Al a Carte drinks vs Drink Package

[bride928]

Hi everyone. So my DH (33), myself (32), and our son (7) are headed out on the NYE sailing on Carnival magic. I've never cruised in the winter so I have a question about the weather. I know at the ports of call weather will be nice, but how is the weather while at sea?

 

Also, I have $500 in Carnival gift cards. Should I apply that towards Cheers drink package and just pay the remaining $350. My husband thinks $350 is too much to spend on drinks. I think it's a steal and will stop us from counting and checking the onboard account. Or should we just pay as you go? We are liberal drinkers btw, but for some reason the thought of him pre-paying $350 bother him but in the long run I think we'll save money.

 

 

What would you do?

[xcruisedirector]

Do the math, dtink package is 800 for the week total. Divide by 7 and then divide by $7 per drink. If each of you average 8 drinks(alcohol) per day you break even. Plus all water soda and 0 proof drinks are also free. If you even think you will come close, i would get Cheers.

 

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[lcpagejr]

If you average 7/8 drinks a day....You will get your moneys worth. Also this doesn;t take into account the free water, soda and specialty coffee you can also consume under this inclusive plan. Some Posters want to shy away due to Port days where they may not consume as much alcohol on the ship. I found that was not a problem... I too am a liberal drinker on cruises...but rarely drink at home. I would have a mimosa with breakfast....3-4 drinks during the day...1 before dinner...2/3 at dinner and maybe 1 after dinner .... It adds up quickly. Add in a specialty coffee in mornings and a bottle of water...here and there .... and you've easily exceeded the set price. I must say however....I never seem to get drunk....atleast I don't think I do...lol. Drinks are known to be on weak side....maybe its the tropical juices I mix the drinks with?? Lastly... it is a nice feeling to get the bill in your mailbox at end of cruise with very little shown for liquor!! Just remember....Even with the Cheers package you do get charged with Tax on each drink on embarkation day only....Not at any port of calls.

[beachbum53]

Hi everyone. So my DH (33), myself (32), and our son (7) are headed out on the NYE sailing on Carnival magic. I've never cruised in the winter so I have a question about the weather. I know at the ports of call weather will be nice, but how is the weather while at sea?

 

Also, I have $500 in Carnival gift cards. Should I apply that towards Cheers drink package and just pay the remaining $350. My husband thinks $350 is too much to spend on drinks. I think it's a steal and will stop us from counting and checking the onboard account. Or should we just pay as you go? We are liberal drinkers btw, but for some reason the thought of him pre-paying $350 bother him but in the long run I think we'll save money.

 

 

What would you do?

 

To your first question, I'm guessing you'll be cruising in the Caribbean. The temperature at sea is typically fairly mild in January. Temps. range from upper 60's to mid 70's. It could be a bit breezy, so having a light jacket (such as a windbreaker) might not be a bad idea, especially if you're up on deck early in the morning or late in the evening. As to your second question regarding Cheers, when you say you're liberal drinkers, about how many adult beverages do you drink each day? We've never purchased Cheers, so I'm not sure how many drinks per day you get with Cheers. I think it's 15, but I could be mistaken. To determine if Cheers is a good deal or not, take the amount per day for Cheers and divide by the number of drinks you would have to get the average cost per drink. Then, go to zydecocruiser dot com and look up the drink prices on the Magic. Armed with those figures should help you decide whether to prepay or pay as you go.

[bride928]

Thank you everyone for your responses. I think I'm going to get it. I also didn't know about the embarkation day tax so thanks!

[pacruise804]

Hi everyone. So my DH (33), myself (32), and our son (7) are headed out on the NYE sailing on Carnival magic. I've never cruised in the winter so I have a question about the weather. I know at the ports of call weather will be nice, but how is the weather while at sea?

 

Also, I have $500 in Carnival gift cards. Should I apply that towards Cheers drink package and just pay the remaining $350. My husband thinks $350 is too much to spend on drinks. I think it's a steal and will stop us from counting and checking the onboard account. Or should we just pay as you go? We are liberal drinkers btw, but for some reason the thought of him pre-paying $350 bother him but in the long run I think we'll save money.

 

 

What would you do?

 

You are not paying $350, you are paying $850. If looking at the cost of drinks and your drinking habits (including port days) and it still looks like you will come out ahead that's fine.

 

We also have $500 in gift card and will apply that to our account as on-board credit and that will be our drinking money ("paying" as we go). We want the freedom of getting whatever we want without a bill at the end, but with half of the cruise being port days Cheers doesn't make sense. I don't want the other extreme of getting drinks I don't want/need so I can justify having bought Cheers.

[TheMeowMeoow]

[JaxsMama]

If you each will have 6-8 drinks a day I would do it. Beer and some plain booze drinks are on the cheaper side but a good margarita could be 11 bucks or a decent wine over 10. Depends on what you like to drink. It's not hard to hit 50 a day in drinks with those kind of prices. Def buy before Dec 31st so you get the old price.

 

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[Butterbean1000]

I always think about getting cheers, but then I think about port days. We usually check out the local beers and/or have a few drinks in port. When we get back on the ship, we might only have a drink or two. There is no way we can make it pay for us.

 

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[pc_load_letter]

Regarding the math....You really only need 5 to six drinks a day to break even. Some mixed drinks are upwards of 9 and $10.

 

Like the previous poster said, bloody mary, drinks before dinner, then with dinner, after dinner...it adds up fast.

 

Regarding port days, that is up to the particular cruiser because there are some ports that are boring to the wife and I and we just stay on board and do stuff on the ship, or just relax. Therefore we drink just as much as sea days.

[SadieN]

What have your previous drink bills look like?

Cheers now includes all drinks up to $50. Exceptions are wine bottles and a very few other things.

 

 

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[ricew001]

Hi everyone. So my DH (33), myself (32), and our son (7) are headed out on the NYE sailing on Carnival magic. I've never cruised in the winter so I have a question about the weather. I know at the ports of call weather will be nice, but how is the weather while at sea?

 

Also, I have $500 in Carnival gift cards. Should I apply that towards Cheers drink package and just pay the remaining $350. My husband thinks $350 is too much to spend on drinks. I think it's a steal and will stop us from counting and checking the onboard account. Or should we just pay as you go? We are liberal drinkers btw, but for some reason the thought of him pre-paying $350 bother him but in the long run I think we'll save money.

 

 

What would you do?

 

Please - I ***beg*** of you - and I say this over and over (JEEZ) do NOT think of the drink package as only alcoholic drinks!!!! Quit listening to these people who say divide it by x number of alcoholic drinks a day. NOOOOOO! It is more than alcohol PEOPLE!

 

We drink a lot of water and it was nice to grab bottles as we left for excursions. It's also milk shakes and specialty coffees. My hubby drinks soft drinks so those are included too.

 

And as another poster once said - it "enhances" your experience.

You don't have to worry about a surprise bill.

You don't have to drink a watered down drink or one you don't like because you fear it will melt down.

You are not restricted from trying something new and fun (see the limit on how much each drink can be - I believe it was $50).

 

We did it in August and I loved it. You have the gift cards so in reality you are only paying $125 to drink all you want on the cruise.

Do it and enjoy! :-)

[riffatsea]

It all depends on what you consume.

We don't drink soda.

I may have a specialty coffee here and there.

We may have one drink during the day and maybe one before dinner. IF we have one before dinner we won't have wine also with dinner so either/or.

Then maybe a nightcap.

Our on board bill for a 7 day cruise is never over $300 and I drink high shelf liquor. A pkg would be silly for us. It may make sense for others!

[beerman2]

Let's break it down again! Can you do close to the following.

Breakfast : 2 Bailey's and coffee OR 2 Bloody Mary's OR 2 Mimosas

 

Lunch/afternoon 2-3 mixed drinks/ fruity drinks.

 

Pre-Dinner : 2 Martini's /Achlemy Bar Drinks

Dinner: 1 Drink/Glass of Wine

 

Nighttime: 2-3 Drinks while watching shows /walking around.

 

Haven't mentioned non-alcoholic drinks that are included.

 

You are WELL ahead.

Beer drinkers need about 9!

 

Even port days you may be on the ship more than you think!

[coevan]

" Temps. range from upper 60's to mid 70's"

 

 

 

 

I beg to differ, the only place that might get down to the 60's is in U.S. ports. Having lived on and off in St.Thomas for years, it never hit 60 anything. Once you get to the islands it will be hot, even in January. Low's in the mid 70's and highs in the mid 80's and very humid.

[ray98]

To me that package has more worth than just comparing the potential price of drinks to the daily cost. Overall it provides a much better experience for us, it is nice being able to grab anything from a specialty coffee, a sports drink, a milk shake to an alcoholic drink at anytime without worrying about the budget.

 

There hasn't been a time yet when I don't think we came out ahead at the end plus I was able to relax more during the trip knowing the bill was paid. That peace of mind adds value for me.

[notyours75]

I enjoy the all inclusive feel it gives to the cruise. Drink what you want, when you want it. Try new drinks, don't feel bad if you don't like it. Drink top shelf all the way. And best of all no constantly checking the S&S account to see what the budget is. I will admit paying that much all at once is painful. But I do that before the cruise, use gift cards from Allstate bought with a debit card that gives cash back.

[BookDragon]

Whether to get the cheers pkg has been something I've thought about alot. I have planned a surprise 1st cruise for my husband's 50th bday, so am unable to get his input. It has been very helpful reading others thoughts on the program! Since my husband and I do not drink soda, and maybe will have a couple of glasses of wine per month, & neither of us drink coffee, I just need hot water for my tea (which I'll bring on board), I've decided it would make more sense for us to bring 2 bottles of wine on board with us, preorder water to be in the cabin, & bring our Yetis/flavored drink packets. We will probably order a daquiri or pina colada once/twice a day. The money that we would have spent on Cheers is going towards specialty dining in the Steakhouse the first night, and 2 excursions. I think my plan best fits & matches our lifestyle and I don't feel we will be missing anything by paying a la carte for a few drinks.

[Cruzlover7]

My DH and I just tried Cheers for the first time. 4 day sailing. We did not come close to breaking even, but tried many different drinks at the Alchemy Bar and really enjoyed the coffee bar, spiked and regular. We always ordered top shelf for our mixed drinks as well. I do like the convenience of the package.

 

 

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[Cruzlover7]

One thing I do want to point out is that the Victory did not have real Baileys! That was a little bit of a let down. I love my Baileys!

 

 

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[bride928]

Please - I ***beg*** of you - and I say this over and over (JEEZ) do NOT think of the drink package as only alcoholic drinks!!!! Quit listening to these people who say divide it by x number of alcoholic drinks a day. NOOOOOO! It is more than alcohol PEOPLE!

 

We drink a lot of water and it was nice to grab bottles as we left for excursions. It's also milk shakes and specialty coffees. My hubby drinks soft drinks so those are included too.

 

And as another poster once said - it "enhances" your experience.

You don't have to worry about a surprise bill.

You don't have to drink a watered down drink or one you don't like because you fear it will melt down.

You are not restricted from trying something new and fun (see the limit on how much each drink can be - I believe it was $50).

 

We did it in August and I loved it. You have the gift cards so in reality you are only paying $125 to drink all you want on the cruise.

Do it and enjoy! :-)

 

 

 

I completely agree and have purchased the Cheers package. With the gift cards I couldn't really pass it up.

[Beachgirl676]

Typically how much is say a grey goose and cranberry?

 

 

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[beerman2]

Typically how much is say a grey goose and cranberry?

 

 

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Around $8.00-$10.00

 

 

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[simmingdenise]

Top shelf Grey Goose VX & cranberry were $17.95 per drink on our Halloween cruise. It may be considered bad form by vodka connoisseurs but they were very smooth! Yes I had Cheers! Enjoy

[ExitPrints23]

Glad you went with the drink package!

 

I’ve done two cruises, one without a drink package and one with. Honestly the peace of mind that we weren’t racking up a big bill for drinks was worth every penny! It’s a vacation, give yourself the space to step away from checking your account balance every 5 minutes. :)

 

 

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