Is there a way to get an exception to the drink package rule?

[sparks1093]

1 minute ago, mz-s said:

 

Nobody is forced to buy Cheers, so it's kind of ridiculous that people keep saying it's punitive. If you don't agree to the terms of the program, you don't have to participate at all.

 

How many more women would suddenly be pregnant when they're told that both people in the room have to buy Cheers unless you're pregnant?

Might be a few guys claiming it as well.😆

[BoozinCroozin]

5 minutes ago, mz-s said:

 

Nobody is forced to buy Cheers, so it's kind of ridiculous that people keep saying it's punitive. If you don't agree to the terms of the program, you don't have to participate at all.

 

How many more women would suddenly be pregnant when they're told that both people in the room have to buy Cheers unless you're pregnant?

Lots of immaculate conception happening. 🙂

 

[tonit964]

3 hours ago, bmarts said:

No. They made my wife who was pregnant get it because I wanted it. They wouldn't lower her to a soda package instead. Very strict on that which is annoying. There should be SOME exemptions

You have to keep in mind, the cruise lines didn’t come up with the drink packages for the convenience of passengers. It is solely to make them money. 
They know most people will come up short on the drinks, some do get their monies worth but most don’t.
They certainly aren’t going to make it easy for a couple sailing and the wife/GF is pregnant, or in the event someone is sailing with an alcoholic, to be able to only purchase one package. 
 

 

[cflips7]

There are exemptions we got one on the Mardi Gras in November for my father. He is 92 and has had a stoke and we had a doctors note that said he could not drink. I went to customer service and she said no problem she would just have to get the hotel manager to sign off.

[1025cruise]

1 hour ago, cflips7 said:

There are exemptions we got one on the Mardi Gras in November for my father. He is 92 and has had a stoke and we had a doctors note that said he could not drink. I went to customer service and she said no problem she would just have to get the hotel manager to sign off.

This is an exception, not the rule. You got lucky. Normally there are no exceptions to the everyone over 21 must buy the package rule.

[Elaine5715]

1 hour ago, tonit964 said:

You have to keep in mind, the cruise lines didn’t come up with the drink packages for the convenience of passengers. It is solely to make them money. 
They know most people will come up short on the drinks, some do get their monies worth but most don’t.
They certainly aren’t going to make it easy for a couple sailing and the wife/GF is pregnant, or in the event someone is sailing with an alcoholic, to be able to only purchase one package. 
 

 

If they did make exceptions for pregnancies then they would likely start requiring proof you were not pregnant to purchase.  

[Elaine5715]

1 hour ago, cflips7 said:

There are exemptions we got one on the Mardi Gras in November for my father. He is 92 and has had a stoke and we had a doctors note that said he could not drink. I went to customer service and she said no problem she would just have to get the hotel manager to sign off.

Sounds like you found a new crew member 

[edspec]

My son is autistic, we have a long cruise history w/ asking for special assistance and we still had to pay for a package for him when he was in a cabin with my mother.  I ended up being fine w/ it, he certainly drank enough canned sodas, shakes, mocktails, and waters.  Carnival's drink package is pretty generous so not going to complain.  My mom can't cruise anymore so DS has his own connecting cabin w/ ours and we go with the soda package for him and pay out of pocket for the other items he wants.

[jsglow]

I never understood this discussion. Carnival has a 'rule'. The rule makes perfect sense for obvious reasons. There are folks that don't like the rule. Tough toenails! Spend your vacation dollars elsewhere. Good day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[spleenstomper]

On 1/24/2023 at 4:03 PM, IslandDelight said:

Carnival has a rule that if one adult in a stateroom orders a drink package, all adults in the stateroom must order the package.

I thought drink packages were optional. I don't want to pay for something that I don't want; it can be costly.

Perhaps, it's to prevent two or more people in the stateroom from sharing a single drink package?

Is there any way to be excluded from this rule?

as I’m sure many have said, no. 
 

it’s a problem for us because I don’t really drink. (I’m not opposed to it and might have 1 or 2 drinks n the cruise). So we used to get liquor delivered to the room through bon voyage. Then they stopped that. Then they brought it back. Idk where it is now. 
 

unless your person is drinking 15 drinks a day it’s probably not worth it anyway.
 

I just got back from a cruise with my son so he charged his drinks on sign and sail and it came to like $300. 

Edited January 27, 2023 by spleenstomper

[resetjet]

Yes there is.  Dont buy it.  Its hard to break even unless you are a heavy drinker or drink high dollar stuff.  Its like 8 drinks a day,  every day to break even.  When in port you cannot use it.  

[spleenstomper]

On 1/24/2023 at 7:43 PM, Tink10 said:

Okay...I will share ours.

 

We're cruising next month on a bounceback offer after our cruise last September. Hubby isn't a big drinker, so we didn't get cheers and that we pretty much gor all drinks free in the casino after the first night.

 

However, since returning, I've had a ton of offers and the offers didn't apply to our February cruise. So, we removed me from the suite we were booked in and booked a separate balcony cabin in my name only that came with all the offers. Free drinks throughout the ship, onboard credit & free casino play)

 

It worked our well and if hubby snores too loud, I can send him to the other cabin 🙂

 

 

That is an interesting solution. So the balcony was free for you under the casino offer? Usually with carnival you have to pay x2 for a solo person cabin. 

[sparks1093]

3 minutes ago, resetjet said:

Yes there is.  Dont buy it.  Its hard to break even unless you are a heavy drinker or drink high dollar stuff.  Its like 8 drinks a day,  every day to break even.  When in port you cannot use it.  

Sorry, no, one does not need to be a heavy drinker to break even. Using the calculator https://cruisespotlight.com/drink-package-calculator/ if one has 6 cocktails each day (or averaged out) then they save money. On a sea day it's fairly easy, but even on a port day it isn't too difficult. Start at 5pm, end at 11pm and have one drink per hour throughout the evening. And that isn't taking into consideration the other beverages covered under Cheers. A specialty coffee or two each day, a few bottles of water and some sodas or fresh juice just adds to the savings. Everyone should look at their realistic consumption and determine if it is worthwhile or not. Blanket statements don't work since everyone's drinking patterns are different.

[sparks1093]

14 minutes ago, spleenstomper said:

as I’m sure many have said, no. 
 

it’s a problem for us because I don’t really drink. (I’m not opposed to it and might have 1 or 2 drinks n the cruise). So we used to get liquor delivered to the room through bon voyage. Then they stopped that. Then they brought it back. Idk where it is now. 
 

unless your person is drinking 15 drinks a day it’s probably not worth it anyway I just got back from a cruise with my son so he charged his drinks on sign and sail and it came to like $300. 

You can use the calculator that I just linked to in order to find out but if you are drinking enough of the non-alcohol offerings it can still save money. Since Cheers needs to be purchased by all adults one needs to combine what both people are drinking in order to see if it is worthwhile.

[Hoosierpop]

2 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

Sorry, no, one does not need to be a heavy drinker to break even. Using the calculator https://cruisespotlight.com/drink-package-calculator/ if one has 6 cocktails each day (or averaged out) then they save money. On a sea day it's fairly easy, but even on a port day it isn't too difficult. Start at 5pm, end at 11pm and have one drink per hour throughout the evening. And that isn't taking into consideration the other beverages covered under Cheers. A specialty coffee or two each day, a few bottles of water and some sodas or fresh juice just adds to the savings. Everyone should look at their realistic consumption and determine if it is worthwhile or not. Blanket statements don't work since everyone's drinking patterns are different.

Agree with this. It’s truly amazing the number of arguments I see about cheers, if it’s worth it, etc. It’s really a simple math problem. People should do the math and decide if their drinking behavior (including both alcohol and non alcoholic drinks) is worth it. If it’s not, don’t get it. But the thought you have to be a heavy drinker to make it worth it is nonsense. You could make it worth it and never be legally drunk. I haven’t done that but it’s possible……

[Elaine5715]

2 hours ago, resetjet said:

Yes there is.  Dont buy it.  Its hard to break even unless you are a heavy drinker or drink high dollar stuff.  Its like 8 drinks a day,  every day to break even.  When in port you cannot use it.  

You can use it onboard when in port, you just can't use it off the ship.  I am neither a heavy drinker nor top shelf drinker and the savings are always there for me.  

[MsOne]

On 1/24/2023 at 4:03 PM, IslandDelight said:

Carnival has a rule that if one adult in a stateroom orders a drink package, all adults in the stateroom must order the package.

I thought drink packages were optional. I don't want to pay for something that I don't want; it can be costly.

Perhaps, it's to prevent two or more people in the stateroom from sharing a single drink package?

Is there any way to be excluded from this rule?

Medical exemptions can be granted, but usually take A LOT of back and forth prior to the cruise...basically argue (as in make a case), along with medical documentation and why that also would include soft drinks, specialty coffee (such as no sugar/sugar substitutes, etc.). Just addressing you and your question. Not interested in people who joined to bash people's thoughts on Cheers or if they think there are no exclusions granted.

Edited January 27, 2023 by MsOne

[Elaine5715]

4 minutes ago, MsOne said:

Medical exemptions can be granted, but usually take A LOT of back and forth prior to the cruise...basically argue (as in make a case), along with medical documentation and why that also would include soft drinks, specialty coffee (such as no sugar/sugar substitutes, etc.). Just addressing you and your question. Not interested in people who joined to bash people's thoughts on Cheers or if they think there are no exclusions granted.

Yet to see a credible account of this happening including for those after Bariatric surgery.   

[cacruisin]

I always get Cheers since our very first cruise (early 20s no kids) and paid more for our bar tab then the entire cruise etc....yes, I do feel I get my money's worth (though I have never checked the math) but for me it's more than that.  I like offsetting the expense months in advance and I also like not worrying about it, if I don't like a drink or spill a drink or want to try something new, it's nice to have no worries about cost (at that point at least) .... it's more the peace of mind and ability to try new things that I enjoy Cheers for.....

[mz-s]

1 hour ago, Elaine5715 said:

Yet to see a credible account of this happening including for those after Bariatric surgery.   

 

Yeah it always seems to be my Uncle Ernie's friend's step-niece who just got off the Carnival Freedom of the Seas in 1999 got an exception. Or as was posted earlier in this thread, we got an exception because we booked two rooms! LOL that's not an exception.

[spleenstomper]

6 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

You can use the calculator that I just linked to in order to find out but if you are drinking enough of the non-alcohol offerings it can still save money. Since Cheers needs to be purchased by all adults one needs to combine what both people are drinking in order to see if it is worthwhile.

Thanks for the calculator. I don’t drink sodas or coffee drinks, so yeah… no cheers for us. 

[Elaine5715]

2 hours ago, mz-s said:

 

Yeah it always seems to be my Uncle Ernie's friend's step-niece who just got off the Carnival Freedom of the Seas in 1999 got an exception. Or as was posted earlier in this thread, we got an exception because we booked two rooms! LOL that's not an exception.

I do beileve in many cases people are using my sister-in-law's "Exception" method.  She pays for it and then lies to my brother...  We got a free upgrade to a balcony 

[CruizinSusan70]

9 hours ago, resetjet said:

Yes there is.  Dont buy it.  Its hard to break even unless you are a heavy drinker or drink high dollar stuff.  Its like 8 drinks a day,  every day to break even.  When in port you cannot use it.  

The port excuse means nothing.  You're back on board by 500, giving you a minimum of 5 hours if you go to bed early or longer if you stay up later.  This 5 hours equates to one alcoholic drink per hour in order to break even, plus of course all of the non alcoholic items that are included such as espresso based coffees, cold brews, bottled water or Gatorade to take ashore, canned soda etc.

This has been debated ad nauseam on multiple threads over the years.  If you drink a lot of the non alcoholic stuff, two or three drinks of the alcoholic stuff will make you break even.

[EngIceDave]

I hate saying it, but if there was a way around it, people would be cheating their butts off.

 

The "how to" would be on here, and tons would be trying it out

[BoozinCroozin]

On 1/27/2023 at 10:08 AM, resetjet said:

Yes there is.  Dont buy it.  Its hard to break even unless you are a heavy drinker or drink high dollar stuff.  Its like 8 drinks a day,  every day to break even.  When in port you cannot use it.  

On a sea day, I will break even before lunch. It is only 4-5 drinks. Now, if you are talking Carnival cost vs what we spend for Cheers, ABSOLUTELY. You'd be surprised at their cost per bottle.