When does purchasing a Cheers package become economical?

[BarbieGee]

Another thought.... how are the staff in policing who is sharing cocktails?

 

CHEERS! EXCLUDES:

Beverages promoted and sold in souvenir glasses

Bottles of liquor

Beverages offered at gangway

Beverages offered through room service, mini bars and/or in-stateroom beverage programs

Sharing cocktails, floaters, pitchers, tubes and buckets

[maluhia87]

9 minutes ago, BarbieGee said:

Another thought.... how are the staff in policing who is sharing cocktails?

 

CHEERS! EXCLUDES:

Beverages promoted and sold in souvenir glasses

Bottles of liquor

Beverages offered at gangway

Beverages offered through room service, mini bars and/or in-stateroom beverage programs

Sharing cocktails, floaters, pitchers, tubes and buckets

Sharing cocktails refers to those such as fish bowls that are meant to have more than one person drinking at the same time from one glass.  

On the per drink price - Dom would be excluded, and I know there is one aged rum that is more than $20, otherwise most everything else would fall within the price category.  You can always ask how much it would be before placing your order. 

 

I call my liquor on most everything else without having any issues. 

[BarbieGee]

My cousin/roomy on this trip is not much of a drinker but she does like her coffee and perhaps a Mocktail or two. Her hubby (and son) is going to be in the next cabin and he IS a drinker. She could give her S&S card to him so he could order what he wished, is what I'm thinking.

[maluhia87]

5 minutes ago, BarbieGee said:

My cousin/roomy on this trip is not much of a drinker but she does like her coffee and perhaps a Mocktail or two. Her hubby (and son) is going to be in the next cabin and he IS a drinker. She could give her S&S card to him so he could order what he wished, is what I'm thinking.

OK that is also against the rules of the Cheers program but I'm not going to tell other adults what they should/shouldn't do.  Just be aware she would run the risk of losing the drink package all together without a refund.  When you go to get a drink, your information/picture are shown on the bartenders screen.  

 

[Thenagers]

I have tried both ways. I had “free” drinks in the casino last cruise and it was the 1st time without getting it. 2 Miami vices by the pool, a glass of Prosecco at dinner, bottled water and a soda and I would have broken even before the casino even opened for my free drinks. I personally hated having to go to the casino to get a drink. I definitely gambled more but on the plus side they gave me drinks everywhere casino offer this time. Let’s see if I gamble as much. 

[1kaper]

49 minutes ago, BarbieGee said:

 

 

Now, my new question is: what is deemed above menu price? If I want Patron in my Margarita, is that higher then the menu price? Liquor prices are not posted on the website. How about a glass of Dom Pérignon? 😏 I do like to 'call' what I'd like in my drink but 20 bucks for something???
I realize Carnival needs to make money but the drink prices do tend to be a little more then the usual.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CHEERS! INCLUDES:

• All spirits (including cocktails), as well as beer and wine by the glass with a $20.00 or lower menu price 
• Sodas, Zero-Proof frozen cocktails, energy drinks, specialty coffee, hot tea, 500ml bottled water and other non-alcoholic bottled beverages
• Packaged water in the Dining Room and Specialty Restaurants
• 25% discount off the menu price for any spirit or wine by the glass above $20.00
• 25% discount off the menu price for wine and champagne by the bottle
• 25% discount off beverage seminars and classes
• --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Patron is covered by cheers. I haven’t come across a liquor that isn’t but I’m sure there is a high end whiskey or something that isn’t. 
 

Dom isn’t sold by the glass. You would get a discount by ordering the bottle though. 

[1kaper]

20 minutes ago, maluhia87 said:

OK that is also against the rules of the Cheers program but I'm not going to tell other adults what they should/shouldn't do.  Just be aware she would run the risk of losing the drink package all together without a refund.  When you go to get a drink, your information/picture are shown on the bartenders screen.  

 

 

Yes. I know they have let me order a drink for my husband and vice versa but usually I’m ordering both drinks and presenting both cards. 
they may always just assume he is ordering a drink for her or they may clue in to the sharing. As mentioned, she runs the risk of it being suspended with no refund. 
 

You would be much better off putting him in the room with you and her in the other room then getting extra room key cards so he can come and go from the other room. They don’t really worry about who is sleeping in what room. 

[BarbieGee]

42 minutes ago, 1kaper said:

 

Yes. I know they have let me order a drink for my husband and vice versa but usually I’m ordering both drinks and presenting both cards. 
they may always just assume he is ordering a drink for her or they may clue in to the sharing. As mentioned, she runs the risk of it being suspended with no refund. 
 

You would be much better off putting him in the room with you and her in the other room then getting extra room key cards so he can come and go from the other room. They don’t really worry about who is sleeping in what room. 

Well, that poses another question unrelated to drinking... how could I make a change in cabin occupants? (64 days till cruising)  And if I listed my cousin's hubby as my roomy, well, she could still sleep in my cabin, right? HA! This is getting complex! 😂 All this just so we can get the Cheers package!

[Thenagers]

10 minutes ago, BarbieGee said:

Well, that poses another question unrelated to drinking... how could I make a change in cabin occupants? (64 days till cruising)  And if I listed my cousin's hubby as my roomy, well, she could still sleep in my cabin, right? HA! This is getting complex! 😂 All this just so we can get the Cheers package!

You definitely could move the non drinkers into a different cabin. My husband and I always book 2 cabins with a parent in each. That way we don’t both have to get the package. Just go to guest services once onboard to get an extra key card. You will have to have 2 keys, 1 to sign for stuff and a plain one for getting into the cabin. Worked great for us because we wanted to be able to check up on our teens. 

[vinsheer]

For me personally it depends on who I cruise with, how long the cruise is, and what ports we will be visiting. My husband and I occasionally will do "booze cruises" on the 4 day cruises that we always do to Catalina and Ensenada. We have been to these ports so often we don't get off the ship. The convenience of not worrying about water for the room, or lugging on my sodas or energy drinks helps make the cruise more fun. Plus the variety and not having to worry about the cost of each drink works for us. I usually don't drink except on our Cruises so being able to try different drinks and not worrying about how much they cost if I don't like them also increases our cruise experience. I will say that if you are going to new ports or plan on spending a lot of time off the ship and trying the local cuisine and drinks, then I would question whether I would get it or not. Probably not because in my experience it made us not want to waste our money off the ship and want to get back on board where our drinks and food were free, hahaha.  Now when Cruising with my sisters we usually have free drinks in the casino but that's a whole other post. To each his own. Happy Cruising everyone!

[Joebucks]

14 hours ago, ray98 said:

 

There is a contingent here who don't want to hear that.  They live in a fantasy world where nearly everyone on a ship is like them drinking 2 a day ignoring that the bars are packed all day long and the one constant activity on a ship is drinks.  They truly think those who drink more than that are few and far between.

 

The thing is most people who enjoy drinking on vacation will easily cover that amount, many can double it on a sea day.  Some try to pretend many who get Cheer's do so because it is easy and it is impossible for them to get value out of it.  I am firmly in the opposite camp, I say many don't buy Cheers because the upfront cost is steep not realizing just a few drinks a day gets you to the same amount anyway.  The spend a vacation pinching pennies and trying to manage a budget when that bar tab rapidly rises.

 

Like you, having enough drinks to 'break even' for the day is easy for me even on a port day.  If you count the higher total I will certainly have on sea days the average isn't even close and I'm not even factoring in all the non-alcoholic stuff.  I don't think I've spend a day on a ship where I didn't have 6 drinks....ever.

 

My position was the majority of couples aren't doing 70 Alchemy drinks in a week. You went on to support an elevated number of 90+ Alchemy drinks. What a wild turn on the discussion of economical feasibility for someone who might have 4 drinks per day. I guess it's up to each person to decide what is a true fantasy world. I never stated it doesn't work for anyone.

 

What is your point about the bars being busy? What isn't busy on the ship? As a fairly heavy drinker myself, I too see a lot of things on my end. That first night and first sea day are vastly different than the second port day and 6th night. The proponents pretend each day (for each person) is like that first sea day. It's exhausting. I've seen everyone I've cruised with get to that exhausted point. That was even on 4 day cruises, let alone 7. There's plenty of people that admit they don't even drink enough with it. They do it because it makes them feel a certain way.

 

What some may see as penny pinching some see differently. Unlimited alcohol plans aren't the center of the universe. The drinks are loaded with sugar, and are very weak. Port days are also heavily defended as "I can still drink a lot" when that's only part of the point. Does one limit themself for enjoyment in the port, beach, bar, etc. because you've already tied yourself to a huge plan, or do you buy yet even more alcohol?

 

It's like my Mexico trip I just got back from. Their AIs are an experience a lot of people love. Many just don't know better. I spent no more than $650 for my entire 4 night trip (airfare, oceanview hotel, food, drinks, entertainment). The obsession is "I'm on vacation and I'm scared of bills." Then people give me a deer in the headlights look when I tell them there are plenty of ways to enjoy myself with what I want, for nothing. Beers in Mexico are about $1 at every corner. I had plenty of those in my last cruise. When I got back to port, I was in no position to drink 6 drinks on the ship for the sake of this grand plan.

Edited December 6, 2022 by Joebucks

[1kaper]

2 hours ago, Joebucks said:

 

My position was the majority of couples aren't doing 70 Alchemy drinks in a week. You went on to support an elevated number of 90+ Alchemy drinks. What a wild turn on the discussion of economical feasibility for someone who might have 4 drinks per day. I guess it's up to each person to decide what is a true fantasy world. I never stated it doesn't work for anyone.

 

What is your point about the bars being busy? What isn't busy on the ship? As a fairly heavy drinker myself, I too see a lot of things on my end. That first night and first sea day are vastly different than the second port day and 6th night. The proponents pretend each day (for each person) is like that first sea day. It's exhausting. I've seen everyone I've cruised with get to that exhausted point. That was even on 4 day cruises, let alone 7. There's plenty of people that admit they don't even drink enough with it. They do it because it makes them feel a certain way.

 

What some may see as penny pinching some see differently. Unlimited alcohol plans aren't the center of the universe. The drinks are loaded with sugar, and are very weak. Port days are also heavily defended as "I can still drink a lot" when that's only part of the point. Does one limit themself for enjoyment in the port, beach, bar, etc. because you've already tied yourself to a huge plan, or do you buy yet even more alcohol?

 

It's like my Mexico trip I just got back from. Their AIs are an experience a lot of people love. Many just don't know better. I spent no more than $650 for my entire 4 night trip (airfare, oceanview hotel, food, drinks, entertainment). The obsession is "I'm on vacation and I'm scared of bills." Then people give me a deer in the headlights look when I tell them there are plenty of ways to enjoy myself with what I want, for nothing. Beers in Mexico are about $1 at every corner. I had plenty of those in my last cruise. When I got back to port, I was in no position to drink 6 drinks on the ship for the sake of this grand plan.

I’m not sure which part of “I’ve done the math and it works for me” you don’t understand? 
 

we all have different drinking habits. I am the first to admit cheers isn’t for everyone. Pretty sure my first post in this thread wa did probably wasn’t for OP. 
 

I JUST got off an 8 day 4 port, 3 sea day cruise. I heavily debated Cheers because of the price. Despite our OBC. DH had drinks on us in the casino. Chances are I could have gotten it extended to me. But the fact remains - I like a mimosa or two I the morning (literally a quarter of a regular drink) on vacation. I like the coffee shop coffee in the morning as well. I drink a lot of water and I prefer sparkling. I like a drink when we get back onboard I don’t get these with casino drinks. Plus the wait at the casino costs me more. 
i ran  the numbers every which way and the bottom line was still Cheers was the best bang for our buck. 
I kept a close eye. I can assure you that we got our monies worth. We priced alcohol off ship on this cruise. Even bought a few drinks. Nothing was a huge cost savings. $4 a beer for a smaller beer was the best price we saw.  no where did I see $1 a beer. But we didn’t go to Mexico. 
plus I like beer. But I can only drink so much. 
 

prior to the past year we would get condos in warm locations. The alcohol was much cheaper than at home and on carnival but overall the cost of the vacation was much higher than a cruise in Carnival with Cheers because of the deals we get. 

Edited December 6, 2022 by 1kaper

[Jasonsterling]

23 hours ago, asalligo said:

 

This is an example of why Carnival makes money on Cheers. Everyone calculates their usage on a sea day. On your average seven-day cruise, there are only three sea days and four days that are not full days due to port days embarkation and debarkation. Unless you maintain this level of usage on those days also, you are losing money on the deal. 

Well, I usually still do. I still have something to drink in the morning before leaving the ship. Instead of a mimosa I might do two coffees. I'm going to take a bottle of water off the ship with me, if not two and then getting back grab a drink straight off. Then the usual 3-4 spread across the evening- so still around 70-80 dollars easily. So the plan still works. I don't buy it to try and maximize what I'm getting btw. If I save 5-10 dollars then fine no big deal- it's still 5-10 dollars. The list I gave above is an example not a hard and fast rule as well. Some days might be a drink or two extra and some days a drink or two less. 

[sparks1093]

10 hours ago, Joebucks said:

 

My position was the majority of couples aren't doing 70 Alchemy drinks in a week. You went on to support an elevated number of 90+ Alchemy drinks. What a wild turn on the discussion of economical feasibility for someone who might have 4 drinks per day. I guess it's up to each person to decide what is a true fantasy world. I never stated it doesn't work for anyone.

 

What is your point about the bars being busy? What isn't busy on the ship? As a fairly heavy drinker myself, I too see a lot of things on my end. That first night and first sea day are vastly different than the second port day and 6th night. The proponents pretend each day (for each person) is like that first sea day. It's exhausting. I've seen everyone I've cruised with get to that exhausted point. That was even on 4 day cruises, let alone 7. There's plenty of people that admit they don't even drink enough with it. They do it because it makes them feel a certain way.

 

What some may see as penny pinching some see differently. Unlimited alcohol plans aren't the center of the universe. The drinks are loaded with sugar, and are very weak. Port days are also heavily defended as "I can still drink a lot" when that's only part of the point. Does one limit themself for enjoyment in the port, beach, bar, etc. because you've already tied yourself to a huge plan, or do you buy yet even more alcohol?

 

It's like my Mexico trip I just got back from. Their AIs are an experience a lot of people love. Many just don't know better. I spent no more than $650 for my entire 4 night trip (airfare, oceanview hotel, food, drinks, entertainment). The obsession is "I'm on vacation and I'm scared of bills." Then people give me a deer in the headlights look when I tell them there are plenty of ways to enjoy myself with what I want, for nothing. Beers in Mexico are about $1 at every corner. I had plenty of those in my last cruise. When I got back to port, I was in no position to drink 6 drinks on the ship for the sake of this grand plan.

Part of the problem with your posts is the seeming suggestion that one must be blottoed the entire length of the cruise in order to get one's moneys worth out of Cheers, that it's a matter of sitting at the bar and throwing them back in order to get the value. If I am misreading your posts in that fashion I do apologize. But that isn't the case at all. I can quite easily consume 5 to 6 drinks in an evening while enjoying dinner and the show (it doesn't matter whether it's a sea day or a port day). Having a few drinks in an afternoon on a sea day while attending activities is also easily accomplished. At the rate of 1 drink an hour I could easily pass a sobriety test and that is my normal state while onboard. Sure, there are some people who get knee crawling, commode hugging drunk but one needn't take it to that extreme to 1) make Cheers worth it and 2) enjoy the cruise. Consuming alcohol ashore could be an issue for some if they drink heavily of the $1 beers, but that doesn't apply to us since we rarely have any alcohol when ashore. 

[BarbieGee]

This topic has gone slightly sideways in its discussion of personal consumption of ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES. One must inject the cost of other beverages into the Cheers equation, which is what I am trying to do.

My first cruise, back in 2003 on RCL, I don't remember  special coffees and juices being a charge (not sure fun coffees were around then) but now that seems to be a new 'revenue enhancement' item on cruise lines. I also remember curbing myself in ordering any sort of drink (alcohol) because I knew it would show up on my bill (Blue Sapphire martini was $9 bucks which was an eye opener for me at that time) 

Had I purchased a drinks package (don't remember if that was offered on RCL back in 2003) I might have gone for that. Why? Because part of a vacation is trying new things. New foods both on the ship and at port AND new and different drinks. NOT trying to get blotto.

So, my original question still remains - 'When does purchasing a Cheers package become economical'. and it has been answered with the inclusion of ALL drinking selections.... Coffees, waters, Mocktails, sodas AND a few alcoholic beverages.

That being said, if one is NOT a drinker of alcohol or the consumption of special coffees, and Mocktails  then Cheers may not be for you. 👏

[pinto18]

1 hour ago, BarbieGee said:

That being said, if one is NOT a drinker of alcohol or the consumption of special coffees, and Mocktails  then Cheers may not be for you.

I am an alcohol drinker and enjoy special coffees..however for ME the cheers plan is not economically worth it. I don't think your original question can be answered by others, you just need to decide for yourself . 

[Elaine5715]

3 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

Part of the problem with your posts is the seeming suggestion that one must be blottoed the entire length of the cruise in order to get one's moneys worth out of Cheers, that it's a matter of sitting at the bar and throwing them back in order to get the value. If I am misreading your posts in that fashion I do apologize. But that isn't the case at all. I can quite easily consume 5 to 6 drinks in an evening while enjoying dinner and the show (it doesn't matter whether it's a sea day or a port day). Having a few drinks in an afternoon on a sea day while attending activities is also easily accomplished. At the rate of 1 drink an hour I could easily pass a sobriety test and that is my normal state while onboard. Sure, there are some people who get knee crawling, commode hugging drunk but one needn't take it to that extreme to 1) make Cheers worth it and 2) enjoy the cruise. Consuming alcohol ashore could be an issue for some if they drink heavily of the $1 beers, but that doesn't apply to us since we rarely have any alcohol when ashore. 

This we agree on! 🍹😁

[Elaine5715]

22 minutes ago, pinto18 said:

I am an alcohol drinker and enjoy special coffees..however for ME the cheers plan is not economically worth it. I don't think your original question can be answered by others, you just need to decide for yourself . 

Did you try the cruise drink package calculator?  

[pinto18]

2 minutes ago, Elaine5715 said:

Did you try the cruise drink package calculator?  

I didn't really have to..have had cheers and have cruised without and have cruised with free drinks in casino. Even though we both drink, its still less expensive without cheers . (Also I am cheap lol...so will drink regular coffee and be fine with it, bring on sodas, buy the case of water for 5 dollars and 2 bottles of wine..sometimes will buy wine package) 

[simplelife]

Our next cruise will be a short relaxation cruise - 5 days with stops in Nassau and a private island - we may not even get off the ship on the port days. For that kind of cruise, we usually do Cheers.  For longer cruises with more interesting ports, we usually don't. Mathematically, we  have to do an average of 10 drinks a day between us for the price of Cheers to make sense (so for the 5-day, we will need to do 50 drinks over the course of the cruise for Cheers to be worth it). 

 

[BarbieGee]

12 minutes ago, simplelife said:

Our next cruise will be a short relaxation cruise - 5 days with stops in Nassau and a private island - we may not even get off the ship on the port days. For that kind of cruise, we usually do Cheers.  For longer cruises with more interesting ports, we usually don't. Mathematically, we  have to do an average of 10 drinks a day between us for the price of Cheers to make sense (so for the 5-day, we will need to do 50 drinks over the course of the cruise for Cheers to be worth it). 

 

Same here. I do a 5 day cruise in Feb. I like coffee and am hoping to find some good Cuban coffees. But I also want to try some specialty drinks too. Just for fun! I'm not planning on departing the ship at any ports so I will most likely have at least 3 or 4 specialty drinks, maybe 2 glasses of wine, coffees and bottles of water, per day. I'll use the drinks calculator to see if Cheers is right for me.

Edited December 10, 2022 by BarbieGee

[sgttami]

On my first Carnival cruise I didn't buy Cheers since I'd never really looked into it before I went and was used to pay as you go on other lines.

 

At the end of the 8 days I tallied up what I spent on alcohol and would have saved $150 if I'd bought Cheers.  Coor's Light only for the duration of the cruise.  Never had a specialty coffee, soda or water etc.  I drank the same each day whether it was a sea day or port day.

 

Went on the same ship 4 weeks later and bought Cheers and got it every cruise afterwards until I started getting casino offers of DOU anywhere onboard.

 

Cheers to whatever works for YOU!

 

 

 

[AtSeaWithChris]

Is cheers worth it?

[cindysu]

I haven't read all the notes, but one thing I haven't seen listed is the price per drink at the end of  a cruise.  The check out bill with all those pages will only list a drink and where you got it, not what the drink was if you have the cheers package.  On our last cruise (6 days to Bermuda in September) it came out to $7.80 p/drink.  For water, expensive, sure.  A little on the high side for coffees and sodas.  But a great price for all the boozy drinks especially when you realize that includes a 20% tip.  In fact, each drink more would have only lowered our cost by .10 at that point.  Maybe this doesn't help but it's a different way of looking at it.  

 

There are places online you can buy Carnival gift cards at a discount so that helps too.  

 

Maybe the ship wasn't so busy but we had GREAT service by having the cheers package.  Glasses of wine waiting for us at dinner, bottled water handed out at every order, tons of olives in the martinis, refills without asking, etc. 

 

When I was looking in September to decide whether to buy the cheers package, unknown to me drink prices had gone up at least .50 per drink from May, our last cruise so that also helped.   No beers were ordered, mostly wine, boat drinks and martinis.  

[MsOne]

Thankfully my frugalness made me pass on the drink package my first Carnival cruise a few years ago. Why am I thankful, well it's not because I can't throw 'em back lol! First, the images of waiters constantly circling to take drink orders I'd read about was totally missing. Based on what I read online, I was expecting to almost be hounded by the waiters to buy a drink during the sail away party or sitting on the deck. And honestly, I was all for it to try a fruity drink and join the party atmosphere...but they avoided me like the plague! So I plastered a smile on my face and made eye contact to appear approachable and friendly and still no one approached me. Then when I went to the comedy show, I was there early, less than 10 people in the place. I thought the waiters didn't approach me because they were still just getting ready, but then they approached others but not me. I guess I just look cheap haha (though I was dressed nice), so it was weird. Anyway, I finally just went to the bar and picked out something, tipped the waiter in case I wanted something else later...and it was horrible! Watered down, almost full of ice, no real (or pretend) juice...just bad. And even topped it with watery Sprite -- actually topped is an understatement, it was about 1/3 of the drink.

 

But the major reason I was so grateful I didn't spend that kind of money on the drink package -- a few hours into the cruise I felt so dizzy from the ship that I already felt drunk which made me too scared to drink! I came home with more drinks than I left with since I ended up bringing my bottle of wine back home unopened, and even my free bottle from the Steakhouse.

 

So that's my experience. By the way, normally I drink nothing but water. However, when hanging out I drink liquor/mixed drinks (high tolerance). Occasionally I drink 100% juice. And since I know the water on the ship is all filtered (not like they're pumping it out of the sea), I'm fine with that. Plus the alternative when I sailed was Nestle water -- YUCK!!! Yuck times infinity! For those not aware, it's local tap water...says it right on the bottle. We used to get it free from a family member who worked there and still I say yuck. So in the end, the Cheers package for me would've just been liquor, but I felt drunk the whole time and didn't drink.

I read later about ship stabilizers and apparently they are much better on Royal Caribbean, which I can vouch for since that was our next cruise and I did not have that feeling. That's even with it being a much older ship than the Carnival one.

 

But, after both cruises no matter the cruise line, for about a week I felt the rocking feeling (a form of vertigo) like I was still on the ship. I didn't notice it on the car ride home but as soon as I sat down at our dining table it was like a HUGE rocking. I just wanted to sleep to get rid of it but would wake up still feeling it. Turns out, it is more common for women (check) and 40 or older (not yet but I guess I was close enough). From what I've read, riding in the car or being in the shower makes the feeling stop, which is just what I've experienced.

 

Just adding all of these things for others to consider in case they're sure they're going to sample some of everything whenever they feel like it...just remember, there may be another reason you can't.