Gen Z is driving the no-booze cruise trend

On-board bars are getting inventive with zero-alcohol drinks as more young cruisers become “sober-curious”.

Words by Andrea Black at escape.com.au

Gone are the days when those who chose not to imbibe alcohol at a bar were given a choice of lemon squash or water. On cruises, as on land, mixologists are offering a greater array of non-alcoholic cocktails, which is win-win combo: a taste sensation and no hangover.

It makes sense – the Australian National Drug Strategy Household Survey 2022–2023 found the number of people aged 18 to 24 who did not drink any alcohol or did so infrequently is increasing. And latest Cruise Line International Association figures show cruisers are getting younger, with 36 per cent of travellers being under 40.

Right now at Royal Caribbean’s newest bar, the Pesky Parrot on the 5668-guest Utopia of the Seas, the bartender is whipping up such fruity delights as the Blueberry Nojitos (blueberry purée, lime juice, simple syrup and mint) or Crave the Wave (guava and watermelon syrup, lemon juice, cranberry juice and club soda).

Royal Caribbean director of beverage operations Ed Eiswirth said the cruise line overhauled its fleetwide drink menu and introduced its first zero-proof drink menu in the US in 2021.

“I stumbled on a lot of research around sober-curious guests and especially around Gen Z being super-curious,” Eiswirth said. “These are young people who still drink alcohol, but they consume a lot less. They’ll go out at night and buy one really nice, handcrafted cocktail and then switch to something that’s no-alcohol but that has just as much care taken and is really curated as well as a cocktail.”

Cruise ships are offering zero-alcohol journeys. Oh, the horror! Pic via Getty Images.

The Caribbean-themed bar has a tropical vibe: think tikis, Hawaiian shirts, and of course a colourful parrot emblem. Pesky Parrot occupies the footprint where the Bionic Bar would usually be on other ships. Already, Royal Caribbean cruisers are lauding the more buzzy replacement. While watching a robot prepare your drink is a novelty at first, the robots don’t prove to offer much by way of conversation.

Meanwhile at the Gin Project on MSC World Europa, there are more than 70 craft gins to try, including a range of non-alcoholic cocktails. They report that one of their popular summer cocktails is the Passion Fruit 0.0 GT (prepared with alcohol-free gin) combining BUSS N°509 passion fruit 0.0 gin, passion fruit purée, lemon juice, light tonic, dehydrated lemon and passion fruit as well as coriander seeds.

Luxury line Seabourn recently introduced a zero-proof mixology program fleetwide called Zero @ Sea. As well as a range of zero-proof cocktails, there’s an upgraded selection of non-alcoholic wines, sparkling wines and beers on offer. Seabourn’s Michael Simon says the new alcohol-free menu “does not equate to a compromise in taste or complexity”.

They are offering twists on popular cocktails such as the Amalfi Spritz with non-alcoholic rosé and Lyre’s Italian Orange, and the Not So Cosmo, inspired by a hybrid of the popular cosmopolitan with the garnish of a classic Old Fashioned.

Sounds delicious!

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