It was only a matter of time… Today, Disney Cruise Line made a big announcement and not the one many were hoping to hear. Disney’s generous alcohol policy is changing. The revised alcohol policy will be effective for all new sailings embarking on or after September 30, 2015. The key change in the policy is the limiting of the qualities of wine or champagne and beer as well as prohibiting liquors and spirits. The first bullet point below indicates you can restock at each port of call as long as you board within the limits.

Each Guest 21 years and older may bring two bottles of unopened wine or champagne (no larger than 750ml) or six beers (no larger than 12oz) onboard in carry-on luggage at the beginning of the voyage and at each port-of-call .

onboard in carry-on luggage at the beginning of the voyage . All alcoholic beverages packed in checked luggage will be removed and stored until the completion of the cruise.

Wine or champagne in excess of the two allowable bottles or beer in excess of the six beers will be stored and Guests may retrieve them at the end of the voyage.

All liquors and spirits (including powdered alcohol) are prohibited and will be stored until the completion of the cruise.

Guests must retrieve any stored alcohol at the end of the cruise. Uncollected alcohol will be destroyed and no compensation will be offered.

Alcohol brought on board may not be consumed in any lounge or public area.

Disney Cruise Line Corkage Fee Increase

September 30th will also serve as the date for the new corkage fee charged to Guests who bring their own wine or champagne into one of our restaurants will be $25 per bottle, up from $20.

I’d like to thank TravelOnADream.com for passing along the policy change. Disney Cruise Line’s Terms & Conditions page and FAQ have already been updated to reflect the change. The new guest alcohol policy will also impact guests Fish Extender (FE) gifts by prohibiting the mini liquor bottles which are frequently passed out in the exchange.

What are your thoughts? I really just have one issue I will take with this new policy is that it does not take inconsideration the duration of the itinerary. The policy is the same for a 3-Night Cruise as is a 15-Night cruise. I would prefer that it was a sliding scale based on duration of the itinerary. That being said, I also feel Disney Cruise Line needs to step up their craft beer offerings to appeal to those that are uninterested in the current beer selections. Publix offers more craft beer selections than the ships.