How do Coke drinkers manage on NCL ships?

We're taking along a bottle of A-1 for DM. It's the little things that can make or break a vacation.

 

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Yikes! What would you use the A-1 for? Burgers?

I remember a guy who was concerned about the brand of ketchup that the ship served and was thinking of bringing his own :eek: KETCHUP:eek: to the ship. There was recent mention from a guy who said the brand of pop was deal-breaker for him and that is absolutely an incredible idea.

Ketchup, no. But little packets of brown mustard for those wonderful Nathan's hot dogs? I sure did! Yellow mustard is the devil's "excretion."

Ketchup, no. But little packets of brown mustard for those wonderful Nathan's hot dogs? I sure did! Yellow mustard is the devil's "excretion."

Well, yeah, yellow mustard is nasty stuff.

I don't remember ever having a hotdog on a cruise.

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'm not in the camp that truly understands this being an issue. That being said, I wouldn't try to replace Coke with Pepsi if they can tell the difference. I know other Coke drinkers who hate Pepsi. But surely they have been in other places that didn't have Coke and tried water, Sierra Mist, Gatorade, lemonade, etc and can find an acceptable beverage for sea days. (Personally I like mio as a calorie free flavor for water). Like others said they can get their Coke in port. While cruising is much less exotic than other places, at the end of the day it is international travel, and not having access to your normal products is part of international travel. Soda isn't served internationally the same way as the US (usually room temp, always in high priced cans) so part of travel is learning to accept substitutes. (I'm not saying that to u, but something that needs to be said to them if they would really pick a cruiseline based on soda choices)

there are no pepsi drinkers. Only coke drinkers without a choice.

lol

There are no Pepsi drinkers. Only Coke drinkers without a choice.

Actually I much prefer Pepsi (Max) but will make do with Diet Coke if I need to.

Thanks for the helpful replies! ...

 

GUT, I did get some useful suggestions. They were just buried in a lot of snark. The flaw in the comparison with Disney is that there are several cruise lines hitting essentially the same ports, often at the same time, so there is no reason we have to tolerate NCL's persnickety policies for future cruises. I'm not much of a soda drinker, period, but I want my Coke-dependent family to be able to enjoy their usual drink. Buying Cokes in ports had occurred to me. However, no one in the family suggested switching to a different line - but I will definitely ask, before booking any future cruises, whether Coke products are available onboard. Whoever that bothers is welcome to skip this thread.

Nice job responding to the good advice along with the snark, with equal aplomb!

I wish people could just answer your question instead of trying to put others down or lecture... There's nothing wrong with wanting to treat yourself with all your favorites when you're on your vacation, whether it's a sweet fizzy drink or anything else.

I am a big drinker of Diet Coke, so when I cruise NCL I put a little squeeze of lime in the Diet Pepsi (as someone else suggested) and it takes the edge off the sweetness. Happy cruising!

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 love NCL because they serve Pepsi products, but I also cruise the other lines that all serve Coke products. I don't drink a lot of soda, but when I do, Diet Pepsi is my preference. But I can drink Diet Coke or Coke Zero.

If your family really can't substitute Pepsi for a week, at least they can pick some up nearly every day in the Alaskan ports. They may even get away with bringing a bottle or 2 in their souvenir bags back on the ship. Try it in the first port to see if it works. I've never been stopped bringing in bottled water or soda as long as it is in a bag.

Add rum - keep adding rum until either it tastes right or you don't care...

this has been our plan as well

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?

Although I am NOT a Coke drinker but a Pepsi drinker, and do not drink it anymore due to medical reasons, I can understand your concern. The only solution I can see at this time is to load up on drinking as much Coke in the ports as possible to get a quick fix. I know it is not the same thing & we all have our little quirks that help make life more enjoyable, but many many cruisers have had to improvise on the way we now cruise due to the new implemented changes!!! Good Luck

I imagine you'll be able to find Coke products in port. It's just the sea days you'll be losing out on. And you're actually probably caffeine dependent. Though I don't drink much pop AND I infinitely prefer Coke over Pepsi, I would drink whatever to ward off the caffeine headache.

None of us are doing beverage packages, so it occurred to me I can also point out to them that sodas incur an additional charge, which should motivate them to stick to iced/hot tea and whatever other beverages are complimentary - what are they on NCL? Someone mentioned lemonade, but I don't know what besides Coke SIL and BIL drink. RCI had very nice flavored waters.

In the buffet NCL does a nice strawberry and kiwi flavoured water. A bit sweet, but good with lots of ice. I don't know about non-alcoholic drinks in the restaurants, other than water and coffee.

You are leaving from Seattle right, just go to a local pot shop and buy them some edibles and they will not care what flavor soda they are drinking.;):D:eek:

I would say that they will have to drink a Pepsi product :eek: or or water or some other beverage. I can't believe this is a real topic of discussion. Are they that really dependent on having to have a Coke every day? Man that must be a bigger addiction than cigarettes! lol

Is anyone forcing you to read or respond to this issue. If you don't like it, move on

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> I wish people could just answer your question instead of trying to put others down or lecture

So do I, and not just in this thread. There is a tendency for some people to (a) judge anything they don't agree with and (b) ignore what the OP actually asked and rant about irrelevant topics. But that is the price you pay for asking for suggestions on an open board, and I have gotten some great suggestions here that I would never have thought of (like bringing it onboard in a bag!) The snark and judgmental attitudes are especially ironic because I'm not soda-dependent at all. I can't remember the last time I had one but it was probably in September. But I love my family and don't mind risking snark to try to make the cruise more pleasant for them. When someone's judgmental attitude, invalid information, and/or snark gets too much for me, they get added to my Ignore list and then they don't bother me at all. ;)

The strawberry-kiwi flavored water has been added to my "must try" list!

LOL at the pot shop idea!

I traded my diet cokes for Tomas. Oh, yeah!!

Seriously, I also add lime slices to diet Pepsi. I used to prefer diet coke, but I go in spurts.

I dont know how it works with the non-diet soda- the lime, I mean.

I have to say that this strikes me as one of those first world problems we all have at times. Just to put in perspective for a minute, " I'm about to go on the trip of a lifetime, but I can't have Coke,so I'm staying home." Really? Where are your priorities and shouldn't you question what drives you? This is a perfectly respectable response for a child, but if you call yourself a grownup, then perhaps you should reassess what is really important in life.

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I'd like to thank everyone who suggested lime in the diet Pepsi to cut the sweetness. That's always been the thing I disliked about diet Pepsi. I'll definitely try that in January on my next NCL cruise. Thanks again! :)

Is anyone forcing you to read or respond to this issue. If you don't like it, move on

Is anyone forcing you to read or respond to the response by Moby0215? If you don't like it, move on. :p

See? Everyone has the same right to post. You read something and took the time to post a reply just as Moby0215 did.

Regarding trying to smuggle coke back on board in a bag....you might be more successful returning from each port as opposed to embarkation. With the new carry on regulation that kicked in back in July, they are bring diligent with their inspections and an attempt at embarkation will probably result in the bottle of Coke having to be poured out. If buried in the middle of a bag getting back on board from a port stop, success will have a higher probability.

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Is anyone forcing you to read or respond to this issue. If you don't like it, move on

 

 

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It's called a discussion forum. Don't be rude.

I just substitute beer so I don't have to fret over it.

Hahaha! I suspect that is what the DH will do on the upcoming cruise. He really can't stand Pepsi. I haven't told him yet about the policy change.

When I first started cruising with Norwegian in 2007 they were a Coke company. I thought, oh no, what am I going to do. I decided I was going to enjoy my cruise anyway, and at a port I had a can of Pepsi. Now, 20 some Norwegian cruises later, they have Pepsi products, and I might have one can each cruise as there is so much free things to drink including ice water. I survive without soda. No problem.

When I first started cruising with Norwegian in 2007 they were a Coke company. I thought, oh no, what am I going to do. I decided I was going to enjoy my cruise anyway, and at a port I had a can of Pepsi. Now, 20 some Norwegian cruises later, they have Pepsi products, and I might have one can each cruise as there is so much free things to drink including ice water. I survive without soda. No problem.

In 2007, you could bring your soda of choice on board, so I don't see what the dilemma could have been. This is the whole point of this thread. If you don't like what they are selling on board, they no longer allow you to bring the brand of soda you want on board.

In 2007, you could bring your soda of choice on board, so I don't see what the dilemma could have been. This is the whole point of this thread. If you don't like what they are selling on board, they no longer allow you to bring the brand of soda you want on board.

And that's largely down to booze smugglers.