Review Independence drink package - my thoughts, some disappointments

[taalman5@sbcglobal.net]

I was on the Independence 3/6-3/11. We had the deluxe drink package. I just thought some of my observations might be helpful to someone else. We are a couple in our 40's and cruised with another couple.

 

We had a really nice time and having the package made the day more carefree and it was fun to be able to try a lot of drinks. I loved the coffee drinks. I enjoyed quite a few latte, cappuccino, soy latte, and there were delicious coffee drinks with liquor. I enjoyed all of these more than the bar drinks.

 

My biggest complaint that I had was that the bars did not have the ingredients for the drinks that were on their own menus. I love fresh fruit in my drinks. I was looking forward to trying all kinds of new and interesting drinks on the cruise. I looked at the menu in each bar and attempted to order from their menu. In Boleros Lounge, on the first day I ordered a drink that was described as having an "entire kiwi" muddled with lime and Brazilian rum. I got it the first day and was very happy. Second day I was told (with no apology) that they didn't have any kiwi and third day and fourth day. Finally on the fourth day I saw a different bartender and asked if someone could get a kiwi from the kitchen. She agreed and 30 minutes later I did get the drink. Also I think it was at Dog and Badger or a different bar across the hall, they have a drink described as "muddled watermelon" but it is made with ZERO watermelon. When asked they said watermelon is basically water so you won't notice anyway. The menu also offers a drink made with Fresh Basil but they said Basil is not provided to them (again with no sign of apology). There was another drink at Olive and Twist that was described with fresh fruit. On the first day of the cruise I was told it was a new menu and they don't have the ingredients yet. The menu did not look new. I also want to mention none of the bars had enough bartenders. They usually only had two and since the boat had a good number of spring breakers there were regularly pretty long waits. Occasionally we waited at the bar 30 minutes. Regularly we waited at least 15 minutes. We did not find that bartenders were willing to go out of their way for us.

 

We did have some drinks we enjoyed, especially the frozen drinks while laying in the sun. It just seemed like their idea of an interesting drink was one made with one sweet mix after another. The price we paid was a good deal on specific days that we drank a lot but I got tired of the same tasting, overly sweet drinks and after paying the package for 5 days the price really added up especially when you can't get high end, fresh mixed drinks or even drinks they put on their own menu. The menus were not large. Some of the menus only had 10 or less specialty drinks listed so it should not be hard to have the necessary ingredients, especially on the first day of the cruise.

[tanyaewa]

Very interesting. Thx for posting. I wonder why they would create a menu and not have the ingredients available? Because it "sounds" high end to have watermelon and basil? That would be frustrating to me.

[iahawkfan21]

Never had issues like that until the very end of our recent cruise, but I can completely understand the frustration. Not that it's an excuse by any means, but they may not have restocked properly before your cruise.

 

While I haven't been on a cruise during Spring Break, those wait times would be maddening after a point. It seems to be a common complaint on many lines this time of year. Hopefully they can find a way to maybe even bring in some extra staff temporarily in the future. Thanks for the review.

[easyboy]

Too bad you didn't get the drinks you have chosen. I would feel disappointed too

[Cel_cruise]

That does seem like it would be disappointing. I understand not wanting to take time out of a vacation to speak to the food and beverage manager, but he really needs to hear this from you! I hope you mention all of this on your survey - especially the ingredient availability....I would also maybe give kudos to the bartender who got the kiwi from the kitchen :)

 

 

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[Tobleronebar]

I totally agree with the long bar waits. It was very frustrating.

 

I never had a problem with getting fresh fruit in my drinks.

 

We had the best service in the dining room. As soon as we sat down our orders were taken. I was able to order 4 drink one night during dinner!

 

We also got lucky on the pool deck. 2 different servers kept refilling all our drinks.

[cb at sea]

A couple years ago, they ran out of limes....LIMES!!! No lime for a corona, or a vodka tonic or anything that traditionally has a freaking slice of lime!

No excuse for that!

[sammee]

Last May, Grandeur ran out of coconut mixer for the pina coladas and similar drinks poolside bar. If you wanted one you had to hit another bar, Solarium, Casino, anywhere. I could not understand why they couldn't restock the bar. Definitely was a strange one.

[dogsdogs]

It is bad enough if they actually run out of something, but I think they mostly just don't want to make the effort to go get it. That is true of food items too. One morning we were told they didn't carry sugar free pancake syrup on the ship and the next morning, the waiter brought some right to us. Same with peanut butter--one day they don't have any, the next day it appears.

[bneems]

Crazy to me that this was your experience and has me terrified for my cruise in 11 days. I'm not going to be happy if I'm having to wait in a 15 minute line to grab a drink. I don't need crazy amounts of fruit in my cocktails- but I do expect to grab a Gin & Tonic within a reasonable amount of time. And if there is a consistent long line- I would want two. But I doubt that will happen!

[mollyeilis]

It just seemed like their idea of an interesting drink was one made with one sweet mix after another.

 

 

The price we paid was a good deal on specific days that we drank a lot but I got tired of the same tasting, overly sweet drinks and after paying the package for 5 days the price really added up especially when you can't get high end, fresh mixed drinks or even drinks they put on their own menu. The menus were not large. Some of the menus only had 10 or less specialty drinks listed so it should not be hard to have the necessary ingredients, especially on the first day of the cruise.

 

I agree with the "one sweet mix after another". And different bars do things differently. I got the drink card with 3 days left and at one bar I had an AMAZING long island iced tea. The next day I got one from the bar on the promenade (on Adventure) and it was atrocious.

 

FWIW you can order just about whatever drink you want to. The menus are just a starting point.

[james'mommy]

A couple years ago, they ran out of limes....LIMES!!! No lime for a corona, or a vodka tonic or anything that traditionally has a freaking slice of lime!

No excuse for that!

There was a Mexican lime shortage a couple years ago. I remember the local news reporting on it. I think cases of limes were going for like 80 bucks a case.