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How we made the most of Cheers on Carnival Splendor

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hftmrock

hftmrock

Posted
Posted
I apologize if this is a stupid question.... Does the "all bottles and cans will be served open" rule apply to water and powerade or just alcoholic beverages?

 

it would be nice to grab water on the way back to our cabin to have on hand.

 

the rules state that ALL bottles will be opened. They don't exclude water so the rules state that they will open water and powerade.

 

having said that... I know there are many bartenders that will leave it closed for you. so YMMV

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MrsGrohl

MrsGrohl

Posted
Posted
the rules state that ALL bottles will be opened. They don't exclude water so the rules state that they will open water and powerade.

 

having said that... I know there are many bartenders that will leave it closed for you. so YMMV

 

Thank you! It's not really a big deal, just curious. I'll probably just order water to have in our cabin anyway.

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sc4125

sc4125

Posted
Posted

Almost everytime I ordered a coffee at the coffee bar, I would also order a bottle of water - they never opened it. I only ordered water a couple of times from bars (again when I ordered a drink) but they too did not open the water.

 

I wasn't even aware of the rule (I don't drink beer, or I probably would have paid attention to that), and more than once, I would order a can of soda before going to my cabin at night & asked that it not be opened and none of the bartenders objected - again I didn't know it was supposed to be opened or I probably wouldn't have asked. I wouldn't want to ask a staff member to break a rule, so now that I know I doubt I'll ask about the sodas.

 

Different story with the water - they've always let me order a drink (or coffee) with a bottle of water and I wouldn't drink it right away, so wouldn't want to walk around with an opened bottle of water.

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kbh2

kbh2

Posted
Posted
As of John Healds facebook yesterday, you are more than welcome to do that.

 

I am really excited about this, who knew... I hear there are higher end wines and liquor in the Steak House.

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pbsteve

pbsteve

Posted
Posted

On our last cruise, we had cheers, and plan to do this again:

 

First day on board, pick your favorite bar, for us, it was the casino bar. We talked with the bartenders, and found out only one of them was usually at the casino bar, the others rotated more. I palmed him a 20 on the first night after 2 or 3 drinks, and he was our bartender all cruise long. We also tipped a dollar on a few of our drinks, and day 4, I palmed him another 20, as well as when we were leaving the ship on the last day.

 

We NEVER hit 15 drinks, we never waited, even when there was a crowd, he spotted us, and poured and handed our drinks to us over the crowd (he had memorized our foliio number and never needed our cards). I found Orchata, and he poured me full glasses with ice, and wrote it in as a long island (typically sold as as single shot seperate from mixed drinks) My wife was able to go get drinks for both of us. He made sure we were taken care of, and we took care of him.

 

Yes, we spent an additional 100 or so total on him, but we recieved far more than 100 in "extra's" and the service. I'll let you know if it works agian on next week's cruise.

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splash_in_the_water Great Review Rare

splash_in_the_water

Posted
Posted (edited)
Sailing on the Breeze soon. Wondering if anyone else had more tips to share :D

 

our last cruise was RCL, but we've also done several carnival as well. Seems like they don't have a whole lot in the way of menus. They might have table cards with 6 or 7 drinks, but if you do a search for "carnival drink menu" or some such, you could probably find a list with a good 30-40 different drinks that most of the bartenders know. We did this on our last trip and it was pretty handy when trying new drinks...the pyrat rum runner and coco- Bull was pretty good. Also, if you try this and print one, print a few... We had several people asking "where did you get that?" and we explained that we brought it. We handed out one or two and they were very happy we shared.

 

And yes, the extra $1 on top sure helped. stronger drinks, a little better service. There were times the bartender would start coming back to us and someone would be like "oh, I think we were next" and he'd help them out like "oh yeah...sorry...;)"

 

this is where our OBC usually goes anyway. Good use of the extra $50 or so they give us. doesn't go very far on the ship otherwise.

Edited by splash_in_the_water
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CheapieD

CheapieD

Posted
Posted

We did cheers on our last cruise but that was the old plan with drinks $10 and under. But they were offering match play for classic cocktails so at the end of the day we ordered drinks just to get the match play. Used that to go pass/don't pass on craps and we made $5 each roll of the dice (would have lost $5 if a 12 came up but it never did) so it helped pay for a good chunk of the package.

 

When I saw they removed match play I wasn't going to get it this trip but with the new limits I think we will get it.

 

Does anyone have a liquor/wine list for the steakhouse on the Splendor? I found a dessert menu with some after dinner drinks but that was it.

 

Does the 25% off bottles of wine/champagne still work and is there a limit? Saw that they have bottles of Dom Perignon for $242. It is the 2003 so it is not the greatest vintage from looking at reviews but with the 25% discount it would be $182 (not sure if there would be a 15% grat charge) But without the grat charge it would cheaper than buying state side. (Cheapest online is $150 before shipping, tax, most are closer to 185-190) Might be worthwhile to some.

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FaithfulRaider

FaithfulRaider

Posted
Posted
We did cheers on our last cruise but that was the old plan with drinks $10 and under. But they were offering match play for classic cocktails so at the end of the day we ordered drinks just to get the match play. Used that to go pass/don't pass on craps and we made $5 each roll of the dice (would have lost $5 if a 12 came up but it never did) so it helped pay for a good chunk of the package.

 

When I saw they removed match play I wasn't going to get it this trip but with the new limits I think we will get it.

 

We did the exact same thing on our last cruise! I was so sick of classic margaritas! I'm kinda glad they got rid of this because I really felt like I had to order the full 15 just to get the match play coupons. We did get unlucky and actually got 12 on the come out twice which cost us $10 but otherwise it did end up saving us a lot on cheers but I feel I didn't get to enjoy it. I felt guilty when I'd order a Miami Vice because I knew that was one less match play coupon!

 

I also said I probably wouldn't get it again but with the recent changes (especially the $50 limit / drink and the milkshakes/coffees/energy drinks and the bottled waters) we are for sure buying it. I can "break even" with just 2-3 drinks and everything else is bonus!! There is just too much value for me to pass on it.

 

I wish that you could prepay with gift cards. I already have enough to pay for cheers and wouldn't mind getting the 10% discount. Cmon Carnival I paid for my cruise just fine with gift cards, I'm sure you've got the technical know-how to let me do the same for cheers!

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dorisdvu

dorisdvu

Posted
Posted
I asked this question to the bartenders and they said if you add a tip on the bottom of the receipt it goes to them individually. The Cheers prepaid tip of 15% is divided between all of them. So whether you pay extra in cash or add it on the receipt they get it.

 

If you tip the waiter (at shows, casino, etc.) how does the bartender know that you've tipped extra - thus giving generous pours etc.? If you're tipping the waiter in cash, does the waiter get the tip? If your add it to the receipt, who get the tip (if there is a waiter involved)? If I ordered a drink that had more that one liquor in it (ex Long Island Tea) and wanted all top shelf liquor, do I have to specify each liquor or brand?

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cmukid87

cmukid87

Posted
Posted
We did the exact same thing on our last cruise! I was so sick of classic margaritas! I'm kinda glad they got rid of this because I really felt like I had to order the full 15 just to get the match play coupons. We did get unlucky and actually got 12 on the come out twice which cost us $10 but otherwise it did end up saving us a lot on cheers but I feel I didn't get to enjoy it. I felt guilty when I'd order a Miami Vice because I knew that was one less match play coupon!

 

I also said I probably wouldn't get it again but with the recent changes (especially the $50 limit / drink and the milkshakes/coffees/energy drinks and the bottled waters) we are for sure buying it. I can "break even" with just 2-3 drinks and everything else is bonus!! There is just too much value for me to pass on it.

 

I wish that you could prepay with gift cards. I already have enough to pay for cheers and wouldn't mind getting the 10% discount. Cmon Carnival I paid for my cruise just fine with gift cards, I'm sure you've got the technical know-how to let me do the same for cheers!

 

Oh the match play! I made a ton of $ back on my bar bill back then! Drank so many Long Islands and Margaritas it's almost embarassing.

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First and Ten

First and Ten

Posted
Posted (edited)
On our last cruise, we had cheers, and plan to do this again:

 

First day on board, pick your favorite bar, for us, it was the casino bar. We talked with the bartenders, and found out only one of them was usually at the casino bar, the others rotated more. I palmed him a 20 on the first night after 2 or 3 drinks, and he was our bartender all cruise long. We also tipped a dollar on a few of our drinks, and day 4, I palmed him another 20, as well as when we were leaving the ship on the last day.

 

We NEVER hit 15 drinks, we never waited, even when there was a crowd, he spotted us, and poured and handed our drinks to us over the crowd (he had memorized our foliio number and never needed our cards). I found Orchata, and he poured me full glasses with ice, and wrote it in as a long island (typically sold as as single shot seperate from mixed drinks) My wife was able to go get drinks for both of us. He made sure we were taken care of, and we took care of him.

 

Yes, we spent an additional 100 or so total on him, but we recieved far more than 100 in "extra's" and the service. I'll let you know if it works agian on next week's cruise.

 

Steve, I could not agree more with your approach. I did the same thing on my last cruise at the Atrium Bar. The bartender (forgot his name) was there every night around dinner time. I tipped him the first night and would hit him $1 or $2 after every round. Around dinner time, the Atrium bar could get pretty crowded, especially on Elegant night, when pictures were in full swing. Even if the bar was 3 deep, my guy would see me and point to the end of the bar, where my cocktail would be waiting. I did get a few dirty looks, but I took that more out of ignorance as a lot of these people don't know how the game is played

Edited by First and Ten
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amyhoss

amyhoss

Posted
Posted
I love this thread! I will definitely be tipping my bar staff.

 

I also love the list of the best bang for your buck drinks and I can't wait to try some of that pyrat cask 1623 rum!

 

I actually had a dream last night that I was on my cruise and I was enjoying the refreshments at the steakhouse bar. I ordered the pyrat rum and it was wonderful! So smooth and delicious.

 

I may have a problem. November 19th can't come fast enough! Boy am I due for a vacation and relaxation. :)

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