You may have heard about Royal Caribbean's drink packages and even the drink cards, but here is a new drink card especially for those that enjoy a little "pep" in their day.

On Royal Caribbean's Serenade of the Seas, guests were able to purchase a specialty coffee drink card, where if 6 coffee drinks are pre-purchased, they get one for free.

Photo by Dr. Kris L-C

These pre-paid punch cards area available at three different price points, so you can choose one that is right for you.

• $24 for 7 coffee drinks priced at $4 or less
• $30 for 7 coffee drinks priced at $5 or less
• $36 for 7 coffee drinks priced at $6 or less

There is no indication that this kind of a drink card will be available on any particular sailing or ship. Royal Caribbean has experimented greatly with the concept of pre-paid drink cards that did include specialty coffees over the last 12 months or so, but this is the first we have seen of a pre-paid card specifically for coffee.

Would you buy one of these coffee cards? If so, which one appeals to you? Tell us in the comments below.

It may not be 5:00pm yet, but that does not mean you cannot start planning which tasty drinks you can enjoy on your next Royal Caribbean cruise.

At the many bars and lounges throughout Royal Caribbean's fleet, guests can enjoy a wide range of drinks, but there are a handful of drinks that we think are quintessentially a Royal Caribbean drink and something we look forward to sampling on every cruise we go to.

Check out our list, and get that drink order ready for your next cruise.

1. Lava Flow

2. Labadoozie

3. Mojito

4. Coco Loco

5. Sabor Margaritas

6. Cucumber Martini

7. Pineapple drink

Drink costs

If these ice cold refreshments look like the perfect beverage to enjoy on your next sailing, you might also be curious how much they cost.

Most of the drinks in this post cost about $12 (before gratuity), not including any souvenir and/or fruit cups.

Nearly all the drinks are also included in a Royal Caribbean drink package, which allows guests to enjoy an unlimited amount of beverages for a fixed daily cost.

Your favorites

What are your favorite drinks to enjoy on a Royal Caribbean cruise? Share them in the comments below!

Whew, boy! Hottest Fourth of July we've had in years, and that means it is the perfect excuse to enjoy some great Royal Caribbean drinks in the comfort of our home.

Having a cocktail on a Royal Caribbean cruise is something many guests relish doing every cruise, and if you cannot be on a cruise this summer to enjoy one, then do the next best thing and make one at home.

Here are a few of our favorite Royal Caribbean drink recipes that are sure to "hit the spot" during your summer.

Across the Universe

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ oz. Tanqueray No. 10 Gin
• 1/2 oz. Aperol
• 1/2 oz. St. Germain
• 1/2 oz. fresh lime juice
• 1/2 oz. simple syrup
• Splash of Prosecco
• About 1 ¼ cups watermelon juice

At least a few hours in advance (preferably overnight), pour watermelon juice into an ice cube tray and freeze. Combine gin, Aperol, St. Germain, lime juice and simple syrup in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well until chilled and pour into a glass over watermelon ice cubes. Optional: Garnish with an herb, slice of watermelon or lime or an edible flower.

Coco Loco

Ingredients (Makes one cocktail):

• 1/2 oz Orange Juice Concentrate
• 1/2 oz Pineapple Juice Concentrate
• 1/2 oz Papaya Juice Concentrate
• 1/2 oz Coconut Cream
• 3/4 oz Dark Rum (Or make it a virgin Coco Loco without the rum)
• 3/4 oz Coconut Rum
• 1/4 oz Grenadine
• Crushed ice

Toss all the ingredients into a blender, and blend until smooth. Then pour the potion into a cocktail glass and dress it up with a fresh wedge of pineapple.

Anchors Away

Ingredients (Makes one cocktail):

• 1 oz Vodka
• 1/2 oz Blue Curaçao
• 1/2 oz Blackberry Brandy
• 11/2 oz Orange Juice
• 1 oz Sweetened Lemon Juice

Blend all the ingredients above. Strain and pour into your favorite glass. Then garnish with a fresh slice of orange and a cherry. 

Mango Cooler

Ingredients (Makes one cocktail):

• 1 oz Sweetened Lime Juice
• 2 oz Mango Juice
• 1 oz Dark Rum
• 3/4 oz Triple Sec

Blend all the ingredients together with crushed ice, transfer to your favorite frosty glass and toss in an orange slice and a cherry.

Punchless Piña Colada (for the kids)

Ingredients (Makes one cocktail):

• 1 1/2 oz Coconut Cream
• 3 oz Pineapple Juice
• 2 cups Crushed Ice

Combine all ingredients in a blender. Then pour in a tumbler, garnish with a fresh wedge of pineapple, and top with whipped cream and a cherry.

For the adults, you can add rum!

Royal Caribbean has released a new video with Chef Michael Schwartz, as he talks bourbon flight tastings at Michael’s Genuine Pub, onboard Quantum class ships.

There is something about having a cocktail on your Royal Caribbean cruise vacation that just puts you into that perfect "now I am on vacation" mood.  Maybe it is the little umbrella or perhaps it is the combination of juice and liquor, but it is hard to go wrong with these delicious mixed drinks.

Over the last few cruises, we have engaged in some serious "research" by sampling a number of mixed drinks and frozen beverages on Royal Caribbean ships and came up with our list of ther drinks worth trying on your next cruise.

Sweet & Spice Margarita and the Sabor Grand Margarita from Sabor

The New Southern from American Icon Grill

Pineapple Special from Freedom of the Seas main pool area

Anything in the color changing mugs!

Labadoozie from Labadee

Mojito from Boleros

Pina Colada from Boleros

Wildberry Lava Flow from pool bar

Coco Loco from CocoCay

How much are these Royal Caribbean drinks?

If just looking at all these drinks makes you want to get onboard and book a cruise, you may also want to know how much these drinks are selling for.

Most of the drinks will cost about $12, not including any souvenir mugs and before gratuity. 

If your drink is the drink of the day, Royal Caribbean will knock 25% off the cost.

Many guests opt for an unlimited alcohol package so they can enjoy plenty of these drinks for a fixed cost.

What is your favorite Royal Caribbean drink? Tell us (and share a photo of it) in the comments below!

When you sail on your next Royal Caribbean ship, there is a good chance you will find Coca-Cola's amazing self-serve beverage dispensers known as the Coca-Cola Freestyle machine.

The Freestyle machine offers guests 100+ flavors of various Coca-Cola products that you can mix together to create the perfect drink for you.  Royal Caribbean is the only cruise line to offer Freestyle machines.

In order to use the Coca-Cola Freestyle machines, guests must purchase an all-inclusive beverage package or the Royal refreshment package and use their complimentary Coca-Cola souvenir cup. The Coca-Cola souvenir cup has a special chip in it which activates the machine.

The following Royal Caribbean ships have Coca-Cola Freestyle Machines

• Adventure of the Seas
• Allure of the Seas
• Anthem of the Seas
• Enchantment of the Seas
• Explorer of the Seas
• Freedom of the Seas
• Grandeur of the Seas
• Harmony of the Seas
• Independence of the Seas
• Jewel of the Seas
• Majesty of the Seas
• Mariner of the Seas
• Oasis of the Seas
• Ovation of the Seas
• Quantum of the Seas
• Rhapsody of the Seas
• Symphony of the Seas
• Navigator of the Seas (added in 2019)

It seems that Freestyle machines are only available in the United States, Canada and limited availability in the UK and Europe and Royal Caribbean has added the machines to ships based mostly in the United States.

Using the Freestyle machines is pretty simple too, you pick a base flavor (like Coke or Fanta) and you can customize the drink with fruit flavors (Orange Coke or Orange Fanta, Lime Fanta, etc).  You can also stop a drink mid-pour by just releasing the dispense button and select another drink to mix two together. So if you want to mix Orange Fanta with Mello Yello Grape you can!

Some of the base flavors available to choose from are Coke, Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Caffeine-Free Diet Coke, Sprite, Sprite Zero, Fanta, Fanta Zero, Minute Maid Lemonade, Minute Maid Light, Dasani, Dasani Sensations, Powerade, Powerade Zero, Hi-C, Barq's, Diet Barq's and Seagram's Lemon Lime Seltzer. and more.

The special souvenir Coca-Cola cups that Royal Caribbean sells also has a time restriction, which prevents guests from getting refills until 10-15 minutes have passed since their last pour.  This time restriction is to prevent abuse of the Freestyle machine privileges.

Use of the Coca-Cola Freestyle machines is available with a few unlimited drink packages:

• Royal Refreshment package
  • $8.00 per day, per guest
• Royal Replenish package
  • $22.42 per person, per day (includes service charge)
• All of the Royal Caribbean unlimited alcohol packages
  • Unlimited alcohol packages begin at $42 per person, per day

Have you tried the Coca-Cola Freestyle machines on your Royal Caribbean cruise? Thinking about using them on your next cruise? Tell us about it in the comments!

Enjoying a refreshing drink on your Royal Caribbean cruise is something many folks look forward to, but just because you are not on a cruise right now does not mean you cannot enjoy the same drinks at home!

Blog reader Paul Westbrook sent us recipes for the drink of the day for each day of his Freedom of the Seas cruise.

Each day of a cruise, Royal Caribbean selects one tasty cocktail to be the drink of the day, where the price of the drink is reduced a bit and featured all over the ship.

So get those blenders ready and enjoy these great drinks!

Tropical Sunset

Ingredients

• .75 oz Smirnoff vodka
• .75 oz peach scnapps
• .75 oz Chambord black raspberry liqueur
• 1.5 oz cranberry juice
• 1.5 oz pineapple juice

Instructions

Shake and mix well.

Blue Caribbean

Ingredients

• 1.25 oz Bacardi superior rum
• .75 oz blue curacao
• 3 oz pineapple juice

Instructions

Served on the rocks with a splash of sprite

Paradise Punch

Ingredients

• .75 oz Bacardi rum
• .75 oz cocounut rum
• .5 oz peach snapps
• 1.5 oz pineapple and cranberry juices

Instructions

Shake and serve on the rocks.

Strawberry Hill Mojito

Ingredients

• 1.5 oz Bacardi superior rum
• 1 oz mojito mix
• 1 oz Island Oasis Strawberry

Instructions

Top with soda water

Tropical Lemondae

Ingredients

• 1.25 oz Smirnoff vodka
• .75 oz blue curacao

Instructions

Serve on the rocks

Mayan Mango Margarita

Ingredients

• 1.25 oz Jose Cuervo gold tequila
• 1.5 oz Island Oasis mango
• .75 oz triple sec
• Sweet & Sour mix

Instructions

Shake tequila and mago juice together and then add triple sec and sweet & sour mix.

Caribbean Tea

Ingredients

• .5 oz Smirnoff vodka
• .5 oz Bacardi superior rum
• .5 oz gin
• .5 oz sweet blue curacao
• 2 oz sweet & sour mix

Instructions

Top with Sprite and serve on the rocks.