cheers program questions

[dvond]

We cruise all 3 lines and never buy Cheers on Carnival, my wife is not a drinker so its a waste, I just take other measures while on RCL, I get the Beer and wine package unlimited for $40 and it works perfectly while she does not have to buy and there is no reason for me to take any other measures, until it changes on Carnival, I will never ever spend $110 a day

[ajee622]

We did a 5 day and totally made it worth our while. The cruise before that we did a 7 day and it wasn't available and I wish it would've been because we drank about $1500.

 

Keep in mind though at the time I was 31 and wife was 27. Most people on this board are older.

[DHnDWplus2]

Cutiepie, the purchaser of the Cheers package is cut off at 15 drinks. Not allowed cash purchase of alcohol after that...

 

The answer....no sharing...increased profit. BOTTOM LINE...

 

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[ray98]

Princess has no limit, no everyone in the cabin has to buy it and it includes Espresso coffee drinks, bottled water and sodas. They do not seem as paranoid as Carnival even though they are part of the same holding company

 

 

They have a different customer base which will have entirely different profit models.

Edited February 24, 2015 by ray98

[Purvis1231]

they are not capping to prevent sharing. :rolleyes: they are capping for general safety of the guests and crew. 15 drinks should be plenty.

the reason they make everyone purchase the package is to prevent sharing.

 

15 drinks should be enough, if not please get a bootle to drink in your room.

[MCFTJCH2V]

You don't need to get a bubbles card for your child. The answers as to why both adults in a stateroom have to get cheers had been answered. Whether you agree or not it is to prevent sharing of drinks.

 

Which is the reason we don't buy it. Very few people in a room drink the same.

 

So we still bring our own.

[Purvis1231]

If hubby drinks his 15 beers, you can go to a bar order your beer and go to another bar and pass your beer along to him. (although personally if 15 drinks are not enough, oh well).

[cutiepiefred]

If hubby drinks his 15 beers, you can go to a bar order your beer and go to another bar and pass your beer along to him. (although personally if 15 drinks are not enough, oh well).

 

if we are both forced to buy the package then this is not possible. you cant just buy a beer, I will have to use the package, and according to all the posts no sharing is allowed. My original post was just a frustration as i dont think they should make everyone in your booking by the package if they are going to cap it anyway, and some people cant drink due to medical reasons. we have 7 total people 3 rooms in our booking accourding to carnival rep directly everyone has to buy the package, not just our room.

[Rena921]

if we are both forced to buy the package then this is not possible. you cant just buy a beer, I will have to use the package, and according to all the posts no sharing is allowed. My original post was just a frustration as i dont think they should make everyone in your booking by the package if they are going to cap it anyway, and some people cant drink due to medical reasons. we have 7 total people 3 rooms in our booking accourding to carnival rep directly everyone has to buy the package, not just our room.

 

If the rep told you that all 3 rooms had to get it because of the same booking, that's incorrect. Each person over 21 in a stateroom needs to purchase it, if one wants it, both have to purchase it. So if you have a cabin with 2 (or however many) people that don't want it, that cabin does not have to purchase it.

[radgal72]

You can't purchase anymore after you reach you limit. Purchases your drinks before. Tip your bartenders.

 

 

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[AZ Karaoke Girl]

This is why, unfortunately, my annual guys-cruise group had to move on to RCI for this year's trip. We used to have the old open bar package, but they canceled it last year and told us we'd have to do their lame Cheers program.

 

RCI doesn't cap their packages, and they have tiers, so it was a no-brainer. I wish Carnival would get with the times and drop their arbitrary cap, it should be left to the staff to determine who has been over served. We much prefer the Carnival nightlife, I hope we get to come back someday.

 

Yep. If this is a deal breaker to OP, move to another cruiseline. RCI rules are different. Otherwise, skip the Cheers program & buy one drink at a time like we all used to do.

[DarthGrady]

If hubby drinks his 15 beers, you can go to a bar order your beer and go to another bar and pass your beer along to him. (although personally if 15 drinks are not enough, oh well).

 

The issue with the hard 15 a day cap is that it doesn't work for everyone. It's just a made-up, arbitrary number. I can only speak for myself, but on a short cruise that goes to Nassau or Cozumel everyday will be a sea day for me.

 

So if I'm at the pool deck having beers I could easily have 8-10 by dinner and not even have a good buzz going. That leaves just five more between dinner, after dinner activities and the late night club.

 

That may be plenty (or too much for some) but not enough for me. But it's no big deal, Carnival just loses my business. I'll complain with my wallet, and go elsewhere.

Edited February 24, 2015 by DarthGrady

[cutiepiefred]

The issue with the hard 15 a day cap is that it doesn't work for everyone. It's just a made-up, arbitrary number. I can only speak for myself, but on a short cruise that goes to Nassau or Cozumel everyday will be a sea day for me.

 

So if I'm at the pool deck having beers I could easily have 8-10 by dinner and not even have a good buzz going. That leaves just five more between dinner, after dinner activities and the late night club.

 

That may be plenty (or too much for some) but not enough for me. But it's no big deal, Carnival just loses my business. I'll complain with my wallet, and go elsewhere.

 

thats exactly what i was thinking, if that 15 is for a 24hr period and we have a sea day some can easily drink 1 an hr an dbe out by dinner.

[bluemoon12]

Since your group has three cabins why not put two together in a cabin that wants the cheers program? When on board you can go to guest services and switch cards out to be with your husband. Everyone wins!

[Rochesterboatingdotcom]

You can't purchase anymore after you reach you limit. Purchases your drinks before. Tip your bartenders.

 

 

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If you get a casino "drinks on us" card, you can have as many as drinks as you want, even after you max out your Cheers. We ended up with both on our last cruise and confirmed that the two programs are not connected.

[bigdog1958]

If you get a casino "drinks on us" card, you can have as many as drinks as you want, even after you max out your Cheers. We ended up with both on our last cruise and confirmed that the two programs are not connected.

 

They must have changed this since last feb.. My friend hit 15 one day, then was given the drinks on us card that night, ordered a drink and they came back and said could not do it, since the system locked him out for drinks since he hit 15. They said if he only had 14 with cheers he could have had unlimited on drinks are us, but once 15 with cheers in reached, cannot drink any more.. glad you maxed out yours on cheers and then was able to get drinks on us, they must have changed the rules

[RobinKY]

You have to do a little estimation on the front end to see what route is worth it. Maybe hire a CPA to create an excel spreadsheet with different inputs - :)

 

Based on your daily drinking habits for each of you, is it better to get the drink package (both of you) or buy drinks individually. Beer ($5+tip) is cheaper than wine and mixed drinks ($7-9=tip).

 

Keep in mind you give your husband your drinks if he hits his 15 max. I even just used my wifes card without her once I hit the max.

 

It was worth it for us bc we both average about 10-12 drinks a day

[Jay Sam]

I just have a question. why is it that all people in your booking have to purchase this, if they have a limit on the amount of drinks you can recieve anyways? Just curious as I will never drink enough a day to make this worth it, but my hubby may. Also would we then have to get a bubbles packages for our child as he is 6 and doers not drink soda?

 

Carnival enforces the cheers program that everybody in the cabin needs to participate. I was on a solo cruise so no affect on me. Four years ago Celebrity did not have that policy. Not sure about now. Royal had that policy in Dec of 2013, but when I explained I would not be able to participate as 2 friends were in my cabin, without hesitation, they said, we can work around that. Great. I have not shared drinks with my traveling companions either time. Honesty is my motto.

 

Also, a guy I met on the Carnival cruise told me that when the 15 limit is reached in one day on the cheers program, that he couldn't even order another drink and pay for it. So I guess they feel that is enough. I hit 14 a couple days, and that was enough for me. Actually more than enough.

 

On my 2 recent Carnival cruises, they had an offer each day from 8A to 12 noon, for double bloody marys at the same price. So for anyone up early and wanting to drink, that is a nice deal. Tasty too.

[YubaSutter]

oh i was pregnant on our last cruise had medical docs showing and they still tried to make me purchase it in order for him to have it, he drank nothing but what was included all week. i am not saying he will drink the whole 15 i am just saying they shouldnt make everyone buy it if they are going to cap it anyways to prevent sharing.

 

It's hard to believe that he didn't just buy his alcoholic drinks.

[Rochesterboatingdotcom]

They must have changed this since last feb.. My friend hit 15 one day, then was given the drinks on us card that night, ordered a drink and they came back and said could not do it, since the system locked him out for drinks since he hit 15. They said if he only had 14 with cheers he could have had unlimited on drinks are us, but once 15 with cheers in reached, cannot drink any more.. glad you maxed out yours on cheers and then was able to get drinks on us, they must have changed the rules

 

That could be true. We never maxed out cheers, but definitely went over 15 using Drinks on Us card.

[boatlover19]

issues like these are why I will not sail Carnival. It shows what they think of their clientele (they cannot be trusted to follow rules, they need to have their drinking monitored, they are ill behaved). I feel like the ship staff's attitude reflect these beliefs as well. I have been on two carnival cruises and both times I felt like the staff was condescending and provided service as if they felt I was lucky to be on a ship. I will gladly pay more for an upscale experience on lines like Celebrity.

[Jay Sam]

issues like these are why I will not sail Carnival. It shows what they think of their clientele (they cannot be trusted to follow rules, they need to have their drinking monitored, they are ill behaved). I feel like the ship staff's attitude reflect these beliefs as well. I have been on two carnival cruises and both times I felt like the staff was condescending and provided service as if they felt I was lucky to be on a ship. I will gladly pay more for an upscale experience on lines like Celebrity.

 

Celebrity was a nice cruise on Solstice. I still like Carnival best. Celebrity to me was a snippy snooty and snobby bunch, both the staff and the guests. You know, people who think they are better than others. Polished service, better than the others, yes, but do they make me feel at home? No. So all in all thanks to Carnival and Royal, my two fave's and all the rest too, Celebrity and Holland, and my least fave' NCL: but still even NCL being at the bottom, is still a great cruise experience. Staff to me was not condescending on Carnival, but was on Celebrity.

[cutiepiefred]

It's hard to believe that he didn't just buy his alcoholic drinks.

 

nope he did not have one alcoholic drink the whole time, we demed its not fair they were making me buy a plan when you could clearlya nd medical notied that i was pregnant and would not be drinking any alcohol so tehy got no money from us for alcohol

[spikester]

search on here for some of the spreadsheets that show the current prices of the drinks.

 

Beer is approx $6.00 per bottle. If you husband has all 15 of his this is $90.00/day. If you have 3 margaritas at $8.50each your price is $25.50 for a total of $115.50 per day per couple. Cheers is $49/pp or $98.00 per couple per day, so you have made money on the package.

 

Also, you can always order a beer or 2 or 3 to take back to the room to drink later, or give it to your husband to drink, no one really polices it if you are discrete. The only thing they are strict about is the 15 drinks.

[cutiepiefred]

I dont drink much alcohol though maybe 5 the whole week, so thats not worth it to us even if he is maxing his out. I just think its nuts we both have to buy it if they cap it