Beverage package

[Cruiseceruleanweasel]

On 6/14/2024 at 12:19 PM, millybess said:

Decaf coffee pods to use with the in-room coffee maker are replenished every day by the room steward.

Does anyone know what soft drinks are available? (Thinking about ones that don’t have caffeine). 

[millybess]

2 minutes ago, Cruiseceruleanweasel said:

Does anyone know what soft drinks are available? (Thinking about ones that don’t have caffeine). 

I'm interested in this question also.  On our last cruise in May, I asked about caffeine-free soft drinks and the Orion did not carry them.  But over the years, we have found that different ships carry different products due to availability.  

[OneSixtyToOne]

25 minutes ago, Cruiseceruleanweasel said:

Does anyone know what soft drinks are available? (Thinking about ones that don’t have caffeine). 

 

21 minutes ago, millybess said:

I'm interested in this question also.  On our last cruise in May, I asked about caffeine-free soft drinks and the Orion did not carry them.  But over the years, we have found that different ships carry different products due to availability.  

Orange, lemon-lime, ginger ale, and tonic water are all caffeine free.

 

Not sure what your definition of caffeine free is because they always have the above. If you mean caffeine-free cola, no, they don’t carry it. They also don’t carry root beer.

Edited June 16 by OneSixtyToOne

[millybess]

4 minutes ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

 

Orange, lemon-lime, ginger ale, and tonic water are all caffeine free.

 

Not sure what your definition of caffeine free is because they always have the above. If you mean caffeine-free cola, no, they don’t carry it.

Thank you!  That would be just like Viking, it's depends on who you ask.  😊

[OneSixtyToOne]

11 minutes ago, millybess said:

Thank you!  That would be just like Viking, it's depends on who you ask.  😊

Also worth noting, I worked in the soft-drink beverage industry for 15 years. Marketing is changing away from using the word “Diet” because it’s seen by younger generations as negative. The word of the day is “Zero” and some countries have discontinued Diet Coke and only sell Coke Zero. Therefore on some itineraries it may be difficult to find Diet Coke. I fully expect Diet Coke to be phased out in a few years, in the same way as Tab was removed from the market.

 

As far a “Caffeine-Free” is concerned, this was another trend that started in the 1980s when the decaffeinated colas hit the market. I venture to say that most people don’t realize which soft drinks have never contained caffeine. Whoever you spoke with probably was thinking solely of decaffeinated colas.

Edited June 16 by OneSixtyToOne

[millybess]

Just now, OneSixtyToOne said:

Also worth noting, I worked in the soft-drink beverage industry for 15 years. Marketing is changing away from using the word “Diet” because it’s seen by younger generations as negative. The word of the day is “Zero” and some countries have discontinued Diet Coke and only sell Coke Zero. Therefore on some itineraries it may be difficult to find Diet Coke. I fully expect Diet Coke to be phased out in a few years, in the same way as Tab was removed from the market.

I always drink Coke Zero and never drink Diet Coke.  I have noticed that Viking always has Coke Zero available -- at least on recent sailings.  And I have wondered if Diet Coke and Coke Zero are the same.  Is that the case?

[OneSixtyToOne]

34 minutes ago, millybess said:

I always drink Coke Zero and never drink Diet Coke.  I have noticed that Viking always has Coke Zero available -- at least on recent sailings.  And I have wondered if Diet Coke and Coke Zero are the same.  Is that the case?

They are not the same. They are formulated differently and have a different taste. Coke Zero tastes more like original Coca-Cola.

I can spend an hour talking about Coke, Diet Coke, Tab, and New Coke and some crazy behind the scenes stories. (Anyone who has met me on a cruise has probably been subjected to my ramblings, My apologies.) Here is the short version about Diet Coke.

 

Diet Coke was originally formulated and marketed to attract male soda drinkers. Tab was one of the first diet drinks on the market. It was created in the 1960’s and featured a magenta (pink) can and matching “bathing beauty” ad campaign to attract female customers. 

During the late 1970s Coca-Cola decided to try tap a new market of weight conscious men. Diet Coke was THE most reformulated and test marketed new product in history. It promised a “bolder taste” that men would prefer. The original can had pin strips and the the product kickoff was in Hollywood with stars like John Wayne, Bob Hope, and Telly Savalas all drinking from cold sweaty cans. Overnight it became the most successful new product in history. 
 

The legacy of this success was that the person who led the product development and rollout of Diet Coke later was chosen to lead the disastrous introduction of “New Coke.” 
 

Pinstripe logo

Edited June 16 by OneSixtyToOne

[OneSixtyToOne]

31 minutes ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

They are not the same. They are formulated differently and have a different taste. Coke Zero tastes more like original Coca-Cola.

I can spend an hour talking about Coke, Diet Coke, Tab, and New Coke and some crazy behind the scenes stories. (Anyone who has met me on a cruise has probably been subjected to my ramblings, My apologies.) Here is the short version about Diet Coke.

 

Diet Coke was originally formulated and marketed to attract male soda drinkers. Tab was one of the first diet drinks on the market. It was created in the 1960’s and featured a magenta (pink) can and matching “bathing beauty” ad campaign to attract female customers. 

During the late 1970s Coca-Cola decided to try tap a new market of weight conscious men. Diet Coke was THE most reformulated and test marketed new product in history. It promised a “bolder taste” that men would prefer. The original can had pin strips and the the product kickoff was in Hollywood with stars like John Wayne, Bob Hope, and Telly Savalas all drinking from cold sweaty cans. Overnight it became the most successful new product in history. 
 

The legacy of this success was that the person who led the product development and rollout of Diet Coke later was chosen to lead the disastrous introduction of “New Coke.” 
 

Pinstripe logo

Correction on my previous post. The rollout of Diet Coke was at Radio City Music Hall. Telly Savalas delivers the tag line “just for the taste of it.” Notice the subliminal message to men: “Drink for the taste not for the weight loss.”

YouTube Link won’t paste but Google “Diet Coke - The very first commercial at Radio City (1983-)”

Edited June 16 by OneSixtyToOne

[millybess]

23 minutes ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

They are not the same. They are formulated differently and have a different taste. Coke Zero tastes more like original Coca-Cola.

I can spend an hour talking about Coke, Diet Coke, Tab, and New Coke and some crazy behind the scenes stories. (Anyone who has met me on a cruise has probably been subjected to my ramblings, My apologies.) Here is the short version about Diet Coke.

 

Diet Coke was originally formulated and marketed to attract male soda drinkers. Tab was one of the first diet drinks on the market. It was created in the 1960’s and featured a magenta (pink) can and matching “bathing beauty” ad campaign to attract female customers. 

During the late 1970s Coca-Cola decided to try tap a new market of weight conscious men. Diet Coke was THE most reformulated and test marketed new product in history. It promised a “bolder taste” that men would prefer. The original can had pin strips and the the product kickoff was in Hollywood with stars like John Wayne, Bob Hope, and Telly Savalas all drinking from cold sweaty cans. Overnight it became the most successful new product in history. 
 

The legacy of this success was that the person who led the product development and rollout of Diet Coke later was chosen to lead the disastrous introduction of “New Coke.” 
 

Pinstripe logo

Yes, I remember the disastrous "New Coke".  And I also remember those sweaty cans.  Thanks for the answer.  There are people who swear they are the same.  

 

One other thing I have noticed during our travels, is that Coke Zero doesn't always have the same taste in every country.  I have wondered if that has to do with the refrigerated temperature.

[OneSixtyToOne]

16 minutes ago, millybess said:

Yes, I remember the disastrous "New Coke".  And I also remember those sweaty cans.  Thanks for the answer.  There are people who swear they are the same.  

 

One other thing I have noticed during our travels, is that Coke Zero doesn't always have the same taste in every country.  I have wondered if that has to do with the refrigerated temperature.

The number one factor in taste is the water supply used. Every bottler is supposed to have the same standards, but internationally things are not always the same. Personally I never have a soft drink with ice. Sometimes the ice tastes horrible. 
 

Although this doesn’t apply to diet drinks, the other big factor in taste is sweetener. After “New Coke” was abandoned, they replaced one thing in the returning Coca-Cola, using HFCS (corn syrup) instead of cane sugar. In some places in the world cane sugar is still used (Brazil, Mexico) because it’s cheaper and subsidized by their governments. Since we live close to Mexico our Costco stocks “Mexican Coca-Cola” still with cane sugar. There is a big difference in taste.
 

In the US, the corn lobby and PACs (Archer Daniels Midland) is the reason HFCS and corn is found in all our junk food.

Edited June 16 by OneSixtyToOne

[millybess]

4 minutes ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

The number one factor in taste is the water supply used. Every bottler is supposed to have the same standards, but internationally things are not always the same. Personally I never have a soft drink with ice. Sometimes the ice tastes horrible. 
 

Although this doesn’t apply to diet drinks, the other big factor in taste is sweetener. After “New Coke” was abandoned, they replaced one thing in the returning Coca-Cola, using HFCS (corn syrup) instead of cane sugar. In some places in the world cane sugar is still used (Brazil, Mexico) because it’s cheaper and subsidized by their governments. Since we live close to Mexico our Costco stocks “Mexican Coca-Cola” still with cane sugar. There is a big difference in taste.
 

In the US, the corn lobby and PACs (Archer Daniels Midland) is the reason HFCS and corn is found in all our junk food.

Thanks for all of your insight.  It's very much appreciated.  

[OneSixtyToOne]

4 minutes ago, millybess said:

Thanks for all of your insight.  It's very much appreciated.  

I’ll add one more thing. I lover ginger ale and I found that on some sailings the Schweepes Ginger Ale is from European suppliers and has cane sugar not HFCS. Again a big difference in taste.

Edited June 16 by OneSixtyToOne

[millybess]

Just now, OneSixtyToOne said:

I’ll add one more thing. I lover ginger ale and I found that on some sailings the Sweeps Ginger Ale is from European suppliers and has cane sugar not HFCS. Again a big difference in taste.

Thanks.  I'll keep that in mind for DH.  He loves ginger ale too.

 

I try to keep away from sugar, but I realize the alternative isn't in my best interest.

[millybess]

And, I'll add, that drinking mojitos with Splenda just isn't the same as with sugar.  Halfway through our latest and long cruise, I gave up halfway through and stopped handing them Splenda.🙄

 

(Off topic, but on our 3 cruises on Sea last year, Splenda was readily available everywhere.  It wasn't available on Orion at all.  I was glad I brought some to have with my early morning coffee in the room.)

[deec]

I wish US manufactures would switch to cane sugar rather than high fructose corn syrup

[FetaCheese]

Alcoholic drinks purchased individually on V, are in my opinion, very reasonably priced, compared to Philly bar/restaurant/hotel prices. Grat. also included in menu price.  

[duquephart]

3 hours ago, deec said:

I wish US manufactures would switch to cane sugar rather than high fructose corn syrup

 

Do you wish the prices would go up by a factor of 1.5?

[duquephart]

10 minutes ago, FetaCheese said:

Alcoholic drinks purchased individually on V, are in my opinion, very reasonably priced, compared to Philly bar/restaurant/hotel prices. Grat. also included in menu price.  

 

Also a better deal than the Sportsman's Corner in Biwabik, MN. Can't comment on tipping - thst's something they do to cows.

[tarhoosier]

Was on a Vancouver-HNL in '22 on X and the diet Coke was from SIngapore and was labelled "low energy" or something like that on the can. An understandable translation but took a moment of thought to parse. Ingredients? No memory.

Calorie is a unit of energy.

[aungrl]

On 6/16/2024 at 10:47 PM, duquephart said:

 

Do you wish the prices would go up by a factor of 1.5?

I would gladly pay it to get a Coke that tasted the way it did when I was kid!

[tarhoosier]

With the name of the original bottler on the bottom? With a crown cap that requires an opener? And a cork cap liner? 2¢ refund?* Oh, yes, I would pay to see that today.

 

*You must be [#this old#] to enter this portal of memory

 

[ssawjo]

New to Viking, and I am curious if Viking has a Happy Hour like Oceania?  Thanks.

[formernuke]

No

[CurlerRob]

10 hours ago, ssawjo said:

New to Viking, and I am curious if Viking has a Happy Hour like Oceania?  Thanks.

 

No, but you will find the drinks, in general, are substantially less than Oceania. $6.50 beer, $8.00 glass of wine (USD with gratuity included). Consider it a full-time happy hour. 🥌🍺

[ssawjo]

12 hours ago, CurlerRob said:

 

No, but you will find the drinks, in general, are substantially less than Oceania. $6.50 beer, $8.00 glass of wine (USD with gratuity included). Consider it a full-time happy hour. 🥌🍺

Thanks, that looks pretty reasonable for sure.  What about a gin and tonic? We usually have them before dinner.