No Cheers package—best bang for my buck?

[sanger727]

I haven’t done one on carnival, but I’ve done drink tastings on other lines (margarita or martini); I definitely felt like I got my money’s worth on those….

[cruisingguy007]

3 minutes ago, sanger727 said:

I haven’t done one on carnival, but I’ve done drink tastings on other lines (margarita or martini); I definitely felt like I got my money’s worth on those….

 

Good point. The whiskey class always gets rave reviews and people report it being money well spent. Many often advise eating a heavy meal beforehand as well, to maximize efficacy of value. 😁 

Edited January 20, 2022 by cruisingguy007

[mjmiller]

If the Red Frog Pub still has fish bowl specials - great pricing! Otherwise martinis would be my go to - ultimate XO, purple sunset, deal closer, spicy chipotle... 

[ProgRockCruiser]

Carnival offers "cruise the vineyards", which is 3 or 5 bottles of wine, three tiers I think, for $75 to $200-ish, IIRC.

 

Only to be consumed in the Dining Rooms or cabin.

 

 

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1358

[snowballs mom]

We bring on wine and get a bottle of something for the cabin, since we like to have a quiet drink on the balcony before dinner. If I order from the bar it is a martini or manhattan.

[Turqoisblu]

2 hours ago, Joebucks said:

I just got back from a 7 day cruise where buying Cheers wasn't even a thought in my mind. 

 

I brought 2 bottles of wine. I pre-purchased a bottle of bourbon and 4 pack of thirsty frog beer for my room. I bought a few cocktails. I bought (really cheap) beers while at port. All of this combined was around $200, including drinks at port.

 

No one will convince me I needed to pay over $400 for all of "convenience and trying different drinks" BS. Let alone the other half who would have also spent $400, and used virtually none of it.

Same here...I will NEVER buy that. I don't care how much money I have to spend. I pre-purchase a bottle of Hennessey and some soda. I buy drinks at the port like you said. No thanks!

[famof4togo]

Cheers is good for some and clearly not (even offensive apparently) for others....as there are some who get their money's worth (a review I read last week had 116 alcoholic drinks on Cheers AKA totally worth it financially as she would have spent more than double without Cheers...but sure if you are one to have a drink or two a day no it's not worth it...I totally get it.....personally I drink enough to make it worth it financially and the added bonus is getting to try new drinks I would be too afraid to pay for outright in case I didn't enjoy etc...but I don't really get people being so severely opposed to it...to each their own....

[staceyglow]

3 hours ago, famof4togo said:

 

 

I am not a big fan of having to go back to your room to make a drink.... sometimes that can be quite a far walk and just the logistics of say having a good time in the pool chatting with people etc...and then having to excuse yourself to go make a drink (15 minutes atleast) is a bit of a buzz kill and gets old quick....

 

We often buy a bottle of vodka that is delivered to our room.  We bring some large sport bottles and put in a nice pour of vodka, go up to Lido to add ice and lemonade, and then we are set for a good part of the day.

[Crismess669]

1 hour ago, mjmiller said:

If the Red Frog Pub still has fish bowl specials - great pricing! Otherwise martinis would be my go to - ultimate XO, purple sunset, deal closer, spicy chipotle... 

 I haven’t been able to find out if they’re still doing Red Frog happy hour.

[famof4togo]

I may be thinking of another line or even just a thing of the past...but don't the shops have free little shot samples they give out too on a specific brand/bottle they are selling?  I vaguely recall this......

[cruisingguy007]

5 minutes ago, Crismess669 said:

 I haven’t been able to find out if they’re still doing Red Frog happy hour.

 

Been reported by several recent cruisers that it's still happening. It's a easy revenue maker. Booze is super cheap and the markup is very lucrative. 

[Drazil65]

Only to be consumed in the Dining Rooms or cabin.

 

Ok...lol (no one checks to see what are in those isolated cups everyone walks around with).   

[pinto18]

5 minutes ago, Drazil65 said:

Only to be consumed in the Dining Rooms or cabin.

 

Ok...lol (no one checks to see what are in those isolated cups everyone walks around with).   

We get the wine package every cruise. Get a couple of wine glasses from the bar and walk around ..or to the casino..or whatever all the time

 

[fsuali]

I always find a bar and a bartender I like.  Tip an extra buck or two when you get a drink. Once they know you…your pours will be better:)

[cruisingguy007]

1 hour ago, famof4togo said:

Cheers is good for some and clearly not (even offensive apparently) for others....as there are some who get their money's worth (a review I read last week had 116 alcoholic drinks on Cheers AKA totally worth it financially as she would have spent more than double without Cheers...but sure if you are one to have a drink or two a day no it's not worth it...I totally get it.....personally I drink enough to make it worth it financially and the added bonus is getting to try new drinks I would be too afraid to pay for outright in case I didn't enjoy etc...but I don't really get people being so severely opposed to it...to each their own....

 

For some it may be a financial obstacle so they pass it off as "not worth it", unreasonable or pontificate on about how they don't drink enough or would rather drink water/tea or read books and play trivia and don't need alcohol to have a good time lol; but there were/are a whole lot of folks that got the RU deal that are trying cheers for the first time and very excited about the enhancement that it brings to their cruise experience. This leads me to believe that many of the "offended" simply find it financially offensive, not actually offensive. Ironically, many will go on to brag about their diamond/platinum status and demand free drink vouchers and the like. Too funny. Ignore the haters.     

Edited January 20, 2022 by cruisingguy007

[Schoifmom]

5 minutes ago, cruisingguy007 said:

 

For some it may be a financial obstacle so they pass it off as "not worth it", unreasonable or pontificate on about how they don't drink enough or would rather drink water/tea or read books and play trivia and don't need alcohol to have a good time lol; but there were/are a whole lot of folks that got the RU deal that are trying cheers for the first time and very excited about the enhancement that it brings to their cruise experience. This leads me to believe that many of the "offended" simply find it financially offensive, not actually offensive. Ironically, many will go on to brag about their diamond/platinum status and demand free drink vouchers and the like. Too funny. Ignore the haters.     

 

Interesting take.  Personally, we had Cheers for our cruise in November and got everything we wanted.  I kept track.  We would not have broken even if we had paid full price for Cheers (we got an excellent RU rate).  It was a good experiment.  We simply don't drink enough (including non-alcoholic drinks) to make Cheers a wise investment for us.

[mz-s]

3 hours ago, Crismess669 said:

 I just found all the bar menus online and it looks like every bar has some variation of a LIE. I think this is going to be my strategy. I don’t wanna get trashed, just buzzed on two drinks compared to 4.

 

LITs are a great way to get buzzed without constantly ordering a drink. I have been known to drink a lot of them on cruises. Nowadays I mostly just get a double shot of Jack Daniels with a splash of Diet Pepsi. I tend to do better with dark liquor.

[skridge]

7 hours ago, Crismess669 said:

My roommate has decided to be a buzzkill by not purchasing the Cheers package. I am retaliating by not purchasing Bubbles. I’m now looking at probably spending way more than I would if I had Cheers.

 

Best drinks to maximize my buzz on the ship? Do I stick with the teas? Also, am I gonna feel a Blue Iguana margarita happy buzz the same way I’d feel it at a local Mexican restaurant?

 

I am bringing my bottle of wine.

Airplane bottles in the luggage.  Make sure the caps have no metal in them.  A vodka cranberry is delicious.  

[Kanyon71]

34 minutes ago, Schoifmom said:

 

Interesting take.  Personally, we had Cheers for our cruise in November and got everything we wanted.  I kept track.  We would not have broken even if we had paid full price for Cheers (we got an excellent RU rate).  It was a good experiment.  We simply don't drink enough (including non-alcoholic drinks) to make Cheers a wise investment for us.

My wife and I were just discussing this very thing. We had talked about what it would take for us to break even let alone save money. We agreed if this trip was going to be one of our adults only where we go with friends it would be one thing. This time we are going with some family members and both of us couples have kids. So the likely hood of us drinking enough is greatly reduced.

We do bring soda and come "other" stuff with us also. Our last cruise we had it though as it was an adults only cruise, there were nights that many of us had a hard time with the 15. I'm just not as young as I used to be. 😆

[Buckeyefrank100]

22 minutes ago, Kanyon71 said:

My wife and I were just discussing this very thing. We had talked about what it would take for us to break even let alone save money. We agreed if this trip was going to be one of our adults only where we go with friends it would be one thing. This time we are going with some family members and both of us couples have kids. So the likely hood of us drinking enough is greatly reduced.

We do bring soda and come "other" stuff with us also. Our last cruise we had it though as it was an adults only cruise, there were nights that many of us had a hard time with the 15. I'm just not as young as I used to be. 😆

There is a lot to be said that even if you don't get your money's worth that it may still be worth it.  The best benefit for me is that I don't have to think about how many I've had today (and my wife) and see if we're on track budget wise.  The peace of mind that comes with a paid off bill is huge for us.

[Kanyon71]

20 minutes ago, Buckeyefrank100 said:

There is a lot to be said that even if you don't get your money's worth that it may still be worth it.  The best benefit for me is that I don't have to think about how many I've had today (and my wife) and see if we're on track budget wise.  The peace of mind that comes with a paid off bill is huge for us.

I can agree with that. Like I said when we do our next adults only it's getting purchased again. With this family one not likely to get close. 🙂

 

Actually if you're a big drinker on the Cheers package you need to know where you're at because I've always heard when you hit 15 you're done for that 24 hour period. You need to switch to not using it before you hit the magic number.

[dillydilly]

3 hours ago, Crismess669 said:

 I haven’t been able to find out if they’re still doing Red Frog happy hour.

On Valor in December happy hour was on embarkation day and one other day I think Cozumel. Fish bowls, pitchers and beer for half price. We were allowed to buy as many as we wanted and take back to our cabin. 

[MisterOJ2]

3 hours ago, Schoifmom said:

 

Interesting take.  Personally, we had Cheers for our cruise in November and got everything we wanted.  I kept track.  We would not have broken even if we had paid full price for Cheers (we got an excellent RU rate).  It was a good experiment.  We simply don't drink enough (including non-alcoholic drinks) to make Cheers a wise investment for us.

 

This was my wife and I on our cruise last month. I think we probably got enough drinks on our cruise to break even - but we ordered/drank a lot more than we would have normally (or even really wanted). There were times we found ourselves getting a drink "just because" and not because we actually wanted it. It was kinda nice on one hand, but just over the top on the other. We have one more cruise booked with the RU rate, and I'm sure we'll enjoy the drinks again, but the next cruise we take without the RU rate... I really doubt we buy Cheers. It's just not worth it to us.

[Duanerice1]

My wife liked the chocolate martinis.  Said they were very strong.   Some in the comedy club said the Punchliner was super strong.  She drinks 1 or 2 a day and that's about it but would get the package if just she could get it.  I don't drink so there is no sense in us getting Cheers for the cabin. 

 

We usually sail Celebrity and just 1 person in the cabin could get the package.   Now, I think they are kind of all inclusive (and you pay for it).

 

 

 

 

[jfunk138]

For me, whichever 16oz craft brew they have in cans with 6+% alcohol is best bang for buck, the large wine package at dinner is also a pretty good bang for the buck.

 

LITs are too unpredictable and vary based on bartender.