The plus and minus of the drink package?

[Jerseygirl1416]

Let’s face it. If the majority of people who purchase the Cheers package were getting more value than the price they paid for the package, Carnival would’ve raised the price of Cheers.

[RICKnVICK]

I am cruising again in May.  This will be the first time I am purchasing the drink package for me and my husband.  We are cruising with 7 other couples for a 50th birthday.  The way I am choosing to look at it, is I simply do not want to have to think about my bar bill.  This will be a super fun cruise and there will be a bit more partying since we are celebrating a 50th!  I am going to enjoy having already paid my bar tab before ever stepping foot on the ship.  I understand what everyone is saying about not sure if you actually get your money's worth, but to me, I will have peace of mind and can try drinks I wouldn't normally ever try and literally not have to think about it.  I also love a good specialty coffee in the morning and the sparking water is a bonus as well.  So I think for me and my husband and for this cruise, the drink package is going to be a good thing.

 

Happy Cruising everyone!

Vicki 

[hotsauce126]

4 hours ago, Jerseygirl1416 said:

Let’s face it. If the majority of people who purchase the Cheers package were getting more value than the price they paid for the package, Carnival would’ve raised the price of Cheers.

 

They did recently

[lkmcginnis]

Does Carnival ever run on-line specials on the drink package before you cruise?  We have never cruised Carnival, and are planning our first one for Summer 2020.  We have cruised RCI, and we got their drink package on a Black Friday deal for $35 a day.  That made it worth it for us.  Just wondering if Carnival has anything similar.  Also, RCI had a package in between the alcohol and the soda package, for those that wanted non alcoholic frozen drinks.  Appreciate the input.

 

[DukeASUGirl]

2 hours ago, lkmcginnis said:

Does Carnival ever run on-line specials on the drink package before you cruise?  We have never cruised Carnival, and are planning our first one for Summer 2020.  We have cruised RCI, and we got their drink package on a Black Friday deal for $35 a day.  That made it worth it for us.  Just wondering if Carnival has anything similar.  Also, RCI had a package in between the alcohol and the soda package, for those that wanted non alcoholic frozen drinks.  Appreciate the input.

 

Carnival's only "discount" for Cheers is to prepay online rather than buying it on the ship. They do not run specials. Also, unlike RCI, they don't have an in-between package for smoothies or non-alcoholic frozen drinks.

 

My husband and I will MAYBE have 2 drinks per day. Usually 1 or less. (I don't think either of us had a single drink on our last cruise, which was with the kids.) We are sans kids on this upcoming cruise, so we'll drink more, but even so it would never in a million years make sense for us to get Cheers.

 

I don't drink coffee. I detest the taste, so having fancy coffee drinks included is of no interest to me. Nor do I drink Honest Tea. We'll each get a free bottle of water, and we can preorder a case. Also, neither of us have a problem with the water in the buffet. I like the lemonade, guava juice, and hot chocolate. And we'll both bring on a bottle of wine.

 

He does drink coffee, but nowhere near enough to justify Cheers.

 

I expect that our total bar bill will be WELL under $100, paying out of pocket. Cheers for us would come to around $480. I'd much rather pocket that $380 and put it towards staying the night before in a 5-star resort in Palm Springs on the drive to the port.

[SNJCruisers]

On 1/29/2019 at 7:43 PM, DramaQueen22 said:

 

Don't let people bully you into thinking it's a better value because you also get soda, water, shakes, etc.  You virtually have to have a beverage of some sort in your hand at all hours of the day to come close to breaking even.

If I started drinking at 10:00 PM at night and ordered ONE drink every 30 minutes until midnight, I would have 5 drinks which would more than cover the cost of Cheers. (at Alchemy) That means my hands could be beverage free for the previous 12 hours, so your hypothesis is moot.

 

On 1/29/2019 at 8:34 PM, James4me said:

That’s too bad as it will not work for my husband.  He likes his beers on ice nice and cold.

He has two options, order his beers one at a time from the bartender or if he prefers he can order one, wait 5 minutes and order another and with the second one, get an ice filled bucket to take it back to his lounger so it stays nice and cold for him.  he can then repeat this throughout the day if he is a daytime beer drinker.

 

On 1/30/2019 at 10:22 AM, Crazy4Camping said:

We're leaving on our first and only cruise this Sunday and we decided to purchase Cheers.  We used Carnival GCs purchased at a discount through AARP as well as some regular GCs.  We don't care if we break even.  We bought it for peace of mind.  We want to get top shelf and craft cocktails from Alchemy.  Don't want my husband to feel guilty if he wants a couple Cokes with dinner.  I drink tons of water so extra bottled water is a perk with this package.  I don't drink much coffee but if I'm going to have one, it's going to be a good one from the coffee bar.  Knowing that I can go grab whatever whenever it's just worth it for me.  We will see at the end of the week how it worked out.  Hoping they keep track even though it's paid for and give us an itemized receipt at the end.

Hope you had a great cruise and that Cheers worked out for you.

 

On 1/30/2019 at 12:13 PM, nyhitmen said:

 

But I do think its crazy on every drink you buy they tag 18% per drink 

A gratuity has been built into every drink that I have purchased either individually or through a package since my first cruise back in 1986, so it's been 33 years.  Carnival just recently increased the amount from 15% to 18%.  It's 20% on NCL.

On 1/30/2019 at 2:06 PM, nyhitmen said:

 

Everyone keeps mentioning the Alchemy is this a bar or something? And is it hard to find seating?

 

Alchemy is indeed a Bar located on every ship in the fleet but a few.  The mixologists make fantastic concoctions and they can go off menu and make you something unique, unlike the bartenders at the other bars that do not have the freedom to do this.

On 1/30/2019 at 4:03 PM, robertlanajean said:

Carnival would make this debate so much easier if they sold digital ticket books - 10 beers for $50, 10 mixed drinks for $100 or so - Or do a bronze-silver-gold drinks packages with the current Cheers being the gold level. 

 

Cheers is the Gold, Bottomless Bubbles is the Bronze and there is another thread debating a non alcoholic package similar to what Celebrity and Royal offer that would be the Silver.

 

On 1/31/2019 at 10:47 PM, hakko808 said:

Cheers does not seem a good fit for many.  In order to make it worthwhile you need to drink a lot, and the true chronics whom can drink that much run up against the 15 drink minimum.

No, you only assume that you need to drink a lot.  If you are a beer drinker, it's about 8 beers a day, which is nothing for a serious beer drinker.  If you like better wines or higher end liquor, about 5 per day.  If you like the frozen drinks, about 6 per day.  And then this means that all of the unlimited non alcoholic stuff is pure gravy.

On 2/1/2019 at 10:27 AM, ProgRockCruiser said:

 

On 2/1/2019 at 4:28 PM, RICKnVICK said:

I am cruising again in May.  This will be the first time I am purchasing the drink package for me and my husband.  We are cruising with 7 other couples for a 50th birthday.  The way I am choosing to look at it, is I simply do not want to have to think about my bar bill.  This will be a super fun cruise and there will be a bit more partying since we are celebrating a 50th!  I am going to enjoy having already paid my bar tab before ever stepping foot on the ship.  I understand what everyone is saying about not sure if you actually get your money's worth, but to me, I will have peace of mind and can try drinks I wouldn't normally ever try and literally not have to think about it.  I also love a good specialty coffee in the morning and the sparking water is a bonus as well.  So I think for me and my husband and for this cruise, the drink package is going to be a good thing.

 

Happy Cruising everyone!

Vicki 

 

Vicki....have a fabulous time with Rick and utilize Cheers to the fullest each and every day.  Start your day with a cold brew coffee or maybe a double espresso over ice and make sure to add a shot of Bailey's into your cappuccino with dessert

4 hours ago, lkmcginnis said:

Does Carnival ever run on-line specials on the drink package before you cruise?  We have never cruised Carnival, and are planning our first one for Summer 2020.  We have cruised RCI, and we got their drink package on a Black Friday deal for $35 a day.  That made it worth it for us.  Just wondering if Carnival has anything similar.  Also, RCI had a package in between the alcohol and the soda package, for those that wanted non alcoholic frozen drinks.  Appreciate the input.

 

The only way to discount Cheers is to get the 10% discount by using the pre-pay option and also save another 10% by earning and redeeming Carnival gift cards through AARP or Allstate. There are multiple threads about these.

Edited March 27, 2019 by SNJCruisers

[SNJCruisers]

2 hours ago, DukeASUGirl said:

 

My husband and I will MAYBE have 2 drinks per day. Usually 1 or less.....We are sans kids on this upcoming cruise, so we'll drink more, but even so it would never in a million years make sense for us to get Cheers.

I expect that our total bar bill will be WELL under $100, paying out of pocket. Cheers for us would come to around $480.

If your bar tab will be well under 100 over a four day cruise between two adults without kids, that means that your definition of drinking more is a 100% increase from 1 drink per person per day to 2. So that will give you your 8 drink total to keep your bar tab well under 100.00.

If the OP is asking for the plus and minus of the drink package and you have never purchased it and never have any intention of doing so, then you're not really helping the OP or anybody else besides just emphasizing that you and your DH are light drinkers, which is fine, but has zero impact on this thread.

[DukeASUGirl]

So many people on this thread kept pointing out that "but you can get milkshakes and coffee drinks" and I was merely stating that isn't of interest to some people.

 

Sure, I could drink 4-5 alcoholic drinks per day for 4 days (I couldn't keep that up for 7 days) but I don't choose to. Anyway, the point is that the OP also indicated they're not heavy drinkers, so it just doesn't seem to make sense for them either, unless they are heavy specialty coffee/bottled tea/energy drinkers in addition to light alchoholic drinkers. For the OP, I don't think it makes sense, but ultimately they will need to decide themselves. Cheers can be a great deal for some.

[cskmartin]

On the plus side, you don't have to count or budget for drinks. 

 

If you're like me, on the down side if you want to 'break even' you'd need about 4 or more drinks plus sodas and other stuff (mixed drinks are about $10 - 12, beers $5-7) so I'd not be able to consume enough alcohol to pre-spend the money;.

[Joebucks]

On 3/27/2019 at 9:57 AM, DukeASUGirl said:

So many people on this thread kept pointing out that "but you can get milkshakes and coffee drinks" and I was merely stating that isn't of interest to some people.

 

Sure, I could drink 4-5 alcoholic drinks per day for 4 days (I couldn't keep that up for 7 days) but I don't choose to. Anyway, the point is that the OP also indicated they're not heavy drinkers, so it just doesn't seem to make sense for them either, unless they are heavy specialty coffee/bottled tea/energy drinkers in addition to light alchoholic drinkers. For the OP, I don't think it makes sense, but ultimately they will need to decide themselves. Cheers can be a great deal for some.

 

Nope, you're wrong. If you're not sucking down as much different, costly, liquids, you're doing it wrong. Vacation is about a mimosa at breakfast, coffee, vitamin water, bottled tea, and milkshake all day, and then as many sugary cocktails at night that you can stomach. It's a no brainer.

[SNJCruisers]

1 hour ago, Joebucks said:

 

Nope, you're wrong. If you're not sucking down as much different, costly, liquids, you're doing it wrong. Vacation is about a mimosa at breakfast, coffee, vitamin water, bottled tea, and milkshake all day, and then as many sugary cocktails at night that you can stomach. It's a no brainer.

Another post dripping with sarcasm from the teetotalers. It's obvious from your posts on this and similar drink threads that you have no intention of every purchasing the Cheers package, which is fine, but why chastise those who decide that the Cheers package provides value TO THEM.  You may like to relax on your balcony all day long, while others will be happy with an inside cabin and take the price differential and use it to invest in Cheers.  Everyone has their own choice as to how they wish to spend their vacation dollars.

[Joebucks]

52 minutes ago, SNJCruisers said:

Another post dripping with sarcasm from the teetotalers. It's obvious from your posts on this and similar drink threads that you have no intention of every purchasing the Cheers package, which is fine, but why chastise those who decide that the Cheers package provides value TO THEM.  You may like to relax on your balcony all day long, while others will be happy with an inside cabin and take the price differential and use it to invest in Cheers.  Everyone has their own choice as to how they wish to spend their vacation dollars.

 

Funny you should mention that. Believe it or not, I have Cheers for my cruise next month. I'm going a 4 day Bahamas cruise with the guys, and after some debate, we figured it might be a good thing to try. I love a good drink. Yet I haven't personally been able to ever justify enough demand on a cruise with Cheers. Between the food, the ports (and drinks there), and sun, it's hard to do and harder to even want. For me.

 

I've never said Cheers is always a bad idea. I believe it has its uses. If you're someone who generally drinks a lot and/or runs up big tabs, it makes more sense. If you would normally buy a bottle of wine every night for dinner, why not? If Alchemy is your thing, go ahead. Having a shorter cruise and/or more port days help too IMO.

 

Where I will often give my opinion that it is not a good deal is for people who say "I and/or my partner don't drink a lot, should we do it?" No amount of "this is included too," is going to rack up enough use. Telling a couple that doesn't drink to each get 6 fancy cocktails, every night, for 7 nights to "break even" is a silly concept. 80ish alchemy cocktails in that time is simply too much if you don't drink. (It's even too much for many who do drink). Same thing with coffees and all of the other stuff you just wouldn't drink. We're just scared to death of individual charges. 

[emoorehead]

As with anything, there are definitely pros and come to the Cheers program. The only person who can determine if it is right for you is YOU. Sure we can all give our opinions about who should buy it and who shouldn't, but at the end of the day each of us has to make the decision for ourselves.

To the OP (I'm sorry I don't recall your name): if you are asking for advice/opinions, here is my 2 cents. Based on what you have described, if I was in your situation, I would get a couple of the Carnival gift cards from AARP and put them on your S&S account to cover your beverages. If you don't use it all, you can use the casino trick to cash out your account at the end of your trip. Whatever you decide, I hope you have a fabulous time!

 

Now, as for me.....I have gone back and forth on whether I will get Cheers or not. I fall into the middle category of people who will likely utelize enough of the options that it will he worth it to me. I don't care for lemonade, tea, juice, or plain coffee so I will definitely be purchasing other types of drinks. At the end of the day what maxe the decision for me was that I know how I am. And I know that if I pay as I go, I will spend my entire vacation stressing about money every time I get something to drink. But I know that about myself, so Cheers makes sense for me.

[JQTravels]