Royal Caribbean Cocktails

[twangster]

From Grandeur MDR,  August - September 2017.  Bermuda/Bahamas.  See PDF below.

Wines varied by bar and will likely vary over time and by ship but this should give you an idea of what is typically available and the price in $USD.

Naturally there are frozen concoctions and bartender special drinks beyond this menu.

Drink Menu GoTS August 2017.PDF

[jce2]

I continue to be disappointed by the complete lack of dark beers but am adding that Hennessy Black Bull to my list of drinks to try!

 

[jce2]

No Dr. Pepper?

 

[twangster]

13 minutes ago, jce2 said:

I continue to be disappointed by the complete lack of dark beers but am adding that Hennessy Black Bull to my list of drinks to try!

 

While not on the menu, I'm a big Guinness fan and have seen it on more than one ship, although not all bars.  Newcastle NBA sometimes too.  I'm spoiled in Colorado due to all the craft options but I don't expect that sort of selection on a cruise.  

[jce2]

Just now, twangster said:

While not on the menu, I'm a big Guinness fan and have seen it on more than one ship, although not all bars.  Newcastle NBA sometimes too.  I'm spoiled in Colorado due to all the craft options but I don't expect that sort of selection on a cruise.  

I am in Colorado too!  I assumed Guinness is available at least in Hoof & Claw as they have a mixed drink that involves Guinness (Dublin Ice Tea I believe).  Still, plenty of drinks I want to try and as long as Jack and Captain are available I am set! (just keep those tropical drinks away from me!)

 

[JLMoran]

1 hour ago, jce2 said:

I continue to be disappointed by the complete lack of dark beers but am adding that Hennessy Black Bull to my list of drinks to try!

 

I'm also disappointed to see that, although on a "smaller" ship like Grandeur maybe it's justifiable. If RCI has decided the typical passenger manifest skews to a demographic not generally known for liking craft or at least darker beers, I guess it might make sense. At least we know that on larger ships like Anthem we can have some better luck finding those craft and darker beers we crave.

I'm also continuing to be disappointed by the red wine selection I'm seeing in these menus, especially given how many ships have a Vintages on board. Lucky to find one Malbec (which I do like if it's not too fruity) and maybe a single Merlot (meh), with everything else either Pino Noir or Cabernet (both of which I despise). If it's supposed to be such a great place to discover wines, how about some options in Zinfandel, Chianti, Shiraz, or Sangiovese?

[twangster]

@JLMoran - agree with the wine selection, especially anything covered by the drink package.  I find myself upgrading to something better and paying the $4-5 per glass up charge.   On Oasis class I can manage the "house" whites in the suite lounge but the "house" reds leave me looking for a different drink.  Oh the downsides of being a wine snob.     

[twangster]

On Grandeur they also offered a 10 drink card and a 10 draft beer card.  The 10 drink card was $79 plus 18% gratuity.   It first appeared on day 3.  The 10 draft beer card appeared later in the cruise.  It was $49 plus 18% gratuity. 

Draft beer selection was primarily Heineken or an apple ale.  The pool bar struggled with the concept of "pint" often using a smaller cocktail glass.  The Schooner bar was a better choice to fulfill the draft beer card.

The back of both cards contained your folio number which they entered in the bar terminal each time (fraud prevention for anyone contemplating making their own cards).  

EDIT - the 10 drink card worked like the drink package with a $12 cap, the difference charged for drinks over $12 .

[jce2]

I just wish they had a "juice" card.  I am buying the soda package for three youth on our cruise (okay, young adults), but the 4th doesn't drink sodas.  But to get her a package that weould allow for juice would be the equivalent of buying 3(!) soda packages!  I just told her I would buy her juices whenever she likes.

I am also going to try to get Wal-mart in Galveston to sell me an unopened case of "ice" and stick a luggage tag on it.  If I am successful my wife will be very happy.  If not, I will only be out the price of the case (also packing propel powder in case the "ice" trick doesn't work).

("Ice" is a lightly carbonated zero calorie flavored water).

[DocLC]

6 hours ago, jce2 said:

I just wish they had a "juice" card.  I am buying the soda package for three youth on our cruise (okay, young adults), but the 4th doesn't drink sodas.  But to get her a package that weould allow for juice would be the equivalent of buying 3(!) soda packages!  I just told her I would buy her juices whenever she likes.

I am also going to try to get Wal-mart in Galveston to sell me an unopened case of "ice" and stick a luggage tag on it.  If I am successful my wife will be very happy.  If not, I will only be out the price of the case (also packing propel powder in case the "ice" trick doesn't work).

("Ice" is a lightly carbonated zero calorie flavored water).

You shouldn't have any issues with the Ice, but I'd recommend carrying it on instead. You could do the same with juice. Alternatively, stock up on juice during the breakfast hours and store it in the cabin refrigerator. 

If you're on a ship with the Coca Cola Freestyle machines, there are a lot of non soda choices including flavored waters. 

[FManke]

9 minutes ago, DocLC said:

If you're on a ship with the Coca Cola Freestyle machines, there are a lot of non soda choices including flavored waters. 

If you're not on a ship with a Freestyle machine, is it just bar service or do they have any self serve fountain service?

[jce2]

8 minutes ago, DocLC said:

You shouldn't have any issues with the Ice, but I'd recommend carrying it on instead. You could do the same with juice. Alternatively, stock up on juice during the breakfast hours and store it in the cabin refrigerator. 

If you're on a ship with the Coca Cola Freestyle machines, there are a lot of non soda choices including flavored waters. 

We will be on Liberty so no free-style.  We shouldn't need much in the way of carry-ons so maybe my son and I will pack our backpacks with juice/ice.  My wife had a stomach reduction and "ice" is all she drinks.

 

[DocLC]

2 hours ago, FManke said:

If you're not on a ship with a Freestyle machine, is it just bar service or do they have any self serve fountain service?

Just bar service. 

 

[Floski]

On 9/19/2017 at 7:42 PM, jce2 said:

I am in Colorado too!  I assumed Guinness is available at least in Hoof & Claw as they have a mixed drink that involves Guinness (Dublin Ice Tea I believe).  Still, plenty of drinks I want to try and as long as Jack and Captain are available I am set! (just keep those tropical drinks away from me!)

 

Some Barrel-Aged Ten Fidy would be nice.....even some Avery would be great!

 

 

[Matt]

On 9/19/2017 at 7:23 PM, jce2 said:

I continue to be disappointed by the complete lack of dark beers but am adding that Hennessy Black Bull to my list of drinks to try!

 

Me too, although the Pub on Harmony had more than usual.  Still, wish the dark beer variety fleetwide matched what you can find at Michael's Genuine Pub on Anthem.

[BrianAlt]

The regular bars all have ONLY lagers and Blue Moon (Coors Wheat Ale).  Very disappointing.  They used to at least have Sierra Nevada Pale Ale at the regular bars.  No longer.  

Also, the pub choices, while decent, have actually gone downhill.

[bcarney]

On 9/25/2017 at 1:16 PM, BrianAlt said:

The regular bars all have ONLY lagers and Blue Moon (Coors Wheat Ale).  Very disappointing.  They used to at least have Sierra Nevada Pale Ale at the regular bars.  No longer.  

Also, the pub choices, while decent, have actually gone downhill.

Well crap.  Last year on Adventure they not only had Sierra Nevada, they also had Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA (not 60, 90!), and also Red Hook.  I was pleased. :) 

[JLMoran]

I just attended the NJ Big Brew Beer Fest, which had a huge number of local-area breweries (many of them literal mom & pop shops), and I can tell you that if Anthem or another ship sailing out of Port Liberty could get some Angry Erik "Dark Side of the Leaf" stout, or Czig Meister "Chaos" (Belgian Dubbel), I'd be happier than a pig in slop.

Unfortunately, Angry Erik really is a mom & pop kind of outfit, and I'm guessing it would be really difficult, if not impossible, to manufacture the massive number of kegs I'm betting would be needed to score a cruise ship contract and have anything left to sell in regular stores. Not sure if Czig Meister is the same as far as their size / capacity, but it wouldn't surprise me. Still, a guy can dream and a lot can change in a year.

[Rose City Cruiser]

RCCL should partner or start up their own craft beer brewery.  I think there is enough interest for excursions and tasting tours.   

[JLMoran]

12 hours ago, jurrjurr said:

RCCL should partner or start up their own craft beer brewery.  I think there is enough interest for excursions and tasting tours.   

While I'd love that kind of an itinerary, I think if an entire cruise were going to be based on that then it would have to be the absolutely smallest ship they have to do it. I've learned from talking with my local craft store owners that a lot of these places are so small that they only do draft offerings, no bottles. They also don't brew in enough volume where they could likely satisfy anything as big as a mid-size cruise ship with a couple thousand passengers.

Probably a better way to go would be to just get a bunch of friends and colleagues together, and set up a group booking through a travel agency. Find an itinerary that happens to hit a lot of ports known for having craft breweries or pubs, and then make custom excursions to hit them up. Wouldn't surprise me to find out there are already things like that. 

[mom2mybugs]

2 hours ago, JLMoran said:

While I'd love that kind of an itinerary, I think if an entire cruise were going to be based on that then it would have to be the absolutely smallest ship they have to do it. I've learned from talking with my local craft store owners that a lot of these places are so small that they only do draft offerings, no bottles. They also don't brew in enough volume where they could likely satisfy anything as big as a mid-size cruise ship with a couple thousand passengers.

Probably a better way to go would be to just get a bunch of friends and colleagues together, and set up a group booking through a travel agency. Find an itinerary that happens to hit a lot of ports known for having craft breweries or pubs, and then make custom excursions to hit them up. Wouldn't surprise me to find out there are already things like that. 

Would be a fun trip!   Beer is so tricky... you are right about size,  etc.   I wish they could increase the beer selection...but I guess people are so picky about types etc that it would be a challenge for storage.   For Example I hate anything hoppy (yuck i hate ipas!) but love stouts and wheat beers.  But obviously rc isn't gonna store these just in hopes I drink them lol.  But a couple more choices sure would be nice!  Jane

[JLMoran]

@mom2mybugs, you and I are pretty much alike in our beer tastes. For me, drinking an IPA is like drinking a glass full of leaves. I much prefer the coffee and malt flavors of a rich stout or the sweetness of a good porter. Even better than those brews, I've found, are dubbels and tripels. A good tripel for with my burger, followed by a chocolate porter for dessert, and I'm in heaven!

I was just at a craft beer fest here in NJ and found no less than 6 new brews I never knew existed and absolutely loved. Hopefully at least a few of them will show up at my local craft beer store in bottles.

[twangster]

6 hours ago, JLMoran said:

I've learned from talking with my local craft store owners that a lot of these places are so small that they only do draft offerings, no bottles. They also don't brew in enough volume where they could likely satisfy anything as big as a mid-size cruise ship with a couple thousand passengers.

This is a good point I hadn't considered.  Another ship on some other line has put a micro brewery on a recent ship.  I wonder how much is for show versus actually producing enough volume to satisfy every sailing given the space committed to this effort.

[mom2mybugs]

4 hours ago, JLMoran said:

@mom2mybugs, you and I are pretty much alike in our beer tastes. For me, drinking an IPA is like drinking a glass full of leaves. I much prefer the coffee and malt flavors of a rich stout or the sweetness of a good porter. Even better than those brews, I've found, are dubbels and tripels. A good tripel for with my burger, followed by a chocolate porter for dessert, and I'm in heaven!

I was just at a craft beer fest here in NJ and found no less than 6 new brews I never knew existed and absolutely loved. Hopefully at least a few of them will show up at my local craft beer store in bottles.

Again... wish you were cruising the week earlier!  Sounds like we could definitely drink the same beer lol!  Jane

[Floski]

16 hours ago, mom2mybugs said:

Would be a fun trip!   Beer is so tricky... you are right about size,  etc.   I wish they could increase the beer selection...but I guess people are so picky about types etc that it would be a challenge for storage.   For Example I hate anything hoppy (yuck i hate ipas!) but love stouts and wheat beers.  But obviously rc isn't gonna store these just in hopes I drink them lol.  But a couple more choices sure would be nice!  Jane

[DocLC]

18 hours ago, JLMoran said:

@mom2mybugs, you and I are pretty much alike in our beer tastes. For me, drinking an IPA is like drinking a glass full of leaves. I much prefer the coffee and malt flavors of a rich stout or the sweetness of a good porter. Even better than those brews, I've found, are dubbels and tripels. A good tripel for with my burger, followed by a chocolate porter for dessert, and I'm in heaven!

I was just at a craft beer fest here in NJ and found no less than 6 new brews I never knew existed and absolutely loved. Hopefully at least a few of them will show up at my local craft beer store in bottles.

If you get a chance, try Belching Beaver's Peanut Butter Stout or Stone's XOCOVEZA seasonal beer which should be out soon for the Christmas season. Or better yet, come to Northern San Diego where they're brewed. Both have the flavors you enjoy. 

[mom2mybugs]

16 hours ago, Floski said:

is that because you are sad at the rc selection or sad at my lack of ipa appreciation lol?  Jane

[mom2mybugs]

13 hours ago, DocLC said:

If you get a chance, try Belching Beaver's Peanut Butter Stout or Stone's XOCOVEZA seasonal beer which should be out soon for the Christmas season. Or better yet, come to Northern San Diego where they're brewed. Both have the flavors you enjoy. 

We have very good friends in San Clemente and I will have to mention these.   A peanut butter stout sounds absolutely amazing!   Jane

[DocLC]

12 hours ago, mom2mybugs said:

We have very good friends in San Clemente and I will have to mention these.   A peanut butter stout sounds absolutely amazing!   Jane

I actually work just north of San Clemente. 

[Floski]

13 hours ago, mom2mybugs said:

is that because you are sad at the rc selection or sad at my lack of ipa appreciation lol?  Jane

Well, both, actually, but mostly your and JL's hatred of IPAs!   You should try some of the New England styles, which aren't quite as bitter and off-putting.

RC's beer list is pretty much awful to a craft fan.

 

Someday I hope to make it to the San Diego area and tour some breweries.

[JLMoran]

Sorry, @Floski. My brother is a huge IPA fan, and he convinced me to taste a few of the offerings at that beer fest he and I went to. Pretty sure at least one of those was a New England style IPA. He swore they were nice and mild and I'd probably like them, but they still tasted like drinking a glass of leaf extracts.

Of course, every time I try and get him to taste a great porter or stout, he makes a crack about not liking to drink his bread... 

[BrianAlt]

All beer is essentially liquid bread.

[JLMoran]

19 hours ago, BrianAlt said:

All beer is essentially liquid bread.

Don't I know it! My 14-year old daughter just did a history project on the origins of beer, given the assignment "choose a significant discovery from prehistory that had a major impact on the development of civilization." Learned more about beer from that project than I ever knew in my life.

Why, you might ask, would a14-year old pick that as her specific discovery? Well, apart from the fact that her dad has become a total beer snob? Because right before school started, she had read my copy of A History of the World in Six Glasses and loved it. Ironically, she read it before I got the chance to!  

[Floski]

3 hours ago, JLMoran said:

Don't I know it! My 14-year old daughter just did a history project on the origins of beer, given the assignment "choose a significant discovery from prehistory that had a major impact on the development of civilization." Learned more about beer from that project than I ever knew in my life.

Why, you might ask, would a14-year old pick that as her specific discovery? Well, apart from the fact that her dad has become a total beer snob? Because right before school started, she had read my copy of A History of the World in Six Glasses and loved it. Ironically, she read it before I got the chance to!  

 

That's a great kid, right there.  You should keep her!!   ;-)

[KLA]

On 10/23/2017 at 10:25 AM, DocLC said:

Stone's XOCOVEZA seasonal beer which should be out soon for the Christmas season.

+1 on that, go to the brewery for the XOCOVEZA Jeni's ice cream - which is an ice creamery from Columbus, Ohio and makes some of the BEST ice cream I've ever had! 

[DocLC]

4 hours ago, KLAconQueso said:

+1 on that, go to the brewery for the XOCOVEZA Jeni's ice cream - which is an ice creamery from Columbus, Ohio and makes some of the BEST ice cream I've ever had! 

Better than the Cornflakes and Bourbon ice cream at Humphry Slocombes in San Francisco?

[mom2mybugs]

5 hours ago, DocLC said:

Better than the Cornflakes and Bourbon ice cream at Humphry Slocombes in San Francisco?

Ok...i really have to get out to California again.   We honeymoons in San Fran but were not beer drinkers them and I'm pretty sure they didn't have this ice cream!   Jane

[bcarney]

On 10/22/2017 at 11:54 AM, JLMoran said:

Probably a better way to go would be to just get a bunch of friends and colleagues together, and set up a group booking through a travel agency. Find an itinerary that happens to hit a lot of ports known for having craft breweries or pubs, and then make custom excursions to hit them up. Wouldn't surprise me to find out there are already things like that. 

This isn't beer related, but in 2016 I was part of a rum group cruise.  We hit Topper's in St. Maarten, Brinley's in St. Kitts, Antigua Distilleries in Antigua (where I scored a bottle that was distilled before I was in high school, 1981!), St. Lucia Distilleries, and St. Nicolas Abbey and Mt. Gay in Barbados.  At Mt. Gay we actually got to blend our own rum.  Had a lot of great experiences, and now have a few people that will be friends for a lifetime - that's priceless.

In 2018 we're doing the same, only swapping out Grenada for St. Maarten, and adding Puerto Rico.  It's an 11 day on Serenade out of Ft. Lauderdale.  DM me if anyone has interest in joining us.

[bcarney]

On 10/24/2017 at 2:21 PM, JLMoran said:

Sorry, @Floski. My brother is a huge IPA fan, and he convinced me to taste a few of the offerings at that beer fest he and I went to. Pretty sure at least one of those was a New England style IPA. He swore they were nice and mild and I'd probably like them, but they still tasted like drinking a glass of leaf extracts.

Of course, every time I try and get him to taste a great porter or stout, he makes a crack about not liking to drink his bread... 

I like both styles; I tend to go for IPA and such in the summer/fall, and stouts in the winter.  I just recently acquired a taste for porters when I tried one at a nearby brewpub - it reminded me of drinking dark, cold coffee.  

To me the NEIPAs taste like orange juice.

[bcarney]

I haven't been here yet (I'll be visiting in about 30 days) but this place https://www.facebook.com/Antillia-Brewing-Company-411999235629088/ has highly rated brews.   Naked Fisherman St. Lucia India Pale Ale and Aphrodisiac Ale (a stout) are supposed to be great.  I'll imbibe and report back. :)