Bad experience with cheers

We didn't do cheers on our last cruise but thinking about doing it next cruise... I was just curious if anyone didn't like cheers and if so why??

I did the Cheers program on the Conquest in September. I had no issues or problems with it. Ok, the only problem is I only drink on vacations and it was difficult to get drink eight drinks in a day to "break even" for the cost. One day I managed 11 drinks!!!! It is worth it, I had hopes to get slightly wasted each night, but just didn't happen....I still had a great time and would do the Cheers program again.

Do plan on tipping your fave waiters cuz they only include the standard 15%..The MDR bar waiter will get to know you an be around a few times to get you more drinks *BG*......

Oh, and we paid $400 for the Cheers program on the Conquest. The added $50 probably had to do with taxes. If you buy it the second day you can save the state taxes.

Enjoy and CHEERS!!!

I agree.....sea days yes its worth it.....but on port days unless your a all out drunk i doubt you could drink that much in that short of time to make it worth the cost!

I did the Cheers program on the Conquest in September. I had no issues or problems with it. Ok, the only problem is I only drink on vacations and it was difficult to get drink eight drinks in a day to "break even" for the cost. One day I managed 11 drinks!!!! It is worth it, I had hopes to get slightly wasted each night, but just didn't happen....I still had a great time and would do the Cheers program again.

 

Do plan on tipping your fave waiters cuz they only include the standard 15%..The MDR bar waiter will get to know you an be around a few times to get you more drinks *BG*......

 

Oh, and we paid $400 for the Cheers program on the Conquest. The added $50 probably had to do with taxes. If you buy it the second day you can save the state taxes.

 

Enjoy and CHEERS!!!

At the end of the day you came ahead of the game.

Bill

I agree.....sea days yes its worth it.....but on port days unless your a all out drunk i doubt you could drink that much in that short of time to make it worth the cost!

I suppose mileage can vary on definition of "an all out drunk," but just for the sake of discussion, on my recent cruise, we had a nice long port day - 11a-8p - in Cozumel. Roomie and I snagged a bloody mary and bellini with breakfast, then headed out to port. Got back on board, probably around 5p, and had frozen yummies. We ordered two glasses of wine each with dinner. After dinner, we went first to karaoke, where we each had a beer/cider or maybe two. Then we danced our happy faces off in the disco for a couple of hours, accompanied by two cocktails.

Total for the day, even given that it was a long port day where we were off the ship for 5+ hours: 7-8 drinks. And the only time we were drunk (ish) was in port when shopkeepers kept pouring us free tequila shots.

Just my two cents, but aside from a super port intensive cruise without sea days, the Cheers program is a huge win.

We have two staterooms...with one adult and two kids in each. Can we just get one Cheers program?

We have two staterooms...with one adult and two kids in each. Can we just get one Cheers program?

Sure you can. Policy says all adults in each cabin, so if there is only one adult in each cabin all you need is the one cheers program for the person who will be doing the drinking.

Bill

I agree, the last cruise we were on based on the number of cocktails on the folio & and average price of $8 each, we saved over $300 on Cheers. My wife doesn't drink much & even having a port intensive itinerary we still came out ahead of the game with Cheers.

I suppose mileage can vary on definition of "an all out drunk," but just for the sake of discussion, on my recent cruise, we had a nice long port day - 11a-8p - in Cozumel. Roomie and I snagged a bloody mary and bellini with breakfast, then headed out to port. Got back on board, probably around 5p, and had frozen yummies. We ordered two glasses of wine each with dinner. After dinner, we went first to karaoke, where we each had a beer/cider or maybe two. Then we danced our happy faces off in the disco for a couple of hours, accompanied by two cocktails.

 

Total for the day, even given that it was a long port day where we were off the ship for 5+ hours: 7-8 drinks. And the only time we were drunk (ish) was in port when shopkeepers kept pouring us free tequila shots.

 

Just my two cents, but aside from a super port intensive cruise without sea days, the Cheers program is a huge win.

This is just a question how can you say the cheers program is worth it if you drank 7-8 drinks even when you were off the ship for 5 hours or more and were not buzzed. If I drank that many drinks in that short of time -hang over city. I am not comparing me to you but the cheers does not seen worth it to me.

This is just a question how can you say the cheers program is worth it if you drank 7-8 drinks even when you were off the ship for 5 hours or more and were not buzzed. If I drank that many drinks in that short of time -hang over city. I am not comparing me to you but the cheers does not seen worth it to me.

I drink mostly beer and usually drink the Thirsty Frog Red which is 6.33 for 20oz including tip or the 25.5 Fosters cans are 7.56 including tip. So Fosters is more than 2 cans of regular beer. On our last cruise they had BOGO on Thirsty Frog from 12-3pm so that brought that to 3.15ea. My bar tab was wayyy under what I would have paid for Cheers.

Also on Port days it was no contest. Couldn't come close to getting my money back.

We did Cheers on the Miracle in August, and the only thing we didn't like about it is that we could not purchase any drinks outside of the program. Some friends that didn't have Cheers bought us drinks one afternoon and we wanted to return the favor- we weren't allowed to purchase them a drink because we had Cheers. We made it very clear that we wanted to buy them a drink, not give them a 'free' drnk from our Cheers package, but were not allowed to. I understand this isn't consistent on all ships, but this was our experience the entire cruise with multiple staff.

People who have sailed on other ships have reported being able to purchase drinks when they got to 14 so they didn't hit their 15... we were not allowed to purchase a single drink the entire week for ourselves or others outside of the program. Not a huge deal- we saved a ton of money and will definitely purchase it again, but that was the only thing we found irritating about it.

We did Cheers on the Miracle in August, and the only thing we didn't like about it is that we could not purchase any drinks outside of the program. Some friends that didn't have Cheers bought us drinks one afternoon and we wanted to return the favor- we weren't allowed to purchase them a drink because we had Cheers. We made it very clear that we wanted to buy them a drink, not give them a 'free' drnk from our Cheers package, but were not allowed to. I understand this isn't consistent on all ships, but this was our experience the entire cruise with multiple staff.

 

People who have sailed on other ships have reported being able to purchase drinks when they got to 14 so they didn't hit their 15... we were not allowed to purchase a single drink the entire week for ourselves or others outside of the program. Not a huge deal- we saved a ton of money and will definitely purchase it again, but that was the only thing we found irritating about it.

Yeah, this definitely varies by ship. I bought (paid for, not included on cheers) two drinks for other passengers. One was a lady at karaoke with PIPES, and the other a woman who looked to be at least 70, and was working it out on the dance floor all night. :D

My husband and I got Cheers on our honeymoon in June on the Conquest. We had a really hard time keeping up. My husband mostly drinks crown and cokes which are only $6.50. I usually drink wine which is $7 or fruity drinks. We saved all of our receipts and added them up at the end of the cruise and we would have saved a ton of money if we hadn't gotten Cheers. If it was a shorter cruise, then we probably could have saved money, but it was very hard for us to drink enough to break even for 7 days straight. I'm sure that this program is great for a lot of people, but I also think it has a lot to do with the price of the drinks you drink. If you're drinking a $9 drink all day, it's easier to break even. The drinks we like tend to be less expensive, so it wasn't worth it for us. We won't be doing this program again.

My husband and I got Cheers on our honeymoon in June on the Conquest. We had a really hard time keeping up. My husband mostly drinks crown and cokes which are only $6.50. I usually drink wine which is $7 or fruity drinks. We saved all of our receipts and added them up at the end of the cruise and we would have saved a ton of money if we hadn't gotten Cheers. If it was a shorter cruise, then we probably could have saved money, but it was very hard for us to drink enough to break even for 7 days straight. I'm sure that this program is great for a lot of people, but I also think it has a lot to do with the price of the drinks you drink. If you're drinking a $9 drink all day, it's easier to break even. The drinks we like tend to be less expensive, so it wasn't worth it for us. We won't be doing this program again.

And that is exactly what CCL is hoping for, that you won't break even. Why offer a program if you aren't going to make money on it. I think you are more the norm than exception. When we sit down to dinner I will have several glasses of wine at $10 a pop, its really easy for me to break even on Cheers. If I just have a couple of beer/cocktails before or after dinner, I am in the plus column.

And that is exactly what CCL is hoping for, that you won't break even. Why offer a program if you aren't going to make money on it. I think you are more the norm than exception. When we sit down to dinner I will have several glasses of wine at $10 a pop, its really easy for me to break even on Cheers. If I just have a couple of beer/cocktails before or after dinner, I am in the plus column.

Exactly, DH and I are the people who keep this program going! We learned our lesson on it. I did try a few drinks that I wouldn't have if we were paying per drink. That part was fun. We're sailing on a 5 day in December. We're going to drink normally and see how much we spend to compare!

We did Cheers on the Miracle in August, and the only thing we didn't like about it is that we could not purchase any drinks outside of the program. Some friends that didn't have Cheers bought us drinks one afternoon and we wanted to return the favor- we weren't allowed to purchase them a drink because we had Cheers. We made it very clear that we wanted to buy them a drink, not give them a 'free' drnk from our Cheers package, but were not allowed to. I understand this isn't consistent on all ships, but this was our experience the entire cruise with multiple staff.

 

People who have sailed on other ships have reported being able to purchase drinks when they got to 14 so they didn't hit their 15... we were not allowed to purchase a single drink the entire week for ourselves or others outside of the program. Not a huge deal- we saved a ton of money and will definitely purchase it again, but that was the only thing we found irritating about it.

I have even read here that people who purchased the cheers program got free drinks for people not on the cheers program.

So like you said, YMMV.

Bill

The price of the cheers program including the 15% gratuity is 400.00 per person for a seven day cruise.. There are not state taxes on the program whether you purchase it on day one, or day two.. You are charged state tax on each drink you order before you get into international waters, but you get charged that whether you purchase the cheers program or if you just pay for your drinks.. If you purchase the program on day 2, then you pay for only 6 days, but you pay for all of your drinks individually on day 1.. As far a people sharing, its done, but its against the rules, and if caught, you will certainly be removed from the cheers program and in theory, carnival could remove you from the cruise.. of course my guess is they would not go that far...

Hubby and i had the cheers on the Freedom in August. 8 nights so the price was about $960. That being said you do not have to carry on any wine with you. It includes pop and non alcohoic cocktails [we never got any of those lol but i didn't know, we did get about 4 or 6 pops and did share the $2 pops with the kids], We have never had the chance to try all the drinks offered on the ship and i loved walking around and ordering whatever i wanted. We vacation on a 1 week cruise [ or anything i week] once a year, treat yourself, especially if you drink to this. We would get a drink each on port days b4 we left the ship, one drink alone is about $8, plus a wine at dinner, we ordered ecco domani i believe, which is $10 a glass, tried the tiramisi martini again $10. We reached our limit 2 days. Fiqured we saved about $320. Next cruise i will save and get more! We did take beer to our room every day and ask them not to open them so we can drink them in our room, and had usually 4 in the ice bucket at all times. Last day i am sitting on my balcony watching everyone depart having a bud lime!

We definitly wont get it on our upcoming cruise on the Valor, only one sea day and in port from 8-5 the other days:D but our next cruise we are looking at an 8 day with 4 sea days, we will book my hubby and my friends hubby in the same cabin that way they can buy the cheers program, we wont drink enough to make it worth it for us.

Negative - on day 5 in the evening we were tired of drinking but felt like we needed to get our money's worth the next day. That said we are still thinking about it for our upcoming cruise. It would be an easy decision if we were flying in but we are driving so we can bring wine and sodas. Also the price of bon voyage bottles has really gone up. I guess that is another negative of the cheers program, but I think it happened before Cheers was on every ship.

If I could drink as much as my hubby we'd buy it. I just am not a big drinker. I'd be passed out by afternoon and cranky the rest of the day. I'll have a drink or two in the evening but that's it.

We look at it as a budget tool. We know that no matter what our drinks are a fixed price for the whole trip. We save that money up, pay for it and consider it part of the cruise. The cruise becomes *almost* all-inclusive at that point, and we still feel like we get our money's worth even if we don't break even every day.

My husband and I got Cheers on our honeymoon in June on the Conquest. We had a really hard time keeping up. My husband mostly drinks crown and cokes which are only $6.50. I usually drink wine which is $7 or fruity drinks. We saved all of our receipts and added them up at the end of the cruise and we would have saved a ton of money if we hadn't gotten Cheers.

I did the same thing. When I heard Cheers was going to be available for my next cruise on Triumph I pulled out our last statement and totaled up the cost. We would have certainly lost money. I might just break even on sea days, but on port days I'd for sure lose money.