What do your kids drink on the cruise?

[Athena1026]

Just wondering what drinks are included for kids?

Soda cards? How much of a savings are they? Are they worth getting or no?

Does anyone bring their own soda anymore?

 

What's the scoop?

 

Sandy

[dolphinwyo]

My kids just drink the free drinks - lemonade, punch, juice, choc/white milk, hot cocoa, water, tea. Available all the time at the grill and hamburger areas, room service, etc., I took a water bottle for each of them and filled it with ice water during the day to keep them hydrated. We don't drink much soda, so didn't purchase one. If you had teens or kids that drank a lot then probably worth it. Mine are young - so the free drinks are plenty

[CruizinMom2c]

my son drinks milk....but my husband gets the soda card and its worth it for him...he drinks a lot of cokes...and its easier to just flash the card and get a coke...

[mcfam5]

my son drinks milk....but my husband gets the soda card and its worth it for him...he drinks a lot of cokes...and its easier to just flash the card and get a coke...

 

We had a two day stay in Orlando prior to our cruise. While there we had purchased some soda. We had three cans left the day we were to board so we threw them in a suitcase and brought them on the ship. That was all my 11 year old needed for the week. Other than that the kids dranks water, punch, milk/chocolate milk, juice, etc.

 

I avoid buying the soda cards because I don't want my kids having unlimited access to soda!!! :D

[mcfam5]

my son drinks milk....but my husband gets the soda card and its worth it for him...he drinks a lot of cokes...and its easier to just flash the card and get a coke...

 

We had a two day stay in Orlando prior to our cruise. While there we had purchased some soda. We had three cans left the day we were to board so we threw them in a suitcase and brought them on the ship. That was all my 11 year old needed for the week. Other than that the kids dranks water, punch, milk/chocolate milk, juice, etc.

 

I avoid buying the soda cards because I don't want my kids having unlimited access to soda!!! :D

[CruizinMom2c]

yeah...sometimes my dh acts like a kid..and probably doesnt need the all access soda neither :)

[CanadianTwosome]

Mine doesn't like anything with bubbles (yay), and she doesn't like the US-style iced tea (ours tastes more like a long island iced tea if you've ever had one - not like brewed tea). As a result, we don't bother with the soda card. On our next cruise I'm planning on getting a smoothie book for our daughter. Rather than an unlimited number of drinks, it's a booklet with a certain number of smoothies, and she loves them. Since it's a booklet, also, it can be shared 'legally', so my husband and I could have some if we wanted. :)

 

I do bring sodas with me as well, since I drink caffeine free and I use them with my bar set up in my cabin.

[SelectSys]

...Soda cards? How much of a savings are they? Are they worth getting or no?

...

 

I have bought cards for my kids in the past. It is just an OK/poor deal for all but the largest soda drinkers. I have done it as a matter of convenience when I didn't want my kids to have charging access on their cards.

 

Neither of them are that big of soda drinkers so I don't worry about them drinking too much. Running up the bill on Smoothies is another question!

[cbell94]

I have never heard of these? Which cruise lines offer them? How much do they cost?

[todareistodo]

i dont drink much soda, so i stick to water and lemonaid. But i do bring a case of red bull with me, they are a rip of on the boat.

[3GR8Sons]

We buy them for our kids. They drink soda and they like Shirley Temples at dinner when the adults are having drinks. We don't want to allow them to charge things on the cards. I think we get our money's worth out of them. My kids hardly drink soda at home so it's fine for them to indulge for a week.

[Mammaof2girls]

My girls are not allowed to drink soda. So I plan on having them drink whatever is free....they are fine with milk, or lemonaide.

 

Yes, I do plan on bringing my own soda for me and DH. There's another informational thread about it somewhere on CC. But I plan on putting it in my carryon...like a 6 or 12-pack of soda. :)

 

Also, I plan on bringing a bunch of those those single serving thingies of powdered juices. Like crystal lite makes them too. So just in case we'll have that as well. You just add it to water and stir. :)

[Giggles2007]

This will be my kids first cruise. I will be purchasing the soda cards for them but I know that they will also be drinking the free beverages also. When they were little we didn't really do the soda thing but since they are older now they pretty much choose their beverages. Also, like the op said the free drinks are cool but I know that when we (the adults) are having a drink they could enjoy a Shirley Temple or something related.

[CeleBrat]

We always take along several refillable sports bottles--one for each of us. Then I also bring along an assortment of Crystal Lite To-Go mix-ins. There are so many flavors now: Grape, teas, Orange SUnburst, Strawberry Lemonade, etc.

 

Then, all we have to do is keep our sports bottle filled with water from the buffet--and mix-in the drink mixes.

 

It works great!

 

(NOTE--I got the sports bottles from the dollar bin at Target)

 

CeleBrat

[Warm Breezes]

On Disney it was Shirley Temples and Pop since it was free.

 

On Carnival lemonade and chocolate milk were the drinks of choice.

 

On Norwegian tea, milk, and chocolate milk for the free drinks and I purchased the Smoothie Book for 20 drinks that they shared. It allowed them to get Virgin frozen drinks and smoothies.

[Catrin]

We let my oldest get a soda card. He wears it on his lanyard so he can get his soda with lunch and dinner. He has rules.. like no caffiene after dinner.

 

The other two kids.. it is your basic Milk, Juice, Water. The only thing, is I wished they offfered Apple and Orange juice 24/7. It is only available at breakfast time. At dinner, the first night both kids ordered milk, and it was at the table the rest of the week.

 

We always bring a 12 pack of Diet Coke for my husband and I to split during the week. This year, I may also bring some small Gatorade bottles.

 

Catrin

[CruisinFinsUp]

I always pack some "tetra packs" of juice -- the tetras are tough enough to be in the suitcase (the pouches are too easially punched thru) and that way they have a juice when they want one, and I can take them along on shore excursions as well. Often on shore its hard to find something that they will drink enough of - they don't drink pop, and they will drink more juice than they will water, which is important if they've been at the beach all day!

Plus, once its finished, there's more room in the suitcase for souvies!!!

 

Otherwise, on Princess even in the buffet we were able to ask the waiters for juice at meals -- they had to go to the kitchen and it took a few minutes, but since juice was "included" in the dining rooms, they brought it to us in the buffet also.