How to Bring Your Own Drinks on a Cruise in 2024

Can you bring your own drinks on a cruise? To save money or to ensure access to your favorite drinks at sea, carrying on beverages can be a great idea. Many cruise lines allow guests to carry on some non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages, but the rules vary by company.

Before you drag that case of water or bottle of Hendrick’s to the port—only to have it confiscated by security—it’s a good idea to read up on the carry-on beverage rules for your cruise line.

Here are the carry-on drinks rules for all the major cruise lines, from mainstream lines like Carnival and Royal Caribbean to high-end ultra-luxury cruise companies.

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Mainstream cruise lines: Beverage rules and fees vary.

Carnival Cruise Line

Carnival allows each guest to carry on up to 12 cans or cartons of non-alcoholic beverages (maximum of 12 ounces / 354 ml per can) on embarkation day.

The cruise line doesn’t allow passengers to carry on non-alcoholic drinks that are packaged in glass or plastic bottles.

Guests over 21 can also carry on one 750 ml bottle of wine or Champagne per person on embarkation day. A $15 corkage fee applies if you want to consume that wine in a restaurant or bar.

MSC Cruises

MSC doesn’t permit passengers to bring any alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages on board. Exceptions may be made to this policy for medical reasons, but you’ll need to submit a Special Requirements Form prior to embarkation.

Norwegian Cruise Line

Norwegian doesn’t allow any bottled water or soda to be brought aboard, with the exception of sealed, purified/distilled water for medical devices or baby formula.

Bottles of wine and Champagne are allowed, subject to a $15 corkage fee for each 750 ml bottle, and $30 for each 1500 ml bottle. NCL assesses this fee regardless of where you consume the wine. The cruise line waives the corkage fee for guests who’ve purchased an Open Bar or Premium Plus Beverage Package.

Royal Caribbean International

Guests may bring up to twelve 17 oz. cans, bottles, or cartons of non-alcoholic beverages per stateroom as carry-on items on embarkation day. Milk and distilled water brought on for infant, medical, or dietary use are permitted. 

Each Royal Caribbean guest of legal drinking age can carry on one 750 ml bottle of wine or Champagne at embarkation, to drink in the stateroom or in any public venue. The cruise line now charges a $15 corkage fee per bottle if you choose to consume your wine in any public area.

Pro tip: If you pour a glass of wine in your room and walk with it to a public area, you won’t be charged a corkage fee. You’ll have glasses in your room, and you can also ask for empty wine glasses at any bar.

For those sailing on consecutive cruises, RCI allows guests to carry on one bottle of wine per cruise at the initial embarkation. Additional bottles will be stored by the ship and delivered, one bottle at a time, to the stateroom on the first day of each new voyage.

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Premium cruise lines: You can bring most beverages, but watch out for fees.

Celebrity Cruises

Celebrity allows guests of legal drinking age to carry on up to two 750 ml bottles of wine per person at embarkation, subject to a $25 corkage fee per bottle in bars and restaurants.

The corkage fee doesn’t apply to guests who have purchased the Classic Beverage Package or Premium Beverage Package.

The cruise line doesn’t specify a policy on non-alcoholic beverages, but many cruisers report that there are no restrictions.

Disney Cruise Line

Disney allows each guest 21 years or older (18+ for cruises from Australia) to carry on two 750 ml bottles of wine or Champagne OR six 12 oz. beers at embarkation, and at each port of call.

The cruise line will assess a $27 corkage fee per bottle of wine and Champagne when consumed in restaurants.

DCL also permits guests to bring a reasonable amount of water and/or soda as carry-on items in original sealed containers.

Soft drinks must be carried onto the ship in a day bag no larger than 22″ wide by 14″ high by 9″ deep.

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Holland America Line

Holland America lets each passenger carry on a “reasonable quantity” of wine and/or Champagne, in bottles no larger than 750ml each. The cruise line doesn’t specify what a reasonable quantity is, but they say that “wine brought in quantities deemed to be excessive by the vessel or security will be refused”.

HAL assesses a $20 corkage fee on all bottles of wine. The cruise line used to only apply this fee to wine consumed in bars and restaurants, but the most recent verbiage doesn’t make a distinction between bottles that cruisers drink in staterooms and in public areas of the ship.

Wine purchased during company-sponsored shore excursions that visit local wineries is exempt from the onboard corkage fee.

In the past, Holland America allowed guests to carry on bottled water and soda at embarkation. This has now changed, and the only non-alcoholic beverage allowed at embarkation is water in sealed cans or cartons—plastic water bottles are no longer allowed to be carried aboard.

The water allowance per stateroom on HAL is now six liters per stateroom, so either twelve 500 ml containers or six one-liter containers.

Princess Cruises

Princess permits passengers of legal drinking age to carry on one 750 ml bottle of wine per guest at embarkation without a fee if you consume the wine in your stateroom. The company will assess a $20 corkage fee if you drink the wine in public areas.

The cruise line permits guests to carry on additional bottles—but will charge the $20 fee regardless of where guests drink that wine, including in the stateroom.

Princess historically didn’t restrict guests from carrying on non-alcoholic beverages, as long as those drinks were in a small carry-on bag or cooler.

However, the cruise line has recently updated its carry-on soft drink policy. Princess guests are now prohibited from bringing water, sodas, or other non-alcoholic beverages on board that are packaged in bottles.

Princess currently lets guests carry on a small quantity of non-alcoholic beverages (including sparkling water, sodas, juice, or milk) packaged in cans or cartons. Soft drinks must be carried on in hand luggage (not in checked luggage).

According to Princess, a “small quantity” is a maximum of 12 sealed, unopened cans or cartons of 12 oz each or less per person. 

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Virgin Voyages

Virgin Voyages lets passengers (or Sailors as they say) carry on up to two 750ml bottles of wine per stateroom, packed in your carry-on bags.

You can also carry on up to twelve 12 oz cartons or cans of water or soft drinks. The cruise line has a fleet-wide ban on single-use plastic bottles, so bottled water or sodas aren’t allowed.

Ultra-premium cruise lines: Some allow spirits, but fees may apply.

Azamara

Azamara permits guests of legal drinking age (age 21 for ships sailing from North America, and age 18 for ships sailing from Europe, Asia, South America, Australia, and New Zealand) to bring spirits, wine, or beer with a $10 corkage fee in bars and restaurants.

Although Azamara’s website doesn’t specify rules about carrying on soft drinks, recent cruisers have reported carrying on non-alcoholic beverages with no problem.

Cunard Line

Cunard permits each guest of legal drinking age to carry on one 750ml bottle of wine or Champagne, subject to a $25 corkage fee in restaurants and bars.

Cunard doesn’t prohibit guests from carrying on soft drinks.

Oceania Cruises

Oceania now allows guests on most cruises to carry on up to six bottles of wine per stateroom (this recently increased from three bottles per person). Guests on world cruises can each carry on 60 bottles of wine.

Any wine consumed in a public area is subject to a $25 corkage fee.

Beer and spirits (or any wine in excess of the allowed total) brought aboard or purchased during shore excursions will be held until the end of the cruise.

Oceania does not specifically prohibit non-alcoholic drinks from being brought aboard.

Viking Ocean Cruises

Viking does not prohibit carrying on any beverages—including wine, Champagne, liquor, or beer—at embarkation and at ports of call.

Viking does not assess any corkage fees when guests consume drinks in public spaces.

Luxury cruise lines: You can bring your favorite beverages on your cruise!

If you are traveling on one of the luxury cruise lines, which are all-inclusive (including Seabourn, Regent Seven Seas, Silversea, and Crystal), your beverages are complimentary. None of these lines prohibit carrying on any beverages at embarkation or in port. Plus, they don’t have any corkage fees!

Some luxury lines may also attempt to stock a requested beverage if it’s available for your specific port. If you’re going to travel on a luxury line, try calling their guest services number to check. It never hurts to ask!

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These rules and restrictions around carrying drinks on a cruise are accurate as of the date of publication. I’ll update them whenever I notice policy changes. Please leave a comment below if you notice that any cruise line has changed its policy and I’ll update the post. Thanks!

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