PVP, Cheers Package, Upgrades and a few random questions

[LDL1220]

Hi all:

 

We just booked a cruise for two (no small feat since we have 8 kiddos between us) and I have a few questions.

 

1.  Are we assigned a PVP and if so, when do they make contact?

2.  How do upgrades work?  Do you just get a random offering?

3. How about price drops?  Does Carnival honor them and if so, do you just notify your PVP? 

4.  My husband and I have both purchased the Cheers Package but he also receives free drinks in the casino.  He is strictly a beer drinker and can definitely go over 15 on sea days.  Is it 15 alcoholic drinks a day period?  Will free drinks in the casino count toward his 15? If needed, can he purchase a beer or two before he hits the 15?  This probably will not be an issue since it's highly unlikely I will reach my quota but one never knows. 

 

Thank you!

 

Lisa

 

 

 

 

[DramaQueen22]

1.  Are we assigned a PVP and if so, when do they make contact?

 

no.  You can request one through the website.  I think they can 'take over' your booking.

 

2.  How do upgrades work?  Do you just get a random offering?

 

upsells are not offered on every cruise, and they are completely random.  My advice for you would be to bypass the offers for your trip since your booking with 8 kids will most definitely complicate that.  you are unlikely to get offers for enough cabins in the same area.

 

3. How about price drops?  Does Carnival honor them and if so, do you just notify your PVP? 

 

if you booked early saver, you have to track price and submit to Carnival.  I believe a PVP can do it as well.  

[lostsoulcruiser]

Congratulations on your getaway and here's to having a great cruise.  

1. Here is my experience regarding your questions:
2. 1. A PVP made contact with me after my first cruise. Their job is to get you back on another cruise.  If you don't make a connection with the first one, you can request another. 
3. 2, Sometime before your vacation starts, the upgrade fairy will call you with this absolutely fantastic offer (ask them, they'll tell you it's fantastic).  Some are good, some not so much (my offers not so much), it depends on the specifics of the offer, your satisfaction with your present booking and the availability of cabins available for upgrade.  No set rules here. You may not get an offer if the ship is full.
4. 3. You have be vigilant of prices for your cruise for price drops.  If the price drops for you cabin category, you get an on-board credit (OBC) for the difference.  
5. 4. I have never purchased the Cheers package so I have no first hand experience to share.  I had dinner once with a couple who had the package and he was cut off at 15 drinks.  How it relates with casino freebies  I have no idea.  It makes me curious about your cruise and are you on a special casino rate? That may change some of these answers.

 

[lazydayz]

4. The Free Drinks in the Casino do count against the 15 limit. There are very rare exceptions to the 15 drink limit, like drinks at cocktail parties or lunches where your card is not requested, or you poured it yourself (wine from embarkation, alcohol delivered to your cabin).  

 

And you can no longer buy additional alcoholic drinks from any bar if that puts you over 15. 

 

Once you start getting close (I think at 10 but could be wrong), the receipt indicates what number you are on.  

 

Hope you and your family have a great cruise. 

[DallasGuy75219]

Carnival won't serve OP's husband more than 15 drinks in a 24 hour period (6 am to 6 am), regardless of what combination of Drinks on Us, Cheers, or individually purchased drinks. 

 

If husband will be doing most of his drinking in the casino and OP isn't a big drinker, it may make more sense to buy their drinks a la carte rather than buying Cheers when husband already has DOU.

[LDL1220]

1 hour ago, lazydayz said:

4. The Free Drinks in the Casino do count against the 15 limit. There are very rare exceptions to the 15 drink limit, like drinks at cocktail parties or lunches where your card is not requested, or you poured it yourself (wine from embarkation, alcohol delivered to your cabin).  

 

And you can no longer buy additional alcoholic drinks from any bar if that puts you over 15. 

 

Once you start getting close (I think at 10 but could be wrong), the receipt indicates what number you are on.  

 

Hope you and your family have a great cruise. 

What about at Princess Cays where the Cheers package can not be utilized?  Do you know? That will definitely factor into our decision on whether to purchase Cheers since we are only on a 5 day Bahamas cruise.

[lazydayz]

58 minutes ago, LDL1220 said:

What about at Princess Cays where the Cheers package can not be utilized?  Do you know? That will definitely factor into our decision on whether to purchase Cheers since we are only on a 5 day Bahamas cruise.

No idea. 

[Elaine5715]

1 hour ago, LDL1220 said:

What about at Princess Cays where the Cheers package can not be utilized?  Do you know? That will definitely factor into our decision on whether to purchase Cheers since we are only on a 5 day Bahamas cruise.

Drinks at Princess Cays don't count

[Elaine5715]

Upsells aren't random.  They are based on your booked cabin type and location and the desire for the cruise line to sell you into a under selling category then resell your cabin.  If you actually mean a free upgrade, that is a myth sold by clickbait authors who have never sailed.  

[Elaine5715]

3 hours ago, lostsoulcruiser said:

Congratulations on your getaway and here's to having a great cruise.  

1. Here is my experience regarding your questions:
2. 1. A PVP made contact with me after my first cruise. Their job is to get you back on another cruise.  If you don't make a connection with the first one, you can request another. 
3. 2, Sometime before your vacation starts, the upgrade fairy will call you with this absolutely fantastic offer (ask them, they'll tell you it's fantastic).  Some are good, some not so much (my offers not so much), it depends on the specifics of the offer, your satisfaction with your present booking and the availability of cabins available for upgrade.  No set rules here. You may not get an offer if the ship is full.
4. 3. You have be vigilant of prices for your cruise for price drops.  If the price drops for you cabin category, you get an on-board credit (OBC) for the difference.  
5. 4. I have never purchased the Cheers package so I have no first hand experience to share.  I had dinner once with a couple who had the package and he was cut off at 15 drinks.  How it relates with casino freebies  I have no idea.  It makes me curious about your cruise and are you on a special casino rate? That may change some of these answers.

 

2. Not true at all.

3. Also no longer accurate.  

Edited May 7 by Elaine5715

[LDL1220]

10 hours ago, Elaine5715 said:

Upsells aren't random.  They are based on your booked cabin type and location and the desire for the cruise line to sell you into a under selling category then resell your cabin.  If you actually mean a free upgrade, that is a myth sold by clickbait authors who have never sailed.  

Thank you.  I guess the proper terminology is upsell.  Also, can you explain your answer for #4.  Is there no compensation for rate drops?

[pinklucky61]

You can prepurchase 4 packs of beer, limited to 2 purchases, to your cabin through Fun Shop.  They don't count towards your 15, just don't brag about it coming from your cabin, crew doesn't care if they don't know where drink came from. (Technically, you're only supposed to consume pre-orders in cabin)

[Elaine5715]

1 hour ago, LDL1220 said:

Thank you.  I guess the proper terminology is upsell.  Also, can you explain your answer for #4.  Is there no compensation for rate drops?

Very, very, very rarely.  Most offers say for "New Bookings Only" The casino offers now come with a "non-transferable" "nonrefundable" statement.  The days of booking Early Saver then immediately switching to a casino offer is gone.   

[ctkathchick]

On 5/6/2024 at 9:24 PM, Elaine5715 said:

Upsells aren't random.  They are based on your booked cabin type and location and the desire for the cruise line to sell you into a under selling category then resell your cabin.  If you actually mean a free upgrade, that is a myth sold by clickbait authors who have never sailed.  

LOL or it's from about 10-15 years ago. We had a few back in the day.

 

[aborgman]

On 5/6/2024 at 6:41 PM, DallasGuy75219 said:

Carnival won't serve OP's husband more than 15 drinks in a 24 hour period (6 am to 6 am), regardless of what combination of Drinks on Us, Cheers, or individually purchased drinks. 

 

 

False.

 

You can get around this by purchasing things like buckets of beer.

[bafinegan]

On 5/7/2024 at 9:38 AM, Elaine5715 said:

Very, very, very rarely.  Most offers say for "New Bookings Only" The casino offers now come with a "non-transferable" "nonrefundable" statement.  The days of booking Early Saver then immediately switching to a casino offer is gone.   

We just downgraded our Dec Panama Canal cruise from a suite to a balcony.  The price difference was over $3000.  WHen I called the casino dept to change I was told "there is always a way".  We hadnt paid in full for the suite, so by downgrading we not only paid off the balcony, but got a substantial amount transferred in OBC from the suite payment residual.  

[Elaine5715]

On 5/10/2024 at 4:11 PM, bafinegan said:

We just downgraded our Dec Panama Canal cruise from a suite to a balcony.  The price difference was over $3000.  WHen I called the casino dept to change I was told "there is always a way".  We hadnt paid in full for the suite, so by downgrading we not only paid off the balcony, but got a substantial amount transferred in OBC from the suite payment residual.  

If you are ECHO level- Carnival's version of a "whale", there always a way.  If you are a minnow, there is not always a way. 

[bafinegan]

1 hour ago, Elaine5715 said:

If you are ECHO level- Carnival's version of a "whale", there always a way.  If you are a minnow, there is not always a way. 

<<<<<definately not a whale.  Never been on an echo cruise.  In fact just got an invite for our first elite...

[Elaine5715]

1 hour ago, bafinegan said:

<<<<<definately not a whale.  Never been on an echo cruise.  In fact just got an invite for our first elite...

Then come ECHO

[jsglow]

So what I'm interested in is whether the OP booked a cruise for just the 2 of them as a couple or are they hauling 8 Rugrats along! 🫣

[nc762shooter]

On 5/6/2024 at 5:14 PM, LDL1220 said:

Hi all:

 

We just booked a cruise for two (no small feat since we have 8 kiddos between us) and I have a few questions.

 

1.  Are we assigned a PVP and if so, when do they make contact?

2.  How do upgrades work?  Do you just get a random offering?

3. How about price drops?  Does Carnival honor them and if so, do you just notify your PVP? 

4.  My husband and I have both purchased the Cheers Package but he also receives free drinks in the casino.  He is strictly a beer drinker and can definitely go over 15 on sea days.  Is it 15 alcoholic drinks a day period?  Will free drinks in the casino count toward his 15? If needed, can he purchase a beer or two before he hits the 15?  This probably will not be an issue since it's highly unlikely I will reach my quota but one never knows. 

 

Thank you!

 

Lisa

 

 

 

 

Regarding 4, if you wait and purchase Cheers onboard at guest services they can look up and see he has Drinks On Us and waive the requirement that both of you have to purchase. You won't get the discounted price by purchasing ahead of time but will only have to get it for yourself. Although if he only gets free drinks in the casino he may rather have Cheers so he can use it all over the ship. As far as the 15 drinks in a day goes, he (or you) can buy buckets of beer like you are buying a round of drinks for you and friends where only 1 beer will count towards your 15 on Cheers and the rest are billed at menu price. Just make sure you do this earlier in the day before you get close to 15 drinks and remember they can cut you off after any number of drinks under 15 or not if too intoxicated.

[ishap]

On 5/10/2024 at 3:26 PM, aborgman said:

 

False.

 

You can get around this by purchasing things like buckets of beer.

Does this really get your around the 15 drink limit?  I will be going on a cruise in September and if me an my girlfriend start early (think like 10-11am), we can easily hit that 15 drink limit by the evening as we are beer drinkers.  I don't mind purchasing extras outside of Cheers.

[thesmiths]

Jut my 2 cents on us.

 

We had Cheers for the first time on this Venezia 11 day cruise May 6-17.

We drank no where near our 15 per day "drink" limit.

I factored our math on the whole cruise.

 

My wife only has a couple ( Mudslides) per day but between Gatorade, Spiked milkshakes, couple Irish coffee's each morning, coffee with Baily's, bottles of water and my Rum & cokes.

Just went thorough the Sail & Sign print out yesterday and we were ahead.

 

I paid for Cheers with AMEX $150.00 back + AARP discount cards so it worked out.

 

Will we do it on our 8 day in September. have to run numbers but probably.

 

This will give you an idea.

https://cruisespotlight.com/drink-package-calculator/

 

 

I pay for everything Carnival related with AARP cards with the exception of NON-Carnival excursions.

 

 

 

 

 

[nc762shooter]

23 hours ago, ishap said:

Does this really get your around the 15 drink limit?  I will be going on a cruise in September and if me an my girlfriend start early (think like 10-11am), we can easily hit that 15 drink limit by the evening as we are beer drinkers.  I don't mind purchasing extras outside of Cheers.

I've done this several times, it's like ordering a round of drinks for you and friends except the friends are me, myself, and I. They will count one of the beers as a Cheers drink and the other few will be charged to your sail and sign account. The number of beers they let you buy in your bucket may vary this way, I think I always got four, one on Cheers and paid for the other three but it may be up to the particular server how many. I wouldn't wait to try this if you are getting close to 15 though, I was probably around drink 8-9 and early afternoon when I did this.