The definitive Cheers program Thread

[Hanzo]

I'm still trying to figure out why the Cheers program isn't available on my 2 day cruise to nowhere on the Glory May 24th....

Edited May 7, 2013 by Hanzo

[emelvee]

I'm still trying to figure out why the Cheers program isn't available on my 2 day cruise to nowhere....

I'm guessing Carnival figures they'll make more money without offering it. On shorter cruises, many people tend to drink more anyway, so there is less incentive for Carnival to limit their revenue by offering a flat rate package.

 

I don't think they offer it on any 3 or 4 day cruises either, do they?

[big_duck]

I'm guessing Carnival figures they'll make more money without offering it. On shorter cruises, many people tend to drink more anyway, so there is less incentive for Carnival to limit their revenue by offering a flat rate package.

 

I don't think they offer it on any 3 or 4 day cruises either, do they?

 

With the exception of the Victory it isn't offered on any cruises shorter then 7 days.

[patchofheaven]

Forgive me if this question has been asked already...

 

If me and my husband do the Cheers program - Does that mean 15 drinks each per day or 15 total for both of us?

[Hanzo]

I'm guessing Carnival figures they'll make more money without offering it. On shorter cruises, many people tend to drink more anyway, so there is less incentive for Carnival to limit their revenue by offering a flat rate package.

 

I don't think they offer it on any 3 or 4 day cruises either, do they?

 

They may lose some money, but perhaps it would be offset by less people smuggling since they'd have a semi affordable booze option?

[big_duck]

They may lose some money, but perhaps it would be offset by less people smuggling since they'd have a semi affordable booze option?

 

Neither Bon Voyage or Cheers has cut down on smuggling. Cheap is cheap.

[emelvee]

Forgive me if this question has been asked already...

 

If me and my husband do the Cheers program - Does that mean 15 drinks each per day or 15 total for both of us?

 

15 per day each.

[Mostradamus]

Forgive me if this question has been asked already...

 

If me and my husband do the Cheers program - Does that mean 15 drinks each per day or 15 total for both of us?

 

 

 

15 drinks each per day.

[SNJCruisers]

With the exception of the Victory it isn't offered on any cruises shorter then 7 days.

It's available on all of the 6 day cruises on the Breeze.

[Hanzo]

Neither Bon Voyage or Cheers has cut down on smuggling. Cheap is cheap.

 

It's no surprise Bon Voyage didn't, the prices are grossly inflated, around 3x retail is pretty ridiculous. But at least with Cheers if you use your full 15 a day you are getting a good deal.

[Tampa cruiser1963]

If you hit you're 15 then you are cut off. I believe the time runs from 6 am till 6 am. Not sure that you can buy a bottle of wine via the cheers program. If you are talking about the DOD type souvenir glasses, they don't have then anymore.

 

They had the souvenir glasses on the Paradise that I cruised on last week.

Edited May 7, 2013 by Tampa cruiser1963

[alpal1993]

Does anyone know if the Cheers Program will be offered on any of the Sunshine Med cruises?

[jmn444]

They had the souvenir glasses on the Paradise that I cruised on last week.

 

did they have cheers???

[emelvee]

did they have cheers???

As of right now, Victory is the only one sailing shorter (5 days or fewer) cruises that offers Cheers. Paradise is doing 4 and 5 days, I believe...so they aren't offering Cheers.

[big_duck]

It's available on all of the 6 day cruises on the Breeze.

 

I keep forgetting the 6 day cruises. I should have said "on cruises longer then 5 days".

[bocephus134]

can you use the cheers program for mimosa's to get the morning going? :)

[emelvee]

can you use the cheers program for mimosa's to get the morning going? :)

 

As long as it's under $10, yes.

 

edit: looks like mimosas are $7.25, so they'd be included in the program.

 

Even in my heaviest drinking years (a LONG time ago), I could never drink before noon or so.

Edited May 7, 2013 by emelvee

[Mike Washington]

I am just off the Victory from a B2B. We purchased the Cheers program for both cruises. We purchased on the 1st day of both also. The price was $49.95 per person per day plus Gratuity. Out of the 9 days, I hit the 15 limit 6 times and came close on the other days. My DW hit the limit 2 times and hovered around 8-10 for the other days. She also had "The On Us" program from the Casino. Those drinks where above and beyond the Cheers 15 Limit. Once we hit the 15 we where not able to buy any more for $$$. Our friends where able to purchase for us though....

I believe the program saved us a good amount of money as usually we have a quite large S&S bill at the end.

 

Can't w

 

Laters,

Mike Washington

[Tampa cruiser1963]

did they have cheers???

 

No :mad:

[Shipfaced13]

We were told by a bartender last week on the Breeze that if you think you are going to go over your 15 drink limit to start paying for the drinks at drink 14 because once you hit 15 in the system you are cut off completely.

[mairead224]

Does anyone know if the Cheers Program will be offered on any of the Sunshine Med cruises?

 

I asked that same question to John Heald today and he confirmed that indeed it is offered on the sunshine!!!

[mtsnd1900]

Family just got off the Breeze, one room got the package, and regretted it. Felt compelled to drink (or attempt to drink) 15 drinks, even on port days. Also they noted, the drinks they received were not the same size as the ones purchased. For example, the person with the package would order a jack and coke, and come back with one size glass; Sister would order one from the bar and it would be a larger glass. We have ruled out ever purchasing in future. Anyone with similar findings?

[Notaworryintheworld]

Family just got off the Breeze, one room got the package, and regretted it. Felt compelled to drink (or attempt to drink) 15 drinks, even on port days. Also they noted, the drinks they received were not the same size as the ones purchased. For example, the person with the package would order a jack and coke, and come back with one size glass; Sister would order one from the bar and it would be a larger glass. We have ruled out ever purchasing in future. Anyone with similar findings?

 

Why would they feel like they had to drink 15 if you break even at around 6 drinks?

 

Also who cares if the drinks are a different size if you have to work to get to 15?

Edited May 7, 2013 by Notaworryintheworld

[mickide]

Family just got off the Breeze, one room got the package, and regretted it. Felt compelled to drink (or attempt to drink) 15 drinks, even on port days. Also they noted, the drinks they received were not the same size as the ones purchased. For example, the person with the package would order a jack and coke, and come back with one size glass; Sister would order one from the bar and it would be a larger glass. We have ruled out ever purchasing in future. Anyone with similar findings?

 

I found that I drank more too, but only because I wasn't worried about what my bill was going to be. If I wanted a beverage, I had one. If not, no biggie. I didn't "TRY" to get to 15, that is just silly! Like others have said, you break even around 6/day and that's an average. If you have 12 one day and none the next, you are still breaking even.

Also, on the Freedom, the glasses for the CHEERS program were the same size as the glasses for those who paid per drink. Remember the Cheers drinks are also purchased (just in bulk which is always cheaper LOL) :). I'm a fan of the program, I love knowing what my bill will be whether or not I break even. I enjoyed my vacation that much more and didn't even dread the final bill on the last night!

[xfer]

Just off the Breeze 8 Day. I would buy the Cheers program again.

 

On boarding, there was a table at the entrance to Lido, next to the Bubbles sign up table. When asked, they said that yes they do charge sales tax on Day 1 while still in Miami. I did not ask how much the tax would be. Instead I waited and purchased the Cheers program first thing on Day 2 at the Lobby bar. ($42.95/day +tip).

 

There were about 6 of us in our group that had signed up for the Cheers program, mostly because of OBC to burn. Not one person complained that they were ever poured weak drinks. In fact, it was often the opposite.

 

The bartenders were pretty rigid on how they made the mixed drinks. For example, they were required to make a Gin and Tonic into a small glass. This meant that it was a whole lotta gin to not so much tonic. If you like a different Tonic/Gin ratio, you could not get the drink in a larger or "double" glass. Instead, you had to order a separate glass of Tonic and then dilute the drink yourself.

 

Me, I'm a Mojito drinker. The "classic" mojito comes with two shots of Barcadi Limon. Personally, I prefer it with one shot, so I ended up asking for them to make it weaker or "half strength". I got some crazy looks because most folks want it stronger. One of our friends did not like Barcardi Limon, and was able to get the bartenders to substitute for regular rum instead.

 

Another friend liked Martinis, and they automatically suggest she upgrade to Grey Goose at $9.95 from Absolute. She actually had to stop drinking martinis since she would end up drunk after only a few drinks.

 

At no point did I see a bartender make our drinks weaker because we were on the cheers program. It is true that they had weird rules like we could not have the can of soda, instead they had to pour us a glass of soda. But within those rules, we were treated very well.

 

One friend did reach the 15 drink limit, but we discovered that a couple of their virgin daiquiris were rung up as real daiquiris. And they didn't try to order any more since they were pretty drunk by that time and took the hint.

 

It is true that at some of the busy bars, it took a while to get our drinks. I found that at the Aft Lido bar, I could get a drink pretty quickly, but the Red Frog and Blue Iguana would take forever. By day two, we ended up hanging out at the Red Frog Pub (on Promenade) before dinner. The service both inside the pub and outside by the hot tub was excellent. The Red Frog Pub (and the promenade deck outside it) became our favorite hangout.

 

Here's something I discovered, the "classic" drinks receipts can turned in for a $5 match play at the casino. Unfortunately, I discovered this on day 3 (after a bartender mentioned it), so I didn't know to save my receipts. After that, I saved all my classic Mojito receipts for the rest of the week and went nuts the last day at the casino playing craps.

 

For me, I didn't end up breaking even, Carnival won. But I would do it again. I enjoyed trying different wines at dinner. (Okay, so did my friends when I didn't like what I ordered). I drank a lot of club sodas with lime instead of regular water. I tasted many different drinks and had fun discussing what drinks we would try next. Of course, I ended up ditching some mostly full drinks, but I didn't feel guilty about it. I also tipped a little extra as I went, which might be why I felt that I got great service from the bartenders and waiters. We even asked one of the bartenders for an empty bucket and several of us filled it with beers (every 5 min) and took it to the hot tub.

 

We did discover that if you take your sign and sail card into the hot tub, the sticker will come off.

 

Overall, we found the bartenders willing to be flexible and help you get the best bang for your buck, especially if they know it might earn them an additional tip. I didn't drink as much as some people, but I enjoyed being able to drink without wondering how much I was spending first.

 

I shared a PDF of the main drink menu on Google Docs. https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B9xyBYjaQbc9d3A3UjB6ZnF2bVk/edit?usp=sharing