain. If you and the hubby wouldn’t average at least 15 drinks or so collectively, each day, between the two of you, it could prove more worthwhile to just buy per drink and use some of these other tips along the way. The drink packages can be soooo nice to indulge in. But sometimes it may not prove worthwhile.

July 17, 2019 at 8:50 PM

Go online and buy the plastic flask! I’ve never been caught boarding with that!

July 29, 2019 at 3:52 PM

TO: Canada says Where did you put your flask so it wan’t noticeable ?

Go online and buy the plastic flask! I’ve never been caught boarding with that!

November 26, 2018 at 11:44 PM

hello My husband and i are going on our first cruise in Alaska, we are wanting to get a drink package and unsure which one to get the is standard, classic and premium. we both like our drinks beers wines spirits and cocktails and also like our premium coffees. my question is any suggestion to what package we get?

December 1, 2018 at 5:09 PM

I’m assuming you’re cruising with Celebrity, in which case the premium package will likely be the best bet. Celebrity’s premium beverage package is the only one that also includes specialty coffees. You’ll also be able to drink most all the top-shelf liquors, better wines, and craft beer. Of course, you’ll be paying a premium for this premium package. The classic includes still includes a decent assortment of cocktails and liquors, under $9, but no specialty coffees. The standard can be pretty restrictive since it keeps you $6, which can be difficult to do with the price of Celebrity’s drinks. So really it just depends on your budget and needs. But if you can afford it and think that you’ll drink a fair amount, the premium package would certainly be the way to go.

January 24, 2019 at 4:12 PM

Carnival’s CHEERS! progam also includes the premium coffees (and frappes, and spiked hot chocolate, milkshakes, etc) on ships that have the coffee shops on board.

March 27, 2019 at 11:59 AM

So does Royal Caribbean…yay!!

September 27, 2018 at 7:25 AM

I am not a heavy drinker but consume a gallon+ of water,lemonade,tea daily,are there nonalchol drink packages? Are they worth it? In Chicago there are Tiki boat booze cruises on the lakefront,a friend Captians them on occasion. Best beach bar-BVI’S, just a lean to with a refrigerator,really cute girl bringing me beers,turns out she wasn’t working there but I was buying her beers too! So worth it and the look on my face when I found out later made everyone else howl with laughter.

September 29, 2018 at 4:19 PM

Good news: most all cruise ships have water, lemonade, iced tea, available for free around the clock. So no drink package needed for that. Sodas will cost extra and there are packages for that. But if you’re good with lemonade, tea, and water, then no need for the package. It’s almost always available in the cafe. They’ll serve water automatically in the dining rooms, but will have ice tea and sometimes lemonade too upon request. That’s funny about the beach bar story – lol!!

September 11, 2018 at 2:12 AM

Question: RE: NCL Escape NYC to Bermuda Oct 2018 … does anyone know if they still are offering 6 for 5 buckets of beer? Saw a 2017 comment that they don’t anymore, another after that they do. Nothing 2018 though.

Looked on posted bar menus (not sure dates), don’t see any mention of buckets. Also saw a comment somewhere that there is a $5 deposit for bucket? True? And are there only particular bars on the ship where you can get them? If so which?

John, et. al, many thank for this and your awesome other blogs! Hope the trip is going fantastically! We are about to do our first. Can’t wait! 🙂

September 13, 2018 at 2:41 PM

I can’t confirm from first-hand experience whether or not the Escape still has beer buckets. But when we last sailed with NCL on the Bliss in April, I’m fairly certain they did on that ship, on the lido deck bars around the pool. I’d be surprised to learn if the Escape has done away with beer buckets, but it could be true. Will leave this comment up to see if there’s anyone who has been on the Escape recently may be able to confirm. Enjoy you upcoming cruise to Bermuda! 🙂

September 13, 2018 at 10:19 PM

Ok, just saw the “What It Was Like To Travel Entirely Around the World Without Flights” blog, so guess that answers my question 😀 Sorry, should have read more before asking.

Should you guys happen to be in NYC sometime, drop us a note, my wife & I will take you out for (FREE!) drinks 😀

September 3, 2018 at 9:07 PM

Than you for these amazing tips! who doesn’t love drinks right? especially when they’re cheap!

September 6, 2018 at 1:01 PM

Yup, that’s right!

August 8, 2018 at 8:02 AM

I have never been on a cruise before but will use these hacks if I get to be on one anytime soon.

April 22, 2018 at 10:10 PM

There are other ways to get free drinks on ships that come to mind. There are art auctions on board most ships and wine is almost always offered. Find the bar and help yourself as they are free to enjoy. You don’t have to stay for the auction as the prices are generally inflated. Another way is the ship party to introduce the ships staff. One for early and one for late dining people. Why not go to both and get free drinks. Take a few with you. Also if you have sailed before on the ship ask about a party for past travelers. It is worth a try as the food is better and the drinks free. Have fun.

May 9, 2018 at 11:35 AM

Yes, those are all great ways to get free drinks on a cruise ship, which we detailed in our other post: How To Get Free Drinks on a Cruise Ship: http://www.roamingaroundtheworld.com/how-to-drink-for-free-on-a-cruise/

We tried to keep this post pertaining just to cheap drinks. But free drinks is better than cheap drinks! 🙂

March 5, 2018 at 12:05 AM

this is an awesome cruise hack!will surely take note of this, I hope someday… I can use this…thank you so much!

March 20, 2018 at 10:44 AM

Our pleasure, so happy that you’ve found our cruise hacks to be helpful!

September 8, 2017 at 5:01 AM

Awesome! I will be having my first cruise ship with my hubby this September. There will be a lot of drinks that might be pricey however you can some cheap ones as well. Anyways, thank you so much for sharing this great tips.

September 9, 2017 at 10:19 AM

Fantastic! We hope you have a great first cruise full of inexpensive drinks! Just be careful… most people’s first cruise ends up being the first of many, hehe!

September 5, 2017 at 3:06 AM

Good information. My husband and I have been on a cruise and loved it. We definitely want to take our kids.

August 21, 2017 at 11:39 AM

I think I’d have to drink a lot to get $50 worth of alcohol consumed and at least try to get my moneys worth. I guess if some of them are high end drinks that cost a lot, I could do it with fewer drinks, but I can’t imagine drinking that fifty dollars worth of beer per day.

August 21, 2017 at 5:26 PM

It all depends how much you drink. For heavy drinkers it’s totally worth it, and then some. Other people, not worth it at all. The important thing is to do the math and figure out if it’s worth it for the amount you drink. $50 worth of beer may seem like an insane amount. But beers are usually around $6 on a cruise ship. So if you drank 8 beers in a day, that would make up the cost. Still even 8 beers in one day seems like a lot. But when you’re lounging by the pool, then have a few drinks during a long dinner, and then go hang out the at the bar later, it all can add up! So it all depends.

June 16, 2017 at 6:42 AM

It’s funny how people migrate to the commercial establishments while in port (i.e. Senor Frogs, TGIF) The real treats are the little hidden gems where the waiter / bartender will actually strike up a conversation with you.

June 20, 2017 at 4:19 PM

Agree 100%! Give me a little hole-in-the-wall any day over any of those major chains. Senor Frogs seems to be in almost all the major cruise ports these days and they really aren’t too different from one another. We always prefer (and recommend) to check out the local flair of a port!

May 23, 2017 at 2:48 AM

The easiest way to get cheap drinks is to sail with a line that includes drinks in its fares. Seabourn Crusie Line, Silversea, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Crystal and Viking Ocean are good places to start.

May 24, 2017 at 9:18 AM

Yes this is true. But those lines you’ve mentioned tend to be extremely expensive, so you are pretty much paying for those drinks with the high price of the cruise itself. I would absolutely love to go on any of those cruise lines though.

December 12, 2019 at 8:35 PM

NCL for the win in this regard.

May 11, 2017 at 3:34 AM

I have never been on a cruise and most likely never will go on one. I am not a water lover and with my luck the ship would sink when I was on it. My brother in law and his wife are going on their 5th cruise soon but its just not for me

May 16, 2017 at 12:32 PM

Cruise aren’t for everyone but most people do really enjoy them. It’s funny, one of the biggest barriers to cruising is for people to actually take their first cruise. There’s a static in the cruise industry that is something like well over 90% of first-time cruisers say they want to return for another cruise. Cruising can be great! Don’t knock it, ’til you try it. 🙂 You should consider joining your brother-in-law and wife one day.

May 10, 2017 at 7:05 PM

hello, going on Norwegian w family, i am a seasoned absolute and orange drinker, only one out of 6 of us, travel agent said i cant get drinking package? in june. is this true anyone? and im an early riser, 5-7am normally go to work, but on the ship id like to go drink, 6′.8′ 365 so it takes a bit for me personally. any idea’s or is that accurate that drink spacial is not available ?even if i got it for my wife as well,i myself would make it up by lunch @12.50 ive read per drink. sounds crazy but its not at all. any help any advice? i already paid for trip and for all others but at 13.00 basically its 500.00 a day easy everyday, ( for me anyway) TY

May 10, 2017 at 7:20 PM

Hi Bill, That is strange to hear the travel agent has told you that you can’t get the drink package. It may not be available as a free perk (as it sometimes is), but it most definitely should be available for purchase. The only reason I can think of why it wouldn’t be available for purchase is if you happen to be cruising on the Norwegian Sky, in which case, a drink package is automatically included for that ship only, so you have nothing to worry about. If not on the Sky, then I would suggest logging into your onboard account where you can view add-ons to purchase. Yes, you would be required to purchase it for all adults in the cabin, so your wife would need to purchase it as well. It sounds like the drink package would be well worth it for you, so I would suggest you purchase it, which you most definitely should be able to do. If you can’t find it online and your travel agent isn’t being any help, I’d suggest calling Norwegian Cruise Line directly. I’d imagine they’d be happy to sell you any add-on like a drink package. You can also purchase the drink package once you get on the ship, but it’s usually sold at a slight discount if you buy it before you set sail. Hope that helps and have a great cruise full of many Absolute & Orange. 😉

May 10, 2017 at 8:20 PM

Thank you so much! I thought that was strange,(told her dont care about free this and that, just give me the package) i told her im willing to pay for all of us, once in a lifetime trip, it was like she disproved of my request??! normally i would too! if it wasn’t vacation. just trying to do a nice thing for family and in-laws and really makes so much scene after reading your response and so appreciated. The ship is breakaway out of NJ/NY mid June, like i said, be happy to pay for package, she said NO to any alcohol package. they all end in April? Only during winter for incentives do they offer that?. Again it seems ridicules, but this is the case. i will call norw tell them as you suggested,the situation? agree? then i guess call travel agent, ask for owner, call there bull…poop and talk to her boss? sound like an OK course of action? TY also started this 11-12 months ago, looks like im paying same price(according to present pricing) as if i started a week before departure. it was a lot of money for me and feel like i was wronged. you’ve had the best news in 11 months,it’s still possible for package and savings. Ty Bill i am grateful your time and advice!

September 11, 2018 at 1:56 AM

Wow, this sounds wrong! I know this post is a bit old (last year), but I recently booked NCL NYC to Bermuda for October, 2018, and I definitely have this option (and many more.) However, a few things to note: It’s not necessarily just those in your cabin that must also get the drink package … my understanding is: if the travel agent booked your entire GROUP together, then ALL in the group must get the package … want or not. Children must get the soda package, adults the drinking package.

I decided to opt out because my wife NEVER drinks more than 3 glasses of wine / mixed drinks (max!!) a day. I, on the other hand, drink like a fish 😀 Well, not completely .. have to also consider days at port where I only plan to drink in the eve (we’ll be cruising around the island during the day.) So, the math doesn’t add up for us:

UDP costs 106.80 / person w/ 20% gratuity * 2= 213.60/day * 7 days = $1495.20

Look at costs, as explained in this blog. 6 for 5 beer. Buy a bottle of wine instead of glasses (1 bottle = 6 typical glasses) Possible free drinks (other article) and purchase from duty free on last day. Not buying so much (on board) on days in port (3 out of 7)

The math just doesn’t work. I can get MORE alcohol for less by NOT getting the plan.

I also checked the corks and Caps package … might be closer to working since that actually includes some juices, which my wife DOES drink a lot. I have to look closer … this one is harder since I/we also want our mixed drinks. But, I’m thinking even that doesn’t work for us.

If your travel agent didn’t explain all this to you, s/he did a mediocre job!! (or worse!)

John: THANK YOU BOTH so much for these posts!!! They are SO very helpful. I actually figured out the advantage of buying by the bottle 2 min before reading this blog, but you gave me even more to think about! AWESOME!!

I hope your trip is continuing wonderfully. I’m so jealous! 😀

June 20, 2019 at 9:55 PM

Because I am diabetic I have been advised not to drink so on our last cruise with celebrity my hubby was able to get the drink pkg. even though we were not buying one for myself.

May 3, 2017 at 3:37 AM

I’ve always heard amazing things about cruises but have never been on one. Seems like a great way to travel and have an adventure on a budget.

May 3, 2017 at 5:15 PM

I most definitely is! That’s one of the reason we like cruising so much. Many people view it as a luxury experience that is out of reach. It can be, but with the right planning, it can also be a very affordable way to see many different places.

November 5, 2016 at 2:17 AM

Hope you are having an awesome day!

That was a superb blog!!! Thanks for sharing

Have Nice Day

I am waiting for next posting.

Keep Smiling!!!

November 10, 2016 at 12:49 PM

Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for letting us know. We’re smiling 🙂

November 1, 2016 at 2:51 PM

Wow! Alcohol for under $6 a person? That’s impressive! Taste-tasting events seem so fun. These are all excellent, informative tips!

November 3, 2016 at 10:53 AM

It’s always nice to find drinks under $6 and it’s absolutely possible, particularly with happy hours! 🙂 And those tasting events can be so much fun! Glad you found these tips informative – cheers!

October 26, 2016 at 1:44 AM

Spot on advice about not buying wine by the glass. It’s never a good deal.

November 3, 2016 at 11:01 AM

Yup, never a good deal unless you’re literally only planning to have one glass during the entire cruise …and who would do that, lol! We always recommend buying by the bottle if not an entire wine package. 🙂 Cheers!

June 7, 2016 at 11:52 AM

Awesome advice! I’m a cruise writer and I appreciate the research and dedication you put into this article. Well done!

June 8, 2016 at 12:22 PM

Thanks so much! It really means a lot coming from a cruise writer! 🙂

May 20, 2016 at 8:14 AM

Very nice article on Getting Cheap Drinks. Surely this would help voyagers like me.

Keep posting.

May 27, 2016 at 11:33 AM

Yup! We’re always looking for ways to cut costs on our drinking budget! Always glad to help likeminded travelers!

March 24, 2016 at 4:41 PM

Thanks for the tips about how to get cheap drinks on a cruise ship! I think that these tips could apply to anyone wanting to get cheap drinks. Especially, your tip about happy hour. Most restaurants have happy hour and their drinks are cheap during that time.

March 26, 2016 at 9:23 PM

Yup, happy hour can always be a nice bargain, whether on a cruise ship or in a restaurant. We love happy hours!

June 25, 2014 at 7:36 PM

this is how we used to do it, when we went on a cruise, lots of fun and for sure saved on your wallet.

February 12, 2016 at 2:24 PM

Glad to hear there are some like-minded people out there drinking for cheap on cruises! 😉

June 9, 2014 at 2:54 AM

If you are a wine aficionado – take a wine cruise to top wine producing countries like France, Spain and Italy.

June 9, 2014 at 3:27 AM

Oooh, that sounds like a fabulous idea! Spanish reds, French Chardonnay, Italian Pinot Grigio all right from the source! Cheers!

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All-inclusive resort or cruise – which is best?

“Club Tropicana, drinks are free… Fun and sunshine, there’s enough for everyone,” so sang George Michael in Wham!’s famous 1980s paean to the nascent all-inclusive. In the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, ‘free’ booze and no bill sounded and looked – if you were anywhere near a pool in Ibiza with George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley – like holiday utopia. 

Drinks weren’t really free, but the idea that you could pay up-front to eat and imbibe, and be assured that you wouldn’t be presented with a terrifying bill at the end, was a novel concept, particularly for budget-conscious families and sun-seeking partygoers. 

It still offers considerable appeal in our cash-strapped times, which may explain why all-inclusives have had something of a renaissance. Cruising offers similar peace of mind and plenty to do with kids clubs, waterslides and Disney princesses on board – though alcohol isn’t always free. During both types of holiday, the entertainment comes to you and you’ll never have to flinch at the prices on the menu. 

But which type of holiday is best? Our writer put them both to the test.

Destination

Children’s clubs, food and drink.

• Hidden costs 

All-inclusive

Club Med founders Gilbert Trigano and Gérard Blitz, who dreamt up the all-inclusive concept in the 1950s, had beaches and sunshine in mind. But skiers also favoured the all-in pricing model. Europe’s slopes were a win-win for the brand, which opened its first Alpine village at Leysin in Switzerland in 1956 ( clubmed.co.uk ).

Traditional sunshine strongholds Mexico and the Caribbean – where Butch Stewart picked up the mantel with his Sandals brand – still account for a big slice of the all-inclusive pie, but the net has spread further to include Cuba, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, Croatia, Montenegro, Cape Verde and the Azores. Further afield there are all-inclusive resorts in Kenya, Thailand (mostly Phuket) and the Maldives and Mauritius. Turkish-owned Rixos ( rixos.com ) has recently opened resorts in Qatar and Doha, while Tui ( tui.co.uk ) and First Choice ( firstchoice.co.uk ) offer several resorts in Costa Rica. 

Cruise 

An average week or 10-day ocean cruise can tick-off several different destinations in one country, or across several countries in one trip. If you have a bit longer, it can take you round the world. Three-month world cruise itineraries cross continents, sail several seas and oceans, visit scores of capital cities and offer hundreds of excursion opportunities. 

And let’s not forget off-grid but accessible by water destinations such as the Galapagos, the Pitcairn Islands and Antarctica. River cruises follow the course of most navigable rivers, from the Amazon to the Zambezi. The Mekong, the Mississippi and the Ganges are among their more adventurous destinations. 

Whether beach or mountain-based, most all-inclusive resorts feature an activities element. Sandals comes up trumps, with free scuba at its Caribbean dive resorts and multiple rounds of golf and green fees at top courses in Jamaica, St Lucia and the Bahamas. 

Meanwhile, guests at Rixos resorts in Turkey have free daily access to The Land of the Legends Theme Park in Antalya – which means big savings in peak periods. This Easter, there are also egg hunts as well as giant egg-painting: a week at Premium Tekirova costs from £2,390 for four adults and two children, departing on March 30.

Watersports not your bag? Ikos Oceania in Halkidiki can provide a Tesla Model 3 at no extra cost for one day’s exploration as well as a culture pass to local museums. At Ikos resorts ( ikosresorts.com ), spa access is free between 8am to 8pm. 

If you’re after more than a typical beach holiday, check the activities part of a hotel website to find out what’s included. The adults-only Sanctuary Cap Cana ( sanctuarycapcana.com ) in the Dominican Republic offers Spanish classes and, at the House of Aia on Mexico’s Riviera Maya ( thehouseofaia.com ), a ‘personal growth’ programme includes 20 classes, ceremonies and rituals from visiting guides.

If you have adventurous teens in tow, the US offers some interesting options. At the historic Castle Hot Springs in Arizona ( castlehotsprings.com ) there’s axe-throwing, cruiser bikes, geothermal hot springs and creekside hammocks for lazing in, while, further north in scenic Wyoming, Scott Dunn has stays at Brush Creek Ranch, set in 30,000 acres of sage-bush prairie where you can ride, fish or take to the landscape by ATV ( scottdunn.com ).

With distractions ranging from rock-climbing walls and ropes courses to simulated surfing, via encounters with Star Wars, Marvel and Disney Pixar characters, cruising sets a high bar for activities. And on land, there are excursions – sometimes included – for every type of passenger. 

It’s not just families who benefit. Swan Hellenic ( swanhellenic.com ) has teamed up with Deepak Chopra to offer wellbeing voyages, while adult-only ships offer films under the stars or in theatres, lectures from wildlife experts and historians, opportunities for citizen science, celebrity speakers, casinos and activities ranging from dance lessons to art and photography classes. Virgin ( virginvoyages.com ) also puts on DJ sets and pool and dance parties. And let’s not forget the main event – a new place to explore every day.

Newer resorts have really lifted the bar. At its properties along Turkey’s Turquoise Coast, Rixos rolls out the red carpet for families with a Rixy Kids Club that has cooking and pottery lessons as well as football and dance academies. At Rixos Sungate, where the kids’ club is set around a splash park in a forest, children can learn to code using Lego robotics.

At Ikos Resorts’ collection of luxury properties in Spain and Greece, kids’ clubs are run in line with UK Ofsted standards. Meanwhile, Tui’s family-friendly resorts come with kids’ clubs and a seven-day line-up of activities including creative sessions. Mini Club Med offers trapeze lessons, introductory water-skiing, horse-riding, cooking classes, games and nature discovery activities. For older kids (11-17), there’s film design, DJ sessions and dedicated areas in which to hang out. 

If you’re travelling with very small children or have ambitious activities in mind, check the small print: like lots of childcare for babies and toddlers, Petit Club Med and Baby Club Med both cost extra. Motorised water sports often incur a fee at all-inclusives while some resorts impose limits on the number of windsurfing or other tutored lessons.

Cruise ships do a stellar job when it comes to children’s clubs, with all ages well catered for. Most resort ships divide clubs into four age groups and some, including P&O Cruises ( pocruises.com ), offer free babysitting. Royal Caribbean ( royalcaribbean.com ) has an adventure science lab for budding junior scientists as well as baby and tots programmes for those aged six to 36 months. Celebrity Cruises has a STEM at Sea partnership with The Frost Science Museum (Equinox and Edge-class ships; celebritycruises.com ).

P&O Cruises is particularly well set up for those with kids in tow, with round-the-clock children’s clubs on its family-friendly ships and family-oriented shore excursions. MSC Cruises ( msccruises.co.uk ) has baby, mini, junior, young and teen clubs. The latter offers Xbox and PS4 tournaments, a Drone Academy, flash mobs and dance offs. Disney Dream ( disneycruise.disney.go.com ) has some imaginative offerings too, including the Jedi Training Academy and the opportunity to hang out with characters from the Toy Story trilogy.

You get what you pay for. If that’s sun and sea and a good four-star family resort, expect two or three bars and a standard buffet: a week at the Iberostar Bellevue in Montenegro costs £1,562 in mid-May ( iberostar.com ). Pay a bit more and you’ll be rewarded with more imaginative menus. At Ikos Porto Petro in Majorca, five à la carte restaurants serve meals inspired by Michelin-starred chefs (from £2,470pp with Sovereign; sovereign.com ).

Ikos also has curated “dine out” programmes that encourage guests to eat at local restaurants – including a rustic tapas joint in Estepona, an agriturismo in Ibiza and a buzzy beachfront spot in Marbella. Sandals ( sandals.co.uk ) has similar in Curaçao and Nassau. Caribbean all-inclusives generally offer three or four restaurants – and maybe a pop-up beach venue or barbecue night.

Think cruise, think buffet, right? Wrong. Standards are high, with new ships offering a plethora of cuisines, dining styles and venues along with healthy options and dietary alternatives. You’re as likely to find vegan muffins and bee-pollen at the breakfast buffet as a Full English. 

Silversea and Virgin have ditched the buffet altogether. Partnerships with chefs including Marco Pierre White and Eric Lanlard (P&O Cruises), Relais & Chateau (Silversea; silversea.com ), Jacques Pepin (Holland America Line; hollandamerica.com ) and Thomas Keller (Seabourn; seabourn.com ) have also made a difference. Crystal ( crystalcruises.com ) has a Japanese restaurant masterminded by Nobu while wine presenter Olly Smith helms the Glasshouse on some P&O ships. 

Silversea, Holland America Line and Oceania ( oceaniacruises.com ) are highly regarded among foodies and Regent Seven Seas ( rssc.com ) offers some stylish settings while Celebrity’s newer ships have roof-top gardens and over-the-sea dining. Fine dining can cost extra, depending on the ship, but expect to pay around £15 on top for three courses, which might just include one of the finest steaks you’ll ever eat. 

All-inclusive 

It’s a broad-brush summation but for something established, refined and ‘old-school’ romantic – think castaway beaches, palm fronds gently buffeted by warm trade winds, knock-out views and honeymoon havens – the Caribbean is a safe bet. The likes of Jumby Bay ( oetkercollection.com ), Spice Island Resort ( spiceislandbeachresort.com ), Necker ( virginlimitededition.com ) and Curtain Bluff ( curtainbluff.com ) are famous for a reason. 

The Maldives attracts a discerning international clientele while, in Europe, there are affordable package resorts where screaming kids are well tolerated. At the stylish new kids on the block (think Ikos and Grecotel Luxme; grecotel.com ), Poppy and Miles only scream in the privacy of the rooms however. 

Skiers are too busy skiing, too knackered or too busy partying to care about trifles like the vibe. If in doubt opt for Club Med, where most people speak French. 

It varies enormously across ships. River ships are tranquil, geared to sightseeing and generally follow an up-early and early-to-bed routine. Large resort ships can feel like theme parks, with entertainment into the wee hours; smaller ships go out of their way to leave passengers alone and provide impressive libraries and spaces for quiet contemplation. Viking ( vikingcruises.co.uk ), Silversea and Seabourn excel at this. Then there are the tall ships such as Sea Cloud ( seacloud.com ) and those in the Star Clipper fleet ( starclippercruises.co.uk ), where you’ll spend most of your time on deck watching the wind make the sails dance. 

Some liners take a ship-within-a-ship approach, with exclusive areas, pools and services – at a cost. MSC has the Yacht Club while Norwegian Cruise Line ( ncl.com ), Royal Caribbean and P&O have premium areas with pools and separate menus. Cunard ( cunard.com ) has the Grills Suites. 

If you’re after a more intimate, house-party atmosphere (complete with Surrey types, ex-boat owners and ‘non-cruisers’), opt for a yacht-style cruise ship from Ponant ( uk.ponant.com ), SeaDream ( seadream.com ), Scenic Eclipse ( scenic.co.uk ) or one of a handful of Windstar ships ( windstarcruises.com ).

Hidden costs All-inclusive

Do question the headline price, especially if booking via a third party. In January 2024, a Which? survey of 2,000 holidaymakers revealed key omissions from some operators, including soft drinks. Those who booked with the cheapest provider, lastminute.com , were forking out an extra £367 per week on average for extras. 

Operators take different approaches to inclusions. BA Holidays says: “Expect your holiday to include flights and accommodation, all three meals and snacks in between. Drinks are included too but expect house wine and local spirits unless otherwise stated.” EasyJet’s small print states: “What’s included in the all-inclusive package varies vastly between hotels. When booking your holiday be sure to look at the board description.”

Premium restaurants often cost more, but at the Oaks IBN Battuta in Dubai for example (where a week costs from £989pp through loveholidays.com ) the price includes à la carte restaurants and in-room breakfast. In all cases the two-clicks-away small print was clear. Read it. If in doubt, use the chat function, talk to a travel agent or pick up the phone.

All cruises include accommodation, dining, entertainment and access to pools and the other fun facilities, but Wi-Fi, drinks – alcohol and soda – and tips and room service might not be included. Tips are automatically added to cruise bills on a per passenger, per day basis. Expect to pay for service on spa and beauty treatments and bar drinks.

If you plan on drinking every day, pay for a drinks package (there are alcohol-free packages, too). Celebrity Cruises alcoholic drinks packages start at around £55 per day and Cunard’s soft drinks package starts from around £8.50 per day. Princess Cruises’ Wi-Fi, tips and drinks bundle costs £50pp per day ( princess.com ). 

Though you’ll still pay extra to tip for beauty services, some truly all-inclusive lines also include Wi-Fi, limitless premium drinks, a free mini-bar, most service fees and some excursions. Some also include airfares and a pre- or post-cruise hotel night. Take a look at Regent Seven Seas, Silversea, Viking, Crystal and Seabourn. 

Which wins?

The all-inclusive concept has evolved – there’s no room for holiday snobbery in 2024. If all you want is a hassle-free place to relax by a pool or on the beach and forget about daily expenses, this is as good as it gets. But if you intend to stay longer than a week or haven’t been to the destination before, do some research. You may tire of the same sand, sun loungers and restaurants while venturing out to drink and dine makes little financial sense.

If you’ve a thirst for new places, a cruise offers all of the above plus the bonus of a new port of call most days – without the need to unpack. You’ll never get bored of the changing views and, as for feeling claustrophobic, you can disembark every day (though you don’t have to). Plenty of ships overnight in port, so you can dine ashore too. 

Cruises score bonus points for once-in-a-lifetime experiences too. Unless you own a boat, how else do you experience the romance of a dawn arrival in Manhattan, a sunset sail out of Sydney or your first glimpse of porpoising penguins in the Galapagos?

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The 5 best kids sail free cruises for 2024 & beyond.

Save on your family cruise with these kids sail free deals.

The Best Kids Sail Free Cruises

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Several cruise lines offer kids sail free promos throughout the year.

If you're angling for an affordable family cruise , you'll be happy to know that several major cruise lines let children sail for free (either regularly or during special promotions). Read on to discover which lines cater to families with kids sail free offers.

Cruise lines where kids sail free

Holland america line, norwegian cruise line, royal caribbean international, costa cruises, msc cruises.

Find your perfect cruise

Courtesy of Holland America Line

Deal: Holland America Line is offering a "Kids Cruise Free" promotion on select itineraries in 2024. The offer applies to several itineraries including Hawaii , the Caribbean and the Panama Canal; to qualify, children must be 18 or younger and cruising as third and/or fourth guests in the same cabin as adults. As with similar promotions, taxes and port fees are still required for each child's sailing.

Family-friendly perks: Amenities onboard Holland America ships include kids clubs and youth programs, as well as shore excursions oriented to families with little ones in tow. Plenty of stateroom options can also accommodate larger bookings. The Nieuw Statendam and Koningsdam ships, in particular, feature oversized staterooms with beds for four, a large sitting area and a spacious veranda.

Book a Holland America Line Cruise on GoToSea , a service of U.S. News.

Courtesy of Norwegian Cruise Line

Deal: Norwegian Cruise Line lets third and fourth guests cruise free on select itineraries throughout the year. Cruises to which this promotion applies are offered all over the world, including bucket-list destinations like Alaska and the Mediterranean .

Some of the itineraries that qualify for free third and fourth guests also come with complimentary amenities like an unlimited open bar, specialty dining, shore excursions and/or complimentary Wi-Fi. Additionally, some of the itineraries include generous discounts on the total cruise cost , as well as free airfare for a second guest (when booked through the cruise line).

Family-friendly perks: With Norwegian's all-ages kids clubs, family dining, entertainment and activities included in one bundled rate, planning a kid-approved vacation with the cruise line is a breeze. Many Norwegian ships also feature an array of family-friendly staterooms with plenty of extra space. For example, the luxurious Norwegian Prima offers a two-bedroom family villa with a large balcony in "The Haven" – its exclusive area for VIP guests.

Explore Norwegian Cruise Line deals on GotoSea.

Michel Verdure | Courtesy of Royal Caribbean International

Deal: Royal Caribbean offers a "Kids Sail Free" deal several times each year, allowing children 12 or younger to cruise free provided they are the third guests (or beyond) staying in the same cabin as at least two paying adults. The only catch is that blackout dates apply – typically during holiday and school breaks.

Family-friendly perks: There's a reason so many families choose Royal Caribbean ; kid-friendly amenities range from age-specific programming to zip lining at sea. The line's  exclusive island for cruisers , Perfect Day at CocoCay in  the Bahamas , is also a big hit with young passengers thanks to its waterslides and splash areas.

Compare Royal Caribbean cruise itineraries on GotoSea.

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Courtesy of Costa Cruises

Deal: Costa Cruises may not be as popular as some other cruise lines on our list, but it's a worthwhile option for cruisers looking to sail through Europe, the Middle East or South America. The cruise line allows kids traveling as third or fourth guests to sail for free with two adults in the same cabin, and this promotion applies to passengers ages 2 to 17. This offer is valid on all sailings offered by the line, many of which feature destinations in desirable ports along the Mediterranean such as Barcelona , Marseille and Rome .

Family-friendly perks: Costa Cruises vessels offer abundant family-friendly amenities, from water parks to arcades to mini golf. Kids clubs are available for children ages 3 to 11, and they provide entertainment like arts and crafts, themed parties, and games galore. A teen zone also hosts cruisers ages 12 to 17 who want to mingle, sing karaoke and play group sports when ships aren't in port.

Find a Costa Cruises deal on GotoSea.

Courtesy of MSC Cruises

Deal: MSC Cruises lets children younger than 18 cruise for free on select itineraries, depending on the ship's capacity. (Other exclusions or eligibility requirements may apply.) Kids must be the third or fourth guests traveling in the same cabin as their parents (at least two adults) for the deal to be valid; note that any port fees and taxes still apply to children's fares.

Family-friendly perks: MSC Cruises offers a variety of leisure activities and amenities designed specifically for kids. On board, youngsters can take advantage of perks from water parks with slides and swimming pools to Broadway-style shows and interactive dinners. The line also hosts fun family excursions and a "Lego Experience On Board" event on every cruise. In addition, there are a myriad of amenities for parents to enjoy while the youngest passengers are occupied by one of five dedicated kids clubs.

Why Trust U.S. News Travel

Holly Johnson is a seasoned travel writer who has covered family travel and cruises for more than a decade. Johnson has traveled with her family to more than 50 countries, and her many trips have included cruises all over the world. Johnson lives in Indiana with her two children and her husband, Greg.

You might also be interested in:

• The Top Cruises for Babies & Toddlers
• The Best Cruises for Teens
• Do You Need a Passport to Cruise?
• How to Get Your Child a Passport
• The Best Cruise Insurance Plans

Top Resorts Where Kids Stay Free

Tags: Travel , Cruises , Family Vacations

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