Cheers: I just did the Math. Thank you Carnival!

[bobbismith]

I have done 3-4 day cruises and cheers was an amazing deal. We are going on a 7 day in May and I can't justify it due to the 3 port days we won't be on the ship at all. I wish they had the option of buying it for certain days only [emoji20]

 

 

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That is a hard choice. Plus, On longer cruises I do feel like I will pace myself more. 7 days is along time to drink slot everyday.

 

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[Gamecock_Cruiser]

I would not purchase cheers if if did not included non-alcohol drinks also. I will have my fair share of margarita's, but I also like Frappachino's in the morning and bottled water at dinner. That really helps it fee more worth it to me.

[Keys2Heaven]

If everyone in your cabins loves to booze it up on the cruise, it's great, otherwise it's not cost-effective at all.

 

Hats off to Carnival for another money-making scheme though by forcing everyone 21 and older in a cabin to purchase it.

[sandyh85]

Most servers will give you the heads up around drink 13, particularly if you get to know then, and/or add an extra tip in on previous drinks. Then you can pay cash so you don't go over 15, as yes, they can't pour even cash drinks over 15.

 

On sea days, I would often pay cash for afternoon pool beers, as they are cheaper than my evening wine or cocktails.

 

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[Annie102100]

Thank you for the info everyone!

 

 

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[firemanbobswife]

If everyone in your cabins loves to booze it up on the cruise, it's great, otherwise it's not cost-effective at all.

 

Hats off to Carnival for another money-making scheme though by forcing everyone 21 and older in a cabin to purchase it.

 

 

We've been down this road before. You don't have to "Booze it up" for it to be worthwhile. Not even close. If you drink nothing but frozen drinks (so no soda, no specialty coffee, no milkshakes, no bottled water, no energy drinks or whatever else I'm missing), then it takes 5 a day to break even. How is that "boozing it up"? It's not. That's not even getting a buzz! Add anything else to the mix, then you can come out even more ahead. You can also get your money's worth by substituting alcoholic drinks for other drinks as well. It's not all about being a lush.

[summersalt]

I saved my receipts from my last cruise and added up all my drinks... alcoholic, coffee, sodas, water, etc... My husband and I saved $282.00 We never went over our limit and we were never intoxicated. If we were really heavy drinkers, we would've definitely saved a lot of money.

[Smithkids5521]

I have done 3-4 day cruises and cheers was an amazing deal. We are going on a 7 day in May and I can't justify it due to the 3 port days we won't be on the ship at all. I wish they had the option of buying it for certain days only [emoji20]

 

 

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I agree with you AmyJoy- we have 3 port days that are very early excursions- which means that the nights before will be early turn in for us. So- for us- on this particular cruise (Alaska)- the cheers program just doesn't make sense. Even if I factor in buying some warm drinks from the coffee bar, grabbing bottled waters to bring on the excursions, etc.- I figure it would be better to take the cash I would have spent on Cheers and just add it to my S&S account (this way if we don't spend it all on drinks, at least I can use the funds for pictures, in the gift shop, in the casino... ;))

 

Now... if we were on a warm sunny Caribbean/Bahamas cruise where I could lounge by the pool and sip on a few yummy Kiss on the Lips all day... that might be the perfect Cheers cruise for us. ;)

 

I'm glad that it sounds like many cruisers are getting their moneys worth from the program.

[ryano]

 

Hats off to Carnival for another money-making scheme though by forcing everyone 21 and older in a cabin to purchase it.

 

Which drives me nuts. I cruise with my mom a lot of times because we live hundreds of miles from each other and hardly get to see each other. She is 72 freakin years old and doesnt drink a drop because of her medications. No Cheers for me :(

 

This is one area where Royal Caribbean definitely has one over on Carnival. Of course their unlimited package is a lot more per day too though.

[SNJCruisers]

I have done 3-4 day cruises and cheers was an amazing deal. We are going on a 7 day in May and I can't justify it due to the 3 port days we won't be on the ship at all. I wish they had the option of buying it for certain days only [emoji20]

 

 

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Since when are you off of the ship all day long when in a port? You're back on board by 400 or 500 and that gives you a minimum of 8 hours to drink 5 alcoholic drinks to be ahead of the game. Even if you reduce it to 4, that is one drink every two hours and you can get espresso based coffees, bottled water, soda, milkshakes, energy drinks vitamin water, bottled iced tea etc. You need to look at the big picture.

 

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Edited March 9, 2017 by SNJCruisers

[SNJCruisers]

Which drives me nuts. I cruise with my mom a lot of times because we live hundreds of miles from each other and hardly get to see each other. She is 72 freakin years old and doesnt drink a drop because of her medications. No Cheers for me :(

 

This is one area where Royal Caribbean definitely has one over on Carnival. Of course their unlimited package is a lot more per day too though.

Cruise with NCL on the Escape. Fantastic ship and you can get the drinks package as your included perk and it'll cost you about 100 for gratuities versus just over 400 for Cheers for a week with tips

 

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[B4RK3R]

The first time I bought the drink package, I roomed with a friend since my Fiance doesn't drink very much. 3 out of the 8 nights we hit our 15 drink limit. the 4th night we hit 20 a piece. We tipped our bartenders well and they may or may not have over looked our drink limit that night. To this day, I still keep up with a few of the bartenders on social media, and we talk every once in a while. I can truly say that because of the Cheers program I've made a few international friends!

 

So what I'm trying to say is, if you have a mate who likes to drink, the cheers program is WELL WORTH the price.

[Gamecock_Cruiser]

After reading this thread, I can not wait for May 20th to start drinking those Blue Patron Margarita's!

[JusBeachn]

This was a good deal for me. Im a mixed drink drinker. I could see there being an issue if you were drinking beer. You tend to go through those faster.

But looking at the costs of drinks it makes sense.

[uksimonusa]

Which drives me nuts. I cruise with my mom a lot of times because we live hundreds of miles from each other and hardly get to see each other. She is 72 freakin years old and doesnt drink a drop because of her medications. No Cheers for me :(

 

This is one area where Royal Caribbean definitely has one over on Carnival. Of course their unlimited package is a lot more per day too though.

 

And doesn't have the 15 drink limit

[JacqueOCS]

Good morning! This will be our first Carnival cruise. Hubby enjoys buckets of beer while relaxing by the pool. Are the buckets not included in the Cheers program? TIA for any info 😊

[SNJCruisers]

And doesn't have the 15 drink limit

If 15 per day is not enough for you, there are other options. Cruise RCI, NCL, Celebrity or MSC. They all have drink packages with no limit. If you must cruise Carnival, get your 14 and then pay for more. Or try to drink 15 Foster's Oil Cans or 15 Long Island Iced Teas.

[SNJCruisers]

Good morning! This will be our first Carnival cruise. Hubby enjoys buckets of beer while relaxing by the pool. Are the buckets not included in the Cheers program? TIA for any info

Buckets are not included in the program, but that is easily fixed. Go to bar number one, order a beer. Take a sip and a leisurely stroll to bar two. Order another beer five minutes later and ask for plastic bucket with ice to put said beer into. A dollar tip to this bartender will help. Go to seat and relax poolside with one in hand and one on ice. Repeat as needed.

[srlafleur]

I purchased the drinks package on Princess (yes, I know this is a Carnival thread) on our last cruise. I was well aware, at the time, that we would probably, at best, break even, since it was a pretty port-intensive intinerary (Japan).

I never did the math after the fact, nor do I care to.

What I liked was that I didn't feel "nickel-and-dimed" every time I picked up a bottle of water for an excursion, when I wanted fresh-squeezed OJ, when I wanted a double espresso or other "fancy" coffee. I never had to have a thought like "that drink sounds interesting, but what if I don't like it?" (I tend toward penny-pinching)

On the whole, it simply made the cruise experience feel more luxurious and was worth the money, to me.

[sc4125]

I purchased the drinks package on Princess (yes, I know this is a Carnival thread) on our last cruise. I was well aware, at the time, that we would probably, at best, break even, since it was a pretty port-intensive intinerary (Japan).

I never did the math after the fact, nor do I care to.

What I liked was that I didn't feel "nickel-and-dimed" every time I picked up a bottle of water for an excursion, when I wanted fresh-squeezed OJ, when I wanted a double espresso or other "fancy" coffee. I never had to have a thought like "that drink sounds interesting, but what if I don't like it?" (I tend toward penny-pinching)

On the whole, it simply made the cruise experience feel more luxurious and was worth the money, to me.

 

This is me 100%. I'm not sure if I broke even any of the 4 or 5 times I've done CHEERS, but I am sure that it was nice to order a drink when I wanted without worrying about the final bill. The last 2 times were after they included the coffee, water, etc - and that has really sold me on using CHEERS as long as it's available. I love a good cup of coffee or two everyday.

 

I know it sounds really stupid to pay for CHEERS if I'm not going to financially benefit from it, but it works for me. The peace of mind and the convenience mean more to me than the fact that I may spend $5 - $10 more on some days on CHEERS than if I would have paid as I went.

[bobbismith]

This is me 100%. I'm not sure if I broke even any of the 4 or 5 times I've done CHEERS, but I am sure that it was nice to order a drink when I wanted without worrying about the final bill. The last 2 times were after they included the coffee, water, etc - and that has really sold me on using CHEERS as long as it's available. I love a good cup of coffee or two everyday.

 

I know it sounds really stupid to pay for CHEERS if I'm not going to financially benefit from it, but it works for me. The peace of mind and the convenience mean more to me than the fact that I may spend $5 - $10 more on some days on CHEERS than if I would have paid as I went.

Well said. I feel like I am free from a budget and worrying about the tab! I never drink 15 of anything.

 

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[Keys2Heaven]

We've been down this road before. You don't have to "Booze it up" for it to be worthwhile. Not even close. If you drink nothing but frozen drinks (so no soda, no specialty coffee, no milkshakes, no bottled water, no energy drinks or whatever else I'm missing), then it takes 5 a day to break even. How is that "boozing it up"? It's not. That's not even getting a buzz! Add anything else to the mix, then you can come out even more ahead. You can also get your money's worth by substituting alcoholic drinks for other drinks as well. It's not all about being a lush.

 

Come on Bob, you know most people posting about how to get their drink on during the cruise are not talking about frozen drinks!

 

For me is the over $900 price tag for 2 people on an 8-day cruise, when our total drink/bar bill has never exceeded $300!

 

I apologize if you think that I am referring to anyone who purchase's Cheers! a "lush." Boozing it up does not make one a lush.

[firemanbobswife]

Come on Bob, you know most people posting about how to get their drink on during the cruise are not talking about frozen drinks!

 

For me is the over $900 price tag for 2 people on an 8-day cruise, when our total drink/bar bill has never exceeded $300!

 

I apologize if you think that I am referring to anyone who purchase's Cheers! a "lush." Boozing it up does not make one a lush.

 

 

Bob's not allowed on here [emoji6]. I don't ever have a high bar bill at all either, however, we are getting it this next time because we have a large group going and it will be nice to not have to worry about what the bill will be at the end. We will try some drinks we normally wouldn't without fear we won't like them. I won't worry if I'm laying out in Havana and my Kiss On The Lips melts, I'll just order another one. Actually, it may make me drink less because if I don't feel like finishing a drink, I won't feel obligated to.

 

I can see where the $900 can be sticker shock for a couple and I'm pretty sure if it were just Bob and I going, we wouldn't as we rarely drink. I like my fruity drinks, he likes Corona. Other than that we're happy with BB.

 

I don't intend to booze it up, and I think I might have a milkshake or 2, I know we will get some bottled water, and my room mate will no doubt get some specialty coffees amongst other things. There are so many beverages included that it won't be hard to break even. It's not necessarily about the booze for us, but more for the fact that we can get whatever we want and not have to keep a mental tally. I have never done it and probably won't again. But it will be nice to try.

[sandi1967]

Still debating. But, it is a good deal since it includes pretty much everything you may order. (I am not one to order a drink for $50).....but seeing that it includes special coffees that get pricey, and I love fancy coffees. Ours is an eight day cruise with four ports. My husband and I initially thought the $1000 price tag was hefty. I am really going to research this now and try to decide if it is worth it for us. I for sure would enjoy a mimosa or two in the mornings......and visit all the cool bars after port.

 

Take care

Sandi

[ksmcdonald]

Which drives me nuts. I cruise with my mom a lot of times because we live hundreds of miles from each other and hardly get to see each other. She is 72 freakin years old and doesnt drink a drop because of her medications. No Cheers for me :(

 

This is one area where Royal Caribbean definitely has one over on Carnival. Of course their unlimited package is a lot more per day too though.

 

 

 

NCL has one more up on both Carnival and Royal. The include the unlimited drink package with their fare! If you get a balcony you can also choose to have 3 nights in a specialty dinning and drink package. Our upcoming cruise on the Breakaway was booked at $799 for a balcony. They don't raise their prices to include these perks either. The only thing we have to pay is the gratuity for the package which is about $100. Now that is a deal. Both people in cabin do have to buy though.