My family and i will be taking a cruise line this spring,all the food is paid for but the soda..?

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Time travler

You didn't say which cruise line your going on, but on Princess you can bring soda and bottled water. There may be a limit to the amount you can bring though. Call your cruise company to be sure you can do this. On Princess, alcohol runs from about $6.00 for a beer on up, so yes it is expensive. I usually limit myself to one drink a day, plus a bottle of wine every 2 days.I also buy a coffee card so I can have a latte every day and get free good coffee everyday too. The regular coffee is OK, but I prefer better coffee.

Patricia

My experience with several cruise ships is that the soda's and any alcoholic beverages are very expensive on a ship, especially for a family.

They do furnish ice tea, fountain water & juice that you can get in the buffet restaurant anytime.

I suggest you bring in your suitcases several cartons of sodas and some wine. They have ice in the cabin and glasses but of course beer has to be refrigerated. They do not open your checked in luggage for beverages. They do not refrigerate any of your beverages for they want to sell as much as they can while you are on the ship.

They do check your purchases when coming back from the destination ports for alcoholic purchases take them and deliver them to your cabin before debarkation. If you purchase bottles of alcohol that they sell to cruisers on the ship they store it for you and deliver it to your cabin before debarkation.

Bottles of wine can be purchased at your evening dinner table for a rather expensive rate but they will store it after opening and deliver it back to your table when you come back the next evening until empty.

Hope this was helpful.

Cruising in Tampa

Jessica S

Most cruise lines will not allow you to bring drinks on the ship with you. I would check first and make sure, but definitely not alcohol. Alcohol is usually starting at $5.00-$6.00 once again depending the the cruise line

Paul in San Diego

Some cruise lines are more strict than others. On Carnival, for example, they say you can't bring any sodas or alcohol on board, except for a bottle of wine to celebrate something like an anniversary. You can't even bring bottled water. When you go through embarkation screening after checking your luggage, they x-ray and physically inspect your carry-on bags and make you turn over any contraband. I once had a tough time getting through screening with a half-finished bottle of diet Coke. But, they changed their mind when they saw it was already opened.

Sodas on board the ship are about $2 each when bought individually. Or, you can get unlimited sodas with a soda card for about $45 per person. But, they serve them to you in a glass - they don't just give you a can.

Alcoholic beverages are the same price you would expect to pay in a bar. You can buy whole bottles if you want. But, I once priced a 1-liter bottle of Jack Daniels at $60.

So, here's what you do:

Go get a 1.25 liter bottle of Arizona Iced Tea (it's in a brown plastic bottle). Drink or dump out the tea and fill it to the brim with your favorite alcoholic spirit (to prevent sloshing). Recap the bottle, place it into a cardboard box with some foam packing, and tape up the box with packing tape. If you want to take the extra step, you can wrap it like a birthday present. Then bury it somewhere in the middle of your check-on luggage. When it arrives at your stateroom, the bar is open. I've done this on every cruise I've ever taken and have never gotten caught.

barry c

Most cruise lines don't want you bringing refreshments on board. The cooler would be a definite giveaway. They're not about to go through your baggage, so that's safe, and you can just keep your drinks in the state-room refrigerator, go back to the room when you want to get one, or tool up. The drink costs are not exactly like an airport, but they're not cheap.

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