Walt Disney did not allow any alcohol to be sold at Disneyland, the company’s first theme park, or its successor Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. He believed that you should be able to have fun at his parks without the need to be inebriated.
Those rules certainly did not carry over into the company’s later theme parks. Epcot’s current business model leans pretty heavily on alcohol, and even Magic Kingdom and Disneyland have limited alcohol now, but the Walt Disney Company’s (DIS) history is not exactly pro-drinking.
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Disney’s cruise line certainly serves alcohol, but it does not sell drink packages the way that its chief rivals in the family-friendly cruise line space Royal Caribbean (RCL) and Carnival (CCL) do. That’s an easy way to control people’s drinking as the price adds up fast when buying cocktails a la carte.
But while Disney does not encourage drinking on its ships in the same way its rivals do, it has a looser alcohol policy in one key area.
Disney runs a family friendly cruise line but does offers bars and adults-only areas.
Image source: Disney Cruise
Here’s Disney’s surprising alcohol policy
Royal Caribbean and Carnival have pretty similar policies when it comes to bringing alcohol onboard:
Royal Caribbean: On embarkation day, each guest of drinking age may bring one (1) sealed 750 ml bottle of wine or champagne. Boxed wine and other containers are prohibited. Guests who purchase alcohol bottles onboard, in a port-of-call, or bring more than the one permitted bottle on boarding day, will have their items safely stored by the ship. These bottles will be returned on the last day onboard for enjoyment once home.Carnival: Guests are prohibited from bringing alcoholic beverages on board with the following exception – at the beginning of the cruise during embarkation day only, guests (21 years of age and older) may bring one 750-ml bottle of sealed/unopened wine or champagne, per person, in their carry-on luggage.
Neither cruise line allows its passengers to bring hard liquor or beer on. Disney Cruise Line does not allow hard liquor, but has a more liberal policy than its rivals.
“Disney Cruise Line Guests 21 years and older may bring a maximum of 2 bottles of unopened wine or champagne (no larger than 750 ml) or 6 beers (no larger than 12 ounces) on board at the beginning of the voyage and at each port of call. These beverages must be packed in carry-on (not checked) bags or luggage,” the cruise line shared.
That means that two adults sharing a cabin can bring 4 bottles of wine or 12 beers. They could, in theory also bring 2 bottles of wine and six beers.
There are, however some rules.
“Guests wishing to consume wine or champagne that they have brought on board in one of the dining rooms will be charged a corking fee of $29 per bottle,” according to the cruise line.
In addition, alcohol brought on board may not be consumed in any lounge or public area.
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Basically that limits any alcohol legally brought onto a Disney cruise ship to consumption in your cabin or in a dining room with the corking fee. Both Royal Caribbean and Carnival have similar corking fees, but do allow you to bring glasses of wine into the dining room or into public spaces.
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