The definitive Cheers program Thread

[jlindemer]

You can purchase it on lido deck. They will have tables set up an signs out. It's hard to miss.

[kstater]

Sorry if this has been posted, but I guess I am kind of lazy to read through all the pages. Where on board do you purchase the program? On the Victory Sept 25, and am going to purchase.

 

Main bar in lobby, table set up on Lido by the pool. But when I was on it there was a decent line. So I went to the back of the ship on lido to the Sirens bar and purchased it there. Always less busy at that bar.

[TheCaveman]

I just read the first and last 5 pages, but I have a question I did not seen asked before ( if i missed it, sorry)

 

I am not from the US, so this whole tax thing is not clear to me.

 

Let’s say, I and order a shot that cost $9.95 (before tax).

And I add a coke.

 

Coke is free, but, €9.95 plus tax will be over the limit?

Will this be included, or not?

 

Lastly, and what about the tip?

Will it be pre-paid with the 15% they add to the package?

Edited January 26, 2014 by TheCaveman

[kstater]

I just read the first and last 5 pages, but I have a question I did not seen asked before ( if i missed it, sorry)

 

I am not from the US, so this whole tax thing is not clear to me.

 

Let’s say, I and order a shot that cost $9.95 (before tax).

And I add a coke.

 

Coke is free, but, €9.95 plus tax will be over the limit?

Will this be included, or not?

 

Lastly, and what about the tip?

Will it be pre-paid with the 15% they add to the package?

 

No, any listed price under 10 is good. And yes it's pre-paid. So on a 5 day cruise it's 287. But, I tipped the bartender that I frequented most several times throughout the trip.

[icedpepper2]

Ok I understand that during the embarkment process you can bring on one bottle of booze. do you have to buy it from them? or can you buy at duty free at airport and bring on boat with your carry on?

[1kaper]

Ok I understand that during the embarkment process you can bring on one bottle of booze. do you have to buy it from them? or can you buy at duty free at airport and bring on boat with your carry on?

 

Not one bottle of alcohol, it is one bottle of wine or champagne per person.

It is to be carried on in your carry-on and can be purchased anywhere.

[Scotch Mist]

If I sign up on day one then want to cancel on day 2, can I? Not that I would b but just wanted to ask on behalf of anyone who might want to change their mind!

[nhslb46]

If I sign up on day one then want to cancel on day 2, can I? Not that I would b but just wanted to ask on behalf of anyone who might want to change their mind!

 

Once you sign up you are locked in. They charge the entire amount to you S&S when you sign up for the program.

[amt6]

Hi,

 

2 questions... I am wondering if anyone has gotten the Cheers program on an Alaskan cruise. I know the environment is much different than a Caribbean cruise. I'm sure less drinking during the day when on the ship. Is it worth it?

 

Also, my boyfriend and I will be traveling with my brother and sister in law. For complicated pricing reasons, I will am registered in one room with my brother and he is registered in the other room with my sister in law. We plan on switching once on board, but only my boyfriend and I want to do the Cheers program. If he and my sister in law sign up, can I just use her card to get drinks? I know they are picky about sharing, but I will just use her card. Will they give me a hard time? I don't know how they could possibly know that I am not the person named on the card. Any ideas/suggestions?

 

Thanks!

[gtaylor]

Hi,

 

2 questions... I am wondering if anyone has gotten the Cheers program on an Alaskan cruise. I know the environment is much different than a Caribbean cruise. I'm sure less drinking during the day when on the ship. Is it worth it?

 

Also, my boyfriend and I will be traveling with my brother and sister in law. For complicated pricing reasons, I will am registered in one room with my brother and he is registered in the other room with my sister in law. We plan on switching once on board, but only my boyfriend and I want to do the Cheers program. If he and my sister in law sign up, can I just use her card to get drinks? I know they are picky about sharing, but I will just use her card. Will they give me a hard time? I don't know how they could possibly know that I am not the person named on the card. Any ideas/suggestions?

 

Thanks!

 

Perhaps because every time they swipe the card they see a photo of the 'real' holder on their terminal?

 

gary

[PugGeek]

Might it be possible to go to guest services first thing and change the names on the room? I would stress everytime I ordered a drink using another card... not a way to relax on vacation.

 

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[amt6]

Perhaps because every time they swipe the card they see a photo of the 'real' holder on their terminal?

 

gary

 

Do they? I wasnt sure about this. My travel agent told me that they only see your picture when you are getting on and off the ship. Do they see your photo every time you swipe, even at the bar?

[amt6]

Might it be possible to go to guest services first thing and change the names on the room? I would stress everytime I ordered a drink using another card... not a way to relax on vacation.

 

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Hi PugGeek - I'd much prefer to just do that, but my boyfriend and I each got a "free inside cabin" deal from Carnival, but my brother and SIL did not. If we want to have 2 rooms for "free", we each need to be in one of the rooms. That's what makes it complicated. I don't think they will switch then names and still give us the rate.

[KG1924]

Just an update about the package on the Breeze-I had read before we sailed that people were able to go past the 15 or purchase beyond the 15...that was not the case for us. It only came up 2-3 times and only by my husband. However, they were very polite about it and told us when we were at 14 and then at 15. They were also fine with me getting a drink on my card and giving it to him.

 

**This is against the rules....I'm aware of that! But it was suggested by the bartender to do it that way. Also, while I'm sure my husband had quite the buzz going (as did I) we were in no way black out drunk, so this may be why they were so lenient. We also tended to frequent some of the same bars so that may have helped. We did inquire about purchasing drinks early in the week-a bartender told us we can before hitting 15-he recommended purchasing a drink or two once you're at 11-12, not waiting until you're at #14.

 

I promise you, we don't generally put this much thought into drinking! We like the drink package because it's a set amount and we don't think about it. I also like trying drinks-found out I like mojitos on this trip (I never liked rum much....) but they ran out of mint leaves on the ship towards the end of the week!

 

Another tid bit-we had no problem sending one of us up to the bar to get drinks for both cards. My sister and her husband did this often as they had their kids with them. If the kids were sleeping in the cabin, one of them would run up to a bar and grab a couple beers for them to have on their balcony.

 

The package overall is still worth it for us. We would usually spend more then that on booze, but I'm noticing that we are getting older quickly :p for example, we had quite a few drinks while in St. Martin, so we literally ordered not one drink when back on the ship! We just hung out in the cabin that night and relaxed. I will say, we had plenty of Diet Cokes that night though, so I guess it all evens out. It would be interesting to see what we would've spent this week with out it, but I still like the all inclusive feel to it.

[SoCalCruiserGal]

Have the package rates stayed the same? We cruised in October and participated in the program, but I dont recall the rate per day.

[PugGeek]

My nightmare is getting on the ship and finding out it no longer covers martinis at the Alchemy!!! Then I wake up in a sweat and go burn a sprig of rosemary.

 

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[LKYGSR]

So, I understand that if you wait to be in international waters to purchase Cheers, you don't have to pay sales tax. I'm curious though, departing from FLL with Key West as your first stop the next day, do you ever enter international waters so you can avoid the sales tax?

[rickb]

So, I understand that if you wait to be in international waters to purchase Cheers, you don't have to pay sales tax. I'm curious though, departing from FLL with Key West as your first stop the next day, do you ever enter international waters so you can avoid the sales tax?

 

There is no sales tax on the Cheers program. It's $49.95 per day plus 15% tip. If you purchase a drink while docked in Florida there is sales tax on each individual drink. This is the case for all drinks regardless of whether you are on the Cheers program or not.

[LKYGSR]

There is no sales tax on the Cheers program. It's $49.95 per day plus 15% tip. If you purchase a drink while docked in Florida there is sales tax on each individual drink. This is the case for all drinks regardless of whether you are on the Cheers program or not.

 

Thanks now it makes sense to me

Edited February 18, 2014 by LKYGSR

[LKYGSR]

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.

 

OK, found my answer on page 46, glad I started from the back and not the front.

 

Follow up question, these individual drink taxes while in US port, do they just show up on your S&S account individually I assume?

[rickb]

According to Carnival FAQ:

 

The following restrictions apply:

·

· Applicable state and local taxes will be charged to the guest folio when this program is used within US waters

 

So it's not sales tax of the full amount, it's only the sales tax for a each drink while in US waters? Is that where I'm confused? That's a big difference...tax on $49.95 a day for 6 days times two people, compard to the tax of each drink...

Yes, it's just on the individual drink. For example, if you get a drink for $6 on the cheers program the receipt will show $6 the a $6 discount but also show the applicable sales tax of say 50cents for a net charge of 50 cents. Also, as a mentioned previously the applies even for regular purchases. If you were paying for you drinks it would be $6.50 ($6 plus tax).this only applies while in a Florida port. Again, there is no sales tax on the daily Cheers price of $49.95.

 

Just to clarify there is no sales tax on the individual drinks while at sea or in foreign ports.

Edited February 18, 2014 by rickb

[jlindemer]

Do they? I wasnt sure about this. My travel agent told me that they only see your picture when you are getting on and off the ship. Do they see your photo every time you swipe, even at the bar?

 

 

Yes. Every time. It pops up really big on the screen they enter things on.

 

 

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[goduckies05]

OK, found my answer on page 46, glad I started from the back and not the front.

 

Follow up question, these individual drink taxes while in US port, do they just show up on your S&S account individually I assume?

 

Every drink you get shows up either as zero...tax... or tip... I purchased on the Miracle 344 for 6 days but had 60 drinks so that would have cost about 480 plus tip in real money... so good deal to me. They also did cut me off at 15... and even though I could have had more 15 was enough! :)

 

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[grammacassi]

My belief is that policy is specifically in place to keep people from sharing (stealing). Just imagine how many times a DW would say "I don't drink that much so I'm not going to buy the program" and then ask DH to grab her a drink on his Cheers card? We all know this would happen, look at the threads here about the Bottomless Bubbles program and how many people from the same cabin not only share those cards but think it's okay as well?

 

Why would sharing be bad? 15 drinks is 15 drinks.

[grammacassi]

I read all 52 pgs and the following was not addressed.... Do the cabins still have mini bars (stocked fridge) and if so will they lock it if you hit 15 ?