Is Cheer's worth it?

[Allura_317]

I am sailing on the Horizon and am considering the Cheer's program.  I do not drink alcohol frequently: I may have a glass of wine with dinner and a fruity cocktail poolside.  But on cruises, I only have between 0-2 adult drinks a day.  On land, maybe 1 glass of wine per month.  On the other hand, I DO drink lots of bottled waters (for port days), smoothies, milkshakes, coffees, teas, and juices.  Therefore, I was wondering if Cheer's would be worth it for me.  I know that most of the non-adult drinks I mentioned are included in Cheers, but not Bottomless Bubbles.  To give you an idea, here is a list of the drinks I would consume in 1 day of a cruise:

1-2 specialty coffees or teas (you know..so I'm not a monster in the morning)

1-2 non-included juices (with breakfast)

1-2 smoothie(s) 

1 Milkshake 

1 Cocktail

1 Glass of wine

2 bottled waters (get for port days)

 

Thanks in advance!

 

[ElCrappyTan]

I’m gonna say no. Even on the high side of your estimated use, I estimate you almost to the daily rate. If it’s me, I’d pay as I go and purchase the water in advance through the fun shops.

[Butterbean1000]

Not even close.  Also, 1 to 2 smoothies plus a milkshake everyday?

Edited February 21, 2019 by Butterbean1000

[Allura_317]

5 minutes ago, Butterbean1000 said:

Not even close.  Also, 1 to 2 smoothies plus a milkshake everyday?

I'm on vacation and have a sweet tooth!  On land, it is 1 of those a year, lol.

[theboatahoy]

It's not too hard for you, or anyonez to figure it if Cheers is worth it for them. Some quick math will give you your answer. No need to make ANOTHER thread asking the same question as dozens of other people. 

[Allura_317]

Just now, theboatahoy said:

It's not too hard for you, or anyonez to figure it if Cheers is worth it for them. Some quick math will give you your answer. No need to make ANOTHER thread asking the same question as dozens of other people. 

I am so sorry.  I tried to find the prices for everything online but could not find some of them so I figured someone here would.  I am loyal to Royal with some Carnival and NCL thrown in there so I was trying to figure out the differences between Royal and Carnival.  

[Harleytexascruiser]

I’m not much of an alcohol drinker myself but I purchased Cheers because I wanted to try a few different alcohol drinks I normally would not buy. I tried a chocolate martini 🤮 I tried several fruity fancy drinks 🥴 I had several Corona beers each day 🤪 but for me it was worth the cost to have a couple of specialty coffees each morning then a few energy drinks through the day. I was really loving the two a day milkshakes in the afternoon and evenings. The ladies at the coffee bar were happy to make different coffee shakes or put shots of liquor in the shake.

          I’m not sure if I broke even with the cost but it was more about enjoying a vacation and trying anything and everything and not worrying about how much something cost. I even had some incredible conversation with people I met at the bar because I would not normally hangout at a bar.

           I say if your budget allows it go for Cheers, and when you get that glass of wine at the bar raise your glass and say Cheers!!!!!!!

[tonit964]

25 minutes ago, Allura_317 said:

I'm on vacation and have a sweet tooth!  On land, it is 1 of those a year, lol.

You can get your sweet tooth fix for "free" everyday with all the deserts and soft serve ice cream on board, heck, you can even get creative and make your own milkshakes with the "free" ingredients available in the buffet. By free I mean with your already paid cruise fare. 😉

 

No need to purchase Cheers! It's not worth it for you and you are the type of cruiser that Carnival LOVES for purchasing it. If the cruise lines that offer the package were losing money, they would have halted it years ago. 

[Allura_317]

19 minutes ago, tonit964 said:

You can get your sweet tooth fix for "free" everyday with all the deserts and soft serve ice cream on board, heck, you can even get creative and make your own milkshakes with the "free" ingredients available in the buffet. By free I mean with your already paid cruise fare. 😉

 

No need to purchase Cheers! It's not worth it for you and you are the type of cruiser that Carnival LOVES for purchasing it. If the cruise lines that offer the package were losing money, they would have halted it years ago. 

Thanks!  I could combine milk and the soft serve with some hand crushed cookies for the milkshake, but... it's not as good!  Either way, thanks for your advice!  I think I won't get it and just buy my teas and coffees and such by the drink, in the end I will be saving money!  Thanks for all the help everyone!

[gkbiiii]

3 hours ago, tonit964 said:

You can get your sweet tooth fix for "free" everyday with all the deserts and soft serve ice cream on board, heck, you can even get creative and make your own milkshakes with the "free" ingredients available in the buffet. By free I mean with your already paid cruise fare. 😉

 

No need to purchase Cheers! It's not worth it for you and you are the type of cruiser that Carnival LOVES for purchasing it. If the cruise lines that offer the package were losing money, they would have halted it years ago. 

 

To me, this is being a tad bit cheap, no?

[schazzy]

6 hours ago, Allura_317 said:

Thanks!  I could combine milk and the soft serve with some hand crushed cookies for the milkshake, but... it's not as good!  Either way, thanks for your advice!  I think I won't get it and just buy my teas and coffees and such by the drink, in the end I will be saving money!  Thanks for all the help everyone!

 

If I were you, I'd take advantage of the fact you can bring your own wine (1 bottle per adult) and the 12 12oz cans or cartons of non-alcoholic beverages per person. Also, the specialty coffee is worth it in my opinion, but the specialty tea will run you around $2 or so per and all they do is put a tea bag in hot water for you and it's kinda weak. They have regular black and green tea and all the hot water you want on the Lido deck for no extra charge and you can bring your own tea bags if you want. And the 12pks of bottled water are a good deal when compared to the ala carte prices.

[sparks1093]

4 hours ago, gkbiiii said:

 

To me, this is being a tad bit cheap, no?

To each his or her own.

 

On our last CCL cruise we didn't hold back, if we wanted to have something to drink we ordered it. Our bar bill at the end of the cruise was $750-ish which included a bottle from Fun Shops for the cabin. Right at the cusp. Just purchased the drink package for our upcoming cruise on Royal and it was $750-ish, so we will definitely get our money's worth.

[crewsweeper]

15 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

To each his or her own.

 

On our last CCL cruise we didn't hold back, if we wanted to have something to drink we ordered it. Our bar bill at the end of the cruise was $750-ish which included a bottle from Fun Shops for the cabin. Right at the cusp. Just purchased the drink package for our upcoming cruise on Royal and it was $750-ish, so we will definitely get our money's worth.

That's probably the best way to determine if cheers is right for your cabin.  Just look at your past statements.

A good rule of thumb to use is:  If 80% or more of Cheers, do Cheers (you can upgrade your bevies of choice to more expensive brands).  If NOT, better off with prepaid Fun Cash cards (or whatever they are called)  or just coughing it up post cruise via credit card.

 

There are spreadsheets around with fairly current prices and selections to help you decide.  These are good when one person drinks more than the other.  Google and DuckDuck Go are your friends on looking for these. DDG is even more friendly.

[1019throw]

There was a previous post on this, but this forum really needs to clean up the stickies up top, and Cheers and FTTF need to have their own. They are far and away the most asked questions

[Butterbean1000]

11 hours ago, Allura_317 said:

I'm on vacation and have a sweet tooth!  On land, it is 1 of those a year, lol.

You are so right.  Go for it, girl!

[evelyn.fuentes]

Only if you're going to have more than 5 drinks per day. Remember everyone over 21 in your stater room must also purchase.

[elcuchio24]

not for you. Cheers is great for the 12 cocktails a day'ers. Like myself. 

[Joebucks]

The magic number is $860. Would you +1 drink an amount near or exceeding that total in a week? The majority of people do not. Some that do, push themselves to drink extra to feel better about it. 

 

I don't mean to call you out or anything, but you drink 1 smoothie/milkshake a year and will have 2-3 on the boat on top of 1-2 specialty coffees, every day? How sure are you of this?

[tonit964]

8 hours ago, gkbiiii said:

 

To me, this is being a tad bit cheap, no?

It's not being cheap. The OP stated they don't really drink that much but would like a milkshake everyday.

 

There are a few threads on Lido buffet hacks and one of them that has been mentioned many times is making your own milkshakes with what's available.

Just giving another opinion and suggestion. It's their money, they can/should spend it how they want.

 

 

[ricew001]

Here's that spreadsheet that was mentioned. It's math. Plug it in and see.

 

Here's what I always say:

I pay $90 for a $100 Carnival Gift Card.

Then I use it to buy Cheers at the discounted price before I get on the ship.

So now I've gotten it at a discount and I don't have to worry about a bill at the end of the trip becuase it's now prepaid!

 

Once on board I began drinking like this: Hey I'd love to order something new to try. Heck if I don't like it I have Cheers, so so what? Get it and see if you love it. IF not order something you do!

 

My frozen drink melted. Oh no. I have Cheers! I'll get  a  fresh one. Oh I wish that drink was stronger.

 

Oh I have Cheers let me order a shot to add to it!

 

As one poster so eloquently put it: it enhances your experience,

The last trip we broke even some days, other days we were close. But it was paid for and I did it as prepaid on a discount so I was happy!

 

Carnival Vista Cheers Evaluator 2018-08-02.xls

[rnr4thatsme]

13 hours ago, Allura_317 said:

I am sailing on the Horizon and am considering the Cheer's program.  I do not drink alcohol frequently: I may have a glass of wine with dinner and a fruity cocktail poolside.  But on cruises, I only have between 0-2 adult drinks a day.  On land, maybe 1 glass of wine per month.  On the other hand, I DO drink lots of bottled waters (for port days), smoothies, milkshakes, coffees, teas, and juices.  Therefore, I was wondering if Cheer's would be worth it for me.  I know that most of the non-adult drinks I mentioned are included in Cheers, but not Bottomless Bubbles.  To give you an idea, here is a list of the drinks I would consume in 1 day of a cruise:

1-2 specialty coffees or teas (you know..so I'm not a monster in the morning)  

1-2 non-included juices (with breakfast)  

1-2 smoothie(s) 

1 Milkshake 

1 Cocktail

1 Glass of wine

2 bottled waters (get for port days)

 

Thanks in advance!

 

 

Lattes were just under $4 and milkshakes and smoothies were under $6.  Wine was most expensive at around $10-11 a glass for the suggested wines on the menu at the MDR, and most cocktails were just under $10.  Bottled water you can have delivered to your room for under $5 for 12 bottles.  Water from the bar was $1.25 I believe if you run out. 

 

[MWBearFan]

For us we decided early on not to go with the cheers.  For one if one person in your room has it both have to have it.  I don't drink, and my wife only does on occasion.  The draw for us would be all that's included beyond just Alcohol.  But even then it just didn't seem worth it as we'd have to drink a lot of specialty drinks to get our money's worth.  We did consider the bottomless bubbles as we do like soda, but considering each person can bring 12 cans of non-alcoholic drinks and a bottle of wine each, we chose to skip any drink package.  We spent way less by paying as we went especially since you can pretty much get tea, lemonade, and water whenever you want it.    It's really one of those things that is a personal choice.  

[mvaughn11]

So this is something I struggle with every cruise, should we or shouldn't we... So DW and I did the beverage package once on Royal. We enjoyed it but the whole cruise I felt like we had to drink and drink and drink and drink so we could get our money's worth.

 

Every cruise since then, we don't buy the beverage package, we drink what we want and when and we have never spent enough where we would have been better off with Cheers, we're not stress or feel like we're forcing ourselves to drink.

 

If I want a lot of beer, I buy a bucket. If I want a scotch or two I have them. She can have 2 or 3 rum drinks and then a couple of glasses of wine. We buy water before the cruise and it's in the room when we get there. We bring 2 bottles of wine on board at the beginning of the cruise. We don't drink soda but I do like to buy coffee in the morning and she likes her hot chocolate.

 

Another thing is port days. We always do excursions in every port so your off the ship several hours, which means when you get back on the ship you have to struggle even more to drink, drink, drink, to make up for lost time.

 

For us, Cheers is not a good buy.

[sweety51901]

My husband and I decided to do Cheers because we're traveling without kids, family or friends for the first time since our honeymoon 18 years ago. Neither one of us is a big drinker, but we love specialty coffees, bottled water, milkshakes, sport waters. I LOVE that spreadsheet BTW. I'm a CPA, so spreadsheets are my jam. Anyway, I put in only 8 alcoholic drinks over our 5 day cruise TOTAL, but with all of our non-alcoholic drinks expected, it was well worth the cost for us. Plus, if your budget allows for it, then it would give you the opportunity to try some other drinks that you might not try if you were paying by the drink. It's vacation! Splurge a little and enjoy yourself!

[Allura_317]

3 hours ago, ricew001 said:

Here's that spreadsheet that was mentioned. It's math. Plug it in and see.

 

Here's what I always say:

I pay $90 for a $100 Carnival Gift Card.

Then I use it to buy Cheers at the discounted price before I get on the ship.

So now I've gotten it at a discount and I don't have to worry about a bill at the end of the trip becuase it's now prepaid!

 

Once on board I began drinking like this: Hey I'd love to order something new to try. Heck if I don't like it I have Cheers, so so what? Get it and see if you love it. IF not order something you do!

 

My frozen drink melted. Oh no. I have Cheers! I'll get  a  fresh one. Oh I wish that drink was stronger.

 

Oh I have Cheers let me order a shot to add to it!

 

As one poster so eloquently put it: it enhances your experience,

The last trip we broke even some days, other days we were close. But it was paid for and I did it as prepaid on a discount so I was happy!

 

Carnival Vista Cheers Evaluator 2018-08-02.xls

Thanks for the spreadsheet, it is AMAZING!