1920s booze cruise

The Origin of the Booze Cruise

Kris Chislett

You may also like, aerating wine vs. decanting wine – what’s the difference, merlot vs. cabernet – what’s the difference (and cake pops…for some reason…).

The Sediment blog

But let’s also acknowledge the more recent use of the term – when UK consumers realised that by crossing the Channel to France, they could obtain alcohol much more cheaply. 

Ferries, particularly out of season, reduced fares to an absurd extent (eg £1 return!) and Brits would do a cross-Channel “round trip” in a day. Huge wine warehouses opened up in proximity to ferry ports simply in order to sell to booze-cruising Brits. In some cases, travellers would even load up on duty free on the ferry itself, and simply turn around in the dock car park before returning home!The rising value of the Euro, coupled with European tax legislation and changes to duty free, have killed off these booze cruises. Sadly…

Ahhhh yes! The old “Dover to Calais” run! I remember once we almost ran into a problem with the fuzz for bringing back too much plonk. Those were the days!

Leave a Reply Click here to cancel reply.

More stories.

White Zinfandel – Accidents Do Happen…Unfortunately…

The story goes that the history of White Zinfandel began by accident at the Sutter Home Winery. When a tank of Zinfandel didn’t ferment as dry as expected, winemaker Bob Trinchero decided to create a blush wine, and they began selling it out of their tasting room – it became an instant success amongst people with no taste buds everywhere. Just kidding! We know we’ve all had it at one time or another!

How Prohibition Impacted The Cruise Ship Industry

In 1920, the 18th Amendment and the Volstead Act banned the manufacturing, selling, and transportation of all alcohol in the United States (via History ). This era, known as Prohibition , lasted for a long 13 years. It ironically led to an upsurge in organized crime, as well as illegal activities related to both the production and consumption of alcohol (per Khan Academy ).

Nonetheless, culturally, there was an upside to Prohibition. Speakeasies (illegal drinking spots) flourished. According to the Mob Museum , they created a demand for live entertainment. Thus, the roaring '20s, full of partying and drinking, were in full swing. Before prohibition, men and women were largely separated in social settings, now, they were drinking and living it up together (via Mental Floss ).

"Bootlegging" (as the illegal use and production of alcohol was called) thrived. So much so, that notorious Chicago gangster Al Capone made $60 million supplying liquor to speakeasies in the late 1920s. However, speakeasies are not the only thing that prospered under this dry era.

Prohibition led to the creation of the booze cruise

Per Home Wet Bar , other enterprises, including the production of soda, skyrocketed. Likewise, Anheuser-Busch created a lucrative ice cream business, and Coors delved into pottery and ceramic tubing (via Mental Floss ). Moreover, the demand for international travel grew for one reason only, per  Travel Pulse .

Americans fled to international destinations (mostly Europe) via foreign ships. Prohibition did not exist in other countries, and Americans were thirsty, to say the least. As soon as the ship was six miles offshore, the bar was opened and passengers could drink their way to through vacation.

Per Molly Spirits , sometimes there was no actual destination and the ship circled the coast. As long as they were on international waters, they could drink freely, thus the booze cruise was born. Unfortunately, this affected domestic American ships. However, they tried to entice customers by advertising that they too had the same comfort and services as the foreign liners.

In 1933, the 21st Amendment was ratified and subsequently repealed the 18th Amendment, thus ending Prohibition. With its direct result in building criminal empires and lack of success in enforcing sobriety, it's safe to say that Prohibition was a flop (via History ). According to ABC News , after it was repealed, Franklin D. Roosevelt said, "What America needs now is a drink."

THE CRUISE INSIDER

• Sep 12, 2020
• 11 min read

Booze Cruises

Updated: Oct 29

If you are a contemporary cruiser you probably think that ‘booze cruise’ describes that time you took the Fiesta party boat in Cozumel and ended up dancing the Macarena on a table before falling gracelessly overboard. Well, it does that too! But there have been other ‘booze cruises’ in history, some of whom have had much more influence on the development of the cruise concept than your drunken little escapade.

On January 17, 1920 the National Prohibition Act (aka the Volstead Act) went into effect in the United States. The temperance movement had won a decades-long battle and banned the sale of alcohol in the US in an attempt to ameliorate alcoholism, poverty and other societal issues. A number of involuntarily sober minds immediately went about trying to find loopholes in the act and soon found an obvious one. The ban was only in effect within US territory, up to 3 nautical miles from the coastline. Get yourself on a ship and sail out to 3.1 nautical miles from shore and every hour would be ‘happy hour’.

But before we dive into that story, add some Roaring Twenties soundscape to your reading experience by starting this playlist.

To many shipping companies, the Prohibition was a godsend. America was going through a period of Anti-immigrant sentiment and clamping down on immigration – the Immigration Act of 1917 (aka the Asiatic Barred Zone Act) had decimated Asian immigration numbers into the US and the next big reform, the Emergency Quota Act of 1921 to curb European immigration, was already in the works. Scores of passenger ships, previously busy ferrying immigrants to the New World, were either out of a steady gig or soon to be out of a one. But the advent of Prohibition opened up an entirely new shipping niche almost overnight.

By 1920 cruise operations had been running out of North America for close to 30 years. The biggest market was the Caribbean where close to 40 different brands were operating regular or seasonal cruising operations out of US/Canadian ports. Almost all of them were shipping companies, running cruises as a sideline business - designated cruise lines were still a rarity. By far the biggest player here was the ‘Great White Fleet’ – the tourism branch of the United Fruit Company with its massive fleet of cargo liners (read Going Bananas ). The rest of the lineup consisted of other North American companies, small-time Caribbean operators or European shipping companies, like P&O, Cunard or HAPAG. This traffic did not really have any centralized or dedicated hub - Miami was a sleepy little whistle-stop of barely 30.000 inhabitants on the Florida East Coast Railway and still very far away from becoming the ‘cruise capital’ of the world. Instead cruise traffic was much more spread out among major North American ports with existing overseas liner traffic. Second-biggest market was the Pacific with cruise operations to Pacific Mexico, Hawaii or Alaska from West Coast ports. The third and most localized operation was centered on Bermuda where a handful of operators were running cruises to Bermuda out of US and Canadian East Coast ports, possibly as early as 1890 but that is hard to say for sure. With only one port of call on an itinerary, the fine line between cruise operation and ferry service becomes very blurry.

The booze cruises were a very unique by-product of the Roaring Twenties – not only in the sense that it took a Prohibition event for them to come about, but in the way they caught on with the public despite being against the spirit, if not the letter, of the law. In 1920 Warren G. Harding ran a successful presidential campaign on the promise of ‘Return to Normalcy’ after the recent misery of World War I and the Spanish Flu combined, but America did not return to anything resembling pre-WWI status quo. Instead it entered into an unprecedented period of economic prosperity that turned it into a dominant power in world industry and finance and brought with it a host of sociological, technological and cultural changes; middle class emergence, mass consumerism, first-wave feminism, racial movement, electric revolution, mass mobility (mass tourism, for that matter), mass media development, celebrity culture et cetera. The Twenties would end up one of the most transformative decades in modern American history and the generations that came of age in this heady mix of societal change, technological marvel and endless possibilities were not about to let a bunch of stuffy, rural puritans control their fate or dictate their wants and desires. The future was bright, money was abundant, the sky was the limit – let’s play! Hence, not the odd few, but indeed the vast majority of them were eager to defy prohibition and booze cruising provided the perfect way to do so – while certainly disreputable with the ‘dry crowd’, it was not technically illegal and so became a defiant but safe way to tell Uncle Sam exactly where to stick his Volstead Act (and get a buzz on).

Shipping companies quickly dispatched their superfluous liners to North American ports, obviously not their finest or newest ships (those remained on the high-profile Transoceanic service) but rather their has-beens and old buckets - the ones on their second life, after years of commissioned war duty perhaps, but still fit enough to pass US health and safety inspections. After all, as long as the bars were well-stocked and comfy, most booze cruise guests couldn't care less about what the rest of the ship was like. These ships would have had the traditional 3-tiered class structure typical of transoceanic immigrant vessels; First class, Second class and Steerage (‘Tourist Class’ would not replace Second Class and Steerage until the 1930’s) but that probably suited the operators nicely as it gave them a chance to diversify their offerings and widen their customer base. Unlike its European countermarket which was very much dominated by aristocracy and societal elites, American cruise tourism was much more egalitarian and open to everyone who could afford the fare. And in general, cruise fares were kept low because the name of the game was to get as many people onboard as possible and let bar revenues make up for the rest.

American shipping companies found themselves at a disadvantage; as US-flagged vessels technically constituted American territory, they could not serve alcohol onboard. However, operators soon found their way around this pesky provision by re-registering their fleets in open registry abroad, e.g. in Panama or Liberia. That is the reason why we have the ‘flag of convenience’ business practice of cruise ships today (although these days it is lower operational costs and lax regulation driving the practice, rather than the lure of alcohol).

Meanwhile, itinerary planners went to work crafting new itineraries, that only served one purpose: get the ship outside the 3-mile limit so the bars could be opened. The most basic of booze cruises did not even require a destination – they would just sail outside the 3-mile limit and float about until guests started passing out in drunken stupors. The onboard activities program (if one existed) likely only listed one event: PARTY! If you are now imagining a stylish crowd of dapper Sheiks and free-spirited Flappers, toasting suavely and vigorously Charleston’ing away in a picture-perfect Art Deco ballroom, I am afraid you are over-romanticizing it. This type of cruises would have had a considerably grittier and more sordid vibe – as if a sleazy gin joint from the wrong side of the tracks had been launched out to sea after midnight. These cheap and cheerful ‘cruises to nowhere’ did not have to be long – in fact it was better if they were not. Courting a hard-drinking party crowd quickly turns into a game of diminishing returns for the operator when money starts to run low and hangovers start to accumulate, especially when most of your clientele is broad American middle-class. Best to keep it to 1 or 2 nights and then cruise back to shore to pick up the next load of thirsty cruisers. Needless to say, these ‘bottom of the barrel cruises’ appealed primarily to the hardcore drinkers and were operated by companies with little to no concerns about brand values or public image.

For guests with a little more disposable income and a little more concern about their image in respectable society, a ‘destination cruise’ was more well-regarded. After all, it gave you an opportunity to at least pretend that the destination was equally or more interesting to you than binge drinking. Similarly, the companies operating these cruises were the ones slightly more concerned with looking the part of a ‘respectable company’ running cruises of ‘discovery’, rather than ‘debauchery’. The most basic of those were the ones that just took you to one destination outside the 3-mile limit, preferably one with a good party scene, so as to not spoil the experience with prolonged periods of sobriety. Needless to say, the Bahamas (Nassau) and Cuba (Havana) ranked at the top of that list. Both were within an overnight sail from southern US ports, hosted an emerging tourism infrastructure and were more than happy to serve up alcohol to cruise guests at all times of day. On the Pacific side, Ensenada, Cabo San Lucas and other ports of the Baja California peninsula experienced a similar boom in ‘booze tourism’ by ship.

There were longer booze cruises too, though not necessarily more wide-ranging. Booze cruises to the Caribbean were available from New York and other ports on the Eastern Seaboard too. They did not necessarily feature more than one port either but because of the 3-day sail from New York to Nassau (4 to Havana), they could easily turn into 8-10 day cruises with just a couple days spent in one port. But as long as the bars were open, people took the excessive time at sea in stride. Northeners had other options too – Bermuda was an enticing destination with delightful subtropical climate and free-flowing alcohol. It was still a lot of time at sea as it took between 2-3 days to reach Bermuda out of New York, but it was popular nonetheless. Yet another option for Northeners was to take a shorter booze cruise to neighboring Canada. While Canada also had a Prohibition period, it was over by the early twenties and Canada quickly became a popular US tourist destination for legal alcohol consumption. However, the Canadian booze cruise option never really gained the same popularity as the Caribbean ones, presumably due to Canada’s lack of tropical climate and cheap cocktails. There were also cheap overseas cruises from the US to the Mediterranean during the time period, though they were probably more like regular cruises with the added benefit of alcohol consumption, than they were ‘booze cruises’ by nature.

These longer cruises were obviously more expensive than your average booze cruise and consequently catered more to the upper-middle and upper classes of American society. These were guests for whom the serving of alcohol onboard certainly qualified as an ‘added bonus’, but would not have been the prime motivator for their holiday choice. To you or I, they would have felt more like ‘real cruises’ than poorly disguised excuses to drink at sea – yes, the bars were undoubtedly livelier at night but the rest of the experience featured varied activities programs, a refined atmosphere and the feel of a decent quality leisure product. These were the cruises that increased interest in cruising as a mainstream holiday option during the 20’s and 30’s – thousands and thousands of Americans went to sea in pursuit of a good time with alcohol, only to find that they enjoyed it so much, they would return – even when alcohol was no longer a factor in the decision. That is how Prohibition helped cultivate the interest in cruising from mainland USA in the interwar period.

Booze cruise traffic quickly grew to staggering proportions. North American ports would see multiple departures a day from dozens of different operators, reaching a climax over the weekend. Entire flotillas of cruise ships could be seen departing the ports in the afternoons and taking up anchorage off Nassau, Ensenada or Hamilton (because most of these did not have the pier space to dock all these ships), like some looming armada, waiting to storm ashore and capture all the alcohol to the tunes of Ragtime and Happy Harlem Swing. Being a popular destination for booze cruises was as much a curse as a blessing. Yes, there was tourism revenue in it - a LOT of it – but overtourism soon became an issue. And not just plain overtourism, but drunk and disorderly overtourism. Public disturbances were the least of a destination’s worries; Alcohol smuggling, corruption, organized crime and the entire seedy underworld of Prohibition invaded the popular destinations and robbed them of revenue, safety and national self-reliance. Just like in mainland USA, crime clung to Prohibition like a wet rag and would eventually become one of the primary reasons why Prohibition was abandoned.

The first harbinger of doom for the booze cruise concept came in October of 1929 with the onset of the Great Depression – overnight countless Americans lost their fortunes and gained a whole slew of new worries, beyond where to secure their next drink. Booze cruising took a big blow to volume, but did not go down. The second blow came on 5 December, 1933 when prohibition was repealed with the ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment. Americans could once again drink on mainland USA. Still, booze cruises did not disappear overnight – they remained cheap and cheerful holiday options for a while until finally petering out in the late 1930’s. Many lower tier operators simply disbanded and sold off or repurposed their ships. Established shipping companies eliminated the shortest, cheapest and most alcohol-infused itineraries from their roster and focused on pushing the still-viable ships into regular leisure cruising – the demand for which was now on the rise due to people’s positive experiences with holidays at sea. But a lot of cruise ships were simply consigned to the scrap heap – hopelessly worn out by a decade of relentless back-to-back, short-duration cruises with minimal mainte-nance and of thousands of drunken guests spoiling their interiors for years.

There is a good case to be argued that the Prohibition Era produced the first version of an industrialized middle-class cruise market. There had been middle-class cruises before this, but as short-lived exceptions to the rule. By virtue of price alone, cruising had been an upper-class pursuit for most of its existence. But the Prohibition Era produced a decade-long period where even middle-class Americans could take to the seas for a reasonably priced holiday, where shipping companies worked out the winning formula for mainstream cruising and where cruise destinations bordering North America got their first taste of what riches mainstream cruising could bring them if they catered to it. It was potentially the ideal set-up for the formation of a ‘proper’ cruise industry (as opposed to a shipping industry doing cruises on the side). All the market indicators pointed to the viability of a mainstream, year-round, US-based cruise market, even without alcohol as the primary drive – all it would have taken was for one company to take the next logical step of forming a designated cruise company with a winning mainstream formula and we could have had an established cruise industry 30 years before we actually did. But alas, the Great Depression and World War II got in the way and ultimately the stars did not align again for the cruise industry until the mid-1960’s when the industry that we know today got its start.

As the US booze cruise adventure waned, elsewhere in the world Germany was making headway with a different mainstream cruise concept for everyone – one not fueled by alcohol, but by ideology. But that’s a story for a different time.

Authors note: Maybe you noticed, maybe you didn’t, but this article is almost devoid of specifics and examples from the history of booze cruises, at least in comparison to other of my articles in the same series. That is not to say that I made the whole thing up, but rather that I pieced it together from scant references and sources without much detail. There does not seem to be much detailed documentation around for the ‘booze cruises’ of the 1930’s – even historical books devoted to the Prohibition Era rarely manage more than a ‘Oh yeah! And there were ‘booze cruises’ too..’ mention of it. I should know; I just sat through a 5 hr PBS special on Prohibition with nary a single mention of booze cruises. Therefore, this account of the phenomenon is deliberately kept as a very general recounting of the phenomenon. By the same token; if you, dear Reader, know the perfect place/source for specific information on the subject, please get in touch with me and share. Thanks for reading!

This is the tenth article in a series of historical retrospectives on the history of cruising prior to the industry formation in the 1960's. Although not academic papers, the articles are researched to the extent of my resources and ability and strive to be as historically factual as possible. If you enjoyed it, feel free to like, share or comment and follow me (or The Cruise Insider) for more instalments.

• Cruise History

Recent Posts

Cruise Chronicle 1843 - 1880

Wreck of a Co-Op

Mardi Gras on the Rocks

• Connect with Us
• Local History Center
• Collection Catalog
• Digital Collections
• Oral History Catalog
• Order Images
• Contact and visit us
• About the Local History Center

The Booze Cruise

On January 16th, 1920, the 18th Amendment made drinking alcohol illegal .  “It was an era,” wrote Port Washington News editor Ernie Simon, “when the most popular guy in town was the one who knew where the best ‘speakeasy’ was.”  Police raids on transports and barrooms were frequent, such as this one at  Main Street’s Cove Inn:

It's a bust! The Cove Inn on Main Street.

Rum running, the smuggling of liquor over water, became a common activity along Long Island Sound.  According to Port resident Clarence “Chappie” Miller, even the kids had an idea of what was going on…

[audio:http://www.pwpl.org/localhistory/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/rum-running1.mp3|titles=Clarence Miller Discussing Rum Running]

“Get out of here you kids!!”  Click the arrow to listen. (0:42)

Roswell Valentine worked as a gardener at the Matheson estate in Lloyd’s Neck, a Gold Coast mansion similar to those in Port Washington and other towns along the North Shore.  Here he describes a Prohibition-era scenario:

[audio:http://www.pwpl.org/localhistory/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/rum-running-21.mp3|titles=Roswell Valentine Discussing Rum Running]

“They would hide their cases of liquor all through the woods…”  Click the arrow to listen. (1:13)

Quick, small boats were used for rum running.

To hear more of these interviews, read transcripts, and view more photos, please visit the Port Washington Public Library Local History Center.

April 20th, 2010 · No Comments · Gold Coast Estates

Search local history center.

• Famous Residents
• Gold Coast Estates
• Mason Collection
• Post Office
• Exhibits / Galleries

The Port Washington Public Library - One Library Drive - Port Washington - NY 11050

Design made possible by the Friends of the Library

The Booze Cruise

On January 16th, 1920, the 18th Amendment made drinking alcohol illegal.  “It was an era,” wrote Port Washington News editor Ernie Simon, “when the most popular guy in town was the one who knew where the best ‘speakeasy’ was.”  Police raids on transports and barrooms were frequent, such as this one at  Main Street’s Cove Inn:

It’s a bust! The Cove Inn on Main Street.

Rum running, the smuggling of liquor over water, became a common activity along Long Island Sound.  According to Port resident Clarence “Chappie” Miller, even the kids had an idea of what was going on…

“Get out of here you kids!!”  Click the arrow to listen. (0:42)

Roswell Valentine worked as a gardener at the Matheson estate in Lloyd’s Neck, a Gold Coast mansion similar to those in Port Washington and other towns along the North Shore.  Here he describes a Prohibition-era scenario:

“They would hide their cases of liquor all through the woods…”  Click the arrow to listen. (1:13)

Quick, small boats were used for rum running.

To hear more of these interviews, read transcripts, and view more photos, please visit the Port Washington Public Library Local History Center.

History of the Booze Cruise

Synonymous with fun in the sun and relaxation, a booze cruise has great time written all over it. As the activity became increasingly popular among tourists, bachelor/bachelorette parties, or for birthday and company outings, we started to wonder, where exactly did the booze cruise come from? After a little digging, we realized that the booze cruise has been around for quite some time, but they had a different meaning.

Let’s dive in! Booze cruises back in the 1800’s were not used as a party reference, but as a term used for shopping trips. Selling alcoholic beverages on the water was considered “duty free” and was cheaper, specifically in Europe across the English Channel. Going on a day trip on a boat from one country to another was like going on an alcohol run to Costco, just a bit more glamorous

During the Prohibition era, if people were able to find alcohol, they took to the water to consume it, as they were less likely to get caught. This is around the time that the term Booze Cruise becomes more pleasure related.

Over the decades, a noticeable behavioral change has taken place among those cruises. What once started out as a shopping trip, turned into illegal activity, slowly evolved to formal dining on the water, and eventually led to the cruises we all know and love today, like on Saltwater Cycle and the Charleston Brew Barge.

Today, the traditional booze cruiser is a much different clientele than the Titanic era. Big groups of a much younger and louder demographic profile flock to our boats year round, purely for enjoyment!

  We attribute this to tourist behavior changing over the years, as Millenials and Gen-Z’s place travel as one of their top priorities. Tourist behavior generally changes when on vacation. The experience becomes enhanced when you are in the sun, cracking a few cold beverages, listening to good music, and forgetting about real life for a few hours.

A Booze Cruise today means time to chill on the Charleston Intercoastal. Taking a private charter or meeting like-minded travel companions is the best way to create your own personal oasis.

As a cruise operator today, Saltwater Cycle generally ends to attract a younger, thrifier type of passenger, looking for packages that are cost effective as well as unique. While we do still get plenty of 50th birthdays, corporate outings, and college reunion groups, the traditional older customer base has certainly evolved.

Now that you know the history of the booze cruise, are you ready to book yours? Click on the link below to get started and we will see you on the water! Cheers! https://saltwatercycle.com

Last 5 Articles

Subscribe to our mailing list, book a tour, with saltwater cycle.

All cruises are 21 and up. Cruises are BYOB. Snacks encouraged. Hard liquor is not allowed. All groups must arrive 30 mins prior to cruise time. Please plan accordingly.

Jacksonville Wine Guide

• Website Sponsors
• Social Media Support for Wineries
• Social Media for Wineries
• Jacksonville Events
• Capital Grille
• Eleven South
• Restaurant Orsay
• Restaurant Medure
• Wine Cellar

The Origin of the Booze Cruise

Join Our Mailing List

• February 2014
• January 2014
• December 2013
• November 2013
• October 2013
• February 2013
• January 2013
• December 2012
• November 2012
• October 2012
• September 2012
• August 2012
• February 2012
• January 2012
• December 2011
• November 2011
• October 2011
• September 2011
• August 2011
• February 2011
• January 2011
• December 2010
• November 2010
• October 2010

The Community

• BlogYourWine.com
• JacksonvilleWineGuide.com
• OrlandoWineGuide.com
• MiamiWineGuide.com
• TampaWineGuide.com

Jacksonville Air Conditioning

Transparency

• Matthew’s

Words and phrases

Personal account.

• Access or purchase personal subscriptions
• Get our newsletter
• Save searches
• Set display preferences

Institutional access

Sign in with library card

Sign in with username / password

Recommend to your librarian

Institutional account management

Sign in as administrator on Oxford Academic

booze cruise noun

• Show all quotations

What does the noun booze cruise mean?

There are two meanings listed in OED's entry for the noun booze cruise . See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.

How common is the noun booze cruise ?

How is the noun booze cruise pronounced, british english, u.s. english, where does the noun booze cruise come from.

Earliest known use

The earliest known use of the noun booze cruise is in the 1920s.

OED's earliest evidence for booze cruise is from 1921, in Olympia (Washington) Daily Recorder .

booze cruise is formed within English, by compounding.

Etymons: booze n. , cruise n.

Nearby entries

• booty call, n. 1993–
• booty-fellow, n. 1530–55
• booty-hale, v. 1610
• booty-haling, n. 1611
• bootyless, adj. 1866–
• bootylicious, adj. 1992–
• bootyn, n. 1635
• booze, n. 1732–
• booze, v. 1768–
• booze can, n. 1905–
• booze cruise, n. 1921–
• boozed, adj. 1850–
• booze-hound, n. 1926–
• boozer, n. a1819–
• boozeroo, n. 1943–
• booze-up, n. 1897–
• boozify, v. 1824–
• boozily, adv. 1893–
• boozing, n. c1540–
• boozing, adj. 1569–
• boozy, adj.¹ a1529–

Meaning & use

Thank you for visiting Oxford English Dictionary

To continue reading, please sign in below or purchase a subscription

Pronunciation

Entry history for booze cruise, n..

booze cruise, n. was first published in September 2002

booze cruise, n. was last modified in July 2023

oed.com is a living text, updated every three months. Modifications may include:

• further revisions to definitions, pronunciation, etymology, headwords, variant spellings, quotations, and dates;
• new senses, phrases, and quotations.

Revisions and additions of this kind were last incorporated into booze cruise, n. in July 2023.

Please submit your feedback for booze cruise, n.

Please include your email address if you are happy to be contacted about your feedback. OUP will not use this email address for any other purpose.

Citation details

Factsheet for booze cruise, n., browse entry.

You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser .

1920’s Great Gatsby Booze Cruise

You’re invited to the party of the decade! Step back in time to the roaring 20’s, the age of flappers, gangsters, and speakeasies, as we throw a party Jay Gatsby would be proud of. This will be an insane night of drinking, dancing, fun. You’ll be talking about this wild night all week!

Our three live DJs will be spinning your favorites all night long so come on out and party like its 1925!

PLEASE NOTE: Boarding: 9:30-10:30 pm **If you are late, the boat does not wait!**

Set Sail: 10:30 pm Return: 2:00am

Your 3 Live DJs are spinning all night: DJ 1 (Green): Top 40 Dance Hits, 1920’s Party Music Remixes, and Electro Swing DJ 2 (Red): 80’s, 90’s & 2K Throwbacks DJ 3 (Blue): Hip Hop/R&B

Your Experience Includes: • A Pair of Quiet Events Headphones • Glow in the Dark Gear • 3 Live DJ’s battling for your attention

Special Notes: • 21+ • Rain or Shine • Dress Code: Dress to impress; costumes are highly encouraged! • Drinks not included, full bar on board

What to Bring: • Valid ID • You MUST have a credit or debit card for the check-in process. If the headphones are NOT returned, there will be a $100 charge to your credit or debit card after the event. • No need to print your ticket, just show the code on your phone or they will have your name at the door.

How it Works: When you arrive you’ll receive a pair of special wireless headphones. You can adjust the volume and choose between up to three DJ’s with a flip of a switch. Each headset has a color LED that shows what channel you are listening to. It’s super social; you’re in control of the music! There’s no loud music that you have to talk over. Plus, there’s no ringing in your ears when you leave!

Never been to a Quiet Clubbing Event? Watch our  YouTube video  to see what everyone is talking about.

Powered by:

Date and time.

• Date: Friday , Jun 07, 2019
• Time: 9:30 pm - 2:00 am EDT

Featured Events

• 11 Pier Ave Hermosa Beach , CA 90254 United States
• Vista/ Hermosa Beach
• 4:00 pm - 8:00 pm PST

Sunset Vibes Silent Disco @ Vista / Hermosa Beach – CA

• 36-02 Ditmar's Blvd Astoria , NY 11105 United States
• Queen’s Room
• 8:00 pm - 12:00 am EST

Queens Room Silent Night Holiday Party with Presents!

• 305 West 6th Street Austin , TX 78701 United States
• The Belmont
• 8:00 pm - 2:00 am CST

Silent Disco New Year’s Eve Party at The Belmont – Austin

• To save this word, you'll need to log in. Log In

booze cruise

Definition of booze cruise

Examples of booze cruise in a sentence.

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'booze cruise.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

1921, in the meaning defined above

Articles Related to booze cruise

8 Prohibition-Era Words

From bathtub gin to the blind pig

Dictionary Entries Near booze cruise

booze fighter

Cite this Entry

“Booze cruise.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/booze%20cruise. Accessed 16 Nov. 2023.

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Can you solve 4 words at once?

Word of the day.

See Definitions and Examples »

Get Word of the Day daily email!

Games & Quizzes

• 786-796-1679

What Are Miami Booze Cruises?

Most parties are held in hotels, convention rooms, private homes, or even parks, but for those looking to enjoy one-of-a-kind and memorable parties or events, staying within these typical limits is no longer an option. Many instead choose innovative solutions, such as experiencing party boats or yachts, not only for the entertaining experience but also to take advantage of the perks that come with The Miami Experience Boat Party .

Birthday parties, bachelor and bachelorette parties, and business gatherings all benefit from party boats!

The days of staying up all night partying at a Miami nightclub to enjoy the party atmosphere are long gone. A Miami Experience boat party allows you to start your day or night off right with an unforgettable experience that will make you feel like a VIP on our booze cruise.

The Origin of the Booze Cruise

The cruise business saw a significant boom during the period of National Prohibition (1920–1933). Those on “cruises to nowhere” may legally consume alcohol as soon as the ship enters international waters, where they often cruise in circles. The cruises were rapidly dubbed “booze cruises.”

What is a Booze Cruise?

Many people confuse booze cruises with any other form of party boats. Our experience is 100% better. A booze cruise always features free-flowing drinks as well as snacks and live entertainment for its guests. Picture yourself sitting at the back of a boat, drinking your favorite cocktail and watching the sunset over the water. Miami offers some of the world’s most gorgeous people , coastlines, and sea views. The magnificent waves and breathtaking vistas will only contribute to the overall mood and vibe of your Miami boat party. No matter where you are, our entertainment staff will always have a selection of exciting activities planned for you. Don’t let this opportunity pass you by!

We have dance competitions, champagne showers, and other activities for your enjoyment. Our audience can expect a mood that will keep them moving, make them feel wonderful, and create a captivating and exciting setting. A live DJ and emcee will be spinning the greatest in hip hop, R&B, Latin, and reggae vibes.

Come to the boat party to unwind, pour beverages, and have fun. We serve hot dogs, chicken wings, and chips. You will have three hours of unrestricted drinks on board, which will include vodka, rum, whiskey, gin, and tequila. Invite all of your friends so that you can all experience Miami in a new light and create new memories together. Get a group of your friends who love to dance and party or meet someone new! A party boat on the other hand, may lead to the introduction of someone special. Don’t ignore it; people have found their soul mates in the most unexpected locations! The next person you meet might be the one, or at least the one for now.

Bring On the Booze

Now that you’re confident that attending a boat party is going to be the best experience you’ve ever had, it’s time to plan the festivities! Get your tickets, invite your friends, and you’re ready to go. Get your tickets now!

• 401 Biscayne Boulevard, Miami, FL 33132
• Email Reservations

Quick links

• Privacy Policy
• Terms & Conditions