Non alchohic beers and drinks

[gatour]

As a recent liver transplant recipient I am now an officially a tee-totaler.

 

Curious about what non alcholic beers are avaiable.  Also any mocktails that are non-heavy i.e drinks no strawberry daiquiris or pina coladas.

 

I know this is probably asking for too much but what non alhohic liquor.  Things like non alcohol tequila.  This is a relatively recent phenomenon so it might be a bit early for cruise ships to stock it.  Ilove my margarita esp. on a cruise.  Locally several place will make a margarita with non alcohol tequila.  Not exactly a real margarita taste wise but close enough.

[sgmn]

15 minutes ago, gatour said:

As a recent liver transplant recipient I am now an officially a tee-totaler.

 

Curious about what non alcholic beers are avaiable.  Also any mocktails that are non-heavy i.e drinks no strawberry daiquiris or pina coladas.

 

I know this is probably asking for too much but what non alhohic liquor.  Things like non alcohol tequila.  This is a relatively recent phenomenon so it might be a bit early for cruise ships to stock it.  Ilove my margarita esp. on a cruise.  Locally several place will make a margarita with non alcohol tequila.  Not exactly a real margarita taste wise but close enough.

There's now a big choice in the shops and pubs of non alcoholic drinks, beers and wines. Unfortunately I haven't  noticed much from Royal Caribbean apart from one or two choice of beer and the non alcoholic cocktails (which are usually too sweet for me).

Hoping in the future more will be offered 

[mandyleighflies]

RCCL has a great mocktail menu! They can also make most of the frozen drinks virgin but you have to make it very clear with them you truly want a virgin drink. They have Heinkein 0.0 for NA beer and unsure if they have other ones yet. Our last sailing was in December and I know the NA market is growing fast so hopefully they add more options soon. If you purchase the refreshment beverage package it covers all soft drinks, mocktails, specialty coffee's/teas (not starbucks) and bottles/cans of water. That package does NOT cover Heinkein 0.0 however. 

[OCSC Mike]

32 minutes ago, gatour said:

Also any mocktails that are non-heavy i.e drinks no strawberry daiquiris or pina coladas.

 

Yes, they have a list of non-frozen mocktails but I don't have a handy reference for you. I believe they call them zero-proof cocktails. They have stuff like nojitos and other concoctions. I don't think you will find actual non-alcoholic spirits though.

[OCSC Mike]

This poster has been compiling recipes for every drink RC has and here's the zero-proof section. They will make anything they have the ingredients for so feel free to ask for other suggesstions but here's a starter list (click on the top part of the link where it says July 9)...

 

 

Edited April 14 by OCSC Mike

[Scottdalfonso]

As a fellow non-alcohol drinker, I can tell you everyone else pretty much answered everything.  There is no N\A liquor on board, just N\A versions of some of the mixed drinks...meaning they'll just substitute the liquor with soda or juice. They also have the Heineken 0.0, but like someone else mentioned they aren't included in the Refreshment package, just the actual alcohol package, so you have to pay for them as you go if you want one.  And from what I saw there are a few N\A Wines, but I never got one of those- I do think you have to buy them by the bottle when you see them, though.  They are also available for pre-purchase to have in your room through the Royal gifts website. So you could order one for the room, and still carry one on.  Now- here's a grey area:  I was able to bring an 8 pack of N\A beers on board with me on my carryon. A few others on my sailing said they could, as well... but the answer you get from Royal seems to depend on who you ask.  You can bring soda on board, but not beer- so the N\A beer is kind of questionable. But if you are willing to take the chance, the worst that would happen is they take it from you at check in. 

[kvosu1]

Please tell me they have something other than Heineken. I can't stand that. I thought I read somewhere that they also have O'Douls. Here at home I can get so many different options including just finding Blue Moon which is absolutely fantastic!

[OCSC Mike]

4 minutes ago, kvosu1 said:

Please tell me they have something other than Heineken.

 

You can see bar menus in the app.

[IsanTom]

20 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

You can see bar menus in the app.

I agree! 

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

I'm also a non-drinker. I find that swapping the alcohol in standard cocktails with soda or juice makes the concoction ridiculously sweet, but club soda works well. 

 

Another thing I've discovered is that the bar staff aren't necessarily familiar with the "zero-proof cocktails" listed on the menus in the app. Especially in the dining room. So I keep my app pulled up so I can just show it to them and say "I'd like this."

[gatour]

Thanks everyone.  I figured th NA liquor was going to be a non starter.

 

Bummer about NA beer not being part of the refreshment package.  While I was not a big beer drinker I did like a nice cold one when I was on the beach.

 

I am relatively new to this.  I was normally a wine drinker esp. with dinner.  I need to make a visit to Total Wine to checkout NA wine.  I am relatively new to this NA thing since zi just got my relacement liver at the beginning of March.  A

 

I have some time to research this has my Doctors/Nurse coordinator don't want me to tracel internationally until 6 months post transplant and preferably for a year.

 

Again thanks.

[sgmn]

48 minutes ago, gatour said:

Thanks everyone.  I figured th NA liquor was going to be a non starter.

 

 

I am relatively new to this.  I was normally a wine drinker esp. with dinner.  I need to make a visit to Total Wine to checkout NA wine.  I am relatively new to this NA thing since zi just got my relacement liver at the beginning of March.  A

 

There are some great NA beers around including Guinness 0.0 which apparently is very good, but I've yet to taste a good NA wine.

NA liquors (Gin, Rum lookalikes etc) are widely available in supermarkets and pubs now and great with tonic water or coke, so I really don't understand why Royal Caribbean is so slow to include more NA choice.  

Edited April 14 by sgmn

[snaefell]

I have been alcohol free for some years now,I used to be a keen real ale drinker so like the taste of beer,happily as has been said there is a huge & growing variety of LA & NA beers now available,many of which IMO have a taste which is a bit on the sweet side,including Guinness,my favourite is Adnams Ghost Ship which to me tastes as good as any real ale I had in my drinking days,of course we are all different & different beers will be available in different areas & countries.

As for spirits I was once given a miniature bottle of Gordon's AF gin with pink grapefruit,all you could taste was pink grapefruit which made me question the point of buying AF Gin which,here in the UK at least,tends to be pretty much the same price as the alcoholic version!

That leads me to the biggest bugbear when it comes to drinking AF IMO,that is the price you will pay when out & about,in bars & restaurants here in the UK LA & AF beers can be twice the price of the alcoholic beers,to me if I was the designated driver out for a night with my mates I wouldn't be too pleased at having to pay twice as much to stay sober as my mates who were happily getting sloshed!😆😆

[sgmn]

41 minutes ago, snaefell said:

 

As for spirits I was once given a miniature bottle of Gordon's AF gin with pink grapefruit,all you could taste was pink grapefruit which made me question the point of buying AF Gin which,here in the UK at least,tends to be pretty much the same price as the alcoholic version!

That leads me to the biggest bugbear when it comes to drinking AF IMO,that is the price you will pay when out & about,in bars & restaurants here in the UK LA & AF beers can be twice the price of the alcoholic beers,to me if I was the designated driver out for a night with my mates I wouldn't be too pleased at having to pay twice as much to stay sober as my mates who were happily getting sloshed!😆😆

Totally agree about the prices.  I quite like Captain Morgan Spiced Gold 0.0,  hubby has it with coke and I like it with ginger ale, but its very close to the normal price for a bottle of rum in the supermarket.

BTW Tescos own NA gin and tonic mini cans are IMO better than Gordon's version 

[zap99]

2 hours ago, snaefell said:

I have been alcohol free for some years now,I used to be a keen real ale drinker so like the taste of beer,happily as has been said there is a huge & growing variety of LA & NA beers now available,many of which IMO have a taste which is a bit on the sweet side,including Guinness,my favourite is Adnams Ghost Ship which to me tastes as good as any real ale I had in my drinking days,of course we are all different & different beers will be available in different areas & countries.

As for spirits I was once given a miniature bottle of Gordon's AF gin with pink grapefruit,all you could taste was pink grapefruit which made me question the point of buying AF Gin which,here in the UK at least,tends to be pretty much the same price as the alcoholic version!

That leads me to the biggest bugbear when it comes to drinking AF IMO,that is the price you will pay when out & about,in bars & restaurants here in the UK LA & AF beers can be twice the price of the alcoholic beers,to me if I was the designated driver out for a night with my mates I wouldn't be too pleased at having to pay twice as much to stay sober as my mates who were happily getting sloshed!😆😆

DW hardly drinks at all, so we go for the refreshment package. We get to try a few mocktails  that we wouldn't normally drink. We are booked on Anthem in September, which moves us up to Diamond , so MY 8 drinks a day should keep me going. 🥳

[snaefell]

Forgot to mention ciders,there are quite a variety available,some of the fruits varieties are quite superb IMO but of course you have another demon to worry about there & that is sugar,in some cases one bottle can contain your daily quota!😮

In my drinking days I would tend to only drink Guinness mixed with cider(poor man's black velvet!)  as I found the black stuff a bit heavy,glad to say that mixing 0% Guinness with LA/AF cider tastes just like the alcoholic version...happy days!

 

[xyzcruiser]

Unfortunately, Royal doesn't have the Lyre's nonalcoholic cocktails as they do on Carnival at the Alchemy Bar- those are great. I personally find the mocktails on Royal very sweet- ordered a couple but just couldn't drink them. Royal does have the Fre nonalcoholic wines, in the bottle only. Not great but IMHO acceptable, the red better than the white.  On my last cruise, I brought onboard a bottle of nonalcoholic wine that I like and also some canned nonalcoholic low sugar pre mixed cocktails. Between those and the Fre wines purchased in the MDR, I was covered for the week. There are a plethora of nonalcoholic alternatives available online nowadays- just experiment a little before the cruise to find which ones you like.

[gatour]

I am not holding out much hope for the taste of NA wine but will stop by Total Wine to try some out.

 

I forgot about my Diamond/Diamond+ status.  I forget my exact level.  The 4 or 5 drink coupons should be good for NA beer, correct?  My wife doesn't drink much alcohol and doesn't like the taste of beer. So between mocktails and the drink coupons I should be set for when I am cleared to travel again.

 

Thanks everyone for you responses.

[mugtech]

Will be traveling on Liberty as our first Diamond cruise this September.  We do not drink alcohol, was wondering what other drinks will be available, such as milkshakes.

[zanydoc]

My husband does Dry January every year, so the NA beers are a nice substitute. As others have mentioned, Guinness and Blue Moon have good ones, along with Sam Adams, Peroni, and Corona. He really likes one called Athletic Brew (several varieties) which I have seen at Target, Winn Dixie, and Walmart. Unfortunately, Royal doesn’t offer a big variety and only carries Heineken Zero-which I actually thinks tastes a lot like regular Heineken. You can use your Diamond drinks for the Heineken zero. 
 

[smokeybandit]

There are hundreds of mocktails.  Any bartender can suggest something for you if you don't already have something in mind.