bhughey

I'm merely suggesting that popularity has soared... The links below compare the rise of hard seltzer vs. craft beer in recent months. Three of the following are from beer-focused publications.

https://www.brewbound.com/news/nielsen-off-premise-beer-sales-flatten-in-2018-as-hard-seltzer-sales-near-500-million

https://www.goodbeerhunting.com/sightlines/2019/7/29/monthly-beer-sales-have-already-peaked-not-so-for-hard-seltzer

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/consumer-products/brewers-switch-seltzer-craft-beer-slows

https://www.craftbrewingbusiness.com/business-marketing/did-you-know-white-claws-hard-seltzers-alone-are-outpacing-sales-of-all-craft-beer/

15 hours ago, gatour said:

 

First article  referenced an anecdotal comment from one store.

 

The second article referenced a 200% sales increase with no mention of the base level and the new level of total sales.

 

Craft beers had been around for several years, before the cruise lines even thought about stocking a few.

 

Also keep in mind that there are fads (remember wine coolers?), where do they stand now.  They had exponential growth, and then crashed and are almost non-existent.

 

I have no game in this in regard to seltzers vs craft beers, as I am a wine drinker.  Major corporations do not turn on a dime.  While you may love a particular product and it may popular in your local watering holes doesn't make it popular to the general population.

All you have to do is google - "spiked seltzer popularity" and dozens upon dozens of recent articles reference the "fad" - I'm not making this up. I could add links all day...
And yes, I remember wine coolers quite fondly... don't count them out of a comeback! History does tend to repeat itself.

https://observer.com/2018/07/spiked-seltzer-popularity-demographics/

https://daily.sevenfifty.com/whats-fueling-the-rapid-growth-of-hard-seltzer/

https://www.wmagazine.com/story/spiked-seltzer-trend

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/21/dining/drinks/hard-seltzer-alcohol.html

https://fortune.com/2019/05/31/hard-seltzer-drinks-rose/

1 hour ago, gatour said:

I am guessing you are comparing growth of sales vs actual total sales.

 

Let's say spiked seltzer sold 100 cans, while craft beer sold 1000 cans during the same time frame (for sake of argument the month of June).

 

Then in July, the spiked seltzer sold 200 cans/bottles, while craft beer sold 1200 cans/bottles.

 

While you can say that the spiked seltzer doubled their growth in sales (100%) and craft beer increase their sales by 1.2%, at the end of the day they each sold an additional 200 cans.

 

Will spiked seltzer continue its growth to match 1200 can/bottles (or more) that the craft beer industry has already established.  Who knows.

 

Will X add setzer to their offerings, who knows.  It took years for the major cruise lines to offer anything resembling craft beers. 

 

 

I was referencing this article I had seem recently 

https://www.cbs58.com/news/hard-seltzer-brand-white-claw-surpass-nearly-all-craft-beer-brands-in-sales

And this 

https://vinepair.com/articles/hop-take-beer-sales-white-claw/

1 hour ago, Iamcruzin said:

Recently we were invited to a party and we were going to take along some White Claw. When we saw the price our jaw dropped. We already dink La Croix sparking water on a daily basis so we just grabbed that and purchased a bottle of flavored vodka and were able to make it as strong or as weak as we liked plus you can garnish it. I'm not washing glasses on a cruise ship and I'm not preparing the drink and since I already paid the gratuity in the drink package I'm good with ordering it this way.

I've created something similar as well. Walmart has the white claw for $13.99/12 pack, which is fairly reasonable. Personally, I enjoy the ease of popping the can and not fooling with ice/mixing the proper ratio. But again, not a bad solution.

The whole spiked seltzer phenom is fairly new to me... I am a big IPA drinker and red wine lover. The calories and heaviness of beer have caught up to me in middle age, so I've switched over to the white claw, truly, etc. for a change of pace. 

1 hour ago, dolittle said:

I have never had it I know it is very big now .It is nice to see you on this site I met you on the Silhoutte crossing way back .Glad to see you are still cruising .A while back I saw your post  about your dog I hope it worked out for you.

Nice to hear from you! I remember you! I'm so touched that you recall the post about my boy, Cooper. He will always occupy a sacred part of my soul. Best dog ever...

Our fur babies are still a giant part of our lives and even though "goodbye" will most likely always be a part of the story ... nothing compares to the joy of sharing life with these unwavering, true hearted creatures. 

Glad to see you are still cruising as well! We have a couple journeys on the books in the near future and not stopping anytime soon! 🙂

4 minutes ago, Iamcruzin said:

Just order a bottle of sparkling water or seltzer and a shot of flavored vodka or ask them to make the drink the way you want it.

Jokingly, I said to my husband before posting the topic - that this would be the first response I would get ;). While an ok alternative, it has more alcohol and takes a little more time to prepare vs. handing over a can.

Spiked seltzer has become quite popular as of late, so much so, that it's surpassed craft beer sales. Being such a "summer style" beverage - I think it would be a big seller, especially on Caribbean itineraries. Personally, I love it as a beer or wine alternative.  Anyone else hoping X adds it to the alcoholic beverage options?

Not a problem at all.... the age restriction pertains only to the pool.

I love the fresh made juices and smoothies at the spa cafe!

When we are at a bar in St. Martin (the aforementioned, very busy 2-for-1 happy hour that gave me the idea) - the line to order was very long - so one of the staff came down the line asking "beer, wine or mixed drinks?" - so that those NOT ordering frozen drinks, didn't have to wait a super long time.

1 hour ago, hcat said:

Proposed solution does not  get to the  real problem which is a staffing issue.. Sometimes there is only 1 server...for many people. They don't need more lines...just more staff to.keep things moving. 

 

They should also stop giving out warm water on the Classic package sometimes they tell you it will be warm BUT  if you pay you can get larger bottle which will be cold!

Valid...

10 hours ago, farmermd said:

The next thing you will be asking for is suite guests to have their own check-in line, pool area, and restaurant....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

gotta love the class system!

How in the world does this have anything to do with what a "class" system? It's merely an idea to improve efficiency at a bar? 

Or maybe they should just be more consistent with the drink push carts that circulate. On our last cruise over NYE, theybhad multiple carts at all times on sea days. That definitely hepled.

Well, that may solve the pool problem... presuming you are not behind people waiting to order food, as the purchase area is where folks also line up to order. For example, the sky bar, the Craft Bar (formerly Gstrobar on EQ), Sky bar (particularly during events) or Sunset Bar, there are often people with what we call "complicated orders". 

We were at a bar in the Caribbean recently and during happy hour - or any other particularly busy time - the bar set up a separate line for people just ordering beer or wine (or water or soda) vs. those who were ordering mixed & frozen drinks, which tend to take a bit longer. I've often though this would be a great idea on board, especially at the pool bars. Sometimes you just want to grab a beer, which only requires someone to pop the top, but you end up waiting behind 5 people who are ordering mudslides, daiquiris, pina coladas and so forth.

It was just "kind of" bad that they made the marketing faux pas in the first place, but now the lack of attention to detail is made even more worse because that means no one is paying attention to the comments! 

4 hours ago, adele319 said:

Sailing to Bermuda on the Summit. Does anyone know if small martinis are included in the Classic Drink package. Can’t find this info anywhere. Thx.

I am sure you can request a martini made with liquor covered under the classic package.

9 minutes ago, Bo1953 said:

I can agree to a great extent, yet in my travels and experience I have had some idea of where I wanted to cruise, fly or drive to and a 'quick' snapshot or skyline of the place is not the determining factor at all.

 

I would presume that someone in the back office goofed up and just move on with reservations or not.

 

Sometimes here in the US, news programs gets city back drops incorrect, yet that does not take away from the reporting. I just look at it and think someone is going to be told about this rather it be from a viewer or a superior.

 

I Am sure that X and other travel entities have these mix-ups often enough so it is not a big deal either way, they just go about getting it corrected as soon as possible or not... this is not the first time any of us have seen or experienced this type of faux pas no matter how frequently or not it is committed, is my point.

 

bon voyage

I don't necessarily disagree with you ... just as you note, goofs happen all the time. I'm guilty of typos on the social pages I manage, and have even included the wrong information on printed materials etc., but I try to correct as soon as it's pointed out! Is it a big deal in the grand scheme? Certainly not - but is it something a company *should* get right? Yes. They had simple task in this case - Promote Bermuda in a facebook post and they chose, probably the most (imo) iconic Caribbean image out there... Trunk Bay in St. John USVI. Bermuda is not even in the Caribbean... it's technically an island in the North Atlantic.

12 minutes ago, kenevenpar said:

I agree with you.

 

The folks giving information about a cruise that we will spend thousands of dollars to purchase should know at least as much as their guests, IMHO.  Maybe I'm setting the bar too high ...

And to further prove the "cluelessness" of their social & marketing teams - it's been pointed out several times on facebook - and yet, here we are - 14 hours after posting and it hasn't been corrected.

I saw that, too!

I mean, if you are trying to market and sell a specific destination - in this case, Bermuda.... I think it's pretty darn important to get the photo right. I wouldn't try and sell/promote a Danube River cruise with a photo of say, the Amazon? Or the Galapagos with a photo of the Caribbean.

53 minutes ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

 

It seems to be very important to you to prove that a cabin class you admit you have never sailed in never had footstools.  There are plenty of pictures around that demonstrate that they did, indeed, have footstools.  I have personally seen them.

 

I have only sailed once in AQ on an M class ship.  There were no footstools on my A1 balcony.  The balcony was barely wide enough for a chair, let alone a footstool.

You challenged my statement, so I'm just reinforcing my point by backing up the information I'm sharing with photographic proof - simply trying to properly inform the cruise critic community.

There have been quite a few gripes about them being removed from CC and AQ cabins on the Summit, and I am only stating fact that footstools were not on the AQ balconies on Summit to begin with (with the exception of the aft, deck 11 cabins). And regarding concierge ... I've not yet seen a single image of a footstool to prove otherwise. And I've googled images, looked at videos on youtube, and pics on cruise critic. If there are pictures around, please point me in that direction - because again, as the links demonstrate - I've only found images that show M class concierge cabins without footstools.

(And just because I have not sailed Concierge on an M class ship, doesn't mean I haven't extensively researched the various cabin options, which I do before selecting a cabin on any ship. I've found it's wise to do my own homework before sailing.)

59 minutes ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

 

Not so.  Concierge class cabins on M class ships had them.  

And additional photos of an M class (Summit), Concierge cabin... no footstools 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/photos/ships/celebrity-summit-251/concierge-class-cabin-392781

Constellation... Concierge Class photos, no footstools.

https://www.cruisecritic.com/photos/ships/celebrity-constellation-272/concierge-class-cabin-203294/

44 minutes ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

 

Not so.  Concierge class cabins on M class ships had them.  

Well, I've never sailed in a CC class cabin on an M class ship, but have sailed aqua 4 times and never once had a footstool. See pics of two aqua cabins pictured in thread below.

Also... see pics here of infinity (for example) of a concierge class stateroom. No footstools. 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/photos/ships/celebrity-infinity-196/concierge-class-cabin-320288/

Perhaps you had one of those rare aft, or larger balconies that may have been the exception.

2 hours ago, cruise47 said:

We are sailing on the Reflection in December,  Aqua Class and I pray the foot stoops are back with a nice size table on the balcony .

As stated previously, it seems as though foitstools have bren removed from Aqua and Concierge class cabin balconies on S class ships during the "revolutionizing". Thus far, the only S class ship to undergo the process is the Equinox. The M class aqua and concierge cabins never had the footstools to begin with, with the exception of the larger aft balconies. Reflection is not schedule to undergo this process until much later.

47 minutes ago, Stateroom_Sailor said:

Am I the only one not using a footstool while reading this?

I gotta say, it's one of those things you didn't know you loved until you experienced it. We experienced our first "foot stool" on a transatlantic cruise and it was kind of magical. Granted, we've been on lots and lots of cruises sans footstools and have still had a wonderfully great time. I guess the question is... why would X get rid of them? What is the reasoning??

PS. Just got new patio furniture and one of the chairs has a foot stool. It's the only chair I sit in.

4 hours ago, cruisingaussies said:

Just off Reflection last week, our Concierge cabin had two footstools plus chairs and decent size table on the balcony. 

Seems footstools are being removed from Aqua and Concierge class cabins on S class ships during the "revolutionizing". Thus far, the only S class ship to undergo the process is the Equinox. The M class aqua and concierge cabins never had the footstools to begin with, with the exception of the larger aft balconies.