Carnival Open Bar and Wine Program

[OhioJeff]

I have been on five Carnival Cruises and have never heard of a program like this. Since our Ski Club is known as a "Drinking Club with a Skiing problem", we might bankrupt Carnival. I asked my TA to call and find out if this program is still in play or not. IT IS! But! There is always a But!

 

You have to have 100% sign-up. We have several people in our group of 37 that have medical problems and don't drink. My wife being one of them. Designated Driver Baby! Woohoo! So it probably wouldn't be a very good option for our group!

 

Nuts!

 

 

Any cruise, anywhere, anytime....

 

Well, you could always just have those that drink pay for those that dont. Included in the plan is soda and juices from the bar.

[Winglover1]

The next time I run a Fagowee Ski Club Cruise, I just might advertise it as an all inclusive, and build the price into the total. That might limit the number of older members that wouldn't be willing to pay the extra $$, what, $280pp? :eek:

 

I'm not sure it is really necessary though. We usually go to the Captains reception, Past cruisers, and our own semi-private party which are all open bar events. You can also bring a "reasonable" amount of

stuff on the ship. They say one bottle of wine per person, but our last group cruise, one couple brought 8 bottles of vino on-board in Miami. I usually bring a bottle of wine and a large bottle of rum. I use the fruit drinks in the eateries, ice and Rum. I'm good! My bar bill has never been more than $100 on any cruise I have been on. But then again, I don't get smashed like some like to get.

 

When you return to the ship from a port visit, try to time it where you are in a large crowd. They tend to catch fewer bottles of juice coming back on the ship in larger groups. It all depends on how swamped they are and how sharp the security guys/gals are. I watched once as a couple was stopped with three bottles of wine and the guy behind went through with a freaking case! Ask yourself, Do I feel Lucky?, Well, Do Ya punk?

Sorry, slipped into Dirty Harry mode for a second...

 

Nothing beats a good cruise! Well.... Except great sex on a good cruise...

 

Mr. Bill

VP Fagowee Ski Club

Washington, Virginia, Maryland

www.dcfagowees.com

 

07 Nov4-11 Valor Eastern Carib

06 Nov Valor Exotic Western Carib

04 June Destiny Southern Carin

02 Mexican Riviera

01 Eastern Carib

00 Western Carib

[cruzinnluvinit]

Nope... our group last year had about 150 in it, we talked to RCL and CCL... they BOTH said that everyone in the group had to purchase the package in order to get it. That is one of the stips for getting the package.

Ok, I have never traveled with a group of more than 4 of us. Why can't large groups book as different groups, ones that want the card and the other group that doesn't. The ones that want the card can enjoy the card and the others can pay less. Also, the ones that don't want the card can book with a TA and I guess save money on the cost (one poster said it cost less to go through a TA). Does this make sense or am I missing something? Serious questions. Thanks for the answers ahead of time.

[cruzinnluvinit]

I returned from my cruise on July 5, 2007, and i just wanted to let everyone know that the Open Bar and Wine Program is the Best thing ever. We had Free unlimited wine every night at dinner, a choice between red and white or blush. it was different every night. We did not have any problems with any ordering of alcohol. The bartenders remembered our card #'s and everyone that was in our group. Most of the time we did not even need to show our cards. you just order you drink and they give you a receipt with a 0.00 total on it. The only thing that we tried to order and couldn't was the bucket of beer..........Ahhh ha..but there is a catch. If you can get 4 people in your group with a card to give you there cards you can order 4 beers and ask them to put it in a bucket for you. we did that several times, and it does not enable any of the 4 card holders to turn around and order a drink right after. One day my fiance and i sat at the bar on the lido deck and tried all of the beer on display. it was a great day. i would have to say that the next time i cruise i will hustle to get 30 people to join me so that i can get the open bar card again. it is more than worth it (40.00 dollars a day) We had absolutely no problems with using the card. The drinks in our room were included, and all soft drinks, water alcohol. ect were included. They would even let my dad get a double shot of whatever he was drinking on a particular day. and that was more than 7.50, but they did not tell him no, and they were not any over charges. No one in our group of about 45 had any trouble at all. Well maybe waking up in the mornings from all the unlimited alcohol. If anyone has any questions just ask. and hustle to get a group of 30 to qualify for the open bar card you wont regret it.....

Did it in fact include the coffee bar coffees? Bottled water? Sodas?

 

If I figured this correctly, if it costs 30 dollars per day then if you drink 5 drinks you save at least the 15 percent gratuity. By the way, if you don't get the card who gets the gratuity if you are still tipping the bartender? Do they get the 15 percent and the tip?

[OrangeAndBlue]

I did the OPEN BAR program with a group I went with last year and it was the best thing ever. We're going again in February on another one. They've raised the price this year to $45/day but it's still not a bad deal. We like it so much that we've already started looking at a cruise in 2010!!!

 

Also, they've gotten a lot more restrictive in the groups and travel agents that are able to get it. I guess they had lots of issues last year so they started clamping down on it.

 

Come on and join us on the February cruise. It's going to be a blast.

[OrangeAndBlue]

The next time I run a Fagowee Ski Club Cruise, I just might advertise it as an all inclusive, and build the price into the total. That might limit the number of older members that wouldn't be willing to pay the extra $$, what, $280pp? :eek:

 

I'm not sure it is really necessary though. We usually go to the Captains reception, Past cruisers, and our own semi-private party which are all open bar events. You can also bring a "reasonable" amount of

stuff on the ship. They say one bottle of wine per person, but our last group cruise, one couple brought 8 bottles of vino on-board in Miami. I usually bring a bottle of wine and a large bottle of rum. I use the fruit drinks in the eateries, ice and Rum. I'm good! My bar bill has never been more than $100 on any cruise I have been on. But then again, I don't get smashed like some like to get.

 

When you return to the ship from a port visit, try to time it where you are in a large crowd. They tend to catch fewer bottles of juice coming back on the ship in larger groups. It all depends on how swamped they are and how sharp the security guys/gals are. I watched once as a couple was stopped with three bottles of wine and the guy behind went through with a freaking case! Ask yourself, Do I feel Lucky?, Well, Do Ya punk?

Sorry, slipped into Dirty Harry mode for a second...

 

Nothing beats a good cruise! Well.... Except great sex on a good cruise...

 

Mr. Bill

VP Fagowee Ski Club

Washington, Virginia, Maryland

www.dcfagowees.com

 

07 Nov4-11 Valor Eastern Carib

06 Nov Valor Exotic Western Carib

04 June Destiny Southern Carin

02 Mexican Riviera

01 Eastern Carib

00 Western Carib

 

Mr. Bill, you should join our group cruise in February. There are a group of us going and we're all local to your area. Most of us live in the Reston/Herndon/Fairfax area.

[cruzinnluvinit]

I did the OPEN BAR program with a group I went with last year and it was the best thing ever. We're going again in February on another one. They've raised the price this year to $45/day but it's still not a bad deal. We like it so much that we've already started looking at a cruise in 2010!!!

 

Also, they've gotten a lot more restrictive in the groups and travel agents that are able to get it. I guess they had lots of issues last year so they started clamping down on it.

 

Come on and join us on the February cruise. It's going to be a blast.

What were the issues they had last year? I haven't seen any law suits. Have you heard their reasoning for discontinuing this to more groups?

 

I live in Warrenton so I am very close to where you live.

 

My DH and I have a cruise booked for January but maybe if you find one in 2010 that has open bar we might be able to get in on it at least once. I don't drink much but I figured it out and I might drink one more drink a day if I didn't have to worry about my balance at the end of the cruise.

[OrangeAndBlue]

What were the issues they had last year? I haven't seen any law suits. Have you heard their reasoning for discontinuing this to more groups?

 

I live in Warrenton so I am very close to where you live.

 

My DH and I have a cruise booked for January but maybe if you find one in 2010 that has open bar we might be able to get in on it at least once. I don't drink much but I figured it out and I might drink one more drink a day if I didn't have to worry about my balance at the end of the cruise.

 

That's very cool you live out that way. I get out to Warrenton every so often to hear one of my favorite bands play.

 

The two biggest issues, from what I've heard, is people were getting too drunk and causing problems (vandalism, crew abuse, etc.) and mis-abuse from buying other people drinks on the program.

 

Carnival has taken the program back to having it for Corporate Groups only and any other groups must have special permission from the Group Planning Department in order to get it. I know they are extra strict in what groups they are considering as we had a difficult time getting it this year even though we did not cause any problems last year.

 

For 2010, we're looking at the Carnival Pride leaving out of Baltimore doing the Bahamas cruise. It's not the exact cruise I want to go on, but a lot of people were complaining about the high costs of flights and pre-cruise hotels this year. So we figured that by going out of Baltimore, it would save people a lot of money and we'd getting a bigger group going, especially since we are in this area.

[OrangeAndBlue]

If anyone wants to contact me offline, just send me an email to {my name} at yahoo.com. I can let you know some more details about the open bar program or the cruise we're on. Hopefully, you'll all join us on the ship and we'll party it up!

[cruzinnluvinit]

If anyone wants to contact me offline, just send me an email to {my name} at yahoo.com. I can let you know some more details about the open bar program or the cruise we're on. Hopefully, you'll all join us on the ship and we'll party it up!

It looks like Grandeur of the Sea isn't scheduled to leave out of Baltimore in 2010. Are more ships going to quit leaving out of Baltimore? The Grandeur goes to the Caribbean this year out of Baltimore.

 

I like the port days not so much the sea days.

 

Which band do you listen to?

[OrangeAndBlue]

It looks like Grandeur of the Sea isn't scheduled to leave out of Baltimore in 2010. Are more ships going to quit leaving out of Baltimore? The Grandeur goes to the Caribbean this year out of Baltimore.

 

I like the port days not so much the sea days.

 

Which band do you listen to?

 

LOL, I must have been drunk when I wrote that email earlier. I meant Winchester, not Warrenton. It's an 80s cover band called The Reflex. They are probably one of the best 80s covers band around.

 

Celebrity is bringing a ship (Mercury) to do 9 and 12 day cruises out of Baltimore.

 

Ship days, port days - it doesn't really matter all that much to me. I've been on so many cruises and I've hit almost all of the ports. I'm doing the Halloween cruise with some of my friends next month and it's to the Western Caribbean. You wouldn't believe how tired I am of the ports on that itinerary - Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and especially Ochos Rios. But as long as I'm gone away on vacation and it's a cruise, I really don't care what I'm doing or where I'm going. Just give me an ocean breeze, some sun, and alcohol, and I am set!!!

[cathyoo]

I'm going on the Pride out of Baltimore 11/1/09 on a bar card cruise. A really fun group from the Phila/South Jersey area/NY area. Right now we are locked into some decent pricing but have been told that any additional cabins after 10/18 will have a new price point.

 

bar card, $100 on board credit, no airfare and FUN people.. a cruise can't get any better.

 

Cathy OO at aol.com