Sorry,another soda card question

[karensi]

Sailing on the Zenith next month,my questions re the soda card are 1. Can I get seltzer/club soda on the card and 2. can I get Diet coke?? If so, it would be worth it for me, but I really need to know if I can get these 2 sodas. Thanks so much, Karen

[Lois R]

Hi Karen, yes you can get Diet Coke......and as long as Club Soda

is on the gun you can get that too.

(Soda Cards are only good for the sodas out of the guns).

I would guess Club Soda is on there.

[karensi]

Thank you Lois. You say you know for sure that I can get the diet coke and that you guess I can get the Club soda. Sorry to beat this to death but I'm down to the nitty gritty at this point and just want to know if anyone knows for sure if I can also get the Club soda with the soda card. Thanks again Lois, I'll probably go for it even if no one else has the answer for me.Karen

[signman]

Just ask when you get on board. You don't have to make a decision ahead of time.

[masha99]

:eek: So only fountain drinks are included? Cans are still extra? What about juices for kids?

[Lois R]

Hi, I have never used a soda card but yes, it is for soda fountain

drinks. Canned sodas are extra.

 

Juice? I have never paid extra for it....maybe someone else

can reply.

[Chick's pal]

The comment about "only out of the gun" does not always apply. Some bars do not have "guns," in which case they use bottles / cans of all kinds of mixers / soda pop to service their orders. We always buy the soda card and our most recent sailing was on Galaxy. I noticed on that ship a good number of bars satisfied soda orders with drinks poured from bottles.

[Lois R]

Chick's Pal, thank you for correcting my error. I have never used

a soda card so maybe I shouldn't have replied:eek:.

 

I have just seen when people come up to the bars and show

the card...the bartender usually pours from the fountain. But of

course if no fountain soda is there, they would probably use

bottle or can;).

 

But I am I correct in the assumption that you cannot get a full

can of soda from the card?

[DancerOT]

They do have coke products throughout the ship, in the guns, bottles, and cans. Yes you can get club soda and diet coke - although I have noticed a tendency that the diet coke was a little flat. No the card does not include cans and therefore does not include diet sprite - that only comes in cans.

[deb18]

I have gotten diet sprite with the soda card. They just open the cans. deb

[signman]

And the reason your soda may be a little flat is that at some bars they are pouring out of plastic bottles (20 oz to 1L) and they may not always properly tighten the top between pours, and warm soda poured over ice this way is almost never very good to start with. That really goes for cans too. The soda should be cold for best taste and fizz.

[karensi]

Thanks everyone, OK, so I've decided, I will get the soda card. I've been on about 5 cruises but never got the card before. I think it will be a help. as I drink diet coke for breakfast, like a cup of coffee for me, and seltzer at dinner time with my wine. Another decision made, thank you. Karen

[aaerobear]

Karen,

 

Go for it, i always buy the soda card/package and it is quite satisfactory. I have no complaints whatsoever. If they do not have a "gun" at the particular bar you go to, they will usually pop a can and pour for you.

 

Sometimes there will be a disclaimer telling which bars DO NOT honor the soda card, but it is usually few and far between. In the Lido and dining room it is honored.

 

Ed

[JLDMED]

If you are buying a soda card, either bring your own larger insulated cup, or buy one in the ship's gift shop. The cup they provide you with upon soda card purchase is MINISCULE -- maybe 8 ounces. If you are an avid diet coke drinker (like me), this is barely enough to wet your whistle. Plus, they almost fill the cup with ice, first! Learn from my mistake -- take a large cup with a straw and a lid!

[Chick's pal]

I cannot strongly enough "second" the comment about bringing your own thermal mug! They will always fill it up at the bar, rather than having you use several 12-ounce tumblers. I do not use it in the restaurant, however. If your dining room servers know you have a soda card, they will usually keep the sodas coming, either by having a bar server bring it, or sometimes they bring it themselves.

 

I don't always get my money's worth on the soda card, but the convenience is great, so I keep getting them. I'm not big on cocktails, so can afford to splurge on soda.

 

Also, for those who like soda for breakfast (I do also), try to determine which bars are open early enough to satisfy that. Most are not open super early in the morning. Cova has always been a good source at that time of day.

[Igggy]

I'm traveling with my wife. Would it be too cheap of us to get one card we both could use from time to time?

[Chick's pal]

Igggy, I think that is not what the cruiseline had in mind. And I suspect when enough folks have tried this, the soda card price will be raised or the option will be eliminated all together.

 

That said, we buy only one soda card because only one of us really drinks pop. Every once in a great while, if we both order pop while seated together (presenting the soda card and the non-soda card together), a waiter will "comp" the second person's drink. But it's not consistently done and I've not found this kindness correlating to any one ship, venue or server on board. It's just an occasional unexpected nicety.

[karensi]

Thank you all once again. Chick's Pal, re soda with breakfast; you say to find out which bars are open early so as to get soda for breakfast. I will probably have most of my breakfasts in the main dining room,maybe Cova Cafe one day also. I thought if I got breakfast in the dining room, or anywhere else that breakfast is served for that matter, that I would be able to get a diet coke from their fountain. Am I wrong, do they not have soda selections in the main dining room and at the breakfast buffets? Thanks in advance, Karen

[DaisyGirl55]

:) I saw the 2 posts about bringing my own thermal mug to use with my soda card. I have used them in the past and while I sometimes get my monies worth and sometimes I don't, the convenience is great. However, I did not know I could use my own mug! Sailing on the Infinity to Alaska in September...I will be sure to use a mug for my diet coke. Thanks for the tip!

[Blue46]

No, they don't have a soda fountain in the main dinning room. That said, there is usually a bar located right next to the dinning room where the waiter can get a soda for you. On our last cruise my DH and I figured out that our card was paid for by the 3rd or 4th day and any soda we got after that was free. So it is definately worth the money. You will also need to get a card for each person as the servers really checked each card when ever we ordered a soda. Although after the different waiters/bartenders got used to seeing us they evently stopped asking to see our card.

[Chick's pal]

Karen: Your server in the dining room will help facilitate getting you soda for breakfast (and lunch and dinner). This will not, however, happen in the buffet breakfast area. You'll have to bring your soda from whichever bar is open, and it may not be too convenient to the buffet. Again, Cova is a good option.

 

Daisy: The last couple of times I've sailed, they've given away an interesting metal thermal Coke travel cup "free" with purchase of soda card option. While it's slightly larger than the usual plastic tumbler, I still like to bring my own mug. Believe it or not, it's sometimes a conversation piece. Bartenders have always started a long discussion when I present my Key West mug! I also recommend "non-soda-card-people" bring a thermal mug for iced tea, lemonade, juice. It's even great for getting a bit of coffee in the morning to bring back to the room.

 

I hope Celebrity someday offers soda as part of the fare. It's not that much more expensive than juice...and I think the reason they may not include it now (this is purely speculation on my part) is to keep folks from mixing it with their own brought-from-home liquor.

 

HEY! Have a great cruise and drink up!

[dlk74]

What does it cost for a soda card?

Thanks,

DLK74

[Chick's pal]

DLK74:

 

Last time I bought the option (December 2005) it was $5.50 per day plus 15% gratuity. 10 day cruise x $5.50 = $55.00 + gratuity $8.25 = $63.25

 

You must pay for all days on the cruise, unless you decide to buy the soda card after the first day, in which case you pay only for the remaining days of the cruise.

 

Compare this to the per-soda charge of about $1.50 plus 15% gratuity.

[WooKeef]

Igggy' date=' I think that is not what the cruiseline had in mind. And I suspect when enough folks have tried this, the soda card price will be raised or the option will be eliminated all together.

 

That said, we buy only one soda card because only one of us really drinks pop. Every once in a great while, if we both order pop while seated together (presenting the soda card and the non-soda card together), a waiter will "comp" the second person's drink. But it's not consistently done and I've not found this kindness correlating to any one ship, venue or server on board. It's just an occasional unexpected nicety.[/quote']

 

Chick's pal, I had considered doing this as well. Of course we wouldn't want to screw the whole program for everyone;) . I just figured that since I only drink the occassional soda it would be okay. The DH drinks soda frequently while on vacation. Is water(spring/distilled) part of the deal? Or is that part of the beverages that is included with the cruise. I drink mostly water when not drinking coffee or wine:p . What is the cost of the soda cards. Sorry to be a pest, I had been wondering about this option and trying to make the most for my buck.

WooKeef

[Lsimon]

Chick's pal, I had considered doing this as well. Of course we wouldn't want to screw the whole program for everyone;) . I just figured that since I only drink the occassional soda it would be okay. The DH drinks soda frequently while on vacation. Is water(spring/distilled) part of the deal? Or is that part of the beverages that is included with the cruise. I drink mostly water when not drinking coffee or wine:p . What is the cost of the soda cards. Sorry to be a pest, I had been wondering about this option and trying to make the most for my buck.

WooKeef

 

With rare exceptions, the soda card is just for fountain soda. So it does not cover any bottled water. Tap water is available throughout the ship. There are a lot of threads on water quality with different opinions. We've never had issues with tap water - although we tend to drink bottled water in the room and tap water in the restaurant, cafe, or by the pools.

 

If you do buy bottled water at a bar or food area, be aware that a small single serving bottle doesn't cost too much less than a large (1.5 or 2 liter) bottle and you can take the extra back to your room with you.

 

We don't buy the cards as we only have a few soda's during the trip, and generally prefer canned soda when we do. Also I often have diet sprite, especially at night on those rare occasions I'm not drinking something harder, and I don't think that is available with the soda card in most instances.