Cruising as a non-drinker

[Banditswife]

Don't forget to attend the afternoon tea on sea days. I've read they are charging for the specialty tea now, but regular tea is no additional charge. The little sandwiches & desserts are great. It's a fun way to socialize without alcohol.

 

Hubby & I don't drink very much- 1 drink a day or less per cruise. I love our bar bill at the end of the cruise.

 

The iced coffee is a good idea too, I drink it here at home during the summer as a wake up drink, but never considered it on a cruise.

 

You'll have fun with or without booze. Have a great time.

[Strophic]

Guess I'm wondering who on board would pressure you to drink? Do you have problems in your daily life with folks pressuring you to drink, such as when you go out to dinner or to other social engagements? Seems incomprehensible that someone would pressure someone else to drink! Does this actually happen?? :eek:

 

In this case I didn't mean peer pressure so much as pressure to spend more money by buying alcohol.

[BallFour4]

My wife and I are headed on number 29 and 30 before year end. She hasn't had 29 drinks in the 33 years we've been married. My drinks have two requirements, to be cold and free. On a modern day Carnival cruise that's 2-3 drinks on the last sea day.

 

Hence, the past guest party is the only place I drink on cruises and we aren't pressured at all. We do go through a case of water in 5 days and I carry a Yeti or comparable mug to load up on the juices in the morning buffet.

 

Have a great trip!

 

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Edited August 10, 2016 by BallFour4

[bury me at sea]

I have never once felt remotely pressured to buy alcohol on a Carnival cruise.

 

I enjoy a drink sometimes and other times have no interest.

 

The piano bar is a favorite place of mine on cruises, and even there I have never felt any pressure to order a drink.

 

Sooooo many ways to have fun whether or not you are drinking.

[ShakyBeef]

Haha, half of the reason I am not having kids is because there's no way I could give up on sushi for nine months :P I am glad to hear you had a good time!

 

I think I will be entertained by the people watching, from a safe distance of course.

 

I hear ya! I am so glad I didn't become the full-blown sushi addict that I am now until sometime after that last pregnancy. I don't know how I could have given it up, either.:o

[BNBR]

I think I just realized that I'm an alcoholic...... :eek:

 

For me, cruises are definitely a drink as much as you can vacation - I max out my 15/day. It never occurred to me how much social interaction revolves around drinking, too.

 

But really, good for you guys. I don't think there is a shred of "pressure" to actually buy drinks, heck, the opposite. I've found myself having to chase people down to get a dang drink.

 

I like the tips about frozen virgin drinks. Will be great by the pool. The evenings, have a soda or something, dance and have fun!

[BNBR]

I hear ya! I am so glad I didn't become the full-blown sushi addict that I am now until sometime after that last pregnancy. I don't know how I could have given it up, either.:o

 

There is non-raw sushi options. No reason to punish yourself. Next time you cruise out of Miami (if you do), splurge on NAOE. One of the best sushi restaurants in the world - but VERY adventurous.

[ShakyBeef]

There is non-raw sushi options. No reason to punish yourself. Next time you cruise out of Miami (if you do), splurge on NAOE. One of the best sushi restaurants in the world - but VERY adventurous.

 

Oh, I know all about (and thoroughly enjoy) many varieties of cooked sushi. But when I get a sushi craving, it's usually for good ole' nigiri -- all of it raw, with the exception of my beloved unagi.:) But it's moot anyway, I'm not having anymore babies.:D

[louanne93]

In this case I didn't mean peer pressure so much as pressure to spend more money by buying alcohol.

 

Our first cruise there was SO much pressure to spend more money by buying alcohol! My husband drinks but I dont. Lately I have noticed a little bit of non friendly service from bar waiters if you weren't buying alcoholic drinks. Even if my husband was! I could care less what others including servers think. I love cruising! Bring my own sodas, order waters ahead of time and now I don't need to bother them!

[cruisinmeme]

We have been on well ver 20 cruises and don't drink. You can have plenty of fun alone just watching people run up a big liquor bill and probably want have much of a memory of their trip cause they stayed so drunk.haha

We use our free coupon to just get a coke. Any free wine we bring the bottle home and give it away. Nwe sail NCL and ended up with 3 bottles of wine more than once and just hauled them home.

Have fun and don't worry about the drinking thing. Plenty of people cruise without drinking.

[SadieN]

On the contrary, I am actually wondering what we are going to do with our free bottle of wine from making a reservation at the steakhouse on day 1...I kind of don't want to make a fuss by asking for something else (if that's even an option), but I'd also like to have something I will actually be able to use. Maybe I can give it as a gift?

 

 

Don't accept the wine. Just because it's free doesn't mean you have to take it. Could book the steakhouse another night and not worry about not using the wine ;).

 

The bartenders are creative using the mixers. Our girls have had Shirley Temples, Roy Rogers, Cherry Cokes, fruit punch etc.

 

He might be able to find his only drink of the cruise onshore for less. On the West Coast fresh made Margaritas run about $5 in the home of the Margarita, Ensenada.

Edited August 11, 2016 by SadieN

[GradUT]

On the contrary, I am actually wondering what we are going to do with our free bottle of wine from making a reservation at the steakhouse on day 1...I kind of don't want to make a fuss by asking for something else (if that's even an option), but I'd also like to have something I will actually be able to use. Maybe I can give it as a gift?

 

When we were on Princess, we also were given a bottle of wine. I just asked if we could have something non-alcoholic and they asked if we would like some chocolate covered strawberries instead. YES! They were delicious.

 

So don't think you are making a fuss because you aren't. All cruise lines are used to dealing with requests like that and will be happy to accommodate you with something more to your liking. Carnival is not going to foist alcohol on anyone--whether you are a recovering alcoholic, teetotaler or just not a wine drinker. (I enjoy a mixed drink now and then but I abhor wine.)

 

And, while you could gift that bottle to a crewmember, remember that they could also be a non-wine drinker.

[bakersdozen12]

My husband and I both don't drink alcohol at all and we still love cruises. There is simply so many things to do on board (none of which require drinking) that we never have time to do them all. There are still some activities we have yet to try and keep saying, "Ok, next cruise..."

 

And no, we never felt pressured to buy alcohol. But I did get quite a few non-alcoholic frozen drinks on my last cruise! They were delicious. Zero proof Miami vices, kiss on the lips and hurricane waves. Mmm.

 

 

On the contrary, I am actually wondering what we are going to do with our free bottle of wine from making a reservation at the steakhouse on day 1...I kind of don't want to make a fuss by asking for something else (if that's even an option), but I'd also like to have something I will actually be able to use. Maybe I can give it as a gift?

 

 

We left ours, and the bottle of champagne we got for doing a B2B, in our cabin when we left so that hopefully the next occupants had a nice surprise awaiting them. We were going to take them home and give them to friends, but our luggage was packed full to begin with and we didn't want to make it worse.

 

 

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Edited August 11, 2016 by bakersdozen12

[Club Disney Chandler]

I haven't had a drink in almost 3 years and have been on 3 cruises in that time. I never felt pressured to buy a drink from anyone and had more fun on those 3 cruises than the first 2 when I was still drinking. Enjoy your cruise, you'll have a fantastic time!

 

 

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[JenSDCA]

If you are serious soda drinkers, remember that you can bring on a 12-pack of CANNED soda (not bottles) - that can save a few bucks.

 

I'd be hard-pressed to find a margarita for less than 8 bucks on land here in San Diego, hopefully he can accept paying for his one drink. If he does opt for a margarita on ship, advise him to order directly from a bartender, and order his marg on the rocks, rather than blended. More bang for the buck!

 

You can always gift the wine to another passenger, perhaps if you see a bridal couple or someone celebrating.

 

But yes, you can absolutely have a fun cruise without drinking a drop. I no longer drink, and part of our nightly fun is watching the happy drunks.

[Honolulu Blue]

My I do not drink alcohol at all and my boyfriend hardly ever, he's planning on having only one alcoholic drink on the cruises. I know we will still have a ton of fun on our upcoming trip—his first ever and my first since I was 13, but I'd love to here from more teetotalers out there enjoy cruising. Do you find enough adult activities that don't revolve around alcohol to keep you entertained? Are you able to enjoy cruising without feeling pressured to purchase alcohol?

 

I don't drink and so far I've found enough on the ships to entertain me. Of course, I bring a lot of my own entertainment. I haven't found a lot of pressure to drink; if you can handle gambling in a Las Vegas casino, you can handle what's to come.

[boltnut55]

Since we both don't drink, there's no pressure because I don't drink. I can't buy it because I can't drink it, lol. We have lots of fun, none of which is around alcohol.

 

I can't get over what people have reported they spend on drinks.

We accidentally received the bill for another room one night, and I looked at it (well, I looked at it first and then discovered it wasn't mine). it was hundreds of dollars on alcohol!! Not like $300 but like $900.

 

Interesting thread as today I can proudly say I have not had alcohol in 27 years - one day at a time. The only one that ever put pressure on me to drink was myself.

 

One does not need alcohol to have fun -- no one will even notice you aren't drinking. When I first quit drinking, I thought everyone would care what I had in my glass -- much to my disappointment I was not the center of attention -- no one really cared if I drank alcohol or didn't.

Just want to say kudos to you :) Yes, no one looks/cares, and that's a great thing.

[smyliecruising]

I get the dry white wine and use it on my brined Thanksgiving turkey. Wine with thyme leaves lol. It's amazing. Keep the wine. It's awesome in the kitchen!

[smyliecruising]

I do get virgin piná colada on Sea days to enjoy by the pool;)

[Ms Jo UK]

I am just wondering what makes any person feel pressure to purchase drinks or any other stuff when on a cruise

[iancal]

Don't understand about being 'pressured' to drink. I do, DW does not. No pressure whatsoever. She simply selects a non alcoholic drink. No issue whatsoever. I suspect that the only pressure is self applied.

Edited August 11, 2016 by iancal

[luvtoteach]

Guess I'm wondering who on board would pressure you to drink? Do you have problems in your daily life with folks pressuring you to drink, such as when you go out to dinner or to other social engagements? Seems incomprehensible that someone would pressure someone else to drink! Does this actually happen?? :eek:

 

We were so bothered by wait staff on our first cruise that we would not eat in the MDR. We ate in the buffet. The staff were pressured to sell drinks and they did not want to take NO for an answer. We were asked every time a course was brought to us what drink we wanted. This went on for three nights so we gave up and ate elsewhere. Has not happened on any other cruise we have taken.

[Bonnie J.]

You can ask for a virgin fancy drink and it will be made without alcohol. Also a virgin Bloody Mary as well as soda. There is coffee, hot & ice tea, juices in the morning and lemonade all day in the buffet. These are free, just grab a glass, mug and get them.

 

There are also AA members on board having tons of fun too!

[iancal]

Being asked by a server if you would like a drink is very different than being pressured to buy a drink. Never heard of the latter.

 

If this is the definition of feeling pressured then I would have to say that we feel pressured to attend art auctions and play bingo! We are courageous in resisting this pressure.

[spookwife]

My I do not drink alcohol at all and my boyfriend hardly ever, he's planning on having only one alcoholic drink on the cruises. I know we will still have a ton of fun on our upcoming trip—his first ever and my first since I was 13, but I'd love to here from more teetotalers out there enjoy cruising. Do you find enough adult activities that don't revolve around alcohol to keep you entertained? Are you able to enjoy cruising without feeling pressured to purchase alcohol?

 

very few entertainment options involve drinking alcohol at all. sure the trivia may be held in a Lounge but nobody is forcing you to buy a drink in order to play.

 

the roving bar stewards are very low key.. if you are approached by one and you decline they slap a napkin down by your side so that no one else will brother you until you signal.

 

you make it sound like all cruising is is drunken debauchery. with so much emphasis on family friendly options, drinking is NOT as in your face as you think.