No More Mixed Shots!

[Georgia_Peaches]

1 hour ago, gmbhardy said:

 

 

 

Disagree with you. The ban is not hoopla over nothing at all. I’m sure I can speak for many cruisers who enjoyed having at times weird mixed shots at the Vibe or Haven bar. It was an experience that you really couldn’t replicate at home. It was fun and a real ice breaker. I will miss it.

Somehow I am quoted in this thread and yet I have zero recollection of posting a comment here. None. Zip. Nada.  Either my cruise critic account is so riveting that I’ve been hacked or I’ve lost time due to one too many mixed shots. 😬😳😵‍

Edited November 26, 2022 by Georgia_Peaches

[gmbhardy]

1 hour ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Somehow I am quoted in this thread and yet I have zero recollection of posting a comment here. None. Zip. Nada.  Either my cruise critic account is so riveting that I’ve been hacked or I’ve lost time due to one too many mixed shots. 😬😳😵‍

Yea, something screwy happened. Sorry about that. By the way, I enjoyed your review of the Meraviglia YC. I really think it’s better value than the Haven.

[Georgia_Peaches]

9 hours ago, gmbhardy said:

Yea, something screwy happened. Sorry about that. By the way, I enjoyed your review of the Meraviglia YC. I really think it’s better value than the Haven.

Whew!  I thought I was losing it. 😊. And thank you!  Have to say, we are hooked. After reading through this thread (and others), it would have to be an awfully good deal to get me back in the Haven, which we have enjoyed for years. 

[graphicguy]

Just had my memory jogged….had a “Bloody Brains” shooter on the Breakaway a month ago.  Did it on a dare (which is never a good reason).  It had multiple ingredients, mostly to make it look terrible. Had a terrible texture, too.

 

But, the bartender made it and I drank it.

 

Not sure what that proves other than I’m not the sharpest knife in the kitchen.

[Sailing12Away]

14 hours ago, gmbhardy said:

Disagree with you. The ban is not hoopla over nothing at all. I’m sure I can speak for many cruisers who enjoyed having at times weird mixed shots at the Vibe or Haven bar. It was an experience that you really couldn’t replicate at home. It was fun and a real ice breaker. I will miss it.

The ban is NOT hoopla. The fact that there is NO BAN at all (so it seems now) is what is the hoopla.

 

Letter direct from F&B manager at corporate has no idea what we're talking about with this 'ban' on shots, so that is the hoopla over nothing. It's not true, fake news.

[mtrancher]

2 minutes ago, Sailing12Away said:

The ban is NOT hoopla. The fact that there is NO BAN at all (so it seems now) is what is the hoopla.

 

Letter direct from F&B manager at corporate has no idea what we're talking about with this 'ban' on shots, so that is the hoopla over nothing. It's not true, fake news.

Which sadly proves anyone can write something to rile up others and create essentially a post about nothing, which gets several contributions and keeps getting bumped up the list to stay relevant.

[gmbhardy]

1 minute ago, Sailing12Away said:

The ban is NOT hoopla. The fact that there is NO BAN at all (so it seems now) is what is the hoopla.

 

Letter direct from F&B manager at corporate has no idea what we're talking about with this 'ban' on shots, so that is the hoopla over nothing. It's not true, fake news.

Then tell me why cruisers (including my son) are reporting that bartenders are telling them there is a fleet wide ban on serving mixed shots.

[Sailing12Away]

1 minute ago, gmbhardy said:

Then tell me why cruisers (including my son) are reporting that bartenders are telling them there is a fleet wide ban on serving mixed shots.

I can't, I'm not your son. Not sure what the question asked was, or who it was asked to. 

 

Not saying he's a liar, but just pointing out we have conflicting info about what is happening on a particular cruise right now (with reasons for such a ban not being explained), a lot of comments/assumptions/guesses/inferences as to how far and wide this supposed ban extends to with regards to fleet, timing, type of drinks, etc, and then we have a letter from someone high up who is claiming it is not true. 

 

Peter, Paul & Mary. Take your pick as to which you want to believe.

[SeaShark]

8 minutes ago, mtrancher said:

Which sadly proves anyone can write something to rile up others and create essentially a post about nothing, which gets several contributions and keeps getting bumped up the list to stay relevant.

 

I think what it really proves is how gullible people are and how quickly they will pile on and believe anything negative about a cruise line...no proof or verification of any sort required.

 

7 minutes ago, gmbhardy said:

Then tell me why cruisers (including my son) are reporting that bartenders are telling them there is a fleet wide ban on serving mixed shots.

 

Because people often misquote, misrepresent, and misunderstand...especially when they can get attention from it. To show how easily this happens, just go back one page in this thread where someone was ready to believe that they couldn't get any type of mixed drink....

Edited November 26, 2022 by SeaShark

[gmbhardy]

1 minute ago, Sailing12Away said:

I can't, I'm not your son. Not sure what the question asked was, or who it was asked to. 

 

Not saying he's a liar, but just pointing out we have conflicting info about what is happening on a particular cruise right now (with reasons for such a ban not being explained), a lot of comments/assumptions/guesses/inferences as to how far and wide this supposed ban extends to with regards to fleet, timing, type of drinks, etc, and then we have a letter from someone high up who is claiming it is not true. 

 

Peter, Paul & Mary. Take your pick as to which you want to believe.

When I read the original post I asked my son who is on the Breakaway right now to ask the Vibe bartender if the ban was in fact true. He confirmed that it was - a fleet wide ban on serving mixed shots. As you may or may not know, the Vibe bar is known for serving mixed shots, so if you are unable to get them there, it’s doubtful you’ll get them elsewhere.

[graphicguy]

9 minutes ago, gmbhardy said:

Then tell me why cruisers (including my son) are reporting that bartenders are telling them there is a fleet wide ban on serving mixed shots.

My experience?  Bartenders and wait staff are very hard working, as are all crew.  More often than not, their knowledge of policy and terms are lacking.  I’ve often had them offer explanations for different policies as incorrect.  Not sure if they’re trying to placate the guests, or if they want to deflect discussion for something they don’t know how to provide.  Either way, I’ve personally experienced these errors, only to find them corrected if I pose the questions to their managers.

 

It happens.  Now corrected.  So, no harm…no foul!

[Sailing12Away]

3 minutes ago, gmbhardy said:

When I read the original post I asked my son who is on the Breakaway right now to ask the Vibe bartender if the ban was in fact true. He confirmed that it was - a fleet wide ban on serving mixed shots. As you may or may not know, the Vibe bar is known for serving mixed shots, so if you are unable to get them there, it’s doubtful you’ll get them elsewhere.

Ok, and I have friends on a Thanksgiving cruise on Encore right now. I assure you, they are not having any problem getting drinks and would have immediately informed me if there was any type of ban. 

[gmbhardy]

1 minute ago, Sailing12Away said:

Ok, and I have friends on a Thanksgiving cruise on Encore right now. I assure you, they are not having any problem getting drinks and would have immediately informed me if there was any type of ban. 

It’s not drinks or straight shots, it’s mixed shots. You obviously don’t know what you’re talking about.

[JGmf]

46 minutes ago, gmbhardy said:

50 minutes ago, Sailing12Away said:

Ok, and I have friends on a Thanksgiving cruise on Encore right now. I assure you, they are not having any problem getting drinks and would have immediately informed me if there was any type of ban. 

It’s not drinks or straight shots, it’s mixed shots. You obviously don’t know what you’re talking about.

 

It's possible that two ships have conflicting instructions.

 

I'm on the Encore in late January.  I hope there is no ban on mixed shots as they are indeed a fun icebreaker, usually instigated by the bartender with appropriate tipping to follow.  I'd miss not having them on the cruise.  The only way to find out is when I get there.

 

 

[Liljo22]

On 11/23/2022 at 9:36 AM, PATRLR said:

Sigh.  It's not $20 per day.  Everyone knows the cost of the drink package is baked into NCLs generally higher than the competition's fares.  And please spare me your examples where you've found NCL fares lower than everyone else, I wrote "generally" above because everyone knows there are no absolutes in these discussions.

But even if it really was $20, its still OK to complain about the package being reduced whether its by incresing the charge for certain drinks (e.g. Baily's), removing popular drinks (Captain) or eliminating categories of drinks (mixed shots).  It's all part of NCL's nickle & diming from both sides of the ledger.

 

I am paying $69.99 per day plus 18% gratuity on my RCI cruise for the drink package.  On a 7 day cruise that’s over $1100 for 2.   RCI has dynamic pricing so other people are posting that the lowest price they have on their cruise is $84.99.  But NCL are the bad guys.

[gmbhardy]

1 hour ago, JGmf said:

 

It's possible that two ships have conflicting instructions.

 

I'm on the Encore in late January.  I hope there is no ban on mixed shots as they are indeed a fun icebreaker, usually instigated by the bartender with appropriate tipping to follow.  I'd miss not having them on the cruise.  The only way to find out is when I get there.

 

 

I’m on the Bliss for a Panama Canal cruise in early January. I have the premium plus booze package and Vibe passes, so I’ll be reporting back on both the availability of mixed shots and premium liquor.

 

[JGmf]

29 minutes ago, gmbhardy said:

I’m on the Bliss for a Panama Canal cruise in early January. I have the premium plus booze package and Vibe passes, so I’ll be reporting back on both the availability of mixed shots and premium liquor.

 

Thanks @gmbhardy.  Much appreciated.

[Sailing12Away]

23 hours ago, gmbhardy said:

It’s not drinks or straight shots, it’s mixed shots. You obviously don’t know what you’re talking about.

My liver thinks otherwise. I know the difference between a mixed shot and a cocktail.

[gmbhardy]

10 minutes ago, Sailing12Away said:

My liver thinks otherwise. I know the difference between a mixed shot and a cocktail.

Just to clarify then, your friends on the Encore have been able to get mixed shots. I’m not trying to be rude, just trying to figure out what’s going on.

[SeaShark]

On 11/24/2022 at 11:43 AM, PATRLR said:

There goes @SeaSharkraining on our parades.  Can't you see we were all enjoying getting our panties in a twist over this?  😉

 

As you can see, the thread continues, and people's panties are still in a twist. And you thought the definitive answer would ruin the thread. 😏

[Cruising Lynne]

So, I have finally decided to get involved in this thread. I am past the age where doing shots is a good idea, which makes any potential ban on shots not affect me.

 

I could understand a ban on all shots as a way to have people not get too drunk too fast, but banning just mixed shots makes no sense. Unless they think it ties up too much of the bartenders time. I only say this because most people are getting something to drink in addition to the shot so that one customer is taking more time to serve. 

 

I say a way around "no mixed shots" is to drink more martinis. Aren't they basically a mixed shot?

[Yesimapirate]

On 11/26/2022 at 10:47 AM, gmbhardy said:

When I read the original post I asked my son who is on the Breakaway right now to ask the Vibe bartender if the ban was in fact true. He confirmed that it was - a fleet wide ban on serving mixed shots. As you may or may not know, the Vibe bar is known for serving mixed shots, so if you are unable to get them there, it’s doubtful you’ll get them elsewhere.

It could also simply be the F&B manager on the Breakaway banned it fir his vessel and the bartenders were told something else/misunderstood.   Or maybe the G&B Manager misunderstood?   Or possibly they're planning it for the future and they started it earlier???

 

It's quite possible that both what your son is reporting and contrary information are true.  

[reeinaz]

I was on the Breakaway, not in the Vibe, over Halloween. I was told that I couldn't get a shot cocktail. But I was able to get same drink as a full sized drink (Green Tea). The story I was given was a ridiculous one and won't even repeat but it involved someone who drank too many pistachio shots. I was just on the Prima, in the Vibe, and at least on that 1st day, there wasn't a shot o'clock. The bartenders again said they couldn't do cocktail shots. But the shot o'clocks eventually returned, I'm almost positive by day 2. I don't know about any other bars on that cruise serving cocktail shots or not.

[PATRLR]

19 hours ago, SeaShark said:

 

As you can see, the thread continues, and people's panties are still in a twist. And you thought the definitive answer would ruin the thread. 😏

You're right.  And I'm not new here, you'd think I'd know better.  😉

[Juncti]

19 hours ago, Yesimapirate said:

It could also simply be the F&B manager on the Breakaway banned it fir his vessel and the bartenders were told something else/misunderstood.   Or maybe the G&B Manager misunderstood?   Or possibly they're planning it for the future and they started it earlier???

 

It's quite possible that both what your son is reporting and contrary information are true.  

Definitely a possibility. We'll know for certain in the next 2 weeks. 2 weeks from now I'll be in Vibe on Breakaway, and 1 week from now @Sthrngary will be. If @Sthrngarygets shut down and I get shut down the following week, we'll know at least on Breakaway that shots are a no go.

 

Fleetwide policy or not, if the bartenders have been told not to do this they aren't going to do it. Don't see them risking their jobs or being demoted to other bars or positions just so a person can have a mini beer or a lemon drop.