Are drinks watered down?

[roadster08]

On several occasions post covid I and others I know have been to resorts that included alcoholic drinks. We all agree that we drank much more than at home with no effect from it (including no hangover thankfully).

 

For those who have been on a princess cruise recently, have you experienced something similar? 

[Rick&Jeannie]

I have never thought that our drinks were watered down...

[Thrak]

I tend to drink bourbon or scotch - double - straight up. Definitely not watered down. When I have a Chairman of the Board it seems fine to me. Our wine comes straight from the bottle. Now... If you order frozen Margaritas they are pretty much just a mountain of ice with a small amount of liquor. I order Margaritas "on the rocks" and they seem fine to me.

 

I've seen posts where people claim their drinks are watered down but I have sat at the bar and watched the bartenders mix drinks and have never seen any of them skimping on the liquor. Perhaps the resorts you have been visiting pour light drinks but I've never given any credence to claims that Princess does so.

[JimmyVWine]

Not in my experience. I had several mixed drinks from the specialty drinks menus that actually needed to be diluted even further as they were too strong. 

[jwattle]

I concur. Our drinks have been poured perfectly well and, on occasion, gotten us quite decently pissed. Thank biscuits for being on holiday and the ability to sleep in😂before breaky.Never underestimate a bartender.

Edited February 2, 2023 by jwattle

[memoak]

Of drinks are stronger at home we usually pour doubles. No problem on cruises 

[Bobbiegentry]

There are those among us who believe an extra stout tip to the barkeep will result in a “strong pour”. 

[ekka49]

Never had a problem with the strength of our drinks.

[memoak]

When you have a drink package why would you care you get 15 drinks a day 

[kiwimum]

Pours on the ships appear to be 1.5 ounces measured, unless you have a bartender who pours by count 

[PTMary]

1 hour ago, Bobbiegentry said:

There are those among us who believe an extra stout tip to the barkeep will result in a “strong pour”. 

 

Not happening. Drinks are carefully monitored. Those "among us" who think they are getting better pours for slipping the barkeep a few bucks are suckers.

 

The bar staff have to explain any deviations to the number of pours out of each bottle. If they played favorites for bribes they would get found out sooner than later, and pay the price for cheating the cruise line. This is such a well know policy in almost all bars, on land and at sea, that I find it cute that some people still think they are secretly beating the system. 

[Wedgeh]

5 hours ago, roadster08 said:

On several occasions post covid I and others I know have been to resorts that included alcoholic drinks. We all agree that we drank much more than at home with no effect from it (including no hangover thankfully).

 

For those who have been on a princess cruise recently, have you experienced something similar? 

I've found, across several lines, that the 'day drinks' from the pool bar etc aren't as strong (for the same cocktail) as those in the evening. This is probably just a function of the glasses being larger, but the drinks from the interior bars do seem to hit different to me. On both my trips on Princess I've had no problem reaching a point where I wouldn't want to drink any more well within the drinks limit.

[MissP22]

We quite often get a double (straight up) from one bar and immediately another from a second bar. Comparing the two glasses side by side can often show a difference in the pour. I just attribute it to the bartender's being a little rushed at times. 

[roadster08]

7 hours ago, memoak said:

When you have a drink package why would you care you get 15 drinks a day 

Same reason why the cruise lines charge more for alcoholic packages then for non-alcoholic packages. If I'm paying extra for alcohol, I have expectations based on my past experiences. 

[malba2366]

The alcohol in the drinks is measured out, so it is unlikely that you will get a heavy pour if that is what you are looking for.  But in my experience the drinks are not "watered down".

[DCThunder]

8 hours ago, PTMary said:

 

Not happening. Drinks are carefully monitored. Those "among us" who think they are getting better pours for slipping the barkeep a few bucks are suckers.

 

The bar staff have to explain any deviations to the number of pours out of each bottle. If they played favorites for bribes they would get found out sooner than later, and pay the price for cheating the cruise line. This is such a well know policy in almost all bars, on land and at sea, that I find it cute that some people still think they are secretly beating the system. 

This is very true.  I have never seen a Princess bartender give a "country club pour" to anyone.  I've watched them measure wine into a 3 or 4 oz (not sure of the volume) glass and then pour that into the wine glass.

 

The best I ever got was the tail end of a bottle of gin which was about .75 oz get dumped into the mixing glass along with a full 1.5 oz measure from the new bottle.  If you get to know the bartender you might get a little more, but they are very careful 9 times out of 10.

[D C]

We frequent Outrigger bar and got to know the bartenders over our sailing, and tipped them for their good service (not expecting a heavy pour).  Never saw them do anything other than measure spirits with what appeared to be a 1.5oz stainless steel jigger.  As DCThunder said, there was the occasional 'bottom of the bottle' bonus pour, but that's it.  Worst case would be they're a little rushed and don't fill the jigger quite to the top.  

This was a switch from what I've been used to on Celebrity where I never saw a bartender measure a drink, and are pretty generous.  In comparison, there's less alcohol in a Princess drink, but you can always order a double, including in your margarita or whatever. 

Edited February 2, 2023 by D C

[Bgwest]

9 hours ago, PTMary said:

 

Not happening. Drinks are carefully monitored. Those "among us" who think they are getting better pours for slipping the barkeep a few bucks are suckers.

 

The bar staff have to explain any deviations to the number of pours out of each bottle. If they played favorites for bribes they would get found out sooner than later, and pay the price for cheating the cruise line. This is such a well know policy in almost all bars, on land and at sea, that I find it cute that some people still think they are secretly beating the system. 

You know that and I know that to be the case. But then there's ol' "Jack Sparrow" who would argue vociferously that he's bribing his way to strong pours with his largess. 

[memoak]

20 minutes ago, Bgwest said:

You know that and I know that to be the case. But then there's ol' "Jack Sparrow" who would argue vociferously that he's bribing his way to strong pours with his largess. 

Having worked in hospitality before yes management checks bottles used versus drinks ordered and if it is out of whack someone has to explain it

[ldubs]

I will submit to the court that after several drinks, it is unlikely the patron will recognize  a light pour.  

[JimmyVWine]

18 minutes ago, ldubs said:

I will submit to the court that after several drinks, it is unlikely the patron will recognize  a light pour.  

And I would submit that after several drinks, a patron would likely benefit from a light pour.

[bjkTX]

3 hours ago, malba2366 said:

The alcohol in the drinks is measured out, so it is unlikely that you will get a heavy pour if that is what you are looking for.  But in my experience the drinks are not "watered down".

We took 11 day cruises in Oct and Dec and never once saw the alcohol being measured - they were straight pours out of the bottle and the few times they used a jigger they almost always poured extra.  So our experience has been different.  We aren't big drinkers (any more) but if anything we thought the drinks were stronger than normal - not watered down.

[ATL_Miami_Cruiser]

50 minutes ago, bjkTX said:

We took 11 day cruises in Oct and Dec and never once saw the alcohol being measured - they were straight pours out of the bottle and the few times they used a jigger they almost always poured extra.  So our experience has been different.  We aren't big drinkers (any more) but if anything we thought the drinks were stronger than normal - not watered down.

My experience was the same. The pours are inconsistent across bartenders no matter how they were originally trained and I've definitely received extra at times from friendly bartenders. I drink whiskey on the rocks daily and can see with my own eyes how much is being poured. It may not be a ton more, but it's more than the usual.

[weedpindle]

Apparently you have never been on a Princess cruise and have seen the staff opening a fresh bottle of booze. Perhaps new eyeglasses.

[Lovincruisin1321]

16 hours ago, roadster08 said:

On several occasions post covid I and others I know have been to resorts that included alcoholic drinks. We all agree that we drank much more than at home with no effect from it (including no hangover thankfully).

 

For those who have been on a princess cruise recently, have you experienced something similar? 

That's a good question!  On NCL, RCCL and Celebrity, my experience was that the first day on Sail Away, the drinks are quite strong.  Then after the next few days, vodka tonics seem very "light".  I even watched the bartender pouring a healthy ounce and I have concluded that the liquor bottles are watered down.  Safer to order wine and beer.