can you buy bottles of alcohol on a cruise

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Ah, the age-old question for cruisers dreaming of a nightcap on their balcony without the bar tab. Can you buy a full bottle of booze on the ship? The short answer is yes. The longer, slightly more disappointing answer is, yes, but the cruise line will play keep-away with it.

You can absolutely stroll into the onboard duty-free shop and purchase a lovely, tax-free bottle of your favorite spirit. However, the cruise line, in its infinite wisdom, knows exactly what you're thinking. They'll happily sell it to you, but then they will lovingly confiscate it—ahem, hold it for safekeeping—until the very end of your voyage. It’s part of their special "buy now, enjoy much, much later" program.

On the final night or morning of your cruise, your precious bottle will magically reappear in your stateroom, just in time for you to carefully pack it in your suitcase. So, while you can buy the bottle, you can't actually drink it on the ship. It's meant to be a souvenir to take home, where you can sip it while fondly remembering all the expensive, individually priced cocktails you bought instead.