Purchasing a bottle for the room....worth it?

I've bought the Cheers package before and thought later that it really wasn't worth it for me personally. This time I was thinking of ordering a bottle of Malibu Rum for our cabin, so that I can just make a drink here and there, when I feel like one. The bottle is around $80......expensive bottle, IMO, but ok..... do a lot of people really purchase these bottles? I'm trying to get some honest opinions, to help me justify whether this is a good alternative idea, or not. Sometimes the wisdom of others is helpful, I find.

I've bought the Cheers package before and thought later that it really wasn't worth it for me personally. This time I was thinking of ordering a bottle of Malibu Rum for our cabin, so that I can just make a drink here and there, when I feel like one. The bottle is around $80......expensive bottle, IMO, but ok..... do a lot of people really purchase these bottles? I'm trying to get some honest opinions, to help me justify whether this is a good alternative idea, or not. Sometimes the wisdom of others is helpful, I find.

Me personally, i wouldnt do it....I dont hang out in the room and pound drinks and i think its crazy to be hanging out somewhere on the ship and wanting a cocktail to walk all the way back to your room to get it. Now if Malibu is your go to drink and you like to hang out in the room and have a few night caps each night, it would probably be worth it to you

I agree with above...I am a lazy person in general and particularly lazy on a vacation...so if I'm kicking it by the pool about to watch a contest or enjoying the music etc...the very last thing I want to do is excuse myself, truck it back to the room, make a drink and come back..same goes with say playing at the casino or chatting with people at the piano bar etc etc etc...

The majority of people that get the bottles use a flask/yeti/tumbler when outside of their cabin.

Definitely not the option for everyone, so you have to figure out what works best for you.

I always get a bottle for the cabin. I pack a Big Bubba insulated mug and mix a 3 hour drink.

Keep in mind that the bottle service is 1L bottles. Still expensive, yes, but not quite as expensive as if they were standard 750ml bottles.

We sit out on the balcony quite a bit, even in port, so for me, just the opposite, it's a pain to have to go find a bar to get a drink and take it back to the cabin so I usually purchase a bottle for the room. Since the new 15% delivery charge for Fun Shop purchases has started I will no longer do it. That's amounts to a charge of $14+ (on a bottle of Crown) for a five minute walk to make the delivery. They're already making a huge profit on the bottle itself, which by the way, they recently raised the prices on.

Since my wife hardly ever drinks alcohol, the Cheers package is out of the question. Oh well, I'll adapt and drink less.

We just ordered a bottle of Seagrams today for our upcoming cruise on the Glory next weekend. Expensive, yes, but still cheaper than buying by the drink. This is the first time we've purchased a bottle on any cruise, so we'll see if it's worth it or not. (We've typically had the included drinks package on NCL, but didn't feel like forking over $800 for it on this cruise.) For the convenience alone, as well as not buying by the drink, I think it will be.

I do it and find it good for us. As we are getting ready for dinner, my wife will get a drink of her wine we brought on board. For me, I have my bottle of vodka for a pre-dinner drink.

I have done it a few times, but now with the extra service charge, I probably wouldn’t. I remember when I first ordered a liter of vodka, it was $40-$50. This was when it was a well kept secret and not yet in the Fun Shops.

Here’s another thread ongoing right now

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2595957

I suppose maybe a good question to ask yourself is how much time do you plan to spend in the cabin? If like me you only sleep and get ready in your cabin it might be more effort then its worth, but if like others you enjoy spending time in the cabin, on the balcony in the evening etc...well then that would make more sense....

For us, no. It hasn't been worth it, either to do Cheers or to put a bottle in the room. With the bottle you are limited - plus you have to come up with mixers. We like a variety of drinks - a bloody mary, Long Island and all the delightful concoctions from the Alchemy Bar, none of which are happening in my room. Most times we do bring on two bottles of wine and take a glass to dinner. And the more port intensive, the less we are drinking on the ship - we only want 2-3 drinks each, max, between dinner and bed.

First, ordered liqueur IS pricey. (Approximately $90 compared to $20 at home.)

Next, let's do some math. I liter = 33 oz. A typical mixed drink uses 1.5 oz. alcohol. So, 33 0z. divided by 1.5 oz = 22. Times approx. $8.5 that the ship charges per drink comes to $187.

Either way you look at it, booze is spendy on a cruise, and the cruise line makes out either way.

Of course, we ALL consume our preordered libations in our cabins as is the rule , right?:confused:

I looked into this as well and I figured that with the level of mark-up on these bottles, I may just as well order a drink when I want one. Can't be much of a difference by time you add in your mixer.

I have ordered a bottle of Crown with a 6 pack of Cokes and 12 pack of water. With all the fees and PIA charges it came to $119.50. I am one of the few who will give the rest of the Crown to my cabin mate and she can take the rest home as she lives near Tampa. I will have a drink or 2 and get points with her.;)

I'm thinking about it. A Bubba Mug with free ice and juice from the Lido deck - I ought to be able to cruise around the boat in a splendid mood. Might bring some cans of pineapple juice aboard - rum and pineapple will do nicely. And beer is not too expensive on board so that should cover me for way less than Cheers will cost us on our upcoming 8-day.

Too expensive. Rum runners.

For us, no. It hasn't been worth it, either to do Cheers or to put a bottle in the room. With the bottle you are limited - plus you have to come up with mixers. We like a variety of drinks - a bloody mary, Long Island and all the delightful concoctions from the Alchemy Bar, none of which are happening in my room. Most times we do bring on two bottles of wine and take a glass to dinner. And the more port intensive, the less we are drinking on the ship - we only want 2-3 drinks each, max, between dinner and bed.

THIS^^^ Our plan is the same. We are bringing 2 bottles of wine and will order a few specialty drinks. We also drink alot of water so will be ordering 1 or 2 packs through funshops. Husband looked into purchasing Crown for our room, saw the price and was like, "heck no!" We would never get our moneys worth with Cheers...we don't drink that much alcohol, nor do we drink sodas, milkshakes or coffee.

Hi

It's well worth it for many, compared to the cost of the Cheers package if you are not a big drinker. As far as mixers, you are allowed to bring pop on board at all your stops, not to mention that there are many offered drinks that you can also use for a mix. Personally, I like bourbon as a topping for my ice cream. If I put it into a cup of coffee (ice cream and all), I'll drink it with a smile. :) I think you can dream up your own concoctions, as well as simply drinking something straight or on ice. I have to admit carrying some around makes it much more convenient than running back to your cabin. For this task there are many types of small flasks that would work well.

It's not like you are limited to only what you purchased, you can still order anything you want from the bars. I don't drink very much anymore, so I won't order a bottle, but i

Do you want to only drink in your cabin? Or, run back to your cabin every time you want a refill? We prefer being out and about while getting our buzz!

I'm not a drinker so Cheers isn't worth it since we have to pay for 2 even though only one of us drink. We purchased a bottle of Crown and carried on a pack of Coke. Plus carried on 2 bottles of wine. Hubby only spent about $100 on other alcohol, mostly buckets of beer by pool. The bottles of liquor are crazy overpriced but way cheaper than cheers or paying fir those drinks individually. It worked for us. He would usually take a drink to dinner, to the show or comedy club. So we didn't necessarily drink it in the room. Never really went back to room just for a drink but did take drinks out of the room often.

Cheers doesn't pencil out for me - plus I'm the type that would take it as a challenge and order more than I would without it.

I've ordered bottles in the past and have them ordered for our upcoming cruise (3 different bottles in 3 rooms). Even at 1L bottles, it's more expensive at home - but ounce for ounce it's still cheaper than at the bar. I cringe at the price when I'm putting in the order... but it's ended up working out well for us. 3 sea days and a balcony make it worth it. Or 4 girls on a 4 day getaway. ;)

Too expensive. Rum runners.

Just curious, have you done rum runners successfully on all of your cruises?

Do you want to only drink in your cabin? Or, run back to your cabin every time you want a refill? We prefer being out and about while getting our buzz!

We don't run 'back and forth' to our room. We enjoy the drink and glass of wine while getting ready for dinner. All of our other drinks are purchased on deck -- by the pool, at a favorite bar, at dinner, etc.

Now that Carnival has tacked on the 15% "delivery fee" to these orders, it is not worth it... as a matter of principle.