soda fountain packages

[Harley Granny]

For gosh sakes - at $48 for a week of soda, why worry about it; it's vacation! If you are that concerned about the cost of the card versus buying individual cokes or buying ahead of time to save tax dollars, or complaining like some people do about pre-paying tips, you are taking the wrong vacation, or at least on the wrong cruise line. You spent anywhere from $750 - 3000 pp to take this cruise -is the price of a coke card that much of a concern to everyone?

 

OK, I'm done ranting and raving - but really?

 

 

For gosh sakes, you're the only one really worried about it. People are asking questions so they can make an informed choice for what best for their cruse and their budget. Not everyone is a perfect as you.

[dmdiver]

For gosh sakes - at $48 for a week of soda, why worry about it; it's vacation! If you are that concerned about the cost of the card versus buying individual cokes or buying ahead of time to save tax dollars, or complaining like some people do about pre-paying tips, you are taking the wrong vacation, or at least on the wrong cruise line. You spent anywhere from $750 - 3000 pp to take this cruise -is the price of a coke card that much of a concern to everyone?

 

OK, I'm done ranting and raving - but really?

 

A penny saved is a penny earned. Nothing wrong with being a smart shopper.

[SULROSS]

I always get soda cards for me. They are not always from a fountain. Sometimes you get fountain, sometimes from bottle and sometimes from can. It does not take long to figure out which ones pour from new cans all the time.

[John Henry on CC]

The soda card is not good for can cokes right? I much prefer the can cokes verus fountain drinks. Plus like to have them in our room. Are the drinks the same price out of your mini bar as buying them at a shop or bar on the ship $2.25 each?

You asked this last Thursday, and I answered you.

 

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=25591957

[jmsnyc]

Ok, this might seem like a funny question but if I go to the bar and order a rum and coke is it cheaper if I have the soda card??? :)

[robinp]

Ok, this might seem like a funny question but if I go to the bar and order a rum and coke is it cheaper if I have the soda card??? :)

 

No - same price as a single Rum with ice. They basically give you your dash of mixer for free.

[bala1130]

For gosh sakes - at $48 for a week of soda, why worry about it; it's vacation!

 

If you are a family of 5 or 6, $48 per week per person adds up quickly and is worth "worrying about". It is just sugar and water.

[jmsnyc]

Its basically worth it if you drink 4 or more cokes a day. 3 CANS a day at $2.25 is $47.25. You will be ahead of the game and be drinking the canned stuff.

 

For kids its worth it 3 cans of soda or more a day. I am not a parent but some parents might prefer to limit there kids to only 2 or 3 a day. In that case not worth it.

[johnfromlongisland]

I always get the soda package for myself and family. Buying on ships in port, I have been charged sales tax on all occasions I think. Buying ahead of time online, never charged sales tax, so that's the way I go.

[dmdiver]

If you are a family of 5 or 6, $48 per week per person adds up quickly and is worth "worrying about". It is just sugar and water.

 

Exactly. First 3 cruises there were 5 of us. It adds up quickly.

[thomarvin]

kids are cheaper. Kids are $4 a day. adults are $6 a day. So for a kid if they have 1 with lunch and 1 with dinner it is paid for.

[gpnfish]

If you are a family of 5 or 6, $48 per week per person adds up quickly and is worth "worrying about". It is just sugar and water.

 

I agree with you Bala... when you start talking groups, and really, it's just my opinion anyway, but that's what this site's about. For my wife and I, I don't like the nickel and diming that goes on every day on a cruise ship - I don't want to think about it. I would rather prepay for everything I could and not have to worry about it when I get to ship. I did the beverage package when I went on Celebrity in the Spring and it almost came close to an "all-inclusive" for us. For me, that was great!

 

But to each his/her own - Enjoy your cruising!

[bokolo]

Not to sound silly, but does the soda card only include soda? On our last trip on PCL, the soda cards were good for mocktails and other drinks for the kids too.

[gpnfish]

Not to sound silly, but does the soda card only include soda? On our last trip on PCL, the soda cards were good for mocktails and other drinks for the kids too.

 

They will tell you it's only soda, and you will read/hear it's only from the fountain, but there are several cases where people have gotten "mocktails" and cans of pop and so forth. Depends on your attitude and luck I guess. If the bartender "warms to your form" the coke card may get you just about anything! In the end, they just want to see you smile.

[Michiganmom25]

Obviously this is a very touchy subject..... but I just have to chime in with a very resonable idea. Since all of us obviously have enough money to be able to go on a cruise in the first place, I don't see it so much as an issue of not being able to afford the almost $50 a week (7 nt cruise) soda card. To me, it's more of "the principle" of the whole thing. We are all human and to deny that we all don't cut corners and try to be frugal at times while at home, is just crazy. :rolleyes: There is absolutely nothing wrong with being "smart" while cruising too. In my opinion, that is wayyy too much to pay for soda. Here is my idea.... Pay the $30 (round trip) to check a piece of luggage (with soda inside.) By the end of the cruise you will have gone through all the soda and you will have plenty of room to bring home some great things from your travels. Just a thought. I know it has been done. We have done this when traveling with kids at Disney. We brought muffins, juice, etc. for a quick breakfast in our room... after it was all gone, we had plenty of room in the luggage for all the Disney stuff that we bought! Worked out great and saved us some money too! :)

[cruisin' 4 fun]

So if I order our soda package online before we go I understand they put the sticker or whatever on when we get our seapass cards but do we then have to go stand in line to get the cup? Does that make sense???

[mjldvlks]

So if I order our soda package online before we go I understand they put the sticker or whatever on when we get our seapass cards but do we then have to go stand in line to get the cup? Does that make sense???

It is my uderstanding that if you pre-order, the cup will be placed in your cabin.

[paintwife]

Obviously this is a very touchy subject..... but I just have to chime in with a very resonable idea. Since all of us obviously have enough money to be able to go on a cruise in the first place, I don't see it so much as an issue of not being able to afford the almost $50 a week (7 nt cruise) soda card. To me, it's more of "the principle" of the whole thing. We are all human and to deny that we all don't cut corners and try to be frugal at times while at home, is just crazy. :rolleyes: There is absolutely nothing wrong with being "smart" while cruising too. In my opinion, that is wayyy too much to pay for soda. Here is my idea.... Pay the $30 (round trip) to check a piece of luggage (with soda inside.) By the end of the cruise you will have gone through all the soda and you will have plenty of room to bring home some great things from your travels. Just a thought. I know it has been done. We have done this when traveling with kids at Disney. We brought muffins, juice, etc. for a quick breakfast in our room... after it was all gone, we had plenty of room in the luggage for all the Disney stuff that we bought! Worked out great and saved us some money too! :)

 

Michiganmom25 - I like your thinking. I, too, can't see the harm in being frugal if I can. When we fly to ports, I take a collapsible cooler along so that I can stop before going to the port and buy sodas and water. Then I have the cooler in the cabin (if it's one with no fridge) to put ice in (better than the tiny ice buckets) so that I can also keep some milk handy.

 

My next cruise is a 9 night and I will be driving to the port and can easily take sodas and waters along from home. I can either spend $108 ($6 a day for dh and me times 9) or I can take 3 twelve packs of Pepsi/Diet Pepsi along (we won't drink that much) and spend approximately $12. That's almost a hundred dollars that I can spend on gifts for my grandkids at the ports. (Always thinking of the grandkids, of course!) If we drank lots and lots of sodas, maybe I'd think differently.

 

Everyone has their own opinions and that's just mine. Of course, this is coming from someone who packed a plastic coffee pot on a trip to Las Vegas (filled with coffee, sweeteners and creamer) because most resort rooms don't have coffee pots - so that you have to spend $3.50 for each cup of coffee at the coffee shops and we each drink a couple of cups a day. Okay, so I'm a tightwad. I prefer "frugal". LOL

[davelliott]

I just got off of the Monarch last week. I ordered the soda package for both me and my nephew online several months ahead of time. When we checked in at the port, there was a Coke logo on the cards and the two cups were waiting in our cabin when we got there.

[PH8]

So if I order our soda package online before we go I understand they put the sticker or whatever on when we get our seapass cards but do we then have to go stand in line to get the cup? Does that make sense???

No sticker but the card will be printed with a coke logo..

 

It is my uderstanding that if you pre-order' date=' the cup will be placed in your cabin.[/quote']

Yes,it will be in your cabin..........

 

and you dont pay tax if you buy it online.....

 

Im surprised some have said no tax if they buy it that first day,cuz I know drinks had tax inc before we set sail.........

[retiredinaz]

Do you have to use the provided cup? I don't want to have to carry it with me everywhere.

[PH8]

Do you have to use the provided cup? I don't want to have to carry it with me everywhere.

 

No,they can just pour it into a glass. NP!

[cruisin' 4 fun]

Thanks everyone, now I'm off to the RCCL site to order some soda...

[jackretired]

Onmy past RCCL cruises I have had the soda card and been happy with it. Have noticed some "bad" soda at some bars. Will not be buying it again. Not for any of the above reasons, but because my kidney doctor has told me to cut WAY back cola & Dr Pepper. Still considering the water package.

[Loralie]

Michiganmom25 - I like your thinking. I, too, can't see the harm in being frugal if I can. When we fly to ports, I take a collapsible cooler along so that I can stop before going to the port and buy sodas and water. Then I have the cooler in the cabin (if it's one with no fridge) to put ice in (better than the tiny ice buckets) so that I can also keep some milk handy.

 

My next cruise is a 9 night and I will be driving to the port and can easily take sodas and waters along from home. I can either spend $108 ($6 a day for dh and me times 9) or I can take 3 twelve packs of Pepsi/Diet Pepsi along (we won't drink that much) and spend approximately $12. That's almost a hundred dollars that I can spend on gifts for my grandkids at the ports. (Always thinking of the grandkids, of course!) If we drank lots and lots of sodas, maybe I'd think differently.

 

Everyone has their own opinions and that's just mine. Of course, this is coming from someone who packed a plastic coffee pot on a trip to Las Vegas (filled with coffee, sweeteners and creamer) because most resort rooms don't have coffee pots - so that you have to spend $3.50 for each cup of coffee at the coffee shops and we each drink a couple of cups a day. Okay, so I'm a tightwad. I prefer "frugal". LOL

 

I agree that the savings would be great but then that means that you will always have to go back to your room every time you want a soda...right? You would not bring a can of soda into the MDR at dinner time so you can not enjoy the soda with your meal...right? I would think buying the soda package would be worth the price just for the convenience. If you have an easy way to use the soda you bring with you, let me know cause I would love to save some money. :)

 

Loralie