Drinking cocktails on a cruise is one of the most common cruise activities, but cocktail options are constantly evolving.
Royal Caribbean is always looking for opportunities to improve its service, and The changing demographics of younger cruise passengersthe menu options are also changing.
2023 Drizly Survey Consumer drinking trends research finds that Americans are increasingly choosing non-alcoholic beverages, especially Generation Z consumers.
The survey results showed: “The willingness to try non-alcoholic beverages continues to rise, with half of respondents having tried non-alcoholic beer, wine or spirits. The non-alcoholic beverage category has generated the most interest among Generation Z (23%) and Millennials (24%), who have tried these beverages more frequently than other generations.”
2023 State of the Cruise Industry Report release A survey by the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) shows that passengers between the ages of 20 and 59 now account for more than 50% of all cruise passengers.
Royal Caribbean Cruises has captured this shift in consumer preferences with its latest drink menu update.
Go with the trend
Ed Eiswirth, director of beverage operations at Royal Caribbean Cruises, saw this trend coming as early as 2020.
When cruising restarted in 2021, Royal Caribbean overhauled its beverage menus across its fleet and introduced its first-ever non-alcoholic beverage menu.
His team found that Generation Z and Generation X were more interested in low-alcohol beverages than previous generations.
“I stumbled across a lot of research about guests who are curious about sober drinks, and especially Gen Z who are super curious. These young people are still drinking, but they’re drinking a lot less. They’ll go out on a night out and buy a really nice craft cocktail and then switch to a non-alcoholic drink that’s just as well-mixed and just as well-crafted as the cocktail.”
In addition, zero-alcohol cocktails are suitable for teenagers who want to try something different from the usual drinks. For example, you will see Shirley Ginger on the menu, which is similar to Shirley Temple but with ginger added to make it more sophisticated.
Royal Caribbean’s campaign has even added Gen Z programming to its cruise ships. Daily activities for guests aged 18 to 25.
Zero degree cocktail
With the launch of Icon of the Seas in 2024, Royal Caribbean is going beyond the standard menu and creating a special non-alcoholic drinks menu.
Royal Caribbean actually designed this menu to be more family-friendly than Gen Z-friendly for its Surfside neighborhood, but it accomplishes both goals.
To be clear, these aren’t pure mocktails. Royal Caribbean wants zero-alcohol cocktails that can be served as standalone drinks.
“We really spent a lot of time making them non-alcoholic standalone drinks and really thought about how to blend the flavors together, rather than just being like a regular straight daiquiri, which is just an alcoholic drink that we took the alcohol out of. We didn’t even think about putting alcohol in them when we were making them,” Mr. Ailsworth said.
The Lemon Post is a “family-focused bar” where parents and children can drink together.
Alexandra Palmeri is the beverage operations manager for Royal Caribbean Cruises. She helped Icon design 13 new bar menus.
“When you start with alcohol and then start to deconstruct it, it becomes more challenging to make a mocktail without the alcohol. So we started from a mocktail perspective and then worked it that way,” Alex explained.
Another bar on Icon, Rye & Bean, also has two zero-alcohol drinks made by the bartender, which are unique to this bar.
read more: 8 mocktails to try on your next Royal Caribbean cruise
Drinks sales is big business
Offering passengers more beverage options not only keeps guests happy, but also improves the bottom line for cruise lines.
Onboard spending is the revenue category that Royal Caribbean Cruises generates from people buying single drinks or more generous drink packages.
Mr Ailsworth said that in a year, the fleet’s 26 vessels carried out 44 million alcohol transactions.
Deluxe beverage package including alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, USD 60 to 110 per person per dayThe Royal Refreshment Package includes non-alcoholic beverages only and costs USD 38 per person per day.
read more: Royal Caribbean Beverage Package Prices and Guide
When Royal Caribbean Group reports quarterly earnings to Wall Street, they often cite guest spending on board as one of the main reasons for higher profits.
