Drink coupons through Bon Voyage

[adira]

I'm getting very excited about my first cruise and have started looking at cute cover-ups, etc. :)

 

Both dh and I are drinkers and I am seeing that it's possible to have quite the scary surprise at the end of the cruise when we see the S&S statement. Dh doesn't really like the idea of smuggling on booze, and I know I would be irritated if it were to be confiscated, so we are thinking about getting drink coupons through Bon Voyage as well as ordering a bottle of booze. That way we can enjoy a drink in our room or go to a bar and hopefully keep our S&S bill a little smaller.

 

However, I'm confused on how the drink coupons work. I see that it's $21 something for 4 drinks, which is way less expensive than the bar prices. I've seen conflicting statements on CC. One is that you don't pay extra for the drinks but the servers get stiffed, which I figure I can take care of by tipping extra. The other is that you get charged the difference. This doesn't make sense to me, if the idea is that my friends and family can get us gifts before we go and this is their way of buying me a drink on vacation. So, Carnival is going to charge me the difference? I don't think my friends and family would be happy about that, I know that if I bought these for a friend I wouldn't be happy if I found out they had to pay the difference.

 

If anyone has clarification I would appreciate it!

[cuiser8349]

Hi there... I personally love the bar credits...

If you buy a drink that is more than the face value of the credit, the bartender will just charge you the difference.

I think for most drinks, it was about $1.50 ish. ( the yummy frozen ones)

Sometimes they dont charge you at all.... but that only happened a few times.

If..... for some reason, you dont use up all you credits.... you can take them on the next cruise.

I think its a great way to budget....

Enjoy!;)

[RDP3181]

I started a thread on one of these topics not too long ago.

 

With the bar coupons, if you purchase a drink over the coupon amount, the difference is supposed to be charged to your sign & sail account. Some have reported back that they were not charged the difference, usually due to a nice cash tip to the server.

 

With the coupons, the server gets a smaller tip because the 15% gratuity is calculated on the amount after the coupon is applied, not the full drink price. I went in depth with the calculations in my thread, which I linked below. I am not sure if my thread was one of the ones you mentioned reading in your post.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1337296&highlight=

[klmorg]

Instead of buying drink coupons, you could just "buy" some OBC, which is credited to your S&S account & applied to anything you purchase on board, including drinks. Makes it easier than messing with coupons to me.

[disneyden]

We had them for our last cruise in October and loved them! We didn't use all of them and will be be taking the rest on our cruise in April. You do have to pay for the difference on the ship if you buy the fruity drinks, but it was worth it to us. If you use them to purchase beer, then it's an even swap (no extra charge). I bought our coupons months ahead of time. Although we ended up paying the same price for the fruity drinks, it did make our bar tab smaller which was GREAT! My thoughts were that if I paid in advance, we would have more money on the trip to spend on other things. :D I would encourage your family to purchase them anyway. Instead of you having to pay $6-8 for a drink, you would only have to pay $1-3. If you get beer, it's free. ;)

[victoryred]

The coupons are dollar for dollar.......so you will be charged for the difference........

You can buy obc but that is dollar for dollar too.....

The only discount they have is if you are a beer drinker....and you buy the buckets of 4 beers which is a little cheaper then buying singles......

They have morning specials which will be listed in your fun times which will be a little cheaper for drinks such as bloody Mary's, mimosas and screw drivers.....

Edited February 4, 2011 by victoryred

[waterbound]

We had them for our last cruise in October and loved them! We didn't use all of them and will be be taking the rest on our cruise in April. You do have to pay for the difference on the ship if you buy the fruity drinks, but it was worth it to us. If you use them to purchase beer, then it's an even swap (no extra charge). I bought our coupons months ahead of time. Although we ended up paying the same price for the fruity drinks, it did make our bar tab smaller which was GREAT! My thoughts were that if I paid in advance, we would have more money on the trip to spend on other things. :D I would encourage your family to purchase them anyway. Instead of you having to pay $6-8 for a drink, you would only have to pay $1-3. If you get beer, it's free. ;)

 

DH has used the bar coupons to purchase a Fosters and he has been charged the difference in the beer vs credit on the coupon.. I would say it depends on the beer.. as Fosters is the huge beers and cost more money.. Just thought Id mention this, so others are aware if that is what they drink..

[serene56]

I buy the funship dollars now instead of those bar coupons.

 

With the funship dollars I can spend it on anything and not worry about the cost and how much to add to a coupon--

 

 

I buy one 25.00 certificate each pay. Since you are not sailing until June-- you can rack up a good savings heading into the cruise

[waterbound]

I buy the funship dollars now instead of those bar coupons.

 

With the funship dollars I can spend it on anything and not worry about the cost and how much to add to a coupon--

 

 

I buy one 25.00 certificate each pay. Since you are not sailing until June-- you can rack up a good savings heading into the cruise

 

Do they mail them to you or is it more of a credit on your account when you check in? Just wondering as we are taking our family in September and this would be a great way to save towards spending money onboard..

[disneyden]

DH has used the bar coupons to purchase a Fosters and he has been charged the difference in the beer vs credit on the coupon.. I would say it depends on the beer.. as Fosters is the huge beers and cost more money.. Just thought Id mention this, so others are aware if that is what they drink..

 

That's a good point...didn't think about that. I believe my DH drank Bud Light or Coors Light. I don't remember which one as I was busy sipping on my DOD! LOL! ;)

[victoryred]

That's a good point...didn't think about that. I believe my DH drank Bud Light or Coors Light. I don't remember which one as I was busy sipping on my DOD! LOL! ;)

 

 

Our TA always buys us the drink coupons as a sailaway gift (that is what they were implemented for) and we always have to pay the difference for bud light.......the 16 oz bud lights are $5.75 before tip....

Edited February 4, 2011 by victoryred

[adira]

I started a thread on one of these topics not too long ago.

 

With the bar coupons, if you purchase a drink over the coupon amount, the difference is supposed to be charged to your sign & sail account. Some have reported back that they were not charged the difference, usually due to a nice cash tip to the server.

 

With the coupons, the server gets a smaller tip because the 15% gratuity is calculated on the amount after the coupon is applied, not the full drink price. I went in depth with the calculations in my thread, which I linked below. I am not sure if my thread was one of the ones you mentioned reading in your post.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1337296&highlight=

 

Yours was one of the posts I referenced. ;) I figured as long as I up my tip, then it doesn't really matter too much. Correct? I have no problem paying for the service, but also thought I could get a drink at a more reasonable price. However, based on other posts, it sounds like with a nice tip you get nice drinks that are sometimes on the house anyway, so I suppose it all balances out.

 

Instead of buying drink coupons, you could just "buy" some OBC, which is credited to your S&S account & applied to anything you purchase on board, including drinks. Makes it easier than messing with coupons to me.

 

Is this through Bon Voyage, too?

[serene56]

 

 

 

Is this through Bon Voyage, too?

http://www.carnival.com/BonVoyage/AddToCart.aspx?cat=giftcertificates&pid=FSD

 

 

you can either buy certificates in increments of 25.00 or have the amount set onto your onboard account..

[serene56]

Do they mail them to you or is it more of a credit on your account when you check in? Just wondering as we are taking our family in September and this would be a great way to save towards spending money onboard..

 

 

I have them mailed to me. Each pay i ORDER a 25.00 certificate which I will take with me and visit the pursers desk.

 

One week I order. next week I get a coupon.

Vicious cycle I know-- but it was a fun way to count down my cruise which is next week. I have 700. in funship dollars that is going with me.

I already have over 100. for my Valor next Feb

[victoryred]

Yours was one of the posts I referenced. ;) I figured as long as I up my tip, then it doesn't really matter too much. Correct? I have no problem paying for the service, but also thought I could get a drink at a more reasonable price. However, based on other posts, it sounds like with a nice tip you get nice drinks that are sometimes on the house anyway, so I suppose it all balances out.

 

 

 

Is this through Bon Voyage, too?

 

Dont' be disappointed when you have to pay the difference especially after you double tip:D

Edited February 4, 2011 by victoryred

[gargoyle999]

I calculated buying the drink coupons saves about $1.30 per drink. This is because you can currently buy them for less than the redeemed value, plus it includes tip on the amount of the coupon.

 

I used them on the Imagination and Miracle in Nov and was always charged the difference.

 

Still saves a few bucks. The more you drink the more "worth" it they are.

[klmorg]

 

Is this through Bon Voyage, too?

 

Yes... just tell them you want to purchase Funship Dollars & have them applied as On Board Credit. No paperwork or mailing or cashing anything in later.

[jtdlmc]

Our TA always buys us the drink coupons as a sailaway gift (that is what they were implemented for) and we always have to pay the difference for bud light.......the 16 oz bud lights are $5.75 before tip....

 

Someone posted a picture of their coupons that they got just a month or two ago - they now have a face value of $5.75 but the price is still $21.45, so actually you now save, I don't have time to do the math again, but if I recall correctly, it is about $1.36 savings per drink or thereabouts by using a coupon.

[victoryred]

Someone posted a picture of their coupons that they got just a month or two ago - they now have a face value of $5.75 but the price is still $21.45, so actually you now save, I don't have time to do the math again, but if I recall correctly, it is about $1.36 savings per drink or thereabouts by using a coupon.

 

$5.25......

 

http://www.carnival.com/BonVoyage/AddToCart.aspx?cat=MostPopularItems&pid=BAR

[jtdlmc]

$5.25......

 

http://www.carnival.com/BonVoyage/AddToCart.aspx?cat=MostPopularItems&pid=BAR

 

$5.75......

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1316075&highlight=drink+coupons

 

The proof is at post 5 on the above thread!!!!!

Edited February 5, 2011 by jtdlmc

[adira]

http://www.carnival.com/BonVoyage/AddToCart.aspx?cat=giftcertificates&pid=FSD

 

 

you can either buy certificates in increments of 25.00 or have the amount set onto your onboard account..

 

Cool! Thank you!

 

I calculated buying the drink coupons saves about $1.30 per drink. This is because you can currently buy them for less than the redeemed value, plus it includes tip on the amount of the coupon.

 

I used them on the Imagination and Miracle in Nov and was always charged the difference.

 

Still saves a few bucks. The more you drink the more "worth" it they are.

 

Someone posted a picture of their coupons that they got just a month or two ago - they now have a face value of $5.75 but the price is still $21.45, so actually you now save, I don't have time to do the math again, but if I recall correctly, it is about $1.36 savings per drink or thereabouts by using a coupon.

 

Both of these imply that you don't pay the difference (we drink hard liquor, like LI Iced Teas, gin and tonic, jack and coke, etc so there would be a balance), which seems counter to the other replies. Or am I missing something?

Edited February 5, 2011 by adira

[jtdlmc]

Cool! Thank you!

 

 

 

 

 

Both of these imply that you don't pay the difference (we drink hard liquor, like LI Iced Teas, gin and tonic, jack and coke, etc so there would be a balance), which seems counter to the other replies. Or am I missing something?

 

The face value of the coupons was $5.25 and most regular (rye and coke) mixed drinks are $5.75 so you had to pay the difference. There other other drinks, LI Iced Tea, DOD, frozen cocktails, etc. that are more than $5.75 and you will have to pay the difference on those.

Edited February 5, 2011 by jtdlmc

[victoryred]

$5.75......

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1316075&highlight=drink+coupons

 

The proof is at post 5 on the above thread!!!!!

 

Well then I got ripped because mine in my greedy little hands say $5.25 face value........ahh but I see in the link I quoted you it also says....

 

Prices for Wine, Bar Credits and Soda are inclusive of Gratuity and Delivery Fees and Prices may vary depending on Port of Embarkation. Prices are subject to change

without notice.

Edited February 5, 2011 by victoryred

[jtdlmc]

How long ago did you purchase yours? These were just from this past November. Maybe you had yours before they increased. I have never heard of them being worth more depending on the port of embarkation. I have a bunch waiting for me two weeks from tomorrow on the Legend and I sure hope they are worth $5.75 :D

Edited February 5, 2011 by jtdlmc

[serene56]

How long ago did you purchase yours? These were just from this past November. Maybe you had yours before they increased. I have never heard of them being worth more depending on the port of embarkation. I have a bunch waiting for me two weeks from tomorrow on the Legend and I sure hope they are worth $5.75 :D

 

The coupon is for drinks up to 5.25

 

http://www.carnival.com/BonVoyage/AddToCart.aspx?cat=MostPopularItems&pid=BAR#_