Cheers buy on board or not?

[helene109]

We sail on 8/14 Mardi Gras my husband and I have $400 in obc. Trying to figure out if we should purchase it on board. 
 

Question is it 10% more on board then to buy it before we leave?

Edited June 22, 2021 by helene109

[firefly333]

About $200 of the obc will pay for grats.. wouldn't be me, but I hardly drink.

 

I'd use the other 200 obc to eat at pay restaurants  or nice excursions.

 

[bdever]

26 minutes ago, helene109 said:

We sail on 8/14 Mardi Gras my husband and I have $400 in obc. Trying to figure out if we should purchase it on board. 
 

Question is it 10% more on board then to buy it before we leave?

Yes, 10% more to buy on board but worth it to use the OBC, otherwise you could prepurchase for the 10% and get an additional 12% on top of that by paying for it using Allstate discounted gift cards. That’s what I’m going to do for my next sailing.

[Cruise Related]

28 minutes ago, helene109 said:

We sail on 8/14 Mardi Gras my husband and I have $400 in obc. Trying to figure out if we should purchase it on board. 
 

Question is it 10% more on board then to buy it before we leave?

It is 10% cheaper if you buy it online before you sail. However, you can’t use the OBC prior to boarding. Personally, I’d buy Cheers with the OBC, but then again, totally depends on what you wish to do onboard, go to pay for restaurants, buy pictures, use it as tips? 

[helene109]

My husband drinks a lot of sugar free energy drinks so Cheers is well worth it. I usually buy before we cruise but have never had this much obc!!

 Thanks 

[lostsoulcruiser]

Cheers is approximately $52 per day per person (all in cabin must buy as I understand) so consider it $104 per day per cabin if travelling with spouse .  Take 10% off if you buy beforehand, so it works out about $47 per day per person.  If you buy beforehand , you cannot use OBC.  Hope this helps.

[imkatz]

We use our obc towards the drink package, puts a nice little dent in what we have to pay :)

[SNJCruisers]

Buy it beforehand and save the 10%, plus of course the 12% using Allstate gift cards.  You have 400 in OBC, after factoring out tips, that leaves you with 190.  Use most of the rest in pay restaurants or go to Cherry On Top and buy gift cards to use on a future cruise.

[firefly333]

31 minutes ago, helene109 said:

My husband drinks a lot of sugar free energy drinks so Cheers is well worth it. I usually buy before we cruise but have never had this much obc!!

 Thanks 

I've been told can use cheers for the bottled green leaf iced tea. I'm going to check that out.

[skrufy]

1 hour ago, helene109 said:

We sail on 8/14 Mardi Gras my husband and I have $400 in obc. Trying to figure out if we should purchase it on board. 
 

Question is it 10% more on board then to buy it before we leave?

 

4 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

I've been told can use cheers for the bottled green leaf iced tea. I'm going to check that out.

You are aware that OBC can only be used while on board.

[Knights on the Beach]

32 minutes ago, lostsoulcruiser said:

Cheers is approximately $52 per day per person (all in cabin must buy as I understand) so consider it $104 per day per cabin if travelling with spouse .  Take 10% off if you buy beforehand, so it works out about $47 per day per person.  If you buy beforehand , you cannot use OBC.  Hope this helps.

 

You don't actually get 10% off the listed price - it would be 10% more than that if you buy Cheers on the ship.  Then they add the 18% gratuity so you also save a little bit there if you buy it at the lower price before the cruise.

 

 

Edited June 22, 2021 by cruisemom2

[lostsoulcruiser]

I stand corrected

[Wanna_Cruize]

I'm considering purchasing Cheers onboard, but on Day 2. Bring 2 bottles of wine onboard should be enough to hold us for the first day, and then buy it super early on Day 2. That is, assuming you still can do that for cruises NOT out of TX or NY. I guess that question will be answered by the first sailing out of Florida. 

[helene109]

We will do specialty dining too

yes I have a few Allstate cards too.

just wish I knew exactly the price on board.

 

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

2 hours ago, firefly333 said:

I've been told can use cheers for the bottled green leaf iced tea. I'm going to check that out.

 

Is that the "Pure Leaf" brand? I just tried one of those (unsweetened/black) the other day and it was actually good - I was not expecting that.

 

I have the "free drinks while playing in the casino" perk - I might play a penny slot, if there is still such a thing, at minimum bet just long enough to get a tea, lol !

 

Tom

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

3 hours ago, bdever said:

...and get an additional 12% on top of that by paying for it using Allstate discounted gift cards. ...

 

I'll have to look into that. Where can one pick some up?

 

SCRATCH THAT... I'm guessing one needs to actually be a Allstate customer for that!  😄

[bdever]

Just now, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

 

I'll have to look into that. Where can one pick some up?

Sign up for Allstate Rewards. I don’t really mess with the drive wise app. Allstate Rewards sends these wonderful spam emails to me every few weeks and I discovered if I scroll down to the bottom of the email there is a promo code to get usually 2K in points per email. You use the points in your Allstate Rewards account to buy Carnival gift cards at 12% off. I usually put in an order for 4-6 cards a month. 

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

3 minutes ago, bdever said:

Sign up for Allstate Rewards. I don’t really mess with the drive wise app. Allstate Rewards sends these wonderful spam emails to me every few weeks and I discovered if I scroll down to the bottom of the email there is a promo code to get usually 2K in points per email. You use the points in your Allstate Rewards account to buy Carnival gift cards at 12% off. I usually put in an order for 4-6 cards a month. 

 

Thanks - yep, I realized shortly after I posted that, that... duh... one needed to be an Allstate customer!

 

Tom

[Cruise Related]

12 minutes ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

 

Is that the "Pure Leaf" brand? I just tried one of those (unsweetened/black) the other day and it was actually good - I was not expecting that.

 

I have the "free drinks while playing in the casino" perk - I might play a penny slot, if there is still such a thing, at minimum bet just long enough to get a tea, lol !

 

Tom

Sure is! I was hardcore addicted to the sweet tea. They definitely serve it on Carnival ships! 

[bdever]

Cheers! using pre-purchased using discounted gift cards. Buy 4 $100 cards = $88.59 per card after shipping 😏$354.56. $363.65 prepurchase Cheers! Price & use the remaining balance of $45.64 as additional funds you can add to your account at guest services once you board.

[bdever]

7 minutes ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

 

Thanks - yep, I realized shortly after I posted that, that... duh... one needed to be an Allstate customer!

 

Tom

No you don’t. I’m not.

[helene109]

32 minutes ago, bdever said:

Cheers! using pre-purchased using discounted gift cards. Buy 4 $100 cards = $88.59 per card after shipping 😏$354.56. $363.65 prepurchase Cheers! Price & use the remaining balance of $45.64 as additional funds you can add to your account at guest services once you board.

Great idea! I have 1 card already! Thanks again!! I might prepay the tips too.

[bdever]

3 minutes ago, helene109 said:

Great idea! I have 1 card already! Thanks again!! I might prepay the tips too.

My calculation is for solo traveler so multiply by 2.

 

Comes to $50.65 pp per day.

Edited June 22, 2021 by bdever

[stellarose]

I always pre pay for tips/ excursions.  then I know its done ahead of time. 

[Robo1098]

How do I go about cashing in OBC in the casino? How is it done? I know there is a 3% fee in there somewhere but if I save over 10% for purchasing before boarding I would rather do that.