alcohol costs

[Joebucks]

Well you aren't going to drink Maker's Mark on Carnival. It's Woodford and Buffalo Trace, which I think are good too.

 

For a good Manhattan at Alchemy, expect about $13 after gratuity. You might be able to get a cheaper one at the other bars, but they are never nearly as good.

 

I love a good Manhattan or Old Fashioned, but never found myself needing unlimited, especially on a multiple day basis. You can get a 1 liter bottle of Woodford for $120 I believe. From there, I like to buy a cocktail or 2 when I want them. It isn't every day either. I'd much rather have a casual drink at my own pace vs seeing how many sugary drinks I can suck down to "make it a great investment".

[coevan]

Cheers is not an investment

[Saint Greg]

On 12/10/2019 at 12:04 PM, indygirl76 said:

Yep, "large format" bottled waters are free at dinner, including "to go" ones that aren't opened at the table. Our first night, our (awesome) server dropped off two without being asked, so we had a stock for the stateroom. 

 

Yeah I usually have to ask once. Once they find out I'm on cheers they give me a big bottle of water every night at dinner. Or in the steakhouse "still" water in a fancy wine bottle.

[viperrtblck]

3 hours ago, Joebucks said:

Well you aren't going to drink Maker's Mark on Carnival. It's Woodford and Buffalo Trace, which I think are good too.

 

For a good Manhattan at Alchemy, expect about $13 after gratuity. You might be able to get a cheaper one at the other bars, but they are never nearly as good.

 

I love a good Manhattan or Old Fashioned, but never found myself needing unlimited, especially on a multiple day basis. You can get a 1 liter bottle of Woodford for $120 I believe. From there, I like to buy a cocktail or 2 when I want them. It isn't every day either. I'd much rather have a casual drink at my own pace vs seeing how many sugary drinks I can suck down to "make it a great investment".

good info; thanks.  never been on a carnival so bare with me.

 

is alchemy the only bar I can find manhattans at?  like to keep to the stiff drinks cuz as you kinda mentioned; i'm over the sugar mixed drinks.  if the beach umbrella drinks are the only ones I have easy access too; prolly not gonna get the drink package.  I have 3 sea days and 4 port days.  when on board; I prefer beer or my rum/whiskey drinks with no sugar

[coevan]

you can order anything you want, the Alchemy offers fancier foo foo drinks. It's a great bar, best on the ship. Any bar will make you  a Manhattan, martini, margarita, beer , wine...........

[Ellaleah]

My last Carnival was 4 or 5 years ago.  I was the only adult in the room and I’m pretty sure I was allowed 2 bottles.

[cruizergal70]

On 12/10/2019 at 9:12 AM, ksmcdonald said:

But remember, Cheers includes soda and bottled water for the days you don't plan on drinking, so you have to factor that in as well.  Also the specialty coffee for every morning.  Also the Shake Spot that sells milkshakes is included with Cheers (you can even get a shot of vodka or rum in the milkshake with Cheers).

 

 

It's cheaper to buy the 12 packs of water. So, that can be taken out of the costs.  How many milkshakes or sodas will you realistically drink?

[VentureMan_2000]

2 hours ago, cruizergal70 said:

It's cheaper to buy the 12 packs of water. So, that can be taken out of the costs.  

 

 

No...  a 12 pack of water has a cost.  It cannot be taken out of the equation.  

ksmcdonald is clearly saying that you should consider all non-alcoholic drink prices too in your consideration , since they are all included as part of the CHEERS package.  This includes specialty coffees, specialty teas, all virgin drinks, water, soda, milkshakes, and I'm sure other items that have not been mentioned.

They all have a cost.  And should be a consideration in determining if the CHEERS package is a good fit for a person. 

 

Let's do the math...

Personally, I plan on 1 - 2 mocha coffees each morning ( $3.50 - $7.00 ), 3 - 5 bottles water each day ( $4.50 - $7.50 ), and perhaps 1 - 2 milkshakes ( $4.50 - $9.00 ).  So, on a 7 day cruise I'm expecting to purchase roughly $8.50 -  $15.75 per day of non-alcoholic drinks, before even purchasing a cocktail.

So I would actually only need to purchase 4 cocktails a day (average) to break even on the CHEERS package.  Most cruisers could do that in their sleep.

[pacruise804]

16 hours ago, viperrtblck said:

good info; thanks.  never been on a carnival so bare with me.

 

is alchemy the only bar I can find manhattans at?  like to keep to the stiff drinks cuz as you kinda mentioned; i'm over the sugar mixed drinks.  if the beach umbrella drinks are the only ones I have easy access too; prolly not gonna get the drink package.  I have 3 sea days and 4 port days.  when on board; I prefer beer or my rum/whiskey drinks with no sugar

As coevan mentioned, you should be able to find manhattans (and other non-sweet drinks) at any bar.  Alchemy tends to use higher quality ingredients and specialty touches.  Sort of the difference between buffet/main dining and the specialty restaurant experience.

 

 

12 hours ago, VentureMan_2000 said:

 

No...  a 12 pack of water has a cost.  It cannot be taken out of the equation.  

ksmcdonald is clearly saying that you should consider all non-alcoholic drink prices too in your consideration , since they are all included as part of the CHEERS package.  This includes specialty coffees, specialty teas, all virgin drinks, water, soda, milkshakes, and I'm sure other items that have not been mentioned.

They all have a cost.  And should be a consideration in determining if the CHEERS package is a good fit for a person. 

 

Let's do the math...

Personally, I plan on 1 - 2 mocha coffees each morning ( $3.50 - $7.00 ), 3 - 5 bottles water each day ( $4.50 - $7.50 ), and perhaps 1 - 2 milkshakes ( $4.50 - $9.00 ).  So, on a 7 day cruise I'm expecting to purchase roughly $8.50 -  $15.75 per day of non-alcoholic drinks, before even purchasing a cocktail.

So I would actually only need to purchase 4 cocktails a day (average) to break even on the CHEERS package.  Most cruisers could do that in their sleep.

I agree that the cost of water should be included, but it's easy to miscalculate it.  The price per bottle from a 12 pack delivered to the room is about $0.42, not bar price.

 

By the math you might need only 4 cocktails/day (average) to break even.  Many cruisers wouldn't do that every day.  Our last cruise had at least 2 days of very rough seas so probably less drinking.  That would mean 2 days of 8 cocktails/day to balance out (doable, but you likely wouldn't have as many non-alcoholic drinks if having all the others).

 

The math appears simple, but different variables can really affect the data.  Cheers is a great value for many, a reasonable splurge for others, and an expensive upcharge for many others.