First it was the buffet, axed by P&O last year. Now the cabin mini-bar, once a status symbol of the 70s and 80s, is on the way out.
Carnival Cruise Lines announced this week it will be taking the booze out of their mini bars in the US. No word yet on what will happen to those tiny bottles of scotch and gin on the line’s two Australian ships.
So have Carnival’s passengers suddenly become teetotal?
The line maintains it’s removing the booze “to make room for things like guests’ water bottles”.
Not much cheer there when the bar onboard is closed.
For some, like the passengers stuck in their cabins on Anthem of the Seas when the ship was battered by a freak storm, the mini bar was a life-saver.
But in all honesty, in an age when gyms and saunas are getting bigger and rock climbing has replaced the putting green, the end of the mini bar really is a sign of healthier times. And probably a change for the better.
A Cruise Critic forum writer mourned: “If I want Pringles or Sprite at 3am I like the option. I’ve only ever had one wrong charge.”
Other passengers were a little bit more diplomatic. Forum writer Shipshapesam wrote: “I am okay with them getting rid of their stuff, but as I read this thread, they may remove the fridge thus taking away my beer fridge! I clear out most of what they have in fridge and buy some Boddingtons for when I want one. Now may not have a place to keep them. Oh well – won’t be able to drink a beer as early as I use to.”
Amenity or waste of space? Tell us your mini-bar stories…
