Soda Card: Need a Clue

[ThiaMonnStock]

Novice cruiser here preparing mind, body and wallet for 10/3 Mercury cruise. I understand there is such a thing as a soda or coke card. Where can this be used? Dining rooms? Lounges? Shows? Room service? Have I missed anything? Thank you in advance ... if you have any other hints or things I may need to know before my maiden voyage please share!!! :D I can't wait!!!!

[b8tzm]

SODA CARD if youve bought one would you again? http://boards.cruisecritic.com/show...light=soda+card

 

soda cards -- anything but soda? http://boards.cruisecritic.com/show...light=soda+card

 

Soda card? http://boards.cruisecritic.com/show...light=soda+card

 

soda card?

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/show...light=soda+card

 

 

Celebrity Coke Cards http://boards.cruisecritic.com/show...light=soda+card

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/search.php?searchid=2351710

 

Have a great trip

[teedee]

And if you're lazy like me and don't want to click through old threads here's some info:

The cards are good at all bars, lounges & in the dining room. They are not good for room service or the mini bar sodas. They are also only supposed to be good for fountain drinks, not canned or bottled drinks. I have seen people get canned drinks during dinner with them though. You do get a Coke souvenir mug when you purchase the card. Prices are: 7 nt is $40, 10 nt is $58, 12 nt is $69 and 14 nt is $80.

Terri

[ThiaMonnStock]

Thank you very much for the threads to read and for the short version! You answered my query to the T!

 

9 days to go !

[teedee]

One thing I forgot, those prices don't include the gratuity, around 15% they add it on when you buy the card, you don't have to pay it every time you use the card. I have discovered I get better service using them if I occasionally tip a dollor or two, though.

Terri

[phtktz3]

My 19 yr old son said he had more problems on the Summit using his soda card last week than any other ship we've sailed. He said he would wait for a very long time for someone to actually get him a soda. When we purchased the soda card the first night we did not receive any souvenier mug and we were not even offered one, no big deal tho, this may have been because we purchased the card at one of the bars on board. My son was actually the only teen ager aboard this particular cruise and I know that some teens give all the rest a bad reputation, but he really was not treated very well when using his card...I witnessed myself on one occasion when the bartender asked him what he needed he told her a coke and showed her his card, she then went on to help several other "paying" customers after him before finally pouring his coke holding it up in the air for him to see and setting the glass down in front of her...where he had to walk down and retrieve it. The card costs $45.00 for a 7 day cruise which is more than some folks spend on drinks in a bar, so I think someone with a soda card deserves the same service as everyone else. This was the only issue we had with service....everything else was great

[CaptData]

I agree if you tip a dollar or two you will get the service. I'm diabetic so I can not drink very much (my bar tab is maybe $15.00). I drink Diet Coke with a twist of lime or lemon. When I don't tip I get very poor service because the !5% gratutity was already taken and not given to the person serving the drink. He/she wants her cut.

 

I find if I am in one bar or by the Pool, I tip there I get good service. The Dining Room I get good service.

 

I think this time I'll just buy the pop as I need it, that way they get the tip and I get my pop.

[a1moty]

Wow--the way you explain it sure seems like it would be cost effective to just pay as you go---unless you really drink loads of pop, then maybe the card would be a deal.

 

I read a while back that a glass of coke is $1.25 plus tip (1.40) and the cans are 1.95 plus tip (2.25). Is this still correct? I guess I just need to figure out which will work best for me. (A ten day cruise seems to allow for 4.5 sodas per day

to break even.)

 

Also, if I do the pay as you go route, can I charge it to the room card?

Also, if I charge it to the room, do I still need to carry cash for the tip?

 

:confused:

[CaroleSP]

soda card?

 

Couldn't resist; great screen name!

[phtktz3]

Wow--the way you explain it sure seems like it would be cost effective to just pay as you go---unless you really drink loads of pop, then maybe the card would be a deal.

 

I read a while back that a glass of coke is $1.25 plus tip (1.40) and the cans are 1.95 plus tip (2.25). Is this still correct? I guess I just need to figure out which will work best for me. (A ten day cruise seems to allow for 4.5 sodas per day

to break even.)

 

Also, if I do the pay as you go route, can I charge it to the room card?

Also, if I charge it to the room, do I still need to carry cash for the tip?

 

:confused:

I was just on the Summit this month and the price for a can of soda was $2.24 tip included. The only time they served soda in a glass was if you had the soda card otherwise you paid the $2.24 and they brought the whole can and a glass of ice with it. The price of the card is worth it if you have a teenager, I know my 19yr old got our $45.00 worth of soda in the first 2 days of our 7 day cruise. I just purchased a can when ever the mood struck me and yes it is put onto your sea pass account. There is never any cash that exchanges hands for any purchases on board and remember a 15% gratuity is automatically added to every soda you buy.

[a1moty]

phtktz3,

Thanks so much for the info. We have only been on a couple of other cruises, so there is still alot for me to learn.

It is so great that everyone is so willing to help each other out.

Many thanks---

[cfprunner]

Soda Card: Need a Clue

!!

 

Miss Peacock, with the candlestick.

[Aussie Cruisers]

What I don't understand is that for pax who pre-pay their tips (my DW and I) we are then expected to pay further 15% tip on drinks? I spoke with my TA as I thought that it meant we would not need to worry about tipping, but she said is was the way cruise ships did it. She was at a loss too. I guess that it is the way it is. But, I still don't understand! Why don't they simply remove the 15% on the drinks, and take it all into account when giving the daily figures?

 

Oh well! When in Rome! :D

[phtktz3]

What I don't understand is that for pax who pre-pay their tips (my DW and I) we are then expected to pay further 15% tip on drinks? I spoke with my TA as I thought that it meant we would not need to worry about tipping, but she said is was the way cruise ships did it. She was at a loss too. I guess that it is the way it is. But, I still don't understand! Why don't they simply remove the 15% on the drinks, and take it all into account when giving the daily figures?

 

Oh well! When in Rome! :D

I suspect it is because in your prepaid tips the bartenders are not included. You pay for room steward, waiter, head waiter, assistant waiter, and the Head housechief (a catagory I have only seen on Celebrity) there are no prepaid tips for the bar staff and this is who gets your soda.

[TheNightDawg]

Maybe I am one of the lucky ones, but I have never had a problem with the soda card nor have I ever gotten an "attitude" from any of the bartenders or drink-waiters on any of my cruises!

 

I always tell friends that ask.....if you have more than a two-can-a-day soda habit (I count myself amoung that group!), the soda card is definately the way to go! It saves you money in the long run. If you are more of an occassional soda drinker, or even a soda affecionado (only drink Pepsi, not Coke - most cruiseline have a Coke contract), then probably not a good idea for you...just buy a can or two when ashore.

 

On my Celebrity and NCL sailings, I have enjoyed getting to know the various bartenders at different venues, and never have received any less-than service. I smile, say please, say thank you....no problem....even when I tell them "easy ice". :)

[phtktz3]

Maybe I am one of the lucky ones, but I have never had a problem with the soda card nor have I ever gotten an "attitude" from any of the bartenders or drink-waiters on any of my cruises!

 

I always tell friends that ask.....if you have more than a two-can-a-day soda habit (I count myself amoung that group!), the soda card is definately the way to go! It saves you money in the long run. If you are more of an occassional soda drinker, or even a soda affecionado (only drink Pepsi, not Coke - most cruiseline have a Coke contract), then probably not a good idea for you...just buy a can or two when ashore.

 

On my Celebrity and NCL sailings, I have enjoyed getting to know the various bartenders at different venues, and never have received any less-than service. I smile, say please, say thank you....no problem....even when I tell them "easy ice". :)

I would agree that as an adult I have never had a problem with a soda card either, it is the way some bartenders treat kids and teens that bothers me. Although I do understand some children are like the devil spawned and I am sure it can get on their nerves when they are less than polite.

[ThiaMonnStock]

Miss Peacock, with the candlestick.

 

No, no ... it was Mr Green in the Study with the rope. I was there.

 

If there is no cash changing hands on ship, how do you 'tip' the bartenders?

[TheNightDawg]

Bar drinks come with a 15% gratuity tacked-on to the price...that is the tip to all bar servers (bar waiters, bar-backs, bartenders, etc.). Even when you purchase the soda card, a 15% gratuity is automatically added to the purchase price (e.g. a $40 soda card will net a $46 charge to your cabin bill!).

 

As for "no money changing hands"...that is a misnomer. Tipping is (on most cruiselines) a GUIDELINE. You can certainly tip as you feel service warrants (up or down). In particular, I was on one nearly two-week cruise on NCL Sea a few years back and had an exceptional bartender on the little-visited Topsidder Bar outside on the highest deck....Glenn. Whenever Glenn saw me coming, my Diet Coke, ez ice, with a lime, was waiting for me at the bar by the time I reached it! He also always took the time to ask what I did in port that day, or what I did on a sea-day. And he would remember, "So Frank, how did that snorkeling trip today compare to the boat trip you took in the Caymans?"....small little things that added up. I know at the end of the cruise I handed him an extra twenty bucks just to say thanks for the added attention and for keeping me a happy customer!

 

I was told by one NCL Cruise Director that any extra money given to the service staff directly is supposed to be turned in to be pooled.....but a butler I had on the NCL Sky confessed that it is a policy that is more theory than practice! :D