tipping while on the Cheer's beverage package

[Cruiser_1977]

3 hours ago, BENHANDEL said:

 

Can you explain the significance of throwing out receipts? If it has an X is it not blank? Why would either matter to me?

 

This will be our first CCL cruise and we plan or purchase CHEERS!, but continue to waver because we are not big boozers....but the "Tip included" is a big reason for us to buy the package. Adding $1/drink more is another $30/day, or a 30% tip on the amount of the package, and $180 more over the length of cruise. If this is the expectation, the math equation changes for us back into the "no CHEERS!" decision. 

You don't each HAVE to drink 15 alcoholic drinks per day. I never have I may be out of pocket $6-10/day per person. The package is still worth it to me without having to "hit the limit"...There is a spreadsheet somewhere that a member created that breaks it down.

Edited October 19, 2018 by JennyB1977

[MimiKiwi]

We also tip an extra dollar, I think it helps improve the service! I rarely see a bad or unfriendly bartender, but if I do....no extra tip.

[Lndngrl]

I too feel bad putting a zero.  One cruise we had a very favorite bartender that was very attentive, we got to know him, and spent all our time at his bar.  I tipped him $1 almost every time and at the end gave him $20 in cash.

 

The cruise I took last week, while all bartenders were sufficient,  I did not feel a sense of loyalty to one particular bartender so I operated under the general rule of every 2-3 drinks throwing in an extra dollar.

 

But if the server brought me my drink like to the pool or at the piano bar I always tipped $1

[PhillyFan33579]

5 hours ago, Joebucks said:

Tipping an extra $1-2 per drink puts your alcohol bill at nearly $1000 for the week. That is an absurd amount. 

 

We met a couple a few years ago who had a bar bill over $2000 on their first cruise on Carnival when they didn’t get the Cheers package. So $1000 would have been a great deal for them. 

 

Also, you don’t have to come close to 15 drinks a day to benefit from Cheers. For example, my wife will often have 2 Mimosas in the morning and 2-3 glasses of wine the rest of the day, with each drink being $14.95.  At the 4 drink point we have already saved money buying Cheers and only spent another $4 in tips. 

Edited October 19, 2018 by PhillyFan33579

[Don Kehote]

11 hours ago, CruizCuz said:

I usually tip $1 per drink when I purchase Cheers.  I realize that is on top of 15% already.  But when I receive good or great service in a restaurant, I usually tip 18-20%, so I do the same here.  I also put $15 each am in my wallet.  That's how I know where I am in my Cheers drink count.  I simply count my one's and know how many drinks I've had and how many are left.   I figure out on day 1, who the good bartenders are, and who are just so-so.  I return time and again to the ones who go above and beyond for me.  

Best idea I've seen here in AGES.  Thank you, this will go a long way for us!

[coevan]

or you could just ask any bartender, "how many drinks have I had?"

[kaseyj79]

7 hours ago, laumicmah said:

Just off the Horizon too. Although it was my 10th cruise it was our first with the drink package. I too felt weird not tipping extra so every time DH and I got drinks (usually together) we tipped $1. DH was doing 50 cents and wanted me to do 50 cents but I felt that was absurd so I said I'd put $1 and suggested he put 0. Took him a while to listen to me so for 1st few days they got $1.50 on our 2 drinks. We were with friends and they brought a wad of ones and would tip a $1 bill each time. That was smart. But the weird feeling about tips and realizing, with the already paid 15%, we were tipping way more for bar service than we would if we were just paying for our drinks (we usually do 15% at most for bar drinks)....we won't get the drink package again. And it was too much drinking for me. There were a few days I didn't want any drinks but felt I had to get my money's worth. And it makes us hesitant to buy drinks off the boat in ports. Will go back to paying OOP. Cancelled drink package we had bought for our Jan Royal Carib cruise.

 

How did you like the cruise though? What were your negatives and positives? 

With it being our first cruise I had nothing to compare it to, but we did end up falling in love w/ cruising! We are now planning our next cruise for Sept to the Southern Caribbean on the Carnival Magic. We were going to try Royal Caribbean, but decided against it because we would have to fly into Puerto Rico. Plus we were so overwhelmed on the Horizon we want to go w/ something we are familiar with.

 

I really don't have many negatives. Most of my issues were with food. I wish the salad place on the serenity deck had been open on port days, and it would have been nice if at least one pool or hot tub could  be open past midnight. I also think the picture prices were ridiculous. I paid $76 for 4 digital photos and 2 prints. Aside from the bartenders always looking bored to death I loved Alchemy bar. It's the only place that has made a martini the way they did for me, and there were 2 other drinks that were absolutely amazing! We never felt bored or ran out of things to do. We enjoyed being on the ship more than the ports at times.

 

What did you think of the Horizon compared to other ships? Have you been on the Magic and if so how do they compare? I know its older and a little bit smaller, but it appears to have the same features for the most part.

 

As for the Cheer's package I'm going back and forth about doing it again. I enjoyed being able to order whatever I wanted w/ out worrying about the cost in the end, but I did feel the need to drink on days I didn't really feel like it. I also hate the 5 min rule. It is ridiculous especially when I wanted to float some extra rum on top of my Pina Coladas. It was also nice being able to order as many non alcoholic drinks as we wanted. I love sparkling water and coconut water so I had several each day as well as San Pellegrino with dinner. At least we have a little bit of time to decide for sure on the next one.

Edited October 20, 2018 by kaseyj79

[kaseyj79]

12 hours ago, CruizCuz said:

I usually tip $1 per drink when I purchase Cheers.  I realize that is on top of 15% already.  But when I receive good or great service in a restaurant, I usually tip 18-20%, so I do the same here.  I also put $15 each am in my wallet.  That's how I know where I am in my Cheers drink count.  I simply count my one's and know how many drinks I've had and how many are left.   I figure out on day 1, who the good bartenders are, and who are just so-so.  I return time and again to the ones who go above and beyond for me.  

I love this idea! We definitely regretted not taking a stack of $1 bills like others suggested. 

[laumicmah]

1 hour ago, kaseyj79 said:

With it being our first cruise I had nothing to compare it to, but we did end up falling in love w/ cruising! We are now planning our next cruise for Sept to the Southern Caribbean on the Carnival Magic. We were going to try Royal Caribbean, but decided against it because we would have to fly into Puerto Rico. Plus we were so overwhelmed on the Horizon we want to go w/ something we are familiar with.

 

I really don't have many negatives. Most of my issues were with food. I wish the salad place on the serenity deck had been open on port days, and it would have been nice if at least one pool or hot tub could  be open past midnight. I also think the picture prices were ridiculous. I paid $76 for 4 digital photos and 2 prints. Aside from the bartenders always looking bored to death I loved Alchemy bar. It's the only place that has made a martini the way they did for me, and there were 2 other drinks that were absolutely amazing! We never felt bored or ran out of things to do. We enjoyed being on the ship more than the ports at times.

 

What did you think of the Horizon compared to other ships? Have you been on the Magic and if so how do they compare? I know its older and a little bit smaller, but it appears to have the same features for the most part.

 

As for the Cheer's package I'm going back and forth about doing it again. I enjoyed being able to order whatever I wanted w/ out worrying about the cost in the end, but I did feel the need to drink on days I didn't really feel like it. I also hate the 5 min rule. It is ridiculous especially when I wanted to float some extra rum on top of my Pina Coladas. It was also nice being able to order as many non alcoholic drinks as we wanted. I love sparkling water and coconut water so I had several each day as well as San Pellegrino with dinner. At least we have a little bit of time to decide for sure on the next one.

We have been on Magic and enjoyed it. It is very similar to Horizon. The Pride is another one we really like. Didn't like the Glory (strange layout and lots of lines and crowds) so maybe avoid any Conquest class.

 

Cheers...I just, tonight, looked over my sail and sign statement. I calculated how many drinks I got and averaged them out....pretty much 1 coffee and 6 drinks a day. So I guess I did okay. Didn't get a huge value. And several drinks got wasted. I think I'm more of a 4 drinks per day average (and would be fine drinking free coffee). So it will be cheaper for me to skip the drink package.

[Joebucks]

4 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

 

We met a couple a few years ago who had a bar bill over $2000 on their first cruise on Carnival when they didn’t get the Cheers package. So $1000 would have been a great deal for them. 

 

Also, you don’t have to come close to 15 drinks a day to benefit from Cheers. For example, my wife will often have 2 Mimosas in the morning and 2-3 glasses of wine the rest of the day, with each drink being $14.95.  At the 4 drink point we have already saved money buying Cheers and only spent another $4 in tips. 

 

If it works for you, it works. You'll never convince me that $1000 for a week of alcohol is ever a good deal. I don't care if it's bottles of Cristal at every meal.

[SNJCruisers]

5 hours ago, kaseyj79 said:

 

What did you think of the Horizon compared to other ships? Have you been on the Magic and if so how do they compare? I know its older and a little bit smaller, but it appears to have the same features for the most part.

 

Horizon and Magic same features????

Off the top of my head....Havana area, Imax theater, Teppanyaki, Guy's Smokehouse and the Sky Bike ride.  Have been on each of the classes in the fleet and my two favorites were the Horizon and the Breeze.

[laumicmah]

6 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

Horizon and Magic same features????

Off the top of my head....Havana area, Imax theater, Teppanyaki, Guy's Smokehouse and the Sky Bike ride.  Have been on each of the classes in the fleet and my two favorites were the Horizon and the Breeze.

Breeze and Magic are same. Yes, they don't have the theater (who wants to go to movies on a ship when you can do that at home? Aside from my DH ), Havana area, Sky Ride (was broken half our cruise) and Guy's Smokehouse bar (but they do have the Guy's BBQ food counter, just not the bar)...the Havana area is the biggest loss IMO. Love the Havana area. But Magic (and Breeze and Dream) have that same kind of layout otherwise. No Teppanyaki eiher but we couldn't even get a resie there (I think it only had 2 tables). But I'd recommend Vista, Dream or Spirit class...and Fantasy class is good for folks wanting to get their feet wet (no bells and whistles but small easy to navigate ships and less people for more quaint cruise). I did some really basic math last night with pax capacity and concluded that the Spirit class manages pax capacity best IMO.

Edited October 20, 2018 by laumicmah

[kaseyj79]

9 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

Horizon and Magic same features????

Off the top of my head....Havana area, Imax theater, Teppanyaki, Guy's Smokehouse and the Sky Bike ride.  Have been on each of the classes in the fleet and my two favorites were the Horizon and the Breeze.

Once we started looking for our second cruise I began wondering if we picked the wrong ship for our first cruise? Nothing seems to compare to the Horizon. I really want to be on a ship w the Havana area, but I think there are only 2 ships? The Sky Bike was shut down on our cruise so I'd like to be able to that, but again only 2 ships have that feature. I think I'm also in the minority as far as liking the elevator system. It took some time to get used to, but after the first day it was great.

[laumicmah]

@kaseyj79 I wasn't fond of the elevators. Folks never all checked in like they were supposed to and one would open all full. And still took a long time to get one. Just my experience the 3 times I tried. Mostly walked stairs since we were eating so much (lol, gained 5 pounds anyway). The Vista and Horizon are the only ones with havana and sky ride, I think. 

[cb at sea]

Tips are added to the cost of the package...do not feel "guilty" if you don't tip additionally....even tho' that "tip" line is designed just for that...a feeling of "guilt"....don't fall for it.

If you are spending a great deal of time with a particular bartender, a small additional tip might be in order when you leave....but certainly not EVERY drink....and $5????  EVERY drink?  That's insanity!

[PhillyFan33579]

14 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

Horizon and Magic same features????

Off the top of my head....Havana area, Imax theater, Teppanyaki, Guy's Smokehouse and the Sky Bike ride.  Have been on each of the classes in the fleet and my two favorites were the Horizon and the Breeze.

 

There are a lot of differences between Magic and Horizon. Magic has a lot of great features that Horizon doesn’t have.  These include a thalassotherapy pool, glass elevators, a tall atrium; and two lounges/theaters that are significantly nicer than the ones on Horizon. Also, the Alchemy Bar is in a much better location on Magic.  Love to sit at the Alchemy Bar and listen to live music in Ocean Plaza on Magic. 

[LibratPDX]

On ‎10‎/‎20‎/‎2018 at 9:13 AM, kaseyj79 said:

Once we started looking for our second cruise I began wondering if we picked the wrong ship for our first cruise? Nothing seems to compare to the Horizon. I really want to be on a ship w the Havana area, but I think there are only 2 ships? The Sky Bike was shut down on our cruise so I'd like to be able to that, but again only 2 ships have that feature. I think I'm also in the minority as far as liking the elevator system. It took some time to get used to, but after the first day it was great.

They are completely different.  The Breeze is Dream Class (along with the Magic and of course the Dream), the Horizon is Vista class (with the Vista, and Panorama still being built).

[Havingfun2010]

On ‎10‎/‎19‎/‎2018 at 10:25 AM, BENHANDEL said:

 

Can you explain the significance of throwing out receipts? If it has an X is it not blank? Why would either matter to me?

 

This will be our first CCL cruise and we plan or purchase CHEERS!, but continue to waver because we are not big boozers....but the "Tip included" is a big reason for us to buy the package. Adding $1/drink more is another $30/day, or a 30% tip on the amount of the package, and $180 more over the length of cruise. If this is the expectation, the math equation changes for us back into the "no CHEERS!" decision. 

The purpose of just putting an X is two fold.  The first, is that signatures are not required on credit card receipts.  Now this receipt is a $0.00 receipt.  It is not a credit card receipt.  It is an invitation to ask for a tip, which was already paid when you purchased the package.  The X is just stating that it is $0.00.  So no need for a signature.  The X also prevents anyone from adding something to the receipt.  The bartender will toss the receipt if it is blank, without any tip added.  They don't keep the receipts unless they need to charge the tip to your account. 

 

I always tip the customary amount.  I never feel the need to tip 25 - 50% like so many people do.  Tips do not get better service.  It is just a fantasy belief.  My belief is that they will serve you the best they can, because they like their job, and want to keep it.

 

I also believe that anyone that asks for more tips, will not get more tips.  The bartender that does not bother printing out receipts would most likely get more tips, just because they did not ask. 

 

So, if you are like me, a moderate drinker, that looks at a package as only breaking even, than get it, and don't be pressured into filling guilty not leaving extra.  Many people, will not leave extra.

 

 

[coevan]

"

1 hour ago, Havingfun2010 said:

The first, is that signatures are not required on credit card receipts.  Now this receipt is a $0.00 receipt.  It is not a credit card receipt.  It is an invitation to ask for a tip, which was already paid when you purchased the package.  The X is just stating that it is $0.00.  So no need for a signature.

 

 

 

I completely disagree. We own a business and require signatures on credit cards. What if there is a fraud claim and they did not sign? The bartenders give receipts as S.O.P.. We always sign them. We never felt the bartenders were fishing for a tip. Signatures are requested and I always see people signing their receipts. There always has to be the one person who bucks the system.

[Havingfun2010]

22 hours ago, coevan said:

"

 

 

 

I completely disagree. We own a business and require signatures on credit cards. What if there is a fraud claim and they did not sign? The bartenders give receipts as S.O.P.. We always sign them. We never felt the bartenders were fishing for a tip. Signatures are requested and I always see people signing their receipts. There always has to be the one person who bucks the system.

The laws recently changed, that made signatures obsolete.  You may disagree, if you wish, but signatures are not required.  I go to many places and never sign a receipt.   The $0.00 ticket is not a charge because it was already paid for, in some cases months ago.  The receipt is just a solicitation for a tip. Your credit card is never touched in the transaction. The $0.00 receipt is tossed in the garbage when the solicitation for tip failed.

 

I really don't understand why you think the bartender is not asking for a tip, when they hand you a blank receipt?  It's a prepaid package right?  So if it's paid for, why are they giving you a receipt and a pen?  Just because people sign the receipt, have you watched where the bartender puts it?  The ones with a tip, go into a container, and the ones that are blank, go into the garbage. 

 

I don't consider it bucking the system.  It's annoying when you already paid for it, to be given 10 - 15 sheets a day to sign when you already paid, online, without a signature!  Just to watch it get thrown out.

 

Not all ships, and not all bartenders give you a receipt.

[BENHANDEL]

On 10/22/2018 at 12:24 PM, Havingfun2010 said:

 

So, if you are like me, a moderate drinker, that looks at a package as only breaking even, than get it, and don't be pressured into filling guilty not leaving extra.  Many people, will not leave extra.

 

 

 

Exactly this. We are usually beer drinkers. Coffees and the chance to "try new things" should tip us past the "break even" point, but tipping would change that...

[Lottacruises]

On 10/22/2018 at 1:51 PM, coevan said:

"

 

 

 

I completely disagree. We own a business and require signatures on credit cards. What if there is a fraud claim and they did not sign? The bartenders give receipts as S.O.P.. We always sign them. We never felt the bartenders were fishing for a tip. Signatures are requested and I always see people signing their receipts. There always has to be the one person who bucks the system.

You're wrong if you think carnival hands you a receipt because they need a signature on every drink you get. Passengers have alreasy"signed the receipt" when they put their card on file. 

[coevan]

of course you are only talking about Cheers?

 

As far as signing credit cards, we require it and the server checks the CC folder. There is generally a tip involved and my only protection from fraud is a signed CC card. If not signed the processor will not stand behind you. 

[Purvis1231]

I never noticed anyone tipping the bartenders with cash in hand. 

[PhillyFan33579]

1 hour ago, Purvis1231 said:

I never noticed anyone tipping the bartenders with cash in hand. 

 

If you pay attention on your next cruise, you will see it.  I can’t remember being on a cruise where I didn’t see this happen multiple times, but I watch for this when sitting at any bar on the ship.