Update on Drink Price Incease

[Loyal2RCCL]

I just picked up my friend who is the Head Bartender on the Vision and asked him about the increase in the price of drinks. Yes, some of the drink prices have increase. Most notably the drink of the day, frozen drinks, beer and martini's.

 

Frozen and Drink of the Day are now $9.00 + 15% gratuity if you want the souvenier glass. Without the souvenier glass they are now $6.75 + 15% gratuity. I believe he said beer is now $4 something a bottle and Martini's are $9.00 or so. Mixed drinks (vodka/tonic etc) are still $5.50 + gratuity.

 

I also asked him about the rumor of no more bar servers in the dining room and while the Vision still has them, they are being phased out across the entire fleet as some have already experienced on other ships. He also thinks this decision is ridiculous and will result on decreased onboard revenue-- go figure?

[TravlGrl]

I just stepped off Sapphire Princess yesterday and was shocked at the price of the drinks, but they are now the same as RCCL's increased prices. :( We're on Vision in 41 days, so I guess I need to budget for my on-board spending a little differently than originally planned.

[Loyal2RCCL]

If you avoid the souvenier glasses and a lot of "foo foo" drinks you should be ok. I drink Crown Royal and coke and they come to $6.26 INCLUDING gratuity. They also have a few specials-- if you're beer drinkers you can buy a bucket-- pay for 4 bottles -- get 5 bottles etc.

 

I think Princess charges more for regular cocktails than RCCL does and Princess doesn't put in nearly the amount of alcohol RCCL does :D RCCL does not measure the alcohol and instead free pours each drink and most bartenders have a very heavy hand and will gladly add more alcohol at your request should you find the drinks not strong enough (hardly likely)..:eek: And the bar staff is much more friendly than on Princess

[TravlGrl]

I actually really liked the bar staff on Princess. They were calling me by name by the second night, and that's not something I can say about RCCL. We pretty much just visited two bars pretty regularly because of the fact that the bartenders were so friendly and personable with both my husband and I.

 

I'm a foo foo drinker so it'll be hard for me to avoid those on Vision!

[Merion_Mom]

If you avoid the souvenier glasses and a lot of "foo foo" drinks you should be ok. I drink Crown Royal and coke and they come to $6.26 INCLUDING gratuity. They also have a few specials-- if you're beer drinkers you can buy a bucket-- pay for 4 bottles -- get 5 bottles etc.

I thought that they had gotten rid of the "bucket of beer" where you pay for so many, but get +1. :confused: :confused:

 

I think Princess charges more for regular cocktails than RCCL does and Princess doesn't put in nearly the amount of alcohol RCCL does :D RCCL does not measure the alcohol and instead free pours each drink and most bartenders have a very heavy hand and will gladly add more alcohol at your request should you find the drinks not strong enough (hardly likely)..:eek: And the bar staff is much more friendly than on Princess

I agree with every syllable of this paragraph!!!!!

[Loyal2RCCL]

I thought that they had gotten rid of the "bucket of beer" where you pay for so many, but get +1. :confused:

 

 

Vision still has them at the pool bar

[MattInFLL]

They are eliminating bar servers in the dining room? Huh? I find it hard to believe they would cut themselves off from this revenue stream. They were certainly on Majesty in October - although they seem to have to work a very large section of the dining room.

 

As for Princess - their bar service does come across as "stingier" because they measure every pour (it's a British thing). Staff can be just as friendly as any other line, but overall it seems like the bar crew on RCI is more relaxed.

[Loyal2RCCL]

They are eliminating bar servers in the dining room? Huh? I find it hard to believe they would cut themselves off from this revenue stream. They were certainly on Majesty in October - although they seem to have to work a very large section of the dining room.

 

Believe it or not yes, it's true..:mad: Someone recently posted that they were already not having bar servers in the MDR-- I forget which ship-- maybe Liberty?? But they are eliminating the MDR bar servers fleet wide.. the Asst. Waiter will now be responsible for bar service. It makes no sense to me or the ship's management -- they will loose major $$$ in onboard revenue. When they did away with the wine stewards in the MDR the wine sales dropped drastically-- I guess they don't learn from their mistakes...:confused:

[Yvonne]

On the 10/26 sailing of the Mariner there was still a bar server coming around in the main dining room at dinner. He stopped at our table the first and second nights, but then walked by us after that when we said "no, thank you" both nights. He did make eye contact with us a couple other times so if we would have wanted something we could have gotten his attention but I was glad he stopped asking.

 

I could hardly believe the drink prices. $9.00 for a drink? Wow. That could add up in a hurry. I wanted one of the souvenir glasses so I had one Mango Lava Flow, but that was it. I was with my Mom this cruise and she doesn't drink. I'm sure I would have drank more with DH though.

[sas80]

They are eliminating bar servers in the dining room? Huh? I find it hard to believe they would cut themselves off from this revenue stream. They were certainly on Majesty in October - although they seem to have to work a very large section of the dining room.

 

As for Princess - their bar service does come across as "stingier" because they measure every pour (it's a British thing). Staff can be just as friendly as any other line, but overall it seems like the bar crew on RCI is more relaxed.

 

I'm thinking that maybe RCCL is hoping that by eliminating bar service in the MDR they are going to have more people choosing to purchase the overpriced wine packages they offer.....

[kyriecat]

I swear, RC seems determined to bite the hand that feeds it! My husband likes to have a couple beers during dinner. On Legend, there was a bar server in the dining room who would almost always appear at the table with his beer in hand as we were seated. He would drink that one, and she'd be back around the time appetizers were finishing to see if he needed a second (of course!). After dinner, we'd both sometimes order a drink, and she'd be right there for us. I admit our bar tab was a little higher than usual that trip. On Radiance, we had a bar server who sometimes never showed up and when she did, it took half the meal to get the drink. The good side to that was we spent less than $100 for drinks. Basically, if there is a bar server around, we make use of him/her. If not, we skip the drinks. With all the other tasks necessary to keep the dining room running smoothly, I can't imagine the assistant waiter having time to get bar drinks. The asst. waiters already have to handle wine since the sommelier (sorry if mispelled) positions were eliminated. I'm not surprised their wine sales went down. I know alot of people order the wine packages now, which helps the bottom line. However, I also know people who used to get the opinion of the sommelier on a brand of wine they had previously not tried and would try different wines (in most cases more expensives wines) than they normally drink.

[kyriecat]

I'm thinking that maybe RCCL is hoping that by eliminating bar service in the MDR they are going to have more people choosing to purchase the overpriced wine packages they offer.....

That does nothing for us since I don't drink wine and husband is a beer drinker.

[sas80]

That does nothing for us since I don't drink wine and husband is a beer drinker.

 

Ladies and gentlemen....please prepare for the birth of some new booze smugglers! :D

[kyriecat]

Ladies and gentlemen....please prepare for the birth of some new booze smugglers! :D

HUH? I said nothing about smuggling. My husband and I simply don't drink wine. I was replying to your statement that RC was eliminating the bar servers in the dining room to push their wine packages because the assistant waiters already serve the wine. If we cannot get bar service in the dining room, my husband and I simply don't drink anything but water during dinner. DH prefers to drink beer with dinner but won't if he cannot get prompt service. I have never smuggled booze nor do I plan to do so because of a lack of bar servers. We will simply quit drinking and spend less money onboard. Not a big deal since it saves us money! We used to PURCHASE liquor bottles onboard for in-room consumption and paid the service fee but quit drinking in our cabin when RC quit selling the bottles. Another loss of income from us.

[retnuh281]

I smuggle booze on, and use my childs soda card for mixers. When I do pay for a drink, I hand the bartender a room key and he gives me the drink of my choice. I see no cost in either of these except for my daughters soda card.

It's all free!!!!!

Stevie Wonder

[EtoilePB]

The funny thing is, if you live in New York City or DC those prices are still a deal. ;) I have indeed paid $12 for a girly martini in a land-based restaurant...

[spiritkat090909]

Sounds like the marketing genius who came up with the idea to charge more for photos & throw the excess away based upon a "cost analysis study" has move on to other areas of the ship...

 

It never ceases to amaze me that the more education one is hired for, the less brain power actually used to make decisions.

[digital_curator]

I swear, RC seems determined to bite the hand that feeds it! My husband likes to have a couple beers during dinner. On Legend, there was a bar server in the dining room who would almost always appear at the table with his beer in hand as we were seated. He would drink that one, and she'd be back around the time appetizers were finishing to see if he needed a second (of course!). After dinner, we'd both sometimes order a drink, and she'd be right there for us. I admit our bar tab was a little higher than usual that trip. On Radiance, we had a bar server who sometimes never showed up and when she did, it took half the meal to get the drink. The good side to that was we spent less than $100 for drinks. Basically, if there is a bar server around, we make use of him/her. If not, we skip the drinks. With all the other tasks necessary to keep the dining room running smoothly, I can't imagine the assistant waiter having time to get bar drinks. The asst. waiters already have to handle wine since the sommelier (sorry if mispelled) positions were eliminated. I'm not surprised their wine sales went down. I know alot of people order the wine packages now, which helps the bottom line. However, I also know people who used to get the opinion of the sommelier on a brand of wine they had previously not tried and would try different wines (in most cases more expensives wines) than they normally drink.

 

I couldn't agree with you more. With how busy the Assistant Waiters are, it is unlikely they will be able to offer drink service more than once during a meal. My husband would likely have 2 beers but only if it is timed right during dinner. I feel badly for the Assistant Waiters too- its a lot of extra work for them!

[Oville]

Did a b2b on the Jewel and got off Nov. 7th. Drink of the day was $5.75, souviner glass $2.75. Martinis were not $9, rather $7+ and there was a bar server in the main dining.

[njmomof2]

We had the most amazing bar server in the MDR during our cruise on Liberty in November '07. Leroy was there throughout the meal and as a result, my husband purchased a couple of beers at dinner and we always ordered the special after dinner shot (yes, quite a bit of $ for a tiny sip, but he was a great seller!) each night. Our kids still talk about Leroy and what fun he was.

 

FF to our Mariner cruise in March '08 and other than the first night, when the bar server asked my husband if he wanted anything (he declined that evening), we never saw him again. Never came around (didn't even get to our area) and never came with after dinner drinks. As a result, our bill was significantly less that trip. Even the kids were puzzled as to why the bar server wasn't as fun or friendly as Leroy. Also, if the Asst. waiters are going to be responsible for bar service too, I imagine many will be waiting quite a long time for their drinks.

 

Unlike on our Liberty cruise (where our AW knew everyone's drinks by the second night and had them waiting at the seats for us), on Mariner, we had to repeat our choices every night (never changed) and then wait to get them. And getting a refill proved just as difficult. I guess they are overwhelmed with responsibilities and this has suffered.

 

We're not cruising again until August '09 (not my choice, believe me) so we'll have to wait and see what changes come and then go by that time.

[critterchick]

I'm just off the Vision and my overnight stay at Betty Ford.:eek: I found the drink prices to be perfectly reasonable - a martini is actually a double and costs less than a single martini in many bars in LA. And a friendly bartender can near kill you with kindness. After dinner drinks (Grand Marnier in my case) were $5.75 plus tip for a very generous pour.

 

As for the dining room, we did have a bar server - two at our table were drinking cocktails instead of wine and when he learned the pattern he came by every night. Our assistant waiter barely had time to breathe, so I can imagine that, if the duty shifts to the waitstaff the cocktail orders will be taken once at the beginning of the meal and you'll have to flag down a HW to get another.

[swcruise]

Hi,

 

We were on the Navigator in September and it had a bar server in the MDR. While my mum and I drink wine, my dad drinks beer, I found it somwhat frustrating to have to place drinks orders with two separate people each night for the same order and also it meant we had 2 receipts to sign every night instead of one which adds up in paper and tracking your bill over 7 nights. From our experinece, I would say that the assistant waiter could have coped with serving the beer as well the wine and it was often difficult to get the bar servers attention , but I guess that may not always be the case depending on how busy the dining service is and how may tables have to be served