Carnival Premier Cruise DOU vs. CHEERS! Package

I am very excited for my premier cruise on the Carnival Breeze June 3rd out of Galveston. What I am trying to decide is if it is still worth it to buy the Cheers package even though I am automatically getting the Drinks On Us card from the casino. I do not drink a lot normally, but on vacation I very much enjoy drinking a good amount of alcohol. Do y'all think it is worth it to buy the Cheers package even though I am getting the DOU upon embarkation?

It depends how much time you are planning to spend in the casino and if you like a lot of alcoholic drinks poolside, really. If you drink most of your alcohol in the casino, I'd say it's unnecessary. If you drink a lot of drinks at dinner or the pool then you'd have to figure out still if it's enough to justify the price. Pretty much you have to drink 5 alcoholic drinks a person a day not in the casino to make it worth it.

Premier cruise DOU card is only good in the Casino while playing. Can not get a free drink even at the Casino Bar. Must be playing and the wait staff does not come around very often.

Here's the problem with mixing the DOU with Cheers you are still limited to the 15 alcoholic drinks per day. So though you get the convenience of ordering anywhere on the ship with Cheers, you might not get your monies worth out of the package unless you order a lot of the non-alcoholic drinks. Though the DOU is limited to orders taken while gambling I've never had a problem sitting down at a slot or table for 10 minutes ordering a wine or cocktail then proceeding to dinner or the shows with the drink in hand. Requires a bit of planning to make the other activities on time and good tipping ($1 per glass) to the wandering servers goes a long way that they search me out and serve me quickly.

Premier and such cruises are designed to keep you as much as possible in the casino with special giveaways and other perks like free tournament entries. SO weigh your port schedule with the possible opening times of the casino to see if things would work out for you.

Does Cheers not work in the casino?

Does Cheers not work in the casino?

Cheers DOES work in the casino.

My wife has "earned" DOU a few times. My problem with DOU is that it only works "while playing" in the casino, ie. sitting at a game, typically putting money in. In the time it takes to get a drink there, you are likely losing that amount of cash anyway. Now if you are already gambling with those amounts anyway, great! If you are a slower gambler, and you factor in the initial gambling cost to earn the DOU card, then Cheers is likely a better deal. This is very subjective though, as I am very cheap when I gamble, but love to get drinks.

Also, if you want to have some drinks while the ship is in port and the Casino is closed, or convenience of getting a drink anywhere (almost) on the ship, Cheers works.

One can always order a drink in the casino, and then take it elsewhere, say to dinner. You are not prohibited from taking free casino drinks out of that area.

One can always order a drink in the casino, and then take it elsewhere, say to dinner. You are not prohibited from taking free casino drinks out of that area.

true, but you have to be playing and waiting for it while you are playing to then take it out. It can take a while and cost you money while playing

I am very excited for my premier cruise on the Carnival Breeze June 3rd out of Galveston. What I am trying to decide is if it is still worth it to buy the Cheers package even though I am automatically getting the Drinks On Us card from the casino. I do not drink a lot normally, but on vacation I very much enjoy drinking a good amount of alcohol. Do y'all think it is worth it to buy the Cheers package even though I am getting the DOU upon embarkation?

I just did 3 Premiere cruises on Pride and had the DOU card as well. Usually I buy Cheers but decided to try it differently on these.

I bought Cruise Bar Cash for $200 (about half the cost of Cheers) and used that for when I wasn't in the casino.

You could also buy Cruise Cash which can be used for anything on board but I'd end up using it in the casino (lol) so I was "safer" with Cruise Bar cash since it can only be used for bar purchases.

Both however are non-refundable but the bar cash worked for me on those trips!

true, but you have to be playing and waiting for it while you are playing to then take it out. It can take a while and cost you money while playing

Many times the wandering servers do not care if you are truly actively playing. Several times after his run at the tables my DH has sat down next to me at the slots not playing and still been served a drink on his DOU card.

Also if invited to a casino Getaway, Premier, Ultra, or Elite cruise the DOU card is part of the perks the first 2 adults in the cabin will receive automatically. No need to make qualifying bets to earn the card individually.

Many times the wandering servers do not care if you are truly actively playing. Several times after his run at the tables my DH has sat down next to me at the slots not playing and still been served a drink on his DOU card.

Also if invited to a casino Getaway, Premier, Ultra, or Elite cruise the DOU card is part of the perks the first 2 adults in the cabin will receive automatically. No need to make qualifying bets to earn the card individually.

True...a few times I was in the casino and not playing and the servers just brought me another without asking!

Premier cruise DOU card is only good in the Casino while playing. Can not get a free drink even at the Casino Bar. Must be playing and the wait staff does not come around very often.

If you tip, they never stop coming around.

if you tip, they never stop coming around.

yup!

true, but you have to be playing and waiting for it while you are playing to then take it out. It can take a while and cost you money while playing

It may take a while but you don’t have to be playing. I’ll stand near a table, order a drink, then head to dinner/show/whatever. I do that all the time. It can take awhile though. Usually, I find a server the first night, tip them well, and my drinks come quicker.

I would not get cheers if I had the DOU card since it still limits you to 15 drinks.

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true, but you have to be playing and waiting for it while you are playing to then take it out. It can take a while and cost you money while playing

Not really, that's what they say. Same as saying you can't smoke in the casino unless you are playing a machine. I've seen many do both. Especially after a day or so on a new cruise, as the servers get to know who their DOU patrons are, they are eager to bring you a beverage. Now a waiter may ignore or delay getting an order to someone who previously didn't tip them, that's another story.

Not really, that's what they say. Same as saying you can't smoke in the casino unless you are playing a machine. I've seen many do both. Especially after a day or so on a new cruise, as the servers get to know who their DOU patrons are, they are eager to bring you a beverage. Now a waiter may ignore or delay getting an order to someone who previously didn't tip them, that's another story.

I thought they stopped smoking in the Casino a few years ago.

I thought they stopped smoking in the Casino a few years ago.

Not on Carnival. There are a few random banks of non-smoking machines, but the casinos are still largely smoking on Carnival.

As to the OP’s question - I’ve yet to buy Cheers since I also always have the DOU card. As previously mentioned, if you tip with each drink, the servers will literally seek you out, often times bringing you a ‘spare’ drink even if you haven’t ordered one. :') I’ve never felt the need to buy Cheers - and I’m definitely a drinker on a cruise!

Next week I'm doing a Premiere cruise with a DOU card. I only have it because I'm going with someone who is a bit more of a "high roller" and I don't spend that much time in the casino.

I know sometimes it can take longer to get a drink in the casino. So my question is, what drinks should I order to get the most "bang" for my buck? That way I only need to order a couple. For example, if I want a beer I can order a fosters because it comes in a larger can. Any other ideas?