Bottomless Bubbles and Kids - what is your opinion?

[ninetyfeet]

Sailing the Paradise in May with my 8 & 10 year old sons (first single mom cruise - oh boy!) and considering the bottomless bubbles package for them.  Does anyone know if the Paradise has the self-service fountains?  I remember seeing the self-serve beer machine but not sodas.

 

Assuming it does not have the machines, how easy (I know that is relative) was it for your kids to get their own drinks at the bars for the duration of the cruise?  I do NOT want to be the one in charge of getting a bartender's attention because they cannot get served.  I'm sure service is easy in the dining rooms as the server would just be the one to take care of it - or does the bar staff also get soft drinks for the table?

 

It isn't going to break the bank but ultimately if it is more of a hassle, I'll keep the $90 and just buy as we go or let them choose where to spend it (which will probably be in the arcade).

 

Thanks in advance!!

[Dwright826]

6 minutes ago, ninetyfeet said:

Sailing the Paradise in May with my 8 & 10 year old sons (first single mom cruise - oh boy!) and considering the bottomless bubbles package for them.  Does anyone know if the Paradise has the self-service fountains?  I remember seeing the self-serve beer machine but not sodas.

 

Assuming it does not have the machines, how easy (I know that is relative) was it for your kids to get their own drinks at the bars for the duration of the cruise?  I do NOT want to be the one in charge of getting a bartender's attention because they cannot get served.  I'm sure service is easy in the dining rooms as the server would just be the one to take care of it - or does the bar staff also get soft drinks for the table?

 

It isn't going to break the bank but ultimately if it is more of a hassle, I'll keep the $90 and just buy as we go or let them choose where to spend it (which will probably be in the arcade).

 

Thanks in advance!!

This is going to be more of an opinion thing, but to be honest, I felt the bottomless bubbles to me not worth it for my 12 year old daughter. We ended up just getting the drinks that she wanted on our cheers program, and giving them to her. Not alcohol or anything, but for instance, I don't think that bottomless bubbles includes water bottles? So we were constantly getting her water bottles. As far as I know it only covers soda, but I could be wrong. Long story short, we will not be doing bottomless bubbles again. But instead just bringing her the sodas that she wants on board, and getting her waters, gatorade, decaf coffee, etc, on our cheers program. If there's three of you, that's a total of 36 cans of soda that you can bring.

Edited January 19, 2023 by Dwright826

[lennythenose]

My two sons always had the package and we did not ever have a problem with them getting served. They were able to get their drinks while at the kids club activities (once old enough to sign themselves in and out).  They usually drank the fruit punch from the bar and even ordered it at dinner in the MDR. 

[cruisinqt]

My kids used bottomless bubbles a lot though there were complaints about waiting at the bar forever to get a drink. They were always served (the bartenders are used to kids asking for sodas) just not very promptly. I’m assuming they put the higher cost alcoholic drinks ahead of sodas because they cost more and they get more tip money. But on a positive note we loved it in the MDR because our waiter had their favorite sodas waiting at the table when we got there every night. 

[groundloop]

Our grandkids did one cruise and had Bottomless Bubbles.  My grandson waited at the aft pool bar for 15 minutes while the bartender kept taking orders for adult drinks.  I finally went to the bar to get the bartenders attention and let my grandson get his soda.  

 

I'm afraid your kids will suffer the same fate.  

[lennythenose]

I have read several people say their kids and even sometimes the adults have long waits. As I said that was never our experience and my husband also get the bubbles package every cruise. But we (even the kids) are also not usually out by the pool during the day when it is crowded so that probably has a lot to do with it. My younger son actually made friends with the bartender on our Alaska cruise and I could usually find him at night visiting with him at the pool bar because no one else was there. We also has the boys tip with each drink so the servers figured that out quickly too😀.  

[Elaine5715]

Tell kids to get in the line behind other adults walking up to get service and not sit at the bar.   Bartenders wait on people in order and the people behind the kids will see they get served so they can get served...and tip.  

[asalligo]

My daughters take full advantage of Bottomless bubbles and use it well. There is the problem of getting the attention at the bar. I get them to pick a bar they think they will be most close to and always use the same one. Then I give them ten ones each and tell them to tip a dollar on the first drink and then like every 5th drink. That usually gets them the attention at the bar, but still sometimes I have to go help them get a drink and when I do I am often pretty ticked at that point. 

 

There is no fountain on the Paradise, but kids can also order cokes from the waiter in the main dining room and with any of the roaming waiters like in the main lounge. 

[MegnJoe]

My son only drinks water, but my daughter likes Shirley Temples.  We didn't get her Bottomless Bubbles, because I didn't want her to have more than 1-2 a day.  Usually at some point, I would be ordering a drink at a bar, and she would order her drink at the same time.  And then she would get one at dinner.  I had Cheers, so I got a bottle of water with every drink, and we all drank those bottles of water throughout the cruise

[ninetyfeet]

Great comments and tips that are much appreciated.  I'm going to hold off on pre-ordering it until we get on the ship.  They are all Pepsi products (we tend to lean more towards Coke) so I'll see how much of a protest I get from the boys about the free options then go from there.  Might make more sense to do buy as you go so that I can also regulate some of the extra sugar (and calories).

 

Thank you all for the notes - I'll be sure to use them if we opt for the package!

[Dwright826]

6 hours ago, ninetyfeet said:

Great comments and tips that are much appreciated.  I'm going to hold off on pre-ordering it until we get on the ship.  They are all Pepsi products (we tend to lean more towards Coke) so I'll see how much of a protest I get from the boys about the free options then go from there.  Might make more sense to do buy as you go so that I can also regulate some of the extra sugar (and calories).

 

Thank you all for the notes - I'll be sure to use them if we opt for the package!

HAPPY SAILING! We sail Sunday and got the cheers package for ourselves. Can't wait for all the specialty coffee. 😍😍

[momof3cruisers]

My youngest always had a system that it took his older siblings a little while to catch on to. Lol. It wasn’t a system really, he was just an outgoing, naturally friendly kid and the older two were more reserved. When he was 8 we joked that he drank twice his weight in Fanta on one cruise. He’d sit up at the bar and say, “Hi. I’m Jacob, I’m from Minnesota, where are you from?” He had “buddies “ all over the ship. Seriously, we would have him flag down a bar waiter in the shows etc for adult drinks even. They would see him across the room, wave and come on over. Tell your kids to be friendly and polite and they won’t have an issue getting drinks. We’ll see in two weeks if his system is as effective at 21 as it was as a kid. 😂

[Joebucks]

Ask your kid what their favorite soda is and buy them a 12 pack of it at the port. 

[Colorado Beach Bum]

Grandkids never had a problem getting a drink.  Surprised to hear so many kids have difficulties getting a soda. 

[CruizinSusan70]

On 1/19/2023 at 3:06 PM, Dwright826 said:

 We ended up just getting the drinks that she wanted on our cheers program, and giving them to her....So we were constantly getting her water bottles. 

👎🤬👎

[bunchesofun]

On 1/20/2023 at 1:10 PM, ninetyfeet said:

Great comments and tips that are much appreciated.  I'm going to hold off on pre-ordering it until we get on the ship.  They are all Pepsi products (we tend to lean more towards Coke) so I'll see how much of a protest I get from the boys about the free options then go from there.  Might make more sense to do buy as you go so that I can also regulate some of the extra sugar (and calories).

 

Thank you all for the notes - I'll be sure to use them if we opt for the package!

We got it for our two how drank a lot of pop at home, (boy 14, girl 8 and they did not drink enough to have justified it at all.  I should have just paid as they got them. Your son may be different, but that was our experience.

[jiggs]

as others have said, it depends on how bottomless you're willing to be...within our limits it was rather break even with BB...if you're cool with more than 3 sodas a day, then go for it, and in our experience it was easy to get drinks if the bars were not swamped.  Took them moments to grab a glass, ice, and a can and run the card. We did better drink by drink with some extra on the child's card for extras when we weren't around.  

 

With all that typed, I'd opt for a bottomless arcade over bubbles any time

[kctwinmommy]

We always got it for our son, because he could get pineapple juice with it too, instead of the free juice on deck. When he first started cruising with us, around age 10, he wasn't much of a soda drinker. But he could easily go through 3-4 juices during the daytime. And like others mentioned, it was nice to have it at the table when we got to dinner. I also got it for myself as I'm not much of a alcohol drinker. I would easily drink 3-4 sodas just hanging out on deck during the day. Now, keep in mind, they had ice in them and would sometimes get watered down, so I'd get a fresh one. Meaning, I wasn't exactly drinking full 12 ounces of soda each time. They do seem to give you the can now more often, which they didn't pre-Covid. Again, for us, it was just easier not having to worry about it. Oh, and we never have a car pre-cruise, so we didn't feel like trying to walk or Uber somewhere for a 12-pack of soda.

[sra12574]

You  can  also  bring  a  12 pack  of  cans  per  person  on the  ship  at  the  start  of  the  cruise . The  downside  of  that  is  having to drag  it  around  with  you  until you  get  to  your  room , but  you  can  bring the  soda   you  like  and  not  be  stuck  with the  ships  selection .