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Coke Freestyle machine on Grandeur of the Seas

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Oshawapilot

Oshawapilot

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Just updating the thread - we are currently on Grandeur in Tortola and there the IS now Freestyle machines on grandeur! They were apparently installed within days of our December 13th sailing. :)

 

There are 4 in the Windjammer, 2 port and 2 starboard just inside the doors, and one beside guest services on deck 6 in the centrum.

 

We were very pleased - just in the nick of time! :)

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maureencruiser

maureencruiser

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Just updating the thread - we are currently on Grandeur in Tortola and there the IS now Freestyle machines on grandeur! We were very pleased - just in the nick of time! :)

 

Oshawa, if you go back to my thread after you get back, you will see that I did find them for you. You must be the Freestyle Whisperer!

 

The machines are indeed there. They were installed during our cruise which ended on Dec. 13 - making me wish I had sailed a week later! Enjoy!

 

Rather than sailing one week later, you should have stayed on the ship with the rest of us until Dec 14, then, you wouldn't have had to step off the ship into the middle of the ocean! :eek::D

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macruisefan

macruisefan

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Maybe I'm missing something. I don't get what all the hype is about a soda dispensing machine that is present in every fast-food restaurant landside. Seriously, what's the obsession with these things on board? There is one in the Burger King a mile away from my house, but I don't get all giddy about it and high tail it over there just so I can add vanilla to my Diet Coke.:confused:

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Oshawapilot

Oshawapilot

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They're certainly not present in every restaurant that I've ever been in. Obviously things are different for you but for the majority of people often the first time they've ever seen a Freestyle machines is aboard the ship - they are rare for most people.

 

I like them not only for the flavors, but the convenience - no waiting in line at a bar to just get a soda refill. And the bars don't have Coke Zero which is what we all drink - the machines do.

 

We literally all cheered when we were picking up our soda cups at embarkation and heard that the Freestyles had made it aboard. RCI instantly picked up an extra 4 or 5 pass sales right at that moment as if it hadn't been for the machines there was quite a few in our group of 12 that weren't going to buy a pass this time after having been spoiled by the machines over our last many cruises. :)

Edited by Oshawapilot
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macruisefan

macruisefan

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They're certainly not present in every restaurant that I've ever been in. Obviously things are different for you but for the majority of people often the first time they've ever seen a Freestyle machines is aboard the ship - they are rare for most people.

 

I like them not only for the flavors, but the convenience - no waiting in line at a bar to just get a soda refill. And the bars don't have Coke Zero which is what we all drink - the machines do.

 

We literally all cheered when we were picking up our soda cups at embarkation and heard that the Freestyles had made it aboard. RCI instantly picked up an extra 4 or 5 pass sales right at that moment as if it hadn't been for the machines there was quite a few in our group of 12 that weren't going to buy a pass this time after having been spoiled by the machines over our last many cruises. :)

 

That's interesting. Yes, around here, it seems they are in most every fast food establishment (McDonalds, BK, Five Guys...).

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ahecht

ahecht

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So are the soft drinks free? If not, how do they monitor the drinks?

 

The Freestyle machines are only available to people who purchase a soda or drink package. There is an RFID chip in the souvenir cup that activates the machine. If you don't have a souvenir cup you can't use the machine.

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SKeighley

SKeighley

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How much to purchase a soda card? New to rccl. I am a platimun Carnival cruisers. The are leaving all northeast ports, my DH and I do not fly, so no choice but to switch cruise lines. Trying to find out all I can about Royal. I don't find their site user friendly so I am depending on CC boards. Thanks for any help

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ahecht

ahecht

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How much to purchase a soda card? New to rccl. I am a platimun Carnival cruisers. The are leaving all northeast ports, my DH and I do not fly, so no choice but to switch cruise lines. Trying to find out all I can about Royal. I don't find their site user friendly so I am depending on CC boards. Thanks for any help

 

$6.50/day

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hansolosmom

hansolosmom

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That's interesting. Yes, around here, it seems they are in most every fast food establishment (McDonalds, BK, Five Guys...).

 

I have never seen one in Lynchburg, VA. Now, I don't eat in fast food places a lot, but, I was in Taco Bell today and they certainly didn't have one.

 

I have never seen one either anywhere here & I'm near Philly. I've only seen the 'regular' ones with the 5-6 flavors and you push the cup against the metal thing. So I'm totally intrigued to see one when we sail.

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Oshawapilot

Oshawapilot

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Oshawa, if you go back to my thread after you get back, you will see that I did find them for you. You must be the Freestyle Whisperer!

 

I had lost track of your thread in the hustle to get ready for our departure so I missed the reply.

 

After boarding we crossed the centrum to the typical area where they sell the cups. During the usual spiel about the benefits of the beverage package I overheard the word "Freestyle" at which point I ducked back, looked up one deck (where 1 of the machines was located on our previous cruise on Enchantment) and I sure enough I spotted the machine. Woohoo!

 

I was kind of disappointed to see the new style cups - I was actually partial to the old style cups as we use them frequently here at home (post cruise) for coffee travel mugs. The new ones are just clear plastic and clearly marked as "Cold beverages only", so I doubt they'll serve the same purpose well.

 

The new cups seem a lot cheaper, way plasticy, and with no different designs available it's impossible to differentiate on persons cup from another. Thankfully one of the people in our group brought different coloured rubber bands which we put on our cups so that when there was 4 or 5 of them all sitting on a table at once we didn't get them mixed up. Without them we would have constantly been mixing up each others cups.

 

On day 6 or 7 they were selling the old style cups on the pool deck for $6.99 for 2...with NO soda privledges, just the cups - I actually bought 4 of them for the aforementioned uses. I'm sad they seem to have been discontinued - I remain unimpressed with the new style cups even after using them for 10 days.

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  • 2 weeks later...
rthling

rthling

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Dangity dang. I would have totally bought a couple of the old style cups, too.

I wasn't impressed with the new ones, either, but they served their purpose.

 

But yay for the freestyle machines! We enjoyed vanilla rootbeer to our heart's content.

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  • 1 month later...
fluffysue

fluffysue

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Glad to know they have them on Grandeur now....enjoyed using the machines on Oasis, although I often forgot to carry the cup around, and in my opinion there are not nearly enough of the machines. Grandeur being smaller, maybe it won't seem like such a hike to get soda. :) Although the machines are turning up in more and more places, they are still somewhat of a novelty to me, so the kid in me enjoys it.

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