Is Cheers Program worth it to you??

I am trying to price as to whether it is a good deal or not. I know that Carnival cuts you off after 15 drinks. Not that I would drink that many but I have been known to put away at least 6 beers sitting out in the hot sun. Plus a champagne mimosa in the morning and a few evening drinks. But I am starting to think it may just be worth it to not use the cheers program. We are looking at a short cruise on the Victory. I think the Victory is the only shorty cruise that offers the cheers program. I am sure there are plenty of threads about this but I am just wondering if people who have used it noticed a difference in their bill? Thanks, Kim

We went back and forth on it and ultimately decided not to buy it. We have a couple hundred in obc and ordered 2 bottles from Bon Voyage. If it were around $250 pp for the week, we would probably buy it.

I am going to get in on our upcoming cruise in May. I decided to get it so I wouldn't have to worry about the final bill and I would feel better about trying different drinks that I may or may not like. I might not drink enough to cover the whole charge but will probably come close enough where I am not beating myself up over it. I want to have fun on my cruise and not worry about ever drink I have and have to keep checking my balances ever night. Just my opinion. Can't blame those who choose not to, nor those that do.

With all of the smuggled booze, beer, and wine we always bring on, no need for the cheers program.

I've decided I at least want to try it. I'm on the fence too.

"Do I not drink that much on a cruise b/c I just don't drink OR do I not drink that much b/c I'm worried about my bill?"

I don't know the answer and I'd like to find out. I figure if I buy it and it is worth it, SCORE! If I buy it and its not worth it, then lesson learned and I know I don't need it again.

I purchased the cheers program on day two of my 12 day cruise on the breeze.

Let me tall ya... its pricey when you're looking at that bill but I'm so glad I did it. I enjoyed my cruise that much more.

1) Cut off is around 22 drinks / day - Unless you're distributing/sharing drinks

that is plenty for 1 person. A friend I met on the boat pushed the limits

and they abused it so they cut him off. I never had to worry about it.

2) You know when you're drinking an ice cold beer or mixed cocktail...time

passes and its no longer cold or worse yet watered down? Well I just go

and order another one for myself. That is a huge plus for me... I can

always have a fresh cold drink.

3) I love Gentleman's Jack and Ginger Ale.... I always wanted to try other

Whiskey's with my drink... well with that I was able to. If I didn't like my

drink, I'd set it aside and get another one.

Its certainly not a license to be wasteful but there's something to be said about the conveniences of my points above. At the end of my cruise, I ended up having to order around 66 drinks in 12 days. I totaled somewhere in the $600+ range and I invested only $450 when I bought into the program.

Some folks here might say..."well I don't drink that much!" To that I say, you need to party more... j/k... I'd say don't buy into the program. I'm not a heavy drinker but I am a very social drinker. I could turn it on when the party is going well. When I'm on vacation, I dont like to count pennies just like most of us. This was another way for me to say, "drinks are officially paid..just like my cruise, my excursions, my food...my entertainment." I'm pretty sure many of us here can agree to that mentality.

I am going to get in on our upcoming cruise in May. I decided to get it so I wouldn't have to worry about the final bill and I would feel better about trying different drinks that I may or may not like. I might not drink enough to cover the whole charge but will probably come close enough where I am not beating myself up over it. I want to have fun on my cruise and not worry about ever drink I have and have to keep checking my balances ever night. Just my opinion. Can't blame those who choose not to, nor those that do.

This is exactly why I am buying it on our next cruise in June.

When we sailed with a big group of friends a few weeks ago, it was nice to have. We probably came out slightly ahead, but on the flip side of that we ordered a lot of drinks we normally wouldn't have bothered with.

Stuff like getting Baileys for my coffee on sea days or grabbing a beer with lunch that we might not normally have ordered. It was nice to not worry about the bill and also try stuff that we normally wouldn't have tried. If we didn't like it (which happened a few times) you could just order something else in 5 minutes.

On the other hand, we've decided we won't get the card when it's just my dh and me sailing. We tend to be social drinkers so with just the two of us it we wouldn't come anywere near the price of the card.

We were on a recent 8 day Breeze cruise and purchased Cheers. Many others that we met also did. We probably drank more than we would have if we were watching our dollars but never hit 15 on any day. Close, but never 15. We counted our drinks when we got home and took an average of $8 as most of our drinks were 8.75 or 9.75 but a few were 7.25. With using this average, Cheers saved us over $500. We loved the freedom to try whatever we wanted. We never fell down drunk but were usually pretty ready to fall into bed at the end of the night.

One night, about halfway through the cruise, we actually went to take a nap about 6:30 and never got up until the next day. Then we were ready to go again. Even with that day we still came out far ahead.

Thanks for all the feedback! I think I will try it out and see. Either way I suppose it will be lesson learned.

Got any tips for sneaking bevvys on board? Please PM me :-)

I purchased the cheers program on my Breeze cruise in December and LOVED it. Without the cheers program my friend would have never tried a cruise (always AI land vacations). After we got off his first cruise he said as long as they offer this program he'll choose a cruise over a land AI everytime. It's great for people that don't want the big bar bill at the end of the cruise.

Yes. With our $250 OBC it will be!!!! Also we will break even at about 6 drinks. Ignore that 15 bs the crazies on here talk about.

There were two of us and we really went back n forth on this one for my recent Liberty cruise. I control lots of $ my day so of course I had to run the numbers over and over. Even after the first night when the bartender closed out our bill and suggested we might want to get it.

I decided to use that cruise as my benchmark, it was definitely a social drinking cruise for me, and didn't hold back on the budget.

In the end, I opted not to - when I tallied up the drink purchases including the bottomless bubbles cards we both got, it didn't come close to the cost of cheers.

I definitely spent a couple hours with the Carnival bar menu and doing a worst (best? :D:o) case scenario to figure out our bar bill. It was right where I thought it would be.

Now that I have my benchmark, I'll re-evaluate it on a cruise by cruise basis. I might be more inclined to get it in the summer months.

OP ,It's an invitation to drink more, on your dollar.:rolleyes:

Just off the Liberty 3/2/13 sailing. Not a big drinker, but with this program, I was not worried about what I was spending, so I was free to experiment a bit!

I figure I broke even after 6-7 drinks each day.

I had a Bloody Mary at breakfast, drinks on deck, and really loved the Alchemy Bar where I think I tried every Martini they make!

It was a good deal for me---now just wishing I had the recipe for that delicious Caramel Apple martini....

My DH and I bought it on the Splendor. The math works out to 6-8 drinks a day to break even, and neither of us ever hit 15 in a day, but we like our morning Bloody Mary's/Mimosa's, beers and wine with dinner. I saved every receipt for the week and they totaled exactly what we paid for the Cheers Program.

But...he got several cans of soda which normally we paid individually for because he didn't like the soda card, and we did not buy a wine package and had the freedom to order whatever glass of wine suited our individual taste.

We do not go out much at home as we do not want to drink and drive. We love cruising for that reason, no worries, so when we cruise, we enjoy. Our normal bar tab runs approx $1000 on a 7 day cruise and this time, it was reduced approx $300 by buying Cheers. We did not drink more than normal, but we also did not buy a $300 wine package. That was the savings.

We decided to get it on our upcoming Breeze cruise in June. We didn't take a vacay last summer and it's my 50th and our 24th anniversary so we plan on relaxing, having fun and indulgence. With drinks throughout the day and we usually do 2 bottles of wine at dinner and an after dinner drink, I like that we already know the drinks are budgeted for and we won't go over that amount

I decided the Cheers program wouldn't be worth it for our 4 day cruise. I can buy two bottles of our favorite alcohol from Bon Voyage for $130 vs paying $300 for Cheers program.

Factors I considered were:

Hubs is a light drinker

Only 1 sea day on our cruise

Planning excursions on both days in port

Planning to spend an enormous amount of time on our very first extended aft balcony and not wanting to leave the cabin to visit a bar.

I think its just too expensive. I drink, but not that much. I would have to stay drunk the entire time to get what I felt was my money's worth and I refuse to do that. I paid $60 for a bottle of Absolute to be delivered to my room and I am taking on Cranberry and Orange juice. I feel like that will be more then enough plus I know I will buy some of the DOD's as well. So for me, no it would not be worth it.

It was well worth the money as my wife and I have been to most of the ports and tend to stay on board most of the time. That and we only see each other every 4-6 months. We are both early risers and tend to stay up late so a few days we hit and exceeded our limit. When I exceeded I was served but had to pay full price.

At 50. Per day, its worth it to me and the soon to be wife. I like whiskey and beer, she likes martinis and beer. At 5 drinks we're even, 6-15 is on carnival, so even if we dont hit 15; we can easily hit 5 with a glass of wine with dinner, its 2 beers and 2 whiskeys to break even.

For whoever said theyd be drunk the whole time, clearly you never drink if 5 in a 24 hour period keeps you wasted, or you cant do 3rd grade math to realize you dont have to drink all 15 to break even.

For thise who buy the bottle, thats a great idea if you know thats your only drink. I know the wife likes to try different martinis and I like different kinds of whiskey depending on what im drinking ie 7&7 whiskey sour, straight up, etc. So rather than buying 3 bottles cheers is more logical.

Fyi theres a "definitive cheers program" thread with most if the info, a lot of peoples math to figure out if its worth it, including a spreadsheet to use, and current-ish drink prices onboard to help you choose whats best for you

It will be worth it for us. DH drinks a lot on vacation, and while I am a lighter drinker I could at least break even with Cheers. I'd prefer to know what our drink charge is going to be than be surprised at the end.

I am under the impression that the Cheers program is only valid on sea days - not port? Is this true?

So if I am on a 8 day cruise with 3 ports, does that mean I can only use the Cheers program 3 days (final day debarking port)

Thursday - Embark, use Cheers

Friday - Sea Day, Use Cheers

Saturday -Port, No cheers

Sunday -Sea Day, Use Cheers

Monday - Port, No Cheers

Tuesday - Port, No Cheers

Wednesday -Port, No Cheers

Thursday - Final day, Debark No Cheers

Thanks

At 50. Per day, its worth it to me and the soon to be wife. I like whiskey and beer, she likes martinis and beer. At 5 drinks we're even, 6-15 is on carnival, so even if we dont hit 15; we can easily hit 5 with a glass of wine with dinner, its 2 beers and 2 whiskeys to break even.

 

For whoever said theyd be drunk the whole time, clearly you never drink if 5 in a 24 hour period keeps you wasted, or you cant do 3rd grade math to realize you dont have to drink all 15 to break even.

 

For thise who buy the bottle, thats a great idea if you know thats your only drink. I know the wife likes to try different martinis and I like different kinds of whiskey depending on what im drinking ie 7&7 whiskey sour, straight up, etc. So rather than buying 3 bottles cheers is more logical.

 

Fyi theres a "definitive cheers program" thread with most if the info, a lot of peoples math to figure out if its worth it, including a spreadsheet to use, and current-ish drink prices onboard to help you choose whats best for you

I agree with this - we tend to buy the drinks that run $8.95/each and that puts us breaking even at 5 drinks per day... easy to do without getting drunk at all.