Cheers Package

[lovetotraveltx]

We will be on the Carnival Vista out of Galveston for my birthday at the end of July. We don't sail Carnival often so I'm not familiar with this package. I know it's personal preference, but what are the pros to purchasing it. Also, it says not valid until day 2?? So, if you want to drink the first night you need to pay per drink? If this is true, do you spend a lot more if you just buy it the 2nd or 3rd day on board?  Any insight on this package would be appreciated. Thank you

[bigrednole]

TX laws on taxes and sales is the reason it is not active until 6AM the next morning. Only you can decide if it is right for you. Will you drink 5-6 cocktails per day? Add in some of the specialty non-alcohol drinks that go with it into figuring it out. For me, it is absolutely worth it. I will drink 5 cocktails a day easily. 

 

As for the first day, you will pay the drink price, plus 18%, plus TX tax. I assume it goes on your S&S card. 

[aadaneboy]

2 minutes ago, bigrednole said:

TX laws on taxes and sales is the reason it is not active until 6AM the next morning. Only you can decide if it is right for you. Will you drink 5-6 cocktails per day? Add in some of the specialty non-alcohol drinks that go with it into figuring it out. For me, it is absolutely worth it. I will drink 5 cocktails a day easily. 

 

As for the first day, you will pay the drink price, plus 18%, plus TX tax. I assume it goes on your S&S card. 

I thought I had read somewhere you are only charged the tax on the first day while in port/US waters.   

 

Todd

[bigrednole]

Yes, but the 18% gratuity is still added to orders I believe. And yes, the TX tax is only Day 1.

[babygrljaz]

1 hour ago, aadaneboy said:

I thought I had read somewhere you are only charged the tax on the first day while in port/US waters.   

 

Todd

correct only while still in Galveston.  Once the ship is in international waters there is no more tax

[aadaneboy]

2 hours ago, bigrednole said:

Yes, but the 18% gratuity is still added to orders I believe. And yes, the TX tax is only Day 1.

But if I buy the Cheers package, am I charged for the drinks on Day 1?  The cost of the drink, the tip, and the tax?    Or is it just the tax?  

 

Todd

[firefly333]

9 minutes ago, aadaneboy said:

But if I buy the Cheers package, am I charged for the drinks on Day 1?  The cost of the drink, the tip, and the tax?    Or is it just the tax?  

 

Todd

Yes you are charged for the drink. Tip is up to you and tax until international waters.

 

Cheers starts day 2 6 am.

[Joe817]

12 minutes ago, aadaneboy said:

But if I buy the Cheers package, am I charged for the drinks on Day 1?  The cost of the drink, the tip, and the tax?    Or is it just the tax?  

 

Todd

Any drinking on day 1 is charged to your Sail & Sign account. Until you reach international waters.

Edited July 9, 2021 by Joe817

[firefly333]

13 minutes ago, Joe817 said:

Any drinking on day 1 is charged to your Sail & Sign account. Until you reach international waters.

Any drink before day 2 is charged to your acct, 6 am. 

 

Cheers doesnt start until day 2 out of texas. 

 

Maybe you are thinking of rcl.

[Joe817]

2 hours ago, firefly333 said:

Any drink before day 2 is charged to your acct, 6 am. 

 

Cheers doesnt start until day 2 out of texas. 

 

Maybe you are thinking of rcl.

I think we are saying the same thing, but you're more politically correct than I am. Thank you for the clarification. 

[firefly333]

3 minutes ago, Joe817 said:

I think we are saying the same thing, but you're more politically correct than I am. Thank you for the clarification. 

Lol politics? Not sure what's politics. Rcl opens full bar when ships hit international waters. Idk why carnival cheers starts next day. Just have to be happy i got cheers a couple of times. I got the fare that includes it, not purchasing it daily. So it makes no sense to me to say well you paid for one less day. 

 

Maybe carnival can put us in charge. Is the politics rcl vs carnival?

[babygrljaz]

10 minutes ago, Joe817 said:

I think we are saying the same thing, but you're more politically correct than I am. Thank you for the clarification. 

No you said any drinks on day one are charged to s&s until in international waters. That is incorrect. All drinks on day one are charged individually so s&s even after the ship reaches int'l waters, which is about an hour or 2 out of Galveston. Firefly333 is correct, Cheers, out of Texas,  begins on day 2 at 6 am many miles already into int'l waters. Which I very much prefer. There is NO way I could ever get my money's worth on the 1st day. 3 is my limited in such a short amount of time. But then again I'm not one that boards the ship asap. I wait til the crowds have died down big time. I think 2 pm is the easiest we've showed up

[Joe817]

2 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Lol politics? Not sure what's politics. Rcl opens full bar when ships hit international waters. Idk why carnival cheers starts next day. Just have to be happy i got cheers a couple of times. I got the fare that includes it, not purchasing it daily. So it makes no sense to me to say well you paid for one less day. 

 

Maybe carnival can put us in charge. Is the politics rcl vs carnival?

LOLOL. I think that would be like the infirmed, leading the infirmed. I/we cannot justify getting the Cheers package as we are not heavy drinkers. Wife....maybe 3 drinks/day max. Me....maybe 4 or 5 drinks/day. We are not wine drinkers nor coffee lovers, and the free coffee suits me just fine.  

[csr10236]

oh my goodness this thread completely confused me. I get the drink package every single time I cruise. Now according to this thread people are saying day one I have to pay for my drink plus tax, tip etc. So for example, I get on the ship, order my first drink and I pay the 10 bucks (or whatever it costs) plus tax tip etc. even though I have the cheers package. I've never sailed out of Galveston so perhaps this is different than sailing out of Florida or California. When I sailed out of NOLA and had the cheers package we paid just paid whatever extra taxes were required because we weren't in international waters yet. We did not have to pay for the actual drink. Can someone please clarify for me. I'm sorry I'm confused. We pay for the cheers package for five days why would we have to until 6 am on day two? If that's the case then we should be charged for four days not five days.

[firefly333]

3 minutes ago, csr10236 said:

oh my goodness this thread completely confused me. I get the drink package every single time I cruise. Now according to this thread people are saying day one I have to pay for my drink plus tax, tip etc. So for example, I get on the ship, order my first drink and I pay the 10 bucks (or whatever it costs) plus tax tip etc. even though I have the cheers package. I've never sailed out of Galveston so perhaps this is different than sailing out of Florida or California. When I sailed out of NOLA and had the cheers package we paid just paid whatever extra taxes were required because we weren't in international waters yet. We did not have to pay for the actual drink. Can someone please clarify for me. I'm sorry I'm confused. We pay for the cheers package for five days why would we have to until 6 am on day two? If that's the case then we should be charged for four days not five days.

Yes it just applies to texas. Only texas. Sigh

[babygrljaz]

3 minutes ago, csr10236 said:

oh my goodness this thread completely confused me. I get the drink package every single time I cruise. Now according to this thread people are saying day one I have to pay for my drink plus tax, tip etc. So for example, I get on the ship, order my first drink and I pay the 10 bucks (or whatever it costs) plus tax tip etc. even though I have the cheers package. I've never sailed out of Galveston so perhaps this is different than sailing out of Florida or California. When I sailed out of NOLA and had the cheers package we paid just paid whatever extra taxes were required because we weren't in international waters yet. We did not have to pay for the actual drink. Can someone please clarify for me. I'm sorry I'm confused. We pay for the cheers package for five days why would we have to until 6 am on day two? If that's the case then we should be charged for four days not five days.

If sailing out of Galveston you do not pay for day 1.  We are answering specifically about Cheers on Galveston sailings. I pre-purchase Cheers on every cruise & only sail out of Galveston

[Joe817]

14 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Yes it just applies to texas. Only texas. Sigh

Au contraire. To be politically correct, you must include New York in that statement.   Just kidding!  

 

And please do capitalize the "T" in Texas when you refer to...Texas. And like the Bartles & James commercial: "And we thank you for your support."

Edited July 10, 2021 by Joe817

[Wanna_Cruize]

So, to recap, for Carnival cruises out of Galveston, the Cheers package starts at 6am on Day 2. Any drinks in day 1 you will have to pay for. However, if you do purchase Cheers, they charge you for 1 less day. So, for a 5 day cruise, whether you buy it in advance or onboard, they only charge you for 4 days.  

[Purvis1231]

In all US ports. sale tax is applied to all purchases even if on Cheers. 

[BallFour4]

Some clarity: You aren't charged for embarkation day on the Cheers package on Carnival ships that sail from here in Galveston. The benefit  doesn't begin until 6AM the morning after you sail. That's a day at sea, so drink up! 

 

 Bars, Tax and International Water: When you board a Carnival ship here in Galveston alcohol purchases are pay-as-you-go. That price includes a Texas sales tax. You will find bar service aboard with a decent supply of beers, mixers and the like. 
 

Once the ship reaches international water (12 miles) out they close all the bars for a few minutes and store away the liquor bottles with the sales tax label, lock the beer cases that have tax paid beer in them and open up all the rest of the liquor supply. This usually takes place less than an hour after sailing.

 

 The good news is you won't pay for something you didn't get with Cheers. The bad news is the first day and night you are hitting your credit card balance with every pour.

 

 Set your alarm, wake up early! Nothing goes better with eggs and bacon better than a Bloody Mary to start your day. 

Edited July 10, 2021 by BallFour4

[lovetotraveltx]

Thanks everyone. Can I just buy it on board by a certain day or only in advance? Thank you!

[Wanna_Cruize]

You can do either, but it’s about $5 more pp/per day if you buy it onboard. You can’t pick & choose days, it’s for the entire cruise, starting on day 1 or 2, depending on when you buy it. 

[mexicobob]

Every bar tender/server on every ship on any cruise line that I have been on has stated, when asked, that they do not like  the "Cheers" package or whatever it is called on that cruise line. Because the tips are spread out no matter what service they provide. 

They prefer to be tipped on the spot.  I tip very well and always receive excellent service. On a crowded bar, apologize when they serve me first even though I just walked up. Money talks. Since I was not paying for the Cheers package I probably paid less for the drink even with the additional tip.

[ngrund]

On 7/9/2021 at 10:04 PM, firefly333 said:

Yes it just applies to texas. Only texas. Sigh

and New York-for Carnival cruises out of Texas and NY, Cheers is only sold to start on day 2

[lovetotraveltx]

If you have/buy a carnival drink glass can you get any drink refilled in there cheaper? Does Carnival offer any wine bottle packages or beer mug refills like some other cruise lines rather than just having to buy Cheers?