What! No straws, how could this be?

[stoneharborlady]

12 hours ago, CarelessAndConfused said:

I think the term is eco-friendly.

It would be more eco-friendly if ships would stop dumping into our oceans, on purpose.

[grouchomarx]

My December Sky cruise had very high quality paper straws.  Sometimes they were given straight away, other times upon request.  I was never without a straw when I needed one.  I didn't have any frozen drinks so I can't comment on that (length being too short).  But there were just as good as plastic straws and I'm someone who has always hated paper straws because they smell and taste bad and fall apart rapidly. These straws had no taste, no smell, and a very rigid texture that did not fall apart. Although I'm not know to nurse a cocktail, that's for sure!  

[SharkieRools]

12 minutes ago, grouchomarx said:

My December Sky cruise had very high quality paper straws.  Sometimes they were given straight away, other times upon request.  I was never without a straw when I needed one.  I didn't have any frozen drinks so I can't comment on that (length being too short).  But there were just as good as plastic straws and I'm someone who has always hated paper straws because they smell and taste bad and fall apart rapidly. These straws had no taste, no smell, and a very rigid texture that did not fall apart. Although I'm not know to nurse a cocktail, that's for sure!  

Agreed - had no problem with the paper straws given out on the Royal recently no matter how long it took to finish a drink.  The only problem I observed was that there appears to be 2 different length straws and I saw a couple of times drinks in tall glasses having a short straw put in them.  Fortunately I never had that problem, but if I did I'd just request the longer one 😄 

Edited January 16, 2020 by SharkieRools

[5:00_Somewhere]

20 minutes ago, grouchomarx said:

My December Sky cruise had very high quality paper straws.  Sometimes they were given straight away, other times upon request.  I was never without a straw when I needed one.  I didn't have any frozen drinks so I can't comment on that (length being too short).  But there were just as good as plastic straws and I'm someone who has always hated paper straws because they smell and taste bad and fall apart rapidly. These straws had no taste, no smell, and a very rigid texture that did not fall apart. Although I'm not know to nurse a cocktail, that's for sure!  

 

We had the same experience on the Sky in December: straws were not given automatically on deck in non-frozen drinks (although I think they were put in frozen drinks), but they often asked; and you could always request one. It was never a problem. And, I was also fine with the quality of the paper straws used. They certainly lasted long enough to finish one drink. 

[greenie082756]

On the Emerald they were putting paper straws in drinks last Christmas / New Years cruise.

Hubby was not too keen on it while sipping a Pina colada. He is not a fast drinker and the straw lost the fight.

Guess we will bring out own on.. 😞

[I_r_a]

Back in the old days, we would pluck a reed from a stream and use that as a straw.

 

Ira

[mjmalino]

2 hours ago, grouchomarx said:

My December Sky cruise had very high quality paper straws.  Sometimes they were given straight away, other times upon request.  I was never without a straw when I needed one.  I didn't have any frozen drinks so I can't comment on that (length being too short).  But there were just as good as plastic straws and I'm someone who has always hated paper straws because they smell and taste bad and fall apart rapidly. These straws had no taste, no smell, and a very rigid texture that did not fall apart. Although I'm not know to nurse a cocktail, that's for sure!  

We had the same experience on the Sky last week.

[MissP22]

2 hours ago, greenie082756 said:

On the Emerald they were putting paper straws in drinks last Christmas / New Years cruise.

Hubby was not too keen on it while sipping a Pina colada. He is not a fast drinker and the straw lost the fight.

Guess we will bring out own on.. 😞

Nothing worse than a floppy straw. 

[suzyed]

19 hours ago, cheeseclan said:

No straws could be a problem with frozen drinks....

When we sailed on the Sapphire and the Emerald this fall, frozen drinks were the only ones that came with the straws.  You had to ask for them otherwise.

[Dawniepoo]

15 hours ago, I_r_a said:

Back in the old days, we would pluck a reed from a stream and use that as a straw.

 

Ira

Back in my day, we bit both ends off of a Twizzler and used that as a straw. 😉

[ccndfw]

Paper straws don’t work for a frozen drink and I find some of them leave a strange taste as well... I’ll be bringing my own plastic straws.  If disposed of properly, they don’t end up in the ocean and I’m sure a majority of those 13B currently there are not from cruise ships.

[xDisconnections]

Currently on Coral Princess- paper straws are provided upon request. The only exception was while sailing in Antarctica but I brought my own straws (plastic) onboard for that segment.

[kywildcatfanone]

You don't need plastic straws, either bring your own, or use the paper straws. 

[MissP22]

6 minutes ago, kywildcatfanone said:

You don't need plastic straws, either bring your own, or use the paper straws. 

Oh yes you do. Did you ever make your own milkshake using the  ice cream on deck. It's nearly impossible to drink with a paper straw. 

[tip]

Back in the 50’s when I was a young lad we would get an 8 ounce bottle of milk each day with our lunch at school,  It only cost three cents!  We also were provided with paper straws.  Somehow the sun still rose and set each day.

[MissP22]

4 minutes ago, tip said:

Back in the 50’s when I was a young lad we would get an 8 ounce bottle of milk each day with our lunch at school,  It only cost three cents!  We also were provided with paper straws.  Somehow the sun still rose and set each day.

There's a big difference between a glass of milk and a frozen margarita.

[cmorgeng]

I always carry a collapsable straw with me, they work great! I like the Final Straw, it has it's own case that you can clip on your key chain. Plastic straws are banned in our city, so we have all just gotten used to bringing our own, just like grocery bags. 

[Loucat]

We were just on Regal and Sky. Both had paper straws if you ask for them.  I turn them upside down when the one end gets soft and drinks do not last that long so it works out.
Someone posted to bring your own plastic straws. Not sure how they would take that but it defeats the idea of no plastic, which this planet would benefit from.

I also have my own paper straws that I can bring but that was not needed.

[stoneharborlady]

On 1/16/2020 at 6:57 AM, MissP22 said:

All the plastic straws you want are still free at McDonald's & Burger King here in Florida. Why buy them? 

All the plastic straws you want are not free at McDonald's and Burger King.  They are happy to give you a straw for the drink that you purchase from them.  They do not expect to supply you with an endless amount of straws to take on your next cruise.  That is why you should buy your own.

[joepeka]

Just as an aside to (but related to) this thread, this has been a topic for several months now over on the Carnival board when they started migrating away from plastic straws last year - with just as much contention as here on this board. Welcome to the "no straws" fray. 😁

[brisalta]

30 minutes ago, stoneharborlady said:

All the plastic straws you want are not free at McDonald's and Burger King.  They are happy to give you a straw for the drink that you purchase from them.  They do not expect to supply you with an endless amount of straws to take on your next cruise.  That is why you should buy your own.

 

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the paper straws that they give out on Princess ships. The mouth feel and lack of taste of the paper straw is much better the plastic straws.

I am old enough to remember when all you could get were paper straws. Back then paper straws came in different diameters and also a bendy version was available. All these features of paper straws will come back due to demand for them.

[brisalta]

10 hours ago, MissP22 said:

Oh yes you do. Did you ever make your own milkshake using the  ice cream on deck. It's nearly impossible to drink with a paper straw. 

 

That is very strange considering I am  old enough to remember when paper straws were the only drinking straws available. In those days they worked fine for milk shakes, even super thick milk shakes.

[stoneharborlady]

5 minutes ago, brisalta said:

 

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the paper straws that they give out on Princess ships. The mouth feel and lack of taste of the paper straw is much better the plastic straws.

I am old enough to remember when all you could get were paper straws. Back then paper straws came in different diameters and also a bendy version was available. All these features of paper straws will come back due to demand for them.

To be honest I am also old enough to have used paper straws in my youth.  The problem is I don't remember whether I ever had a problem with them.

[stoneharborlady]

9 minutes ago, brisalta said:

 

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the paper straws that they give out on Princess ships. The mouth feel and lack of taste of the paper straw is much better the plastic straws.

I am old enough to remember when all you could get were paper straws. Back then paper straws came in different diameters and also a bendy version was available. All these features of paper straws will come back due to demand for them.

You totally misunderstood my response to someone taking straws from a restaurant to take home.  My point is that they are not there to be "taken" in bulk for your own personal use.  They are to be used for the drink you purchase in the restaurant.

[beg3yrs]

16 minutes ago, stoneharborlady said:

To be honest I am also old enough to have used paper straws in my youth.  The problem is I don't remember whether I ever had a problem with them.

 

Just came off a 31-day journey on the Pacific Princess. Had the drink package and used a lot of paper straws. They were just fine except ... for Bloody Mary cocktails. It seems the acid in the tomato juice causes them to collapse after only ten minutes or so. Solved the problem by drinking faster - well, not really but I thought about it. A second straw was the real solution.