Soft Drinks on NCL

[david_sobe]

5 hours ago, Grumpella said:

I am currently on the Escape. $4.55 with the gratuity for a can of soda. I bring 2 small bottles back in every port in my bag, 2 or 2.5 euros each. They don’t have time to bother with the small stuff, usually.

Wow!  I am not a big soda drinker but if I go to a restaurant I get one.  I know soda is how restaurants and cruise lines make lots of profit.  But I hate it when I pay $4 for a fountain soda on a cruise that is probably 8 ounces with ice.  Unlike a restaurant on land, they will charge you for a refill. I think its reasonable to get one refill then I don't feel gouged so much. I've seen it both ways on NCL ships.  Many times they charge you for a refill but a few times they have not.  I think the ones not charging are violating the policy and just going out of their way to give great service.

Edited May 11 by david_sobe

[Sailing12Away]

17 hours ago, jrt.mom said:

I can't believe they have milk for free and charge for pop. Strange economics...

If 80% of passengers want to drink soda, and only 10% of passengers want milk (whether for cereal, coffee, or to dunk a cookie in) - it's better business for them to charge the 80% rather than go after the 10%.

 

17 hours ago, complawyer said:

usually, if i wanted a soft drink (pepsi  prior to the change, coke afterwards) i would get it at any bar in a plastic cup, no charge, and as many as i wanted. our last cruise on the ncl star. which ended in lisbon on 4/27/2024, anytime i wanted a soft drink, i got a can with no problem, no questions asked and no charge.  and it was a 17 day cruise. usually, there is a bar set up in the buffet area also

I thought you always had the FAS drink package though, no? The official rule on cans vs real life experience is very different. Even on the same cruise with the same crew, from night to night the experience can be different.

 

We always have the FAS package, and even staying in the Haven with a Haven bar it's been hit or miss as to whether we can get cans to go or not. Last trip on the Epic the bartender refused and would give us 2 cups full of ice and fountain soda, which were diluted flat messes later on when hubby actually wanted to drink them. Trip before on the Prima it depended on the night, some nights yes, others no. Trip before that on Joy through the Panama Canal - bartenders there just pulled out 2 cans and handed them to us when they did last call without us even asking after the 2nd night. The bonus tips given on each of those 3 ships varied accordingly as well...

[G-DawgMN]

14 hours ago, PartyPlannerLady said:

 

Water is 1--% free, unless one falls for the pure marketing hype that somehow bottled water is better.  Just grab a cup/glass and go fil it up!

Evian spelled backwards is naive!  Not a coincidnece...

 San Pellegrino is a really nice sparkling water. Not at all the same as getting it out of the tap. 

[drafterdw]

14 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

I'm with with you. Had several bad experiences with water on different lines. I don't need fancy named water but insist it is bottled so can see what is in it!

I drink bottled water on the ship because of our encounter with what is really in a ship's water system. Naive. 

 

 

[complawyer]

sailing 12away. that i got the cans instead of  plastic cups, surprised the heck out of me. unless you bought the premium drink package, you usually got the coke in plastic cup.  we were in the buffet, and i asked to bartender for a coke and a ginger ale, and he gave me 2 cans, (no questions asked) throughout the rest of our cruise regardless of the venue, we always got cans, no charge.

 

so, i didnt try and look the proverbial  "gift horse" in the mouth

[complawyer]

drafterdw

 

i concede that i'm anal, but i start almost every meal with a glass of ice water. "NEVER" in 28 ncl cruises have i had any problem with the water i'm being served. looks like water, tastes like water, wet like water, it must be water. im not sure what is shown in the picture and depicted as water, but that has never been my experience. i dont believe any venue on any ncl ship would even pour something as ghastly as shown

[MoCruiseFan]

On 5/10/2024 at 3:36 PM, zqvol said:

You realize that they switched from Pepsi products to Coke products a few months ago. 

 

It was longer ago than a few months I think.  I thought it was at least a year ago.

[MoCruiseFan]

On 5/10/2024 at 3:39 PM, david_sobe said:

Not really.  While milk is more expensive to make than soda, soda is in demand on a cruise.  I've never heard of a milk package 😁

Look at the drink packages.  I can get a martini that would cost $15 with my drink package but water will cost you and is not included.   Soda is pure profit.  A little bit of sugar syrup and some soda water. 

Cruise lines know how to make money 🤑

 

On another note I want an investigation into these people that claim they can get a can of soda at a restaurant on NCL.  Every time I have asked for a can they say they dont have it or not allowed.  But I keep seeing youtube videos and reports that say "Save money, tell them you want a can" because the glass of soda is half ice and half of the can.  I am to the point that I need to see it to believe it 😄

 

It would be a logistical mess to charge for milk.  People need it for cereal at breakfast for example.

[MoCruiseFan]

11 hours ago, G-DawgMN said:

 San Pellegrino is a really nice sparkling water. Not at all the same as getting it out of the tap. 

 

 

You are paying a LOT simply for bubbles, that is the only difference, but oh well.  I agree with PPP, feel free to buy the hype!

[MoCruiseFan]

On 5/10/2024 at 8:48 PM, BirdTravels said:

 

I drink bottled water on the ship because of our encounter with what is really in a ship's water system. Naive. 

 

 

 

Only slightly less fake than the straw in the turtle's nose picture that the tre huggers get all upset about.

[scooter6139]

The last time I was in Haven, I splurged on the FAS+ option. If the soda I wanted wasn't on the gun, which at that time was ANY of the Zero products (Coke, Sprite, etc.), they usually gave me a can.  I also requested one for regular diet drinks and got them about half the time.  

[BirdTravels]

5 hours ago, scooter6139 said:

The last time I was in Haven, I splurged on the FAS+ option. If the soda I wanted wasn't on the gun, which at that time was ANY of the Zero products (Coke, Sprite, etc.), they usually gave me a can.  I also requested one for regular diet drinks and got them about half the time.  

I don’t really know if there is a policy, but soda by the can seems to be available for the P+ guests. I had a server at a mobile bar make a fuss when I asked for a can last month. “You know that I am not supposed to give out cans… blah blah blah”. 

[BirdTravels]

10 hours ago, MoCruiseFan said:

 

It was longer ago than a few months I think.  I thought it was at least a year ago.

August 2022. We were on the Breakaway which I think served coke just before the Prima maiden voyage (which was credited to be the launch of Coke)

Edited May 12 by BirdTravels

[G-DawgMN]

12 hours ago, MoCruiseFan said:

 

 

You are paying a LOT simply for bubbles, that is the only difference, but oh well.  I agree with PPP, feel free to buy the hype!

 Everyone has their own preferences on what they want to enjoy. 

[david_sobe]

6 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

I don’t really know if there is a policy, but soda by the can seems to be available for the P+ guests. I had a server at a mobile bar make a fuss when I asked for a can last month. “You know that I am not supposed to give out cans… blah blah blah”. 

See that is what I thought which is why I am puzzled when people claim they keep getting cans.  They are not allowed to do it

[jrt.mom]

My experience on the last cruise on the Encore was some would give out cans, some not...

[realnice46]

Are the sodas fountain sodas in a cup or can?

[Sand and Seas]

When I had a soda package, the Haven bartenders who knew my preference would sometimes hand us Coke Zero cans.  Generally, I just asked for Diet Coke which was available from the soda fountain gun.  

 

We were regularly getting soda in unopened cans from the casino bar with our 'free drinks' in casino card....and a nice tip😉.  These cards were discontinued with the change to the CAS program on April 1st of this year.  

[Sand and Seas]

42 minutes ago, realnice46 said:

Are the sodas fountain sodas in a cup or can?

They are served from the fountain gun in a glass or plastic cup.    

[realnice46]

1 hour ago, Sand and Seas said:

They are served from the fountain gun in a glass or plastic cup.    

Disappointing, I don’t like fountain soda I prefer ice cold soda out of a can.

[back2cruising1]

Random question, but back in the day when I used to cruise with other cruise lines, I would purchase the soda package, and it would come with a reusable cup. Does NCL give you a reusable cup if you have a soda and/or alcoholic beverage package, or do you just get your sodas in glasses from the bar?

[DorothyB]

8 minutes ago, back2cruising1 said:

Random question, but back in the day when I used to cruise with other cruise lines, I would purchase the soda package, and it would come with a reusable cup. Does NCL give you a reusable cup if you have a soda and/or alcoholic beverage package, or do you just get your sodas in glasses from the bar?

I haven't seen reusable cups on NCL

[Sand and Seas]

1 hour ago, back2cruising1 said:

Random question, but back in the day when I used to cruise with other cruise lines, I would purchase the soda package, and it would come with a reusable cup. Does NCL give you a reusable cup if you have a soda and/or alcoholic beverage package, or do you just get your sodas in glasses from the bar?

NCL did have reusable insulated cups with lids years ago.  I haven't seen them since sometime before Covid.  

[back2cruising1]

Thanks @DorothyB and @Sand and Seas for the info! 

 

If I bring my own reusable cup (like a Yeti or something), will they fill it with soda at the bar for me, or do they only serve in glasses from the bar? Sorry for all the random questions, just trying to get my packing list sorted out.

[jrt.mom]

I have an insulated water bottle that I get my soda in and they've not had a problem filling it for me.