liquor disappeared from food and beverages orders for upcoming cruise

[seagoer1973]

We have 2 cabins on panorama for next October and ordered 2 bottles for one cabin "vodka and Tequilia"  6 weeks ago. Went to order for our friends and under food and beverages liquor is gone, Beer and wine still available but there is no booze now???

[tmarquez]

Hopefully just a temporary glitch but I had a bottle of vodka in my cart and went to check out and it just errored.  Now the vodka is gone from my cart.  

[luvcruzing]

Try again in a week or two.  My liquor of choice disappeared before I could order it, but it was back the next time I checked.

[seagoer1973]

I just hope they are not doing away with inroom  liquor bottles as we like to make our own drinks and the drink  package is a no go for us

[Thenagers]

19 minutes ago, seagoer1973 said:

I just hope they are not doing away with inroom  liquor bottles as we like to make our own drinks and the drink  package is a no go for us

A TA posted in one of my Facebook groups that it was gong away but they thought it was a couple of days away!  We are all reporting it is gone from the funshops.  People who had it in their carts are also reporting the items gone.  If they were already purchased than you can still see them so some people may have gotten lucky?  I can not beleive they did not give some notice?  

[lennythenose]

On the page that shall not be mentioned it was stated, “Per Corporate, Hard liquor is no longer available for pre-order on our Fun Shops.  All existing sales will be honored and guests can still pre-order up to two bottles of wine for onboard delivery and consumption.
Hard liquor may be purchased on board from our duty-free shop to be consumed at home once guests disembark the ship.
John will be back responding to posts on Thursday, 10/27.”

[cruisingguy007]

11 minutes ago, lennythenose said:

On the page that shall not be mentioned it was stated, “Per Corporate, Hard liquor is no longer available for pre-order on our Fun Shops.  All existing sales will be honored and guests can still pre-order up to two bottles of wine for onboard delivery and consumption.
Hard liquor may be purchased on board from our duty-free shop to be consumed at home once guests disembark the ship.
John will be back responding to posts on Thursday, 10/27.”

 

Only showing beer/wine for me. I really hope it's not gone, got a first time cruiser going and wanted to buy her a bottle since she'll be sharing a cabin with someone who can't drink at all. This is terrible timing for me if this is accurate. I can't imagine they would do this without an announcement of some sorts, plus they make a bundle on the bottles marking them up, some I can buy for less than $20 at the store and they are charging 6x-7x after fees and markups. Hopefully, this is a glitch.  

[icft]

10 minutes ago, lennythenose said:

On the page that shall not be mentioned it was stated, “Per Corporate, Hard liquor is no longer available for pre-order on our Fun Shops.  All existing sales will be honored and guests can still pre-order up to two bottles of wine for onboard delivery and consumption.
Hard liquor may be purchased on board from our duty-free shop to be consumed at home once guests disembark the ship.
John will be back responding to posts on Thursday, 10/27.”

More cutbacks, err... sorry about that, CHANGES. (I  have been guaranteed by "experts" that all these disappearing things are just changes.)

 

They make more from on board by-the-drink purchases than on bottle sales. Same reason they take your bottle purchases from port calls and deliver them to you the last night.

[icft]

2 minutes ago, cruisingguy007 said:

 

.... I can't imagine they would do this without an announcement of some sorts,...

It is the Carnival way. New cruisers don't know it was any different. Experienced cruisers who say anything about the changes are called "entitled." Gaslighting is a corporate strategy in my opinion.

[BlerkOne]

No doubt a partial response to the increase in rule breaking and violence on ships. Just like the announced $500 fine for rowdy behavior.

 

Carnival has no way of monitoring how much people drink in their cabins.

 

Some will try to wrongly blame Carnival instead of the real culprits. No doubt Carnival would prefer not to have to cut off a source of revenue.

[groundloop]

1 minute ago, BlerkOne said:

No doubt a partial response to the increase in rule breaking and violence on ships. Just like the announced $500 fine for rowdy behavior.

 

Carnival has no way of monitoring how much people drink in their cabins.

 

Some will try to wrongly blame Carnival instead of the real culprits. No doubt Carnival would prefer not to have to cut off a source of revenue.

 

 

That's my take on this as well.  I really don't believe Carnival would have stopped this for any other reason, they were definitely making money on this.

 

I'm reasonably certain it'll never happen, but it sure would be nice if Carnival would offer a mini drink package, something in the order of a 5 drink per day maximum.  Or else combine Cheers with other perks into a "Have It All" package the way Holland America does.

[BlerkOne]

Just now, groundloop said:

 

I'm reasonably certain it'll never happen, but it sure would be nice if Carnival would offer a mini drink package, something in the order of a 5 drink per day maximum.  Or else combine Cheers with other perks into a "Have It All" package the way Holland America does.

I don't see a smaller package at a price much different from Cheers. Carnival knows most people aren't going to limit out at 15 drinks and bases the price on that. Everyone would limit out on a small drink package.

[Luckysll]

Posted on John Heald’s FB page:

 

My apologies. You will have seen that we no longer have full bottle liquor sales available on pre order. Hard liquor is no longer available for pre-order on our Fun Shops. All existing sales will be honored and guests can still pre-order up to two bottles of wine for onboard delivery and consumption.

You can still of course purchase from the shops on board and ashore and these of course are not for use on board. I know this maybe frustrating for a few of you but I am sure everyone will understand why we need to do this. Cheers

[cruisingguy007]

31 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

No doubt a partial response to the increase in rule breaking and violence on ships. Just like the announced $500 fine for rowdy behavior.

 

Carnival has no way of monitoring how much people drink in their cabins.

 

Some will try to wrongly blame Carnival instead of the real culprits. No doubt Carnival would prefer not to have to cut off a source of revenue.

 

I thought this initially but you actually get way more drinks with the drink package than buying bottles, average of 3 drinks per day (22 1.5 ounce shots) on a 7 day cruise, even if someone bought two it only 6 drinks per day(average). People can drink much more on a package so form a reduction stand point it doesn't really add up. Plus people smuggle booze already, this will only increase that and still won't be accounted for. Seems more like a money grab when you really think about it.  

[cruisingguy007]

14 minutes ago, Luckysll said:

Posted on John Heald’s FB page:

 

My apologies. You will have seen that we no longer have full bottle liquor sales available on pre order. Hard liquor is no longer available for pre-order on our Fun Shops. All existing sales will be honored and guests can still pre-order up to two bottles of wine for onboard delivery and consumption.

You can still of course purchase from the shops on board and ashore and these of course are not for use on board. I know this maybe frustrating for a few of you but I am sure everyone will understand why we need to do this. Cheers

 

Oh boy! This will be the last straw for some folks. Terrible timing when you're trying to fill ships IMO. Then there is the fact that some like to pay for nicer suites and cabins so they can chill back in them and enjoy them, having to go and fetch drinks all the time is a buzz kill. The fun ships officially just got less fun. I was hoping this was a rumor but this pretty much confirms it, would have been great to have an announcement for those of us with cruises past final payment. What a crappy surprise.   

Edited October 26, 2022 by cruisingguy007

[BlerkOne]

Just now, cruisingguy007 said:

 

I thought this initially but you actually get way more drinks with the drink package than buying bottles, average of 3 drinks per day (22 1.5 ounce shots) on a 7 day cruise, even if someone bought two it only 6 drinks per day(average). People can drink much more on a package so form a reduction stand point it doesn't really add up. Plus people smuggle booze already, this will only increase that and still won't be accounted for. Seems more like a money grab when you really think about it.  

Carnival has an accurate count of how many drinks an individual has had on a drink package and can cut them off at any point, including for the rest of the cruise.

 

The booze smugglers aren't part of the equation.

[BlerkOne]

Just now, cruisingguy007 said:

 

Oh boy! This will be the last straw for some folks.

It could also bring some people back to Carnival who were fed up with drunk behavior. Carnival really does need to get rid of some customers. They cost the company more than they are worth.

[cruisingguy007]

27 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

It could also bring some people back to Carnival who were fed up with drunk behavior. Carnival really does need to get rid of some customers. They cost the company more than they are worth.

 

Theoretically yeah, just like all the non smokers were going to fill up the casinos, I'm sure the teetotalers will start booking like crazy now. 😁 Many of them already do, they're the ones who sit around and drink tea/coffee all day, monopolize the prime tables playing cards/games and unlimited food is the entertainment. There are a few like that on every cruise who don't spend a dime beyond cruise fare. How is more of that a good thing? Bottle service is a money maker pure and simple, every, single, time. Huge percentiles too!  They need to be boosting profits, not reducing options to spend. This is throwing the baby out with the bathwater policy making, I agree that knuckleheads should be dealt with and banned from future cruises but this punishes everyone, even those who don't cause trouble. Plus is removes a revenue stream from those who don't necessarily want cheers but don't want to get gouged on every drink or those who just want to sip/chill in the cabin without having to hit the elevator up/down for every drink. Even those who were tempted to smuggle but just buy a bottle or two instead to avoid the hassle. Those three groups on any ship are not small numbers.        

Edited October 26, 2022 by cruisingguy007

[cruisingguy007]

Makes you wonder if they will get rid of the ridiculous 2 order limit now, no need for it if they aren't going to be selling liquor anymore. That never made sense for beer/wine in the first place.  

[Bostwick girl]

Biggest thing I see is liquor smuggling will be a lot more common now. Too bad they don’t do something about marijuana.

 

[tmarquez]

 

8 hours ago, cruisingguy007 said:

 

Theoretically yeah, just like all the non smokers were going to fill up the casinos, I'm sure the teetotalers will start booking like crazy now. 😁 Many of them already do, they're the ones who sit around and drink tea/coffee all day, monopolize the prime tables playing cards/games and unlimited food is the entertainment. There are a few like that on every cruise who don't spend a dime beyond cruise fare. How is more of that a good thing? Bottle service is a money maker pure and simple, every, single, time. Huge percentiles too!  They need to be boosting profits, not reducing options to spend. This is throwing the baby out with the bathwater policy making, I agree that knuckleheads should be dealt with and banned from future cruises but this punishes everyone, even those who don't cause trouble. Plus is removes a revenue stream from those who don't necessarily want cheers but don't want to get gouged on every drink or those who just want to sip/chill in the cabin without having to hit the elevator up/down for every drink. Even those who were tempted to smuggle but just buy a bottle or two instead to avoid the hassle. Those three groups on any ship are not small numbers.        

 

Sadly we will smuggle now and Carnival will lose more money.  We cruise to chill on our balcony and watch the ocean and for the ports.  I won't buy Cheers to lose money on it and I am on vacation and won't be leaving my balcony to go to a bar to get a drink. 

 

  

[Riles34]

Time to get creative! I always purchased a bottle or two to have a cocktail on the balcony before dinner. This is the first cutback that has annoyed me.

[seagoer1973]

On our cruise on panorama last march, they delivered a notice to our room on day one that said sorry the Seagram's whiskey you ordered is out of stock and we will be refunded. We called gs desk and had refund applied to our onboard account as order was placed 2 years prior with a credit card account we no longer have.

Worried now this will be what's to come for all pre purchased liquor. You show up onboard to this notice waiting for you. I also like to mix my own  for out on the balcony and not have to go wait in lines at the bar while trying to relax. 

[tree.critter]

2 hours ago, Bostwick girl said:

Biggest thing I see is liquor smuggling will be a lot more common now. Too bad they don’t do something about marijuana.

 

If they wanted to it would be very easy to reduce marijuana use on board. Hire a trained dog and handler for a few hours while boarding luggage and passengers. If they’d give me a free suite and  cruises for me and a trained dog I’d volunteer my services. Of course would have to go out and get a new dog first. 

[IntrepidFromDC]

12 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

No doubt a partial response to the increase in rule breaking and violence on ships. Just like the announced $500 fine for rowdy behavior.

 

Carnival has no way of monitoring how much people drink in their cabins.

 

Some will try to wrongly blame Carnival instead of the real culprits. No doubt Carnival would prefer not to have to cut off a source of revenue.

Agreed - this was one of several easy ways around the 15-drinks-per-day limit that Carnival loosely enforced.  My guess is they ran analytics on cabin numbers with violence-related complaints, referenced that data with in-cabin liquor purchase data and found a high correlation.