The definitive Cheers program Thread

[oharoldo]

I am just off of the Legend and did the cheers program. Bottom line "LOVED IT".

 

While I am a big drinker, my wife is not, yet she found that even she drank more under the program than she would have.

 

Some quick answers to confusing aspects of the program.

1. The do tell you that the program is good for up to 15 drinks. If you are too drunk after 7, you will be cut off. If you manage to get 15 in, you will be charged regular price for drinks.

2. Most bottles were served open and all cans served closed. If yo wanted closed bottles, they would as well.

3. I was able to go to the bar and order for both my wife and I many times. Both do not need to be there.

4. I was even able to order a single drink on my wives card, no issue.

5. We never noticed a lack of service by the bartenders, actually, they got to know us pretty well, since we were usually around a bar while on ship.

 

I would say, that the cheers program was one of the best aspects of the cruise we just went on. we drank more than we ever had before on Carnival, but not to excess.

 

Oh and to anyone who feels that 15 is not enough, just buy Makers Mark Manhattans. Each drink is 3, 1oz shots of the 94 proof bourbon. That works out to over 1.5 bottles of booze. Good luck with that.

 

-F-

 

Just off the Dream and ditto all this. We had a group of friends and had no problem ordering for each other while presenting their cards. There is a line on your receipt for an "Additional Tip" and my friends and I consistently tipped $1 on each drink, so we had no problem whatsoever with the service. This tip goes directly to the bartender serving you and not into the Cheers tip pool. Additionally, they will serve you after 15 drinks as long you pay for them.

[BubMunkeyBles]

Yes....you can pay the 10.00, plus 1.50 tip and upgrade from the Classic to the Premium. With their package, you get any drink that is valued up to 12 bucks and if there is a higher priced micro beer, all you need to do is pay the difference, plus 15%. This is only true if you upgrade to the Premium package, if you stick with the Classic, all beer up to 5 and all mixed drinks & shots up to 8 are covered. If you want something higher priced, you pay the entire amount, so it's worth it to upgrade. You also get soda, fresh squeezed juice, Red Bull, bottled water including Evian and San Pellegrino, and all specialty coffees. The promotion was in effect at the beginning of the year and because of it, we booked a repositioning cruise from NJ to San Juan in October. Because of the popularity, they were swamped with reservations and they have decided to re open the promotion for bookings from March 15-April 15. It is good on all of their ships for sailings through March of 2014. You can get a 5 day sailing on the Constellation for about 700-800 total, which would include an OV cabin, all taxes and fees, gratuities and the upgrade to the Premium alcohol package.

 

We're booking our Summit cruise once the deal restarts. We were going to originally get an inside room with plans to buy the plan onboard, but are being able to upgrade ourselves to an ocean view room and still save $300 on the plan. Very excited to try X on a cruise with my DH next year. :) I LOVE that it includes all the specialty coffees and such.

[SNJCruisers]

We're booking our Summit cruise once the deal restarts. We were going to originally get an inside room with plans to buy the plan onboard, but are being able to upgrade ourselves to an ocean view room and still save $300 on the plan. Very excited to try X on a cruise with my DH next year. :) I LOVE that it includes all the specialty coffees and such.

Glad to hear it...just remember that it will cost you an extra 23 bucks per day and everything will then be covered. The 23 bucks covers 11.50 per day for tips and 11.50 per day to upgrade from the promotion included Classic alcohol package to the Premium one. With regards to the OV rooms on the Summit.....pick one of the ones in the aft section of deck 3 that are adjacent to the conference center. These are brand new cabins that were built last year when the ship went in for it's refurb. They have much larger windows than the regular OV cabins. There are pics of these cabins that you can find doing a search on these boards.

[Mickey1125]

After thoroughly reading this and getting an idea of what options DBF and I have, I dont think Cheers is right for us.

We are normally not big drinkers but DBF enjoys his rum and cokes. I think we are going to buy a bottle from Bon Voyage and a soda card. And if the urge strikes, have a good strong drink at the bar. But really, after 1 or 2 drinks, we are ready for naps.

I am concerned about the coffee- i am a coffee fiend and need a good strong cuppa every morning. But then again, how can i be cranky if i am on a cruise? right?

[SNJCruisers]

After thoroughly reading this and getting an idea of what options DBF and I have, I dont think Cheers is right for us.

We are normally not big drinkers but DBF enjoys his rum and cokes. I think we are going to buy a bottle from Bon Voyage and a soda card. And if the urge strikes, have a good strong drink at the bar. But really, after 1 or 2 drinks, we are ready for naps.

I am concerned about the coffee- i am a coffee fiend and need a good strong cuppa every morning. But then again, how can i be cranky if i am on a cruise? right?

If case you don't have it already, the number for Bon Voyage is 800-522-7648. With regards to rum, the choices are all 1 liter and Bacardi, Bacardi Limon, Bacardi Oakheart and Captain Morgan are all 65.00 and Gosling's Black Seal is 60.00.

[tricky_tink]

We were all set to purchase the "cheers" package but I used the spreadsheet from here last night. The program does not make sense for us. It's nice to have things just all paid up and covered but not to the tune of $200-$300 more than you would normally spend. We each have 3 drinks a day. I do not drink soda and Hubby will just carry on his soda. He got the bubbles package last time and they ignore you at the bar and the drink runners ignored him too. He had to call them over then wait 10min for a soda. I have a small soft cooler we will take with us to the pool. I was told you can bring more soda on board at every port. Thanks for saving us money! More shopping can be had now.

[SNJCruisers]

We were all set to purchase the "cheers" package but I used the spreadsheet from here last night. The program does not make sense for us. It's nice to have things just all paid up and covered but not to the tune of $200-$300 more than you would normally spend. We each have 3 drinks a day. I do not drink soda and Hubby will just carry on his soda. He got the bubbles package last time and they ignore you at the bar and the drink runners ignored him too. He had to call them over then wait 10min for a soda. I have a small soft cooler we will take with us to the pool. I was told you can bring more soda on board at every port. Thanks for saving us money! More shopping can be had now.

Besides bringing on a 12 pack of soda in each port, you can also bring on a 6 pack of beer...did it in Cabo with no problem on the Spirit last year.

[Elmo31]

We will be on the Dream ina few months and are considering getting this package. Are frozen alcohol drinks included like Miami vice and pina coladas? Can you also use this program in the dining rooms? And comedy club? And show rooms? Thanks

[SNJCruisers]

We will be on the Dream ina few months and are considering getting this package. Are frozen alcohol drinks included like Miami vice and pina coladas? Can you also use this program in the dining rooms? And comedy club? And show rooms? Thanks

Yes, it's good anywhere on the ship for any alcoholic drink that is normally under 10 bucks before tip. Upgraded Grey Goose martini's that are 9.95 are included as well. The only exceptions to this rule is nothing with a souvenir glass, nothing from room service, nothing from your mini bar and nothing from the self serve wine dispensers. So the drinks you mentioned as well as the venues you inquired about are all good. Shots are good as well.

[mchelle77]

We will be on the Dream ina few months and are considering getting this package. Are frozen alcohol drinks included like Miami vice and pina coladas? Can you also use this program in the dining rooms? And comedy club? And show rooms? Thanks

 

I should have skipped to the last page, because after reading through the entire thread, this was my question! :) My husband and I decided to get it but I was curious about beers in the pub (not the tube, just beers in general) and drinks in the steakhouse.

[Elmo31]

Thank you for the info....looks like hubby and I will be enjoying the drink plan :)

[SNJCruisers]

Thank you for the info....looks like hubby and I will be enjoying the drink plan :)

If you like Bloody Marys, the stand that is set up outside the Punchliner Brunch on sea days makes an awesome one in a pint glass with a double shot and there are many different hot sauces to heat it up to your specifications. You can also use your free drink coupon to get one as well. But we used our free drink coupon to get a cappuccino since we had the Cheers program and espresso and capp are no longer free in the MDR.

[scrat]

Trying to decide, DW and I are on a 15 night cruise to Hawaii in April. We board the ship Apr. 14 and disembark Apr 29, if we bought the package day 2 it would be 49.40 x 2 x 14 = 1383.20

 

With the average price of a drink being 7.50 we would need to consume 185 drinks or 7 drinks per day each to break even, anything above that would be a bonus.

 

Please check my math and correct me if I am wrong.

 

thank you for this information

 

scrat

[joanskid]

It really does not matter anyway because the Cheers program is currently only available on 13 ships in the fleet and NONE of them sail any 3 or 4 day itineraries. The shortest cruise available with the Cheers program are the 5 day sailings on the Victory or the Glory.

 

The itinerary that was posted when this comment was posted is the same as my upcoming 4 day Victory. So...is the cheers program offered on all Victory cruises or only the 5+ day ones??

[seventhwardhustler]

I wish they would amend it to include coffee, if they would I would go for it, coffee is cheaper than beer, wonder why they wont count it in?

if coffee were included, i too would be game. it would make a LOT more sense for me.

[seventhwardhustler]

you are a blessing!! this took me from not giving it a second thought to seeing that it totally makes sense for us. I guess i'm just amazed at how quickly it all adds up. i'm well over $60 a day.

[Spudder]

Trying to decide, DW and I are on a 15 night cruise to Hawaii in April. We board the ship Apr. 14 and disembark Apr 29, if we bought the package day 2 it would be 49.40 x 2 x 14 = 1383.20

 

With the average price of a drink being 7.50 we would need to consume 185 drinks or 7 drinks per day each to break even, anything above that would be a bonus.

 

Please check my math and correct me if I am wrong.

 

thank you for this information

 

scrat

 

If the $7.50 is before the 15% tip then you have to add that on which makes it $8.625 and then divide the daily rate by that ($49.40/$8.625 = 5.7 drinks per day)... it will be worth it for us.

[jmn444]

Any word on this being expanded to more ships?

 

Specifically looking for the Paradise...

[mchelle77]

Now I'm wondering if the Cheers program includes drinks at the rum and tequila bars, as long as they are under $10? Wasn't sure if they were excluded because they're sort of "specialty" bars.

[ajtaylor29]

My 2 cents on the Cheers program: we just got off the Freedom on Sunday. I bought it for my DH and myself (in 1 cabin) and my 26-year-old son in other cabin (with 17 year old brother, so we only had to buy one).

Anyway - there is NO way that DH and i got our moneys worth, i guess we're just not big enough drinkers. I did enjoy the freedom to try different things (like martinis, DOD's, etc.) without worrying about the price. But since we took on our 2 bottles of wine and had those with dinner a couple of nights, and 4 days we were in ports, I'm sure we didn't drink enough to break even. Plus, it was a hassle trying to collect beers to take back to our room and enjoy on the balcony (buying 1 at a time, waiting 5 minutes buying another one). Then, on the third night the casino gave me the drink card?!?! So, that was basically a worthless perk - but there was nothing they could offer me instead, and of course i couldn't even try and cancel my cheers because my husband in the same room was still needing his. So, i felt like i paid a lot for the drink card and for me at least could have been drinking my few drinks a day for free in the casino.

For my stepson, we had the opposite problem: he definitely got his money's worth and it paid for itself. However, they were enforcing a strict 15-drink maximum, and when he hit that they cut him off. NO more drinks even if he paid for them. (I had heard that on other ships, they would continue to serve you but charge for them). For him, especially on sea days, he was drinking throughout the day and about 11 pm he would get cut off. He certainly wasn't drunk, but then he couldn't even buy a drink. A couple of times he was able to find us and we would buy him a drink on our cards but again - a hassle.

Anyway - overall i just felt like we paid too much, and the program was too restrictive. Also, they're going to have to figure out how to work the Cheers program in conjunction with the Casino drink card, since they basically cancel each other out as far as the freebies. (i was also told by a casino host that people getting free drinks in the casino are now also being cut off once they hit 15 drinks, because they still have to ring them into the system and because they're on cheers it will freeze them out after 15. NOT a good plan, imo).

[Notaworryintheworld]

Now I'm wondering if the Cheers program includes drinks at the rum and tequila bars, as long as they are under $10? Wasn't sure if they were excluded because they're sort of "specialty" bars.

 

I was on the Dream last week (yes, that one) and we got drinks at Red Frog and Blue Iguana as long as it was under $10 with no problem. The drinks there were VERY strong which wasn't necessarily a good thing for us with us since we had Cheers and weren't trying to get the most bang for our buck like usual but still fun to try lots of things!

[mchelle77]

I was on the Dream last week (yes, that one) and we got drinks at Red Frog and Blue Iguana as long as it was under $10 with no problem. The drinks there were VERY strong which wasn't necessarily a good thing for us with us since we had Cheers and weren't trying to get the most bang for our buck like usual but still fun to try lots of things!

 

Thank you! Just read your review too :)

[Notaworryintheworld]

If the $7.50 is before the 15% tip then you have to add that on which makes it $8.625 and then divide the daily rate by that ($49.40/$8.625 = 5.7 drinks per day)... it will be worth it for us.

 

We made a spreadsheet of our drinks and this is including us slowing down the last couple days because of the anxiety surrounding figuring out when we were getting off the ship! As you can see, we still exceeded the $600 we paid for it. We really weren't drunk very often either. A mimosa with breakfast, a few frozen drinks by the pool, glass of wine before and during dinner, then 2-3 drinks after dinner (comedy show, nightclub, lido deck, etc). My bf pointed out that if I wasn't drinking the $5.50 wine, we would have done even better! haha The cheapest wine just happened to be the one I liked. Oh well!

[jgbusymom]

There's been a lot of cheers threads, I've even made one, I figured if we could get all the FAQ in one place, we could help keep questions from being answered all day every day over and over. I've pulled these questions from existing threads from users, including myself. Answers confirmed by Carnival before posting (as of 2/18/2012). If I missed anything, please PM me, or ask, and I have no problem calling carnival to find out their answer and adding it to the list.

 

FAQ:

 

QUESTION: How much will I pay for Cheers?

A: You will pay $49.40USD For EVERY person in your cabin who is over 21 years old, EACH night you are on a cruise.

This means even if your cabin mate doesn't drink, you will still pay for them to be on the cheers program. Keep in mind that you do NOT pay for Disembarkment day, and you can sign up on the second day on board, paying for only that day through the last day, but you will be charged for each drink you order before you signed up separately.

 

EXAMPLE #1: You and your wife are cruising on the Freedom, on a 6 night cruise, and sign up for Cheers on the first day. You will pay $592.80 for the program. ($494 if you sign up on the second day)

EXAMPLE #2: You sail with your 19 year old daughter on a 6 night cruise, and sign up you pay $296.40. ($247.00 if you sign up on the second day)

 

QUESTION: Do I get charged for DisEmbarkment day/ Embarkment day?

A: You will NOT be charged for Disembarkement day. You will be charged for Embarkment day if you purchase the program on embarkment day.

 

QUESTION: Can I get this on Every Cruise?

A: NO Currently the program is available on the following ships only:

Carnival Breeze

Carnival Conquest

Carnival Dream

Carnival Freedom

Carnival Glory

Carnival Legend

Carnival Liberty

Carnival Magic

Carnival Miracle

Carnival Pride

Carnival Splendor

Carnival Valor

Carnival Victory

(last list update 12/31/2012)

 

QUESTION 3: My Wife is Pregnant, will Carnival make an exception since she can't drink?

A: NO. Carnival will make no exceptions for any reason, including medical, EVERYONE in the cabin over 21 will be charged for the program.

 

QUESTION: Is it worth it?

A: (thanks to Vinman13) Depends on how much you drink.

If you are a straight domestic beer drinker ($5.75/drink plus gratuity) it will take almost 8 beers (in a day) to break even. Then you will basically get beers 9 through 15 in a day free. Saving you up to $49.79/day.

If you are a Grey Goose Martini drinker ($9.95/drink plus gratuity) it will take less than 5 (in a day) to break even. Then you will get martinis 6 through 15 in a day free. Saving you up to $122.24/day.

 

QUESTION: Is it truly unlimited drinks?

A: NO, you are limited to 15 drinks per 24 hour period. The 24 hour period is 6am to 6am the next morning, so your 15 drinks don't restart at midnight, but at 6am the next morning. IN ADDITION, Carnival has stated that the staff has been trained to cut you off if you get too drunk, and they will. You are also limited to 1 drink every 5 minutes.

 

QUESTION: I'm a Bears fan and can put away a case of beer on a Sunday, Can I still get more drinks after 15?

A: YES, but you will have to pay for them, as long as you are not too drunk, As a Bears fan, you should be fine up to 30 or so beers a day.

 

QUESTION: Can I drink anything I want?

A: NO, Beverages Included In The Program:

All spirits (including cocktails), as well as beer and wine by the glass with a $10.00 or lower menu price.

Sodas and non-alcoholic frozen cocktails.

25% discount off the menu price for bottled water

25% discount off the menu price for spirits or wine above $10.00 per drink.

25% discount off the menu price wine and champagne by the bottle.

 

Beverages Excluded From The Program:

Non-alcoholic beverages other than soda and non-alcoholic frozen cocktails.

Beverages promoted and sold in souvenir glasses.

Bottles of liquor.

Bottled water (offered at a 25% discount).

Beverages offered at gangway while debarking.

Beverages offered through room service as well as mini bars and/or other in-stateroom beverage programs.

The sharing of cocktails and floaters.

Buckets of beer, pitchers of beer, and beer tubes.

Wine and champagne by the bottle (offered at a 25% discount).

All spirits or wine above $10.00 per drink (offered at a 25% discount).

Beverages offered through enomatic wine machines.

Coffee beverages and food items.

All other beverage-related programs including cookbooks and bar books, beverage seminars and classes, as well as cigars.

 

QUESTION: Can I order a bucket of beer and have it count as 4 drinks?

A: NO, one drink at a time with at least 5 minutes between drinks. However as many have stated, you can ask for unopened drinks, and save them up yourself.

 

QUESTION: Is soda Included?

A: YES. "bottomless Bubbles" is included in the program, which gives you unlimited soda (6.00 Per Person/ Per Day Value). Other non-alcoholic drinks also do not count towards your limit.

 

QUESTION: Do soda's count towards the 15 drinks?

A: NO, Sodas are truly unlimited and do not count towards your 15 drink minimum.

 

QUESTION: Can I get drinks for me and my cabin mate from the bar at the same time?

A: NO, Everyone must get their own drink so they can tell if one person is too drunk, and needs to be cut off. (carnival's answer)

 

QUESTION: Can I get specialty coffee, or redbull/monster/bawls/other energy drink, with this program?

A: NO, the program does not include those beverages. It also does not include bottled water(25% discount applies to bottled water not in the mini-bar), mini-bar, or room service drinks.

 

QUESTION: Does cheers work on Half Moon Cay?

A: Yes, cheers applies while you are on Half Moon Cay, but no other port.

 

QUESTION: Are tips and Taxes included

A: TIPs are included. TAXES while in US waters (IE embarkement day, key west stops, etc) Will be added onto your S&S Account. The package itself is NOT taxed, you will only pay tax on individual drinks in US waters regardless of when you buy the program.

 

I thought I had read that there is an automatic 15% gratuity added to the $49.40/day. I don't see anything about that in your post... Is the 15% included in the $49.40 or is the actual cost per day $56.81?

 

Thanks for sharing your knowledge on this!

Jenni

[KG1924]

if coffee were included, i too would be game. it would make a LOT more sense for me.

 

Well, you are kind of right-specialty coffees are not included....but if you get a spiked coffee, it's included!! We did this 2 mornings when we knew we would be in port most of the day and would most likely not drink much on the ship. It was a way to get "good" coffee and start off the morning w/ a little buzz :p;)