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Official Policy on Coffee Cards


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From experience, I have never had a problem using a coffee card on several ships until it is used up. I bought one on the Allure and used the remaining slots on the Freedom and Odyssey.  I bought a new one on the Odyssey to use on this  S2S2S I’m doing right now.

Today on the Jewel, I decided to purchase four coffee cards to give as gifts to my friends who are going on a pre-Christmas cruise on the Allure.  Someone at Café Latte-tudes told me that coffee cards can only be used on the ship on which they were purchased.  When I told him about my experience with coffee cards, I was given the “I am the Bar Supervisor speech.”

Has anyone had a problem using coffee cards across several sailings?

 

OFF-TOPIC:  I seem to be having issues with authorities on the Jewel.  On Day 1, I was approached by two different MDR managers in the middle of dinner demanding to see my SeaPass card and telling me I was at the wrong table. I have not set foot on the MDR since.  With all these brushes with TPTB, I’m afraid I will be put in detention or something.

 

Now back to the coffee card issue…

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I don't have any answers, however my wife has never received consistent information about the coffee cards....whether it be usage from ship to ship or how many punches for a drink.  After our last cruise, she has decided to never get a coffee card again. 

Not only was she getting conflicting information from ship to ship, she was getting different answers from different crew members on the same sailing.

 

15 minutes ago, PG Cruiser said:

OFF-TOPIC:  I seem to be having issues with authorities on the Jewel.  On Day 1, I was approached by two different MDR managers in the middle of dinner demanding to see my SeaPass card and telling me I was at the wrong table. I have not set foot on the MDR since.  With all these brushes with TPTB, I’m afraid I will be put in detention or something.

This sucks that you were made to feel this way. 😞

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33 minutes ago, PG Cruiser said:

From experience, I have never had a problem using a coffee card on several ships until it is used up. I bought one on the Allure and used the remaining slots on the Freedom and Odyssey.  I bought a new one on the Odyssey to use on this  S2S2S I’m doing right now.

Today on the Jewel, I decided to purchase four coffee cards to give as gifts to my friends who are going on a pre-Christmas cruise on the Allure.  Someone at Café Latte-tudes told me that coffee cards can only be used on the ship on which they were purchased.  When I told him about my experience with coffee cards, I was given the “I am the Bar Supervisor speech.”

Has anyone had a problem using coffee cards across several sailings?

 

OFF-TOPIC:  I seem to be having issues with authorities on the Jewel.  On Day 1, I was approached by two different MDR managers in the middle of dinner demanding to see my SeaPass card and telling me I was at the wrong table. I have not set foot on the MDR since.  With all these brushes with TPTB, I’m afraid I will be put in detention or something.

 

Now back to the coffee card issue…

No - we used the same card on at least 3 cruises (we keep them in our cruise box and bring them along)   I thinks its ridiculous they still use a punch card.  If they really want to control it, should just load coffee credits onto the sea pass.

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  • PG Cruiser changed the title to Official Policy on Coffee Cards
12 minutes ago, PG Cruiser said:

Ironically, I was wearing a shirt I made that says “Happy Return to Royal”

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I hate that they treated you this way, I'm not sure but our return to the Oasis last week exposed us to more then a few pretty miserable staff.  Rough start I guess, maybe in their (RCCL) haste to get going the crew are being neglected in addition to the workload, not allowed to leave the ship, mask requirements etc. Seriously, when I saw the servers and life guards at Coco Cay with masks on outside I thought now this is simply ridiculous. I understand the litigation protection/limiting exposure, limiting monetary pay outs but all I kept thinking was these are human beings who are outside in the sunshine and warm weather...let them breathe, please? Have an enjoyable rest of your sailing. 

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20 minutes ago, Neesa said:

I hate that they treated you this way, I'm not sure but our return to the Oasis last week exposed us to more then a few pretty miserable staff.  Rough start I guess, maybe in their (RCCL) haste to get going the crew are being neglected in addition to the workload, not allowed to leave the ship, mask requirements etc. Seriously, when I saw the servers and life guards at Coco Cay with masks on outside I thought now this is simply ridiculous. I understand the litigation protection/limiting exposure, limiting monetary pay outs but all I kept thinking was these are human beings who are outside in the sunshine and warm weather...let them breathe, please? Have an enjoyable rest of your sailing. 

The thing is, I’m not having any issues with the rank and file.  It‘s more with the “titled” ones.  I hope I’m wrong but I’m getting the “small ship, big boss” vibe on this ship.

With the Bar Supervisor I spoke with, I felt like he was telling me “I’m the boss, my word is canon.”  Which apparently is not, because my experience was different in the previous 10 Royal ships I’ve sailed on.  I hope I’m wrong but I felt him grumbling as he walked away from the place.  If you think about it, I’m bringing their ship revenue for coffee that the Allure will provide.

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This is the fine print I have on my listing for the coffee card:

"Beverage selection is limited to those described in the package details and in Cruise Planner and is subject to change without notice. Package is valid only for the sailing for which it was purchased and is non-transferable. "

And, technically the coffee card is listed under the Non-Alcoholic Beverage Packages section, so it is considered a package. My take is that the default rule is that it is non-transferable between sailings, but it is up to each ship's beverage department on whether they want to enforce it. It would seem the staff on Jewel is.

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I'm always surprised when I hear of people using the coffee card or any drink card (10 bear card, 10 any drink card) across multiple sailings.  

It's long been the policy that these cards are for the current sailing only.  

Back in 2017 on Grandeur they wrote my folio number on the back and validated it with every card use.  

So I was surprised when you said you were able to use them on other ships.  I've always considered them to be the ship and sail date you bought them on.  Although on Empress I was told on a B2B they would let me use it on the next cruise even though they weren't supposed to.  

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1 hour ago, twangster said:

I'm always surprised when I hear of people using the coffee card or any drink card (10 bear card, 10 any drink card) across multiple sailings.  

It's long been the policy that these cards are for the current sailing only.  

Back in 2017 on Grandeur they wrote my folio number on the back and validated it with every card use.  

So I was surprised when you said you were able to use them on other ships.  I've always considered them to be the ship and sail date you bought them on.  Although on Empress I was told on a B2B they would let me use it on the next cruise even though they weren't supposed to.  

Ssssshhh, be quiet about it.  Let’s wait until my friends use their cards on their Allure sailing ha ha

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On 12/1/2021 at 1:53 PM, PG Cruiser said:

From experience, I have never had a problem using a coffee card on several ships until it is used up. I bought one on the Allure and used the remaining slots on the Freedom and Odyssey.  I bought a new one on the Odyssey to use on this  S2S2S I’m doing right now.

Today on the Jewel, I decided to purchase four coffee cards to give as gifts to my friends who are going on a pre-Christmas cruise on the Allure.  Someone at Café Latte-tudes told me that coffee cards can only be used on the ship on which they were purchased.  When I told him about my experience with coffee cards, I was given the “I am the Bar Supervisor speech.”

Has anyone had a problem using coffee cards across several sailings?

 

 

 

Now back to the coffee card issue…

On one of my trips (2017 or 18) the barista insisted I write the name of the ship on the space provided for that purpose on the card.  That was how they tracked it.  Back then, the card was described as "15 drinks" rather than "15 shots" of espresso.   Since that trip, I have avoided filling out the name of the ship, and I haven't been challenged by crew.  But they have started charging me double punches (such as for a Caribbean Coconut), which makes the whole matter moot (I use up my card on one sailing).  There does seem to be variation from ship to ship.

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I purchased a coffee card for my Adventure sailing this past summer.  I was told by the Adventure folks that I could use the coffee card on other sailings. They only punched once per coffee no matter what I ordered.  Fast forward to Thanksgiving on the Symphony....I was told a grande specialty coffee was 2 punches AND they were doing me a favor since coffee cards were no longer transferable to different ships.

I stopped using the coffee card and had 5 punches left.  While I do not agree with in general with what I am about to tell you, I had my husband, who had a refreshment package, get me 4 more coffees on that sailing using his refreshment package.  Sorry not sorry.  I paid for a coffee card and I used the value of the coffee card.

 

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19 hours ago, Funeegal said:

I purchased a coffee card for my Adventure sailing this past summer.  I was told by the Adventure folks that I could use the coffee card on other sailings. They only punched once per coffee no matter what I ordered.  Fast forward to Thanksgiving on the Symphony....I was told a grande specialty coffee was 2 punches AND they were doing me a favor since coffee cards were no longer transferable to different ships.

I stopped using the coffee card and had 5 punches left.  While I do not agree with in general with what I am about to tell you, I had my husband, who had a refreshment package, get me 4 more coffees on that sailing using his refreshment package.  Sorry not sorry.  I paid for a coffee card and I used the value of the coffee card.

 

Your experience is exactly why I take issue with different application of the same program from ship to ship. Either the card IS transferable ship to ship or it IS NOT transferable - it shouldn't be up to each ship whether they accept it or not. And the number of punches per purchase should be clearly defined and followed consistently.

Same concept applies to the corkage fee for wine brought on board - either there is ALWAYS a charge for a bottle opened or stored at the MDR or there is ALWAYS no charge for doing so. When we travel with others, this doesn't matter because we'll open the bottle ourselves and the entire bottle is consumed at one dinner. When we travel as just a couple, a bottle is more likely to last two meals and it's more convenient to have them store the re-corked bottle than to take it back to our stateroom (not to mention that they have the facilities to store the wine at a proper temperature).

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We recently did the group cruise on Harmony of the Seas, cruising for the first time as Diamond members. The inconsistency in enforcing policies described in this thread match our experience with the free drink policy for Diamond members. We found the staff was generous as we exceeded the 3 free drink limit several times. This mostly occurred in specialty restaurants with wine. I suspect that in these cases, where they know you are already paying extra for the meal that they have a bit more flexibility. 

I can understand why it is frustrating when policies are not consistently enforced yet my experience is that when they are not, it is usually in favor of the guests as in our case with the free drink policy. That kind of goodwill improves the experience for me and makes me more generous with my tipping in return.

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1 hour ago, HeWhoWaits said:

Your experience is exactly why I take issue with different application of the same program from ship to ship. Either the card IS transferable ship to ship or it IS NOT transferable - it shouldn't be up to each ship whether they accept it or not. And the number of punches per purchase should be clearly defined and followed consistently.

Same concept applies to the corkage fee for wine brought on board - either there is ALWAYS a charge for a bottle opened or stored at the MDR or there is ALWAYS no charge for doing so. When we travel with others, this doesn't matter because we'll open the bottle ourselves and the entire bottle is consumed at one dinner. When we travel as just a couple, a bottle is more likely to last two meals and it's more convenient to have them store the re-corked bottle than to take it back to our stateroom (not to mention that they have the facilities to store the wine at a proper temperature).

IMO - I can't figure out why Royal is still messing with cards   No reason you can put 15 coffee credits onto someone's account (just like electronic drink vouchers for Diamond and above).

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  • 2 weeks later...

Yeah... I'm not sure I see the problem with the policy not always being enforced. I believe it's written on the cards, and know it's in the Terms & Conditions when you buy the cards. It's like... if you are going 10mph over the speed limit and go past a couple cops who don't give you a ticket, then the third one you pass does; complaining that the first two either choose to give you a pass, or weren't paying attention, seems weird to me.
I get it's frustrating finding out things don't work the way you thought they did... but not reading the rules and making an assumptions based on anecdotal evidence seems like a you thing, not a Royal thing. I'm not going to get mad at the crew who do hook me up, just because a few of the crew do not.

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On 12/27/2021 at 4:27 AM, Tolkmit said:

Yeah... I'm not sure I see the problem with the policy not always being enforced. I believe it's written on the cards, and know it's in the Terms & Conditions when you buy the cards. It's like... if you are going 10mph over the speed limit and go past a couple cops who don't give you a ticket, then the third one you pass does; complaining that the first two either choose to give you a pass, or weren't paying attention, seems weird to me.
I get it's frustrating finding out things don't work the way you thought they did... but not reading the rules and making an assumptions based on anecdotal evidence seems like a you thing, not a Royal thing. I'm not going to get mad at the crew who do hook me up, just because a few of the crew do not.

I did not read the T&Cs for the coffee card until I encountered this issue.  The baristas on the ships have always volunteered the information that I can use the card on future sailings. But now that I've read the T&Cs, I will not expect any of the RC ships I sail on to allow me to use the remaining slots on my card.  If they do, fine.  If not, there's always the coffee machine at the Diamond Lounge (and the Diamond drink vouchers).  I will also also stop giving away Coffee Cards as gifts to my friends.

UPDATE #1:  My friends who sailed on the Allure were able to use the Coffee Cards I purchased on the Jewel (see original post)

UPDATE #2:  I asked about this issue on the Brilliance.  The barista told me that they have received a memo telling them to allow guests to use coffee cards purchased from previous sailings.  Knowing how inconsistently policies are implemented on Royal ships, you may not want to quote me on this.

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  • 1 month later...
  • 1 year later...
2 hours ago, RCCL2 said:

I’m doing B2B on independence of the seas. Can I use the same card across both sailings?

Yes - you should have no issue at all.  I've bought on one ship and used on another months later and never had an issue.  You could mention when purchasing that you will be sailing on a B2B but either way you will be fine.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi! I wanted to buy that Coffee Card on Anthem of the Seas. So far, I didn't see any sales on it compared to drink packages but I do see someone mentioned on Black Friday... anyone ever had a discount other than on Black Friday? Is that a usual thing? How many kinds on sizes is there? I haven't seen any menu on the app for my sail. If I buy one pre-cruise, is there an option to buy another one on the ship? I would really want to know the prices of coffees... I'm a coffee person mostly lol

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12 hours ago, CruiseMommyOf3 said:

Hi! I wanted to buy that Coffee Card on Anthem of the Seas. So far, I didn't see any sales on it compared to drink packages but I do see someone mentioned on Black Friday... anyone ever had a discount other than on Black Friday? Is that a usual thing? How many kinds on sizes is there? I haven't seen any menu on the app for my sail. If I buy one pre-cruise, is there an option to buy another one on the ship? I would really want to know the prices of coffees... I'm a coffee person mostly lol

Never seen card on sale. Caps or lattes in December about $5 with 1 punch for a single and 2 for double, etc. So the most savings is if you get a single espresso shot. 15 shots per card buys 7+ doubles for me which might save 10%. You can get different sized cups if you want extra milk or foam. You can get coffee instead of espresso, too. But they have free coffee elsewhere.

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