Al a Carte drinks vs Drink Package

[OKIEFROMTULSA]

Can you get shots of Fireball included in the package? Asking for a friend ☺

[kutchyone]

Never have cruised on Carnival but on other cruise lines the drink packages are often on sale or heavily discounted when combined with the internet packages. Does Carnival offer special deals on Cheers and wifi? If we order now to save on the 2018 price increase and a deal is offered can we cancel the purchased package in order to reorder it at the the discount? RCCL allows that.

[notyours75]

Never have cruised on Carnival but on other cruise lines the drink packages are often on sale or heavily discounted when combined with the internet packages. Does Carnival offer special deals on Cheers and wifi? If we order now to save on the 2018 price increase and a deal is offered can we cancel the purchased package in order to reorder it at the the discount? RCCL allows that.

 

I have not heard or seen of any Carnival discounts on Cheers in quite some time. However I don't see why you could not cancel it and order it again if the price changed. However with the recent price increase I think it would be highly unlikely that Carnival would increase the price then have a sale or deal anytime in the near future over it. That would upset people. The discount/sale is that pre-purchasing it is cheaper than buying it on board.

 

Carnival does offer a discount for pre-purchasing internet access as well but again I've never seen them do any type of combo deals.

[kutchyone]

Thank you for your prompt reply. Last year we were on RCCL Anthem and canceled the drink package twice in order to catch a deal. Same thing with specialty dining.

[wenny101]

We aren’t big drinkers but on vacation we seem to drink like fish. We have done only 1 cruise without the drink package it was a 6 day our bill was $850. So we’ve always gotten one since then, it’s really nice not to worry and we totally get our money’s worth.

[kutchyone]

i agree. And it's not just for alcohol. We love the specialty coffee too. My last cruise was 13 nights and even though the drink package was pricey we got our monies worth out of it. I just ordered Cheers and the wifi.

[ltcTN]

Remember folks, it is vacation! The cheers program is one more little step to remove stress from my trip and enhance the enjoyment of the trip. I have evolved over my cruise history regarding my alcohol and non alcoholic consumption, what used to be beer by the buckets is replaced by bottles of water but the Alchemy Bar has my attention every night! I get a ROI at the Alchemy alone. Enjoy the cruise and look for me on the Magic 1/27/18.

[sweets2323]

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.

 

 

 

There is a fee for water if I don’t get the cheers package [emoji848]

 

 

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[sweets2323]

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.

 

 

 

This sounds like something I could definitely do!!! Good idea!

 

 

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[stormgrey11]

Some folks enjoy the feeling of not having the stress of an added bar bill at the end of the cruise !

 

Then there are some folks who find it stressful to be under pressure to keep drinking just so they can break even !

[sweets2323]

Some folks enjoy the feeling of not having the stress of an added bar bill at the end of the cruise !

 

Then there are some folks who find it stressful to be under pressure to keep drinking just so they can break even !

 

 

 

Lol so true [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]

 

 

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[evandbob]

I don't drink alcohol anymore, but if I did, I would seriously consider any other line that offers a free drink package as part of the original cabin price. Carnival's add on drink package can almost double the price of a cruise. NCL and Celebrity seem to have been running free DOU packages for the last 6 months.

 

Then I if I was still drinking and bought Cheers, I'd be complaining that I had a cut off point after 2/3 quart of booze daily.

 

But since I don't drink booze, I just put all that money into vacations and cruises instead.

[ProgRockCruiser]

We exercised the Cheers package on our recent 3-day cruise to the Bahamas. Maxxed it out one night, 14 another, and well over 10 on the third. We got our money's worth. We rode that horse hard and put it up wet every night.

 

So for us it was a steal. And we only had a few "meh" drinks (Bloody Mary's at Brunch, and one pina colada that seemed not great IMHO, though my wife enjoyed the one poured for her not long before mine).

 

Adding in the specialty coffees is a bonus, though we never exercised that. Free water was good too. We aren't soda / sports drink consumers, so that didn't get exercised.

 

We'll get the package for our 8-day cruise next year - probably won't max it out as much, but we can easily do 7 or 8 drinks each before dinner...and if a port day, 7 or 8 at and after dinner.

[Blackjack22]

This is the dilemma for me in a lot of purchases. My husband is usually the one reigning me in showing that it makes sense in the long run but I am always blown away with sticker shock.

[notyours75]

I was really happy with our Cheers package purchase for our Jan 18 Breeze cruise. We had not cruised since they changed the package and removed the $10 limit and added the non-alcoholic drinks to it. Yes the sticker shock up front of paying a $650+ bar tab was hard. However once on the ship (and after the first day, thanks Texas rules!) I never regretted it. The ability to drink top shelf drinks all week long and not worry about anything except what number I was on was fantastic. I ended up hitting 15 only once but when your drinking $20 Grey Goose VX and $16 Roca Patron all day I more than made up for it. DW, who is not a huge drinker, enjoyed all the coffee and non-alcoholic specialty drinks as well as a few loaded drinks per day. Overall I'd highly recommend it. Better drinks, less thinking about the budget but you have to pay for it up front.

[BookDragon]

This is the dilemma for me in a lot of purchases. My husband is usually the one reigning me in showing that it makes sense in the long run but I am always blown away with sticker shock.

 

This post was from 2017. Blackjack22, why are you reviving old posts today?

[pacruise804]

I was really happy with our Cheers package purchase for our Jan 18 Breeze cruise. We had not cruised since they changed the package and removed the $10 limit and added the non-alcoholic drinks to it. Yes the sticker shock up front of paying a $650+ bar tab was hard. However once on the ship (and after the first day, thanks Texas rules!) I never regretted it. The ability to drink top shelf drinks all week long and not worry about anything except what number I was on was fantastic. I ended up hitting 15 only once but when your drinking $20 Grey Goose VX and $16 Roca Patron all day I more than made up for it. DW, who is not a huge drinker, enjoyed all the coffee and non-alcoholic specialty drinks as well as a few loaded drinks per day. Overall I'd highly recommend it. Better drinks, less thinking about the budget but you have to pay for it up front.

 

I'm glad you and your wife enjoyed it:) I agree with looking at the price for everyone who is getting Cheers, and if the combined usage makes it worth the upfront cost. Thank you for showing how it works for a drinker plus light drinker, rather than the often posted "how can I get away with just purchasing one Cheers?" threads:rolleyes:

[HerbertandB]

This post was from 2017. Blackjack22, why are you reviving old posts today?

 

 

Blackjack22 did a bunch yesterday too - either dealing with Cheers or FTTF

[kona_wahine]

I’m still on the fence for our April cruise.

Cons:

1. We leave from Galveston, so it wouldn’t start until the next day. So, I’d have to pay for the bon voyage drinks.

2. 4 port days

3. How much weight will I gain? How terrible will I feel?

4. I’m afraid I will HAVE to get my money’s worth. (See #3)

5. My husband doesn’t have a lot of willpower to just say no.

 

Pros:

1. No surprises in what we spend

2. All drinks, including water, included

3. Try something different I wouldn’t regularly order

4. Maybe spend less time in port relaxing and having drinks, enjoying the ship

5. Use aarp gift cards to get 10% off

 

There are other things, and I have a few months to decide.

[ParrotRob]

This post was from 2017. Blackjack22, why are you reviving old posts today?

 

It did the same thing yesterday. Yesterday it was FTTF posts. Today it's Cheers posts.

[wesorbeth]

I don't count my drinks when I purchase Cheers, if I didn't I would. I would be constantly adding the cost up in my head and would not enjoy myself as much. I drink at least 10 bottles of water daily so that helps.

[jdjaguar]

Just bought Cheers for Saturday Cruise!

Thanks everybody for your input!