The new all-you-can-drink soda machines that Royal Caribbean has been rolling out on ships in recent months are proving a major hit. Almost too much so.
"We ran out of product on the first voyage," Royal Caribbean director of fleet beverage operations Bob Midyette tells USA TODAY. "It was more popular than even what we thought it would be."
The specially-designed soda machines are a modified version of the Coca-Cola Freestyle dispensers that Coca-Cola began unveiling in 2009, which are capable of offering 125 flavors of various Coke products using medical micro-dosing technology and flavor cartridges. Royal Caribbean is the first cruise line to debut the machines, which can produce everything from raspberry-flavored Coca-Cola to peach-flavored Fanta Zero.
"It is in my mind the next evolution of non-alcoholic beverage service, a leap forward to what you could offer through the traditional system," Midyette says
Midyette notes it's faster for passengers to grab a soda from the machines than to order one from a bartender, and passengers love the variety of sodas available from the machines, including more than five dozen sugar-free beverage options and drinks without caffeine or carbonation.
"Customization is the key thing," he says. "You can make an orange Coke if you want."
Royal Caribbean is charging $6.50 per adult per day for a soda package that includes access to the machines -- the same amount as Royal Caribbean soda packages cost in the past (children pay $4.50 per day for a package). But Midyette says that the line is selling more packages on ships with the machines.
Royal Caribbean worked with Coca-Cola for three years to make modifications to the machines so they comply with marine environment health codes and interact with special souvenir soda cups that passengers get when buying all-you-can-drink soda packages on ships. The cups contain a Radio Frequency Identification device that lets passengers serve themselves at the machines.
Midyette says passengers must place their cups at the bottom of the machine's dispensing area, away from the liquid dispenser, for it to work, eliminating the possibility of cross-contamination when refilling cups.
The cups also have a built-in "time out" period so they can't be refilled repeatedly in short periods of time, a feature designed to discourage multiple people from sharing a cup. "We recognize that you're probably not going to drink 20 ounces of Coke product in less than a minute," Midyette says.
Some Royal Caribbean regulars have predicted that the new system could lead to "cup theft" on ships, but so far Midyette says there haven't been reports of stolen cups. "You kind of protect your cup," he notes.
The new machines already are on the line's Majesty of the Seas, Freedom of the Seas and Explorer of the Seas and will continue to roll out to more ships at the rate of about one or two a month.
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