I'm not going to complain about drink prices anymore

[JCinATL]

I went to a music festival last weekend. Beers were $9 or $10, a shot with a simple mixer was $10, and any other cocktail was at least $14. (Includes tax but not tip.) Much more than I paid on the ship for drink+tax+gratuity. And none of the people serving the drinks asked me if I was having a good time, or learned my name and remembered it. ;p Now I'm looking forward to my next cruise even more...

[Zidel]

As someone in a high COL area, 15 alcoholic drinks for $60-70 a day doesn't seem that bad to me. Add in a fancy coffee or 2 and it seems a bargain!

[Saint Greg]

Yeah that’s what it is at major sporting events. I won’t pay $10 for a beer anymore so I just get a double Bloody Mary for like $16.

 

I’ve been looking into a Disney trip and it looks like the cheapest beer at one of their hotels will be $7.75.

[MBP1]

From what I've seen drink prices on Carnival are cheaper than I've paid most places on land. You won't be getting 15 drinks for $60/day on land unless you're in a college town drinking the cheap stuff.

[Organized Chaos]

From what I've seen drink prices on Carnival are cheaper than I've paid most places on land. You won't be getting 15 drinks for $60/day on land unless you're in a college town drinking the cheap stuff.

Not everyone lives in high cost areas. Go to any bar around here and 15 beers (just about any domestic) are well under $60. Most chain bar & grills and several family-owned restaurants, they’re right around $60, sometimes a little less.

 

I’d never compare alcohol costs to those at special events (e.g. sports & music). You should know going into it you’re going to be gouged there.

[kona_wahine]

Spent a week in Aruba last month and grocery store price for American beer was over $60 per case! Even their local beer was crazy expensive. My fruity blender drinks were cheaper than hubbys beer.

[bUU]

I’d never compare alcohol costs to those at special events (e.g. sports & music).

People should. Prices are high at such events since you have no other options if you don't want to leave the venue for a while to grab a beer. A cruise ship is the same - even more, really, since you cannot just leave the ship while it is underway to go somewhere else for a beer.

 

 

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[sparks1093]

People should. Prices are high at such events since you have no other options if you don't want to leave the venue for a while to grab a beer. A cruise ship is the same - even more, really, since you cannot just leave the ship while it is underway to go somewhere else for a beer.

 

 

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I was just about to post the same thing.

[firefly333]

As someone in a high COL area, 15 alcoholic drinks for $60-70 a day doesn't seem that bad to me. Add in a fancy coffee or 2 and it seems a bargain!

 

Whats a COL area? college? I give.

[angela12345]

COL = cost of living, I think ?

[naxer]

Yeah, I never complained about the cost. If I'm not buying it at my local grocery store, it's going to be "expensive" to my mind. I just save and budget and enjoy my cruise where I can drink, nap, and not have to worry about driving.

[2legit410]

My husband once ordered a Budweiser in a bottle while poolside at a hotel we were staying at. I asked him how much it was, and he said he hadn't asked. When he went to order another one, he decided to ask how much it was. Turns out he had just finished a rare bottle of liquid Budweiser gold for the great price of $10.

I get concert venues, sporting events, etc having exorbitant prices. You can't bring your own food or drinks and you're basically at their mercy. And even though I had a feeling that bottle of Bud was going to be overpriced, I definitely wasn't expecting it to be $10!

 

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[sparks1093]

COL = cost of living, I think ?

 

That's how I interpreted it.

[lab_love123]

Yes. COL is cost of living.

 

Compared to your local bar, the prices for drinks might seem high, but compared to any land resort, I think they’re quite reasonable, and downright affordable in some cases. For me, outside of happy hour specials, ship prices for beer and wine (not sure about mixed drinks) are pretty comparable to what I pay at downtown drinking establishments.

[cruzinlisa]

Not everyone lives in high cost areas. Go to any bar around here and 15 beers (just about any domestic) are well under $60. Most chain bar & grills and several family-owned restaurants, they’re right around $60, sometimes a little less.

 

I’d never compare alcohol costs to those at special events (e.g. sports & music). You should know going into it you’re going to be gouged there.

 

Yeah, this. Our local bar has a bucket of 6 beers for $15- mix and match. Now that is definitely cheap, but even at most bars around here, you are going to pay $3-4 for a bottle- non happy hour prices. Mixed drinks are going to run $3-$5 a piece. Go to a restaurant like Applebees, Chili's etc., then you might pay more like $4-6 a beer. Generally, if we have an evening out with just drinks- no food, its going to be a tab of about $30 or so for DH and I and that is if we both drink and DH drinks more than he should. If we just have a couple of drinks, it might be under $20, with tip.

Of course cost of living here is a lot lower, as are salaries.

[bUU]

It's a good bet that the COL applicable to any venue that attracts people from all over the country (cruise ships, destination resorts like Disney World, etc.) will be more similar to that of it's most populated areas than to that of other parts of the country.

 

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[salty dingo]

When you go to a bar, you are paying not just for the cost of the drink, but also for the building and employees and owner's profit. If you prefer to simply drink beer somewhere else (at home, on the beach, anywhere it is allowed) then you get to buy it at the store and pay only what it costs (plus lots of taxes.)

 

On a ship at sea there are no taxes, which right there should equal giving the customer a break.

 

Sure, you have to pay for maintaining the bar and the staff but what about just sitting on the deck in a lounger or having a beer on your balcony? Shouldn't the customer get a break for that?

 

I don't think it is fair to compare the cost of drinks at a sporting event that lasts 3 hours to the cost of drinks on a cruise that lasts 7 days. I am probably not going to do too much damage to my wallet in 3 hours but sure can in 7 days.

[2legit410]

When you go to a bar, you are paying not just for the cost of the drink, but also for the building and employees and owner's profit. If you prefer to simply drink beer somewhere else (at home, on the beach, anywhere it is allowed) then you get to buy it at the store and pay only what it costs (plus lots of taxes.)

 

On a ship at sea there are no taxes, which right there should equal giving the customer a break.

 

Sure, you have to pay for maintaining the bar and the staff but what about just sitting on the deck in a lounger or having a beer on your balcony? Shouldn't the customer get a break for that?

 

I don't think it is fair to compare the cost of drinks at a sporting event that lasts 3 hours to the cost of drinks on a cruise that lasts 7 days. I am probably not going to do too much damage to my wallet in 3 hours but sure can in 7 days.

But the drinks really aren't all that expensive on a (Carnival) cruise. And with the Cheers package, they are a bargain. They can do a high mark up because people will still pay for it. I've never heard anyone on a cruise say "I wanted a drink, but it is too expensive, so I'm just not going to drink for the next 7 days."

 

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[coolson_2000]

When you go to a bar, you are paying not just for the cost of the drink, but also for the building and employees and owner's profit. If you prefer to simply drink beer somewhere else (at home, on the beach, anywhere it is allowed) then you get to buy it at the store and pay only what it costs (plus lots of taxes.)

 

On a ship at sea there are no taxes, which right there should equal giving the customer a break.

 

Sure, you have to pay for maintaining the bar and the staff but what about just sitting on the deck in a lounger or having a beer on your balcony? Shouldn't the customer get a break for that?

 

I don't think it is fair to compare the cost of drinks at a sporting event that lasts 3 hours to the cost of drinks on a cruise that lasts 7 days. I am probably not going to do too much damage to my wallet in 3 hours but sure can in 7 days.

I may be incorrect, but I believe the ship must still pay all of the taxes from purchasing the alcohol on land. If that is the case, how would someone justify not including that in the cost of the beverage. I too do not believe that the prices on a ship are any more expensive than a bar/restaurant is in our area. When I'm out at one of those establishments, I have the choice to not drink alcohol, just as I do on the ship.

[bUU]

When you go to a bar, you are paying not just for the cost of the drink, but also for the building and employees and owner's profit.

This isn't the way pricing actually works. For discretionary purchases you aren't "paying the cost". Discretionary purchases are generally priced based on value, not cost.

 

So aboard ship, things are priced based on how much the prototypical passenger values having (whatever) as compared to doing without (whatever), influenced by how such things add up and how that affects the prototypical passenger's valuing of the cruise vacation overall. Cost never enters into it.

 

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[sparks1093]

Let's see, the last time we were on CCL (in February) frozen drinks were $8.95-9.95. Mixed drinks (i.e. a rum and coke) were $5 and change. A beer was $5.95-ish although I seem to recall a couple that were less than that. Not prices that I would consider exorbitant by any means.

[Joebucks]

Carnival's prices aren't bad at all. I love me the self-pour beer station.

[Saint Greg]

Not everyone lives in high cost areas. Go to any bar around here and 15 beers (just about any domestic) are well under $60. Most chain bar & grills and several family-owned restaurants, they’re right around $60, sometimes a little less.

 

I’d never compare alcohol costs to those at special events (e.g. sports & music). You should know going into it you’re going to be gouged there.

 

Remember that $60 is counting gratuity. So you’d have to come in under $3.50/beer after tax to be comparable. And we’re talking imports, craft beers, and 16oz domestics.

[salty dingo]

But the drinks really aren't all that expensive on a (Carnival) cruise. And with the Cheers package, they are a bargain.

Not really... depends on how much you drink as to if it is a bargain compared to a la carte. Plus the bargain can turn into a big fat turkey if you happen to get norovirus or just so hungover and cannot drink much later.

[salty dingo]

From what I've seen drink prices on Carnival are cheaper than I've paid most places on land. You won't be getting 15 drinks for $60/day on land unless you're in a college town drinking the cheap stuff.

Do you really think you will drink 15 drinks a day for seven days? If you can, you have quite the hollow leg... most folks could not get close to that.

 

So, you have to adjust the math to divide the cheers price by the real average number of drinks consumed per day. It's going to be a lot less than 15 for most, so the per-drink amount is going to be a lot higher and the savings a lot less.