Ultimate Soda & More Card

[sminfiddle]

Last year on the Emerald I purchased a coffee card. Liked that a lot and it included a specific amount of specialty coffee's. Do they still offer that? Will be on the Caribbean next week.

 

They do still offer that.

 

Enjoy your cruise!!

[wizard-of-roz]

Do you remember what the smoothie was? I'd love to try it on my trip!

 

I am having total "brain-freeze" on the name of the smoothie. The base of the drink was orange juice/banana's/strawberries [i told them to go light on the orange and heavy on the banana], only because I love banana's. You can ask them to mix it any way that makes you happy.

The bartender would always curl the paper on the straw, add a strawberry or slice of pineapple to the rim of the glass and it became a show piece for all to admire. I was forever asked what it was [and still I forget the name] and then they would order their own - Good advertising on his part!

The servers in the IC area are some of the best.....don't be shy to have an extra dollar or two to give them [they love cash.] They're some of the best onboard any cruise I've ever taken! :)

[Banjo]

They do still offer that.

 

Enjoy your cruise!!

 

Thanks sminfiddle.

[Cruisin' Chick]

New to princess, so I wanted to check, I understand that Princess will let you bring 2 bottles of wine on board, but will they let you bring a case of soda?

 

thanks

 

As someone who doesn't care for Coke products, I have been bringing on Pepsi and Mountain Dew instead. For the past three cruises on Princess, we'll pack a big plastic crate with hubby's box o'wine, some two-liter bottles of Dew, some bottles of Sobe/Vitamin water. We tape it up, paste some luggage tags on it, and give it to a porter (along with a tip). Always gets to our cabin. The crate will even fit under one of the beds. We'll keep some of the bottles in the fridge in the cabin and I'll fill a mug as needed.

[switzypooh]

How much do they charge for the sodas, mocktails, milkshakes, etc. when you purchase them separately? I'm thinking it's not worth it for the sodas, but might be for the "and more" cards, depending on the prices.

[D&L Thomas]

Mocktails were $4/each, I think, last week on the Caribbean.

 

D loved his UKP and would buy it again. After the first one ordered was way too sweet for his taste, he would ask for them to be made with club soda instead of Sprite, and little or no sugar/syrup. All bartenders were happy to customize and offered interesting combinations to try.

 

Often he would get cranberry juice with club soda, maybe a splash of pineapple. And I will admit to sneaking a taste of a no-jito and then downing the whole thing myself.

 

He had a couple of milkshakes from the ice cream bar and they were classic: just ice cream, milk, and malted powder. Thick and rich.

 

The way L uses the coffee card is to have a latte first thing, an iced coffee or two in the afternoon, and brewed coffee after dinner. Tried the specialty teas and found I loved the camomile citrus one at bedtime.

 

The two cards plus one bottle of wine at Crown Grill, finished the next night at MUTS, summed up our beverages for the week. Generally with meals we just had iced tea or water. We would normally have had more alcoholic drinks but really didn't miss them. And it was great to enjoy sunrises with clear heads.

Edited December 20, 2012 by D&L Thomas
typo

[fireflymd]

Mocktails were $4/each, I think, last week on the Caribbean.

 

D loved his UKP and would buy it again. After the first one ordered was way too sweet for his taste, he would ask for them to be made with club soda instead of Sprite, and little or no sugar/syrup. All bartenders were happy to customize and offered interesting combinations to try.

 

Often he would get cranberry juice with club soda, maybe a splash of pineapple. And I will admit to sneaking a taste of a no-jito and then downing the whole thing myself.

 

He had a couple of milkshakes from the ice cream bar and they were classic: just ice cream, milk, and malted powder. Thick and rich.

 

The way L uses the coffee card is to have a latte first thing, an iced coffee or two in the afternoon, and brewed coffee after dinner. Tried the specialty teas and found I loved the camomile citrus one at bedtime.

 

The two cards plus one bottle of wine at Crown Grill, finished the next night at MUTS, summed up our beverages for the week. Generally with meals we just had iced tea or water. We would normally have had more alcoholic drinks but really didn't miss them. And it was great to enjoy sunrises with clear heads.

 

Do you happen to know if they can make the milkshakes without the malted powder (or is it a pre-mix)? Malted powder contains malt, which contains gluten, and a member of my travelling party cannot have gluten.

[D&L Thomas]

Yes, I'm sure the shakes can be made without the malt powder.

 

The lovely ice cream lady on the Caribbean scooped it up into the blender right in front of us and would certainly have left out the malted powder upon request.

 

Enjoy!

[GHDPeter]

Do you happen to know if they can make the milkshakes without the malted powder (or is it a pre-mix)? Malted powder contains malt, which contains gluten, and a member of my travelling party cannot have gluten.

 

Ice Creams can also contain gluten, so you need to check on that as well.

[fireflymd]

Yes, I'm sure the shakes can be made without the malt powder.

 

The lovely ice cream lady on the Caribbean scooped it up into the blender right in front of us and would certainly have left out the malted powder upon request.

 

Enjoy!

 

Thanks! That is reassuring.

 

Ice Creams can also contain gluten, so you need to check on that as well.

 

The only ice creams that contain gluten are those with things like cookie pieces or brownies or graham cracker crumbs in them. For years certain groups perpetuated misinformation on ingredients in ice cream. Luckily, these have been debunked. Great information can be found on the glutenfreeliving website (of which I have no affiliation). But I appreciate the heads up!

[DawnBerg]

I have a quick question if anyone can help. This is DH & I's first time cruising and I have been trying to find out if we can get plain ole tea bags and hot water for a cup of tea without cost or do we have to have a soda & more or coffee card? Neither of us drink fountain soda or much coffee. At home all we drink is hot tea with sugar and skim milk and wonder if we should bring our own tea bags or if we will be able to get this onboard. Not looking for specialty teas just Lipton or Salada black or orange pekoe or something of that sort. Thanks!!

[D&L Thomas]

Plain tea bags, caffeinated, and flavored teas, and also different herbal teas are available in the buffet and dining room at no extra charge.

 

If you have the coffee card you can get really fancy tea at the coffee bar. But "plain old" tea is free and just fine.

[Jasperdo]

Here's a photo of the types of tea the Horizon Court Buffet on the Golden Princess had. There is a similar assortment on most of the Princess ships. It is self serve, and there is no charge for any of the tea at the buffet.

 

Golden Princess - Alaska by Jasperdo, on Flickr

Edited December 26, 2012 by Jasperdo

[tennisobo]

My husband and I are going on the Ruby Princess in February for an early Anniversary trip. Would we both have to buy the drink card? Or could we both use the same one?

If you are interested, please join our roll call to meet some people who will be cruising with you.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1615901

It's not a very large group but you are truly welcome. Many of us are going on the same excursion in St. Maarten. More info about that in the roll call posts.

[tennisobo]

Forgot to add to my previous post:

I have purchase the UKP (ulitmate drink card) on my last two cruises. I have really enjoyed being able to get a soda/mocktail/hot chocolate/chocolate malt whenever I want.

 

FYI: It was originally called the Ultimate Kids Package...hence the name UKP. It was so popular with adults that they started selling it to adults, too. You can pre-purchase it but I don't know why you'd want to. You will see people all over the ship on embarkation day who want to sell it to you. It's a quick purchase that will go on your onboard account.

Edited December 26, 2012 by tennisobo

[hiredpen]

I'm also getting the Unlimited Soda and more package! They charge around $5 each for soda, juice, hot chocolate, milkshakes, etc. At $8.05 a day for as much as you can drink it's a bargain!

[tanzer22pilot]

My husband and I are going on the Ruby Princess in February for an early Anniversary trip. Would we both have to buy the drink card? Or could we both use the same one?

 

Would you buy a lift ticket and have your husband go up the lift and when he got back down then unclip his lift ticket for you to use? I am sure Princess factors in a certain amount of "stealing" into the cost of the drink packages.

[burm]

Be aware that the soda cards will get you fountain soda only rather than the cans. If you prefer cans you will still have to purchase them at about $2/can. I prefer cans as the fountain drinks seem flat to me.

 

 

I purchased a plan, but am sure that I did not break even, although it was convenient to simply flash a card with a sticker on it whenever I wanted a drink. I have saved my cruise card to see if I can use that trick on DH tonight (our first day home).

 

Once when I requested a coke from the bar, I did see that they opened a can and filled my glass.

[sherryf]

I'm also getting the Unlimited Soda and more package! They charge around $5 each for soda, juice, hot chocolate, milkshakes, etc. At $8.05 a day for as much as you can drink it's a bargain!

 

I don't buy many drinks, but I know they aren't that expensive! Cokes are only about $2 each. I'm guessing juice and hot chocolate are the same or less. Milkshakes are a little more. Still, you'd have to be drinking 4-5 a day, every day, to make it worthwhile. For me, that's too many calories, never mind the cost! :eek:

[PescadoAmarillo]

No one asked, but I'll offer anyways, because there was conflicting information on this board (and we were told two different things by bar staff too). The UKP IS good on Princess Cays for drinks like virgin Pina Coladas, daiquiris, etc. After this was confirmed to us by a bar supervisor, DH got one on every cruise and used it on Princess Cays. If you encounter a bar waiter who doesn't think it's valid, have them ask a supervisor.

 

This was for the 2012-2013 Princess Cays season. It could change by next year, so ask first.

 

Nothing on the UKP is available through room service.

[speedyjane]

My husband hates to drink water and likes to have juice or soda handy, especially juice should he wake up during the night. We have purchased the soda and more card on previous cruises, but somewhere on these boards I saw that juice is no longer available with this card. Does anyone if this is so?

Since you can bring water and soda onboard could we bring a container of orange juice along?

[Colo Cruiser]

My husband hates to drink water and likes to have juice or soda handy, especially juice should he wake up during the night. We have purchased the soda and more card on previous cruises, but somewhere on these boards I saw that juice is no longer available with this card. Does anyone if this is so?

Since you can bring water and soda onboard could we bring a container of orange juice along?

 

No idea about juices being covered on the package....

You can bring any drink as long as its not alcoholic. Best to carry it on so your bag does not get held up and you get called to the naughty room.

Edited January 28, 2016 by Colo Cruiser

[speedyjane]

Thank you Keith. Since we will be in FL a few days before our cruise, we may bring some OJ along with us. Just in case.