Newbie here

[matttowne]

We are taking our first time cruise this October 30th on Carnival Victory. We are pretty savvy travelers for the most part but the pricing options on the "cheers" plan is a bit arcane and seems pretty expensive. We do drink but not a huge amount. Is this plan, which for the two of us is about $115/day (total). Unless drinks are $20 each without the plan, this seems pretty high. Any advise from you seasoned folks?

Matt

[SadieN]

General consensus is if you drink 6-8 drinks a day it's worth it.

 

 

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[NBlewett]

Well,

 

If you think you're going to each have less than 5 average prices drinks per day, and it doesn't make sense then I say skip it.

 

Most drinks I think are 8-12 bucks but can certainly be more expensive as you look into wines and top shelf liquor. So use that as a gauge to how much value you see in the Cheers program.

 

Best of Luck

[kylesplash]

We are taking our first time cruise this October 30th on Carnival Victory. We are pretty savvy travelers for the most part but the pricing options on the "cheers" plan is a bit arcane and seems pretty expensive. We do drink but not a huge amount. Is this plan, which for the two of us is about $115/day (total). Unless drinks are $20 each without the plan, this seems pretty high. Any advise from you seasoned folks?

Matt

 

I would say the average drink price is $8. If you start talking about name brand bottles, you might get in the $20 range. Don't forget Cheers! also includes not alcoholic drinks (fancy coffee, bottled water, energy drinks, soft drinks, sports drinks, milk shakes). One of the big points you will hear is the ease of not having to worry about how much money you are spending once you are onboard. Personally I like the option to drink things I normally wouldn't. Cheers! allows me to relax and have expensive drinks.

[Sixtytwo]

We have never bought the Cheers package. Just cannot make it profitable for us. We do enjoy our wine and cocktails, but never would we both hit the break even point on a cruise.

 

To help you decide, here is the Carnival bar menu. You can determine from the prices here whether or not it would be a good deal for you.

 

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

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic and to cruising! Good luck on your planning and preparing for the cruise! We enjoyed Victory when we sailed on her and had a great time!

[kt6453]

Does anyone have link to coffee menu with prices? Thank you!!

 

 

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[kylesplash]

Does anyone have link to coffee menu with prices? Thank you!!

 

 

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https://www.pinterest.com/pin/299207968970150120/?from_navigate=true

[smurfm69]

Another option to consider is ordering a bottle of alcohol from the Bon Voyage dept. They have 1 liter bottles that will be delivered to your room. You are allowed to bring a 12 pack of soda per person on board so you can make your own mixed drinks. The prices of these bottles are inflated of course but still a cheaper option than the cheers program.

[summersigh]

We are taking our first time cruise this October 30th on Carnival Victory. We are pretty savvy travelers for the most part but the pricing options on the "cheers" plan is a bit arcane and seems pretty expensive. We do drink but not a huge amount. Is this plan, which for the two of us is about $115/day (total). Unless drinks are $20 each without the plan, this seems pretty high. Any advise from you seasoned folks?

Matt

 

The most husband and I have are 4 drinks a day each so we never buy the cheers plan. We just put them on our room card as we go and let the credit card pay it at the end.

 

Note to newbies ... there's an automatic 15% gratuity added on your drink receipt so don't feel obligated to tip more unless you want to.

[AmberMarie]

We decided to try it for our upcoming five day cruise. What sold us was the addition of non alcoholic beverages. We will likely have an energy drink, a coffee, and water or two each day. We also will likely drink 5ish alc drinks per day as well. We are also going to use it as an opportunity to try new wines and martinis.

 

 

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[dacsmom]

Congratulations on booking your first cruise, and welcome to Cruise Critic. What makes Cheers worth it for me are the specialty coffees and other non alcoholic offerings. I do enjoy my frou-frou drinks too and Cheers gives me the opportunity to try drinks I have not had before. Sit down and realistically list what you would order on the ship and compare it to the price of the Cheers package. If it is close I will buy the Cheers package, if not I don't. Also, if it a port intensive cruise sometimes I will skip it because I will be off the ship for the most part of a day.

[TX Catty Cruiser]

Is it true that you can't use the Cheers package until the 1st full day of the cruise? Does non-achoholic drinks count towards the 15 drink limit?

[erinmarie424]

You might want to take a look at the drink menu prices (Google is your friend and look at the images) and see what you might be interested in throughout the day. If there's an Alchemy Bar those drinks are $10.50 each and very good. Will you have mimosas or bloody Marys in the morning? Pre-dinner cocktail and wine with dinner? Specialty coffees?

I tried unsuccessfully to get my friend to get cheers last year but she figured since she mostly likes vodka to order a bottle of that from BV. It ended up being a real pain for her to go back to the cabin when she wanted a refill and those icy drinks sure are good when you're laying out in the sun. When we cruised this year SHE was the one asking me if I wanted to do it. That doesn't mean it's right for everyone, just another thing to consider.

[dacsmom]

Is it true that you can't use the Cheers package until the 1st full day of the cruise? Does non-achoholic drinks count towards the 15 drink limit?

 

Only alcoholic drinks count towards the limit.

 

From the Carnival website:

Due to state laws, we cannot sell CHEERS! until the second day of the cruise for voyages departing from our Texas, Alabama and New York home ports.

[ChipFire]

I would say the average drink price is $8. If you start talking about name brand bottles, you might get in the $20 range. Don't forget Cheers! also includes not alcoholic drinks (fancy coffee, bottled water, energy drinks, soft drinks, sports drinks, milk shakes). One of the big points you will hear is the ease of not having to worry about how much money you are spending once you are onboard. Personally I like the option to drink things I normally wouldn't. Cheers! allows me to relax and have expensive drinks.

this will be your most accurate response EVER on hot days get the waters for mornings get the better coffees non or alcoholic and if you don't like what you ordered in 5 min. order something else .this will be my second cruise in 26 days(yeah us) and the first time I'm getting cheers but I plan to use and share to my limit for 8 days!!! have a great cruise