xostacylee

1 hour ago, Four4us said:

We planned on pre purchasing the drink package for each of us. So with her not going we will be forced to wait. Not only will we be stuck paying her share but also extra having to wait to purchase the drink package. 

I would continue to try to sway her into going - let her know that it's going to affect you guys (i.e. more for the cabin + more for the drink package). 

If you paid on your credit card, I would think it would refund back to you. When I went with 2 friends they paid me and I paid Carnival. Tell her you'll keep whatever losses you guys incur due to her cancellation. Money talks!

Rad! Thank you for sharing!

Can't wait to read the rest of the review! On desktop it's showing up like the font is black on a highlighted blue background which is difficult to read. Could you possibly change that? I want to read the whole thing! haha

Does anyone know if these exist on the Liberty?

34 minutes ago, Kirbit62 said:

You are all correct.  I am not worried about a limit I will, most likely, never reach.  However, with Cheers you cannot buy a bucket of beer for your friends when it's your turn to buy.  You cannot buy room service beer when you are in your room.  You cannot buy the "drink of the day" souvenir cup.  Also, with Cruise Cash and/or Bar Cash, you can pay this ahead of time, just as you would when you buy Cheers.

Coeven, you mentioned 10 drinks per day would add up to roughly $100 per day.  $700 for a 7 day cruise.  If I buy $500 Cruise Cash and $200 Bar Cash it would still be less expensive than Cheers, with no restrictions. (sorry for the math lesson, I'm still trying to work this out myself) 

If you're cruising with friends and they're sharing the room - they can't buy buckets either haha. I've heard mixed reviews if you buy for you + your cruising partner, you can do so with both S&S cards. Though again, mixed reviews depending on the ship and bartender. 

Secondly, if you're NOT going to do Cheers, I would not buy cruise cash or bar cash - simply because those are nonrefundable. If you are worried about not breaking even on the Cheers package, I wouldn't spend the money on those either. They're also the same as cash, so there's no benefit to using those over straight cash.

As Schazzy says, I would suggest spending the $$ on Carnival gift cards vs. cruise cash.

Also, don't forget that the Cheers package also includes bottled water, coffees, top shelf liquor, milk shakes, and any soda. 

10 hours ago, HarryKane said:

 

 

This one doesn't appear to add gratuities on the per drink price though.

 

 

It does! If you look at the formula on box E it includes the daily total times 18%. So it defaults to $470.41 for 7 days, which is $67 per day (which is $56.95 x 18% grat). 

Prices, if anything, would've gone up from this. Though I vaguely remember getting Long Island's for about $10 each in 2013. But this is still a rough estimate to help folks make a somewhat educated decision.

Edited to say: This is based on $56.95 which is what you would pay if you buy on the ship. If you pre-buy, t's $51.95 per day. So make sure to note that when doing the math!

1 hour ago, OkieRican said:

I just enter what I pay and adjust the days. Prices just went up and I do  not believe the spreadsheet has been updated.

Depending on the spreadsheet you're using, there's a formula that auto adds the grats. This is the one I use!

1505515654_CarnivalBeveragePackageEvaluator.xls

Edited to say: I did not make this, I found it on this forum so thank you to whoever created it!

On 2/10/2019 at 4:51 PM, cali-croozer said:

Screw Looze at the Punchliner was very good!

Which one was the blue one? lol

1 hour ago, JaxsMama said:

The sign is always out saying rooms aren't ready until 130. With FTTF you ignore it and open the door and go to your room, which will be ready.

Good to know! The last time we cruised with FTTF was like 4-5 years ago. I don't think they had anything closed off, it was more of you could access the hall but your room wasn't ready. 

Hi folks!

Just researching into redeeming my points for the cruise... is it better to get Carnival Gift Cards via rewards, or OBC? I just read the following re: OBC:

Note! Onboard credits are valid for a single voyage and cannot be transferred to future bookings. Onboard credits are non-refundable and any unused credits will be forfeited. 

We will have $200 - and I think we'll use it - but I figured I'd check for suggestions before redeeming.

Edited to say: We are buying the Cheers package and already have paid for our excursions, but we're doing the Chef's Table which is $150 right there. 

Thank you!

Stacy

Dress up in costumes, or turn it into a scavenger hunt. Look up the restaurants ahead of time and make up a scavenger hunt list for each other so you don't know what's on it.

I personally did not like the sushi spot. It was terrible service, food was meh, and obviously additional money. Would not recommend!

5 minutes ago, SNJCruisers said:

Just remember to pace yourself and stop by the Alchemy Bar for pre-dinner drinks each evening.

Pacing ourselves...?! What's that?! 😉

I can't wait to try alchemy bar! Definitely working on the marathon not a sprint element lol. I do want to remember the cruise after all.. hehe

Thank you!

Just now, SNJCruisers said:

You're welcome.  Which way are you leaning regarding Cheers?  We've paid for it on our last three Carnival cruises and once on Royal.  Also eight times in included packages on Celebrity, NCL and MSC.

Leaning towards yes. My bf and I are drinkers generally speaking (and would take advantage of the water/milkshakes/coffee, etc.), and we're far enough in advance that we could pay this off. I also have a Carnival MC and would get the points back.

I think our only concern would be not being able to get doubles, buckets, etc. but that's more of an inconvenience than anything. We do like the "all inclusive" feel and will have everything else already paid for before we cruise too. 

On 3/8/2019 at 8:44 PM, SNJCruisers said:

It's a promotion selling reduced priced drinks that are probably already made in pitchers and then poured similar to what is done at the rum bar and tequila bar poolside with certain drinks.  You can of course use these towards your Cheers allotment, but why would you?  Get a nice fresh drink or three at the Alchemy Bar.

Touche. I was just wondering if they went towards it - we're still on the fence about Cheers (don't worry we've done all the math and read all the posts lol. Just deciding what's best for us personally). This may change that. Thank you!

47 minutes ago, chui101 said:

We are going on the Labor Day sailing (9/2)

Have a wonderful trip!

On 3/9/2019 at 11:57 AM, chui101 said:

We are going on this itinerary in September, thanks for the detailed review! It's got me really excited about the trip!

When in September? We're going on the 9/16 sailing!

On 1/27/2019 at 5:55 PM, Luv06012012 said:

 

My new favorite souvenir to collect are Alex & Ani bracelets representing the ports I’ve gone to. I have Puerto Rico and St. Maarten and hope to get St. Thomas and others on my next trip.

 

Anyone else have them? If so, which ones?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I was wondering if they did these! I was looking on Alex & Ani's website and didn't see any cruise ones. Will have to check these out :) 

Great review so far! Can't wait for the rest :)

Didn't know this was a thing! Assuming, though, that this does not apply to folks with the Cheers package? Anybody have confirmation on that?

We did the deluxe ocean view on the Breeze, deck 1. Room 1416.  Loved the room (2 bathrooms!!), but it just felt so far removed from everything. We bought a bottle of alcohol for our room and didn't drink it all because it was so inconvenient to walk back and forth. But like other people said, it's convenient for port days. 

39 minutes ago, krehberg said:

 

This ^  - Pre buy and pay with discounted gift cards and the daily cost becomes $55.17 after gratuity.  Or $46.75 pre gratuity.  If you have a specialty coffee, 2 glasses of wine, a cocktail at the Alchemy Bar, a couple bottles of water and a sports drink, you'll pretty much be there at break even.  Doesn't take much.  We always get it (and bring on nice bottles of wine too) just so I know my cost in advance and knowing it doesn't really take much for it to be a good deal.

I like this! So we pre-paid the grats for the cruise - are there other ones (i.e. tipping on top of the 18% applied grat)?

We're also thinking of pre-buying Cheers on my Carnival Credit card and using the double points towards additional OBCs. 

At this point we've decided we ARE going to do it. We crunched the #s and for us even if we lose $20-30, it's worth the peace of mind going on the ship and not stressing about the bill.

33 minutes ago, xostacylee said:

 

To each their own - $900 is $900 for someone to do what they will.

 

My reply was more towards the person who was saying cash flowing/planning for Cheers was against Dave Ramsey's plan. 

1 minute ago, crewsweeper said:

Thanks for the repost xostacylee.  Mods should make this a sticky. Something like:

 

"Want to know if Cheers is right for you, click here."

 

As long as price and drink updates by CC members are permitted when changed by Carnival, should keep these threads on Cheers down.

 

 

They really should - the Excel grid was a life saver!! 

10 minutes ago, mapman_2004 said:

 

You don't have to cash flow $940 and put it towards Cheers to have a good time still.  You could still cash flow $900, not go crazy trying to make Cheers worth it, and have money left over after.

To each their own - $900 is $900 for someone to do what they will.

My reply was more towards the person who was saying cash flowing/planning for Cheers was against Dave Ramsay's plan.