STARBUCKS IS NOW INCLUDED IN THE REFRESHMENT PACKAGE?

[loving2cruise]

Am I reading this right?  Starbucks in NOW included???? YIPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

 

 

 

Royal Caribbean Makes a Drink Package Change Customers Will Love

 

The cruise line has made a huge improvement to something passengers complain about a lot.

 

• Daniel Kline
• 17 hours ago
•  

Food and beverages play a huge role in cruises for most passengers.

From the second you get on board, a virtual feast awaits you. Many people get on the ship, report to their muster station, and then head to the buffet or another casual restaurant.

 

One of the biggest benefits of cruising with Royal Caribbean International (RCL) - Get Royal Caribbean Group Report, Carnival Cruise Lines (CCL) - Get Carnival Corporation Report, and Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH) - Get Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. Report is that cruises are more-or-less all-inclusive. Your basic cruise fare includes meals in the main dining room, the buffet, and a handful of free restaurants. That pretty much always includes 24-7 pizza and a cafe with snacks from early in the morning through late at night.

Beverages, however, are another story. Your cruise ticket just gets you access to the bare minimum. Water, a few flavored waters, hot chocolate, tea, milk, and basic coffee are all you get. To get access to sodas, bottled water, and fancy coffees, you need to pay as you go or buy a beverage package (which vary in price and composition by cruise line). And, of course, if you want alcohol, you can pay for every drink or buy a package.

 

Royal Caribbean sells a lot of drink packages, but no matter whether you get the refreshment package that does not include alcohol or the everything included drink package, there's one thing you previously did not get.

Now, the cruise line has fixed that.

 

Image source: Daniel Kline/TheStreet

Royal Caribbean Adds Starbucks 

 

Many Royal Caribbean ships have Starbucks (SBUX) - Get Starbucks Corporation Report locations onboard. These standalone cafes do not accept any of the cruise line's beverage packages. If you want a Starbucks coffee, you have to pay for it (think high-end land prices, like visiting one of the chain's airport locations).  

People with a Royal Caribbean beverage package do get access to premium coffee at Cafe Promenade, the Windjammer, and usually one or two other locations onboard, Those places have espresso-based beverages, frozen drinks, and even adult coffees, but they did not use Starbucks coffee until Royal Caribbean's newest ship, Wonder of the Seas.  

 

That ship, the largest in the world, quietly added Starbucks coffee to Cafe Promenade and the other premium coffee locations onboard. The ship has a standalone, full menu Starbucks which still costs extra even if you have a drink package, but you can now get Starbucks lattes, cappuccinos, even Frappuccinos, and other beverages at multiple locations on the ship.

Now, Royal Caribbean has confirmed to TheStreet that the cruise line has brought Starbucks to Cafe Promenade and other premium coffee locations on all of its ships. 

 

Royal Caribbean Does Something Good for Passengers

 

It may seem like a small thing, but it has always been a pain point for cruise passengers paying for a beverage package that they only got access to inferior coffee. That meant that some, maybe many, coffee fans chose to pay for a Starbucks beverage at least once or twice on their cruise. Now, they can get that as part of their package, rather than only at the actual onboard Starbucks.

 

This change almost certainly means that the onboard Starbucks locations will sell less coffee (but they do still sell lots of beverages beyond the traditional espresso-based drinks now found in other locations on its ships). It's a case of the cruise line doing something that benefits passengers, giving them a better experience without charging them more.   

[Saab4444]

Not sure if it is better to get Starbucks now at Cafe Promenade instead of Illy (I believe?), which is much better quality of coffee.

[Biker19]

1 hour ago, loving2cruise said:

Am I reading this right?  Starbucks in NOW included????

No, it’s the same exact coffee as before made with Starbucks beans instead of Lavazza or whatever other beans they were using. The coffee from the Starbucks kiosk still costs extra. The announcement was made months ago and maybe most ships have finally made the change. 
 

Biker, who expects the coffee aficionados to weigh in on this soon. 

[GEORGIEGIRL]

No, you are not completely wrong, you're partially reading it wrong. The actual "Starbucks" on board a ship are not included in the drink packages. It says that they have just started to use "Starbucks" coffee/beans in the Cafe' Promende and maybe some other venues (windjammer, dining room, etc..)

 

So it is similar, just not the same thing.

[not-enough-cruising]

All this means is they are moving Cafe Promenade to Starbucks beans, nothing else.  You still have to pay for your Frappuccinos and Machiattos at the Starbucks locations

[poocher]

Great, now I can get over roasted burnt tasting coffee in CP too!

[Nunagoras]

4 hours ago, Saab4444 said:

Not sure if it is better to get Starbucks now at Cafe Promenade instead of Illy (I believe?), which is much better quality of coffee.

When I went on Allure the first time she came Europe for her first dry dock, some 6 or 7 years ago, they were using Seattle's Best coffee beans that weren't that great, IMHO. Maybe coffee trademarks would vary sailing by sailing... Illy, when available, is for any European standards far superior coffee than Starbucks, obviously, but it seems RCL is going a full Starbucks product. Let us to see what will they do so that Starbucks doesn't cannibalize Starbucks on the ships. Maybe certain drinks will be exclusive to the specialty kiosks while general ones will become available elsewhere?... There are some land Hotel and shopping mall food court venues here in Europe where this is becoming the norm. There is an exclusive provider that will give you general services elsewhere in the larger venue, while retaining its "best of the best" to their exclusive vending point, usually at a higher rate or outside the general offering. Nothing absolutely new. Just a trend being imported on the mainstream cruise industry!...

[OCSC Mike]

Just now, Nunagoras said:

Let us to see what will they do so that Starbucks doesn't cannibalize Starbucks on the ships. Maybe certain drinks will be exclusive to the specialty kiosks while general ones will become available elsewhere?

 

My guess is exactly this. Cafe Promenade's specialty coffee offerings aren't nearly as extensive as the actual Starbucks locations onboard. I don't expect much to change other than the beans being used.

[not-enough-cruising]

1 minute ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

My guess is exactly this. Cafe Promenade's specialty coffee offerings aren't nearly as extensive as the actual Starbucks locations onboard. I don't expect much to change other than the beans being used.

You are exactly right. This is strictly a “bean brand” policy change for Cafe Promenade. 
you won’t be able to get your Starbucks favorites there, you will still need to go to the Starbucks location and pay. 
 

[HicksRA]

Cafe Promenade used to use Starbucks beans a few years ago. I asked the server once and he showed me the bag that was Starbucks. 

This blog means nothing except that they changed back to using Starbucks beans…

[Ourusualbeach]

I feel sorry for those employees working at the standalone Starbucks on the ships with this announcement.

[HicksRA]

7 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

I feel sorry for those employees working at the standalone Starbucks on the ships with this announcement.

The hopelessly addicted “buckies” will still have to have the real thing….

[the penguins]

On 7/30/2022 at 3:14 PM, Nunagoras said:

When I went on Allure the first time she came Europe for her first dry dock, some 6 or 7 years ago, they were using Seattle's Best coffee beans that weren't that great, IMHO. Maybe coffee trademarks would vary sailing by sailing... Illy, when available, is for any European standards far superior coffee than Starbucks, obviously, but it seems RCL is going a full Starbucks product. Let us to see what will they do so that Starbucks doesn't cannibalize Starbucks on the ships. Maybe certain drinks will be exclusive to the specialty kiosks while general ones will become available elsewhere?... There are some land Hotel and shopping mall food court venues here in Europe where this is becoming the norm. There is an exclusive provider that will give you general services elsewhere in the larger venue, while retaining its "best of the best" to their exclusive vending point, usually at a higher rate or outside the general offering. Nothing absolutely new. Just a trend being imported on the mainstream cruise industry!...

"Seattle's Best" is made by, drum roll please, Starbucks.

[billslowsky]

23 minutes ago, the penguins said:

"Seattle's Best" is made by, drum roll please, Starbucks.

Yup, since 2003.