Royal Caribbean is rolling out two new drink experiences on its ships.
Periodically, the cruise line will offer new drinks or cocktails for its guests that coincide with special events, new brand partnerships, or as a way to offer more than just traditional cruise drinks.
One of these new offerings is a year-long celebration of cocktails and wines created by female master distillers and winemakers.
The other introduces a new Aperitivo Hour happy hour with discounted cocktails in select bars.
Here's what you can look for on your next sailing.
Royal Caribbean launches Aperitivo Hour happy hour
Royal Caribbean is leaning into an Italian tradition with a new happy hour option.
A new Aperitivo Hour being introduced on ships.
In Italian culture, apertivo is a pre-dinner "warm-up" held in the early evening to stimulate the appetite, typically featuring light, bitter-sweet cocktails like a Spritz or Negroni.
Available between 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm, Ed Eiswirth, Royal Caribbean's Director of Beverage Operations, said there are five new cocktails that will cost $10 when ordered during happy hour at Vintages or Giovanni's Wine Bar.
What cocktails are included
The drink menu consists of:
- Aperol Spritz
- Hugo Spritz
- Miami Spritz
- Campari Spritz
- Negroni
New cocktails celebrating International Women’s Day
At the same time, Royal Caribbean launched a new drink menu to celebrate women-lead drink makers.
There's a limited-time drink menu celebrating International Women’s Day, which will be offered this year featuring 3 cocktails and 2 wines.
All of them were created with spirits or wines from female master distillers and winemakers. This is part of Royal Caribbean’s effort to highlight women in the beverage industry.
Spirits and wines featured
- Mijenta Tequila
- Woodford Reserve
- Appleton Rum
- Zolo Malbec
- Villa Maria Wines
The "Cheers to Her" menu has six drinks on it
- Strawberry Sunset
- She Shines
- Villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc
- Coffee Boulevardier
- Desert Light
- Zolo Malbec
Where guests can try the new drinks
The new menus are available for an undisclosed amount of time, but here's what we know.
The Aperitivo Hour appears in Vintages Wine Bar and Giovanni’s Wine Bar. While the International Women’s Day cocktails likely offered fleetwide at select bars. The Schooner Bar would be a good guess for where you could find it.
Availability may vary by ship or sailing.
Royal Caribbean has been pushing recently to highlight drinks and cocktails that go beyond what most vacationers think of on a cruise. While there's nothing wrong with a pina colada or daiquiri, the cruise line has promoted and added many more drink options.
Plus, these new options are a great choice for guests who enjoy craft cocktails and wine experiences.
As an added bonus, the Aperitivo Hour provides a lower-cost drink option before dinner. This is helpful for those that do not have a drink package (although a beverage package covers these cocktails too).
Royal Caribbean recently partnered with a whiskey maker
The two new cocktail menus follow another recent partnership that was added with Pappy Van Winkle.
Available on ships with a Mason Jar (Allure, Wonder, and Utopia), there are new drinks for those that want top shelf bourbon whiskey.
The specialty curated collection of bourbons available at the restaurant includes Pappy Van Winkle 15 Year and 20 Year, Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye 13 Year, Sazerac 18 Year, and others. These offerings join Royal Caribbean’s robust beverage line and specialty cocktails.
This high-end bourbon is something to appeal to those that prefer this sort of a drink.
