Cheers, is it worth it?

[melz1010]

It's like this. It depends on how you drink when you vacation. If I don't get the drink package, I will drink more moderately. I may have a mimosa for breakfast, maybe 2 drinks during the day and a glass of wine for dinner. I'll substitute alcohol for other drinks like water, soda, lemonade, etc. With the drink package, I'm more relaxed. I finished my mimosa before breakfast came to the table, can I get another please? I'm buy the pool, keep the drinks coming. For dinner, i'll have a glass of wine and I may have a cocktail at the show or during movie on the lido deck. I'll just drink more because I want to and I can and I'm not worried about how much it cost. Without the cheers package, I'm more mindful of how many drinks I consume. I can easily drink more than I spend on the cheers package and I can also drink a lot less. You decide how you want to drink on vacation. I will say that it makes cruising a lot more relaxing because you're not counting up the drinks in your head or looking at your account to stay within budget. If you get the drinks package, just make sure you get it before May 1 when prices increase. 

[Laurab23]

On 4/21/2022 at 11:44 AM, Retiredmedic said:

Few years older than you, while it does take longer to recover as you get older, I can still put down 8-10 alcoholic beverages on a cruise. Oddly I rarely drink at home though.

This is also me. I am 70 and rarely drink at home but no problem 8 or 10 on a cruise. Then add in all the bottled water and specialty coffees and Cheers is worth it to me.

 

Laura

[2teach2cruise]

We’ve not been on Carnival in years… Can my hubby take both S&S cards and order us each a drink at the bar, or do we both have to be there? Also, I’d rather have 2 good drinks than 6 watered down drinks. Are the drinks on Carnival pretty good?

Thanks so much! We’re looking forward to our retirement celebration cruise!

[SNJCruisers]

It's worth it, even more so if you purchase it by April 30 before the 8.00 price increase, plus 18% gratuity.

[SNJCruisers]

2 hours ago, 2teach2cruise said:

We’ve not been on Carnival in years… Can my hubby take both S&S cards and order us each a drink at the bar, or do we both have to be there? Also, I’d rather have 2 good drinks than 6 watered down drinks. Are the drinks on Carnival pretty good?

Thanks so much! We’re looking forward to our retirement celebration cruise!

Yes, hubby can get both of you your drinks.  The best drinks can be gotten at the Alchemy Bar.  Buy before the May 1 price increase of 8.00 pp per day plus 18% gratuity.

[sparks1093]

6 hours ago, 2teach2cruise said:

We’ve not been on Carnival in years… Can my hubby take both S&S cards and order us each a drink at the bar, or do we both have to be there? Also, I’d rather have 2 good drinks than 6 watered down drinks. Are the drinks on Carnival pretty good?

Thanks so much! We’re looking forward to our retirement celebration cruise!

Yes, either of you may do this. I was also able to take DW's S&S card to the bar and order her a drink (I had to point to her sitting at a table, but I could have been pointing at anyone).

[jetsfan58]

Any choice is based on a personal preference! If you choose to enjoy the package you will if you choose not to enjoy the package you won't! Life can be so simple! 

[csoud68]

Cheers is priced so carnival can make money. They use the gambling philosophy...law of large numbers say they win out every cruise.

 

Of course some will win..you have your passengers who drink like a binge alcoholic..10 beers a day and 2 cups of coffee in the morning to get them going again..

 

Then theres the person who has 6 frozen drinks a day..

 

But with 3 or more  port of calls come emptier ships...those same folks are sitting at a beach bar NOT drinking Carnival alcohol and spending more money.

 

So if you are a huge drinker, stay at the bar and also stay onboard in ports and drain your liver and caenival dry..

 

But if you realize all that a cruise offers then pay as you go.lol

[melodyesch]

It might be worth it for us if both people in the cabin didn’t have to have it.  I’ve never been a drinker so AT MOST will have one drink per day.  DH drinks more on vacation, but even then not sure if he’d drink enough per day to make it worth it.  So for the two of us it’s much cheaper to pay as we go.

[1kaper]

32 minutes ago, csoud68 said:

Cheers is priced so carnival can make money. They use the gambling philosophy...law of large numbers say they win out every cruise.

 

Of course some will win..you have your passengers who drink like a binge alcoholic..10 beers a day and 2 cups of coffee in the morning to get them going again..

 

Then theres the person who has 6 frozen drinks a day..

 

But with 3 or more  port of calls come emptier ships...those same folks are sitting at a beach bar NOT drinking Carnival alcohol and spending more money.

 

So if you are a huge drinker, stay at the bar and also stay onboard in ports and drain your liver and caenival dry..

 

But if you realize all that a cruise offers then pay as you go.lol

Thanks. 
I do enjoy all a cruise offers. I get off the ship. I do excursions (four ports of call and we sailed out of Galveston so one less day of Cheers)  I get dressed nice for dinner. We took our kid to the water slides and mini golf and basketball. I did some of the shopping things. We played at the casino. Took him to the arcade. 
I napped. Had brunch. Did the Build a bear with my kid. Went for runs on deck. Hung out at the pool.  Read two and a half books. 
We didn’t do a show just because we were busy doing other things we wanted to do. I can assure it was not just sitting at the bar drinking. 

there was not one day I was hung over.  I didn’t need two cups of coffee “to get me going” but I also do enjoy a good cup of coffee in the morning. 
 

it was still worth it for me. Thanks. 

Edited April 23, 2022 by 1kaper

[sparks1093]

1 hour ago, csoud68 said:

Cheers is priced so carnival can make money. They use the gambling philosophy...law of large numbers say they win out every cruise.

 

Of course some will win..you have your passengers who drink like a binge alcoholic..10 beers a day and 2 cups of coffee in the morning to get them going again..

 

Then theres the person who has 6 frozen drinks a day..

 

But with 3 or more  port of calls come emptier ships...those same folks are sitting at a beach bar NOT drinking Carnival alcohol and spending more money.

 

So if you are a huge drinker, stay at the bar and also stay onboard in ports and drain your liver and caenival dry..

 

But if you realize all that a cruise offers then pay as you go.lol

There's still time after returning from shore to make Cheers work. Of course we drink very little while ashore, but if we're back aboard by 2 (typical on a shore excursion day) that still leaves about 9 hours onboard for enjoying. I do agree that Carnival is counting on the law of averages but people don't need to hazard their liver to enjoy the package and make it worthwhile.

[LaRue1975]

10 hours ago, 2teach2cruise said:

We’ve not been on Carnival in years… Can my hubby take both S&S cards and order us each a drink at the bar, or do we both have to be there? Also, I’d rather have 2 good drinks than 6 watered down drinks. Are the drinks on Carnival pretty good?

Thanks so much! We’re looking forward to our retirement celebration cruise!

Good question, you hit the nail on the head of the biggest problem we found with Cheers. The hubby and I had not cruised in years and bought our first Cheers package on the Vista April 2nd, we did not receive one drink we considered was a good strong drink and we had 80 between us, lol! We only had two each at the Alchemy Bar and while they were tasty they were still weak, we eventually just got tired of drinking all the crap that was in the drinks. The mimosas at the pool deck bars were good which worked for me in the morning but I don’t drink wine all day. We had no problem getting top shelf liquors, the Patron Margaritas were tasty and I started ordering them in the smaller high ball cups, probably should have waited 5 minutes and ordered an extra shot too, I’m learning. It’s not that we were trying to get drunk all day, just that we would rather slow sip a good strong drink that gives you a little kick. 
 

Obviously the Cheers package was “worth it” to us, at 80 drinks we more than broke even but I am not sure if we will purchase it again. We are booked on the Panorama in October, taking on our 9 year old grandson on his first cruise and will definitely not get it as that cruise will be focused on him. I did purchase the package this week for our Vista cruise in April 2023, we will be in a Havana Aft Wrap balcony so I think we might want it so I locked in the price and will make a firm decision later. Oh, and our cruise was also our retirement celebration and 46th anniversary cruise, originally scheduled for April 2020, it was worth the wait, have a great time and congrats! 

[silversneakers]

If you are not a big drinker, then I think having the package encourages you to drink more to get your money's worth. I, personally, don't think it is worth the price (at least for me).

[Ilovesailaway]

On 4/20/2022 at 1:38 PM, csm5986142 said:

And with all the great food, I'm full all the time

Carnival?

Jk

[1kaper]

1 hour ago, sparks1093 said:

There's still time after returning from shore to make Cheers work. Of course we drink very little while ashore, but if we're back aboard by 2 (typical on a shore excursion day) that still leaves about 9 hours onboard for enjoying. I do agree that Carnival is counting on the law of averages but people don't need to hazard their liver to enjoy the package and make it worthwhile.

 

I mean, based on the cost of their drinks and what they probably pay, I’m guessing they still make money even if someone gets 15 drinks everyday. 

[1kaper]

1 hour ago, LaRue1975 said:

Good question, you hit the nail on the head of the biggest problem we found with Cheers. The hubby and I had not cruised in years and bought our first Cheers package on the Vista April 2nd, we did not receive one drink we considered was a good strong drink and we had 80 between us, lol! We only had two each at the Alchemy Bar and while they were tasty they were still weak, we eventually just got tired of drinking all the crap that was in the drinks. The mimosas at the pool deck bars were good which worked for me in the morning but I don’t drink wine all day. We had no problem getting top shelf liquors, the Patron Margaritas were tasty and I started ordering them in the smaller high ball cups, probably should have waited 5 minutes and ordered an extra shot too, I’m learning. It’s not that we were trying to get drunk all day, just that we would rather slow sip a good strong drink that gives you a little kick. 
 

Obviously the Cheers package was “worth it” to us, at 80 drinks we more than broke even but I am not sure if we will purchase it again. We are booked on the Panorama in October, taking on our 9 year old grandson on his first cruise and will definitely not get it as that cruise will be focused on him. I did purchase the package this week for our Vista cruise in April 2023, we will be in a Havana Aft Wrap balcony so I think we might want it so I locked in the price and will make a firm decision later. Oh, and our cruise was also our retirement celebration and 46th anniversary cruise, originally scheduled for April 2020, it was worth the wait, have a great time and congrats! 

i didn’t find any drinks weak. They serve the standard 1.5 ounce from what I saw. 
i actually disliked the pool bar because they seemed to make all the drinks in small cups and I found them too strong. 
 

Oddly enough, my only complaint are the mimosas. I love mimosas and they were so small.  Having one mimosa is definitely not equivalent to one standard drink. 

[Woody14]

3 hours ago, 1kaper said:

 

I mean, based on the cost of their drinks and what they probably pay, I’m guessing they still make money even if someone gets 15 drinks everyday. 

I was having the same thoughts.  I wonder where the true loose money for Carnival line actually is?

[lilyfleur]

Hello!, best to do the math and make your decision.   A good link is below.

 

Check out this link:

https://cruisespotlight.com/drink-package-calculator/

 

Also, be aware Carnival is increasing prices:

https://cruisespotlight.com/carnival-increasing-onboard-prices-starting-may-1/#:~:text=Carnival’s onboard costs will increase 10 – 17%, 17% 6 more rows

[LaRue1975]

5 hours ago, 1kaper said:

i didn’t find any drinks weak. They serve the standard 1.5 ounce from what I saw. 
i actually disliked the pool bar because they seemed to make all the drinks in small cups and I found them too strong. 
 

Oddly enough, my only complaint are the mimosas. I love mimosas and they were so small.  Having one mimosa is definitely not equivalent to one standard drink. 

It’s a matter of preferences I guess, to me a drink with only an ounce and a half of liquor is weak, the small cups make them better and an extra shot would be perfection, lol! Our cabin was on the 11th deck and we spent a lot of time outside so got most of our drinks from the Red Frog and Blue Iguana bars. What I found out is those bars serve a mimosa that is twice as big as the ones from the inside bars on the lower decks, they use very small champagne flutes. At our bars they use larger plastic stemmed wine glasses and add just a splash of OJ,  just like I like it! 
 

I think we will probably try the package again next year and just use it a little differently to suit our likes. I will definitely order extra shots for some of my drinks, you can do that, they just have to ring it up separately and it counts as two drinks. I would much rather drink one strong drink than two weak ones, it’s just too filling and too much sugar for me. We loved the convenience of the Cheers package, knowing we weren’t going to run up a giant bar bill and almost all the bartenders were great, can’t wait until the next cruise! 

[n6uqqq]

5 hours ago, 1kaper said:

 

I mean, based on the cost of their drinks and what they probably pay, I’m guessing they still make money even if someone gets 15 drinks everyday. 

This is guaranteed that Carnival makes money even on the biggest drinkers onboard. Just looking at what I can get at Costco and then thinking of the purchase power of a giant cruise line makes this quite obvious. You can do 15 drinks even with the better alcohol and they are just fine moneywise.

[1kaper]

2 minutes ago, n6uqqq said:

This is guaranteed that Carnival makes money even on the biggest drinkers onboard. Just looking at what I can get at Costco and then thinking of the purchase power of a giant cruise line makes this quite obvious. You can do 15 drinks even with the better alcohol and they are just fine moneywise.

i am from Canada and our alcohol taxes quite heavily. 
The price of alcohol in the US blows my

in every time. 
 

I do suppose that money made on alcohol makes up for other things, like cheap room rates. So I suppose it isn’t just about covering the cost of alcohol. I guess the question is how much extra the need to make in alcohol sales. 

[1kaper]

5 minutes ago, LaRue1975 said:

It’s a matter of preferences I guess, to me a drink with only an ounce and a half of liquor is weak, the small cups make them better and an extra shot would be perfection, lol! Our cabin was on the 11th deck and we spent a lot of time outside so got most of our drinks from the Red Frog and Blue Iguana bars. What I found out is those bars serve a mimosa that is twice as big as the ones from the inside bars on the lower decks, they use very small champagne flutes. At our bars they use larger plastic stemmed wine glasses and add just a splash of OJ,  just like I like it! 
 

I think we will probably try the package again next year and just use it a little differently to suit our likes. I will definitely order extra shots for some of my drinks, you can do that, they just have to ring it up separately and it counts as two drinks. I would much rather drink one strong drink than two weak ones, it’s just too filling and too much sugar for me. We loved the convenience of the Cheers package, knowing we weren’t going to run up a giant bar bill and almost all the bartenders were great, can’t wait until the next cruise! 

well I’ll have to check that out next time. Thanks for the tip! 

[SNJCruisers]

12 hours ago, csoud68 said:

you have your passengers who drink like a binge alcoholic..10 beers a day

So if you are a huge drinker, stay at the bar and also stay onboard in ports and drain your liver and caenival dry.

Spoken like a true teetotaler.

Time to get off your soap box and let people vacation the way they wish to vacation.  

[csoud68]

10 minutes ago, SNJCruisers said:

Spoken like a true teetotaler.

Time to get off your soap box and let people vacation the way they wish to vacation.  

The whole post was done in jest. Unbelievable you can't see that.

[yankeetex]

Yes