Carnival Testing All You Can Drink Package

[blueboro]

Wow...just what they need...more drunks to appear on 20/20.

[CtheW0rld]

despite carnival's reputation, i have rarely seen anyone really drunk on any on my cruises on carnival.

 

costa has had a form of this for years. 1st it was just wine, water and beer during mealtimes only. then they went to one that included hard liquor during limited times. now they have a totally all-inclusive all the time. price is about $26/day. seems pretty reasonable. i no longer drink alcohol, but between juices, coffees (heavenly esspresso - just like italy) and non-alcoholic bevs i may go for it.

[DaveOKC]

I know my relatives will go for this! Beer alone would cover the cost.

 

DaveOKC

[Krazy Kruizers]

JMO -- "All you can drink package" would not interest us.

[Typhoon1]

That is a mistake. Just leads to more drunk and disorderly passengers.

[kazu]

do people really drink more to get their money's worth???

 

Lots of us buy beverage cards - but I don't think we drink more because of it?

 

If I am not mistaken another cruise line offers a similar package and they are not known to have drunks on board;)

 

I suspect those that 'use' the package to the fullest extent would be chargin it to their rooms anyways:rolleyes:

[hal lover]

That is a mistake. Just leads to more drunk and disorderly passengers.

 

I agree.

[hensghan]

I think whether this would lead to more drunk and disorderly passengers would depend upon the cruise line. I mean, many luxury cruise lines already have this benefit and I don't think they have many problems. HAL's demographics probably wouldn't lead to much abuse either.

 

My problem with such a deal is that all occupants of a cabin must participate and pay the package fee -- and I can readily understand the reasoning behind that. But for me at least, it wouldn't be a good deal. I enjoy pool drinks and evening cocktails and even a few after dinner drinks. DW, however, might occasionally have a single glass of wine with dinner.

 

For us it wouldn't be a good deal at all.

[luxurysailer]

The incidence of abuse of something like this would probably be much higher among younger passengers who haven't yet developed good sense.

 

In response to a previous comment by someone who posted that they'd never seen excessive drunkenness on a Carnival cruise ship I'd just say you should have been with us on a Princess cruise a few years ago. College age youngsters trying to embark a Carnival ship berthed next to us in one of the Mexican ports were lined up vomiting over the side of the dock. I've never seen even one passenger in this kind of state on a HAL or Princess ship, although I suspect that it does occur.

[Wakepatrol]

It will never work here. HAL doesn't have your brands of wine,beer,soda or whatever,that's why you tote cases aboard right?:)

[3rdGenCunarder]

do people really drink more to get their money's worth???

 

Lots of us buy beverage cards - but I don't think we drink more because of it?

 

If I am not mistaken another cruise line offers a similar package and they are not known to have drunks on board;)

 

I suspect those that 'use' the package to the fullest extent would be chargin it to their rooms anyways:rolleyes:

 

Well, have you ever watched people pig out at the buffet in order to get their money's worth? Sadly, I think some people will see this as a reason to drink more.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

I will hate that ,,

[AZNative2000]

despite carnival's reputation, i have rarely seen anyone really drunk on any on my cruises on carnival.

 

costa has had a form of this for years. 1st it was just wine, water and beer during mealtimes only. then they went to one that included hard liquor during limited times. now they have a totally all-inclusive all the time. price is about $26/day. seems pretty reasonable. i no longer drink alcohol, but between juices, coffees (heavenly esspresso - just like italy) and non-alcoholic bevs i may go for it.

Golly, you should have been aboard Ecstasy last week.:eek::eek:

 

Laughing hysterically, trying to get out of the elevator while the door is closed, trying to run down the hall... can't imagine what would happen if it was a pre-paid drinking contest.:eek:

 

I think there could be a problem with alcohol poisoning from over drinking.

[KirkNC]

Not a good idea.

[CtheW0rld]

Golly, you should have been aboard Ecstasy last week.:eek::eek:

 

Laughing hysterically, trying to get out of the elevator while the door is closed, trying to run down the hall... can't imagine what would happen if it was a pre-paid drinking contest.:eek:

 

I think there could be a problem with alcohol poisoning from over drinking.

 

darwin's theories at work. is that a bad thing?

[uncle John]

Went on Celebrity and purchased the package it was very convenient. They have a Foo-Foo dink package(non-Alcohol) that my wife enjoyed she is a coffee,Tea and frozen non alcohol drink person. But to Force people in cabin to buy Booze package for everyone in cabin is nuts. Never saw ANY DRUNKS on ships so there goes the more drunks thing. But agin Celebrity is NOT a party Barge like Carnival.

[3rdGenCunarder]

darwin's theories at work. is that a bad thing?

 

I'm inclined to agree with you. But it is bad if they get drunk and fall overboard. Then the cruise lines and local authorities waste time, money, and endanger rescue crews looking for a drunken idiot.

[Roz]

I've been on 4 Carnival cruises, varying in length from 4-12 days, and have never seen firsthand the public drunkedness described on these boards. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but I don't know that it's as widespread as commonly believed. That said, whether someone is holding an all you can drink card or not, isn't it the responsibility of the bar and wait staff to cut someone off well before they die of alcohol poisoning?

 

Roz

[YubaSutter]

Still more expensive than smuggling.

[iancal]

We have only been on one Carnival cruise. We did not see any public drunkeness, nor did we see any of the often commented notions of it being a party ship, or wild, or people running up and down ship at night. And we would select Carnival again if the price/ship/itinerary were right for us.

 

We have been on Celebrity a number of times. Celebrity offers serveral all inclusive drink packages. Not certain what they encompass because we do not bother with them. We have never seen any public drunkeness on Celebrity ships either.

 

We have been to many all inclusive resorts albeit usually higher end ones. Very seldom did we see very much public drunkeness-from any age group.

[firstcarib]

Our only other cruise so far has been on Silversea, which included all beverages, inc champagne, wine, cocktails etc etc. in our cabin or any bar or any of the restaurants. However,we actually seemed to drink LESS for some bizarre reason...especially in our room. I almost felt guilty for ordering champagne for our mini bar & then not opening it. However, on chatting to the cruise director, he did say that some folk were on their second bottle of hard liquor before the ship had even left the first port! :eek: but we never saw any drunkeness. This could be because it's a "High End" cruise Line appealing to a mature age group? I don't know if it would work well for a much younger client base...think All Inc Hotels such as in Benidorm!( apologies to our overseas friends who don't know what I mean:D)

[indokiwi]

Holland America has it. I asked on the Zaandam. It's about $20 per day but you can only book it if you are in a group of more that 20 and at least 20 get it (or something like that). The Assistant Beverage Manager Ronnie told me that they NEVER lose money on it. Most HAL passengers don't drink to excess and the actual cost of drinks is much lower, obviously, to the ship.:p

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Celebrity and a few others have been doing this for years. Actually Carnival has had a form of the unlimited drinks for several years now but was not public, this was done thru Group Sales. If the Group was large enough there was money built into the pricing thru Carnival for unlimited drinks or could be set up for the group in advance.

I see pros and cons to this. Actually the pricing is a bit high for the average Carnival Cruiser and especially since they have the restriction that everyone that is 21 and over in the same cabin MUST purchase the package. For a couple on a 7 day cruise that is $691.50 (including the 15% grat) That is a hefty bar tab especially if they only paying $499 PP. In all honesty I do not see them selling that many packages. Now where it could be a problem is on the short 3 and 4 day cruises which is where they do tend to have the Party crowd. Their longer 7+ cruises are not where you see the drunks in most cases. They are currently only testing it on one ship. My guess if they do roll this out to more ships it will not be on their three and four day itineraries.

While most people think Carnival is for the young kids you would be quite surprised that on some of their sailings especialy the 8+ day sailings their average age is 60+

[hypercafe]

Oceania has it in two forms, wine and beer with dinner. All you want all day long, wine, beer and booze. Also all in the room do not have to buy it. You can also bring wine and booze on at ports ect. All drinks expect wine, beer and booze is included in fare. I must be missing something, why would anyone care if HAL does it or not unless they wanted to buy it?

[George C]

That is a mistake. Just leads to more drunk and disorderly passengers.

 

Maybe a few, we do AI resorts and never saw any major problems, looking forward to Sandals in a couple of months, not sure if I would do this since we like good wine and that would not be included, and we love Hal allowing us to bring our own.