Do’s and don’ts in Ice Bars

I was speaking to a customer of mine today who is about to travel on the NCL Getaway around the Caribbean. The thing she is most looking forward to was the Ice Bar on board. The SVEDKA/Inniskillin Ice Bar at a chilly 17 degrees Fahrenheit will be a cool oasis in the heat of the Caribbean.

Looking into the bar for the customer I discovered it is actually an affordable treat at $20 per person but that does include two signature cocktails that will be served in specially-created glasses made entirely of ice. They have five Florida-inspired specialty drinks made from SVEDKA vodka and Inniskillin ice wine including:

– Tropicana: SVEDKA citron vodka, triple sec, lemon juice;

– Carmen Miranda: SVEDKA vodka, peach liquor, orange juice;

– Sittin’ on the Dock of Biscayne Bay: SVEDKA citron vodka, Inniskillin Icewine, lemon-lime soda;

– Blue Caribbean: Inniskillin Icewine, SVEDKA vodka, blue curacao, club soda;

– Key Largo Colada: SVEDKA colada, campari, sweet vermouth, orange syrup.

Ice bars are becoming the ‘it’ thing to have on board cruise ships these days, and so I found myself asking, what really are the do’s and don’ts whilst visiting one on board and do you get offered a guidance leaflet as you walk in it’s door.

To make you fully understand why we need a handbook on ice bar etiquette I first of all must share a truly embarrassing, and unfortunately very true, story. I was lucky enough to be on a two night trip on the Celebrity Eclipse for its launch in 2010. It was all glitz and glamour and my two friends, my sister and me got all dolled up for the first official dinner on board. We were wearing fantastic dresses, hair to perfection and tan and make up looking gorge. My friend loves Appletini’s and so off we popped to the Martini Bar, with its ice bar, to experience our first cocktails in style. I was standing chatting to the managing director of a very well known tour operator and was having a good old natter and gossip. It wasn’t until I went to leave the bar I realised I had been resting my arm which was fully bathed in Sun Shimmer fake tan, you know the wash off type, on the side of the ice bar. When I moved my arm off the bar I discovered I had left behind a huge patch of sun shimmer, which meant only one thing – OH YES, I now had quite a fetching white patch on my bronzed arm where the fore-mentioned sun shimmer patch used to to reside!! I had to go back up to my cabin to try patch myself up and to this day when I am getting ready to go out my sister always tells me not to be laying around any ice bars that night.

So with bars now made totally of ice, from the seats to the actual glasses, I cant help but think what damage I could do to myself in there. Would my legs stick to the ice seats? Would my lips stick to the glass like it does to ice poles in the summer when they are just out of my mammy’s freezer? Would I turn blue with the cold?
So after much googling, I feel a bit better. You don’t get provided with any FAQ fact sheets on arrival, but you do get a cosy faux fur coat, hat and gloves to keep out Jack Frost. With their only being 14 true ice bars in the world (15 once Getaway is launched) NCL are striving to offer that something different to make your cruise unique and enjoyable. With the low cover charge and the two cocktails you get in the ice glasses – seriously ice glasses – I think it sounds like a bargain and a fun way to spend an afternoon at sea and I would most definitely be paying it a visit – although I would make try a spray on tan the next time.