Anyone regret purchasing the Cheers program

[ray98]

7 minutes ago, jdemps said:

can't you just keep track of that on the HUB app so there aren't surprises at the end?

 For me it isn't about a surprise in the end, it is trying to manage the budget set aside for drinks throughout the cruise.  I don't care for the 'how much have we spent....how much do we have left....how long do we have left" game.

 

If I went with an unlimited budget where we could simply spend freely and have no concern about the final total that wouldn't be an issue.

[Don Kehote]

It makes my wife and I happy to worry about paying for our drinks months ahead of time.  While we are on our vacation, it is pleasing to not be concerned with keeping track of our drink spending.

 

I do not try to consider whether or not I am getting equivalent dollar value on the program.  My peace of mind is far more valuable.

[PhillyFan33579]

To me there are two things that make Cheers worthwhile for my wife and I.  First, mimosas every morning.  Second, the Alchemy Bar. 2-3 mimosas in the morning and 2-3 drinks at Alchemy before dinner and we are already at the break even point.  And we both drink more than just in the morning and right before dinner, although lately I have not come even close to 15 drinks a day and my wife has never been close to 15 drinks in a day. 

[ProgRockCruiser]

2 hours ago, mapman_2004 said:

I'm not judging others, but man, I can't imagine the calorie and alcohol intake it takes to make Cheers worth your money.  I like to splurge a bit now and then, but no way can I drink 5-6 alcohol drinks a day for 6 days in a row.  I'm still feeling the effects of having 6 beers over 5 hours Saturday night. 

 

 

I wrote a longer response detailing typical drink consumption and alcohol metabolism rates, but basically: 5-6 drinks would be a very light drinking day for either my wife or I when on holiday, and would be a light drinking day on the weekend, assuming some level of socializing.

 

So for us, Cheers is an easy choice.

 

[moondog73]

We got it last cruise and found it wasn't really worth it....for us.  For our next cruise in April, we put away $20 each on each check to use towards drinks.  Have $900 so we will see what we spend.  My guess no where near that amount

[Crazy4Camping]

1 hour ago, jdemps said:

Never regret buying Cheers.  If you are leaning toward not getting it, just save that amount of cash in your account to pay off the credit card when you get back.  If you don't spend that much, you win and you know for next time.  If you spend more, you know for next time.

 

We always leave a buck on the tip line so the charge comes up on the billing so we count them and know we get good value with Cheers even if we don't have one drink on some days - the other days make up for it. 

 

We're going to low altitude from Denver too so it seems like you can drink at least 30% more - a real factor when budgeting!  

 

I'm wondering if you get a billing list like that if you don't leave an extra tip.  How do you know how many drinks you've ordered?

Does it just come up as zero on the bill?

 

Thanks everyone.

  

Yes zero and the location you bought the drink.  That's it.  So we did alot of guessing on our first cruise a few weeks ago to see if it was worth it.  We tipped for each drink-I know unnecessary but did it anyhow.  So that was a separate line item.  I counted all the lines with tips, came up with 93 drinks on a 7 day cruise.  Some were specialty coffee, cokes for hubby and perrier for me.  Our ship didn't have a place for bottled drinks to buy so definitely try to find out if you can get bottled teas, milkshakes, etc. if that means alot to you.  I decided to just say it was $10/drink.  I know some were more, some less.  But that got me a general cost of $930 if we didn't have the package.  Would we do it again?  Probably not.  The perrier and specialty coffees were a treat that I didn't HAVE to have.  I would prob bring wine on board and get a better buzz than with their drinks.  It was fun to get whatever we wanted and it was already paid for though.  And at a discount cause I used Carnival gift cards.

[Joebucks]

I've never regretted not getting it. This is coming from someone who can easily have 10+ drinks on a weekend night. It's beyond a silly investment for us. Most people would never spend $860 in a week on consumables like liquid. But to many, alcohol and an "all-inclusive feel" are worth top-dollar. It's just a different mindset. Apparently, the only time in life you can try a drink is with this offer. Also, the only way you can not "worry" about a bill is by ensuring it is massive. Yea, none of that makes sense for us either.

[wesorbeth]

4 hours ago, mapman_2004 said:

And I just don't get people's response to they can now not worry about their budget.  huh?

I get that, I don't want to count every specialty coffee, bottle of water or alcoholic drink.  I want to pay and be done.

[May1cruiser]

on shorter cruises we buy cheers. I cannot sustain a high drink count each day. I will add that I was ordering top shelf to get "my monies worth" and it allowed me to drink less but still have the math come out. I don't drink coffee or shakes, so it is just some additional soda and waters. It does cover shots which can be fun on a day or two. 

 

I would not spend the cash on a cruise for longer than 5 days. 

 

I also would typically earn DOU card in the casino to offset some drink costs. Of course, the cost of the casino is much higher than cheers typically.

 

 

[coevan]

4 hours ago, n6uqqq said:

Do people really " worry " about their bill? Is sleep lost at night thinking about bar tabs?

 

 

What would happen if were ill one day and couldn't drink, would $50 ruin your cruise? Gheez people is it not all about "breaking even" We have never counted drinks, just having a good time on a cruise. So if you went to an A.I. how would you separate the total fare, room, drinks, and alcohol? 

[outdoors27]

I think 99 percent of time we have definately gotten our moneys worth without having that feeling we need to drink in excess.  There was one time we did get it on. A four port cruise and I wasn't feeling well the first few days and hardly drinking, thus my wife probably drank less, so we definately didnt break even on that trip.

 

Having that said overall its been great and the extras that come with are nice. My wife loves the speciality coffees in the morning, the free giant bottles of water and the fact we can grab a few free soda's which our kids love without buying a soda package. I'd definately based on all that we get our monies worth, and as someone else said. It nice having that bar tab already paid for.. 

 

No matter what and this was already said, there is a little gamble with it, but I think it's worth it.

[xofashley]

We did it for the first time on our last cruise and won’t go without it moving forward. It was a great way to figure out total cost ahead of time and was fun to ordered whatever drink sounded fun without worrying if we’d love it or not. On port days we had a routine - 1-2 mimosas in the morning, a specialty coffee and bottle of water on the way out, then a drink on the way back, 1-3 at the pool depending on boarding time, 1 for the room to get ready for dinner, 1-2 at alchemy pre-dinner, and 1 at dinner, and would usually end with 1-3 depending on the evening activity. 

[bdever]

3 hours ago, JennyB1977 said:

I applaud his pick-up skills and ability not to get shot down by the bartenders. 

Good question Jenny, not sure what his technique is since he avoids my presence at all costs but maybe he just goes up to the bar by himself and orders it. I’ll have to ask him and report back. 

[OkieRican]

I drink coffee, bottled water, and alcoholic drinks. I do not concern myself with drinking enough each day to "pay for it". We get it so that there are no surprises at the end of the cruise. 

[schazzy]

Only regret we had was not getting for our cruise in 2017. We got it last year and knowing how much we would spend without it would be close to the cost of Cheers, it was worth it having all our drinks paid for and not having to worry about making sure weren't going over the limit on our credit card with drinks and all our other spending all going on it at the end.

Edited March 6, 2019 by schazzy

[BENHANDEL]

Not regret, per se. We can justify that we got our moneys with. We can justify that it was nice to try new things without having to worry about it. BUT we would have been just as happy with a couple bottles of wine brought on board and drinking beer. And we were so focused on "getting our moneys worth" that we stood in lines and made trips back to our room that we otherwise would not have. I think we had many hours wasted on the extra lines and trips back to our room. When we left, we had 6 untouched bottles of beer to share with the steward.

 

First 2 days were great. But light-home drinkers and moderate-vacay drinkers could not keep up the pace. Next family trip is a 7 day and we do not plan on getting cheers. 

[thehappierhomemaker]

We are routine drinkers and always get Cheers on our cruises (which we cruise with our three boys ages 7-12 so we're not partying or getting crazy!) There are many reasons we opt for Cheers:

• Budgeting-we are Dave Ramsey debt-free lifestyle fans so it gives me, in particular, an extra layer of security to have all of our drinks (and coffees, sodas, and water) paid for in advance.
• I am a wine lover - I drink wine 90% of the time and I like GOOD wine. It is much easier to have Cheers when you are a wine drinker, especially if you are ordering nice glasses. It breaks even quickly!
• My husband drinks beer most of the time so if it was just him we wouldn't do it. He'd probably break even with his coffee addiction but he could go either way.
• Cocktails! When I'm not drinking wine I'm a huge fan of cocktails. I like a Titos Bloody Mary in the morning while the kids go to Camp Ocean and I enjoy ordering new things at the Alchemy bar without worrying about how much they cost and if I'm wasting if I don't like it.

Overall for our drinking pattern with wine and high-end liquors along with the waters and specialty coffees, it totally makes sense. But I also think a big part of it is just not having that question about a final bill looming over your head. Knowing we're paying upfront is a huge sell for us on Cheers.

[kona_wahine]

Hubby would get his money worth but I’m not much of a drinker. Couple drinks and I’m done. 

 

[l8cruiser]

11 hours ago, BENHANDEL said:

Not regret, per se. We can justify that we got our moneys with. We can justify that it was nice to try new things without having to worry about it. BUT we would have been just as happy with a couple bottles of wine brought on board and drinking beer. And we were so focused on "getting our moneys worth" that we stood in lines and made trips back to our room that we otherwise would not have. I think we had many hours wasted on the extra lines and trips back to our room. When we left, we had 6 untouched bottles of beer to share with the steward.

 

First 2 days were great. But light-home drinkers and moderate-vacay drinkers could not keep up the pace. Next family trip is a 7 day and we do not plan on getting cheers. 

 

I think y’all are like us. We are light home drinkers as well. I like to have a drink when grilling out or at social gatherings. I would probably do what you did and waste too much time trying to get my moneys worth. I think we will just place money aside for drinks. Your point of view is spot on for us. 

 

[evandbob]

OMG!!!!  If I ever purchased a Cheers package I would definitely regret it!

 

Stopped drinking alcohol March 16, 1984, almost 35 years ago.

[cruisinwithdad]

19 hours ago, xostacylee said:

 

I've attached an Excel grid that someone posted on this forum. Prices may not be 100% accurate but it also helps you judge if Cheers is worth it. Just adjust accordingly.

 

1505515654_CarnivalBeveragePackageEvaluator.xls

 

 

If you budget for Cheers before the trip (and pay for it), you don't have to worry about budgeting on the trip. That's the biggest reason we're thinking of getting it to be honest.

 

Thank you for posting the calculator/evaluator!  This was very helpful and confirmed my decision.

[Carlysmommy]

44 minutes ago, evandbob said:

OMG!!!!  If I ever purchased a Cheers package I would definitely regret it!

 

Stopped drinking alcohol March 16, 1984, almost 35 years ago.

Awesome! 

October 15, 1989 was my last one.  Most definitely not a good vacation choice

[Joebucks]

11 hours ago, thehappierhomemaker said:

We are routine drinkers and always get Cheers on our cruises (which we cruise with our three boys ages 7-12 so we're not partying or getting crazy!) There are many reasons we opt for Cheers:

• Budgeting-we are Dave Ramsey debt-free lifestyle fans so it gives me, in particular, an extra layer of security to have all of our drinks (and coffees, sodas, and water) paid for in advance.

 

While Dave Ramsey is big on budgeting, Cheers is the last thing on the boat I would associate with his name. He would tell you to re-evaluate what you really find to be important, and compare the other options that exist.

[thehappierhomemaker]

55 minutes ago, Joebucks said:

 

While Dave Ramsey is big on budgeting, Cheers is the last thing on the boat I would associate with his name. He would tell you to re-evaluate what you really find to be important, and compare the other options that exist.

Well, like I mentioned I like high-end wines and he always says it's okay to have nice things if you have the money for them, so I'm not sure what the point of that was. I find that I break even when on Cheers because I'm ordering pretty expensive drinks. Using Cheers allows me to budget for that and have it paid for ahead of time rather than having to waste time on vacation keeping track of my spending, which is what is important to me on a vacation.

[xostacylee]

1 hour ago, Joebucks said:

 

While Dave Ramsey is big on budgeting, Cheers is the last thing on the boat I would associate with his name. He would tell you to re-evaluate what you really find to be important, and compare the other options that exist.

 

Hey now, this shouldn't be a place of judgement.

 

Budgeting and cashflowing elements are part of Dave's system. As someone also following Dave's plan - this is exactly what you do. You don't know this person, you don't know where they're at in his plan. This person could have all baby steps complete, house paid off, etc. This vacation could really be important to them. So unless you're best friends with thehappierhomemaker, why don't you keep your opinions about her personal life to yourself.