Ordering CHEERS Day 2?

[CruizCuz]

I will be traveling on a 4 day Conquest cruise in 18 days. I have always gotten CHEERS in the past and will do so this particular cruise as well. My son and his wife are in another cabin. They would like, if possible, to not get CHEERS on embarkation day to see if it would be worth it. If they decide they want it, is it possible (like on RCCL) to get it on day 2 pro-rated? If not, could they get it later in the day and any drinks they purchased earlier that day be transferred to the package or would they pay for the package and the drinks they purchased? If anyone knows I would appreciate the answer. Thank you so much!!

[Pyxie]

You can buy Cheers on day 2, but unless you are sailing out of Galveston or New York, you will still pay for the full length of the cruise. They'll just credit back any drinks you paid for out of pocket on day 1.

[CruizCuz]

9 hours ago, Pyxie said:

You can buy Cheers on day 2, but unless you are sailing out of Galveston or New York, you will still pay for the full length of the cruise. They'll just credit back any drinks you paid for out of pocket on day 1.

Thank you so much!

[AtSeaWithChris]

On 2/23/2022 at 12:36 PM, Pyxie said:

You can buy Cheers on day 2, but unless you are sailing out of Galveston or New York, you will still pay for the full length of the cruise. They'll just credit back any drinks you paid for out of pocket on day 1.

Is this accurate? I didn’t realize they backpriced it. 

[firefly333]

1 minute ago, AtSeaWithChris said:

Is this accurate? I didn’t realize they backpriced it. 

First time I've ever heard of it. Always before it was pro rated. Doesnt even make sense they would change you for a day you didnt have it. I wondered myself when I read this. 

[Virga]

I had never done it, but I thought that they pro-rated the purchase (you'd pay for three days, not four) but did not think they comped off your earlier drinks.

 

The person who walked me through the process has said that, for some reason, Cheers package purchases charge by the calendar day, but your drink purchases charge by the 'beverage day' - so a purchase after midnight on your first night would only cost three nights, but you'd have a few hours of truly free drinks before your fifteen for day 2 becomes available.

 

No idea if they were wrong, if I misunderstood them, if things have changed, or if maybe that understanding was accurate then and still accurate now.  I had drinks in the casino this last cruise, and prepaid Cheers on the trips before that, so I can't shed any light on it from personal experience.

[katiel53]

I don't know how it would work if Cheers were purchased on day 2, but keep in mind that if purchased online prior to the cruise, there is a 10% discount.  It may cost as much or more to buy their drinks on day 1, then get Cheers on day 2.

 

Perhaps they can think about what they will drink, including specialty coffee, water, milkshakes etc.  It may make things easier to decide.

[mumofsons]

A little insight to whether it is worth it or not.  In the fall we did a back to back and I bought Cheers for the first leg.  On the first day of the second leg we ordered two drinks - it was over $20 so I decided to go ahead and get it again but if I had bought it before getting on the ship - I would have saved myself 10%

[CruizCuz]

15 hours ago, katiel53 said:

I don't know how it would work if Cheers were purchased on day 2, but keep in mind that if purchased online prior to the cruise, there is a 10% discount.  It may cost as much or more to buy their drinks on day 1, then get Cheers on day 2.

 

Perhaps they can think about what they will drink, including specialty coffee, water, milkshakes etc.  It may make things easier to decide.

I agree about Pre purchasing. I have always done that in the past. However for this particular cruise, I have a lot of OBC and the new rule for using it Pre-cruise won’t have kicked in yet. So I unfortunately will have to wait until boarding to purchase. My DIL and son just can’t seem to make up their minds about CHEERS yet.  

[Virga]

48 minutes ago, CruizCuz said:

I agree about Pre purchasing. I have always done that in the past. However for this particular cruise, I have a lot of OBC and the new rule for using it Pre-cruise won’t have kicked in yet. So I unfortunately will have to wait until boarding to purchase. My DIL and son just can’t seem to make up their minds about CHEERS yet.  

Plus, on a four night cruise, shaving off one night saves you 25% - which is, of course, more than 10%.  The math gets fuzzier right around seven nights, when shaving off a night only saves you 14%.

 

Sure will be nice when all cruises can use the OBC in advance!  I'm actually surprised (but grateful!) they went ahead and added that functionality with so many people carrying cancellation OBC.  

[1kaper]

18 hours ago, firefly333 said:

First time I've ever heard of it. Always before it was pro rated. Doesnt even make sense they would change you for a day you didnt have it. I wondered myself when I read this. 

It says that you have to buy it for the entire voyage so I'm guessing they would. 

Does the package have to be purchased for the entire week or can it be purchased on a daily/a la carte basis?
The beverage package can only be purchased for the entire voyage at a rate of $51.95 USD per person, per day ($54.95 USD per person, per day on 3 and 4 day cruises) via Carnival’s website and $56.95 USD per person, per day ($59.95 USD per person, per day on 3 and 4 day cruises) if purchased once on board. 

[ProgRockCruiser]

1 hour ago, Virga said:

Plus, on a four night cruise, shaving off one night saves you 25% - which is, of course, more than 10%.  The math gets fuzzier right around seven nights, when shaving off a night only saves you 14%.

 

Sure will be nice when all cruises can use the OBC in advance!  I'm actually surprised (but grateful!) they went ahead and added that functionality with so many people carrying cancellation OBC.  

Well, on that 4 night cruise where you "save" 25% by waiting until day 2, you still had to pay for whatever drinks you had the first day, a la carte.  If you had three drinks at $8 each, you aren't saving all that much - you "save" about $31 for what a pre-cruise Cheers would have cost you for that first day, but then you pay $5 extra for each the next three days, total savings of $16.  (In all these calcs I am ignoring grats and potential taxes.) (Edited to reflect pricing for 4-day cruises is higher.)

 

If you had four drinks at $10 each that first day, your "savings" are pretty well wiped out. 

Edited February 25, 2022 by ProgRockCruiser

[Pyxie]

19 hours ago, firefly333 said:

First time I've ever heard of it. Always before it was pro rated. Doesnt even make sense they would change you for a day you didnt have it. I wondered myself when I read this. 

 

It is only prorated if you are sailing out of Galveston or New York and *can't* buy Cheers on day 1. Out of any other port, it would be considered a loophole and you will definitely pay for day 1 even if you buy on day 2.

[cruiserbrianj]

I recently saw a "hack" on youtube where the couple purchased Cheers just after midnight on embark day....they could then drink a few drinks on "day 1" (anything before 6am) but since they purchased it after midnight and the next day, they technically saved a day. 

Now, they suggested bringing some wine or champagne on board to supplement for embark day and/or maybe just buy a couple of drinks.  Now, to me, that seems like too much work and not enough savings....they were also saying something about not having to pay taxes on it.  I'm not sure about all of that. 

For us though, we just want to get on and start having fun so we either prepurchase or for our next one we're just gonna use up a good bit of our OBC...that makes more sense to us (even though we aren't getting the 10% off) than coming out of pocket with it ahead of time.

[d12j28]

On 2/23/2022 at 1:30 PM, CruizCuz said:

I will be traveling on a 4 day Conquest cruise in 18 days. I have always gotten CHEERS in the past and will do so this particular cruise as well. My son and his wife are in another cabin. They would like, if possible, to not get CHEERS on embarkation day to see if it would be worth it. If they decide they want it, is it possible (like on RCCL) to get it on day 2 pro-rated? If not, could they get it later in the day and any drinks they purchased earlier that day be transferred to the package or would they pay for the package and the drinks they purchased? If anyone knows I would appreciate the answer. Thank you so much!!

 

On 2/23/2022 at 1:36 PM, Pyxie said:

You can buy Cheers on day 2, but unless you are sailing out of Galveston or New York, you will still pay for the full length of the cruise. They'll just credit back any drinks you paid for out of pocket on day 1.

This was our experience as well the first time we got Cheers. This was about 12 years ago though and could have changed. We have purchased ahead of time for the savings ever since.

[ProgRockCruiser]

3 hours ago, cruiserbrianj said:

they were also saying something about not having to pay taxes on it. 

You don't pay for taxes on Cheers (the package).  Whether you have Cheers or not, you will pay taxes on the base value of the drink if in US waters. The YouTube "hack couple" is either wrong or misleading.

[Virga]

7 hours ago, cruiserbrianj said:

I recently saw a "hack" on youtube where the couple purchased Cheers just after midnight on embark day....they could then drink a few drinks on "day 1" (anything before 6am) but since they purchased it after midnight and the next day, they technically saved a day. 

Now, they suggested bringing some wine or champagne on board to supplement for embark day and/or maybe just buy a couple of drinks.  Now, to me, that seems like too much work and not enough savings....they were also saying something about not having to pay taxes on it.  I'm not sure about all of that. 

For us though, we just want to get on and start having fun so we either prepurchase or for our next one we're just gonna use up a good bit of our OBC...that makes more sense to us (even though we aren't getting the 10% off) than coming out of pocket with it ahead of time.

 

That's the 'trick' that was described to me, with the same caveat that if you're paying for drinks before midnight, you eat up those 'savings.'  I don't recall taxes being a part of it, but then, I've never totally understood how they avoid taxes on prepaid purchases.  I've only ever been charged taxes on individual drinks on sailaway day, and of course if you aren't ordering drinks until after midnight, you aren't going to pay those taxes - but that's not a real perk.

 

Regardless, would be easy enough to ask someone on a short cruise to tell us what they see after midnight on the first night in the app.

[cruiserbrianj]

2 hours ago, Virga said:

Regardless, would be easy enough to ask someone on a short cruise to tell us what they see after midnight on the first night in the app.

Even easier is to just pre-purchase or get it straightaway once onboard and simply start the party lol.

[beerman2]

13 hours ago, cruiserbrianj said:

Even easier is to just pre-purchase or get it straightaway once onboard and simply start the party lol.

People have already paid thousands for a cruise , what’s another $100-$110 to get it before and start the “Party”.

[Virga]

3 hours ago, beerman2 said:

People have already paid thousands for a cruise , what’s another $100-$110 to get it before and start the “Party”.

 

I don't imagine this question is really suited to people who spend thousands on a cruise.  I think it's more for people whose Cheers package will cost as much as the cruise itself.  Saving $100 on a vacation you're spending several thousand dollars on is pretty different from saving $100 on a last minute steal.

 

The most I've ever spent on a cruise was less than $1800 including fare, fees, cheers, tips, and parking for two people in an extended balcony on Mardi Gras.  Most of our cruises are less than $500 for two people including everything but alcohol - Cheers often costs as much or more than the cruise!  We've been thankfully receiving casino offers that take care of our drinks lately, so we're already used to enjoying our wine from home on the first day anyway.  If those offers dry up after the plague as I expect, we might be willing to let that and a free steakhouse bottle carry us until midnight if that keeps the price down enough to let us book more cruises.