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New on FOS -- Self Serve Beer on Tap (Stella)

jules815

By jules815,
in Royal Caribbean International

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John&LaLa "Live from...." Rare

John&LaLa

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We were walking through the Promenade yesterday afternoon, and noticed the machine near Sorrentos is gone. Not sure if the still have them up at the pool. I'll check when we go for our walk after breakrast.

 

You're still on? Didn't realize you were B2B.

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ksuds

ksuds

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Copied from another thread......

 

Just off the Freedom yesterday and they installed Stella Beer dispensers on the second day of our sailing.

 

We had the Premium drink package so the bar tender gave us a key card type thing that had the Stella logo. The machines are set up to work during all hours in the event you need a beer at 6:00am. :rolleyes:

 

We were very excited to try this even though we are not big beer drinkers. They had a rep from the company that installed it floating around for a short time answering questions. So the next day we decided to give it a try.

 

You have to touch the card to the screen and it instantly activates. You only have 18 seconds to pull the tap and get your beer poured. The problem we ran into was that in 18 seconds you get a half of a beer and half foam. Then you have to wait 15 minutes for your card to reset.

 

By the last day, the machines started to go offline and slowly vanish.

 

Overall, these machines are a failure in my mind. Not sure if this was just a test to see if people would like it. But there are no positives.

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jules815

jules815

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Hey Ksuds...good to see you guys, sorry we didn't get to do drinks. I really still am fun when I cruise with my husband. :) If you know your cruise plans for 2016, shoot me an email at julierackow@gmail.com After this b2b on FOS, I've got nothing lined up until the Harmony t/a. Maybe I can squeeze something in this spring. :)

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BillOh Holiday Sharing Rare

BillOh

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Look at picture, cups look like 8 ounces. So sad

 

Even if it is an 8 oz cup, they should program the machine to dispense 8 ozs, but give at least a 12 oz-16oz cup for people who don't know how to pour beer. (Assuming some people will see extreme foaming.

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John&LaLa "Live from...." Rare

John&LaLa

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Even if it is an 8 oz cup, they should program the machine to dispense 8 ozs, but give at least a 12 oz-16oz cup for people who don't know how to pour beer. (Assuming some people will see extreme foaming.

 

The website indicated that the pour would just produce the correct amount of foam

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garnetpalmetto

garnetpalmetto

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All the machines are gone. Epic fail.

 

Not necessarily. It could have only been a proof of concept trial for that week with other POCs on other ships (I think an earlier poster mentioned that the company rep mentioned they were going on Oasis sometime in October) before Royal makes the commitment to roll them out more widely/at all.

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rakes5

rakes5

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Did you see this news today on CC.

 

It's like the freestyle soda machine program, swipe your card instead of your cup. Wonder what type of glass they'll provide?

 

(09/18/2015 - 12:07 p.m. EDT) -- Royal Caribbean is piloting a self-serve beer program onboard Freedom of the Seas, through which holders of the line's Ultimate, Premium or Select drink packages can serve themselves Stella Artois beer. The self-serve machines are located only around the pool deck and in the Windjammer buffet. Package-holders make their purchases via a special card they swipe at the machines. The self-serve machines have time limits built into them to ensure there is no continuous pouring; there is also a time limit between refills.

 

For beers other than Stella or outside of the pool deck and Windjammer, package-holders will still need to see a bartender. A Royal Caribbean spokeswoman told Cruise Critic there are no current plans to expand the trial to other ships in the fleet.
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thegima

thegima

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Great more drunks.

 

I'm not sure how self serve beer machines equals "more drunks" but whatever :cool:

 

Will be interesting to see how they play out. I bet RC is trying to balance the load on the bars and avoid more people waiting in line just for a beer.

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Sitzmark

Sitzmark

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I'm not sure how self serve beer machines equals "more drunks" but whatever

 

Since part of a bartenders job is to not serve individuals who are overly intoxicated I can see how this could lead to more drunks. I could also imagine a scenario where underage individuals snag a parents card and use it.

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John&LaLa "Live from...." Rare

John&LaLa

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The machines are about as reliable as their website.

 

On another note, how do they keep under aged cruisers from using someone else's card?

 

Not sure, but these machines are in a lot of venues already. It must not be a significant problem

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