Unused soda glasses, using on different ship

[ParksFamily5]

Thank you both for your quick responses.  You guys are super helpful.   

[Mikew0805]

11 hours ago, fdthird said:

No problem...the rest of us will be happy to absorb your “free” soda.   I have seen so many perks go away in our lifetime because people abuse them.  There are no victim less crimes.  Stop screwing it for the rest of us!!!

So dramatic. 

 

The perks you have seen go away, is because the cruise line wants to make more money. (or any other company for that matter) It has nothing to do with your irrational thought that people are out to steal/abuse something. 

[Big_G]

2 hours ago, vacationlover_mn said:

I am not stealing soda.  I always buy the deluxe drink package.

 

Considering you've been around here since 2011 with over 2000 comments you probably should've seen this coming.

[Iamcruzin]

1 hour ago, Host Clarea said:

 

No, you can get soda from a bar or restaurant with your SeaPass card.  However, you cannot use the Freestyle machine without the cup, so you will only have a choice of around 6 different flavors without the Freestyle machine.

True but you also won't be stuck behind some kid performing a chemistry experiment by mixing multiple  flavors. This happens to me all of the time when those vending machines are available.

[Iamcruzin]

1 hour ago, Mikew0805 said:

So dramatic. 

 

The perks you have seen go away, is because the cruise line wants to make more money. (or any other company for that matter) It has nothing to do with your irrational thought that people are out to steal/abuse something. 

I disagree since they now require both adults in the same room to purchase at  the very least one deluxe package and one refreshment package. Princess and Celebrity do not require both adults to purchase a drink package.  I will agree that it has noting to do with the C&A loyalty perks. Those cuts were made because of a boom in members hitting top levels.

[MyNameIsGermy]

16 hours ago, vacationlover_mn said:

Let’s say I have a soda cup I never even open, on Symphony.  Could I give it to a friend on Indy, to use for his cruise the next month, if he doesn’t have a drink package?

 

 

Yes. The RFID chips that are in the bottom of the cup are activated at the Freestyle machines based upon the length of that voyage. There is no "lifespan" of an unused cup. They are not preactivated nor preprogrammed with any information, other than their ID number. If you don't use it during one voyage, you can (in theory, as to not upset the morality police here) use it on another voyage.

 

-germ

[vacationlover_mn]

5 hours ago, Big_G said:

 

Considering you've been around here since 2011 with over 2000 comments you probably should've seen this coming.

Yeah, yeah I know.  DH was all "you posted what?!?!" when I told him what I asked, and he also said "brace yourself" 🙂

[Biker19]

4 hours ago, MyNameIsGermy said:

There is no "lifespan" of an unused cup. 

On a single ship maybe, but not across other ships. 

[MyNameIsGermy]

16 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

On a single ship maybe, but not across other ships. 

 

They are absolutely interchangeable amongst any ships that have the Freestyle machines. They are not ship specific.

 

-germ

[Biker19]

4 minutes ago, MyNameIsGermy said:

 

They are absolutely interchangeable amongst any ships that have the Freestyle machines. They are not ship specific.

Nope, I tried it between two ships- granted it was more than a year apart and RCI changed styles of cups in that time but it didn’t work. 

[MyNameIsGermy]

9 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Nope, I tried it between two ships- granted it was more than a year apart and RCI changed styles of cups in that time but it didn’t work. 

 

While I can appreciate your experience, it is completely anecdotal.

 

The "authentication" platform in these machines recognizes a new cup as never having been activated. It serializes it, adds an "acceptable use" time based on the configuration of that specific voyage and walah, works like magic. If you don't use the cup on that voyage, it is never activated and will work on any ship with the freestyle machines. The cups are never tied back to a voyage or ship before they are activated.

 

Now, as you've pointed out above, if they swap our the vendors for the delivery medium, then YMMV.

 

-germ

[LeeW]

Our problem is that we keep getting these cups on ships that don't have Freestyle machines. 

Have maybe a dozen in the basement.

 

Two advantages of taking unactivated cup on a ship that has the machines: 

  1. You have the cup before rooms open. 

  2.  You have a spare if you leave yours by the pool.

 

And on any ship:  If the old ones have a narrow base - you now have one that fits in a theater seat cup holder.

[vacationlover_mn]

FYI, thanks from my friend who had asked the question... he hadn’t realized that when he has a soda package, he could get soda from the bar without the glass, using just his card.  Also, he apologized for the hoopla that he caused, by me asking this!  Lol...