Norwegian Cruise Line Bans Bringing Most Beverages Onboard

norwegian dawnNorwegian Cruise Line has announced that, effective July 15, the line will prohibit guests from bringing any beverages onboard. 

The ban includes liquor, beer and non-alcoholic drinks such as water, soda and juices, but does not include purified or distilled water in factory-sealed containers for use in conjunction with medical devices or for the reconstitution of infant formula. Guests can also still bring fully sealed and/or corked wine bottles for personal consumption onboard, although wine bottles are subject to screening and a corkage fee (for guests 21 years of age or older). Open beverages of any kind must be consumed at discarded at security on embarkation day and at any port of call. 

Norwegian said that the new policy brings the company in line with other best practice travel security protocols and will reduce the need for time-consuming individual screening and package inspection of large volumes of beverages. 

Other cruise lines have also moved to ban guests from bringing certain types of bottled beverages onboard. Last summer, Carnival Cruise Line updated its beverage policy to ban bringing bottled water. Instead of security concerns, however, the line cited the need to deter guests from smuggling alcohol onboard. 

At the time, travel agents praised Carnival’s concurrent decision to lower the price of its onboard bottled water, although others pointed out that liquor sold onboard could still cause behavioral problems. 

For more details on Norwegian Cruise Lines’ new beverage policy, visit www.ncl.com.

What do you think of the new policy? Let us know in the comments below.