To purchase the drink package or not?

[moschele]

Hi,

 

I am cruising in about a month. My best friend and I are on the fence about getting the drink package or not. While it would be nice to not have to worry about prices of drinks if we do get the package, we want to make sure it is the right decision financially. Can anyone tell me how much an average alcoholic drink costs? We both enjoy "fruity drinks and cocktails". Currently the price of the package is $49/day.

[hdowney]

I'm in two minds as well. On one hand the drink package gives you access to a wealth of drinks besides alcoholic ones - most of which you'd have to PAYG if you didn't have the pack, so that's a major plus. On the other hand though, there is the 15 alcoholic drinks per 24hrs limit. I question wether or not this is going to work for me (I sound like an alco!!!). I would drink a few with dinner easy, and 1 or 2 with lunch depending on when and where and what etc. Then there is poolside drinks and entertainment/casino drinks etc. So I guess I am trying to work out when I'd want alcohol and when soda/water/lemonade/ice tea/virgin cocktails would work etc!

[volmoma]

You need to drink at least 8-10 beers a day or 6-7 mixed/ frozen drinks to break even. Cokes are I believe around $2. Specialty coffees there's a charge for, don't drink coffee so not sure of the price. Milkshakes are offered on some ships and there's a charge for those. BUT only alcoholic drinks are charged toward your 15 drink limit. This 15 drink limit is from 6am to 6am and then it starts over. There are post on here that have the drink menus with a lot more prices. It is nice to not have to keep thinking about what your spending. My DH and I have purchased it since it has been offered and would never do it any other way.

 

 

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[Bookbug53]

Hi,

 

I am cruising in about a month. My best friend and I are on the fence about getting the drink package or not. While it would be nice to not have to worry about prices of drinks if we do get the package, we want to make sure it is the right decision financially. Can anyone tell me how much an average alcoholic drink costs? We both enjoy "fruity drinks and cocktails". Currently the price of the package is $49/day.

 

Keep in mind that it is not just the alcoholic drinks anymore but also sodas, specialty coffees, energy drinks, vitamin waters, bottled water, and more.

 

Each one of these can add to your bill.

 

The average bar drink might be $5-$9. Beers a bit on the lower end. These are not 'top shelf' brands. The Cheers package allows you to choose drinks up to $50 in price!

 

Think yourself through a typical day for yourself and what you can imagine yourself buying and find a 'break even point'. That is the best way to decide.

 

Keep in mind that if you buy any beverages a la carte you will be paying a 15% gratuity for each one. When you purchase Cheers you pay a 15% up front for the whole package. May sound like the same but believe me it can add up to much more over the course of 7 days.

 

There is the 15 drink limit. Fine for me, does it work for you? Non-alcoholic drinks do not count towards you total.

[volmoma]

I'm in two minds as well. On one hand the drink package gives you access to a wealth of drinks besides alcoholic ones - most of which you'd have to PAYG if you didn't have the pack, so that's a major plus. On the other hand though, there is the 15 alcoholic drinks per 24hrs limit. I question wether or not this is going to work for me (I sound like an alco!!!). I would drink a few with dinner easy, and 1 or 2 with lunch depending on when and where and what etc. Then there is poolside drinks and entertainment/casino drinks etc. So I guess I am trying to work out when I'd want alcohol and when soda/water/lemonade/ice tea/virgin cocktails would work etc!

 

 

Haha, no you don't sound like a alcoholic. My DH and I have hit 15 several days so don't feel bad. We're all on vacation so ENJOY. BE HAPPY DON'T WORRY!

 

 

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[xbatt8]

Most of your basic well drinks start at about $7.50. Frozen fruity drinks go $8-$10.

 

BUT, that shouldn't be your only determiner... You also get sodas, bottled water, specialty coffees, milkshakes, etc.. So if you would normally bring on sodas, leave them at home. Buy water bottles for your cabin? Don't bother. Lug heavy bottles of wine onboard? Forget about it. Buy a coffee card to save a little on your morning specialty coffee? Nope, no need.

 

You also get to experiment on drinks that you always wanted to try but didn't want to spend money on. Appletinis look good, but you're afraid to waste the money on something you'll hate? Go ahead and try it. If you hate it, dump it.

 

I'm not saying that Cheers should be bought if you plan to have 2-3 drinks per day. BUT, if you are close to the break even point, not necessarily over it, there are advantages beyond just the cost of drinks.

 

On my last cruise, my roommate and I ordered Cheers. I was just barely at break even on a couple of days, and below it on some. But I'm still glad I did it... For all the reasons I mention above. My buddy was WAY over break even as he hit his 15 every day (some days by dinner time... :D).

 

Bob

[volmoma]

Keep in mind that it is not just the alcoholic drinks anymore but also sodas, specialty coffees, energy drinks, vitamin waters, bottled water, and more.

 

Each one of these can add to your bill.

 

The average bar drink might be $5-$9. Beers a bit on the lower end. These are not 'top shelf' brands. The Cheers package allows you to choose drinks up to $50 in price!

 

Think yourself through a typical day for yourself and what you can imagine yourself buying and find a 'break even point'. That is the best way to decide.

 

Keep in mind that if you buy any beverages a la carte you will be paying a 15% gratuity for each one. When you purchase Cheers you pay a 15% up front for the whole package. May sound like the same but believe me it can add up to much more over the course of 7 days.

 

There is the 15 drink limit. Fine for me, does it work for you? Non-alcoholic drinks do not count towards you total.

 

 

More pros for the Cheers card. [emoji41]

 

 

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[Pom Lover]

The fruity drinks and cocktails start at approximately $9 and go up from there. You can request top shelf liquor which will increase the price. In addition to alcohol all other beverages are included which is what sold it for us. Specialty coffee (with or without alcohol), milkshakes, soda, energy drinks, and bottled water are all now included. There is a $50 per drink limit but since Carnival doesn't sell a $50 drink that doesn't really come into play.

[pusywillow]

 

Keep in mind that if you buy any beverages a la carte you will be paying a 15% gratuity for each one. When you purchase Cheers you pay a 15% up front for the whole package. May sound like the same but believe me it can add up to much more over the course of 7 days.

 

Please explain that to me. Maybe I am mathematically challenged.

[Pom Lover]

Please explain that to me. Maybe I am mathematically challenged.

 

I took it to mean that on the Cheers package you're only paying 15% of the $49 per day price but if you pay individually and you drink more than the $49 cost the 15% ends up being more as well.

[Bookbug53]

Please explain that to me. Maybe I am mathematically challenged.

 

I meant the gratuity purchasing the Cheers package is a set amount. If you purchase more drinks a la carte than the break even point you may possibly spend a lot more money on tips over all depending on the price of said drinks.

 

Sorry I am not inclined to actually run math problems based on an individuals drinks on a 7 day cruise with Cheers vs a la carte.

[VASOXFANN]

For us, it depends of the itinerary and what we plan to do in port.

 

For our Miracle cruise, we haven't been to any of the ports, and we plan to be off the ship all day each port day. Even though there are 3 sea days, the loss of those port days renders CHEERS not worth it to us.

 

We are also taking a cruise on RC over Thanksgiving. We have been to all of the ports, and we'll be in an inside cabin. Since we don't have any plans for the port days (we'll probably just stay on the ship) and RC's drink package applies to their private island :D it was worth it to us for that cruise.

 

We do this type of analysis for each of our cruises.

[pusywillow]

I meant the gratuity purchasing the Cheers package is a set amount. If you purchase more drinks a la carte than the break even point you may possibly spend a lot more money on tips over all depending on the price of said drinks.

 

Sorry I am not inclined to actually run math problems based on an individuals drinks on a 7 day cruise with Cheers vs a la carte.

 

Thanks for clearing that up for me. I never imagined going over the 15 drink limit when you have Cheers, but now I understand some people may.

[blainesterrr]

I leave in 6 days and have decided to buy Cheers with my best friend. We are heavy drinkers and I'm afraid we will hit our 15 drink limit. Think I'll smuggle some liquor to pour into some virgin frozen drinks [emoji484] [emoji23]

[bigdog1958]

I leave in 6 days and have decided to buy Cheers with my best friend. We are heavy drinkers and I'm afraid we will hit our 15 drink limit. Think I'll smuggle some liquor to pour into some virgin frozen drinks [emoji484] [emoji23]

 

If you like beer, you can get fosters oil cans which are 25 Oz and they only count as one drink, so they can last awhile.

[FaithfulRaider]

Just off the Breeze where we had Cheers. So worth it even if you don't drink 15/day.

 

- Frozen premium drinks (ie frozen margaritas with patron) are $10.95. They go down smooth! I did a couple a day without trying at all! One night we watched a dive in chick flick movie and I had 4 during the show and 1 one heading back to the room!

 

- Wine at dinner. Every night in the MDR we brought a glass then had 2-3 more during our meal. Wine is 9-12 a glass.

 

- Mimosas at breakfast. 8 each. It's a nice way to start the day! We ate breakfast or brunch every day.

 

-Coffee/energy drinks. Every morning I got a $5 (!) Energy drink and my wife got specialty coffee at the coffee bar.

 

-Champagne in the Steakhouse. I had 3 glasses of the $20/glass champagne on the night we ate there. Mmm... Our bar tab for dinner was more than the cost of dinner itself!

 

- Water/sodas. We didn't realize this at first but you can get a nonalcoholic drink at the same time as an alcoholic drink! They aren't on the same 5 min rule. Get used to saying "and a bottle of water" whenever you order a drink and stick them in your room fridge. It's nice having bottled water whenever you want it! We also took bottles of water with us on our port days which was nice.

 

- Milkshakes. Wow these are good! I stayed away as often as I could because I'm sure they are like 9000 calories but mmm delish!

 

No way would I not include cheers in a future cruise. The break even point is so low now with the new changes, and the added perks are really great. I'm positive I "broke even" before we hit our first port!

[ray98]

It always works out for us. $7-$10+ drinks add up quickly. With the expanded program I would get there with as little as 3 drinks. Plus, being able to try whatever without worrying about price adds value for me.

Edited September 11, 2016 by ray98

[travis0806]

Worked out great for me on RCI.

 

 

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[Luke gs Daddy]

 

It states up to $50.00 per drink.

What drink costs 50 bux? I want to try one of those.

:D

[southbayer]

Its very easy to figure out...

 

First, find a thread on here that will give you the most current price list of drinks.

 

Then you break out your calculator and find the drinks you would purchase for your cruise... Get that price, add 15% gratuity on top of that, then you have your actual cost per drink. Then you figure out what would be your minimal per day drinks you would consume... So if you have a drink that comes out to $9.50 and if you drink like 7 of those per day, so 7 drinks x $9.50 per day,is $66.50 per day. So if your cruise is 5 days long, so 5 days times $66.50 is $332.50, then you find out the total price of Cheers for your cruise say $316.00, then you would end up even.

 

What I do is I figure out what I drink a day minimally, so I can leave myself a cushion... So so many of these, so many of those, and that ... add them up on a daily basis, and voilla, I have figured out if it was worth it or not..

 

I know I prolly made this more confusing than it should be, maybe someone could clean it up and revise it for me, LOL

Hi,

 

I am cruising in about a month. My best friend and I are on the fence about getting the drink package or not. While it would be nice to not have to worry about prices of drinks if we do get the package, we want to make sure it is the right decision financially. Can anyone tell me how much an average alcoholic drink costs? We both enjoy "fruity drinks and cocktails". Currently the price of the package is $49/day.

[Bookbug53]

 

It states up to $50.00 per drink.

What drink costs 50 bux? I want to try one of those.

:D

 

 

My understanding is go to the steak house bar. They have some cognacs and brandies that are fairly pricey.

 

Haven't cruised yet with the new $50 tag but will be trying it out come October 1! :)

[Vigorosity]

The cheers worked out so wonderfully on our last cruise! It was so, so nice not worrying about the cost of a drink every single time (you just sign a check for $0.00...instead of $9-10)

 

Every morning I would get into the hot tub before breakfast and my favorite server would bring me a mimosa without even asking. Maybe another two with breakfast. A frozen drink or two by the pool. Wine with dinner. A martini after dinner...and the rest at the casino or at the nightclub.

 

I'm so excited that powerades and nice coffee is included for my cruise in November...not so excited that Cheers isn't available the first night out of Mobile. I definitely hit the 15 drink limit on my first night of my last cruise!

[riclop]

Hi,

 

I am cruising in about a month. My best friend and I are on the fence about getting the drink package or not. While it would be nice to not have to worry about prices of drinks if we do get the package, we want to make sure it is the right decision financially. Can anyone tell me how much an average alcoholic drink costs? We both enjoy "fruity drinks and cocktails". Currently the price of the package is $49/day.

 

Only you can answer that.

[Joyfilledyaya]

My husband and I primarily drink beer. We would have spent about 700.00 extra for the drink package but with the bucket beer 4 in a bucket, we bought 2 a day most and a couple of other drinks here and there. Our tab could not have been over 300.00. Net savings at least 400.00.

 

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[easyboy]

If you like beer, you can get fosters oil cans which are 25 Oz and they only count as one drink, so they can last awhile.

Yup, that's what I drink. I get a bonus.:)