Purchasing a bottle for the room....worth it?

[Morgeuse]

There are no "tumbler police" on board the ship.

[simplelife]

Check the Fun Shops for in-room drink packages

[SRQbeachgirl]

I'm buying a bottle for our cabin, since hubby doesn't drink and Cheers wouldn't be worth the cost. Also, we have a Lido deck balcony cabin that is only a few extra steps from the bar, so no big deal to pop back to the cabin occasionally to mix a drink in my big stainless Tervis Tumbler. I plan to get extra juice in the mornings to keep in the fridge and use as mixers. I'll probably pack a flask as well.

[Terab85]

I'm buying a bottle for our cabin, since hubby doesn't drink and Cheers wouldn't be worth the cost. Also, we have a Lido deck balcony cabin that is only a few extra steps from the bar, so no big deal to pop back to the cabin occasionally to mix a drink in my big stainless Tervis Tumbler. I plan to get extra juice in the mornings to keep in the fridge and use as mixers. I'll probably pack a flask as well.

 

 

I'm planning on doing the exact same thing. We're on Lido deck, so super easy to pop back to refill my drink. Last year on the Magic, I even filled up my water bottle with a bottle of wine and brought that to Serenity while hubby enjoyed his bucket (s) of beer :cool::cool::cool::D

[SRQbeachgirl]

I'm planning on doing the exact same thing. We're on Lido deck, so super easy to pop back to refill my drink. Last year on the Magic, I even filled up my water bottle with a bottle of wine and brought that to Serenity while hubby enjoyed his bucket (s) of beer :cool::cool::cool::D

 

This is our first time to book on the Lido deck and I'm already finding lots of benefits to the location!

[Terab85]

This is our first time to book on the Lido deck and I'm already finding lots of benefits to the location!

 

Us too!! REALLY looking forward to it.

[karlmonday]

I don't drink enough for cheers and I like to have the option to have a drink in my cabin. I purchase 1 bottle each cruise and also use my rtic tumbler to take drinks to the casino, comedy club or just walking about the ship.

 

Never any issues.

[Joebucks]

To me, the bottle is the best option. Especially as my go-to is a Jack and Coke, and the girlfriend doesn't drink much. A 1 liter bottle of Jack would cost me about $5 per drink, assuming I pour 1.5 ounces in each one. A Jack and Coke at the bar is what, $7 $8? + 15% gratuity. I'd also rather cut out all of the extra sugar from the Coke and just make myself doubles. I love that I get to control my own drink. I bring Coke Life on board. IMO, it is the next best tasting Coke next to regular, and it really cut down on the sugar and calories. Cane sugar and Stevia. It's no hassle to have to go to my room. I stop by the room many times per day and a double will last me until my next visit. If I want to buy a drink by the pool or somewhere else, sometimes I buy one. It's apparently very stressful to a lot of people to have anything other than Cheers.

 

Other than that, I'll top it off with a beer here and there, preferably self-pour. An Alchemy or two here and there. For me it's not realistic to drink too many Alchemy drinks to "get my value's worth with Cheers". That is way too much sugar. I also don't want to spend all of that money on Cheers and then limit myself while at port.

[hockeyluver]

For us it was a great purchase, we are Canadian so the price wasnt too extreme. We are not wine drinkers. We buy a bottle of Vodka for in the cabin. We would fill a water bottle with it when we would be going out on the deck for the day. Hubby would fill our cantigo water bottles with o.j or lemonade from the lido dispensary (using the supplied cupsto fill our drink containers) and ice and then add the vodka. We are not big enough drinkers to warrant getting the cheers pkg. He would also get the occasional beer and me a dod. For us it was a real money saver $80 compared to the $900 (8day cruise) was a good bargain.

Edited June 3, 2018 by hockeyluver

[ParrotRob]

For us it was a great purchase, we are Canadian so the price wasnt too extreme. We are not wine drinkers. We buy a bottle of Vodka for in the cabin. We would fill a water bottle with it when we would be going out on the deck for the day. Hubby would fill our cantigo water bottles with o.j or lemonade from the lido dispensary (using the supplied cupsto fill our drink containers) and ice and then add the vodka. We are not big enough drinkers to warrant getting the cheers pkg. He would also get the occasional beer and me a dod. For us it was a real money saver $80 compared to the $900 (8day cruise) was a good bargain.

 

You realize there's a middle ground, right? If one litter of vodka was enough for the entire cruise, there's no need to spend $900 on Cheers - you could simply buy the 21 shots of vodka one at a time. You'd spend about $140, not $900. Still more, yes, but possibly worth it to not run back and forth to the cabin, mixing drinks.

[hockeyluver]

You realize there's a middle ground, right? If one litter of vodka was enough for the entire cruise, there's no need to spend $900 on Cheers - you could simply buy the 21 shots of vodka one at a time. You'd spend about $140, not $900. Still more, yes, but possibly worth it to not run back and forth to the cabin, mixing drinks.

 

We wont spend the $900 (over $1100 with exchange ) for Cheers if you read my post "For us it was a real money saver $80 compared to the $900 (8day cruise) was a good bargain." Also we dont run back and for to the cabin, we put vodka in a water bottle and bring it up on deck with us.

[LuckyStar]

I've bought the Cheers package before and thought later that it really wasn't worth it for me personally. This time I was thinking of ordering a bottle of Malibu Rum for our cabin, so that I can just make a drink here and there, when I feel like one. The bottle is around $80......expensive bottle, IMO, but ok..... do a lot of people really purchase these bottles? I'm trying to get some honest opinions, to help me justify whether this is a good alternative idea, or not. Sometimes the wisdom of others is helpful, I find.

 

Nope, unless you really, really want it. I brought a bunch of small bottles and didn't drink one of them. My sister decided to buy a bottle of coconut run, had it delivered all for the tidy price of $95.00. Overpriced, IMO. I think she regretted it.

 

J

[LandlockedCruiser01]

I can't believe nobody mentioned Boxed Water Is Better yet (link: https://boxedwaterisbetter.com/), which should be available nationwide. It's exactly that: water in opaque cartons, like milk in the school cafeteria. They have larger cartons too. And hey, it meets the letter of the law: you're bringing water in a carton, not a bottle. (y) Once you finish the carton (hydration, you know), you can put vodka or whatever in it, add a mixer if you wish, and you can carry it around the ship. As a small added bonus, waxed cartons are better for the environment than plastic bottles.

[DHnDWplus2]

Don't forget the little airplane bottles....

I pack a few racks of those in each suitcase, some singles in my carry on...

 

On the flight down I have a few in my carry on....same when I fly international.

I'll take a diet coke with some ice please!!

 

Don't know how many peoples seated next to me were amazed.

We did this flying to Seattle a couple years ago. We gave the empties to the flight attendant. She told us consuming our own during the flight was against some rule or other. Now we stow the empties til we land[emoji16]

[ParrotRob]

We wont spend the $900 (over $1100 with exchange ) for Cheers if you read my post "For us it was a real money saver $80 compared to the $900 (8day cruise) was a good bargain." Also we dont run back and for to the cabin, we put vodka in a water bottle and bring it up on deck with us.

 

My point was why are you comparing $80 to $900? As you said, Cheers never was an option. The alternative to bottle service is really per-drink-purchases, so you should be comparing $80 to $140. Dumb to even compare it to Cheers.

[BookDragon]

I've bought the Cheers package before and thought later that it really wasn't worth it for me personally. This time I was thinking of ordering a bottle of Malibu Rum for our cabin, so that I can just make a drink here and there, when I feel like one. The bottle is around $80......expensive bottle, IMO, but ok..... do a lot of people really purchase these bottles? I'm trying to get some honest opinions, to help me justify whether this is a good alternative idea, or not. Sometimes the wisdom of others is helpful, I find.

 

We thought about ordering a bottle of Crown (my husband’s fave), but after seeing the price, we concluded that since we are on vacay, we would rather experience a variety of bar drinks instead of mixing our own. We will still spend way less than the cost of Cheers just paying as we go as we do not drink more than 2 bar drinks or glasses of wine, nor do we allow ourselves to drink carbs/calories outside of those 2 drinks for health reasons.

[ray98]

We wont spend the $900 (over $1100 with exchange ) for Cheers if you read my post "For us it was a real money saver $80 compared to the $900 (8day cruise) was a good bargain." Also we dont run back and for to the cabin, we put vodka in a water bottle and bring it up on deck with us.

 

Their point is you are not forced to buy Cheers, basically you are claiming all or nothing. You could always just purchase by the drink. It would be slightly more than the bottle but you would have a variety of options from the bar without trying to make your own drinks.

[Darwal]

My wife is not a big drinker so that rules out the cheers package for us as we would never come close to getting our money worth. I compared the avg cost of a jack and coke bought at the bar (warm soda loaded with ice) vs bringing a couple 12pks of coke and getting a bottle of jack for the room. I can get about 20-22 drinks using the same serving sizes and save over $100 vs buying at the bar.

 

If you bring an insulated mug you can make yourself a drink = to about 3 at the bar and walk around with a true cold drink. you are not running back and forth to your room and you are not confined to your room.

 

This allows me to save money, make the drink as strong or weak as I like and have it cold without the ton of ice that waters it down.

 

To each their own I guess, this is only my $0.02.

[Joebucks]

My point was why are you comparing $80 to $900? As you said, Cheers never was an option. The alternative to bottle service is really per-drink-purchases, so you should be comparing $80 to $140. Dumb to even compare it to Cheers.

 

It can be very comparable. I would argue that many couples could buy 2-3 different bottles that would last them an entire 7-night cruise, at less than half of the price. What would you say the big benefit of Cheers is? How about "unlimited, and prepaid drinks, with no tab to worry about at the end," then bottles is about as close to comparable as you can get.

[ParrotRob]

It can be very comparable. I would argue that many couples could buy 2-3 different bottles that would last them an entire 7-night cruise, at less than half of the price. What would you say the big benefit of Cheers is? How about "unlimited, and prepaid drinks, with no tab to worry about at the end," then bottles is about as close to comparable as you can get.

 

But with Cheers you can mix it up all you want. With bottle service in your room, you're kind of limited in what you can do unless you have a blender, sodas, juices, fruit, olives, bitters...

[Darwal]

But with Cheers you can mix it up all you want. With bottle service in your room, you're kind of limited in what you can do unless you have a blender, sodas, juices, fruit, olives, bitters...

 

 

 

But that is personal preference. Many people have their go-to drink, it’s what they like, it’s what they stick with. If someone likes a simple drink like Jack & Coke and thats all they drink then Cheers may not be worth it, especially if they only want a couple drinks a day and buying a bottle for the room can also be cheaper than buying at the bar.

 

Neither is wrong, some people like it simple, some like to mix it up, to each their own.

 

 

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[ParrotRob]

But that is personal preference. Many people have their go-to drink, it’s what they like, it’s what they stick with. If someone likes a simple drink like Jack & Coke and thats all they drink then Cheers may not be worth it, especially if they only want a couple drinks a day and buying a bottle for the room can also be cheaper than buying at the bar.

 

Neither is wrong, some people like it simple, some like to mix it up, to each their own.

 

 

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Well, you asked what I thought the big benefit of Cheers over bottle service was, so I told you.

 

On the cruise I just got off of, my wife and I used cheers to "pay" for 109 drinks over seven days. Most of these were exotic drinks from alchemy or something top-shelf in the $11+ range. There is no way I could have made all of those drinks with the $752.86 that Cheers cost us, with bottle service alone. Nevermind the hassle of making them ourselves.

 

Now if I wanted to drink 109 say, Captain and Cokes, then maybe there's some money to be saved on buying five bottles of Captain Morgan and a bunch of cokes and toting around a Yeti all day. No thanks!

[Darwal]

Well, you asked what I thought the big benefit of Cheers over bottle service was, so I told you.

 

On the cruise I just got off of, my wife and I used cheers to "pay" for 109 drinks over seven days. Most of these were exotic drinks from alchemy or something top-shelf in the $11+ range. There is no way I could have made all of those drinks with the $752.86 that Cheers cost us, with bottle service alone. Nevermind the hassle of making them ourselves.

 

Now if I wanted to drink 109 say, Captain and Cokes, then maybe there's some money to be saved on buying five bottles of Captain Morgan and a bunch of cokes and toting around a Yeti all day. No thanks!

 

100% agree, using your situation of 109 mixed drinks, Cheers is the clear choice. If you are only going to do maybe 3-5 drinks a day and the other adult maybe even less then perhaps Cheers would not be the best option. So once you take Cheers out of the equation the next question is does it make sense to buy the bottles and mix yourself or buy from the bar (sometimes the bar wait can be longer than running to your cabin :-) ). The person in this case would have to weigh the pros and cons of each. If you use a tumbler\yeti\bubba\whatever then you can actually make a double or triple and if you are not a big drinker then you would not be running back and forth so perhaps in that persons own situation it works for them.

 

There is no absolute right or wrong answer, to each their own. While you may find going back to the room for a drink to be a pain others may not. Just trying to point out that there are times buying from the bar makes sense, doing it yourself makes sense and of course times when cheers makes sense.

[kcdancerkc]

Original poster wanted powerade..... not sure the fun shops have reasonable prices for those. :cool:

[ParrotRob]

100% agree, using your situation of 109 mixed drinks, Cheers is the clear choice. If you are only going to do maybe 3-5 drinks a day and the other adult maybe even less then perhaps Cheers would not be the best option. So once you take Cheers out of the equation the next question is does it make sense to buy the bottles and mix yourself or buy from the bar (sometimes the bar wait can be longer than running to your cabin :-) ). The person in this case would have to weigh the pros and cons of each. If you use a tumbler\yeti\bubba\whatever then you can actually make a double or triple and if you are not a big drinker then you would not be running back and forth so perhaps in that persons own situation it works for them.

 

There is no absolute right or wrong answer, to each their own. While you may find going back to the room for a drink to be a pain others may not. Just trying to point out that there are times buying from the bar makes sense, doing it yourself makes sense and of course times when cheers makes sense.

 

Agreed, and I was just pointing out that there are plenty of situations where Cheers makes perfect sense, without drinking anywhere near the "limit". The "limit" for two people on a 7 day cruise is 210, of which we barely reached half and still came out several hundred dollars ahead of the game. Every situation is different.