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Drink Coupons: What Good Are They?!?


globe9

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Was thinking about ordering some drink coupons before the cruise to help out with the sail and sign account at the end of the cruise.

 

I see that you get 4 coupons for $21.25. Printed on each coupon(according to the Carnival website pic) it says "Not to exceed $5.25". Well first of all, $5.25 x 4 = $21.00 NOT $21.25, so Carnival is making a quarter off of the coupons....no big deal really, but strange.

 

Secondly, a beer, according to most posters costs $5.95 + gratuity. So a coupon isn't even good for a beer, much less a DOD. So what the hell are these coupons even good for?

 

They just seem useless to me.

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You're right. They only work really well for you if someone else buys them for you. No point in buying them for yourself.

 

I see that now. I've just always read lots of posts about people who start buying the drink coupons months before their cruise to save on sail and sign. I remember even reading about 1 lady who bought 2 packs of coupons with every paycheck up until cruise.

 

I'm all for saving money, but these aren't saving me any money and since they're only good for $5.25, I can't even think of a drink that costs $5.25 or less. You'd think you'd be able to get at least a beer with a coupon. It's not like a domestic beer is some kinda pricey, specialty drink.

 

Anyway, glad I finally looked into it and see that they're totally not worth it.

 

Really wish that BV would offer a deal on a 6 pack of beer if ordered through them. At a bar on board, a bottle is about $6.00...I would glady pay $25 for a 6 pack through BV, which is still totally a rip off and Carnival would make money.

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We just got off of the Fantasy this morning and were pleasantly suprised at our S&S bill - the six (four-drink each) coupon sheets that we had been purchasig in increments over the past six months paid for four buckets of beer as well as two bottles of wine with dinner in the MDR. No, the cost per drink was not discounted and we never considered them to be "free", but it's nice not to get socked with the cost of such a big bar tab at one time. I think it's a great idea!

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Carnival raised all their drink prices last year, however they didn't seem to adjust the cost of the gift drink coupons. Not sure why the didn't, but on my cruise last December the coupon didn't cover any drink I could have ordered. They used to offer margaritas, etc at 4.95 then they went to 7.50 and up. We had sailed in September and then again in December and all prices on drinks had gone up by the December cruise.

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You're right. They only work really well for you if someone else buys them for you. No point in buying them for yourself.

 

That's it in a nutshell. No advantage for YOU to buy them for yourself. If a friend or relative buys them you may have to pay the difference, but that's it. If you know rich friends who know you're going on a cruise they might give you some drink certificates for a going away gift. :D

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They are only practical if you are purchasing them for someone else as a gift. While they only hold a $5.25 value you can use them towards any drink purchase. They will charge the difference to the S&S account.

 

Some people also buy them in increments like a lay away program to make their final bill more affordable. That is too much of a hassle for me. I would rather stick the money in a jar at home and then apply it to my S&S when I board the ship. Same difference.

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Was thinking about ordering some drink coupons before the cruise to help out with the sail and sign account at the end of the cruise.

 

I see that you get 4 coupons for $21.25. Printed on each coupon(according to the Carnival website pic) it says "Not to exceed $5.25". Well first of all, $5.25 x 4 = $21.00 NOT $21.25, so Carnival is making a quarter off of the coupons....no big deal really, but strange.

 

Secondly, a beer, according to most posters costs $5.95 + gratuity. So a coupon isn't even good for a beer, much less a DOD. So what the hell are these coupons even good for?

 

They just seem useless to me.

 

 

The $5.95 is for the drink, but the tip is in the coupon. Not that it matters. Every drink I order, with my S&S or a coupon, I have a cash Dollar in my hand as well. I hand the bartender, I don't use waiters much, the coupon and the buck and I've never been charged anymore for anything i've ordered.

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Once upon a time.......

 

Coupons were great, they actually saved about $1.00 a drink. The (not to exceed 5.25) was not really used and your $7.50 drink was a 1 coupon for 1 drink payment. I always ordered Pina coladas in the regular glass 1 coupon, 1 drink. Starting last year, I go hit on 1 out of 8 coupons for "extra charge" of the difference between the drink and the coupon. Finally on the Dream in May, I was charged every time I ordered a drink (same drink each time) with the coupon. The "charge" was from $1.95 to $3.95 depending on where I bought the drink.

 

We liked the convenience and the prepay feature which I why we bought them for years. Now they are no real convenience and we just buy the drinks. I do think they should sell "beer coupons" and "DOD coupons" for different prices so you could pre pay, instead of keeping the "partial coupon" in the one size fits all.

 

What was a nice way to pre pay is now a bother, we just put it on the S&S card.

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Was thinking about ordering some drink coupons before the cruise to help out with the sail and sign account at the end of the cruise.

 

 

They just seem useless to me.

 

Went to a hosted party where the hostess was giving out the "FREE" CCL drink coupons. 201.gifHA HA HA201.gif... I ordered an "X-dry gin martini with olives".. I always order Bombay Sapphire, but figured that would not be covered.....

 

To my utter surprise the waitress told me when she brought the rot-gut gin that I OWED 15 cents different.... No change so to avoid further embarrassment, I asked if my S&S card would work....

 

MORE surprises waited in store for me, yep, you guessed it .02 cents was added for a TIP ~~!!~~

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Was thinking about ordering some drink coupons before the cruise to help out with the sail and sign account at the end of the cruise.

 

I see that you get 4 coupons for $21.25. Printed on each coupon(according to the Carnival website pic) it says "Not to exceed $5.25". Well first of all, $5.25 x 4 = $21.00 NOT $21.25, so Carnival is making a quarter off of the coupons....no big deal really, but strange.

 

Secondly, a beer, according to most posters costs $5.95 + gratuity. So a coupon isn't even good for a beer, much less a DOD. So what the hell are these coupons even good for?

 

They just seem useless to me.

 

The only reason I bought them, my hunny is cheap. We don't drink a lot, but he likes to try something new once in a while, When I prebought him 4 drinks, it allowed him to buy four drinks for fun and since they were paid for he wasn't wasting $$. But other than that, I would not buy them.:)

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That's it in a nutshell. No advantage for YOU to buy them for yourself. If a friend or relative buys them you may have to pay the difference, but that's it. If you know rich friends who know you're going on a cruise they might give you some drink certificates for a going away gift. :D

 

True! Also, sometimes your TA will give them to you as a gift! :D

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it's a way of PRE-paying some of your vacation before your vacation. i used them last year and will this year as well as purchase some photo coupons. i like to prepay as much of my vacations as i can, that way it is taken care of prior to my vacation. same as with parks, dinner shows, or cruise excursions. then while i'm on vacation or cruise i'm not having to make sure i have enough with me, or rack up my credit card.

 

it's an individuals idea of what they want to do. and if the drink is over the "price" of the coupons, only the difference is added to your s&s account. my last cruise i only had a 400.00 s&s verses even more without having those coupons. yes, i'm still spending the same but not all at once.

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On my recent cruises we have used the drink coupons and they will let you use them toward a drink that sells for 5.75. My husband drinks beer and the total cost for one is 6.61 with the gratuity added. You are saving 1.36 per drink if you use a coupon because the gratuity is already included.

 

With a total of 4 drink coupons you are saving 5.44! Almost like getting a free drink! We use them on every cruise!:)

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I kinda like Disney's idea of the refillable draft beer mug. You buy the mug and then refills are cheaper throughout the week, sort of like the DOD refills. It works out better than buying those outrageously priced buckets nowadays. Carnival needs to institute something like that.

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