Achohol Drink Program - Surprised more people are not Talking about this

[IslandToIsland]

This is from Zydecocruiser's page.

 

http://www.zydecocruiser.net/Carnival-Bar-Menu/CarnivalCruiseBarMenu.htm

[cruzn buckeye]

This is from Zydecocruiser's page.

 

http://www.zydecocruiser.net/Carnival-Bar-Menu/CarnivalCruiseBarMenu.htm

thank you! Wonder if the prices are still the same, this is from March?

Also, not sure I would like the idea of soda being part of the 15 drink limit. It costs all of 1.95 :D

[IslandToIsland]

thank you! Wonder if the prices are still the same, this is from March?

Also, not sure I would like the idea of soda being part of the 15 drink limit. It costs all of 1.95 :D

 

The prices look to be about how I remember them on every cruise so far. I happened to find my last sign and sail bill and the drinks only added up to a little over $300 between the both of us, so this would definitely not be worth it to us. I wish they would have package options like others have mentioned.

[LRene]

There aren't enough details for me to say yay or nay to this package. Celebrity has had their packages for over two years now and they're hugely popular and obviously must be a money maker or it wouldn't still be going. However, there are at least four packages (alcoholic and non-alcoholic, basic and premium) and not everyone in the cabin is required to buy it. The premium package includes all specialty coffees and teas, smoothies, fresh squeezed orange juice, soft drinks and water (plain, vitamin or sparkling) as well as the wines (up to $12 glass) and alcoholic beverages. The brands of alcohol are spelled out in the details and most top shelf isn't on there.

 

Their drinks are higher priced than Carnival but they have a much bigger and better selection as well as more specialty bars such as wine cellar, martini bar, molecular bar etc. Even the coffee bar has a lot more selections. I think if this package takes flight on Carnival, you can expect to see increases in the cost of ala-carte drinks which will push more people toward buying the package.

 

On Celebrity you can buy it at any time in the cruise for the remainder of the cruise and just pay for the remaining days. I think for this to work on Carnival, they need to offer more options and not make every person in the cabin purchase. Part of the beauty is the ease of not signing any slips, not having to carry on any wine or soft drinks, knowing your budget before you go, and even being able to pre-pay or buy it at a reduced price on sale a couple times a year.

 

I don't see Carnival offering it up that way. Their goal is to get those sail and sign bills up as high as possible while offering the least amount of flexibility or options. It's also a bit contradictory to their focus on family cruising, first time cruisers and cruisers looking for a lower price point.

[LitchfieldParkCruisers]

This is not fare if both people in room have to buy pkg. My DH can drink alot more than I can. It would not be worth it for me. I can see why they make both buy it though. There is always the people out there trying to beat the system....I am curious how it works out.

[Wolfie48]

Maybe more people would be talking about it if it were available where we could taks advantage of it?

[MrPete]

What is the Bruise site????

 

Just a site that reports on incidents of the underbelly of the cruising industry.

[maplevale]

Having been to many AI resorts, I don't think this drink pkg would have any major influence on drunks onboard.

 

Wish they had picked fewer drinks per day and a lower price. Like max 8 drinks for $25. ( basically half). I'd be thrilled to participate in this!

 

Ditto - we always AI - and are booked on our first cruise in October. Really we are scared of a big bar bill because sitting at the pool all day I can easily consume 5-6 drinks and then wine at dinner. I am by no means drunk and I am a smaller female!

[sparky9016]

We would do this in a heartbeat.

 

At the current price of 7 and 8 dollars a drink, 42.95 plus 15 percent is a deal. That is 6-7 drinks a day. We are not crazy drinkers but for us it is easy to have 1 or 2 by the pool in the afternoon, 1-2 in the cabin relaxing, napping and getting ready for dinner, 1 at dinner, and easily 2 more at comedy club and piano bar. It sounds like a lot but through the course of a whole day spread out, not really offensive.

 

We like to have some on vacation and neither myself or my DH would be screaming drunk with that amount of drinks.

 

I'd like to see how this plays out.

 

Ditto... I think on our first cruise (and also on a small Bahamas cruise) our tab for an average drink came to approximately $20 for the two of us after the gratuity. That comes out to about 5 drinks per person, per day to make the package a good deal. We aren't huge drinkers, but on vacation we do like to kick back and tend to drink more than normal. It would be nothing to have a few DOD at the pool, a drink before dinner, a glass of wine or two at dinner, and then maybe another in the casino or at a show. Doing this over a period of an entire day would not make us drunk or irritating to other passengers. It just makes it a little more enjoyable of a vacation since we don't have to worry about every little receipt and what we might be doing to our S&S bill... :rolleyes:

[Shipbound]

DW and I would be horizontal the majority of the time if we tried to get our moneys worth at this.

 

I agree ,I could not drink 43.00 dollars worth of drinks per day for the whole cruise and besides I get really bad hang overs. Live and learn.

 

Gary

[firefly333]

I agree ,I could not drink 43.00 dollars worth of drinks per day for the whole cruise and besides I get really bad hang overs. Live and learn.

 

Gary

 

with tips, you would have to drink over $50 a day. dont forget that amount does not include tips at 15%

[mlzangel78]

At that price I'll talk to them all day! :)

 

at 8.00 a drink thats only 5 drinks a day.... for that price Id take it!!!!

[Kstofflet]

I don't understand this remark?? What does a ship leaving from San Juan have to do with anything???? :confused:

 

Take a moment and look at the itinerary = port intensive cruise, not much time on board for the guests = what Carnival hopes for is a loss for the guests.

Carnival will swipe the card and determine if this is "successful". I'm sure if 80% of guests who sign up would have done better purchasing each drink individually then they will continue to roll this out.

[ConnecticutFlamingo]

This might be an interesting poll question, as there is such a variety of responses here...to each is or her own, I suppose...

 

For me, a Carnival Cruise is cheaper than an AI, with about the same (maybe better) food and more comfortable (but way smaller) rooms. I would just look at it as $800 added on to the flat costs of flight and room, and it still comes out cheaper than AI.

 

Regardless of whether or not I got my money's worth, which I think I probably would, the feeling of not having a mystery S&S account, and not thinking about how much my drinks will cost, would be worth it.

 

On a sea day, I figure:

 

Mimosa (maybe 2, they're small!) - $6 or $12

Bottle water x 3 - $5

3 frozen drinks - $21 (maybe more, am by the pool from 9-4)

Nap from 4-6 - priceless

Martini before dinner - $8

2 x dinner wine - $18

 

That's $57, and I might get a beer or cocktail if we hit the casino, or a blueberry tea to head back to the room and watch a movie. Or just a Coke Zero even...

 

Those calculations are based on my previous experiences at AIs, and I might be buzzed and happy after drinking all that, but I can assure you I would not be vomiting or causing trouble. It's a matter of pacing, I guess.

 

What can I say? On vacay, I like to drink! For me, this would keep me cruising Carnival in the future. Otherwise we are switching to Celebrity next year.

 

I guess it's good that people who don't want it don't have to buy it...you are basically paying for this package, but it is built into the price, when travelling to AI resorts.

 

I agree. My husband and I would save money. Neither of us get falling down drunk but not unusal to have a $1000. bill at the end of a cruise, most of it is the bar bill. I hope they have this in place by September 29 when we go on the Dream for a B2B!

[patrick82]

Through already available discounted drinking methods (16 drink coupons, 2 bon voyage bottles, BYOwine) we will spend around 300 dollars on drinks for 2 people on a 5 day cruise w/2 port stops.

 

On the boat, this 300 dollars will buy 8ish drinks per day on sea days and 5ish drinks per day on port days with 1/2 a bottle of liquor left over at the end.

 

This program would cost almost twice the 300 dollars I already pay to stay sufficiently buzzed on my trip. No thanks.

[LizaMM]

I would really like this option and I do hope that it is on the Breeze when I sail in Jan! I actually almost booked a group cruise for the same week which did have All Inclusive group bar cards but I really wanted to sail the Breeze and have 8 days to different ports on a new ship.

 

Like previous posters have mentioned.....A few drinks on deck spread out throughout the day....nap....before dinner drink....wine at dinner....late night out with a couple of drinks in the comedy club/piano bar and then disco.....all this adds up quite quickly and although I may have times of the day where I am "feeling it" I have never been falling down drunk or even close to that.

 

I have been to AI's and honestly the only thing in the Pro column over a cruise at this point is the cost of drink factor which is unknown to me on a cruise. Granted, after 10 cruises I pretty much have an idea of what I spend in beverages.....which is why I know this would be a good option for me.

[cruzzza]

So, does the $10 mean the price of the drink, including the tip? or can you order your 10 dollar drink and the tip is extra? so confusing..

Does anyone have a price list they would like to share? I like my Miami Vices... how much are they? And does the 10% tip push it over the 10.00 limit?

I like another posters idea of less drinks, less cash...

 

This is another good question...to add to my list of questions...

 

1. Is bottled water included?

2. Are sodas (and water if it's incl) part of the 15 drink maximum?

3. How will they enforce everyone over 21 in the cabin buying the package?

4. Is the $10 limit with or without the tip added?

[DaytonCruiser]

This is another good question...to add to my list of questions...

 

1. Is bottled water included?

2. Are sodas (and water if it's incl) part of the 15 drink maximum?

3. How will they enforce everyone over 21 in the cabin buying the package?

4. Is the $10 limit with or without the tip added?

 

Sadly, the person from the cruise critic staff, either didnt ask any questions or Carnival wasnt forthcoming with more info, which seems strange, since they have to answer specific questions on the ship

 

 

Maybe Jason will chime in, since he was actually the first person to inform the site about the program..or better yet next week maybe a CC member that purchased the program will give more details.

 

The cost of drinks is before gratuity, since the program adds on the 15% to the $42.95. If they did it the other way it would be doubled tipped.

 

Since you can just sign up for this in specific areas on the first 2 days of the cruise, they may have dedicated staff that will verify your cabinmates and ages...or they may just take your word for it when you sign up with the stipulation that when they check, and you lied, they will remove you from the program and keep the money...that would probably get 100% honesty from all purchasers :)

[cruzzza]

I added two more questions :confused:

 

1. Is bottled water included?

2. Are sodas (and water if it's incl) part of the 15 drink maximum?

3. How will they enforce everyone over 21 in the cabin buying the package?

4. Is the $10 limit with or without the tip added?

5. Can you get more than one drink at a time?

6. Is this service limited to certain bars/areas? (What about dining room & show lounge?)

[cruzzza]

Sadly, the person from the cruise critic staff, either didnt ask any questions or Carnival wasnt forthcoming with more info, which seems strange, since they have to answer specific questions on the ship

 

 

Maybe Jason will chime in, since he was actually the first person to inform the site about the program..or better yet next week maybe a CC member that purchased the program will give more details.

 

The cost of drinks is before gratuity, since the program adds on the 15% to the $42.95. If they did it the other way it would be doubled tipped.

 

Since you can just sign up for this in specific areas on the first 2 days of the cruise, they may have dedicated staff that will verify your cabinmates and ages...or they may just take your word for it when you sign up with the stipulation that when they check, and you lied, they will remove you from the program and keep the money...that would probably get 100% honesty from all purchasers :)

 

I agree, there's much more we need to know about this. However, it's probably like most other changes they've done recently - all subject to change! :rolleyes: I'm not a heavy drinker, but I agree that my foo foo drinks, sodas and bottled water add up over the length of the cruise and I might even be willing to pay more than I'd typically spend just to not have to worry about how much the S&S card is getting up to. It's the one thing I've always been jealous about the AI resorts. I like not having surprises at the end. Even though it's expensive, I think I'd consider it part of the cost, kind of like the tips. I would definately consider this, but I'd have to have those questions answered!

[firefly333]

[quote name='cruzzza']This is another good question...to add to my list of questions...

1. Is bottled water included?
2. Are sodas (and water if it's incl) part of the 15 drink maximum?
3. How will they enforce everyone over 21 in the cabin buying the package?
4.[COLOR=Red] Is the $10 limit with or without the tip added[/COLOR]?[/quote]

Most of the drinks I like, have two liquors and they all jump in price to $10.50, the classic drinks.

So, I am thinking there probably are not enough drinks that cost exactly $10 to worry about.. they are either under $10 or they are classic drinks and $10.50?

Have you seen a lot of drinks priced right under $10?

As far as enforcing that everyone is charged in the cabin over the age of 21, I dont see how this would be hard to do. They know who the minors are in the cabins, its encoded into their S&S cards too .. if you choose to sign up .. the charge goes against all adults in the cabin at the time of purchase. simple.

[Feelin' Nauti']

[SIZE=4][B]If Carnival is reading the boards..... ;)PLLLEEEASSSEE!!! Bring this to the Miracle for our Sept 11th sailing[/B][/SIZE] :D

[silvercrikhix]

Roll it out fleet wide Carnival!
Those who want it can get and those who don't want it won't!
It may not work for everyone but, for those that it does work for can actually have a CHOICE, an adult choice! Woo-Hoo!
It depends on the cruise schedule, etc... Of course.
But the convenience is a definite consideration as well as the drinks themselves!
Bring this one on!

[cruzinlisa]

DH would probably get his money's worth from it. Even on port days, he would probably just drink more to make sure he got his money's worth. Me, not so much. I drink more on a cruise because its vacation, but still not enough to pay for the card. On a sea day I might drink 2-3 frozen drinks, maybe a glass of wine at dinner. On port days it might be just a glass of wine or maybe wine and an evening cocktail. If they allowed it for one person, we might do it for DH and I could just buy my drinks.

[cruisin4fun323]

On the days that you are in port, when you come back to the ship can't you just order buckets of beer and take them back to your room to save on ice for the next day? Just wondering why that wouldn't work:D