Soft Drinks

[agnesd]

Just curious.  Wine, beer and soft drinks are included at lunch and dinner.  Does that mean if you have a coke, sprite etc.  in between you are charged?  It sounds that way but isn't that a little petty? What about iced tea?  

[TayanaLorna]

Just came off an ocean cruise and did not get the SS package.  We don't drink pop but I recall on the bar menus that there were prices for the soft drinks just like the alcohol, wine and beer.  Your room fridge holds enough room for 6 cans so, if they charge, just drink what's in your room.  It will be replenished each day and you can request what you like.   The only iced tea I saw was in cans.

[agnesd]

Thanks!

[Dauntless]

Also, during meals you can get sodas and according to some posts, they are easy to pick up and take to your cabin, if you wish.  I have been in V cabins and there, the sodas will be replaced for the price on the menu.  Last time though, we got them without asking.

[Clay Clayton]

Outside of meal hours, sodas are charged at reasonable rates.Don’t disagree that it’s a little petty but that’s the way it is.  
 

But it’s not a big deal, just like with wine or beer, we are always asked if we want a fill up before we leave the dining venue. Also, have never been refused if on the way out from lunch we ask for a can of soda to go.  When we were in V stateroom (where the sodas in the fridge are not replenished) we would replenish it ourselves this way. 

DH believes ice tea is available in the World Cafe Around the clock (I know coffee and hot tea are). Unfortunately it’s from dispensers that we think use a concentrate which he doesn’t like. He usually asks a server for brewed green ice tea which is done with a smile.  Same thing when his Mom was with us and needed decaffeinated iced tea. A server brewed it and brought it to the table. 

[Peregrina651]

7 hours ago, agnesd said:

Does that mean if you have a coke, sprite etc.  in between you are charged?

 

Yes, if you go to the bar between meals and request a soft drink, wine or beer, you will be charged.

 

BTW, for the non-soda drinkers, there are also a couple varieties of bottled still and sparkling waters that count as soft drinks and will be served at meals if you ask..

 

However, the cans of soda in your mini-bar can be consumed anywhere on board and if you go to any of the bars and request a glass with ice, no one will stop you when you fill it with soda you brought from your cabin. Same goes for anything BYO, can be consumed anywhere on board; no need to hide in your cabin to consume it; no need to disguise it in a sippy cup/water bottle.

 

Except for those in the V cabins, mini-bars are refreshed each day. You can request any mix of sodas.

 

If you request another can of soda at the end of your meal, no one will blink twice if you carry out of the dining room when your meal is over. They will also top off your wine glass or bring you another beer.

 

Also, Viking has a very liberal BYO policy and if you buy soda (or any potent potable) on shore, you can bring it on board.

[TSmith48]

Is this also the case on the river longboats? And are there fridges in the cabins with sodas? 

DH and I are on the May 6th Grand European Amsterdam to  Budapest this year, and are getting excited!

[Moonlion]

10 hours ago, TSmith48 said:

Is this also the case on the river longboats? And are there fridges in the cabins with sodas? 

DH and I are on the May 6th Grand European Amsterdam to  Budapest this year, and are getting excited!

We've been on two Viking river cruises.  There are fridges in the cabin but they are not stocked or refilled daily with sodas. Like VO, you can bring on board your own sodas or alcohol, no problem. 

[Liz Masterson]

I've always assumed that charging for the cans of soda was done partially due to enviromental concerns. Individual cans have to be recycled the right way. And I know VIking is working hard to meet certain green standards. 

[Respbj]

On 2/21/2020 at 10:25 PM, TSmith48 said:

Is this also the case on the river longboats? And are there fridges in the cabins with sodas? 

DH and I are on the May 6th Grand European Amsterdam to  Budapest this year, and are getting excited!

No drinks in frig, just empty frig, at coffee station there is coffee, tea, still and sparkling water all day, along with pastries in am and cookies in pm.

[TSmith48]

Thank you, Respbj and Moonlion, for your responses to my query. Much appreciated!

[Redtravel]

On riverboats, wine, beer, and soft drinks are served with lunch and dinner.  Want a soda any other time, it will cost extra.  Water, coffee, and tea is always free.  Since I mainly drink water, I was happy on the riverboats.  Food other than at meal times does not exist.  Aside from the fruit bowl and pastry during the day, there is nothing.  After 6 pm, no food except at dinner.  No room service.  My spouse is diabetic. Had to bring snacks to eat at off times.  Seems crazy to bring food to a cruise.  It would be nice if Viking river had some food available after dinner.  Some cheese, crackers, cookies or fruit would make a huge difference. 

[Peregrina651]

9 hours ago, Redtravel said:

On riverboats, wine, beer, and soft drinks are served with lunch and dinner.  Want a soda any other time, it will cost extra.  Water, coffee, and tea is always free.  Since I mainly drink water, I was happy on the riverboats.  Food other than at meal times does not exist.  Aside from the fruit bowl and pastry during the day, there is nothing.  After 6 pm, no food except at dinner.  No room service.  My spouse is diabetic. Had to bring snacks to eat at off times.  Seems crazy to bring food to a cruise.  It would be nice if Viking river had some food available after dinner.  Some cheese, crackers, cookies or fruit would make a huge difference. 

 

With a fridge in the room to keep things cold, can't it be arranged with the kitchen to keep some of this stuff in your cabin or at least to be able to walk out of lunch and dinner with a plate of whatever to consume later in the day? Before your next cruise, I suggest that you contact the folks at tellus@vikingcruises.com to see what can be done to help you.

[Redtravel]

17 minutes ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

With a fridge in the room to keep things cold, can't it be arranged with the kitchen to keep some of this stuff in your cabin or at least to be able to walk out of lunch and dinner with a plate of whatever to consume later in the day? Before your next cruise, I suggest that you contact the folks at tellus@vikingcruises.com to see what can be done to help you.

That makes sense.  After my first Viking River, I contacted Viking.  Nothing changed.  At meals, take food back to your cabin.  They let you take the dish and will give you wrap to cover it.  I also saw people walking out of lunch with cans of soda and glasses of wine.  
on one cruise,we took the Viking bus into town.  No tours then. Just an opportunity to walk, shop, etc. We were told to be back on the bus by 11:30.  Everyone was there except the cruise director. He was really late. He said that he lost track of time.   By the time we got back to the ship, lunch was over.  Dining room did not want to serve us lunch.  After several people complained, we were served a small lunch. Had to eat fast in order to get to the Afternoon tour bus. Tour times don’t always mesh with meal times. 
From that experience, I now travel with food.  Seems odd that you need to take food to a cruise.  
 Riverboats are not like ocean cruises. Schedules can be altered for many reasons.  Water levels, traffic, etc.  Food should be available 24/7.  

[knoxclone]

My husband is also diabetic We often ordered an extra cheese plate for dessert at meals and staff was aways happy to wrap up.  we stashed it in refrigerator and ate it at our leisure. Like wise, I brought a few baggies and we would snag some cookies to take with us on our tours or to eat in the room. 

[sayanne]

On 2/21/2020 at 10:25 PM, TSmith48 said:

Is this also the case on the river longboats? And are there fridges in the cabins with sodas? 

DH and I are on the May 6th Grand European Amsterdam to  Budapest this year, and are getting excited!

What line are you using? I have done two on AMA Waterways and yes, there are fridges in the room. I don't recall sodas in the fridge, but they did leave off bottled water each day. Also as above significant opportunities to leave meals with topped off drinks of any nature. And an early tea each afternoon and two venues with food and snacks for lunch.

 

My refrigerator regularly had food in it that I taken out from one of the meals. And stuff that I had gotten in shops in the towns. The river boats tend to moor near a downtown so you can just grab something for later and bring it back. The only question mark on that may be on the Duoro, more than one person has told me it tends to be a heck of an uphill climb from the dock to the towns on that river. 

 

I have not had the problem with tour times and meal times meshing that is mentioned above. There can be all day tours where lunch happens when you are at that off-ship location, those are usually eat on your own.