Baked Alaska Posted May 13, 2020 Report Share Posted May 13, 2020 Was considering purchasing the refreshment package for my son and his buddy for an upcoming cruise. I wonder if the Coca-Cola Freestyle machines will be a thing of the past. RCIfan1912 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USFFrank Posted May 13, 2020 Report Share Posted May 13, 2020 Why would they? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baked Alaska Posted May 13, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2020 23 minutes ago, USFFrank said: Why would they? Three words: Single. Use. Cups. The freestyle machines only work with the chip imbedded multi-use plastic cups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaredhamburg Posted May 13, 2020 Report Share Posted May 13, 2020 My guess is that there will be a card to scan and an attendant to get a beverage. This will also make sharing the cups with the non-beverage package person even harder.... RBRSKI and RCIfan1912 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pima1988 Posted May 13, 2020 Report Share Posted May 13, 2020 Yes, but remember it is self serve which means it is limited interaction with staff. If you get rid of it, imagine how many more people will be lining up at the pool bars for sodas instead of hitting the free style machine in the WJ or Promenade/Esplanade before going to the pool They are going to have to change, but I would think that will be on the bottom of the pile compared to the ice cream machines on the pool deck if you worry about spreading germs. ~ Never went to it, never will, because even before Co Vid, I saw how unsanitary it was. Kids grabbing cones and putting them back. Dads making multiple cones with ice cream on his hand as he makes the next. Lines out the ying yang. RWDW1204 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pima1988 Posted May 13, 2020 Report Share Posted May 13, 2020 Just now, jaredhamburg said: My guess is that there will be a card to scan and an attendant to get a beverage. Yes, but you can do that now. My hubby takes his freestyle cup to the pool bc he likes Powerade or cherry coke zero. I just take my sea pass card because I am fine with diet coke. The problem the attendant issue is financial. It is all about $$$. Replacing the free style machine will mean they will need more attendants to be roaming certain areas, WJ, and pool decks quickly come to mind. 2nd. It will mean reinvestment in things like more glasses and those favorite paper straws. You are talking about ships, such as Anthem with 4K+ passengers. If 1500 of them had the free style, that is a lot less glasses to be purchased and washed. Hence, financially it is cheaper in the long run. RWDW1204 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew72681 Posted May 13, 2020 Report Share Posted May 13, 2020 22 minutes ago, Pima1988 said: Yes, but you can do that now. My hubby takes his freestyle cup to the pool bc he likes Powerade or cherry coke zero. I just take my sea pass card because I am fine with diet coke. The problem the attendant issue is financial. It is all about $$$. Replacing the free style machine will mean they will need more attendants to be roaming certain areas, WJ, and pool decks quickly come to mind. 2nd. It will mean reinvestment in things like more glasses and those favorite paper straws. You are talking about ships, such as Anthem with 4K+ passengers. If 1500 of them had the free style, that is a lot less glasses to be purchased and washed. Hence, financially it is cheaper in the long run. The real clue that labor is the biggest problem is that they put freestyle machines in in the first place. Those machines take cartridges that are orders of magnitude more expensive that the traditional BIB (bag-in-box) package that you see under traditional soda fountains. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof4crazytocruise Posted May 13, 2020 Report Share Posted May 13, 2020 I would be more concerned about the touch pad and the drink selection. Put a washy-washy right next to it, good to go. USFFrank 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USFFrank Posted May 13, 2020 Report Share Posted May 13, 2020 5 hours ago, Baked Alaska said: Three words: Single. Use. Cups. The freestyle machines only work with the chip imbedded multi-use plastic cups. If I missed it somewhere I'm sorry. Where did it say Royal was doing away with the freestyle cups? 3 hours ago, Momof4crazytocruise said: I would be more concerned about the touch pad and the drink selection. Put a washy-washy right next to it, good to go. That's all you need. Some kind of disinfectant wipe dispenser near the machine to wipe down the touchscreen if you like and/or a hand sanitizer dispenser you could use after you've made your selection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeedNoodles Posted May 13, 2020 Report Share Posted May 13, 2020 5 hours ago, Pima1988 said: They are going to have to change, but I would think that will be on the bottom of the pile compared to the ice cream machines on the pool deck if you worry about spreading germs. ~ Never went to it, never will, because even before Co Vid, I saw how unsanitary it was. Kids grabbing cones and putting them back. Dads making multiple cones with ice cream on his hand as he makes the next. Lines out the ying yang. The ice cream machines had attendants on the last two cruises I was on (last June on Ovation and last Feb on Symphony). You were not allowed to get your own. I imagine they'll change to this on all ships. whenismynextcruise 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruzOnBye Posted May 13, 2020 Report Share Posted May 13, 2020 12 minutes ago, SpeedNoodles said: The ice cream machines had attendants on the last two cruises I was on (last June on Ovation and last Feb on Symphony). You were not allowed to get your own. I imagine they'll change to this on all ships. We were on Mariner in December and we had attendants as well for the icecream, which was fine with us! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pima1988 Posted May 13, 2020 Report Share Posted May 13, 2020 22 minutes ago, SpeedNoodles said: The ice cream machines had attendants on the last two cruises I was on (last June on Ovation and last Feb on Symphony). You were not allowed to get your own I think that is also a problem with RCL. I am loyal to Royal, but every ship is different. They did not do that on my Anthem or Adventure that we took within 9 months of each other. I sailed Adventure 2018. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeedNoodles Posted May 13, 2020 Report Share Posted May 13, 2020 55 minutes ago, Pima1988 said: I think that is also a problem with RCL. I am loyal to Royal, but every ship is different. I don’t think they’ll make self serve an option on any ship going forward. Pima1988, WAAAYTOOO, USCG Teacher and 1 other 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pima1988 Posted May 13, 2020 Report Share Posted May 13, 2020 I agree @SpeedNoodles. I think self serve will be an issue on every ship. That now begs the question will WJ have desserts in a cup? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pooch Posted May 13, 2020 Report Share Posted May 13, 2020 3 hours ago, CruzOnBye said: We were on Mariner in December and we had attendants as well for the icecream, which was fine with us! We were on Mariner in February, no attendants. Ice cream was self serve. CruzOnBye 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew72681 Posted May 14, 2020 Report Share Posted May 14, 2020 One thing I’d be careful with is making anything a “forever change” this world is cyclical as are diseases. During the Spanish flu crowds were often in masks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danv3 Posted May 14, 2020 Report Share Posted May 14, 2020 Wish they'd expand the Freestyle machines, not get rid of them or make them less convenient to use. Love the options and the soft drinks from the bars have always tasted "off" to me on cruises. RWDW1204 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melmar02 Posted May 14, 2020 Report Share Posted May 14, 2020 17 hours ago, USFFrank said: If I missed it somewhere I'm sorry. Where did it say Royal was doing away with the freestyle cups? I don't think you are missing anything. I think the poster was just making a suggestion for one way to get around several hundred/thousand people re-using the cups they have been drinking from on a single machine. Okgladgal and Baked Alaska 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew72681 Posted May 14, 2020 Report Share Posted May 14, 2020 2 minutes ago, melmar02 said: I don't think you missing anything. I think the poster was just making a suggestion for one way to get around several hundred/thousand people re-using the cups they have been drinking from on a single machine. Would be an interesting comparison to test the bacteria counts between the cup only I’ve touched and the ones the bartender has. On more than one occasion I’ve gotten a cup from the bar that looks dirty. What would be interesting would be if Coca-Cola’s vending division could create a machine that in between uses closed a lid to run through a cleaning (with water or UV) picture those old coffee machines in the 80s with the sliding door. Baked Alaska and RWDW1204 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Branderson610 Posted May 14, 2020 Report Share Posted May 14, 2020 11 hours ago, Baked Alaska said: Was considering purchasing the refreshment package for my son and his buddy for an upcoming cruise. I wonder if the Coca-Cola Freestyle machines will be a thing of the past. I see what you are saying. A lot of fast food restaurants near me don't allow self serve refills anymore post covid. It will be interesting to see what happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Va4fam Posted May 14, 2020 Report Share Posted May 14, 2020 Empress in late February had an attendant for the ice cream machine at all times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whenismynextcruise Posted May 14, 2020 Report Share Posted May 14, 2020 5 hours ago, Pima1988 said: I think that is also a problem with RCL. I am loyal to Royal, but every ship is different. They did not do that on my Anthem or Adventure that we took within 9 months of each other. I sailed Adventure 2018. Been on anthem a lot. Most times there has been some sort of ice cream attendant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ehw51 Posted May 14, 2020 Report Share Posted May 14, 2020 Last 2 cruises on Anthem they have had attendants most of the time at the ice cream machines. They also had gloves on. It will be very interesting to see what they will Freestyle machines, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chadster Posted May 14, 2020 Report Share Posted May 14, 2020 12 hours ago, Branderson610 said: I see what you are saying. A lot of fast food restaurants near me don't allow self serve refills anymore post covid. It will be interesting to see what happens. I've been seeing this here in Maryland, and there are press reports of it happening all across the country. As for Freestyle machines specifically, I'll let you know in the next couple of days, when I go get a burger from the place near me that has a Freestyle machine. Once more, doing the dirty work for you fine folks. As for the ice cream machines, I'd welcome the attendants. Years of work in fast-food establishments in my younger days have made me loathe those machines...plus, watching people get their own ice cream just puts me off getting it. SpeedNoodles, Baked Alaska and USCG Teacher 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baked Alaska Posted May 14, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2020 I think RCCL will ditch ALL self-service and any service ware that remains in possession of the customer past one use (e.g., re-usable cups like the chip embedded cups with the drink packages). This is kind of a fluffy article on RCCL, but I think it is the beginning: https://cruiseradio.net/cruise-line-considers-ditching-traditional-buffet/ USCG Teacher and Neesa 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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