Justifying the Cheers! program

[brentconn]

My wife and I are very interested in the Cheers! Program. I am trying to wrap my head around this thing. The cost for both of us is $810. This is what I'm trying to figure out. Am I really going to drink 15 beers or cocktails per day? Am I going to drink $405 worth beers or drinks during the cruise? This is a 7 day cruise and we do like to drink but I don't think I have ever consumed 15 drinks in a day. Maybe 10. Are the drinks watered down? I keep reading where some of you reach your limit every night. Will everybody on the cruise be drinking me under the table? :p

[hendo13]

It is not the 15 drink per day that makes it worth it or not. It is worth it if you have 7 or more drinks per day and you also get to have soft drinks. Last year my bar bill fort the wife and I was 600.00 for a seven day cruise. I would have drank more by the pool if I had the Cheers package. So If you plan on getting hammered every day then it is definitely worth it but if your just having a good time either way it will cost you about the same., Carnival has got this figured out for the majority of the passengers and they will be making money. Remember they have all records of what people drink.

[thegoodlife247]

There is a breakdown somewhere on how many drinks it would take to break even. Typically only 6 drinks will break even to the $49 pp/pd price. Anything over that is bonus. We are drinkers and bought the cheers package on our last cruise. We definately came out ahead and were never "wasted". We like to have a few mimosa, bloody marry or vodka OJ in the morning. A few fruity drinks by the pool and beer, wine or other cocktails at dinner and after dinner. Hope this helps.

[Bill&Karen]

My wife and I are very interested in the Cheers! Program. I am trying to wrap my head around this thing. The cost for both of us is $810. This is what I'm trying to figure out. Am I really going to drink 15 beers or cocktails per day? Am I going to drink $405 worth beers or drinks during the cruise? This is a 7 day cruise and we do like to drink but I don't think I have ever consumed 15 drinks in a day. Maybe 10. Are the drinks watered down? I keep reading where some of you reach your limit every night. Will everybody on the cruise be drinking me under the table? :p

 

Here was our calculation the two times we participated in the program.

 

Its $810 for the 7 days.

 

- First off we deducted the price of "Bottomless Bubbles" as it is included in Cheers and we ALWAYS get the Soda Card. That runs $6 plus 15% per person per day, so $6.00 x 1.15 = $6.90 x 2 people = $13.80 x 7 days = $96.60

 

So we're down to $713.40 or $101.91 per day.

 

I drink Mai-tais ($8.75/$10.06 with gratuity) and Johnny Walker Black ($7.50/$8.63 with grat.), my wife drinks Daquiri's or other frozen fruity drinks (call it $7.25/$8.34 per) and a glass or two of wine (say $8.00/$9.20 each) with dinner.

 

If I have even two mai-tais throughout the day, a JW before dinner and one with dinner, then another drink of some type after dinner at a show, then I'm looking at a $47.44 bar bill for the day. My wife's, with similar consumption of her preferred drinks, will be $43.42. So we're talking, at a minimum, about a $90.86 per day as a bar tab, or about $10 cheaper than the Cheers cost, and with only five drinks each, we've hardly made a dent in the 15 per day limit.

 

And most days we're at least a drink or two over the minimum, on sea days we're usually 2-3 drinks over the minimum. Additionally, the Mai-tais each give me a $5 match play coupon for the Craps table in the Casino, each of which statistically averages out to $2.50 in cash won.

 

Economically, Cheers was cheaper for us the two times we used it than ordering drinks a la cart would have been. Plus, for us there was the peace of mind that came from knowing what the final S&S bill would be and the psychological freedom to order something we've never tried before without worrying about "wasting" $7-$10 if we didn't like it.

[mrsfuzzmo]

We purchased it on our RCCL cruise last May. It was WELL worth it. 15 drinks (maybe if you only drink the beer of the day "special"). Cocktails are going to run $8-$12 or so. We enjoyed Martinis before dinner at $12/ea so two of those is half the days cost right there.

 

RCCL has a less strict policy, though. It is unlimited drinks and there are only a very few that you cannot have (special liquors and some expensive champagnes for example). I know on CCL you are limited to the less expensive drinks and to 15 per day, but even at that, you're still looking at about $7-$8 a drink, which if you have a couple of those during the day around the pool, a glass of wine at dinner and a few drinks after dinner in the piano bar or casino....you're way ahead of the game.

 

I'm sad on the Imagination (my next quickie cruise) that they don't offer it.

[4merlurker]

DD (newly 21) and her DBF (23) were considering it on our upcoming cruise. After talking with them they realized they probably wouldn't even be able to drink the minimum amount of drinks EVERY day to break even. I told them to put the $900 aside and pay for the drinks ala carte...This way if they drank $900 worth of drinks great......if not they didn't overpay carnival. :cool:

 

DH and I will do the same thing...........Although on our last cruise we came close with a bar bill of almost $700! :eek: It was a GOOOOOOD cruise LOL!

 

~C

[cruisefirsttimer24]

I have been debating this option for some time. 5 days would be $287, I drink pretty much beer and will be spending time off the boat (senor frogs in Nassau, kayak in freeport, day at hmc).

The only positive would be that I wouldn't have the many charges on my S&S card for my drinks. Also the wife wouldn't know how much I had drank.

I think I am passing on it this time but will keep me statement from the cruise to compare to see if it would have been worth it in the long run.

 

 

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[skittl1321]

Are the drinks watered down?

 

No. I've found the drinks to be on the stronger side most of the time.

[runner15km]

I did the math for a 7 day cruise and we would never break even. We order a bottle of Vodka for our cabin (75.00) and it comes with 6 cans of mixers. We carryon 2 bottles of wine and 6 cans of soda. Maybe order 2 drinks a day from the bar. Our total is around 250.00 for the week.

[Laurie S.]

We're getting it on our next cruise, but I'm debating about buying it the first day. We're eating in the steakhouse the first night, so we get a bottle of wine. I won't drink much before dinner, and probably will be too full afterwards for more than one drink, so I doubt that I would make the minimum five drinks the first day to break even. My fiance probably can do it, however, so I'm not certain. I do want to get it so I can try a lot of drinks I wouldn't otherwise. This way, if I don't like it, I'll hand it back and five minutes later order something else. :)

[cruizinisthebest]

There’s no way I would do it if we both had to pay for it. DH doesn’t drink and even if he did, we wouldn’t get close to our daily limits. I do plan on getting it for myself only for our cruise next year. Thankfully I can do this since we book two rooms when the kids come along. When it’s just the two of us, no way.

[CruiseGirl3434]

Are the drinks of the day included in the cheers program?

[cruizinisthebest]

Are the drinks of the day included in the cheers program?

 

Yes. Just not I the souvenir glass.

 

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[taszmom]

We found that we saved $$. Everyone is different. If you are only drinking beer, not worth it. If you like your drinks stronger, you can ask for a shot in 5 minutes and add it in. We only got 14 drinks on one of the sea days. I always got the best wine by the glass for under $10. You can also try drinks and/or wines you may not have otherwise. Here is just a sample of what we did :

A.M. Bloody Mary $10

3 drinks poolside @ $8 ea

Pre-dinner wine/martini $9

Wine at Dinner $9 (2-3 glasses)

After dinner drink $9

9 drinks for a total $79 for the day.

 

If you purchase it, wait until after the ship is out to see otherwise they charge you state sales tax. FL = 6%.

[Lovefuninthesun]

.

 

If you purchase it, wait until after the ship is out to see otherwise they charge you state sales tax. FL = 6%.[/quote]

 

 

 

 

 

Clarification -- I am pretty sure that is only for those drinks ordered while still in Florida, not on the entire package cost

Edited November 4, 2013 by Lovefuninthesun

[Lovefuninthesun]

For our upcoming Legend cruise, I am trying to approach this scientifically (I know, too much free time on my hands :o)

 

I have calculated and recalculated our anticipated alcohol consumption, both low-ball and drink-like-a-fish scenarios. We drink cocktails and wine, so according to my calculations, all we have to average is 6 drinks per person/per day to break even, and I think we can do that!;)

 

Then when I consider that soda is included, factor in the ability to be more daring in trying new drinks, and figure that we will save the $18 on the martini tasting (we can just order them and do our own taste test!)then I think we are going to try it! GooooooTeam! It will be my Science Project!:D

[Swayde]

We just did an 8-Day cruise and purchased Cheers for our first time. We did manage to drink plenty enough to get our money's worth.

 

HOWEVER.... we would not buy it again. I rarely drink and my husband doesn't drink much. But we thought it would be a fun, relaxing way to spend vacation, try new drinks, and since we planned to stay on board for port days, we knew we could get our money's worth.

 

I have no actual complaints about the program. The crew treated us quite well. Many memorized our card numbers and we were given free samples of some drinks, and extra shots poured in our drinks occasionally. It was fun, but there were days when I just didn't want to drink, but felt I had to or I'd be wasting my money and I hate to waste money.

 

We did hit our 15 drink limit on 2 of the 8 days. That required drinking all day at a steady pace and I primarily had to drink wine, Moscato specifically, to avoid being drunk or getting sick, but still working on my limit.

 

In the future we will just pay for drinks a la carte when we feel like drinking and save ourselves quite a bit of money. I was so full from drinking on most days that I couldn't truly even enjoy my meals. Which is a shame, because I definitely prefer to eat and savor my calories than to drink them. I love food lol. Oh and make sure you bring plenty of antacid! We were experiencing bad indigestion, as were other people who were on Cheers with us, from the large amount of alcohol. And I am a person who rarely, maybe twice a year, gets indigestion.

 

A typical day for me was ginger ale in the morning, starting around noon I switched to frozen drinks, daiquiris mainly. I'd have a melon crush martini before dinner. Moscato with dinner (3-4 glasses), chocolate martini after dinner, and then depending how I felt and what the plan was either Moscato for the rest of the night or Sex on the Beach (Stage) if I was feeling like a bit of partying. Averaged about 9-10 drinks per day. Normally on a cruise I average 1-2 drinks per day, maybe even less.

[cruizinisthebest]

For our upcoming Legend cruise, I am trying to approach this scientifically (I know, too much free time on my hands :o)

 

I have calculated and recalculated our anticipated alcohol consumption, both low-ball and drink-like-a-fish scenarios. We drink cocktails and wine, so according to my calculations, all we have to average is 6 drinks per person/per day to break even, and I think we can do that!;)

 

Then when I consider that soda is included, factor in the ability to be more daring in trying new drinks, and figure that we will save the $18 on the martini tasting (we can just order them and do our own taste test!)then I think we are going to try it! GooooooTeam! It will be my Science Project!:D

 

 

You and I must think alike, because I made a spreadsheet for every possible expense I could think of. Cheers included. I too figured I only need to get 6 or 7 drinks to make it worth it. Oh and I’ll see to it that I get them too:D. Plus I do like the idea of just being able to order from the bar knowing whatever I order is paid for. I can definitely pick something $10 or less each time.

[Swayde]

We found that we saved $$. Everyone is different. If you are only drinking beer, not worth it. If you like your drinks stronger, you can ask for a shot in 5 minutes and add it in. We only got 14 drinks on one of the sea days. I always got the best wine by the glass for under $10. You can also try drinks and/or wines you may not have otherwise. Here is just a sample of what we did :

A.M. Bloody Mary $10

3 drinks poolside @ $8 ea

Pre-dinner wine/martini $9

Wine at Dinner $9 (2-3 glasses)

After dinner drink $9

9 drinks for a total $79 for the day.

 

If you purchase it, wait until after the ship is out to see otherwise they charge you state sales tax. FL = 6%.

 

 

You never have to pay tax on the program. We purchased ours as soon as we boarded the ship while in port in Tampa, Florida. No Tax was charged. Only the daily per person amount, plus gratuities. We did have to pay tax on each drink we had while in port, but everyone has to do that.

[Lovefuninthesun]

You and I must think alike, because I made a spreadsheet for every possible expense I could think of. Cheers included. I too figured I only need to get 6 or 7 drinks to make it worth it. Oh and I’ll see to it that I get them too:D. Plus I do like the idea of just being able to order from the bar knowing whatever I order is paid for. I can definitely pick something $10 or less each time.

 

Hahaha -- we are two nerdy peas in a pod! (I love Excel!)

BTW -- I also made a spread sheet for my packing list :D

[cruizinisthebest]

Hahaha -- we are two nerdy peas in a pod! (I love Excel!)

BTW -- I also made a spread sheet for my packing list :D

 

 

Ha ha!! I do that too a little closer to sailing. I also have a spreadsheet with all of our pre cruise expenses. I love the planning just as much as the trip itself.

[Colorado Kat]

I would try the Cheers program, but I usually travel with my 21 year old daughters. Needing to buy it for everyone in a cabin does not make sense for us. One daughter does not like the taste of alcohol, and the other cannot drink for medical reasons.

 

Maybe I'll try it sometime when I'm travelling alone.

[2013LibertyCruiser]

I would try the Cheers program, but I usually travel with my 21 year old daughters. Needing to buy it for everyone in a cabin does not make sense for us. One daughter does not like the taste of alcohol, and the other cannot drink for medical reasons.

 

Maybe I'll try it sometime when I'm travelling alone.

 

Plural? So they're twins?? With all inventive cocktails on board, a cruise ship seems to be an apt place to definitely find a type of alcohol/drink to enjoy.

 

 

My plan is to get the program the second day of my upcoming 7-day cruise....which would make it about $300 or so for the week, which I'm fine with. A few drinks in the morning, a few in the afternoon, some with dinner and some at night shouldn't be a problem. (I'm young-ish. :cool: )

[stacyrk99]

I've been trying to decide on the Cheers program as well for our 7 day Alaska cruise. My DH only drinks beer and I like some of everything but typically stick to one thing per day. I have learned that I shouldn't mix. But I am not a heavy drinker. My last 3 cruises were charter cruises with my girlfriends and that's almost all we did all day but we won't be doing that on this cruise. Then when I factor in our 3 port days we won't be drinking most of the day. So I'm worried that it won't be worth it. I am the type of person who would drink even if I didn't want to because I've already paid for it. But it would be nice to know what my bill will be for drinks t the end. I am caught in the middle and have no clue what to do. I would be upset if we bought it and didn't at least break even but I would also be upset if we didn't buy it and ended up with a $1000 alcohol bill. Oh the decisions!

[michelle1836]

My wife and I are very interested in the Cheers! Program. I am trying to wrap my head around this thing. The cost for both of us is $810. This is what I'm trying to figure out. Am I really going to drink 15 beers or cocktails per day? Am I going to drink $405 worth beers or drinks during the cruise? This is a 7 day cruise and we do like to drink but I don't think I have ever consumed 15 drinks in a day. Maybe 10. Are the drinks watered down? I keep reading where some of you reach your limit every night. Will everybody on the cruise be drinking me under the table? :p

 

really want to try the Cheers program but having some difficulty justifying it. may give it a try on our 5 day on the Fantasy