How can I get Cheers package for only one of two guests?

[C.McG]

We've just booked a cruise for next year and I was looking at the Cheers package.  I am a drinker but my DW does not touch a drop, further she does not drink coffee and such either, just soda and water.  I have read people posting about getting Carnival to do the drinks package for just one person in the room but how do they get that offer.  Can someone tell me who to contact so that we can get that same deal.  Paying almost $1,000 for a 8day cruse means I am going to have to drink myself silly and not even remember I was on a cruise just to make that pay for itself.

I also don't want to go the other route and have a surprise drinks bill to settle at the end of the cruise, or constantly worrying about the cost, checking my tab every day to see if I was rather foolish the night before.

Any leads on a who to contact would be fantastic.  I spoke to my Personal Cruise Consultant (PCC) and they told me that Carnival does not offer a solo drinks package for dual occupancy, but when people have said they got it...I'm inclined to believe that it is maybe something my PCC does not know about or is just not willing to offer.

[momof3cruisers]

Carnival is quite firm on this. Even with someone being pregnant or having a medical reason, their stance has been that there are other things included like bottled water, milk shakes etc.

 

On our last cruise, we put cash n our account in the amount that Cheers would have cost us to both get it. I don’t drink very much, I have a lot of water, a few specialty coffees and I like Coke, not Pepsi. My husband wanted the freedom of ordering whatever like you talked about. I brought on a 12 pack of Coke and we ordered water sent to the room. He was worried, whereas I knew we wouldn’t even come close to the total. I was right and we actually ended up having more than half of the money left over so it wouldn’t have even been worth it for him on that trip.

[C.McG]

2 minutes ago, momof3cruisers said:

Carnival is quite firm on this. Even with someone being pregnant or having a medical reason, their stance has been that there are other things included like bottled water, milk shakes etc.

 

On our last cruise, we put cash n our account in the amount that Cheers would have cost us to both get it. I don’t drink very much, I have a lot of water, a few specialty coffees and I like Coke, not Pepsi. My husband wanted the freedom of ordering whatever like you talked about. I brought on a 12 pack of Coke and we ordered water sent to the room. He was worried, whereas I knew we wouldn’t even come close to the total. I was right and we actually ended up having more than half of the money left over so it wouldn’t have even been worth it for him on that trip.

Thank you for the suggestion, that is what I think we will end up doing.  Just applying the cost of the Cheers package to our account.  If I manage to drink all of that on the cruise then I figure I won't be caring about too much at that point.

[firefly333]

5 hours ago, C.McG said:

I spoke to my Personal Cruise Consultant (PCC) and they told me that Carnival does not offer a solo drinks package for dual occupancy, but when people have said they got it...I'm inclined to believe that it is maybe something my PCC does not know about or is just not willing to offer.

Just my opinion but I think what you read was a royal post not carnival. Royal allows you to purchase their non alcoholic pkg if you call. Carnival is firm and does not. They dont even have a similar pkg like royals refreshment pkg to choose. Carnival has soda or alcohol, just those 2. Nothing in between.

 

I see posts all the time where someone is saying they are sure this or that is the policy when it's the other line. Just like carnival folks do a royal cruise and insist there are no pkgs allowed out of Galveston day 1. Royal has them. The lines are so similar people read stuff and mix them up constantly. 

 

I've never read carnival will budge. Either both take it or none. I agree with the poster above. 

[ray98]

You can't.  If they allowed it every cabin would magically have one party who 'didn't drink'.

[PayneAS]

You might be confusing it with the Casino offer for DOU (Drinks on Us) which, unless you are lucky, will only apply to the person with the casino offer in the cabin.  That's the only way I can think of that you would be able to get Cheers for a single person in the cabin. Otherwise it just isn't done. 

[1025cruise]

As has been previously said, Cheers is an all or none. 

[Elaine5715]

2 hours ago, firefly333 said:

Just my opinion but I think what you read was a royal post not carnival. Royal allows you to purchase their non alcoholic pkg if you call. Carnival is firm and does not. They dont even have a similar pkg like royals refreshment pkg to choose. Carnival has soda or alcohol, just those 2. Nothing in between.

 

I see posts all the time where someone is saying they are sure this or that is the policy when it's the other line. Just like carnival folks do a royal cruise and insist there are no pkgs allowed out of Galveston day 1. Royal has them. The lines are so similar people read stuff and mix them up constantly. 

 

I've never read carnival will budge. Either both take it or none. I agree with the poster above. 

This is true.  RCL price point is so much higher for their alcohol package that it would cover "sharing" costs.  

[Nic6318]

Hi C.McG

 

Welcome to cruise critic. 

 

You do need to accept the reasoning that if this was allowed, many people would just buy one package and share with all in their cabin. It doesn't matter how much anyone says they wouldn't, they do. Even with the rules as they are, people who have the package, don't think anything is wrong with buying their children a couple of milkshakes here and there. They try to defend their actions on this site, often.

 

If your significant other doesn't drink, then you would have to, as you put it "drink yourself silly" to get a "surprise drink bill". The price for drinks "a la carte", is just not that high. If you drink wine, you can bring two bottles onboard at embarkation day, and buy some bottles during the trip. If you like soda, you can bring your own as well. Many people who like to drink a bit more, will often do so at their port stops. 

[sanger727]

I think it would be really difficult to justify the entire cost of cheers for one person. Keep in mind that there is a daily limit on drinks so its not as if you could continue drinking forever. We usually bring on the two bottles of wine allowed and you can usually drink inexpensively in port. I guess if you want to get black out drunk every night you can; but the chances of you drinking up to $1,000 is slim. 

[tonit964]

Your best option would be pay as you go.

[Bob NC]

If you had never heard of 'Cheers', you wouldn't know the difference and it wouldn't matter a whit to you.

[C.McG]

Thank you all for the informative replies.
As someone pointed out about booking excursions in another post, since it is a first cruise it is best to spend a little extra money and have peace of mind so that you can focus more on the event rather than the 'what if's...'; for that reason we will swallow the pill and buy the Cheers package, like some in here mentioned, my wife can just get a mocktail or shake on the cheers package, not quite the same value as a $10 or $15 drink but the ability to just focus on the enjoyment of the cruise and then we can calculate how much we may have overspent on each of the packages (drinks, excursions, etc.) after the cruise will help us tailor our next cruise more financially efficient.

Thank you all for taking the time to offer feedback.

[mz-s]

1 hour ago, C.McG said:

Thank you all for the informative replies.
As someone pointed out about booking excursions in another post, since it is a first cruise it is best to spend a little extra money and have peace of mind so that you can focus more on the event rather than the 'what if's...'; for that reason we will swallow the pill and buy the Cheers package, like some in here mentioned, my wife can just get a mocktail or shake on the cheers package, not quite the same value as a $10 or $15 drink but the ability to just focus on the enjoyment of the cruise and then we can calculate how much we may have overspent on each of the packages (drinks, excursions, etc.) after the cruise will help us tailor our next cruise more financially efficient.

Thank you all for taking the time to offer feedback.

 

That is up to you, there are calulcator tools on the internet where you can put in how much you plan to drink so you can decide if Cheers is right for you or not.

 

There are no surprise charges at the end of a cruise - no hidden fees - you will only get charged for what you order.

[ObstructedView2]

1 hour ago, C.McG said:

the ability to just focus on the enjoyment of the cruise and then we can calculate how much we may have overspent after the cruise 

 

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[sparks1093]

10 hours ago, C.McG said:

Thank you all for the informative replies.
As someone pointed out about booking excursions in another post, since it is a first cruise it is best to spend a little extra money and have peace of mind so that you can focus more on the event rather than the 'what if's...'; for that reason we will swallow the pill and buy the Cheers package, like some in here mentioned, my wife can just get a mocktail or shake on the cheers package, not quite the same value as a $10 or $15 drink but the ability to just focus on the enjoyment of the cruise and then we can calculate how much we may have overspent on each of the packages (drinks, excursions, etc.) after the cruise will help us tailor our next cruise more financially efficient.

Thank you all for taking the time to offer feedback.

The other side of the coin is worrying about getting your money's worth out of the Cheers package (which is where my mind would go). The best of both worlds option is to set the amount of Cheers aside and apply it on your account. There is plenty of "down" time on the cruise where you are just sitting where you can keep an eye on things like this without losing any time enjoying the cruise. 

[Eli_6]

I think the only way to do this is if you are traveling with a minor.  You book a minor in the room with you and book non-drinker in another room. Carnival doesn't care where you sleep and you can change rooms/keys once you are all on board by going to guest services.  

 

But, if you are not traveling with a minor, you are out-of-luck.  

[Eli_6]

And I also feel your pain because my husband doesn't drink much so Cheers is pretty much not worth it for us.  Plus, it seems like every time I book Cheers I inevitably end up sick at least one or two days and then have to try to play "catch up" to make Cheers worth it.

[Saint Greg]

I would recommend paying per drink. It can be difficult to break even on port days if you do excursions. You either have to drink enough on sea days to cover your port days or drink a lot after you get back on the ship. You could go sit at the Alchemy bar at 5pm on port nights and drink 8 drinks. That might break you even if that's how you want to spend your nights. But I don't think you'll ever get ahead. You'll be fighting to break even.

 

I think you're going to be thinking about the money either way. If you don't buy the package you're going to be thinking about your bill. If you do buy the package you're going to be thinking about how much you have to drink to break even on two packages. Next time I'd recommend looking into other cruise lines like NCL with their free at sea deal so you don't have to buy two drink packages.

 

Edited September 14, 2023 by Saint Greg

[Iamthesea]

1 hour ago, Eli_6 said:

I think the only way to do this is if you are traveling with a minor.  You book a minor in the room with you and book non-drinker in another room. Carnival doesn't care where you sleep and you can change rooms/keys once you are all on board by going to guest services.  

 

But, if you are not traveling with a minor, you are out-of-luck.  

I have a similar situation.   I have booked a cruise for my daughters, 2 grandchildren and myself.  I have already booked my daughter in the room with her two minor children.  My other daughter and I will be in a room next door.  The daughter with the children would like to get the Cheers package.  I would also like it, but my other daughter does not think we need it and refusing.  Can we change passengers around so that the non-drinker is with the children and my daughter (mother of the children) is booked in with me?  Remember that the cruise is already booked.

[Eli_6]

13 minutes ago, Iamthesea said:

I have a similar situation.   I have booked a cruise for my daughters, 2 grandchildren and myself.  I have already booked my daughter in the room with her two minor children.  My other daughter and I will be in a room next door.  The daughter with the children would like to get the Cheers package.  I would also like it, but my other daughter does not think we need it and refusing.  Can we change passengers around so that the non-drinker is with the children and my daughter (mother of the children) is booked in with me?  Remember that the cruise is already booked.

If you are before final payment, you may be able to do it online.  I always keep my bookings TBA/TBD until final payment. If you can't do it online, I would call and ask.

 

You definitely can, but they may charge you a name change fee which might then moot the savings.  It is dependent on a number of factors (what fare you booked under, time from cruise, and even who you talk to) on whether they charge you a fee. I would guess the fact that you are just changing people around and not actually changing out anyone would work in your favor.  

[Iamthesea]

Thanks!  The cruise is not until next spring, so no final payment.  The more I think about what momof3cruisers does, the more if makes sense to go that route.  We just like the convenience of not having to sign slips.

Edited September 14, 2023 by Iamthesea

[staceyglow]

16 minutes ago, Iamthesea said:

Thanks!  The cruise is not until next spring, so no final payment.  The more I think about what momof3cruisers does, the more if makes sense to go that route.  We just like the convenience of not having to sign slips.

You still have to sign slips even if you have Cheers.

[mojitos24]

On 9/13/2023 at 7:57 AM, PayneAS said:

You might be confusing it with the Casino offer for DOU (Drinks on Us) which, unless you are lucky, will only apply to the person with the casino offer in the cabin.  That's the only way I can think of that you would be able to get Cheers for a single person in the cabin. Otherwise it just isn't done. 

Yes my BF have the Drink on us everywhere and I paid for the cheers. (only me not him)

[Elaine5715]

1 hour ago, mojitos24 said:

Yes my BF have the Drink on us everywhere and I paid for the cheers. (only me not him)

It needs to be the Drinks on Us Everywhere from the casino and not just the Drinks on Us in the casino only to allow one person to purchase CHEERS onboard.  If it was the DOU in the casino, both would need to purchase