Booze cruise

Booze cruise is a British colloquial term for a brief trip from Britain to France or Belgium with the intent of taking advantage of lower prices, and buying personal supplies of (especially) alcohol or tobacco in bulk quantities. Within limits, this is a legally acceptable process and should not be confused with smuggling.

The term is also used in other countries to refer to a pleasure outing on a ship or boat involving a significant amount of drinking, or an outing to purchase large amounts of alcohol in bulk for a party or outing. It probably originated during Prohibition, when Americans would take "cruises to nowhere" to enjoy alcohol, which could legally be served on board once outside American territorial waters.

The background

Generally, alcohol and tobacco taxes are lower in France than in Britain. Economically, it makes sense for people to buy their supplies of wine, beer, spirits, and tobacco in bulk in France instead of Britain. There is keen competition between ferry operators and the Channel Tunnel Eurotunnel Shuttle. The day fares to Calais are normally around £60 per vehicle, but are sometimes discounted to as little as £10 at off-peak times. Since beer often costs little more than half the English shop price, at worst, the savings defray the cost of a day out.

Blackjack Billy

Blackjack Billy is an American country rock group composed of Rob Blackledge (vocals, bass guitar), Noll Billings (vocals), Jeff Coplan (electric guitar), and Brad Cummings (drums). Based in Nashville, they describe their music as "Redneck Rock." Their debut single, "The Booze Cruise," was independently released in March 2013.

SiriusXM satellite radio's new country channel "The Highway" began playing "The Booze Cruise" as a Highway "Find." It's cited as the biggest-selling song on iTunes by any band without a major record deal in the first half of 2013. As of Aug 12, 2013, the song has sold more than 100K in the US and more than 150K worldwide. It reached gold status in Canada.

Billy Dukes of Taste of Country gave "The Booze Cruise" four stars out of five, writing that "clever lyrics and a melody that grabs your attention like that hottie oiling up with sunblock make this an easy song to finish before you realize you’ve begun." The song was written by Noll Billings, Jeff Coplan and Chuck Jones on August 24, 2011. A writing session was set for that very hot summer day in Nashville, when Billings said that a fun way to spend that day would be to get on a booze cruise. The song was written in 45 minutes.

Cruise

Cruise or Cruises may pertain to:

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Television

The Booze Cruise

The Booze Cruise is a series of three feature length comedy dramas written for British television by Paul Minett and Brian Leveson. The first episode in the series premiered on ITV in 2003.

The three episodes have received mixed reviews, with the Radio Times describing it as "like comedy in 1973" and also "you can see each joke a mile off", but generally liking the show.

Episodes

"The Booze Cruise" (2003)

A group of men from Kent; Clive (Martin Clunes), Rob (Neil Pearson), Dave (Mark Benton), Maurice (Brian Murphy) and Daniel (Ben Whishaw) - go on a booze cruise to France, with mixed success and many mishaps along the way. Events involving their wives and families back home also form a large part of the plot.

Two follow-up episodes were also created by Minett and Leveson, featuring the same characters with the exception of Clive, who did not appear in either sequel owing to Martin Clunes' Doc Martin commitments . Daniel was played by Tom Bennett, and only appears in The Booze Cruise II, while Amanda Abbington took on the role of Leonie.