Is the Cheer Program Worth It?

[SNJCruisers]

16 hours ago, nissach said:

 I think it also depends on how many sea days and port days you have and if you plan on being in port on excursions, etc for long periods of time. 

100% moot point.  If you're in port on an excursion from 8-4, then you could have a drink at 400 and have one every 90 minutes and you would have consumed 6 drinks in under 8 hours and you've paid for the program that day.  You can obviously stretch it out to 2.5 hours in between drinks and start at 1100 am on port days and still make your 6 drink to break even.  (11-130-4-630-9-1130)  Either way, you're not getting hammered.

[SNJCruisers]

16 hours ago, Joebucks said:

I just came back from a 4 day cruise with 2 buddies and Cheers. We love to drink, but agreed we probably wouldn't do it again. It's just too excessive in cost and consumption. 

Sorry to hear it didn't go well Joe.  But how can you love to drink, but think that it was too excessive in consumption?  Those statements do not go together.  If you love to drink, then 4 or 5 at Alchemy or enjoying the higher end bourbons that you reportedly liked on another thread would not be excessive.  Especially over a 4 day cruise, which is considered a booze cruise.

[SNJCruisers]

5 hours ago, bjfitz0703 said:

Remember Carnival makes money on Cheers.

Can you please enlighten me as to a location on the ship where Carnival does not make money? 

[Caitlynhanc]

For my husband and I it is totally worth it! It costs about 900 for a 7 day cruise.  This includes 15 alcoholic drinks per day, specialty coffee, bottles of water, smoothies, pop etc.  I am not a HUGE drinker, but it is very easy to have a specialty coffee (or 2) in the morning, a couple frozen fruity drinks in the afternoon and a couple glasses of wine with dinner, plus numerous bottles of water all week.  At the end of our cruise, we got a list of all the purchases and we did a rough calculation on what our drinks would have cost at the end of the week, and we were up to about 2000 bucks! Seems crazy, but we had alot of GOOD coffee, lots of water and lots of Gatorade.  I love the freedom of paying ONE price and not having to worry about my tab at the end of the cruise.  I can have fun and enjoy myself and not be calculating each drink I have :)

Edited May 8, 2019 by Caitlynhanc

[nissach]

7 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

100% moot point.  If you're in port on an excursion from 8-4, then you could have a drink at 400 and have one every 90 minutes and you would have consumed 6 drinks in under 8 hours and you've paid for the program that day.  You can obviously stretch it out to 2.5 hours in between drinks and start at 1100 am on port days and still make your 6 drink to break even.  (11-130-4-630-9-1130)  Either way, you're not getting hammered.

For me personally, it does make a difference whether it is a port day or not.  I would rather enjoy my drinks throughout the day and not cram them in prior to or after an all day excursion. Just my view point though.

[ProgRockCruiser]

13 hours ago, bjfitz0703 said:

Remember Carnival makes money on Cheers.

Indeed, they do.  That is probably why they offer it, not being a 501 (c) Corporation...

 

They probably make less money from me selling me Cheers than if they didn't offer it (because i would still purchase $60 or $70 worth of booze per day, based on my own habits), but on the other hand, if they didn't offer it, I might not cruise with them, and switch to a line that did offer a drink package.

 

They could sell it for $30, with a 15 drink limit, and still make a profit with folks hitting the limit, I suspect - "good" alcohol is less than a buck an ounce (when purchased outside tax zones in bulk), and while martinis might have 2oz, most mixed drinks are in the 1.5 oz range.

 

And as noted, most folks don't hit the limit, they seem to be around 7 to 10 drinks.

 

Still, for the OP, the Cheers package does not sound worthwhile.  With those drinking habits, I would take my first cruise drinking a la carte, and see where I ended up at the end.  I would doubt highly that the OP would end up regretting not purchasing Cheers.

[SandiLynn]

On 5/6/2019 at 1:57 PM, naxer said:

From your description, probably not.  In your case, I'd try cruising without Cheers first.  It's a little more expensive to buy it on board, but depending on the length of your cruise, you will have a day or two to decide if it seems you will want to drink more than normal.  But even then, I think I would try a whole cruise without it first.  

I agree, you can always set aside the price you would have paid for Cheers  and then at the end see if you would have needed to purchase it to save money. Have a wonderful cruise!

[wesorbeth]

For my husband and I it is worth it.  I have never been drunk on a cruise, I want to remember my vacation.  We will have a mimosa or two with breakfast, a latte, a beer or two in the afternoon, a mojito then at dinner a glass of wine and maybe two drinks at Alchemy.  I also drink at least 5 bottles of water a day and maybe a bourbon or scotch as a nightcap.  

[Joebucks]

15 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

Sorry to hear it didn't go well Joe.  But how can you love to drink, but think that it was too excessive in consumption?  Those statements do not go together.  If you love to drink, then 4 or 5 at Alchemy or enjoying the higher end bourbons that you reportedly liked on another thread would not be excessive.  Especially over a 4 day cruise, which is considered a booze cruise.

 

I wouldn't say it didn't go well. I easily "exceeded" the cost of Cheers, and tried lots of new things. I spent lots of time at the Alchemy, and had a blast.

 

Some of the cons for us:

- We felt we always had to drink (our choice I know). 4 days seemed like a lot of work. Never ever would I consider a 7 day cruise with Cheers.

- There was a very small selection of bourbons. There were two, and I survived. However, I wasn't able to "try" more.

- We felt sluggish. It's a lot of sugar to get all of these mixed drinks

 

I would very much prefer buying a bottle, although they don't have bourbon bottles, which I don't like. A good chunk of my drinks were bourbon on the rocks. I could do a 1 liter of Jack Daniels though for about $110, and that would last me through a week-long cruise. Then I stop buy Alchemy 1-2 times a night for a little treat.

[Sersee]

Well I just learned something so thank you! I had read you can NOT use carnival gift cards to purchase Cheers! But reading here, I guess you can. That helps me out a lot!

 

[RandomUser123]

For me personally I am not going to purchase it. You cannot use it when at port (unless you stay on ship but we leave the ship). My wife is not a big drinker and she would have to purchase it if I were to get it. The 2 bottles of wine we bring on combined will last us 2 days (with me drinking most of it anyways) and afterwards I will typically have a drink in the afternoon if on the ship and 2 or 3 in the evening with my wife having 1 in the evening. In regards to non alcoholic drinks I just drink the ship water, lemonade and iced tea that is already included so cheers would not add anything for non alcoholic plus we will bring 1 or 2 12 packs of soda on as well so more than enough already. 

Edited May 9, 2019 by RandomUser123

[Can'tWait2SetSail]

 

 

1

52 minutes ago, Sersee said:

Well I just learned something so thank you! I had read you can NOT use carnival gift cards to purchase Cheers! But reading here, I guess you can. That helps me out a lot!

 

 I did it a few weeks ago for my cruise Monday!

 

[SNJCruisers]

50 minutes ago, Sersee said:

Well I just learned something so thank you! I had read you can NOT use carnival gift cards to purchase Cheers! But reading here, I guess you can. That helps me out a lot!

 

They can be used to pay for everything.  Deposit, balance, gratuities, Cheers, specialty restaurants, excursions, pictures, etc.

[Sersee]

1 hour ago, SNJCruisers said:

They can be used to pay for everything.  Deposit, balance, gratuities, Cheers, specialty restaurants, excursions, pictures, etc.

  I knew balance and other things. My final is due before I could get the gift cards, but I sure could get them to pay for the Cheers program. I don't have to purchase that until 3 days before leaving correct? That makes me feel even happier about the Cheers program being able to save an extra 10%.  This girl is buying the Cheers lol. 

 

My husband was going back and forth trying to see if it was worth it. He was asking me what I might drink. He had read you need to drink 5 drinks to make it worth it and asked me if I would drink that. Um ? Hello? Do you not know me? On the weekends he and I can have at least 4 just sitting watching tv and hello mimosas!  I think I will make it worth my while lol

[SNJCruisers]

6 minutes ago, Sersee said:

  I knew balance and other things. My final is due before I could get the gift cards, but I sure could get them to pay for the Cheers program. I don't have to purchase that until 3 days before leaving correct? That makes me feel even happier about the Cheers program being able to save an extra 10%.  This girl is buying the Cheers lol. 

 

My husband was going back and forth trying to see if it was worth it. He was asking me what I might drink. He had read you need to drink 5 drinks to make it worth it and asked me if I would drink that. Um ? Hello? Do you not know me? On the weekends he and I can have at least 4 just sitting watching tv and hello mimosas!  I think I will make it worth my while lol

If you pay for Cheers on board, it's 56.95.  Three days prior, it's 51.95, which is only 46.75 after your 10% card discount.  The newer ships in the fleet also have alcohol infused milkshakes available at the Shake Shack, which are included.

[purplephenom]

Depending on which threads you read on this board, it's easy to feel like "everyone buys it" or "no one buys it."  Just figure out what you think you'll drink, add a "buffer" of a few drinks just in case you don't like something or you have an extra couple drinks here and there, and see if you're close to making it worthwhile.  Then add in coffee, bottled water, soda, and whatever else you drink and see where the money leaves you.

 

If you like the all inclusive feel of Cheers, but don't feel it's worth it, there are other ways to handle- set aside money to load on your account, buy gift cards, buy cruise cash.  

[Tyhunt]

• Do a google search for     Cruise Line Drink Package Calculator,  might be what you need to answer your question.

[JQTravels]

We did the Cheers! package and I am not a heavy drinker and we did a 7 day cruise and we calculated we lost close to $350 dollars.  Next cruise we are going on we are getting cruise bar cash.  We did a review of our experience if you would like to take a look.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0V8kL5WBI4

[Purvis1231]

4 hours ago, JQTravels said:

We did the Cheers! package and I am not a heavy drinker and we did a 7 day cruise and we calculated we lost close to $350 dollars.  Next cruise we are going on we are getting cruise bar cash.  We did a review of our experience if you would like to take a look.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0V8kL5WBI4 

Cheers is for those who plan to drink a good bit. I know some people want a few days of drinking s o for them taking an excursion at an all you can drink resort could be the best choice. (but make sure you will get back to the ship.)

 

Edited May 10, 2019 by Purvis1231
typo

[ricew001]

23 hours ago, Sersee said:

Well I just learned something so thank you! I had read you can NOT use carnival gift cards to purchase Cheers! But reading here, I guess you can. That helps me out a lot!

 

You most certainly can. I did it in 2017 and I did it for our cruise in November this year.

[ricew001]

22 hours ago, RandomUser123 said:

For me personally I am not going to purchase it. You cannot use it when at port (unless you stay on ship but we leave the ship). My wife is not a big drinker and she would have to purchase it if I were to get it. The 2 bottles of wine we bring on combined will last us 2 days (with me drinking most of it anyways) and afterwards I will typically have a drink in the afternoon if on the ship and 2 or 3 in the evening with my wife having 1 in the evening. In regards to non alcoholic drinks I just drink the ship water, lemonade and iced tea that is already included so cheers would not add anything for non alcoholic plus we will bring 1 or 2 12 packs of soda on as well so more than enough already. 

I see your from PA. No self-respecting Southerner can drink that nasty stuff on the ship they call "tea." Thankfully for this southern girl I can last those 7 days by making sure I get enough Carnival Cosmos to help me as I go through "sweet tea detox". 😁

[SNJCruisers]

23 minutes ago, ricew001 said:

I see your from PA. No self-respecting Southerner can drink that nasty stuff on the ship they call "tea." Thankfully for this southern girl I can last those 7 days by making sure I get enough Carnival Cosmos to help me as I go through "sweet tea detox". 😁

You can always get a bottle of Honest Tea that is included with Cheers and doctor it up with additional sugar to make it closer to the sugar water with tea flavoring that southern tea is.

[ricew001]

Just now, SNJCruisers said:

You can always get a bottle of Honest Tea that is included with Cheers and doctor it up with additional sugar to make it closer to the sugar water with tea flavoring that southern tea is.

Said no Southerner EVER!!!

😁

[SNJCruisers]

1 minute ago, ricew001 said:

Said no Southerner EVER!!!

😁

So, brew your own per cup and add multiple bags of sugar and then pour over ice.  Then go to a bar and add vodka.

[Haveuseen1]

After using the drink calculator, we have decided to do the following. We are going to purchase 400.00 in Carnival Gift Cards using the AARP discount so our cost will be 360.00. We are then going to add the 400.00 to our S&S card, with our credit card as a backer.  Seems like about the best we can buy Cheers for would be roughly 548 using AARP gift cards.  If we end up going over the 548 then we know to buy Cheers next time.  If we go under the 548 then we made the right decision.  At the end, if we have money left from the gift cards on the S&S then we can use the Casino to cash them out.