Are you an exclusive Coca-Cola drinker? Or maybe you’re a Pepsi fanatic? Or you can’t live without Diet Coke. Or you love having a rum and Coke on a tropical vacation… and a rum and Pepsi just isn’t the same.
No matter your reason, there’s no denying that people have strong feelings about their brand of choice. And when you are on a cruise for a week and can’t find your favorite beverage, it can be a tough pill to swallow.
That’s why it’s good to know which cruise lines serve which brand of soda so you can be prepared for your trip. Below we’ve researched the drink choices on every major cruise line so you can know if they might have your favorite soda…
Carnival: Pepsi Products
In 2020, Carnival made a big switch in its lineup of drinks, moving from Coca-Cola offerings to Pepsi products. Its lineup now includes Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Pepsi Zero Sugar, Sierra Mist, Gatorade, Pure Leaf teas, Naked Juice, Bubly sparkling water, Mountain Dew, and Starbucks bottled drinks.
If you don’t see your favorite soda or beverage listed, there is some good news. Carnival is one of several that allows you to bring non-alcoholic drinks on board. Passengers can bring up to 12 cans or cartons (12 ounces or less) with them when they board.
Royal Caribbean: Coca-Cola Products
While any line will offer up a wide range of drinks, no one beats Royal Caribbean’s offerings. That’s because Royal Caribbean has the Coca-Cola Freestyle machine on its ships. If you aren’t familiar, this is a stand-alone drink dispenser that can concoct just about any Coca-Cola drink for you. Want a Diet Coke with lemon? Or maybe a Grape Fanta? Or a Sprite with cherry? It has a seemingly endless array of options. Alas, no Pepsi is available at the machines.
Norwegian Cruise Lines: Coca-Cola Products
Following a recent switch, Norwegian Cruise Line now offers Coca-Cola beverages on its ships. According to the company, this includes drinks like “Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, Ginger Ale, Tonic Water, Fanta and Soda Water.”
Unfortunately for Pepsi drinkers, Norwegian doesn’t allow you to bring sodas with you from home. But you can always get your fix while in port.
Disney Cruises: Coca-Cola Products
Disney is one of the unique lines in that there are soda fountains where you can grab a drink for free if you don’t want to purchase one from the bar. Other lines charge for soda. The selection is Coca-Cola focused, with Coca-Cola, Coke Zero, Diet Coke, Hi-C Fruit Punch, Hi-C Pink Lemonade, Fuse Ice Tea, Sprite and Sprite Zero, according to EverythingMouse.com.
Princess Cruises: Coca-Cola Products
Since Princess is part of the Carnival Corporation, you would think they’d offer the same Pepsi lineup as Carnival Cruise Line. However, we recently sailed Princess and noticed that Coca-Cola products where available. On board we found menus offering Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, root beer, orange soda, tonic water, club soda, and ginger beer.
Like Carnival, you are allowed to bring sodas on the ship with you if you have a particular brand that you enjoy.
Celebrity Cruises: Coca-Cola Products
As part of the Royal Caribbean family, Celebrity also serves Coke products. In addition to the classics like Coke and Diet Coke, Celebrity offers up things like Coke Zero, Barq’s Root Beer, Sprite Zero, and Caffeine-Free Diet Coke. There are also products like Vitamin Water and bottled teas.
MSC Cruises: Coca-Cola Products
MSC offers a lineup of Coca-Cola drinks on its ship. This includes not just the popular names like Coke and Diet Coke, but also Coke Zero, Seagram’s Ginger Ale, and Fanta.
Note that MSC officially doesn’t allow you to bring on non-alcoholic drinks but we’ve seen plenty of passengers do so anyway.
What if my Cruise Line Doesn’t Serve my Preferred Brand?
You may be excited for an upcoming cruise, but notice that your cruise line doesn’t serve the lineup of drinks that you like. Or maybe you like something that’s harder to find than Pepsi or Coke. In that case, you should know you aren’t out of luck.
For one, many lines allow you to bring aboard a small quantity (usually 12) of non-alcoholic drinks when you board (see the guidelines for every cruise line here). For instance, if sailing Carnival and you don’t like Pepsi, you can bring on a 12-pack of Coca-Cola with you.
As well, remember that if you can wait a few days then there will always be a wider selection of drinks in ports of call. Every major port will have a convenience store or two within a short distance of the ship, giving you a chance to grab something while enjoy the day.
I recently sailed on the Carnival Miracle. We each brought additional 12 packs (cans) onboard after stopping at a port.
So upset Carnival does not offer coke anymore! I love coca-cola only! Will consider other cruise lines now! 1 12 pack isn’t enough!
how do you have rum and coke on these “pepsi” ships?? yuck. why not have both…
I’ll correct my earlier post. Seems like they do have Freestyle machines on a good number of their ships. Unfortunately I was on the Liberty of the Seas, which does not. Hopefully they’ll get them before I take another cruise, or else maybe I’ll try a different ship.
Thanks for the update. We’ve personally sailed on Liberty OTS and saw the Freestyle machines ourselves on the ship. That said, things change constantly! Maybe they took them away.
Not true that Royal Caribbean has Freestyle Coca Cola machines on it’s ships, or at least it didn’t on Liberty of the Seas. You have to get your refills at bars or cafes. They only have Coke, Diet Coke, DP, Diet DP, Sprite, and Sprite Zero. They pour the DP refills out of either cans or 2L bottles. I’d really be curious if they have the Freestyle machines on their newer ships or any of their other ships. As much as I liked Liberty of the Seas I would switch to another ship on my next cruise if it had the Freestyle machine.