Weak mixed drinks?

[lasvegascruising]

I am just off the Magic(May 5-11) and had Cheers.  My first drink when I boarded the ship was a Fun Ship at the Blue Iguana Bar.  It was pre-mixed(in one of those large plastic containers).  It was very tasty and had a good kick.  I would say that it was a good drink.  Tasty but did not taste like pure booze.  I had plenty of different drinks in those six days.  I ordered many Grey Goose and Sprite Zero.  I watched several different bartenders and the jigger they used was not a small pour.  Like many said, the bartender poured the Goose into the jigger, into the glass and then added a little more as the bottle was put down.  I never once thought I was getting a light pour.  The only thought I have is that the ice melts fast and this does dilute the drink pretty fast.  The soda they use from the can is always warm and this adds to the fast melt.  This is one reason I like Cheers.  I just order another drink if the one I have gets to watery.  My opinion as of two weeks ago, NO the drinks are not weak.

[PhillyFan33579]

I have never had an issue with beer or wine being watered down on any Carnival ship. 😊

[Retired_to_Cruise]

On 5/19/2018 at 6:51 PM, fresnel468 said:

The batch made umbrella drinks (Pina Colada, Funship, etc.) have always been extremely weak in my estimate. Mixed drinks poured by a familiar, generously tipped bartender have never been weak.

Every Pina Colada or drinks of that nature that I have had on Carnival ships on my 30 cruises have NOT been made in batches. They have always been made as I sat there and watched. I have never seen these drinks made in batches unless they made a bunch of them at a D&P party or something like that. 

[Don Kehote]

I have been both a bartender, and a barfly.  I have never in my life encountered a drink that was intentionally made weak.

 

I have, however, encountered people who wanted me to make their drinks stronger without charging them more.  I accomplished this by serving them less mixer with the same amount of alcohol.

 

It has been my experience that people who want stronger drinks are just looking to get buzzed as cheaply as possible.  I would much rather serve or consume a properly balanced drink than be That Guy looking for a Long Island Iced Tea, demanding that it shouldn't be $19 because it's only one drink.  Granted, it has like five different drams in it, but that's just a technicality, right?

 

"I promise, I'll tip you real good" = They will get drunk and either overspend or forget.  Either way kiss your tips goodbye.

[TerReuv]

On 5/19/2018 at 6:28 PM, Nic6318 said:

Hi

 

I agree with coevan. It's very unlikely that they would do anything unless it was just an error. There is no advantage to anybody to cheat a customer.

 

As mentioned, you can watch them pour the drinks. You can also ask for a shot out of the same bottle.

 

Thousands of drinks poured each day. It would be impossible to select an individual to cheat and if they were doing it with everybody, it would be all over the news.

 

Possibly, as firemanbobswife mentioned, those slushy/icy drinks that are mixed in large batches, might not be homogenous. With those drinks it could certainly be possible that some pourings would have less or more alcohol than the next. That along with the fact that the ice in them will be melting all the time could result in a weak drink, but all the alcohol that was put in the blender would be served, and the alcohol is not watered down. Again, the same reasoning...nobody has anything to gain, and it would be too easy for them to get caught.

Actually, they make the slushy/icy drinks when you order them.  I drink banana daiquiris and the Chocolate Mocha Getaway and they make them fresh each time and I have never had one that tasted like it didn't have alcohol.  I bring my tervis cups from previous cruises so I get more for the same price and it doesn't melt quickly.

 

[Shamrock73]

Mine usually taste weaker once I get past the single digits

[Palmetto Pilot]

13 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

You obviously did not go to the Alchemy Bar.  There is no such thing as a weak drink made by the mixologists there.

We did and they were by far the best bar tenders on the ship. Red Frog was another honorable mention. Worst offenders was poolside and the comedy club.

[J1478]

This was our fourth cruise and we have never had this complaint before. I usually order sprite and tequila and my wife gets rum and coke. Not the fruity drinks. So it is easy to tell when it is weak. Next time I guess we’ll try all the different bars. 

[gtouch]

1 hour ago, J1478 said:

This was our fourth cruise and we have never had this complaint before. I usually order sprite and tequila and my wife gets rum and coke. Not the fruity drinks. So it is easy to tell when it is weak. Next time I guess we’ll try all the different bars. 

Sprite and tequilla..........never heard of that. I guess I need to get out more.

[buddylover]

On 5/19/2018 at 7:58 PM, coevan said:

 

 

 

Hostility? seriously, read it again. There is nothing hostile in my post.

 

FBW, there is no "funny stuff" going on, the bartenders have nothing to gain by short pouring.

The bartenders, i.e, CCL, DO have something to 'gain' by short pouring.....it's known as $$$$.

[Butterbean1000]

I usually order my first Fun Ship Special with a rum floater after embarkation.  It's my "starter" drink.

[silvercrikhix]

8 hours ago, buddylover said:

The bartenders, i.e, CCL, DO have something to 'gain' by short pouring.....it's known as $$$$.

 

Good Heavens, I’ve been patiently waiting for this response; it took 4 Pages...LOL 

 

It is possible and the gazillions of drinks they pour each and every day shorted just a wee bit = more $$$. 

But thanks now, We’re all on notice for this possibility. But doubt CCL would go there.

It’d backfire and cost them passengers. 

We did notice weaker drinks last cruise (cheers) and yeah we tip a buck a drink. 

I’ll be watching closer next cruise though. Lol. 

[timberlysmom]

On 5/24/2019 at 9:14 AM, TerReuv said:

Actually, they make the slushy/icy drinks when you order them.  I drink banana daiquiris and the Chocolate Mocha Getaway and they make them fresh each time and I have never had one that tasted like it didn't have alcohol.  I bring my tervis cups from previous cruises so I get more for the same price and it doesn't melt quickly.

 

So, the bartenders will put my drink in my Yeti instead of me having to pour into it from another cup?  This is great!! I mean, obviously I dont expect them to fill it to the top, I just hate using single use plastic cups when not absolutely necessary. 

[ray98]

1 hour ago, timberlysmom said:

So, the bartenders will put my drink in my Yeti instead of me having to pour into it from another cup?  This is great!! I mean, obviously I dont expect them to fill it to the top, I just hate using single use plastic cups when not absolutely necessary. 

 

I would not plan on that, it is 50/50 at best filling up a large cup with soda.  Usually with a mixed drink, they serve it as it comes in the quantity the recipe calls for.

[hotsauce126]

They use a jigger, you can see exactly how much they're putting in there

[timberlysmom]

23 minutes ago, ray98 said:

 

I would not plan on that, it is 50/50 at best filling up a large cup with soda.  Usually with a mixed drink, they serve it as it comes in the quantity the recipe calls for.

Thanks for the heads up. I wouldn't be doing it to get more, just to save a plastic cup. I can work with whatever though. 🙂

[coevan]

2 hours ago, timberlysmom said:

So, the bartenders will put my drink in my Yeti instead of me having to pour into it from another cup?  This is great!! I mean, obviously I dont expect them to fill it to the top, I just hate using single use plastic cups when not absolutely necessary. 

 

 

For my wife's Patron Margarita, he made the drink in a regular glass and poured it into her cooler, no problem

[Shaded Lady]

On 5/23/2019 at 3:33 PM, Shaded Lady said:

... on our last cruise I ordered a pina colada from the atrium bar, and DH & I sat there drinking our drinks. I asked the bartender a few sips in if he had even put any rum in it and he kind of laughed and said, hey- maybe I forgot! He took it back and remade it. OH MY LORD I almost lived to regret that decision! The pina colada that I got back was almost clear, other than the crushed ice, there was so much rum in it!

 

I am a lightweight in the drinking department, so that one drink did me the whole night! In fact, the same bartender came back when I was halfway done and topped it up with more of the fruit juice and it still tasted strong!

In my case I don't think the bartender shorted me on alcohol- I think he forgot it altogether! (not intentionally, he was just swamped!). When I asked him about it, he looked really apologetic and MORE than made up for it on the replacement drink!!!

[SNJCruisers]

The only frozen drink I have is a Mudslide maybe once per cruise.  The frustrating part is they never give you the remnants left in the blender.  It gets washed away and with it is alcohol that you've paid for.

[JMAE]

We never noticed that our drinks were short, I get the extra shot too. 

[TerReuv]

21 hours ago, timberlysmom said:

So, the bartenders will put my drink in my Yeti instead of me having to pour into it from another cup?  This is great!! I mean, obviously I dont expect them to fill it to the top, I just hate using single use plastic cups when not absolutely necessary. 

 

First, my Tervis is a Red Frog and a Blue Iguana ones that I got from Carnival.  They are 16 ounces.  A frozen drink is normally 12 ounces (at least the cup they pour it in is).  If I give them my tervis, then I get a full 16 ounce drink for 12 ounce price.  Not sure if this is because I am using my Carnival tervis.  While it is only 4 extra ounces, they do fill it full and several times I have to drink it down to get the lid on.

[TerReuv]

17 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

The only frozen drink I have is a Mudslide maybe once per cruise.  The frustrating part is they never give you the remnants left in the blender.  It gets washed away and with it is alcohol that you've paid for.

 

Reason to give them a larger cup to use for you! 

[dlphn501]

On 5/20/2018 at 8:44 PM, Sebleo said:

 

I wasn't aware you were talking about frozen drinks. All sorts of drinks have been mentioned.

 

With that being said, extra ice and mixer would be an issue if the bartender pours liquor for one drink and puts too much of the other. Then there would be frozen drink left in the blender after they pour your drink.

This happened to me a lot on Liberty.  I always wondered how much of my booze was left in the blender because my drinks always tasted weak.

[dlphn501]

On 5/20/2018 at 9:14 PM, SNJCruisers said:

There are two reasons for drinks being weak, one of which was mentioned with leftover frozen drink concoction being left in the blender and then dumped into the sink. Part of that drink remnants going down the drain include alcohol that you paid for. Another area is the premade popular drinks that come from a pitcher that I have seen at the tequila and rum bars poolside. They are made in advance to speed up the process and who knows how much alcohol actually gets into the drink you paid for.

This is why I like to stick with beer during the day and Alchemy Bar or shots at night. No way you're not getting your monies worth that way.

This is what I planned on doing next time.  I'm a small girl, I hit my 15 by 4pm one day.  It was mostly all the fruity frozen mixed drinks.  No more!

 

[dlphn501]

On 5/23/2019 at 12:30 PM, J1478 said:

We just cruised on carnival Ecstasy and we experienced the same thing. The first night out we ordered drinks from a waiter and we noticed they were very weak. So the next round we ordered I walked up to the bar to watch but it was obvious to me that the bartender went out of his way to get out of my line of sight. These were weak also. Next night we ordered the “double” but these were weaker than they should have been. We tried different bars with same results except the margarita pitcher at the blue iguana ( this comes out of a tap premixed ). We’ve never had this problem before. We don’t buy the drink plan which they seem to be really pushing. They scan your card before they make your drinks so it would be easy to “tag” certain passengers as “good tippers” or “special guests”. Otherwise we had a great cruise. We just got our drinks ashore before boarding and also drank the wine we brought with us. 

I'm cruising on Ecstasy in less than 2 weeks - do you remember which bars you had the weak drinks at?