So I'm buying Cheers. Make me a believer.

[Joebucks]

As you may know from previous threads, I'm not always the biggest Cheers fan. Later this month, I will be going on a 4 day Bahamas cruise on the Liberty with the guys. Ewww, a booze cruise!! We figured there would be no better time to try it out. For previous cruises, it has proven to be a colossal waste for the girlfriend and I. She barely drinks. I do, but nothing to make Cheers worthwhile. I don't drink any of the other stuff included. Maybe a soda here and there.

 

So help me like it. I'm not a mimosa, coffee, milkshake, juice, or water bottle (I stay away from plastic when possible) person. I'm also losing my interest in beer, especially the heavier ones. They just make me feel bloated. What I would normally do on cruises is buy a bottle (whisky or rum), bring wine, and buy a few a la carte drinks. I love having a nice strong drink that will get me a nice buzz without a ton of filler sugars. I usually don't finish the bottle within 7 days.

 

For me, at this point in my life, it's mostly about the bourbon. I love it. I noticed on a previous drink spreadsheet that there was Booker's bourbon. Where can I find it? The newer spreadsheets don't list that anymore. What other places have the good bourbon? What is exclusive to the steakhouse that is good, and is it acceptable to get a drink there if you aren't eating there? I'll probably do some red wines with dinner too. I love Alchemy, but I just can't put away a ton of those. Lots of sugar. It's a treat for me. Maybe 1-2 a day during the shows. The old fashioned is my favorite drink. What other tips do you have for me that will make me a believer?

[naxer]

On my last cruise, one of the Alchemists did a class on bourbons.  I don't know if they would do that on a 4 day cruise, but ask.   Having Cheers is what makes Alchemy so much fun for me.  I'm an Alchemy bar fly on a cruise--and there are usually a few others, and we kind of become the hub of the scene.  Go shortly after they open, before there's a crush.  Tell them you like bourbon drinks, but not sweet.  They'll find you your drink if you give them time, and maybe even hit it right the first time.  Each cruise they find me a couple gin martinis I really like, and a couple Manhattans I really like.  (I don't like the Caribbean Manhattan--far too sweet for me.)   

[chipperberg]

No bar bill at the end of the cruise.  No evidence.  😉

[Jim and Monika]

My experience and advise:

You will very much enjoy the fact that you went with Cheers, we always have. My advise, pace yourself. With friends that are "drinkers", you may be inclined to start early and go strong. You will burn out your drinks fast and be left unhappy until the next day. Plan out your 15, we have hit most days we've had Cheers and always after midnight. We enjoyed our drinks and never got blitzed. We tipped with every round and felt that we got generous pours, but paced ourselves and included a lot of bottled water.

Have fun!

[Laurab23]

1 hour ago, chipperberg said:

No bar bill at the end of the cruise.  No evidence.  😉

Oh I like that thought.

 

[PlanoDebbie]

If your girlfriend doesn't drink, it might not be worth it to buy Cheers since both of you in the same cabin would have to buy it.  They won't let just one person buy the package.

 

[mapman_2004]

3 hours ago, PlanoDebbie said:

If your girlfriend doesn't drink, it might not be worth it to buy Cheers since both of you in the same cabin would have to buy it.  They won't let just one person buy the package.

 

Guys cruise, read his post 

[mapman_2004]

4 hours ago, chipperberg said:

No bar bill at the end of the cruise.  No evidence.  😉

How do you pay for the Cheers in the first place to not have evidence?  Lol

[Quilcruisers]

I have thought about getting cheers on a 4 day, to try it out.  I would be the only one to benefit, none of my cruise partners drink, my husband drinks a little, My sis and mom don’t drink at all. I am looking to be convinced, at least for a 4 day. 

[SNJCruisers]

37 minutes ago, Quilcruisers said:

I have thought about getting cheers on a 4 day, to try it out.  I would be the only one to benefit, none of my cruise partners drink, my husband drinks a little, My sis and mom don’t drink at all. I am looking to be convinced, at least for a 4 day. 

You need to do the math.  Two people for 4 days including 18% gratuity is $490. Your DH drinks a little.  How many per day?  Is it beer or Alchemy Bar drinks?  Does he drink espresso based coffees, bottled water and all of  the other non alcoholic stuff that's included? If you each have only 3 drinks per day at the Alchemy Bar, that's about 340 towards your 490. Convince him to splurge and try new cocktails that he has not tried in the past because it would be a waste of money. He can sample another dozen drinks over the three I mentioned. Doing it over a four day is the time to do it.  Roll the dice and enjoy.

[Joebucks]

4 hours ago, naxer said:

On my last cruise, one of the Alchemists did a class on bourbons.  I don't know if they would do that on a 4 day cruise, but ask.   Having Cheers is what makes Alchemy so much fun for me.  I'm an Alchemy bar fly on a cruise--and there are usually a few others, and we kind of become the hub of the scene.  Go shortly after they open, before there's a crush.  Tell them you like bourbon drinks, but not sweet.  They'll find you your drink if you give them time, and maybe even hit it right the first time.  Each cruise they find me a couple gin martinis I really like, and a couple Manhattans I really like.  (I don't like the Caribbean Manhattan--far too sweet for me.)   

 

I really like this advice. I also did not care for the Carribean Manhattan.

[chipperberg]

6 hours ago, mapman_2004 said:

How do you pay for the Cheers in the first place to not have evidence?  Lol

Gift cards!

[abby1257]

11 hours ago, Jim and Monika said:

My experience and advise:

You will very much enjoy the fact that you went with Cheers, we always have. My advise, pace yourself. With friends that are "drinkers", you may be inclined to start early and go strong. You will burn out your drinks fast and be left unhappy until the next day. Plan out your 15, we have hit most days we've had Cheers and always after midnight. We enjoyed our drinks and never got blitzed. We tipped with every round and felt that we got generous pours, but paced ourselves and included a lot of bottled water.

Have fun!

I'm sorry....I have to ask, how can you have 15 drinks in one day and not be blitzed????

[PhillyFan33579]

23 minutes ago, abby1257 said:

I'm sorry....I have to ask, how can you have 15 drinks in one day and not be blitzed????

 

Obviously everyone reacts differently to alcohol, but if you start with say a mimosa at 8 AM and order your last drink at 11 PM, for example, you are only having roughly one drink an hour, even though you drank a total of 15 drinks.  

 

Plus, you don’t have to come any where close to 15 drinks for Cheers to be beneficial financially. 

[Mistyness]

17 hours ago, Joebucks said:

 

So help me like it. I'm not a mimosa, coffee, milkshake, juice, or water bottle (I stay away from plastic when possible) person. I'm also losing my interest in beer, especially the heavier ones. They just make me feel bloated. What I would normally do on cruises is buy a bottle (whisky or rum), bring wine, and buy a few a la carte drinks. I love having a nice strong drink that will get me a nice buzz without a ton of filler sugars. I usually don't finish

For me, at this point in my life, it's mostly about the bourbon. I love it. I noticed on a previous drink spreadsheet that there was Booker's bourbon. Where can I find it? The newer spreadsheets don't list that anymore. What other places have the good bourbon? What is exclusive to the steakhouse that is good, and is it acceptable to get a drink there if you aren't eating there? I'll probably do some red wines with dinner too. I love Alchemy, but I just can't put away a ton of those. Lots of sugar. It's a treat for me. Maybe 1-2 a day during the shows. The old fashioned is my favorite drink. What other tips do you have for me th

We are debating getting cheer's or not for our upcoming Cruise. I am also avoiding almost all sugar. I have started googling some drinks to try without adding sugar or syrup juice etc. Some drinks I'll  just say don't add the extra sugar.  But I wanted a list of drinks to try as my drink preference is changing. I've found many prohibition area cocktail are easy to remove all or almost all of the sugar. The sugar was introduced to help with how bad some of the alcohol was back then.  We don't have that problem so less sugar doesn't change the drink. I do especially for crowded bars have a drink idea ready so that's why I am getting a list together. And an idea of how to make it as I know it will be different than what most people are ordering

Use this to experiment with drinks. If you don't like it you don't have to finish it. You can explore drinks and maybe find a new favorite.

[CruizCuz]

1 hour ago, abby1257 said:

I'm sorry....I have to ask, how can you have 15 drinks in one day and not be blitzed????

I usually get CHEERS on 5 day or less cruises.  Especially when the cruise is to ports that I have visited many times, and would prefer to stay on the "private" ship when in port.  I don't drink quickly.  When I have CHEERS and the beer I am drinking gets too warm, I toss it and get another frosty, cold one.  I also like to try new drinks with out the pressure of having finish them if I don't like them.  That's usually how I get to 15 in day, which I do a couple of those days.

[MasterMason]

If you drink 5 drinks in a day, you’ve hit the break-even point. And that’s not even including the unlimited power drinks, specialty coffee, milkshakes, or sodas. We don’t cruise without Cheers. For us, it’s a no-brainer.

[JQTravels]

 

[ProgRockCruiser]

On 4/7/2019 at 10:02 AM, abby1257 said:

I'm sorry....I have to ask, how can you have 15 drinks in one day and not be blitzed????

 

Practice.

 

 

Seriously though, if you start the day with a breakfast mimosa at 9am, as others have said, and just casually get a drink every couple of hours up until 5pm, say, and then have a drink every hour during and after dinner (easy to do with glasses of wine, at least for us), you will be at 9 drinks at 9pm.  Another at 11pm as an early nightcap, and you are at 10.  That is super easy for us to hit.  And we don't wait two hours between drink orders after lunch, typically.

 

Port day?  Might hit 7 drinks at that rate (probably skip the 9am, 11am, 1pm, back on board for 3pm) - but more than likely would drink a bit more frequently once back on board, so probably at least 9 total for the day.  That is for us, and our metabolism/livers.  Not everyone is like that.  Maybe as time goes on that may change, but I'm not exactly young (in my 50s), so it isn't like I'm some rowdy 20-something looking to party.

 

If I was cruising with a light/non drinker, I would probably not get Cheers, and instead just drink a la carte, since the drinking I do now is somewhat social drinking with my wife, so my overall drinking would be diminished.  But I cannot foresee ever not cruising with my wife, so that is a bit of a moot point.

Edited April 8, 2019 by ProgRockCruiser

[bowlinmoe]

You have to estimate how many drinks you will have (be honest) and do the math.  

 

For a lot of people, they end up losing money by paying for the Cheers! program.

[Cruiser_1977]

I love Bourbon. I met some fellow Bourbon drinkers on the Fantasy in January! We definitely enjoyed the Woodford Reserve. So much so that we drank a few of the bars out of it! Enjoy. I think Cheers! is definitely worth it on a shorter cruise. 

 

Post #167 

 

Edited April 8, 2019 by JennyB1977

[Don Kehote]

On 4/6/2019 at 5:43 PM, Joebucks said:

For me, at this point in my life, it's mostly about the bourbon. I love it. I noticed on a previous drink spreadsheet that there was Booker's bourbon. Where can I find it? The newer spreadsheets don't list that anymore. What other places have the good bourbon? ... What other tips do you have for me that will make me a believer?

I went back into the archives for this.  I talked my stepdaughter, a whisky lover, into booking a cruise with this list of whiskys and scotches that are supposed to be available fleet wide by mid year 2019.  I found this late last year:

 

WHISKEYS
Templeton Rye
Blantons
Woodford Reserve
Buffalo Trace
Gentleman Jack
Teeling Irish Whiskey
Jameson Caskmates 'Stout' 
Jack Daniels
Jack Daniels Rye
Jack Daniels Honey
Crown Royal
Jameson
Seagrams 7
Old Forester 80 proof
Sazerac Rye
Elijah Craig Small Batch Bourbon
The Duke
Old Overholt Rye
High West Double Rye
High West Prairie Bourbon
Eagle Rare 10 year
Four Roses Single Barrel Bourbon
Breckenridge Bourbon
Basil Hayden TX
Wild Turkey Rare Breed

 

BLENDED SCOTCHES
Chivas Royal Salute
Chivas Regal 18
Dewars 12
Chivas Regal
Dewars White Label
Cutty Sark

 

SINGLE MALT SCOTCHES
Macallan Enigma
Aberfeldy 16
Macallan Quest
Highland Park 12
Ardbeg 10 year
Glen Deveron 16
Glenlivet Founders Reserve
Aberfeldy 12
Glenmorangie 10 year
Aulmore 12

[SNJCruisers]

On 4/7/2019 at 11:05 PM, JQTravels said:

 

One...why would you incur the cost of additional 12 packs of water for your cabin when unlimited bottles are already included bc and paid for with Cheers?  You can bring back bottles from any bar each time you come back to your cabin.  So that was wasted money.

Two...you stated that you were back on board by 300 on your port days, yet you used that as a major reason that you lost money on Cheers.  If you're back on board by 300 and stay up till Midnight, that gives you 9 hours.  If you drink ONE drink every hour and a half, you have consumed six drinks and Cheers is paid for.

[Joebucks]

On 4/7/2019 at 11:13 AM, Mistyness said:

Use this to experiment with drinks. If you don't like it you don't have to finish it. You can explore drinks and maybe find a new favorite.

 

I'm funny about wasting things. It just doesn't sit right with me. Unless something is coffee flavored, which I know not to order, few things are really that bad that I won't finish them. If anything, I can politely ask them to doctor it up a little. I do agree though, you gotta explore. Just like with vacation as a whole.

 

17 hours ago, Don Kehote said:

I went back into the archives for this.  I talked my stepdaughter, a whisky lover, into booking a cruise with this list of whiskys and scotches that are supposed to be available fleet wide by mid year 2019.  I found this late last year:

 

WHISKEYS
Templeton Rye
Blantons
Woodford Reserve
Buffalo Trace
Gentleman Jack
Teeling Irish Whiskey
Jameson Caskmates 'Stout' 
Jack Daniels
Jack Daniels Rye
Jack Daniels Honey
Crown Royal
Jameson
Seagrams 7
Old Forester 80 proof
Sazerac Rye
Elijah Craig Small Batch Bourbon
The Duke
Old Overholt Rye
High West Double Rye
High West Prairie Bourbon
Eagle Rare 10 year
Four Roses Single Barrel Bourbon
Breckenridge Bourbon
Basil Hayden TX
Wild Turkey Rare Breed

 

BLENDED SCOTCHES
Chivas Royal Salute
Chivas Regal 18
Dewars 12
Chivas Regal
Dewars White Label
Cutty Sark

 

SINGLE MALT SCOTCHES
Macallan Enigma
Aberfeldy 16
Macallan Quest
Highland Park 12
Ardbeg 10 year
Glen Deveron 16
Glenlivet Founders Reserve
Aberfeldy 12
Glenmorangie 10 year
Aulmore 12

 

Thanks for this list! By chance, how did you get it?

[sc4125]

I always purchase CHEERS on any 4 day cruise I take even though I seldom "get my moneys worth"  I don't always drink more than 3 drinks a day, but I do like the coffee.  Even though most of the time I don't break even, I always think I will.

 

I've only purchased it one time on a 7-day, and quickly realized that wasn't a great idea for me - paying for 7 days is just too much for me.

 

I'm assuming that you will be rooming with one of the guys that is purchasing CHEERS which is why you are trying it?   Otherwise from what you have said about your drinking habits, I wouldn't think it would be worth it.