Tip re: Drinks in Souvenir Glasses

Just got off the Epic 12/11 - 12/18 sailing.

I want to give a heads up on something I noticed that I haven't seen mentioned much here regarding souvenir glasses.

When you order a mixed drink (Pina Colada or something like that), it will be brought to you in a souvenir glass and you will be charged an extra $2.25 or so. When you finish your drink the waiter will take your glass, it will be washed and resold. Your second, third drink, etc will also be served in new souvenir glasses and you will be charged that extra $2.25 each time.

The few times we took our souvenir glasses back to the cabin, the cabin steward removed them from the cabin, as they would any other dirty glass.

I wonder how many times each of those souvenir glasses are sold, washed and resold at $2.25 each time?

To avoid this, when you order a drink you need to specify you want a regular glass. The waiter will chuckle, say "no problem" and bring the drink in a regular glass and charge you $2.25 less.

BTW, the bar menus do not give prices for the drinks. The specialty drinks of the day do state they are served in a souvenir glass that "you get to keep" but don't say you can order the drink without the souvenir glass at a lower price. The menu descriptions of other drinks do not mention them being served in souvenir glasses.

I am sure that if you tell the waiter you want to keep your glass they will leave it with you. Also, I'm sure that if you tell your cabin steward you want to keep your glasses they will not remove them from your cabin. However, NCL's policy apparently is to:

1. Serve all drinks in specialty glasses unless the customer specifically requests otherwise. The waiters do not ask you if you want a souvenir glass or not.

2. Pick up all specialty glasses to be washed and resold from both the bars and pool area unless the customer specifically asks otherwise.

3. Cabins stewards remove all used souvenir glasses from cabins unless the costumer instructs otherwise.

At an extra $2.25 a drink, over a 7 day period, it adds up. Essentially, if you order your drinks in regular glasses, every 4th drink is free as compared to always getting the souvenir glasses.

Interesting, never had that issue. If having one drink, I hold on to the glass and bring it back to the cabin.

If we want a second, the waiter will take back the old and bring us a new drink at the refill price. Not sure if they rewash the cups.

The glasses in the cabin we wash and dry, then place them among our personal items.

I never encountered that on the Pride of America. In fact, when I needed a souvenir glass for a prop to a costume party (it was a charter), I had to ask a waiter for one and she gave it to me for free.

Our experience is that the souvenir glass holds more than the "regular" glass, but did not do the calculation. We did have to ask specifically for the regular glass.

In my experience, is is the "foo foo" drinks (most of them blended) that got that treatment...for example, a gin and tonic did not.

In my experience, is is the "foo foo" drinks (most of them blended) that got that treatment...for example, a gin and tonic did not.

That's correct. This applies to the foo foo drinks only. Not martinis and not the simple "rum and coke" type drinks. I can't address what's done on other ships, only on Epic and only last week.

I never had that problem on the Epic. You are right that it is done with the frozen special drinks not a regular drink.

That's correct. This applies to the foo foo drinks only. Not martinis and not the simple "rum and coke" type drinks. I can't address what's done on other ships, only on Epic and only last week.

Along with your original post this post is completely inaccurate. You can have any drink you would like in a souvenir glass and pay the appropriate difference in price if you so choose. That price includes keeping the glass as a souvenir, hence the name souvenir.

If you leave a souvenir glass laying around they will be picked up, but I don't believed they are washed and reused, as I said I don't know but I will ask the question. The same goes with souvenir glasses in your cabin, if a dirty glass is laying around in your cabin it will be removed.

PE

We didn't have that experience at all. Our pool server would ask me what color I wanted when I was finished with my drink and then would bring me a clean, empty one in that color. Normally I avoid the special glasses but on the last 2 afternoons of our cruise (Oct 24-31 Pearl) they ran a lot of 2 for 1 specials in the glasses.

I never had this happen either... (I have been on the Dawn and the Spirit)

I got the souvenir glass and if I wanted another drink they took my glass and did not charge me the additional 2.25

also I had 5 or 6 souvenir glasses sitting in my room and the cleaning staff never ever touched them.

so

1. Serve all drinks in specialty glasses unless the customer specifically requests otherwise. The waiters do not ask you if you want a souvenir glass or not.

I believe this is true

2. Pick up all specialty glasses to be washed and resold from both the bars and pool area unless the customer specifically asks otherwise.

I do not believe this is true. Never happened to me

3. Cabins stewards remove all used souvenir glasses from cabins unless the costumer instructs otherwise.

I do not believe this is true. Never happened to me

When I did the Epic TA the glasses our drinks were served in, as I recall, were standard martini or highball glasses. This may seem a really dumb question, but will souvenir glasses say EPIC or NCL on them and be plastic? Here's a picture of our martinis, I don't think these are souvenir glasses, are they?

So you are saying now that everything automatically comes in a souvenir glass unless you specify otherwise? That would make these $10 and $11 martinis be $13? Seems like someone is pricing themselves out of the market! What did people pay for fancy martinis on the Epic recently?

no, not those... only Fru Fru drinks. like pina colada.

I might have a picture. if so, I will post it.

I found the pic.

Thanks, a picture is worth 1000 words!

no, not those... only Fru Fru drinks. like pina colada.

 

I might have a picture. if so, I will post it.

 

I found the pic.

 

Just an FYI...you can also get regular highball cocktails served in those glasses if you so choose.

PE

Hard to tell how much they hold because of the shape. i'd bet the volume you get in the souvenir glass is exactly the same as what you get in a highball glass.

Hard to tell how much they hold because of the shape. i'd bet the volume you get in the souvenir glass is exactly the same as what you get in a highball glass.

Depending on the size of glass that you get the souvenir glasses will have a little more capacity. Some of the bars have "taller" glasses for cocktails but their regular glass is a true lowball glass, and the souvenir glass will serve about a third again more than this smaller glass.

PE

just did a test and found out how much those souvenir glasses hold

it holds 14 ounces

just did a test and found out how much those souvenir glasses hold

 

it holds 14 ounces

I did the same thing, but mine hold 16 oz. I have 2 different souvenir glasses and they measured the same, but they're older, so they may have changed the glass size.

I did the same thing, but mine hold 16 oz. I have 2 different souvenir glasses and they measured the same, but they're older, so they may have changed the glass size.

Are these the "hurricane" shaped glasses. Those definitely held more than the newer souvenir glasses.

PE

no, not those... only Fru Fru drinks. like pina colada.

 

I found the pic.

 

Thanks for the pic... reminds me of where I'd rather be... :)

Just relating my experience as it happened last week.

Maybe I was treated differently than they treat everyone else.:rolleyes:

When I was on the Epic [and I should have clarified my statement to be limited to the Epic since I can't say what they do on the other ships] and ordered a foo foo drink, ie a blended cocktail - not a martini or a highball, my experience was that unless I specified I wanted a regular glass they served it in a souvenir glass and charged me the extra $2.25. Also in my experience when I finished my drink the waiter took the souvenir glass. When I ordered another drink (unless I specified otherwise) they brought it in a new souvenir glass and charged me another $2.25 for that. Since I saw them washing the souvenir glasses at the bar, I'm assuming they resold them.

In my case, in my stateroom, whenever we brought a glass back it was taken when the room was cleaned. Again, I'm sure if we mentioned it they would have left them.

So, I'm just trying to give people a head's up. Unless you want the souvenir glass, ask for a regular glass and pay the lower price.

why wouldn't they wash them and re sell them? whats the difference regular glasses get washed and resold. unless the lettering or picture is damaged I don't see why they wouldn't.

the idea of a 'souvenir' cup that you pay extra for is so you can keep it as a souvenir. If they take it away from you, wash it and resell it, that would no longer be considererd a souvenir cup.

I have always been able to keep my souvenir cups and in some cases they have taken mine and gave me a brand new one not used yet.

But you are supposed to keep the cup since you paid for it.

Just relating my experience as it happened last week.

 

Maybe I was treated differently than they treat everyone else.:rolleyes:

 

When I was on the Epic [and I should have clarified my statement to be limited to the Epic since I can't say what they do on the other ships] and ordered a foo foo drink, ie a blended cocktail - not a martini or a highball, my experience was that unless I specified I wanted a regular glass they served it in a souvenir glass and charged me the extra $2.25. Also in my experience when I finished my drink the waiter took the souvenir glass. When I ordered another drink (unless I specified otherwise) they brought it in a new souvenir glass and charged me another $2.25 for that. Since I saw them washing the souvenir glasses at the bar, I'm assuming they resold them.

 

In my case, in my stateroom, whenever we brought a glass back it was taken when the room was cleaned. Again, I'm sure if we mentioned it they would have left them.

 

So, I'm just trying to give people a head's up. Unless you want the souvenir glass, ask for a regular glass and pay the lower price.

Thank you. that is excellent info to have actually, as many people won't realize that is going on.

I've never had them taken back and routinely order drinks without the souvenier cup, except in the case of the fish bowl glasses because we really like those.

These are the two glasses. I don't have any idea why I keep them! :eek:

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