ddcrabb

Following. Looking forward to hear about your adventures. On the Escape next month (6/24) Western Caribbean.

Ok, I'm back. Today I will comment on the much discussed liquor/UBP/bar situation.

 

First off, I got the UBP "free" as a promotion, but as I'm sure many of you know, you still have to pay the tax and gratuities in full, so it's really not free and in fact can be fairly sizable for a 14 day cruise. That being said, I'm glad I had it, because I like to drink, more when I'm on a cruise.

 

Once we got our seapass cards straightened out, I made a beeline to the nearest bar and ordered a frozen Margarita with Patron. I was promptly told that Patron was not included in the UBP as it made the drink more than the $15 price for each drink that was included. I had heard about this limit previously, but didn't think Patron made it hit the limit. I asked what the best tequila was that I could get that was included and the bartender told me the light Don Julio was included, so I said OK. Now later in the cruise I was seated next to a woman from Mexico and she said that Don Julio was pricier than Patron and that is what actually Mexicans prefer, so I was content. Until I went to a different bar and they told me that Don Julio was also not included. This was confusing, so I just asked for Margaritas with whatever Tequila they used.

 

Now my favorite drink is a Long Island Iced Tea and herein lies a tale, which I was surprised I did not see any Cruise Critic threads on. I ordered an LI tea at the pool bar on the first day and expected to see the bartender reach for the six different bottles of liquor and pour each into the glass over ice and splash with sour mix and coke. Instead he reached for a plastic jug which had the label "Long Island Iced Tea" on it and poured that in the glass, then shot the sour mix and coke on top. I was confused so I asked him "what's that?" He said it was all the liquor for the drink. "You mean you mixed all of them together in advance?", I asked. He said yes because the bars get so busy that it's a way to make the drink faster. He said it was directive from corporate.

 

Being the LI Iced Tea snob that I am, I was not pleased. There's no way that all that liquor all mixed together just sitting back there for a long time was good and the drink didn't taste the same as I am used to. Nor have I ever seen anyone make the drink that way on any other cruise ship or bar. I did see his point somewhat as that bar was really busy. Therefore I went to another bar that was not busy and sure enough when I asked for one, they did the same thing. I stopped the bartender in mid-pour and said that I preferred to have the drink made the real way with all the liquor from the separate bottles. A panicked look appeared on his face and he was not overly pleased. One of the other bartenders saw what was going on and said "Oh, you want a live one!" I said yes, I want live ones for the rest of the cruise!

 

The one bartender that understood what I meant was the Chocolate Cowboy at the 5'O'clock Somewhere Bar on deck 8. This guy was great. When I commented that he didn't make LI Teas the quick way he told me that he refused to make them that way as that was not a real drink. He was by far the best bartender on the ship. He attracted his own audience every day, remembered my name and was genuinely entertaining. I wish the bar was inside though because even in the late afternoon it was quite hot at that bar because it's outside on the Waterfront. Am wondering if they could install some sort of ceiling fan out there to cool it down a little.

 

A close second was Bong, the bartender at the Mojito bar. That guy made me 3 different Mojitos in the course of about 20 minutes. Very nice fella and he works hard.

 

As for the UBP, it's convenient. You don't have to worry about anything unless your drink is outside the price limit. I don't remember having this issue on Royal Caribbean, but maybe they've changed it. Generally all the drinks I had (with the exception of the "non-live" LI teas) were made well and tasted fine.

 

Also be warned that you have to pay tax on your drinks even with this plan when you are docked in Miami. Never heard of this before either, they must have changed the law.

Thanks for the great review. I was wondering if they did the premix with any other drinks? Also, when you were docked in Miami what was the tax on each drink? Was there tax on the drinks in the other ports?

yst347,

Thank you for the traffic web page. And thank you for your thoughts.

We are arriving on Saturday and going on the Conquest on Sunday. With that in mind, sorry I did not specify, should I still take 8 all the way to 45? Or does it matter on Saturday. I have no real interest in going through Houston. I know how things can back up. Quicker to Galveston the best!!

We are flying in to IAH and I am wondering what is the best way to get to Galveston? I was thinking of two different ways. The first--highway 8 to 59 to 610 then to 45 to galveston. The second--highway 8 all the way to 45 then to galveston. Does it make much difference? How is the speed on 8. I would assume that the closer you get to downtown it is more congested. What do you all think.