Kids drinks on embarkation?

[SA53]

I am just off the Fantasy and there were roving trays of drinks but no one ever put one in our hand. Actually, no one even asked if we wanted one. Instead they would walk around and waited for people to come to them. It was all very civilized and not once did I feel pressure to buy anything I didn't want to.

No worries!!!

K in SA

 

[TDC Nala]

If they push a drink into your child's hand, don't accept it. Don't worry about being rude. But I can see where you would have to instruct children to not take a drink from the trays themselves.

They walk around and offer the trays. If you take one from the tray then you pay for it. In part you are paying for the souvenir glass but there are also charges for non-alcholic beverages from the bars or served in this manner.

I have never seen the servers actually push drinks into the hands of anyone.

 

[mmouse37]

It was pushed into our daughters hand and not wanting to be rude accepted it, but we have warned our son.

Hopefully that was an isolated incident.

MJ

 

[lbgraves]

We have never experience this either, thank goodness!

 

[DMMarla07860]

never saw a server push a drink into anyone's hands, though I have seen people you didn't know you had to pay for the drinks seemed shocked when they did have to pay

 

[MartDM]

I have never, on DCL or any other line we've cruised, had anyone "thrust" drinks into our hand, nor have I ever seen this done to anyone else! In fact, other than a rare few servers, we've never even had them offered to us and it was up to us to approach the server in order to get one.

 

[Shartman79]

Great information.

 

[Duhey2]

I don't recall seeing anyone with drinks as we walked onto the Dream in March. I did, however, become a sucker for two light-up drinks on Pirate night (a Tinkerbell light-up kid's drink and a grown-up drink). I think the ticket was $20 or so but it was the only time I dropped that kind of money on two drinks so I was OK with it.

 

[Disneyholic]

I don't recall seeing anyone with drinks as we walked onto the Dream in March. I did, however, become a sucker for two light-up drinks on Pirate night (a Tinkerbell light-up kid's drink and a grown-up drink). I think the ticket was $20 or so but it was the only time I dropped that kind of money on two drinks so I was OK with it.

It's not when you get onboard, it's when you are on Deck for the Sail-Away Party.

 

[Disney1fan2002]

I don't undetsand how being billed is a surprise? In odere to be be billed, you need to hand over your KTTW card. Once they ask for that, isn't easy to just say "Thanks, but no thanks?"

My kids know that any drinks outside the drink station and the dining room are NOT free.

I don't see how a CM could thrust a drink in a kid's hand, parents go on their merry way as if it were free, but then get billed? How did they know who to bill if the card was not handed over?

 

[TDC Nala]

Once they ask for that, isn't easy to just say "Thanks, but no thanks?"

You take the drink. Then they come back with a pad and ask you to pay. By this time you may have already consumed half the drink. So readers should be forwarned that there is a charge for the drinks in the souvenir glasses at the sail-away party (alcoholic or non-alcoholic).

If you don't want the glass, you can go up to any of the bars and ask them to make you the drink in a regular cup. Then you will be charged for the drink, but not the souvenir glass.

 

[LynneyPooh]

Do they still have those "light up" cups on the Pirate Night? I think you have to buy those????

Yes they do still have them. We bought DD one, but our sever asked us first then reaffirmed before he actually handed it to DD. I'm thinking it was around $5-$6.

 

[design_mom]

I am just off the Fantasy and there were roving trays of drinks but no one ever put one in our hand. Actually, no one even asked if we wanted one. Instead they would walk around and waited for people to come to them. It was all very civilized and not once did I feel pressure to buy anything I didn't want to.

No worries!!!

K in SA

This was my experience on the Dream, too. I am not much of a drinker, but my sister had raved about the red and white drink at the sail away party so I had considered trying one. However, none of the servers came close enough/asked if we wanted anything, and I didn't want to vacate the spot we'd grabbed for the sail away party to get one.

I was pleasantly surprised by how low-pressure the bar servers were. We were asked "Can I get you anything from the bar?" a few times in the adult areas but they didn't pressure once we said "no thanks." And for the most part, I think they waited for you to flag them down.

I'm sorry the OP had a bad experience... I would have been upset if that happened to me, too. But I don't think it is the norm.

 

[sissy_ib]

You take the drink. Then they come back with a pad and ask you to pay. By this time you may have already consumed half the drink. So readers should be forwarned that there is a charge for the drinks in the souvenir glasses at the sail-away party (alcoholic or non-alcoholic).

If you don't want the glass, you can go up to any of the bars and ask them to make you the drink in a regular cup. Then you will be charged for the drink, but not the souvenir glass.

Why would they give you a drink, leave, come back and try to charge you? What if you leave the area? Granted I have been on only one cruise but at the sail-a-way party we ordered two drinks and they server only had one with alcohol. He gave it to me, took my KTTW card and came back with one for DH. It just seams silly to me that they would give you a drink and try to come back latter to collect.

 

[mhsjax]

4 cruises with Disney and not once have I ever had a drink shoved into my hand, even at the sail away party. I have had a CM ask if I would like one, but no pressure what so ever, and they never even asked my kids if they would like one.

 

[TDC Nala]

Why would they give you a drink, leave, come back and try to charge you? What if you leave the area? Granted I have been on only one cruise but at the sail-a-way party we ordered two drinks and they server only had one with alcohol. He gave it to me, took my KTTW card and came back with one for DH. It just seams silly to me that they would give you a drink and try to come back latter to collect.

I've seen them do this where there are crowds on the deck for the party. One to hand out the drinks, and one with the pad for payment - it's not the same person. And yes sometimes it takes them awhile, but they're watching, and they know where you go. Most guests are there for the party and they're not going anywhere.

 

[Duhey2]

It's not when you get onboard, it's when you are on Deck for the Sail-Away Party.

Ahhh, that would make sense. Our little one was napping so I stayed in the cabin with her while my wife took our other daughter up for the Sailaway Party and I missed all that.

 

[grahamgallagher]

Thanks everyone - as it does seem to have changed, it was in the early days of DCL this is why I asked the question as a number of things have changed and for the better.

 

[Melissa S]

For the PPs questioning other posters about if getting handed a drink really happened, sometimes you get rouge CMs motivated to make a quick buck. For example every cruise I take I sign up for every spin class that is offered. On my last cruise every day the CM would check people in on the attendance sheet at the start of class. Then on the second to last class for the week another CM taught a class and then at the end asked everyone to sign "the attendance sheet". We all questioned it and said we've never had to do that since he already checked us in at the start. He said that it was used as proof that he taught the class. When I was handed the sheet it was actually a gratuity sheet. I thought that was so tacky and put a zero in and wrote my name. It's a free class and people shouldn't be tricked into it, they should give if they think the service went above and beyond. I've never had an instructor do that before in all the classes I took.

 

[grahamgallagher]

Thanks - this was in the Disney Cruises early days, so wanted to know if things had changed. But our son is under strict instructions not to take any drinks unless we give them him.

G

For the PPs questioning other posters about if getting handed a drink really happened, sometimes you get rouge CMs motivated to make a quick buck. For example every cruise I take I sign up for every spin class that is offered. On my last cruise every day the CM would check people in on the attendance sheet at the start of class. Then on the second to last class for the week another CM taught a class and then at the end asked everyone to sign "the attendance sheet". We all questioned it and said we've never had to do that since he already checked us in at the start. He said that it was used as proof that he taught the class. When I was handed the sheet it was actually a gratuity sheet. I thought that was so tacky and put a zero in and wrote my name. It's a free class and people shouldn't be tricked into it, they should give if they think the service went above and beyond. I've never had an instructor do that before in all the classes I took.