Do you drink all 15 drinks in the Cheers Program?

[livinginyellow]

Hi! Carnival newbie here. RCI veteran who lives close to Norfolk and wants to do a surprise for my BF's birthday on Halloween. Was thinking about trying out Carnival by taking the Sunshine out of Norfolk for a 6 day Bahamian trip.

 

My biggest concern is Cheers program. While I'm not saying I take a cruise to get drunk, I'm nervous about being cut off when I like to sample wines and beers throughout the day (something in the morning, a few in the afternoon, wine with dinner and then a few after dinner...with the amount of food you eat on a cruise, it's actually not hard to stay sober with that schedule) Has anyone had this experience? Or do you feel like all 15 drinks was a do-able thing?

[winddawn]

Hi! Carnival newbie here. RCI veteran who lives close to Norfolk and wants to do a surprise for my BF's birthday on Halloween. Was thinking about trying out Carnival by taking the Sunshine out of Norfolk for a 6 day Bahamian trip.

 

My biggest concern is Cheers program. While I'm not saying I take a cruise to get drunk, I'm nervous about being cut off when I like to sample wines and beers throughout the day (something in the morning, a few in the afternoon, wine with dinner and then a few after dinner...with the amount of food you eat on a cruise, it's actually not hard to stay sober with that schedule) Has anyone had this experience? Or do you feel like all 15 drinks was a do-able thing?

I agree about mixing all the food with the drinks. It does help keep you sober. I've never reached the 15 Cheers drink limit. But I guess that is a personal thing. Some people do reach the limit. If you think you might, try ordering a bottle of something from the Fun Shops online prior to your cruise to enjoy on the ship. You could each carry on a bottle of wine too.

 

Have a great cruise.

[JLee1973]

The closest I have come is 13.

[drosphot]

We did hit 15 a couple of days on a 7 day.

We order a lot from the Fun Shops, too, so the end goal is to not have any high priced Fun Shops booze left and still maximize Cheers usage. It's a challenge!

[skywalkr2]

I got Cheers ONCE. It felt like a job getting even 10 drinks.

[MarcelLucSell]

We hit 15 a few times on an 8 day.

We would ask the bartenders how close we were in the evening and plan accordingly so we weren't taken by surprise.

 

On some of the Port Days we'd hit 7-8.

 

We'd have a few wines with dinner, Bailey's and coffee with desert, a few martinis at the show, comedian, and Piano bar. Some cold drinks by the pool.

Pre-dinner drinks at lobby bar & Alchemy.

 

It was pretty easy to hit 15.

[CAnative1]

I didnt purchase cheers on my cruise because it would not be cost effective for me (I can put them away, but DW only has an occasional drink).

 

Anyhow, as a beer drinker, I can see myself hitting the limit very easily if I had the program and wanted to. On my last cruise I put away 6 beers without even swerving back to my stateroom in a matter of just a couple of hours that we would be at the club (we had our DS with his grandma in another stateroom so we would not be out too late). But I guess it would all be a matter of how you handle your liquor and what your poison is.

[jcearth]

My father, brother, and I hit 15 a few times last year on a 7 day (my brother hit it every day, I think). The one night we were playing in the casino and we had the casino manager by us rounds after we maxed Cheers out. I believe that I averaged around 12 or 13 per day.

[kimmielou2000]

I was wondering the same if they cut you off after 15 drinks. So I sent Carnival an e-mail asking them and my reply was it was at the discretion of the bartender. I guess if your not falling down drunk they will continue to serve you.

:)

[cruisingbandmom]

On sea days, we would come close but never hit 15. One way to avoid this is to have them give you a beer or hard cider unopened. Save it for later. They wanted to argue with me saying that they couldn't do this but I marched down to guest services and told them I wanted a full refund. I explained that I like to have a drink on my balcony at night and didn't want to have to go to a bar and have it get spilled before I reached my room. They said they restrict this to prevent people from selling/sharing cheers. They contacted the bartenders and allowed me to do this every evening. Of course some of those were chilled and taken out to the beach with me.

 

Cheers!

[katiel53]

I was wondering the same if they cut you off after 15 drinks. So I sent Carnival an e-mail asking them and my reply was it was at the discretion of the bartender. I guess if your not falling down drunk they will continue to serve you.

:)

 

My husband and I had Cheers on Liberty and we averaged 7-8 drinks per day. We had it in September when the price was $37.50 a day so we did a bit better than break even.

 

Most of our drinks were at night in the casino bar. I personally saw several people who had maxed out their 15 try to get another drink, but the bartenders said the S&S card wouldn't work after the 15th. I don't know if it was just the ship we sailed or if Carnival overall stops the card at 15.

 

We only used Cheers once, so maybe it is different on other ships, but I have to say the ones I saw asking for another drink weren't drunk, maybe more experienced drinkers than we were.

 

I have heard that if you use the same bartender often, he/she may tell you you are near your limit and if you want to pay for additional drinks, not use the Cheers program, you can do so.

 

Somehow, I don't think Carnival is going to allow anyone to go above the 15 drinks using Cheers, even though I have heard that is supposed to be their policy. Just take a look at the other threads and you will see what I posted is true.

 

 

If you find out otherwise, please post on here so we will know.

[Podna's]

I was wondering the same if they cut you off after 15 drinks. So I sent Carnival an e-mail asking them and my reply was it was at the discretion of the bartender. I guess if your not falling down drunk they will continue to serve you.

 

:)

 

 

They gave you bad information. After 15 you will be cut off. Your card will be denied until 6am on the following morning.

[splash_in_the_water]

last year we had cheers on a 7 day. I think we hit it once or twice. It's not all that hard to do on a sea day really. Port days was a little tougher, especially if you're in port for a good part of the day.

 

The first couple nights the bartender at the rear lido bar was reluctant to give us unopened drinks, and we had to wait 15 minutes between each drink. After a couple nights they'd give them to us without much fuss... we didn't do anything fishy with them, just saved them for the next day and put them on ice in our room.

 

You don't have to stop at 15 though, that's just what you get on cheers...after that you can buy whatever you want.

 

edit: oh...maybe they will cut you off? I've seen different info posted here and there. I can drink a 12 pack of beer in an evening (like from 6-1 a.m.) or so 15 during the day isn't too difficult....Especially if buying fruity drinks, or smaller drinks from the alchemy bar or something..

Edited April 16, 2015 by splash_in_the_water

[blarko]

I purchased Cheers on my 8 day Liberty cruise (September 13 sailing) at the 37.50 price. We had three sea days and I certainly thought I'd come out ahead buying Cheers. The most I drank in one day was 7 drinks and that was only one day. No way did I come anywhere near fifteen drinks, nor did I want to. Quite honestly, by about the fourth or fifth day of the cruise, I didn't even feel like drinking that much anymore, but I did because I felt like I had to at least break even. I was able to try drinks that I wouldn't have otherwise tried. I'm glad I tried the Cheers program when it was the lower price, but I don't think I'd do it again.

Edited April 16, 2015 by blarko

[DJW8385]

I'm thinking abt get the CHEERS on my my cruise on the Breeze next year

[PARTYCOUPLE21]

I usually don't drink much at home but on our cruises I hit the 15 everyday...no I'm not a drunken mess!!! The bartenders let you know when your around 12-13 drinks IF your not hammered at this point start buying your drinks!!! Do not hit 15 your cut off even spoke to bar manager nothing they can do!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[evanAction]

Hi! Carnival newbie here. RCI veteran who lives close to Norfolk and wants to do a surprise for my BF's birthday on Halloween. Was thinking about trying out Carnival by taking the Sunshine out of Norfolk for a 6 day Bahamian trip.

 

 

 

My biggest concern is Cheers program. While I'm not saying I take a cruise to get drunk, I'm nervous about being cut off when I like to sample wines and beers throughout the day (something in the morning, a few in the afternoon, wine with dinner and then a few after dinner...with the amount of food you eat on a cruise, it's actually not hard to stay sober with that schedule) Has anyone had this experience? Or do you feel like all 15 drinks was a do-able thing?

 

 

Definitely a doable thing. And a must. Anything else is failure :)

 

On sea days my wife and I would hit #15 between 9-10pm. Kind of a buzz kill :) port days was a struggle, but your favorite bar tender may cheer ya on :)

 

FYI you can buy a bucket of beer during the day outside of the cheers package and it won't count against your 15.

 

If you're cruising with friends or if you meet ship friends that do not have cheers you can always kick them some cash and have them buy a couple more for you if you are "ok" to keep drinking at that point.

[elsbarre]

I'm still trying to decide. Do you have to purchase on day one? We think we want to do it so that we don't have a surprise bar tab or have to worry about limiting. We bought 2k in Verizon gift cards and we are only doing that and gambling lol

[evanAction]

I'm still trying to decide. Do you have to purchase on day one? We think we want to do it so that we don't have a surprise bar tab or have to worry about limiting. We bought 2k in Verizon gift cards and we are only doing that and gambling lol

 

 

It's nice to not have to worry about the bar tab at the end....however you may find yourself tipping and extra buck or two per drink. On our first cruise, Freedom 6-day in 2014, we consumed 157 drinks between the two of us, which added up to an extra $225 in tips. YMMV

 

Some cruises allow you to purchase on day 2, you may need to read the FAQ on carnival.com to figure that out, or just ask when you get on the ship.

[flips7]

We just got off the Conquest and my DW and I had cheers and we technically never hit 15. We used the same server at the pool deck and tipped him extra so he did not put all our drinks on. We counted the one day and we counted 12 drinks each by the pool and we asked our server and he said we only had 9 each. This was from 10AM till 6PM by the way, so we were not real drunk just feeling good.

[mbpd312]

What happens if my wife only drinks 10, can she keep buying me drinks with her remaining 5?

[volmoma]

My husband and I, for our last 7 or 8 cruises, have purchased the cheers program. And yes we do hit 15 drinks. 7 day cruise we normally hit 15 at least 5 days. It's well worth the money for us...leaving in 20 days on the Valor!!!! [emoji267][emoji267]

[volmoma]

What happens if my wife only drinks 10, can she keep buying me drinks with her remaining 5?

 

 

Not according to the rules of the Cheers program. BUT if you do it discreetly, yes. You both buy a drink, drink most of yours, swap glasses with each other...she orders another....swap out....you get the ideal, waiters think your wife is awesome because of the alcohol she has consumed and can still walk straight!!! LOL Good luck....[emoji484][emoji484][emoji484][emoji484][emoji484][emoji484][emoji484][emoji484][emoji484]

[mbpd312]

Not according to the rules of the Cheers program. BUT if you do it discreetly, yes. You both buy a drink, drink most of yours, swap glasses with each other...she orders another....swap out....you get the ideal, waiters think your wife is awesome because of the alcohol she has consumed and can still walk straight!!! LOL Good luck....[emoji484][emoji484][emoji484][emoji484][emoji484][emoji484][emoji484][emoji484][emoji484]

 

 

Thanks Volmama. I'm guessing she won't max out. It would be nice to lean on hers a little bit so I have a few left for late night casino play.

[gtaylor]

last year we had cheers on a 7 day. I think we hit it once or twice. It's not all that hard to do on a sea day really. Port days was a little tougher, especially if you're in port for a good part of the day.

 

The first couple nights the bartender at the rear lido bar was reluctant to give us unopened drinks, and we had to wait 15 minutes between each drink. After a couple nights they'd give them to us without much fuss... we didn't do anything fishy with them, just saved them for the next day and put them on ice in our room.

 

You don't have to stop at 15 though, that's just what you get on cheers...after that you can buy whatever you want.

 

edit: oh...maybe they will cut you off? I've seen different info posted here and there. I can drink a 12 pack of beer in an evening (like from 6-1 a.m.) or so 15 during the day isn't too difficult....Especially if buying fruity drinks, or smaller drinks from the alchemy bar or something..

 

I believe that the different info here is correct when you read that they will cut you off.

 

There are posted strategies to avoid that, but on your card when you hit 15 I believe that it is over until 6:00 AM.

 

gary