When did Carnival change the drink limit to 15 drinks even without Cheers?

[AtSeaWithChris]

So I just saw today that Carnival policy is 15 alcohol drinks per day for all passengers regardless of having Cheers or not. 

[pogoism9]

1 hour ago, MamallamaAndDaddy said:

So I just saw today that Carnival policy is 15 alcohol drinks per day for all passengers regardless of having Cheers or not. 

 

It's been 15 for the last 3-4 years at least

[Illbcruzn4life]

22 minutes ago, pogoism9 said:

 

It's been 15 for the last 3-4 years at least

 

That doesn't sound right to me.

 

I remember reading on many occasions how people with cheers would start paying cash before they reached 15 drinks so they didn't get cutoff.

 

Many it was longer than 3-4 years ago .

[cruisingguy007]

It may be a stated policy but it's not really. That's for cheers but even there you can go above 15 by buying bottles to room, wine etc. For non cheers it's even easier as you can buy all the larger format options ( fish bowels, growlers, tubes, pitchers, buckets), bottles of liquor to room, wine bottles etc. They are absolutely sticklers for the 15 individual drinks for cheers though but there are ways around it for sure. I'm pretty sure it is more of a cost control measure than anything (less waste and less sharing than a truly unlimited plan).

 

The simple truth is that most people won't want to spend the extra on top of cheers and/or won't find it necessary. Independent of cheers, it adds up ridiculously fast and is simply "not worth it" for the majority of cruisers; but they will surely take you money if you have more money than sense. 😁 

Edited July 15, 2021 by cruisingguy007

[cruisingguy007]

31 minutes ago, Illbcruzn4life said:

 

That doesn't sound right to me.

 

I remember reading on many occasions how people with cheers would start paying cash before they reached 15 drinks so they didn't get cutoff.

 

Many it was longer than 3-4 years ago .

 

Buying individual drinks to avoid cheers charges isn't as rampant as it once was. Many bartenders won't sell you a individual drink outside of cheers because it pops up once they enter your card. You could buy a round of drinks or other drinks that are outside of cheers and uncovered (bucket of beers, bottle of wine at dinner) before you hit 15 though. You'll pay full freight plus auto grats for these though. You could also have a travel companion grab you one who doesn't have cheers for full freight and auto grats.  

[wemjam]

Lordy!  I can't image making it to 15 and having to worry about that lol!  I am a light weight.  Around 5 and I am going to be down for the count!

 

We got Cheers for the first time on 3 of our sailings this year but ONLY because it was so cheap!  Usually I might have 1 or 2 drinks in a day and hubby might have 1 or 2 the entire cruise, so this time I plan to partake a little more and also enjoy the coffee shop and free waters and such.  Will certainly get my money out it for what I paid between my husband and I (he usually get bottomless bubbles and makes GOOD use of that which will be included with cheers too).

 

Can't imagine still standing after 15 - PARTY ON! lol!

Edited July 15, 2021 by wemjam

[ColeThornton]

7 hours ago, cruisingguy007 said:

For non cheers it's even easier as you can buy all the larger format options ( fish bowels, growlers, tubes, pitchers, buckets), bottles of liquor to room, wine bottles etc.

 

No way I'm drinking anything out of fish bowels!   😉

[happy cruzer]

What is the wording in the cruise contract?  That is what legally matters.  Carnival may not want to make themselves legally responsible for limiting drinks (for safety vs. revenue like on Cheers) then they would also be responsible if they did not cut someone off and something happened.  Of course they are usually outside of US territory so who knows?

[Joebucks]

I have hit the 15 limit at least twice. My last thought was how do I get more alcohol. My first thought was "this was a terrible idea"

[kdr69]

I have pointed this out a number of times on here and most either say its never enforced or that they were unaware of the Alcohol Policy which doesn't surprise me as there are many discrepancies in the Policies such as according to the Easy Pay rules you have to be from the US to use it and Ive used it on most all of my cruise bookings.  Cheers is just an all inclusive program and the 15 drink limit falls in line with the Alcohol Policy of max 15 drinks per person. Ive heard people say to start buying at 13 drinks to avoid being cut off but i wonder if they have done that or just thought that was a brilliant way to circumvent the program and since they probably never ever reached 15 drinks themselves to be cut off normally that they weren't aware of the limit in the overall Policy on Alcohol.

[cruisingguy007]

1 hour ago, kdr69 said:

I have pointed this out a number of times on here and most either say its never enforced or that they were unaware of the Alcohol Policy which doesn't surprise me as there are many discrepancies in the Policies such as according to the Easy Pay rules you have to be from the US to use it and Ive used it on most all of my cruise bookings.  Cheers is just an all inclusive program and the 15 drink limit falls in line with the Alcohol Policy of max 15 drinks per person. Ive heard people say to start buying at 13 drinks to avoid being cut off but i wonder if they have done that or just thought that was a brilliant way to circumvent the program and since they probably never ever reached 15 drinks themselves to be cut off normally that they weren't aware of the limit in the overall Policy on Alcohol.

 

I've done it, personally. That said, Joe Bucks is on the money, sure people can do it but it's not a good idea. I'm a big guy but even I can't max out everyday. Depending on what you're drinking, you may be able to max out a few days tops. It'll catch up to you, even if you just stick with lighter beers, eventually. If you're not getting off the ship at any ports then you may even max out more than a few days but the point is still the same. Very few will need more than cheers and even fewer will need more than cheers on a daily basis. 

[kdr69]

5 minutes ago, cruisingguy007 said:

I've done it, personally.

So you have had Cheers and gone over the 15 drink limit by purchasing drinks before you have reached the program limit? How many drinks over the 15 drink limit did you go then out of curiosity's sake?

[Cruise Related]

The only way I’ve ever been able to go over the limit is by getting lucky having an awesome bartender that would let me use my wife’s S&S card to use up her cheers. I’ve tried to purchase a beer prior to using up my 15 and have been denied so many times. Maybe I’m just unlucky in that regard. 

[cruisingguy007]

21 minutes ago, kdr69 said:

So you have had Cheers and gone over the 15 drink limit by purchasing drinks before you have reached the program limit? How many drinks over the 15 drink limit did you go then out of curiosity's sake?

 

Bought a bucket of beers at 14. 

[kdr69]

9 minutes ago, cruisingguy007 said:

 

Bought a bucket of beers at 14. 

Good to know.  Again one more example of where Practice trumps (can i say that word😏) Policy

[crzndeb]

I have never been aware of a limit on Non Cheers, but maybe I just wasn’t paying attention or it’s not really enforced.

 

[Mallow]

After getting to know the bartenders, they would say your wife should order a drink instead of myself 😄 since I was at 14 drinks for the day.

[K_e_short]

I would say that if you do not like the 15 drink limit on Carnival that perhaps you need to find another cruise line. NCL does not have a limit for example.

 

[Sagittarius traveler]

15 drinks is a decent amount 

 

What I suggest bring your own do a pre game drinks and then start buying theirs .

[Sagittarius traveler]

Oh yeah but a pitcher lol my bf and I had pitchers through out our 8 day cruise instead of individual drinks we probably had 4 separate drinks and we used the drinks we carried onboard.

[Aplmac]

20 hours ago, Sagittarius traveler said:

15 drinks is a decent amount

 

FIFTEEN alcohol drinks a day is an obscene amount.

Houston... we have a problem!

[WhaleTailFlCruiser]

It has been 15 for years. 

[rocketship]

On 7/15/2021 at 10:43 AM, kdr69 said:

So you have had Cheers and gone over the 15 drink limit by purchasing drinks before you have reached the program limit? How many drinks over the 15 drink limit did you go then out of curiosity's sake?

My crew and I have done it many times. We have probably went to 20-25.  If you are nice to your bartenders, tip them appropriately, they will totally allow you to "buy for a friend."  Obviously haven't been on since pandemic, but that was absolutely the case as of October 2019.

[cmichael1221]

13 minutes ago, rocketship said:

My crew and I have done it many times. We have probably went to 20-25.  If you are nice to your bartenders, tip them appropriately, they will totally allow you to "buy for a friend."  Obviously haven't been on since pandemic, but that was absolutely the case as of October 2019.

Same here!  The often encouraged us to "buy for a friend" once we were getting close!

[stobe1]

On 7/15/2021 at 5:44 AM, ColeThornton said:

 

No way I'm drinking anything out of fish bowels!   😉

I wouldn't drink out of fish bowels either. I hate sushi so drinking out of the bowels of fish sounds even worse to me.Lol. 🤣😜

Edited July 19, 2021 by stobe1