About Cheers, just to let everyone know....

[jaded99]

in our experience, 15 drinks sounds like less than it really is. We thought for sure we'd max out several times, and we only got up to 14 in one day, including buying 2 drinks for other people. We mix it up with trying different drinks though, I can see someone doing 15 beers in a day easy. We did shots, mixed, beers, and wine. For some people, the program works out well, for others it doesn't, but it's worth trying out to see how it works for you.

 

For those complaining about not being able to buy drinks for others though... you're doing it wrong lol. Just order your drinks, hang out with the people you want to buy drinks for for 5 minutes, then walk up and order your next round and give 'em away. It counts towards your total, but it can be done if you know you're not going to hit it.

[Name Of The Game]

That's a lot of calories to put in your body and not even get a buzz!

[Amy6710]

Shoot. I not anything close to what one would call a 'drinker'. I actually rarely drink at all, if I do it is usually surrounding some kind of sporting event. I would never purchase the cheers program cause I actually HATE being hungover so often go sober because sometimes the 1 drink nights are the worst hangovers!!

 

But Lord knows I would have no problem putting back 15 drinks in an ENTIRE day!! Lol In 2009 I was at a playoff football game and in the course of the ride to the game until the end of the 3rd quarter(about 3hours) I had 18oz of hard liquor plus 2-3 beers. I was DRUNK! But I could certainly do that over the entire day and be perfectly fine! Lol... I guess I'm a Lush!

 

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[stormynow]

Why are some peeps so damn concerned about calories on a cruise??

[stewpapa]

With all this talk of 15 drinks remember the break even point is around 5 drinks, so you'd save a bundle if you drink 15! Its a great deal for a moderate drinker even.

 

Oh, and about calories, I find the more I drink the less I eat so it evens out.

 

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Edited September 22, 2013 by stewpapa

[longnex]

Why do you get cut off at 15? Why can't you pay for a drink after your 15 is up? Do the people who don't use the cheers program get cut off after they buy 15 drinks in a day?

 

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[okgirl]

Why do you get cut off at 15? Why can't you pay for a drink after your 15 is up? Do the people who don't use the cheers program get cut off after they buy 15 drinks in a day?

 

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Carnival says they cut off after 15 because they don't want to promote drunkeness.........but I believe the real reason is because they know that most people won't have anywhere near the 15 drinks and so it more than off sets the people who do........thereby making it a carefully researched economic decision.

 

What I really don't understand though is why I can't just purchase at regular price drink #16 and beyond.

 

In my case I often only drink 1/2 a drink or beer. I like stuff really cold and when a beer starts to get warm I just throw it away.

[autofan]

I could see how an individual could drink 15 drinks on a cruise ship and not be tipsy. The drinks are weak, even if you spread 15 beers out throughout the day it would not be too bad for a lot of folks. Look how early some start. I am not a heavy drinker but usually will just drink beer on board for if I have a drink I do want to be able to taste the alcohol in it. What does it take, an hour or hour and a half for the alcohol to leave your system. One time on the Magic they had a bartender from Jamaica, he did know how to mix a drink.

[vossjemi]

From my research I'm fairly certain any singular alcoholic beverage that has a menu listed price of less than $10 qualifies, minus certain "specialty coffees". Groups of beverages, such as a bucket of beer, are not available on this program.

 

So, is there a menu of drinks that we can see online?

Showing prices?

I'd like to know what all is offered.

For specialty kind of drinks, beers, and cocktails, and anything they make.

[randyj266]

So, is there a menu of drinks that we can see online?

Showing prices?

I'd like to know what all is offered.

For specialty kind of drinks, beers, and cocktails, and anything they make.

There sure are. The information about the bucket o' beer I got from reading the boards. It's almost depressing how much research and importance I'm putting on the alcohol aspect of this trip. These are the first few I found on a quick google, I can't find the one I used the other day that had been updated mid 2013.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=813

 

http://zydecocruiser.net/Carnival-Bar-Menu/CarnivalCruiseBarMenu.htm

 

For some reason this forum has an auto-filter for this particular website and won't let me post the entire URL. Just copy/paste and get rid of the spaces.

 

http://www.cru isin.me/info/carnival/alcohol.php

Edited September 23, 2013 by randyj266

[nylori]

My husband and i purchased Cheers on the Freedom in August. For a 8 night cruise it was $919.08. i am very cheap believe it or not. This was our 4th Carnival cruise and i have never been still drunk on there drinks. We reached our limit on 2 of the 8 nights only. We would bring a couple beers a day to the room to put on ice [ at least] to drink on the balconey at our leisure. they do add tax on to any drinks you buy also while the ship is still docked! i would go down as soon as the bar opened in the lobby for 2 drinks for us to have while hubby was still getting ready for the day. One wine at dinner $9.50 Ecco domani [prob spelled wrong] . I have always limited ourselves on the ship because of the high cost of drinks, we treated ourselves. Some days we only got 8 drinks. If we reached the 15 limit i figured we saved $80 each that day. Other days sometimes $20 each. Would do again in a heartbeat. We only cruise once a year not 5 like some and you have to have fun and enjoy yourself. i also priced all inclusives and with the cheers the cruise is about the same exact price!

[Ainsley'sMom]

I am an old lady (61) and I did not drink at all until I was about 50. I have been on cruises where I have consumed 15 drinks in one day and I was no where near drunk. I'm always awake for at least 18 hours and that is less than one drink an hour.

 

I'm not a professional drinker in fact except when I am on vacation I rarely drink at all and I don't take a lot of vacations. I think sometimes people get judgemental based on their own experience.

 

If only the world had more people like you in it... BTW 61 is years young but long on experience.

[AtSeaWithChris]

Does cheers cover the specialty drink glasses? Like the ceramic birds or monkey head etc?

 

 

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[NoLandInSight!]

I am an old lady (61) and I did not drink at all until I was about 50. I have been on cruises where I have consumed 15 drinks in one day and I was no where near drunk. I'm always awake for at least 18 hours and that is less than one drink an hour.

 

I'm not a professional drinker in fact except when I am on vacation I rarely drink at all and I don't take a lot of vacations. I think sometimes people get judgemental based on their own experience.

I agree!...15 over the course of the day and not close to being drunk. 15 back to back, yes, drunk.

[DSJ28]

I'm a light drinker on land, but on cruises I like having a cappucino in the morning, a bloody mary at brunch, a glass of wine with dinner, an expresso after dinner, and a cocktail or two at night. Add to that two or three bottles of water during the day. I think this costs me about $65/day with tips. If I'm on more of a tight budget I tend to cut out the bloody mary, wine, and probably one or two bottles of water for a cost of about $40ish/day.

 

Cheers would work great for me if they included specialty coffee and water. Even just adding the coffee would be pretty good.

 

Maybe I should do cheers and skip the coffee bar on this trip. Hmmmmm....

[JaniceB]

Why do you get cut off at 15? Why can't you pay for a drink after your 15 is up? Do the people who don't use the cheers program get cut off after they buy 15 drinks in a day?

 

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Others have said that if you are reaching your limit and might want more than 15 drinks, pay for something and it doesn't count towards your 15. I believe you also get a discount. This will avoid the cut off limit.

[42CruiseCrazy]

Normally I would agree with you however, like I said, this guy wasn't even tipsy, never mind drunk!! I am a drinker and I have no idea how he did it (of course, he was only drinking beer so maybe that was it).

 

He is likely a seasoned beer drinker and if spread out over an entire day & night and with plenty of food (common on cruises) it is not that difficult to reach the limit of 15 and get cut off. From Noon to Midnight that would be 1.25 drinks per hour. I could do that but I wouldn't want the beer belly.:D

[@homeinok]

is it 15 drinks per person or 15 drinks per cabin?

[Crusin Karen]

Per person. Everyone in the cabin over 21 has to purchase the program.

[LizaMM]

I'm a light drinker on land, but on cruises I like having a cappucino in the morning, a bloody mary at brunch, a glass of wine with dinner, an expresso after dinner, and a cocktail or two at night. Add to that two or three bottles of water during the day. I think this costs me about $65/day with tips. If I'm on more of a tight budget I tend to cut out the bloody mary, wine, and probably one or two bottles of water for a cost of about $40ish/day.

 

Cheers would work great for me if they included specialty coffee and water. Even just adding the coffee would be pretty good.

 

Maybe I should do cheers and skip the coffee bar on this trip. Hmmmmm....

 

I am much like you!!!

 

On my last cruise I bought Cheers and skipped the coffee bar...think I only got 1 maybe possibly 2 cappuccinos during the 8 day cruise...and I am sure I made out in the end!

 

I am not a huge drinker but on a cruise I tend to enjoy a couple of fun pooliside drinks (Miami Vice is my favorite by day), wine at dinner and then I would get top shelf martinis while out at night...I certainly wound up spending less with Cheers then if I paid per drink AND the best part was that it was an expenditure that I knew of up front & had budgeted for so there was no wondering or surprise at the end of the cruise.

 

Back home I went back to my specialty coffees but while on the ship I did not miss them after all! I intend to the same on my next cruise

[rdler]

I have posted this before and it may well be that Carnival is applying it's rules whimsically or according to whatever a particular ship or server believes are the rules. It wouldn't be the first time.

 

I have had Cheers on two ships one in late July and one in early October. Each time I had the Cheers Program. I could NOT buy buckets of beer. Over 20 minutes, I could buy 4 beers, but not at once, not in a bucket and no I could not offer to pay for the bucket. Buckets could not be purchased by Cheers participants. Nor could drinks for others. The 15 drink limit was indeed 15 drinks. One could not purchase a 16th drink.

 

Since I usually have a small suite and travel with a group of folks travelling in different rooms, I like to have gatherings in my room from time-to-time. I like to have a couple of buckets of beer available for my guests. The only way I have been able to do this is to purchase Cheers on Day 2. The first day, I buy a couple of buckets I just stash and keep on ice for impromptu get togethers.

 

This is kind of a pain, but Cheers is still worth it for me, but I can't even buy a virgin frozen drink for my son on my card without it counting (and having to wait 5 minutes before I can order my drink) toward my daily limit. Of course, I can't find the rule that justifies this, and I could just let my young son have charging privileges on his card, but Carnival really is what it is and it is kind of unreasonable to expect them to apply anything consistently or logically. Some things simply cannot be done, no matter how easy.

[42CruiseCrazy]

You seem to understand the rules well enough. And once you understand the rules it's easier to find ways to get around them.

 

 

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[rdler]

Cruise Crazy, I do think I understand the rules (at least on two different ships on two different weeks), but a number of people on this thread have been saying things that in no way jibe with my experiences. Once I've reached eight beers, I haven't been able to ask to pay for another beer and have it not count against my Cheers. I've never been able to thwart the thwart the 15 day limit, or for that matter order two drinks at once without having to wait 5 minutes (which isn't that long). Some bar tenders will, in fact, serve me two drinks at the same time, but make me wait to sign a second receipt 5 minutes later.

 

It's not a big deal, and as I've said, Cheers works for me.

[42CruiseCrazy]

You know better how the rules work than those of us who have only read about the program. I can understand the "one drink at a time" because sharing isn't allowed. I do not agree that you should be "forced" to used your allotment of 15 to "buy" non alcoholic drinks (for yourself or your kids) If you are willing to pay for additional non alcoholic drinks what is problem with that????

 

 

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[JaniceB]

I didn't think Virgin drinks counted toward your limit or maximum allowed.