Check Those Virgin Drinks!!!!

[kr8z]

Besides the kiddos drinks getting spiked I just thought of something else. Friends of Bill W are abstaining from drinking and they don't need something like this throwing them off the wagon.

 

I never thought of that. Excellent point!

[fi'fi]

im an adult who does not drink. my choice. ordered a strawberry daq. this was in a land rest. drank half of it. got the giggles. husband took the drink smelled it and stated this is not a virging drink. to late i already felt the effects of it. they gave us our meal for free. but what if i was alergic to it?

[Scootch]

We sailed on the Inspiration June 19 and had a ball. Of course we are cruise addicts so we are ready to sail again.

 

While on the cruise, our 16 year olds ordered virgin Kiss on the Lips at dinner. After a while, they became unusually silly. DH joked and that there must be alcohol in the drink. Sure enough, he tasted it and the drinks contained alcohol. Just wanted to let everyone know to check those drinks, especially if your'e ordering for young children.

 

Thank you for the heads up. I have a 17 yr old DS.

[EmiGirl826]

This happened to me on the Legend a few years ago. Was sick as a dog the whole night. Everyone at work laughed at me when I came back the next week. Said I was too much of a lightweight and they needed to teach me how to hold my liquor.

[UpstateCruizer]

On our first cruise I kept seeing smoothies listed in the DOD section. Being new to cruising I thought that $4.95 was a great deal for a strawberry daquiri smoothie or a pina coloda smoothie. I thought I was ordering the real thing alcohol and all. It wasn't until after my second cruise when I no longer saw smoothies listed under drink specials that I was informed those smoothies were virgins lol

[evandbob]

"Friends of Bill W are abstaining from drinking and they don't need something like this throwing them off the wagon".

 

I would hope that any friend of bill's would always watch how his/her "virgin" drink was made, smell it before tasting, and just have a sip at first, just to make sure - at least that's how I teach them in treatment -

[paulandfran]

We sailed on the Inspiration June 19 and had a ball. Of course we are cruise addicts so we are ready to sail again.

 

While on the cruise, our 16 year olds ordered virgin Kiss on the Lips at dinner. After a while, they became unusually silly. DH joked and that there must be alcohol in the drink. Sure enough, he tasted it and the drinks contained alcohol. Just wanted to let everyone know to check those drinks, especially if your'e ordering for young children.

 

There would be no mistaking a "virgin" bushwacker.

 

It would be a cup of ice with a sprinkle of nutmeg. :D

[tiggerman101]

Besides the kiddos drinks getting spiked I just thought of something else. Friends of Bill W are abstaining from drinking and they don't need something like this throwing them off the wagon.

 

 

I don't mind talking about the fact that I am a recovering alcoholic with over 7 years sober. With that said I love my virgin Pina Coladas. However, I take it as my responsibility to order from the bartender myself (not a roaming waiter). This way I can emphasis the virgin aspect and watch them make it. Mistakes happen and I understand this but I feel the need to take extra precautions concerning my situation. I have worked very hard for my sobriety and have no idea how I would react to receiving a "spiked" drink. Besides, most frozen tropical drinks are designed to mask a lot of the flavor of the alcohol. I am actually a bartender right now and take precautions when making my own drinks for people. I do work in a fast paced and very busy restaurant and know how easy it could be to pick up the wrong drink or not pay close enough attention to a ticket.

[tiggerman101]

There would be no mistaking a "virgin" bushwacker.

 

It would be a cup of ice with a sprinkle of nutmeg. :D

 

This is off topic, but as I said I am a bartender. It amazes me what some people ask for as a virgin drink. A couple weeks ago I had a lady ask me for a "virgin" Manhattan for her son. I gave him a cherry.

[pjhootch]

This is off topic, but as I said I am a bartender. It amazes me what some people ask for as a virgin drink. A couple weeks ago I had a lady ask me for a "virgin" Manhattan for her son. I gave him a cherry.

 

:D

 

Had that happen when I was tending bar. A woman asked for a virgin white russian. I gave her glass with a shot of cream in it. She griped at me so I poured some coffee in it. She didn't tip me very well... rofl.

[itgeek]

I've had this happen to me as an adult on a cruise too. Last time it happened was when I asked for "the virgin equivalent of sail-away punch". Of course what got handed to me was a regular, which I smelled as soon as it was handed to me, and I declined to accept it. That would have put me right on the floor, literally.

 

I'm hypoglycemic so I have to watch any alcohol intake closely and pair it w/ food - unless one of you guys want to pick me up off the floor from passing out due to low blood sugar.

 

[The body treats alcohol somewhat like sugar in that insulin is released when you intake alcohol. I'm super sensitive to my own body's insulin - the opposite of a diabetic - and since no sugar is readily available, as the liver hasn't converted the alcohol yet, I end up w/ really low blood sugar.]

 

Oddly, as an only child, I had parents who left the wine open in the fridge door and told me to help myself my entire teenage life. Turns out my parents like cheap wine... I never got any further than taking a sniff. Even to this day I'm turned off by the smell of most wine. (Wine, not sparkling wines. :D )

 

We later discovered they were not going to say anything, the plan was to take advantage of the mix-up and in my son's words, "Enjoy the family vacation."

 

Well, the good thing is now they already know that when they consume alcohol, their behavior changes. When they get invited to parties in high school where alcohol manages to show up, they'll already be aware of what they're being roped into. And when they get to college, they'll already be well aware enough to stay on the safe side of the partying.

 

As for it happening too often... I wouldn't think it's intentional because cruise ships keep track of alcohol sales v/s product usage pretty carefully. Much more carefully than any restaurant you'll ever be in. Those production numbers are watched very closely by more than a few eyeballs. If the receipt says "virgin" and alcohol inventory was used, someone's got some splaining to do when inventory doesn't match up with sales. That could explain some of those "under poured" weak drinks folks complain about. Gotta make those inventory numbers match up.

 

- IT Geek

[marshhawk]

tiggerman- i knew there was another reason I liked you, congratulations on your sobriety! i have 19 years + sober, and you are right it is something that you work at every day for the rest of your life.

When we boarded the Legend in January, we went up to the sports bar first, to have a smoke,(before heading towards the Lido). I ordered a virgin pina colada, my hubby an NA beer, and my friend Charles walked up and ordered a regular pina colada. Hubby had the sail and sign, so I had no idea until later that we were charged the same for my NA drink as Charles was charged for his regular. But by day three I am sure the bartender figured it out, because he gave us our soda for free(twice). If I took a sip and found out there was alcohol, I most definitely would return it. For friends of Bill W., life is hard enough without sabatoge.

[MrPete]

We sailed on the Inspiration June 19 and had a ball. Of course we are cruise addicts so we are ready to sail again.

 

While on the cruise, our 16 year olds ordered virgin Kiss on the Lips at dinner. After a while, they became unusually silly. DH joked and that there must be alcohol in the drink. Sure enough, he tasted it and the drinks contained alcohol. Just wanted to let everyone know to check those drinks, especially if your'e ordering for young children.

 

This happened to me on Tortola. I ordered two Pina Colladas, one virgin for my then 7 year old.

 

When we got them, I just thought mine was weak, until DD told me hers tasted like liquor (:eek: - how did she know????)

 

We switched.

[nothomeonacruise]

This is a good thread!!!

 

This is something I've never thought about with the virgin drinks. I have a teenager, too.

[lhanson38]

Besides the kiddos drinks getting spiked I just thought of something else. Friends of Bill W are abstaining from drinking and they don't need something like this throwing them off the wagon.

 

 

Never had this happen. But my DH is a friend of Bill W has been for 25 years..And we ever we are in a bar I always smell his drinks first.

Just not a chance we want to take.

[MrPete]

Besides the kiddos drinks getting spiked I just thought of something else. Friends of Bill W are abstaining from drinking and they don't need something like this throwing them off the wagon.

 

Are they even allowed to have a psuedo drink? :eek:

[scchasgal]

Are they even allowed to have a psuedo drink? :eek:

 

Yes

[itgeek]

Never had this happen. But my DH is a friend of Bill W has been for 25 years..And we ever we are in a bar I always smell his drinks first.

Just not a chance we want to take.

 

Neuron fired... We should suggest to Carnival, et al. blocking the purchase of alcohol on chosen S&S cards. Maybe put "Friend of Bill W." as an option in the Fun Pass signup.

 

That way someone couldn't accidentally ring up an alcohol containing drink to a passenger holding a blocked card. Doesn't solve the problem of the bartender screwing up but gives those passengers one more tool to use.

 

(And yes, Carnival's point of sale system is sophisticated enough to implement that.)

 

- IT Geek

[hoop4321]

Are they even allowed to have a psuedo drink? :eek:

 

yes they are, DS enjoys them immensely. We are Catholic, so he has been tasting wine since the 2nd grade. At family celebrations he gets half full glass of champagne, and can taste whatever drink we are drinking when he asks....so far, he doesn't think drinking is a big deal like his friends do.

[pe4all]

DD22 is on several meds, and can't drink. I always "check" her virgin drinks just in case. I have noticed that the alcohol in the frozen drinks we order for ourselves usually "pools" on the bottom by the time it gets delivered to us- even if it is delivered quickly. Always stick the straw down to the bottom and taste from there, and you will quickly know if it is virgin or not!

[chickie_mite]

DD22 is on several meds, and can't drink. I always "check" her virgin drinks just in case. I have noticed that the alcohol in the frozen drinks we order for ourselves usually "pools" on the bottom by the time it gets delivered to us- even if it is delivered quickly. Always stick the straw down to the bottom and taste from there, and you will quickly know if it is virgin or not!

 

If you know what I mean. ;)

 

 

Ok, sorry, sorry, sorry! I resisted as long as I could!!

[Sailor2Cruiser]

This is a good thread. I have been dry 28+ years and have to do battle everyday. I can joke about it, but I do fight the temptation. I stopped calling myself "recovering" and just say I'm an alcoholic. The desire is always there.

 

But this is really good information because I have said to my DW that I would like to try some of the virgin drinks. I will definately be careful. And Mr. Pete, they're called mocktails. It's a nice way to spice up soda.

[chickie_mite]

This is a good thread. I have been dry 28+ years and have to do battle everyday. I can joke about it, but I do fight the temptation. I stopped calling myself "recovering" and just say I'm an alcoholic. The desire is always there.

 

But this is really good information because I have said to my DW that I would like to try some of the virgin drinks. I will definately be careful. And Mr. Pete, they're called mocktails. It's a nice way to spice up soda.

 

Congratulations! :)

[divingmedic]

I will have to keep on eye on my daughter's mocktails.

[dominichunter]

My oldest son (30) that cruises w/us takes the drug Antabuse & it would cause horrible side effects.