Soft Drinks on NCL

[Sand and Seas]

30 minutes ago, back2cruising1 said:

Thanks @DorothyB and @Sand and Seas for the info! 

 

If I bring my own reusable cup (like a Yeti or something), will they fill it with soda at the bar for me, or do they only serve in glasses from the bar? Sorry for all the random questions, just trying to get my packing list sorted out.

You can order two sodas at a time, so I would suggest you do that and fill your own cup that way. 

[UKstages]

9 hours ago, david_sobe said:

See that is what I thought which is why I am puzzled when people claim they keep getting cans.  They are not allowed to do it

 

they're not supposed to let you have three appetizers on a FAS meal, but it happens without charge routinely. people are not supposed to decorate their stateroom doors, but it happens routinely. you're not supposed to take beverages or food on or off the ship in port, but it happens routinely. a lot of rules onboard NCL are enforced selectively, at the cruise line's and its employees' discretion in the moment. 

 

and, yes, unless you are charged $3.50++ for a can of soda, you're not supposed to get a can of soda. it does, however, happen routinely, but not not necessarily regularly. the same personnel routinely bend the rules, however, so it's a pretty safe bet if george gave you a can last night, he'll give you a can tomorrow night.

 

sometimes it's because it's just easier for george and sometimes it's because you're a frequent patron of that particular bar/bartender and you're either a known tipper or the bartender has developed a relationship with you. or it could be a higher level of customer focus provided by certain staff in high touch locations like the haven or the vibe.

 

on my last trip, while in the joy vibe, where i was well known as a sprite zero fan, i would routinely be given two cans "to go" as i was leaving, without me ever asking for it... not even once.

[complawyer]

i didnt make this up. with the basic free at sea package, i always got the soda in  a plastic cup, unless i wanted to pay for the can.

the cruise we just took, gave me cans of coke or ginger ale for my wife. without even asking. guess i just got lucky but it was a 17 day cruise ,and i usually consume at least 2-3 cans per day

 

guess the entire wait staff didnt get the memo LOL

[MoCruiseFan]

On 5/12/2024 at 4:56 PM, back2cruising1 said:

Random question, but back in the day when I used to cruise with other cruise lines, I would purchase the soda package, and it would come with a reusable cup. Does NCL give you a reusable cup if you have a soda and/or alcoholic beverage package, or do you just get your sodas in glasses from the bar?

 

Does not sound tandom to me.  Sounds like a specific question you want answered.  NCL no longer gives out those cups.  Personaly I am glad they stopped ofr a number of reasons.

[dmwnc1959]

On 5/12/2024 at 4:56 PM, back2cruising1 said:

Random question, but back in the day when I used to cruise with other cruise lines, I would purchase the soda package, and it would come with a reusable cup. Does NCL give you a reusable cup if you have a soda and/or alcoholic beverage package, or do you just get your sodas in glasses from the bar?

THANK YOU for such a really great question! Having last cruised Royal Caribbean the soda package tumbler used in conjunction with the freestyle soda machines was really great. If NCL had this as a package separate from the FAS I'd definitely buy it, but I'm not going to spend all of that money just for a glass of soda here and there. Just not worth it to me personally. 

[Sailing12Away]

23 hours ago, dmwnc1959 said:

THANK YOU for such a really great question! Having last cruised Royal Caribbean the soda package tumbler used in conjunction with the freestyle soda machines was really great. If NCL had this as a package separate from the FAS I'd definitely buy it, but I'm not going to spend all of that money just for a glass of soda here and there. Just not worth it to me personally. 

There's nothing stopping you from bringing your own on board and having the bartenders fill it with soda if you wanted to be able to carry more than one cup at a time.

[Asawi]

4 minutes ago, Sailing12Away said:

There's nothing stopping you from bringing your own on board and having the bartenders fill it with soda if you wanted to be able to carry more than one cup at a time.

Actually they aren't supposed to fill you own cup (post pandemic). Some do anyway and some don't. 

[dmwnc1959]

9 minutes ago, Sailing12Away said:

There's nothing stopping you from bringing your own on board and having the bartenders fill it with soda if you wanted to be able to carry more than one cup at a time.

Is it a given that regardless of which bar or bartender that I go to, if I handover an unsanitized personal drinking cup that they will fill it from their soda fountain nozzles?

[dmwnc1959]

6 minutes ago, Asawi said:

Actually they aren't supposed to fill you own cup (post pandemic). Some do anyway and some don't. 

THIS ^ ^ ^

 

It's sort of along the same lines as refilling your own water bottles from stations in the buffet, where you're supposed to fill up individual glasses and use those to fill up your personal container. I think handing over a personal cup at a bar poses a real risk of spreading germs and viruses. 

[Sailing12Away]

The difference though is that passengers are a bit clueless and careless. Staff will be more mindful about not touching the gun nozzle directly to the vessel. 

 

It may fall into the general void of inconsistently enforced NCL policies, but I've seen staff filling them specifically at the Haven bar. 

[astera]

I'm sailing with NCL for the first time next month and although I have a Premium Beverage Package included with FAS (albeit NOT the Plus one...), a few questions still remain:

 

1. Water. It seems that H2O brings about more confusion than anything else. What's the bottom line with non-tap/ship water if you just have the PBP? Are any options (still or sparkling) available to drink in bars as part of this package, such as a glass of sparkling mineral water served from a big bottle (that they don't hand over to you)?

 

2. Not sure what the complaints are about ice as surely you can just ask for any drink without ice, right? And soft drinks from a dispenser should be chilled to begin with anyway.

 

3. Guinness. Someone posted a menu from the brewhouse (from 2023) and I still cannot believe they had/have Guinness on tap (as well as a bottled option too). Sounds almost too good to be true. Is this still the case, Guiness on tap as part of the drinks package? 🙂

 

4. Bringing drinks back from ports. How stringent are they and what is likely to pass 95% of the time as opposed to a coin toss? Would a partially-consumed bottle of water be almost always fine to take back?

 

5. What about personal water bottles (metal/non see-through)? Is that always fine or are you instantly sus of trying to smuggle liquor back onto the ship? 🙂

 

P.S. The quality of tap/ship water: water is not going to be the same throughout the ship, in that the water you see in your stateroom's washbasin (or shower under) is not the same water that is served for drinking.

 

Having said that I would still prefer the bottled type.

[eowyn13]

On the subject of water- have they changed the size of the Flow cartons from one liter to 500 ml? I was looking to pre-purchase water for my sailing and the cartons seem smaller 

[mistertomatoe]

Beverage package terms say "fountain" soda but in practice they don't care and will give you the stuff out of the cans (Sprite, Sprite Zero, Coke Zero, etc.).  They seem to run out of Coke Zero so sometimes I have to wait till they resupply or go to a different bar to hunt it down.

 

Asking for the cans is what I prefer so I can stock up in my room and for excursions. Most of the time it will be cold but not always. Some places will refuse this but I just ask another bartender and usually can get them. Sometimes they will pop the tab slightly and give them to me. I've never had a problem with them giving me hard seltzer cans (Truly/Vizzy) without opening them.

 

I've also heard but do at your own risk that if you ask for Coke or Diet Coke which comes out of the fountain, they will not even card you.  Usually the pool deck or some place with a lot of people. 

 

Europe sailings you might be shorted getting the can because they are slightly smaller.

 

They don't seem to care about the liters of soda I bring onboard from port stops. Even after opening and drinking some. The most I've brought on were two 2 liter bottles in a backpack. The security person acknowledged them but let me keep them. This is the same on Royal and Carnival.

 

I will never drink out of the tap because I doubt they have every tested the water coming out of my cabin tap. The situation would be different for the buffet/restaurant/bar water. Same with ice cubes.

[cruiseny4life]

1 hour ago, astera said:

I'm sailing with NCL for the first time next month and although I have a Premium Beverage Package included with FAS (albeit NOT the Plus one...), a few questions still remain:

 

1. Water. It seems that H2O brings about more confusion than anything else. What's the bottom line with non-tap/ship water if you just have the PBP? Are any options (still or sparkling) available to drink in bars as part of this package, such as a glass of sparkling mineral water served from a big bottle (that they don't hand over to you)?

You might get lucky getting a glass of club soda (from the gun) at no cost. It depends on the server. I've had luck 50% of the time not being charged vs. being charted. You can always get tap water from the bar at no charge...I know, it's tap water. 

 

2. Not sure what the complaints are about ice as surely you can just ask for any drink without ice, right? And soft drinks from a dispenser should be chilled to begin with anyway. I've had a soda poured from a can several times at bars. These are generally not cold, so ice is a happy thing...until the soda becomes watered down. Yay! 

 

3. Guinness. Someone posted a menu from the brewhouse (from 2023) and I still cannot believe they had/have Guinness on tap (as well as a bottled option too). Sounds almost too good to be true. Is this still the case, Guiness on tap as part of the drinks package? 🙂 No clue.

 

4. Bringing drinks back from ports. How stringent are they and what is likely to pass 95% of the time as opposed to a coin toss? Would a partially-consumed bottle of water be almost always fine to take back? On every single cruise, I've had partially-consumed water in the NCL Flow boxes, in my Nalgene, in other containers, and they've always been allowed on. We've also brought a bottle or two of soda onboard. We didn't mean to, but it happened. No one said anything - I would not have argued if they told us to get rid of it though. 

 

5. What about personal water bottles (metal/non see-through)? Is that always fine or are you instantly sus of trying to smuggle liquor back onto the ship? 🙂 I always bring a personal water bottle - Nalgene-type - with me. Never had any issue with this.

 

P.S. The quality of tap/ship water: water is not going to be the same throughout the ship, in that the water you see in your stateroom's washbasin (or shower under) is not the same water that is served for drinking. I drink the water from the room. It tastes the same as the water from the bars. I drink Flow water that is included as part of my Latitudes perks. I don't order more. Just fill up with tap water and I'm on my way. But, I strongly dislike bottled water. 

 

Having said that I would still prefer the bottled type.

 

Answers in bold throughout the quote.

Edited May 17 by cruiseny4life

[Asawi]

1 hour ago, astera said:

I'm sailing with NCL for the first time next month and although I have a Premium Beverage Package included with FAS (albeit NOT the Plus one...), a few questions still remain:

 

Some of it I can answer:

I almost always ask for "no ice" when buying soda.

There is club soda or similar in the gun and I suppose you can ask for tap water as well in the bars. With or without ice!

They don't seem to be very stringent on bringing half consumed water bottles back to ship. (Probably varies.)