Why don't bartenders on cruise ships know how to make a Tom Collins?

[tallyho8]

I have cruised on Carnival, Holland American, Norwegian, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and MSC many times. My favorite drink is a Tom Collins which I have been drinking for many years. It is essentially lemonade with gin and decorated with a cherry or orange slice. Every ship I go on mixes it with lime and puts a lime slice in it. Many ask whether I want gin or vodka. If you want vodka it is a vodka collins. 

 

I usually tell the bartender how I want it made and they usually get it right and I give a couple dollars extra tip to help them remember me next time. The problem is, next time there is a different bartender and you have to start over again. And if the tip isn't large enough, they forget how to make it. 

[klfrodo]

I can only imagine the frustration.

[silvercrikhix]

Yeah, 3rd world problem, but hey, I get it.  You want the proper drink that you’re paying for.
The actual ingredients are gin, simple syrup, lemon juice, club soda & {yes} a cherry.

Some wrap a lemon slice around the cherry before garnishing the drink. 
 

My guess is Carnivals bartender training is mostly making their fru fru drinks. With minimal training on anything more than rum & coke after that. A proper bartender would be well versed in basic drinks such as a Tom Collins or a Old Fashioned. 

[pcrum]

And forget about ordering a classic champagne cocktail, which has a sugar cube soaked in cognac in the bottom of the glass, topped with champagne, 

Angostura bitters, and a lemon peel.
 

Celebrity did not have sugar cubes, not that the bartender had the faintest idea what I was asking for. Have never tried on Carnival. 
 

Cooper’s Hawk makes the perfect champagne cocktail. 

[Knights on the Beach]

I love Cooper's Hawk. 

[navybankerteacher]

Very, very few really competent bartenders serve on cruise ships.  

[donaldsc]

I don't drink bar drinks but mainly wine.  This may sound like a dumb question but if the bartender does not make it to your taste can you return it and get a proper drink instead at no charge?

 

DON

Edited June 2, 2023 by donaldsc

[caribsun]

8 hours ago, donaldsc said:

I don't drink bar drinks but mainly wine.  This may sound like a dumb question but if the bartender does not make it to your taste can you return it and get a proper drink instead at no charge?

 

DON

One time I ordered a Martini, when it was served it was made with vodka. Maybe my fault for not asking for a gin martini but the server replaced at no charge. When I place a order now I ask for Bombay Sapphire gin with 3 green olives, shaken not stirred in a chilled glass. LOL

[Joebucks]

It's hard to get a bar anywhere to make a decent cocktail. The world loves to push onto you $10-$15 huge margin drinks, without the slightest idea on how to make them. The sad truth is most bartenders are just there to serve you a beer or rum and coke. As an old fashioned fan, I probably get a good one 1/3 of the time.

 

With that said, this is another reason I like Carnival. Alchemy is a safe haven where II get mostly excellent drinks. On my last Celebration cruise, Lattitudes was very good as well.

[lenquixote66]

14 hours ago, tallyho8 said:

I have cruised on Carnival, Holland American, Norwegian, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and MSC many times. My favorite drink is a Tom Collins which I have been drinking for many years. It is essentially lemonade with gin and decorated with a cherry or orange slice. Every ship I go on mixes it with lime and puts a lime slice in it. Many ask whether I want gin or vodka. If you want vodka it is a vodka collins. 

 

I usually tell the bartender how I want it made and they usually get it right and I give a couple dollars extra tip to help them remember me next time. The problem is, next time there is a different bartender and you have to start over again. And if the tip isn't large enough, they forget how to make it. 

Try asking for a John Collins

[Heidi13]

11 hours ago, donaldsc said:

I don't drink bar drinks but mainly wine.  This may sound like a dumb question but if the bartender does not make it to your taste can you return it and get a proper drink instead at no charge?

 

DON

 

Rarely send a drink back, but have never found a problem with them making it differently or an alternative.

 

The product cost is so cheap, the cost of making the customer happy is minimal. Remember, the cost of a single drink more than pays for the cost of a bottle.

[K32682]

3 hours ago, caribsun said:

One time I ordered a Martini, when it was served it was made with vodka. Maybe my fault for not asking for a gin martini but the server replaced at no charge. When I place a order now I ask for Bombay Sapphire gin with 3 green olives, shaken not stirred in a chilled glass. LOL

 

I always specify whether gin or vodka when ordering a Martini. I like both but not prepared the same way. Very dry for vodka, a little more vermouth with gin. Lemon twist with vodka, olives with gin. 

 

A pickled onion is a nice garnish but that would make it a Gibson not a Martini. Ordering a Gibson is pretty much guaranteed to earn you a puzzled look from a bartender. 🙂 

[klfrodo]

I've always wondered why people think a drink would be made the same way all over the world. Every culture is going to put their own spin on a recipe. Heck, people don't even make basic foods the same way across the street, let alone around the world.

You want a drink made a certain way, then call it.

Edited June 2, 2023 by klfrodo

[tallyho8]

12 hours ago, donaldsc said:

I don't drink bar drinks but mainly wine.  This may sound like a dumb question but if the bartender does not make it to your taste can you return it and get a proper drink instead at no charge?

 

DON

I did that once and when I got my final bill I found out I was charged for both drinks. Do not go to guest services on the last day to get a minor charge on a bill straightened out because the line is so long it will take you an hour.

[tallyho8]

10 minutes ago, klfrodo said:

I've always wondered why people think a drink would be made the same way all over the world. Every culture is going to put their own spin on a recipe. Heck, people don't even make basic foods the same way across the street, let alone around the world.

You want a drink made a certain way, then call it.

I ordered Tom Collins in a few different countries in Europe and they were all made correctly.

[cruisemom42]

About 10-15 years ago I really thought cocktails were going to go the way of the dodo. All everyone wanted was wine and micro-brews. 

 

Then suddenly cocktails were cool again. Speakeasy bars and fancy places with "curated" cocktails that have at least 70 rare and exotic essences (I may be exaggerating....slightly...) popped up everywhere. 

 

The problem is that the bartenders only know how to make these highly specialized cocktails and not the broad range of tried and true classics like the Tom Collins, Manhattan, Old Fashioned, Sazerac, Martini, Gimlet, etc.

 

It does seem like there's always one "revived" cocktail that's hot any given year though -- e.g., Moscow Mule a couple of years ago and Aperol Spritz and Negroni currently....

 

[tallyho8]

1 hour ago, lenquixote66 said:

Try asking for a John Collins

In most places a John Collins is made with Bourbon.

[Kristelle]

6 hours ago, klfrodo said:

I've always wondered why people think a drink would be made the same way all over the world. Every culture is going to put their own spin on a recipe. Heck, people don't even make basic foods the same way across the street, let alone around the world.

You want a drink made a certain way, then call it.

 

 

I agree.  I think people are being unrealistic here.

 

Different places in the world make drinks differently -and different cocktails and combinations will be more common in some times and places than others.

All bartenders won't be familar with each of  the hundreds of cocktails and combinations that one person might occasionally order.

 

I cant see any issue or difficulty whatsoever with the bartender clarifying if you want it with vodka or gin - just because you know it is 'correctly' gin doesnt mean every customer does or expects that - same for the lime slice - if you dont want lime,or want specifically cherry or whatever,  just, say so

Edited June 2, 2023 by Kristelle

[evandbob]

Perhaps today's 20 and 30 year old bartenders aren't aware of a drink that was popular back in the 1950's?

[cruisemom42]

1 hour ago, evandbob said:

Perhaps today's 20 and 30 year old bartenders aren't aware of a drink that was popular back in the 1950's?

 

Shouldn't it be part of their training? 

 

I sat in a closed cocktail lounge in HAL last month watching all the bartenders do a refresher on various classic cocktails and their variations -- including a Bloody Mary, which you'd think would be standard knowledge. 

 

Why shouldn't they know a list of 20 or so "classic" cocktails? Most of them don't have that many components....

 

[klfrodo]

1 hour ago, evandbob said:

Perhaps today's 20 and 30 year old bartenders aren't aware of a drink that was popular back in the 1950's?

And why would they? It’s no longer “our” world. It’s their world. It’s up to us to use our skills to adapt to the new world.

We made some great improvements over what our parents gave us and we screwed some stuff up.

The new bartenders don’t care about the old ways. They want to infuse and improve. Ours is to adjust. Or, just fade away kicking and screaming blaming the darn kids these days.

[Kristelle]

4 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Shouldn't it be part of their training? 

 

I sat in a closed cocktail lounge in HAL last month watching all the bartenders do a refresher on various classic cocktails and their variations -- including a Bloody Mary, which you'd think would be standard knowledge. 

 

Why shouldn't they know a list of 20 or so "classic" cocktails? Most of them don't have that many components....

 

I think they would know a list of 2o or so most commonly ordered cocktails-  if something only has a few components but hardly ever anyone orders one, then they not likely to be familiar with it. 

[Kristelle]

And that's before factoring in that drinks called same name might not be exactly the same thing  in all places.

In New Zealand I ordered a lemon squash - here in Australia that has one ingredient ( 2 if you count ice) it is lemon flavoured fizzy 'soft drink' ( called soda or pop in some other countries) 

in a pub in NZ I got tonic water with a dash of lemon syrup. 

 

 

 

[whogo]

On 6/1/2023 at 7:43 PM, silvercrikhix said:

My guess is Carnivals bartender training is mostly making their fru fru drinks.

I look at a Tom Collins as a fru fru drink.

 

 

[navybankerteacher]

1 hour ago, whogo said:

I look at a Tom Collins as a fru fru drink.

 

 

A Tom Collins is one of the simplest, uncomplicated drinks. “Fru fru” implies something (frequently served with a little paper parasol) with a number of ingredients, garnishes and concocted in a blender - something, perhaps, along the lines of a frozen strawberry daiquiri.