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Loved Princess, but what's with the drinks?

sstepson

By sstepson,
in Princess Cruises

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sstepson

sstepson

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My wife and I just got off of the Caribbean Princess on the 4 day trip to Grand Cayman. It was our first time on Princess (we've both sailed between 12-15 times on other lines.) and we absolutely loved it! Our room steward was top-notch, the dining room food and service was the best we've ever had at sea, and we loved the ship.

 

Here's the weird thing, though...the mixed drinks were awful! And not just one drink...all of them! We tried Piña Coladas, Banana Daquiris, Bloody Marys, and a Mudslide. Every single one was horrible. The Daquiris were sour, the Bloody Mary was very watered down, and the Mudslide was tasteless. And they weren't all from one bar, we had drinks from multiple pool bars, the casino bar and from the theater. (Ordered from a waiter). It almost seemed like the drink mixes that Princess uses are not quite right...either that or their training program for the bar staff is sorely lacking.

 

Please don't take this thread the wrong way...like I said, we had a wonderful time, and we will be most definitely sailing on Princess in the future. Just wondering if others have similar experiences regarding the mixed drinks onboard. We eventually gave up and stuck to wine and beer!

 

Any thoughts?

 

 

 

 

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sstepson

sstepson

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No, we did not. We don't drink enough to justify a package...

 

I will add this...my Mother-in-law was drinking Martinis, and she said all of those were very good. So, it seems like the issue was just with drinks that required some kind of mix.

 

 

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geoherb "Live from...." Rare

geoherb

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I learned not to order any drinks that are based on a mix. My favorite is the Beverly Hills iced tea. It's almost pure liquor.When we were on two weeks ago, "El Mejor Margaritas" weren't bad. I only ordered them when they were the drink of the day at the Skywalker's event. The other drinks I had included mojitos and a gimlet.

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partybarbie

partybarbie

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DH and I used to love the Mojitos, but many of the bars are using a mix now, rather than making the drinks from a recipe. They're okay, but not as good as they used to be. We usually stick to beer or wine, or the martini's. Most of the drinks made with the new mixes are not very good.

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pompeii

pompeii

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I don't drink alcohol, but I ordered a sunshine daiquiri at one bar and it was to die for; the bartender muddled the lime with something else (can't remember) and it was very fresh and flavorful. Delicious! I was very disappointed when I ordered another one at another venue, and it tasted like juice and maybe grenadine with nothing else.

 

I also noticed that the blended coffee drinks on the Ruby in November had so much ice put in the blender that there was not much coffee flavor. In the past, I remembered them being good and strong; not so much the last time.

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partybarbie

partybarbie

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Thats terrible, you can't omit the mint leaves. :eek:

 

I know! What's up with that? The waiter was really nice though. He brought me the mix carton and said he was sorry that they didn't have the simple syrup to make it the old way. Now I will only drink Mojitos at the Elite lounge, when they are $5.00. Will not pay $8.95 for them (regular price). It was this way on both the Star and the Island. So sad..At least the margaritas are still pretty good.:D

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Sharonfire

Sharonfire

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My wife and I just got off of the Caribbean Princess on the 4 day trip to Grand Cayman. It was our first time on Princess (we've both sailed between 12-15 times on other lines.) and we absolutely loved it! Our room steward was top-notch, the dining room food and service was the best we've ever had at sea, and we loved the ship.

 

Here's the weird thing, though...the mixed drinks were awful! And not just one drink...all of them! We tried Piña Coladas, Banana Daquiris, Bloody Marys, and a Mudslide. Every single one was horrible. The Daquiris were sour, the Bloody Mary was very watered down, and the Mudslide was tasteless. And they weren't all from one bar, we had drinks from multiple pool bars, the casino bar and from the theater. (Ordered from a waiter). It almost seemed like the drink mixes that Princess uses are not quite right...either that or their training program for the bar staff is sorely lacking.

 

Please don't take this thread the wrong way...like I said, we had a wonderful time, and we will be most definitely sailing on Princess in the future. Just wondering if others have similar experiences regarding the mixed drinks onboard. We eventually gave up and stuck to wine and beer!

 

Any thoughts?

 

 

 

 

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I am taking my first cruise in just a few days on Caribbean Princess and we are planning to get the drink package so I am not happy reading this post. Not at all! I want lots of fruity alcoholic drinks!

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nedward

nedward

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Maybe they changed mixes.

From what I remember, most cruiselines use the "Island Oasis" mix.

Which is pretty good stuff.

Not sure if Princess does or not...

 

For margaritas and other drinks requiring a mix, they are using Sunsation mixes, which are the worst crap, totally loaded with High Fructose Corn Syrup, and practically nothing in the way of fruit juice. They could have had monkeys mixing the drinks, which required no talent to prepare.

 

If I were a real bartender, I would be ashamed by the poor quality product that I was forced to mix/serve by upper management. However, cocktails that do not involve the packaged mix were very tasty.

 

Just another sign that cruising has been horribly dumbed down by the mass market lines.

 

Regards, Ned

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nedward

nedward

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I also found that the waitstaff/barstaff is receptive to feedback and really does want to make you happy. And befriending barstaff is very nice on a cruise.

 

I would agree -- we did find a bartender who made us Margies using fresh lime juice and a wee bit of simple syrup, and they were dee-lish!

 

Regards, Ned

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sstepson

sstepson

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Glad to hear I'm not the only one who's noticed this...

 

I meant to peek over the bar to see what brand the mixes were, but I forgot. It was just a bit disappointing considering how great the rest of the cruise was.

 

It just seemed odd that the mixed drinks were so much better on Carnival...

 

Thanks for your feedback, guys!

 

 

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