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Carnival Victory, San Juan Alcohol Smuggling Report 2011

Written by T.I. Cruiser on March 23, 2011 · 1 Comment

Last week I had the pleasure of taking a cruise out of San Juan, Puerto Rico (my favorite port of embarkation) on the Carnival Victory. I got a great deal on the cruise although the airfare left a little to be desired. Eager to make up some of the money I lost on airfare I figured this would be another prime opportunity to see if I could once again bring my own liquor on board the ship. Here is how it went.

A Caveat About Bringing Alcohol Onboard a Cruise Ship

Before any of you worry about me short changing the cruise line on alcohol revenue let me say that none of the alcohol brought on board was consumed on open decks. Rest assured Carnival still got me for approximately 800 dollars, more than half of which was from alcohol ordered in the dining room, poolside or in show lounges. This alcohol was only consumed at times where I normally would have gone without.

When I get back from being in port I like to have a drink or two while get ready for dinner. I would never under any circumstances order a drink to carry back to my room; it’s too much of a hassle for me. Likewise, room service is too slow and unreliable for me to bother with drink orders since most times I would be done showering before my first drink arrived. In other words Carnival lost nothing on the deal but gained a happy cruiser.

My Plan

When I embarked on the cruise ship I planned on bringing two rum runner flasks on board filled with vodka. The plan was to carry them down to San Juan empty and fill them with alcohol purchased while in San Juan. I also counted on bringing onboard our two allotted bottles of wine we would purchase at the duty-free in the cruise terminal.

How it all went down

Since I had extra room in my carry-on we actually purchased the liquor at the duty free in the airport before taking off. Later on that evening we filled the rum runners before heading out on the town. The next morning upon our arrival at the cruise port we gave our large bags to the porters. We walked right over to the outdoor scanners with the porter as I hadn’t tipped yet tipped him. He tossed it right onto the belt and BS’d with the scanner operator who must have been a friend as he only broke eye contact for only a millisecond to check the screen. Rum runners on board… check.

Just as we had planned I purchased our wine in the cruise terminal duty free which was placed in the regular plastic bags they give you. I decided not to buy any extra alcohol in the terminal because it seemed as if we had plenty. Besides those extra purchases seem to be the ones that get confiscated more often than not, so it really wasn’t worth the hassle.

However, I will say that security seemed extremely lax at the terminal on this particular sailing, odd for a Spring Break cruise. I have no doubts that had I wanted to I could have carried on a back pack full of alcohol without as much as a glance. I even had my nail clippers ready in case I needed to snip off the dreaded zip tie.

Normally, guards are at the ready with the orange zip ties which they place around bags carrying alcohol to be confiscated. I saw the guards and I saw the zip ties but what I didn’t see was another agent waiting closer to the entrance of the actual ship. The table where you check in booze which has been tagged was manned by a member of the crew but there was no security there waiting.

The line to actually enter the ship was congested and eventually a member of security did arrive to walk the line but all he did was ask what was in the duty free bag. I simply told him it was wine and he kept on moving. Two bottles of wine onboard… check.

We arrived at the cruise terminal at about 11:30 on that particular day which was late for me as I prefer being one of the first on board the ship. By 1 o’clock I was sitting poolside with a bucket of beer. We went to our cabin at 2:30 or 3 o’clock and our bags arrived shortly thereafter rum runners intact. Party time ready to commence… check.

Friday Mailbag: November 19th 2010 Edition

Written by T.I. Cruiser on November 19, 2010 · Leave a Comment

Here are some more questions readers have written to me about. I figured I would post them just in case any of you had the same questions but were too lazy busy to write. While I do know they will help at least three of you, hopefully it doesn’t stop there. Also remember if you have any questions you are too lazy busy to run down, feel free to send them my way.

We are taking a family vacation on the Freedom of the Seas. My son is 12 years old and all he keeps talking about is going on the flo rider but I am afraid he may be too young for it. Is there an age limit for the flow rider on Royal Caribbean ships?

As far as I know there is no age limit for riding on the Flo-rider. However, just like roller-coasters at amusement parks there are height restrictions. In order to boogie board on the Flo-Rider you have to be at least 52 inches tall and in order to surf standing up you need to be at least 58 inches tall. Hopefully your son fits at least one of those two requirements but even if he doesn’t he should take a bit of time to hang out by the Flo-rider anyways. The falls some of those people take range from hilarious to downright frightening; who knows after he see’s a couple of them he may not even want to ride it. On second thought the falls will probably make a twelve year old boy want to ride them even more. Have fun!

I’m going on a Carnival cruise for the holidays and have a question. Do I have to use the Carnival on-board account to buy drinks or can I use cash? I want to keep costs down and would think cash would be easier to keep track of.

Sorry but the answer is no. On board a cruise ship, unless you are tipping the only people who handle cash are the people at the purser’s desk and the casino cashier all other transactions are through your ship account. Now, what you can do is go to the purser’s desk with cash and have it added to your card, but this doesn’t really serve the same purpose you had intended. My advice would be to monitor the use of your ship account a couple of times a day. Your account can be monitored through the use of the television in your stateroom.

Are there a lot of teens on board Royal Caribbean ships during the Summer? I am going on a cruise for my graduation and want to know that I won’t be stuck with my parents and bored while on the ship.

No worries, there will be tons of teens on the ship during the summer time. My advice for you would be to attend the meet and greet they will have on the first night for all the teens in your age group. Since everyone will be new this is the ideal time to start making a connection. Most likely you’ll end up hooking up with a couple of other teens at which time you will probably forget you are even on a cruise with your family.

What to do with your belongings if you want to go in the water?

Written by T.I. Cruiser on October 20, 2010 · Leave a Comment

You are in the Caribbean, on your dream vacation. The beach you have chosen for the day looks like something out of a Corona commercial and the warm salty water is begging to give you a hug. After a couple of 2 dollar bottles of local better you can no longer resist the call of the ocean. One problem, you have no idea what to do with your belongings.

Is it safe to leave my belongings on the beach or are there other options?

Is it safe to leave your belongings on the beach? Are you serious? This question actually answers itself, would you leave your valuables lying around on a beach in Jersey, Virginia or Florida… hell no. If you leave your stuff on the beach the chances of it being there when you get back are slim and none (and slim has already sailed on to his next port). Often times people let their guards down on vacation when in reality vacation is a time where you should do the opposite. If you wouldn’t do it at home than you definitely should not do it while away on vacation; no matter how relaxed you are or picture perfect the surroundings. Opportunists are everywhere.

I am a beach bum, when on vacation beaching it is what I like to do. Growing up in Pittsburgh I was landlocked. In fact, I didn’t see my first beach until Spring Break in between my freshman and sophomore years of college. My rule for keeping your belongings safe at the beach is a simple one, never leave anything alone on the beach that I can’t afford to lose. That being said there are some things that you have to bring along. Money, your identification and most likely a camera fit into this category.

What should I do with my belongings when I hit the water?

Easy answer, take them in the water with you. A long time ago I purchased a hard plastic water wallet on board the cruise ship. Little did I know it would become one of the most important cruise essentials I would ever own. While it has been replaced multiple times, like American Express, I never leave home without it. For those of you who travel a bit heavier; when visiting the beach you can also pick up much larger waterproof bags ranging from wallet sized to backpack sized. However, although some of these larger bags are labeled as water proof they are better for wading than full submersion.

As far as camera’s go I tend to take waterproof disposable cameras when I am planning to snorkel or play in the water. While some people (who are far better photographer than myself) like to take advantage of the photo-ops vacationing in paradise if you are planning on bringing your Canon 7D to the beach you should probably scratch snorkeling off the list unless you either purchase an underwater case or have someone responsible to babysit your expensive electronic devices. The other option is purchasing a waterproof digital camera such as the waterproof Canon Powershot (waterproof to 33 feet) or the waterproof Sony Playsport which is fine for snorkeling. Each of those cameras will allow you to take great underwater photos with the added bonus of being more than adequate when it comes to taking normal pictures.

There are times when I have been on my way to the beach and found a great deal on souvenirs, meaning that I arrive at the beach with a bag full of goodies. In this situation I always make sure to park my seat at the front of the beach and I always stay within eye-shot of that spot. When forced into this situation it is important to adopt the rule if you can’t make visual contact with your belongings they probably won’t be your belongings for very much longer.