The definitive Cheers program Thread

[snownyet]

Ive never had a "countdown" from a bartender, but did hit my 15 drinks one day. From that point on you can buy drinks at the going rate. Or with a good bartender you can just add your drinks over #15 to your significant others card, if they have not reached the limit.

[Out to sea!]

Ive never had a "countdown" from a bartender, but did hit my 15 drinks one day. From that point on you can buy drinks at the going rate. Or with a good bartender you can just add your drinks over #15 to your significant others card, if they have not reached the limit.

 

You mean a bartender who doesn't care about his job and violates the rules. One of those bartenders.

[Classy1]

Ok Im from UK and keep reading about this TAX on drinks whilst in port. can some one explain a little further. I was thinking of getting the cheers program ($57+per day) If i drink whilst the boat (Liberty in November) is still in port do I pay extra money on top of the $57. is this for all the stops like hmc, St Thomas, Grand Turk & San Juan. & when do you know if your in international waters or not?

 

Is it a tax like you have on food, clothes and anything else you buy in US, where the item is one price then tax is added at the till/checkout. Therefore is it $57.45 inc grats plus tax @ ?%

Hope im making sense cos im quite confused!!!

[snownyet]

You mean a bartender who doesn't care about his job and violates the rules. One of those bartenders.

 

Yep, thems the ones.

 

But while we're on the topic. Being the gentleman that I am, Im usually the person who goes to the bar to get my wifes drink with her card, Im always served and never watched to see who drinks it.

 

Classy1, Regarding taxes, the way it works is you pay the fee for the cheers program and any drinks you buy while still in the home port will have an individual tax applied to each drink. You are not paying tax on the entire cheers program itself and you do not pay taxes while in the ports you visit.

Edited September 26, 2013 by snownyet

[Classy1]

thanks Snownyet, that makes some sense. Might wait til next day and see if its worth buying the package depending on what ill drink. mind you i doooo liiike cocktails and could easily get through 5 of them a night. So many idea.... cant wait to go

[bitofun]

Classy1,

Just for an example I had 3 margaritas before the ship hit international waters so in addition to the cheers cost my sail and sign card had $0.70 charge x 3 (to cover the tax) on it. In my opinion, not enough to sway me from purchasing day one. That tax was while at Port of Miami. Hope this helps :)

 

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[Classy1]

thanks bitofun. I was thinking of holding off on 'cheers' just to see whether I would actually drink enough to cover the cost, or whether by tuesday id be fed up with the drinking and only want a glass. mmmm decisions decisions!

[Swayde]

Hubby and I are strongly considering purchasing Cheers on our upcoming Halloween, 8-day cruise. Is it definite that you do not have to purchase until the 2nd day? I'm trying to figure out how much it will cost us. We have decided that we will not be getting off the ship in ports due to my knee recovering from surgery and not up to a lot of walking. We typically pay for All Inclusives in ports or spend $100 drinking in bars easily anyhow. I don't see any point in getting it the 1st day since we will have our 2 personal bottles of wine, and a bottle from the steakhouse, plus all that food to eat.

 

I've also heard the last day doesn't count. So how much would we have to pay? $600, $700 or $800?

[cathyz]

Classy1,

Just for an example I had 3 margaritas before the ship hit international waters so in addition to the cheers cost my sail and sign card had $0.70 charge x 3 (to cover the tax) on it. In my opinion, not enough to sway me from purchasing day one. That tax was while at Port of Miami. Hope this helps :)

 

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You would be charged that tax anyway on the individual drinks, Cheers program or not.

[SNJCruisers]

Hubby and I are strongly considering purchasing Cheers on our upcoming Halloween, 8-day cruise. Is it definite that you do not have to purchase until the 2nd day? I'm trying to figure out how much it will cost us. We have decided that we will not be getting off the ship in ports due to my knee recovering from surgery and not up to a lot of walking. We typically pay for All Inclusives in ports or spend $100 drinking in bars easily anyhow. I don't see any point in getting it the 1st day since we will have our 2 personal bottles of wine, and a bottle from the steakhouse, plus all that food to eat.

 

I've also heard the last day doesn't count. So how much would we have to pay? $600, $700 or $800?

Since you're on an eight night cruise, and you wish to purchase it on day two, you will be charged for 7 nights. So your charge will be 49.95 X 2, plus 15% tip per day, it's just under 115 per day for the two of you. So, it'll be just over 800 total for the week. A day is calculated from 6am-6am, with the exception of day 1, which starts as soon as you board.

[bitofun]

You would be charged that tax anyway on the individual drinks, Cheers program or not.

 

So true and excellent point! Thanks!

 

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[58Piano]

It is offered on Carnival Paradise. It seems like a lot of money to drink. It also encourages people to drink heavily. I wish they had a soda and more card like Princess. All the soda and non alchoholic drinks like mock cocktails and milkshakes. We loved using the bubbles all the soda you want card!

[Swayde]

Since you're on an eight night cruise, and you wish to purchase it on day two, you will be charged for 7 nights. So your charge will be 49.95 X 2, plus 15% tip per day, it's just under 115 per day for the two of you. So, it'll be just over 800 total for the week. A day is calculated from 6am-6am, with the exception of day 1, which starts as soon as you board.

 

Thank you for the explanation

[JMBeane]

Hubby and I are strongly considering purchasing Cheers on our upcoming Halloween, 8-day cruise. Is it definite that you do not have to purchase until the 2nd day? I'm trying to figure out how much it will cost us. We have decided that we will not be getting off the ship in ports due to my knee recovering from surgery and not up to a lot of walking. We typically pay for All Inclusives in ports or spend $100 drinking in bars easily anyhow. I don't see any point in getting it the 1st day since we will have our 2 personal bottles of wine, and a bottle from the steakhouse, plus all that food to eat.

 

I've also heard the last day doesn't count. So how much would we have to pay? $600, $700 or $800?

 

I'm curious what the "all inclusives in ports" is... We are newbie cruisers!

[Swayde]

I'm curious what the "all inclusives in ports" is... We are newbie cruisers!

 

Those are beach resorts that have you pay say $50 per person and then you can eat and drink all you want and usually also includes beach chairs, pools, water toys. It helps when you want to stick to a budget to avoid surprise hidden fees or extra charges.

 

We tend to spend $100-$200 in a port easily so if we stay on the ship and consider Cheers as an excursion it might be worth it.

[JMBeane]

Those are beach resorts that have you pay say $50 per person and then you can eat and drink all you want and usually also includes beach chairs, pools, water toys. It helps when you want to stick to a budget to avoid surprise hidden fees or extra charges.

 

We tend to spend $100-$200 in a port easily so if we stay on the ship and consider Cheers as an excursion it might be worth it.

 

 

That is awesome to know Swayde! Thanks so much! Our ports in December are Belize, Mahogany Bay, Cozumel and Grand Cayman. Are you familiar with any all inclusive beach resorts in these areas? I have tried searching the web with little luck!

[Colorado Beach Bum]

Yep, thems the ones.

 

Classy1, Regarding taxes, the way it works is you pay the fee for the cheers program and any drinks you buy while still in the home port will have an individual tax applied to each drink. You are not paying tax on the entire cheers program itself and you do not pay taxes while in the ports you visit.

 

This not entirely true. You do have to pay taxes in some ports. While in St Thomas and San Juan we incurred a tax per drink just like we did while still in port at Miami.

[falkcor]

That is awesome to know Swayde! Thanks so much! Our ports in December are Belize, Mahogany Bay, Cozumel and Grand Cayman. Are you familiar with any all inclusive beach resorts in these areas? I have tried searching the web with little luck!

 

these are two of the most popular all inclusive day pass spots in cozumel:

 

http://www.mrsanchos.com/mr_sanchos/home.htm

 

http://www.cozumelnachicocom.com/

 

also look into resorts like sandals, etc. that offer day passes, there are a bunch of them! :)

Edited September 27, 2013 by falkcor

[SNJCruisers]

That is awesome to know Swayde! Thanks so much! Our ports in December are Belize, Mahogany Bay, Cozumel and Grand Cayman. Are you familiar with any all inclusive beach resorts in these areas? I have tried searching the web with little luck!

 

these are two of the most popular all inclusive day pass spots in cozumel:

 

http://www.mrsanchos.com/mr_sanchos/home.htm

 

http://www.cozumelnachicocom.com/

 

also look into resorts like sandals, etc. that offer day passes, there are a bunch of them! :)

As a follow up....here is a thread on CC that compares the two resorts.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1914491

 

Besides the two resorts compared above on Cozumel, there isn't much in the way of all inclusive resorts in Roatan, Belize and Grand Cayman. A great thing for Belize is cave tubing....check it out on the ports of call section on CC.

[SNJCruisers]

This not entirely true. You do have to pay taxes in some ports. While in St Thomas and San Juan we incurred a tax per drink just like we did while still in port at Miami.

I think there is a bit of confusion here....the tax per drink is incurred while ON BOARD before the cruise ship hits international waters. You did not get taxed in St Thomas and San Juan when you ordered a drink ON BOARD. You may of course paid a tax while visiting these two ports at Senor Frogs or Carlos n Charlies, etc.

[cruisinparamedic]

You get taxed in ANY port you're in! I got charged in both St. Thomas AND San Juan. Think of it this way - if the casino is closed, there is a tax on your drink!

[Swayde]

That is awesome to know Swayde! Thanks so much! Our ports in December are Belize, Mahogany Bay, Cozumel and Grand Cayman. Are you familiar with any all inclusive beach resorts in these areas? I have tried searching the web with little luck!

 

Mr. Sanchos in Cozumel or Nachi Cocum are both on my list to try. We went to La Isla Pasion in Cozumel because the Twister boat ride sounded like fun, and it was.

 

I do not remember the name of the place we went to in Costa Maya. We asked the cab driver to take us to the best all inclusive and even though I have no clue where we went it did seem very popular and we enjoyed it.

 

Haven't been to any in the other ports.

[Swayde]

You get taxed in ANY port you're in! I got charged in both St. Thomas AND San Juan. Think of it this way - if the casino is closed, there is a tax on your drink!

 

Aren't those places US territories? Are you taxed in port in other countries like Grand Cayman, Mexico, Honduras or Belize?

[spikester]

You get taxed in ANY port you're in! I got charged in both St. Thomas AND San Juan. Think of it this way - if the casino is closed, there is a tax on your drink!

 

No, you get charged tax in U.S. Ports, as required by U.S. Law. Both ports you noted are U.S. Ports. I have never been taxed in a non-U.S. Port.

[luvs_to_cruise]

Question that I haven't seen answered...

On other lines you can get the drink of the day in a non-souvenir glass for cheaper then in a souvenir glass.

 

The Cheers program states no promoted drinks.

 

Can I get a funship special on embarkation day without the souvenir glass and have it charged to the cheers card or not?

 

Reason I ask is if not i may not buy until day 2 as they are my favorite carnival drink