Cocktails on Cruises: The Smallest Detail on Board

7 p.m. on the upper deck. The sun sits low over the water, the bar fills up, the first mojito of the evening goes out. For a lot of guests, cocktails on cruises are the exact moment they booked the trip for.

A Holiday at Sea

A cruise means freedom. A new view every morning, a different experience every evening. The pool during the day, the spa, a show. And once the sun goes down, the deck bars fill up. Whichever cruise line the trip runs with, a drink with a view of the open sea is one of the best parts of the day. Guests rarely remember their cabin number afterwards. The Aperol Spritz at sunset, they remember.

A Cocktail Is Handwork

Bartenders on board put real care into every drink: good spirits, fresh ingredients, the right glass, properly crushed ice, a garnish that fits the drink. Every move is deliberate. The drink has to taste right and look right, because it gets photographed before anyone takes a sip. One part of the cocktail rarely gets the same attention: the straw. It sits in almost every glass but never gets the thought that goes into the spirits or the garnish. And it stays with the guest from the first sip to the last. If it softens after ten minutes or tastes of paper, all the care that went in before was for nothing.

Thousands of Drinks, Every Day

A cruise ship serves thousands of drinks a day. Nearly every cocktail comes with a straw. What looks trivial in a single glass adds up fast over one voyage. When people talk about sustainable cruising, it is usually about propulsion and technology. Fair enough. But every day on board also brings a hundred small choices, and the bar makes a few of them. One thing should go without saying: waste never belongs in the sea, no matter where in the world the ship happens to be.

Plastic, Paper, Glass or Metal?

The obvious options all come with a catch on board. Plastic has been off the table since the EU’s single-use plastics ban in 2021. Paper straws soften after 10 to 15 minutes, and a University of Antwerp study from 2023 found PFAS, so-called forever chemicals, in 90% of the paper straws tested. Glass is taste-neutral but a real breakage risk on a ship with any swell. Metal leaves a metallic edge with citrus and acidity, and as a reusable product it means extra washing capacity, which is tight at sea.

Straws Made From Vegetables

Our NaturStrohhalme are made of 57% tapioca root and 42% arrowroot starch, with the rest being natural colours. Here is what that means behind the bar:

• no PFAS coating needed
• holds its shape for up to 2 hours in cold drinks, with no taste of its own
• no breakage risk, even with swell or outdoors
• single-use: after the drink as set by your waste provider, made from plant starch
• vegan-certified (V-Label), ISO 22000:2018, OCOP 5 stars

The colours come from real plants: red from beetroot, yellow from turmeric, green from pandan leaves, plus undyed natural beige. For cocktails, the Ø 8 × 150 mm size works best. There are also Ø 6 × 200 mm, Ø 8 × 200 mm and Ø 12 × 200 mm for bubble tea. That way the straw stays what it should be: a detail nobody has to think about. Not the bartender, and not the guest.

For Cruise F&B and Hospitality

You run a bar, a hotel or the F&B operation on board? Then test the straws where it counts: in real service, in your own glasses, with your own recipes. Order now and see for yourself. For hospitality: B2B from €85 net, free shipping, dispatched from Germany, delivery in 1 to 3 working days. Exclusively in Germany via DT Handel und Consulting GmbH. Made from nature – made for nature.

Ready to switch your business to straws made from real vegetables? Order our natural straws today and put something on the table your guests will remember.

Switch to NaturStrohhalme and serve a straw made from tapioca and arrowroot starch with every drink. Order now Contact: 📞 +49 40 8707 6348 📧 info@natur-strohhalme.com 🌐 www.vegetable-straws.eu Follow us on Instagram or Facebook