Which way would you drink?

[dad son team]

I am debating purchasing the Cheers package for the first time but I'm not sure it's worth it for me. Normally I have a couple drinks a day but I know I sometimes skip buying a drink to save the money because I don't really need another drink so I'm not sure how much I really would drink if it was "unlimited". I was thinking I would test my drinking habits this cruise and compare the two ways, unlimited versus a la carte to see which is better financially. So my question is, would you go a la carte and keep track of what you spend or would have spent including drinks you didn't buy for whatever reason, or buy cheers and keep track of what what you would have spent a la carte to see if it was the better deal? Which way would you drink?

 

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[rae.holmes]

We do cheers because it changes our mind set. We don't, like you said, have to track and make sure we don't get crazy. Also there are many times I've gotten drinks I didn't like, and because I know I didn't just spend ten bucks on it, I didn't feel the obligation to finish it.

 

There are days where I had maybe two or three drinks, so it didn't pay for the package. However, we've had days where I got really close to the daily limit. Just depends on what's going on.

 

You just need to ask yourself, if you didn't have to worry about cost, could you average 5 drinks a day?

 

 

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[Cinders411]

Now that the packages include specialty coffees, milkshakes, energy drinks, sodas,water, etc it might be a better value for you. I don't drink 15 drinks per day but, with the other items, it is worth it to me.

[GUT2407]

It's great for some not for others.

 

About 6-8 drinks a day is usually break-even, depending what you drink.

[Laurab23]

I like the beverage package. Before I would worry about every penny and most likely only have a couple of drinks a day and the free coffee and water and lemonade. Now,knowing I have the package and have paid for it anyway, I get the specialty coffees,a soda, the bottled water and the martinis and whatever else I want. I figure I always break even though I will never hit the 15. Yes,I spend alot more than I would have the other way but it really makes the cruise more enjoyable for me and I just figure it in the total cost of the cruise.

 

Laura

[Monalis]

We went a la carte on one cruise (Conquest with the Alchemy bar) and ended up spending about $700. That's with us not really drinking during the day.

 

On our next cruise (NCL Jewel, so no Alchemy bar) we got the drink package and spent about the same amount. So we didn't break even.

 

On our upcoming cruise (Dream with Alchemy) we are getting Cheers and plan on at the very least breaking even.

 

A few things to consider, how many port days (we're only doing something in one port), what type of alcohol you like to drink (beer vs martinis), are you going to drink any bottled water, special coffees, energy drinks, ect (this is what solidly sold us on Cheers this time) and lastly do you want to try new things without having to worry about spending $10 on a drink you hate.

 

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[Annie102100]

I'm cruising in June and purchased the CHEERS package for my husband and I. We do like to have a few drinks when we are having fun with family and friends and a big reason I did it was so I don't constantly worry about what we were spending. 15 alcoholic drinks is a lot and maybe I'll hit the limit one of the days, maybe not but the fact that it includes just about anything else I would want (i.e. bottled water, pop, specialty coffees, etc) sold it for me. I only wish I could convince another couple traveling with us to get it too - less worry and penny pinching and more freedom are totally worth it. We haven't vacationed like this is in years and I want to feel carefree and have fun in the sun.

 

 

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[zekekelso]

Tracking how many drinks you have and what they cost sound like way too much work for me. I'm on vacation.

[Nic6318]

Hi there

 

I have a hard time understanding why it is so hard for people to decide if they would benefit from purchasing the Cheers package.

 

You just have to ask yourself, do I like drinking, every day? Has my bar tab come out to that $300 mark? Now you get the extras, coffee, pop, water. If so, go for it. If you are happy enough having just a couple of drinks once in a while, not necessarily every day, then the package isn't for you.

 

For the OP...I would suggest that since you aren't sure, pay for your drinks as you go then you will know for the next time. There is no point being in a position where you feel you need to drink more because you want to justify what you have already paid. If you don't have an extra drink, whether it is because you don't want to spend the money or a realization that you don't need it, is a good thing. Some people don't have that sort of awareness.

 

have a great cruise

[coevan]

as my wife said, it's not a contest. We never got near 15, but always got our money's worth. Even on shore days, 2 martinis before dinner and 2 glasses of Cabernet with dinner is already $40

[SMSACE6]

I think we all know basically how much we will drink (both alcohol and non), ie now cheers includes water, specialty coffees and more.

 

Before they included those extras, it was not worth it for me, as some days I might get close to the daily cost of cheers and most days I would not, but with the added inclusions, it was worth it for me and I used cheers for the first time last cruise and found that I most likely saved a few bucks. Best of it all, was that I did not have to think; should I or should'nt I cost wise. I know my limit of alcohol tolerance, and never let it get the best or worst of me, but I certainly enjoyed some better wines by the glass than I normally would order. As I age I can tolerate alcohol less and less, so next cruise, I might or might not buy cheers, but that is just from my perspective. If I was still 40...I definitely would buy it.;)

[bakersdozen12]

How does the other person in your room feel? If you get it, he or she will have to as well. That might affect whether or not it's worth it. For example, my husband doesn't drink alcohol, so it would never be worth it for us. Then again, I don't even drink enough for it to be worth it anyway.

 

 

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[dad son team]

Thanks for the input everyone. I was just going to compare to see what my savings is, or what it could be if I bought Cheers. I just wasn't sure which way I wanted to do it. I'm usually one of those on the edge people. I think I'll probably go with Cheers and just mentally note how many drinks I would have bought if I were paying a la carte to see how they compare for me. I know with the package I will get my 5-6 a day average.

 

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[cruisiebear]

On the first cruise my husband and I took, our bar tab was just under $1000.00. It's worth it for us to buy Cheers as we usually drink 13 - 15 drinks a day (each). That's not as hard as it sounds, especially if you start the morning with a Bloody Mary or a Mimosa. Then you have 3 or 4 beers after lunch. You go to dinner, you have at least one more drink. Then you stop by the Casino. You know you're going to have a few drinks there. Then, you have a night cap. It adds up quickly.

[crzndeb]

Since my cruises are usually 10+ days and I don't drink everyday, it's not worth it to me. My tab for a 10-11 day cruise only runs about $200-250. I usually only have 1 or 2 martinis in the evening. Even with the added beverages, I don't drink enough of those to make it worth while either.

 

Of course, now that I'm older and am more concerned about my fitness and health, drinking alcohol all day isn't as fun as it used to be when I was 30. And I definitely don't recover as quickly.

[BlazinSunsets]

I bought cheers for my last cruise. I didn't know if it would be worth it because my wife isn't a huge drinker. But it worked out great for us. I of course was going to get my money worth, I did at least 13-14 drinks a day, sometimes I even had her order for me so I wouldn't hit the limit. So she didn't need to drink much to make us breakeven. She ended up trying all the different cocktails and found one she loved so ordered that one a lot. She also drinks a lot of coffee so that helped as well. Now if I was a modest drinker it would be a different story, but I still think it's worth it. It's fun to go the the comedy club or the bars on the ship and see a drink and just say I'll try that without factoring in price.

[easyboy]

I am debating purchasing the Cheers package for the first time but I'm not sure it's worth it for me. Normally I have a couple drinks a day but I know I sometimes skip buying a drink to save the money because I don't really need another drink so I'm not sure how much I really would drink if it was "unlimited". I was thinking I would test my drinking habits this cruise and compare the two ways, unlimited versus a la carte to see which is better financially. So my question is, would you go a la carte and keep track of what you spend or would have spent including drinks you didn't buy for whatever reason, or buy cheers and keep track of what what you would have spent a la carte to see if it was the better deal? Which way would you drink?

Just test your drinking capacity before the cruise. You might just be counting the drinks on the cruise, rather than enjoying the same. If you find out that you can not have alcoholic drinks daily, the Cheers package is not for you, unless you want to compensate the missed drinks with non-alcoholic beverages covered by the package.

[bnorris10]

For our family it's not worth it as I don't drink enough and since i don't drink coffee, soda, or energy drinks I would be paying for a few glasses of straw daq and some milkshakes and bottled water

 

This time we are getting 2 rooms and so I put myself in a separate room so that only he had to buy cheers

 

My hubby knows he will drink a bloody mary in the morning, some soda and water thru out the day, a glass or two of wine with dinner plus 2-3 drinks in the evening depending on how late we stay out so for him it's worth it but if he had to double that to accomodate for me then it would not be worth it

[sanger727]

The trouble with what your suggesting is exactly what you said. If you buy the package and keep track of your drinks you will come a lot closer to breaking even than if you go a la carte and keep track of the drinks.

 

With it being unlimited and there being no additional cost; it completely changes you mindset. At home I tend to drink 40% soda and 60% crystal light. Usually on a cruise I'll bring a big bubba mug and fill it with water and us mio to flavor it. Having the drink package, by the third day of the cruise I stopped carrying that around with me. It was far easier just to stop by bars as I went and grab a drink/soda/water, whatever. I wouldn't necessarily have counted those drinks before as drinks I 'didn't have'... completely different mind set.

 

So if you wish to try this I'd suggest getting cheers and keeping track, as long as you won't feel the need to drink more just to break even.

 

 

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[originalgeek]

Like I always report in these type of threads, We go a-la cart but I don't count our drinks. We get a drink whenever we want and I never feel like I didn't drink enough. So far, the most I've spent (for both of us) was less than half what cheers would have cost us for the cruise.

 

Not saying that will always be the case but at the moment, Cheers is not worth it to me. We won't be purchasing it for our 8-day next year.

Maybe I'll try it on a 4 or 5 day some time.

[d12j28]

Thanks for the input everyone. I was just going to compare to see what my savings is, or what it could be if I bought Cheers. I just wasn't sure which way I wanted to do it. I'm usually one of those on the edge people. I think I'll probably go with Cheers and just mentally note how many drinks I would have bought if I were paying a la carte to see how they compare for me. I know with the package I will get my 5-6 a day average.

 

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I'll put it this way, if you are getting 5-6 mixed drinks you will come out ahead. If you are drinking 5-6 beers you are close to even but you'd need about 7 beers (depending on type of beer) to break even. What people fail to see is even if you only did 6 beers at say $6 each that's only $36. But if you get water, coffee, energy drinks, soda, etc now you've made out. I always grab a water or power ade whenever I can to take back to the room.

[BK456]

Here is a little bit different of a breakdown to think about. This is a pretty typical (don't judge, it's vacation) sea day on a cruise ship for me and my S/O.

1 bloody mary during breakfast

2 drinks during late morning activities.

3-4 drinks in the afternoon by the pool.

2-3 drinks pre-dinner enjoying music

1-2 drinks during dinner (only because MDR bar service is slow...)

5-ish drinks at the comedy club before bed.

 

I usually hit about 13 on a sea day... and maybe 5-6 on a port day. It really balances out for us!! If there are any left, I get bottled water to re-hydrate the next morning :) Our bar tab would have been about $1,200 in December (we got an itemized from guest services because we were curious), but we spent $700 for cheers. Already purchased again for May!

[Florings]

We only have 2 or 3 drinks a day, bring our own soda, and buy the 12-packs of water before boarding. So it doesn't pay for us to buy the Cheers program. Plus for an 8-day cruise, it is pretty pricey for the 2 of us.

 

Now if I were going on a 4-day cruise with the girls, I would probably do the program!

[easyboy]

Here is a little bit different of a breakdown to think about. This is a pretty typical (don't judge, it's vacation) sea day on a cruise ship for me and my S/O.

1 bloody mary during breakfast

2 drinks during late morning activities.

3-4 drinks in the afternoon by the pool.

2-3 drinks pre-dinner enjoying music

1-2 drinks during dinner (only because MDR bar service is slow...)

5-ish drinks at the comedy club before bed.

 

I usually hit about 13 on a sea day... and maybe 5-6 on a port day. It really balances out for us!! If there are any left, I get bottled water to re-hydrate the next morning :) Our bar tab would have been about $1,200 in December (we got an itemized from guest services because we were curious), but we spent $700 for cheers. Already purchased again for May!

I don't doubt that your schedule can be done, having seen one. But I am really impressed if you are able to do it on a daily basis. The Cheers Package is indeed worth it for you. Enjoy!

[jennyfur02]

Reading all these comments and I am still at a loss of wether to purchase Cheers or not.

I'm younger and yes I can drink more than 15 a day everyday (don't judge). I don't mind drinking a few by the pool and getting some sun then drinks at dinner and drinks during evening entertainment. My BF and I like to dance as well and of course have more beverages. So, do they shut you off after the 15 drink a day or can you pay for drinks if you hit the limit? If we ordered a case of water for our room is this included in the Cheers program? Or any drinks we may order for room service? I'm just trying to get a better idea if it is worth the $ for us. Cruising in 9 days and our first cruise [emoji924]

 

 

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