Royal Caribbean soda machines were recently unveiled, they’re specially designed, Coca-Cola Freestyle machines that have been added aboard several of the company’s cruise ships. Reportedly, the machines are already a major success and a big hit with passengers. The director of fleet beverage operations was even quoted as saying that the ship ran out of product for the Freestyle machine on the first voyage, a testament to the machine’s popularity among cruise passengers.
The selling point of the Freestyle machines is the ability to customize your soda in whatever way you choose. The machines offer a range of drinks, including some that are caffeine- or sugar-free, and some that are non-carbonated. With flavor cartridges and micro-dosing technology, users can further modify their drinks. According to Coca-cola, the machines are capable of producing up to 125 different flavors of Coke products… quite a range, and a step ahead of older style fountain machines. You can make an orange or lemon flavored Diet Coke, or a peach flavored Sprite, or any number of other unusual combinations. Passengers also enjoyed the ease with which they could get drinks; serving themselves at the Freestyle machine was often faster and more convenient than getting a soda from a bartender.
Coca-Cola began placing the machines in various restaurants around the country three years ago, in 2009, but Royal Caribbean is the first cruise line to have them. They had to be modified to work for the purposes of the cruise ship, both to meet the marine environment health codes and to work with Royal Caribbean’s special souvenir cups. Royal Caribbean and Coca-cola have been working together for three years to make the necessary changes to the machines.
To ensure that there is no cross contamination, the machine works only when the cup is placed at the the bottom of the dispensing area, it does not come in contact with the liquid dispenser. The cups have a Radio Frequency Identification device, which allows customers to scan and serve themselves. Also built in is a “time out” device that prevents cups from being refilled too frequently, a way to discourage passengers from sharing cups.
Royal Caribbean’s soda package, which includes access to the new Freestyle machines, is currently priced at $6.50 a day for adults and $4.50 a day for children. Royal Caribbean has taken note that purchases of soda packages have increased on ships with Freestyle machines. The cruise line intends to keep adding machines to their ships at the rate of one or two per month.
