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Norwegian Cruise Line Upsets Fans With New Beverage Policy

By Mandy Robinson
Published on: 07:28 PST, Jul 7, 2016

The Norwegian Cruise Line just upset a lot of people who like to cruise with them by setting up a new policy. USA Today shared that they are not allowing anyone to bring drinks on the ship at all. This is a huge difference than the way things have been in the past on the Norwegian Cruise Line. You won’t even be able to bring on a single bottle of water, which seems like a bit much.

The fans are going to CruiseCritic and complaining about it. There are over 70 pages and over 1,300 comments in one discussion on the message board. The main complaint is that this will make the trip more expensive for families. When going on a cruise, you are spending a lot of money as it is, and drinks are not included in the price of the cruise.

This new rule for the Norwegian Cruise Line will take effect on July 15. If you have a cruise booked for later this year, then you will have to follow these rules. People are used to bringing on cases of bottled water or soda for their trip, but this won’t be an option. If they want water for their room, cruise guests will have to buy it from the Norwegian Cruise Line and not bring it from a local store where it is cheaper.

Right now, you can buy a case of water at the grocery store for about $2.99. Passengers can pre-order a 12-pack of large water bottles delivered to their cabins for $47.14. That price is just too much for some people to afford. A lot of people are speaking out now and saying that they won’t even cruise with Norwegian Cruise Line after this big change.

One other issue is that they do not sell Coke products; instead, they sell Pepsi. A lot of people would bring along their favorite drink because they couldn’t get it on the ship.

Carnival, Princess, and Holland America all allow you to bring on water or soda. Royal Caribbean doesn’t even allow it at all. You can go to Carnival’s Fun Shops and order a 12-pack of water to your room for only $3.99. That makes it affordable even if you don’t bring your own on the ship.

Norwegian Cruise Line posted about the new policy on their website. They shared the exact details about their new policy.

“Effective for sailings July 15, 2016 and beyond, guests are prohibited from bringing any beverages — including liquor, beer and non-alcoholic drinks such as water, soda and juices — on board either as carry-on or checked luggage, with the exception of purified or distilled water in factory-sealed containers for use in conjunction with medical devices or for the reconstitution of infant formula; and fully sealed and/or corked wine bottles for personal consumption onboard that is subject to screening and a corkage fee (for guests 21 years of age or older). Open beverages of any kind must be consumed or discarded at the security check-point, on embarkation day and at any port of call. This revised policy brings the company in line with other best practice travel security protocols and reduces the need for individual time consuming screening and package inspection of large volumes of beverages.”

You will notice that Norwegian Cruise Line did not take away the fact that you can bring a bottle of wine on board. This could end up costing the Norwegian Cruise Line a few people who like to cruise with them, but only time will tell. If they lose a lot of customers, they might decide to change up the rules again.

Are you shocked to hear about the Norwegian Cruise Line taking away the right to bring your own beverages on the boat? Will this keep you from sailing with them? Sound off in the comments section below.

[Photo by David Hecker/Getty Images]

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