looking to save on bar tab, any recommendations? Im not talking rum runners :)

[Teala]

i posted this elsewhere but didnt get much response so here we go!

 

Im going on carnival in december, and I want to find ways to cut back on the bar tab but im not talking smuggling! DH and his friends are pretty big drinkers but id like to find ways to cut the tab back.

 

I know about the free drinks at the captains party and art auctions but what else?

There are drink specials in the AM right? i know there was on NCL, tequila sunrise, bloody marys etc.

Drink of the day... is this less expensive than regular drinks? also, ive heard you can ask for it without the special glass and its less too. i did that once on a cruise and if i remember, they still charged me full price. should i mention it to the bar waiter?

Is it cheaper to get drink cards before hand? i read on carnival site that the bar vouchers are good for up to a certain price. are there decent drinks at that price?

what ARE the drink prices?

 

 

thanks in advance!

[firefly333]

free drinks for a hour at the farewell party, the last sea day, usually about 5 pm.

 

Port specials for a couple of hours as the ship leaves a port in addition to the morning specials.

 

Yes, it is cheaper to order the DOH without the special glass. I think regular mixed drinks are often cheaper than DOHs too.

 

If you order the premium expensive drinks that are listed on other threads, about $11 with tips, two liquors looked to me like in them, you get a $5 matching casino play.

[Smithkids5521]

Well, you can bring wine on board in your carryon- I think the amount is 2 bottles per cabin. And you can order a few bottles of liquor from Carnival- if you mix the liquor with either soda that you bring on board or if you get a soda card- you can get sodas and mixer juices (pineapple, cranberry, orange) and mix this with the liquor. The more drinks you can have in your room- the less you'll have to buy at the bar ;)

 

I really wish that Carnival would allow other alcohol besides wine (they could allow 1 bottle of wine or 1 six pack of beer or 1 small bottle of liquor- since not everyone is a wine drinker.)

I do love a nice glass of merlot, but a nice cold corona on the balcony would be nice too!:D

 

Take care,

Diana :)

[yst347]

You can order a bottle or two of booze through the bon voyage department. It will be waiting for you in your cabin, just bring your own favorite mixers. You will save a little money this way.

 

They don't publish a liquor menu so you need to ask what's available and the current price. The number is near the bottom on the reular menu.

 

http://www.carnival.com/CMS/images/bvfxfr.pdf

[Peg_S]

Order some bottles of your favorite liquors thru the Bon Voyage dept. Costs are twice what you'd pay at home, but cheaper than buying them by the drink at the bar. Bring your own pop for mixers.

 

Peg

[vacruizer]

No more free drinks at the Captain's party - just $1.00 off specials now. They do have free drinks on the last night at the farewell party. If you have sailed Carnival before and are on a 5 day or longer sailing there's also the past guest party.

 

Look for the daily drink specials - there are usually quite a few along with some evening specials as well. It also varies by ship. Both times we sailed the Liberty they did happy hour in the disco from 7-8:30 each night with a theme - 80s, disco, reggae, etc and pretty good drink specials. But have never seen that on any other ship.

[sports-mom]

$1 off your first drink at the comedy lounge. (not sure if thats every night)

[Traveler353]

$1 off your first drink at the comedy lounge. (not sure if thats every night)

 

 

I have never seen that. What ship were you on?

[dan40]

Would somebody also explain about the $5.00 match play in the casino with the purchase receipt of specialty drinks and DOD's. I don't usually do DOD's and have never used this perk.

[deborahjo]

At $40.00 for a $12.00 bottle of Rum is a bit to much for my taste. That is from the Bon Voyage Dept.

[ERTHDOG]

perhaps try ordering long island ice tea , after a few of those strong drinks you are feeling mighty well , and you save money simply by having only a few , instead of non stop weaker drinks;):D

 

this is my personal bar tab control method:cool:

 

dave

[aqusis]

Would somebody also explain about the $5.00 match play in the casino with the purchase receipt of specialty drinks and DOD's. I don't usually do DOD's and have never used this perk.

 

You have to order what they consider 'classic cocktails'. I know it included Margarita and about 5-6 others but dont remember what they were. The drinks themselves were about $9-10 bucks but your receipt was like a coupon good for $5 match plan in the casino. I never saw it with DOD, only with the drinks designated on the classic cocktail menu.

[yst347]

Dan, you take your receipt to the casino cage or a table game and give both the receipt and $5 for two red chips. You are expected to make at least one $5 bet but nothing prevents you from walking away with two red chips. ;)

 

Since I enjoy playing at the tables (as I suspect you do too) I think this is a good deal and I do take advantage of it. :)

[yogi2929]

Dan, you take your receipt to the casino cage or a table game and give both the receipt and $5 for two red chips. You are expected to make at least one $5 bet but nothing prevents you from walking away with two red chips. ;)

 

Since I enjoy playing at the tables (as I suspect you do too) I think this is a good deal and I do take advantage of it. :)

 

We got a $5 match play coupon, no chips.

 

 

Free drink tasting in the shops.

[yst347]

We got a $5 match play coupon, no chips.

 

 

Free drink tasting in the shops.

 

Ok...then what did you do with the coupon?

[tamirpr]

Also on the match play...it is only if you buy the drink from the casino bar, not any bar on the ship.

 

And, yes, $40 is outrageous for a bottle of rum, but it's far cheaper than what you would get for $40 worth of drinks.

[Jay B]

Have a few drinks on shore during your stops. In Mexico and the Caribbean, you can often find beer for about $1 a bottle.

[John&John]

You can order a bottle or two of booze through the bon voyage department. It will be waiting for you in your cabin, just bring your own favorite mixers. You will save a little money this way.

 

They don't publish a liquor menu so you need to ask what's available and the current price. The number is near the bottom on the reular menu.

 

http://www.carnival.com/CMS/images/bvfxfr.pdf

 

Some of the prices online for Bon Voyage are higher than this list (which could be out of date).

 

http://www.carnival.com/BonVoyage/Default.aspx?icid=CC_Footer_65

[yst347]

LoL :D

 

How silly of me to think the Carnival website would have current information. :eek:

[John&John]

LoL :D

 

How silly of me to think the Carnival website would have current information. :eek:

 

Or consistent information....:D

[yst347]

or consistent information....:d

 

:D lmao :D

[John&John]

i posted this elsewhere but didnt get much response so here we go!

 

Im going on carnival in december, and I want to find ways to cut back on the bar tab but im not talking smuggling! DH and his friends are pretty big drinkers but id like to find ways to cut the tab back.

 

I know about the free drinks at the captains party and art auctions but what else?

There are drink specials in the AM right? i know there was on NCL, tequila sunrise, bloody marys etc.

Drink of the day... is this less expensive than regular drinks? also, ive heard you can ask for it without the special glass and its less too. i did that once on a cruise and if i remember, they still charged me full price. should i mention it to the bar waiter?

Is it cheaper to get drink cards before hand? i read on carnival site that the bar vouchers are good for up to a certain price. are there decent drinks at that price?

what ARE the drink prices?

 

 

thanks in advance!

 

Not to restate a lot, but the most economical way is to buy the liter bottles from Bon Voyage and they will be waiting in your cabin upon boarding the ship.

 

A liter contains about 34 ounces and will make approximately 22 regular size drinks. If you bring your own non-alcoholic mixers and soda, and make use of the lemonade and possibly OJ in the morning these drinks work out to less than $2 a drink for the booze for a $40 bottle. There's also tax added on to the purchase.

 

Also take advantage of the daily specials.

[sports-mom]

I have never seen that. What ship were you on?

 

We sailed the Dream.

They did it on Sun/mon & Wed/Thurs. It was in the capers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

As for the Casino deal when you buy one of those classic drinks.

I bought a bunch of Mojitos (my fav) And you just take your reciepts (all of them) to the cashier in the casino. They ask you for your S&S card, along with the receipts. Then they give you a $5 chip card to use at a playing table for every drink you purchased. You have to use it along with a regular $5 bid/chip.

So It basically doubles your $5 bid.

The drinks i know that they do this on are the mojito, classic margarita and martini (but not sure what type). I think there a few others.

[ekatiel]

Not to hijack the thread, but are the drink coupons you can purchase online good for pina colodas? --Katie

[yogi2929]

Also on the match play...it is only if you buy the drink from the casino bar, not any bar on the ship.

 

On the Paradise and Splendor the drinks could be purchased at any bar.

 

And, yes, $40 is outrageous for a bottle of rum, but it's far cheaper than what you would get for $40 worth of drinks.

 

We sailed the Dream.

They did it on Sun/mon & Wed/Thurs. It was in the capers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

As for the Casino deal when you buy one of those classic drinks.

I bought a bunch of Mojitos (my fav) And you just take your reciepts (all of them) to the cashier in the casino. They ask you for your S&S card, along with the receipts. Then they give you a $5 chip card to use at a playing table for every drink you purchased. You have to use it along with a regular $5 bid/chip.

So It basically doubles your $5 bid.

The drinks i know that they do this on are the mojito, classic margarita and martini (but not sure what type). I think there a few others.

 

I was able to use my friends receipt, just signed her receipt. The cashier didn't even ask me for my card.