How do Coke drinkers manage on NCL ships?

As a newbie, I've been amazed this thread is one of the busiest.

 

I was considering started my own thread... Does the Jade provide English Breakfast Tea, or PG Tips? ;);)

Or Yorkshire if it is decaf :')

This is a serious question, honest. 6 of my family members are booked on the Norwegian Pearl next May. It sounds like a wonderful Alaska cruise, but if I had known they only serve Pepsi products and don't allow you to bring your own Coke products on board, I think I would have looked at a different line because 3 of the 6 cruisers are Coke-dependent.

 

I'm sure they are not the only Coke fanatics who have ever cruised on NCL. If you have experienced this, how did your Coke fanatic manage?

I am in sympathy with you. The people who have written such rude responses have no idea.

I did drink the Diet Pepsi and get Diet Coke when onshore as suggested.....and yes, cocktails on the beverage package, lol.

I don't drink coffee and use DC as a caffeine fix. I'm thinking some of the people who responded rudely wouldn't like it if there was no coffee. That would be no problem for me.

I love NCL and will still cruise NCL but I have to say it's a relief to be on Celebrity and Holland America and know I can have all the Diet Coke I want.

I haven't read all the posts, but I have your solution. As a Diet Pepsi drinker, I think Diet Coke tastes like flat Diet Pepsi. Have them buy a Diet Pepsi in advance, leave it sitting open to go flat & they should love it. ;) Seriously, when I cruise on a line that only offers Diet Coke, I resign myself to the fact that I'm going to be drinking the equivalent of flat Diet Pepsi for a week. Like others have posted, I buy Diet Pepsi in the ports that offer it. I think Pepsi Lite that you find in some countries is more like Diet Coke than Diet Pepsi, so buying that is a waste of time. It's a shame that all cruise lines don't allow you to carry on your soft drink of choice. I'd be happy to buy a soda package on most lines, if that meant they would allow me to carry on all the Diet Pepsi I want. The availability of Diet Pepsi is one of the few things I liked about my NCL cruise. I do want to try one of NCL's newer ships & Diet Pepsi is a selling point for me.

It's a shame that all cruise lines don't allow you to carry on your soft drink of choice. I'd be happy to buy a soda package on most lines, if that meant they would allow me to carry on all the Diet Pepsi I want.

Maybe not a package, but charge, say, $2.00 per soda you bring on the ship. It wouldn't be as much as they would get if you purchase it, but at least it would be some revenue and since folks say they don't bring it on to save money, they shouldn't have an issue.

That would work for me too. Any policy that allows me to carry on my soft drink of choice works for me. Considering how much Diet Pepsi I drink, paying the package price in advance would probably be cheaper.:o

This is a serious question, honest. 6 of my family members are booked on the Norwegian Pearl next May. It sounds like a wonderful Alaska cruise, but if I had known they only serve Pepsi products and don't allow you to bring your own Coke products on board, I think I would have looked at a different line because 3 of the 6 cruisers are Coke-dependent.

 

I'm sure they are not the only Coke fanatics who have ever cruised on NCL. If you have experienced this, how did your Coke fanatic manage?

I was NOT going to read 15 pages on this subject, so forgive me if it's been covered.

Isn't it true that IF there are enough passengers with a Coke-dependency that notify NCL at least 2 weeks before the cruise, two things happen:

-NCL schedules on the Daily Program a morning and early evening Coke-dependency support group meeting room?

-NCL notifies the port authorities who in turn arrange for a Coke Kiosk just off the gangway where Coke products are sold for consumption?

It seriously sounds as though some people should be having addiction counselling.

To use the words about being Coke dependent seems to be as bad as being alcohol or drug dependent!

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LOL I can manage 7 days without any coke (or soda) so this isn't an issue for me. How absurd.

LOL I can manage 7 days without any coke (or soda) so this isn't an issue for me. How absurd.

Yep, it's definitely one of those so-called First World Problems.

LOL I can manage 7 days without any coke (or soda) so this isn't an issue for me. How absurd.

I was NOT going to read 15 pages on this subject, so forgive me if it's been covered.

 

Isn't it true that IF there are enough passengers with a Coke-dependency that notify NCL at least 2 weeks before the cruise, two things happen:

 

-NCL schedules on the Daily Program a morning and early evening Coke-dependency support group meeting room?

-NCL offers free ship to shore calls to the suicide hotline.

There are people that are addicted to nicotine that need their cigarettes and there are people that are addicted to caffeine that need their coffee before they can function each morning. Other caffeine addicts prefer their Coke or Diet Coke and you shouldn't call their need or craving absurd just because you're lucky enough to not have an addiction like they do. Or possibly you do, but it could be something else in your life that you can't do without.

If you need caffeine you can get it in many different forms and flavors. Acting like life is going to collapse because you can't have just one of those flavors for seven days IS absurd no matter how you try to rationalize it. If someone is going to start having anxiety attacks or change their vacation plans because of a brand of soda they might want to think about getting professional assistance.

If you need caffeine you can get it in many different forms and flavors. Acting like life is going to collapse because you can't have just one of those flavors for seven days IS absurd no matter how you try to rationalize it. If someone is going to start having anxiety attacks or change their vacation plans because of a brand of soda they might want to think about getting professional assistance.

I prefer to consume Coke Zero and I wish NCL had Pepsi Zero Sugar, but since they only have Diet Pepsi, which uses a different type of sweetener, I just did without soda for 7 days with no problem. Had a Coke Zero while waiting to board and didn't have another till I got home. I'm not addicted to the stuff like many posters on this thread are.

I actually will break down and admit my addiction, which is something I only have when I'm cruising. Chocolate croissants on the breakfast buffet pastry area.

I actually will break down and admit my addiction, which is something I only have when I'm cruising. Chocolate croissants on the breakfast buffet pastry area.

I haven't read all the posts, but I have your solution. As a Diet Pepsi drinker, I think Diet Coke tastes like flat Diet Pepsi. Have them buy a Diet Pepsi in advance, leave it sitting open to go flat & they should love it. ;) Seriously, when I cruise on a line that only offers Diet Coke, I resign myself to the fact that I'm going to be drinking the equivalent of flat Diet Pepsi for a week. Like others have posted, I buy Diet Pepsi in the ports that offer it. I think Pepsi Lite that you find in some countries is more like Diet Coke than Diet Pepsi, so buying that is a waste of time. It's a shame that all cruise lines don't allow you to carry on your soft drink of choice. I'd be happy to buy a soda package on most lines, if that meant they would allow me to carry on all the Diet Pepsi I want. The availability of Diet Pepsi is one of the few things I liked about my NCL cruise. I do want to try one of NCL's newer ships & Diet Pepsi is a selling point for me.

I would have agreed with you a couple years back, but since DP changed the sweetener I can’t stand it anymore. I threw out a couple cases of DP before I realized they switched the recipe. So now I’m on team Diet Coke, the struggle is real folks.

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If you sail out of Miami, there is a Coke machine in the "waiting area."

Two dollars a bottle, load as many as you want into a back pack. Since you're past TSA, no one cares what you're carrying onto the ship.

Ask your cabin steward to clear out the mini fridge, ahead of your Diet Cokes, Coke Zeros or whatever, or do it yourself, and you're in business.

If you don't sail out of Miami, check out the area, and complain if there isn't a similar machine, it's no skin off the nose of NCL, and maybe after enough complaints, they'll figure it out.

I would have agreed with you a couple years back, but since DP changed the sweetener I can’t stand it anymore. I threw out a couple cases of DP before I realized they switched the recipe. So now I’m on team Diet Coke, the struggle is real folks.

So many people complaining about this thread! yes it started a long time ago, but has plenty of current (2018) responses, so apparently people are still interesting in discussing it (or bashing it as the case may be) :rolleyes:

I found it entertaining, and I read the entire thing! Ok some posts are way too rude, some folks should stop taking someone else's opinion so darn seriously.

I found it enlightening and encouraging that NCL actually has Pepsi! I can tolerate coke but dont bother to drink it and most any other full calorie soda, just too many calories wasted for me. So i choose diet, and I there wasnt any I liked until Pepsi changed to sucralose, now i really like it!

On the other hand, diet coke is undrinkable to me. My first cruise will be on Fantasy, and I was ready to buy the soda package until I was crestfallen to find they only have coke! My husband, who feels pretty much the same as me about soda, and I will probably just drink whatever is the freebies, as we aren't interested in alcohol either.

Also very disappointed with how many restaurants (not on cruise ships) serve only coke! We dont necessarily skip those, but if there's a place we like that has Pepsi, we will often choose it instead.

Nothing wrong with drinking what you like, and it's no one's business to publicly disagree with why someone chooses one cruise ship or line over another. Everyone has different priorities. Who decides which (of someone else's) priority is acceptable or reasonable and which isn't?

When I booked our cruise, I didnt have a choice of cruise line, it was the only one leaving from the port we chose (chosen because its the closest). I have since looked around at other choices, and while I was going to dismiss NCL from my future consideration because it's quite a bit more expensive than Carnival, hearing that they actually have pepsi makes me want to consider them again!

Soda preference is really no better or worse than some of the other "petty" complaints I've seen in the hundreds of reviews I have read so far! People like what they like, some to more degree than another. Just because you dont agree doesnt mean there's something wrong with the other person.

I sometimes ask for a lime in my Diet Pepsi to try to hide the fact that it's Diet Pepsi and not Coke Zero. And in port I'll buy a can of diet coke (or coke zero if available but I don't know if I've ever noticed it) to drink. Otherwise, like others, I make do.

Here is an actual exchange I had with someone in a restaurant in the US, outside of Atlanta (which is where I live, and Atlanta is Coca Cola world headquarters):

Me: I'll have a diet coke.

Waitress: Is diet pepsi okay?

Me: What-- no, it's not okay! What is wrong with you????

So many people complaining about this thread! yes it started a long time ago, but has plenty of current (2018) responses, so apparently people are still interesting in discussing it (or bashing it as the case may be) :rolleyes:

 

I found it entertaining, and I read the entire thing! Ok some posts are way too rude, some folks should stop taking someone else's opinion so darn seriously.

 

I found it enlightening and encouraging that NCL actually has Pepsi! I can tolerate coke but dont bother to drink it and most any other full calorie soda, just too many calories wasted for me. So i choose diet, and I there wasnt any I liked until Pepsi changed to sucralose, now i really like it!

 

On the other hand, diet coke is undrinkable to me. My first cruise will be on Fantasy, and I was ready to buy the soda package until I was crestfallen to find they only have coke! My husband, who feels pretty much the same as me about soda, and I will probably just drink whatever is the freebies, as we aren't interested in alcohol either.

 

 

Also very disappointed with how many restaurants (not on cruise ships) serve only coke! We dont necessarily skip those, but if there's a place we like that has Pepsi, we will often choose it instead.

 

Nothing wrong with drinking what you like, and it's no one's business to publicly disagree with why someone chooses one cruise ship or line over another. Everyone has different priorities. Who decides which (of someone else's) priority is acceptable or reasonable and which isn't?

 

 

When I booked our cruise, I didnt have a choice of cruise line, it was the only one leaving from the port we chose (chosen because its the closest). I have since looked around at other choices, and while I was going to dismiss NCL from my future consideration because it's quite a bit more expensive than Carnival, hearing that they actually have pepsi makes me want to consider them again!

 

Soda preference is really no better or worse than some of the other "petty" complaints I've seen in the hundreds of reviews I have read so far! People like what they like, some to more degree than another. Just because you dont agree doesnt mean there's something wrong with the other person.

You would love life here in Ilocos Sur province in the Philippines, nothing but Pepsi and Mountain Dew at all the weddings and parties. And each bottle comes with a straw!!!

I liked this thread and it was quite comforting to me that I am not the only one out there with a "Diet Coke" vice who was seriously concerned about what I would do / how it would be to be on vacation without Diet Coke. The rest of my family thought this was hilarious, and I guess for most readers too a thread like this is quite humorous. Previous to this, I thought I was the only one, so this was sort of my Diet Coke Anonymous for a week support group.

I did just fine on the last cruise despite my major concerns and wishing I could get a Diet Coke, no chemical craving, but just thinking how nice it would be having a Diet Coke on my balcony several times a day. I also totally enjoyed the Diet Coke's I did get in the three ports. Not being able to have any on board made getting them at the ports feel very special. At home and at work and everywhere I go except for a cruise on NCL, OMG I can actually have a Diet Coke anytime I want. With the exception of one Diet Pepsi a day (just for the caffine), I stuck to water and tried lemonade twice too. Didn't do alcohol or any other drinks on board.

For those who are so surprised that this thread got so much attention still in 2018 and say there are bigger things to be concerned about, "of course". But maybe lighten up a little. If we take that "there are bigger things to be concerned about" one step further that goes for the whole idea of having any questions or concerns about something like a fun / frivolous cruise. What's our problem spending so much time planning and deciding upon things for a fun frivolous vacation as surely there are more productive things we could be doing and that we could be concerned about.

Know exactly what you're talking about, but all you need to do is buy Pepsi Zero Sugar, it's unfortunately not available on NCL, but you can buy it or Coke Zero Sugar at the grocery store. They are both so much better than Diet Coke, IMHO.

 

This is good to know, I’ve never tried it. I have been so disappointed with Pepsi since the change I never thought to try it.

Has anyone tried the new Diet Coke flavors? They are pretty darn good!

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I prefer Coke to Pepsi, but I am a bigger soda pop junkie than my brand preference. I have eaten and will continue to eat in restaurants that serve Pepsi exclusively. If I really wanted to drink soda, Pepsi is a good enough choice than to drink something else just because Coke wasn't available. It's not a big deal.

Has anyone tried the new Diet Coke flavors? They are pretty darn good!

 

 

 

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Have tried it at a Freestyle Machine in the ginger lime version. Pretty good, but the canned version only comes in 8 packs instead of 12 and is more expensive than the 12 packs.