The definitive Cheers program Thread

[freagan]

All the bartenders knew exactly who the NA drinks were for...My kids were with me when I handed it to them at the bar. No questions were ever asked...ever. They would even split Crown royal and OJ for me in the evening so I could have a double CR and Coke while my daughter drank the OJ at the bar (because apparently Orange Juice by itself wasn't allowed)

That was the bartenders suggestion BTW when I asked for an OJ for my daughter and was told that technically fruit juice by itself wasn't part of Cheers...He said go get your wife's card and order two drinks....he brought me a double size glass of Coke and Crown Royal and an extra single shot of Crown Royal and a clean glass of OJ for my daughter and handed it to her. I poured the second shot of CR into my glass...Everyone gets what they want. Remember...bartenders idea, not mine!

 

No one ever questioned me once... I didn't think I was ever breaking any rules.

Like I said the only thing they stuck to was waiting 5 minutes and that I couldn't get fruit juice on it's own. Even at dinner they would bring soda for the kids and wine for my wife and I every night without a single concern (they brought the wine 5 minutes after the soda)...They never questioned us there either, not once...not ever.

 

When I purchased the program on the first day if I specifically asked that if I ordered NA drinks for my "kids" would they count towards the 15 limit...The answer was that only alcoholic drinks counted towards the 15 limit and that virgin drinks and sodas were unlimited... They didn't say you can't share with your kids.

 

It was never even implied...never...that I was breaking the rules.

 

Perhaps your bartenders being complicit in your rule breaking is one of the reasons the price has gone up.

[Out to sea!]

All the bartenders knew exactly who the NA drinks were for...My kids were with me when I handed it to them at the bar. No questions were ever asked...ever. They would even split Crown royal and OJ for me in the evening so I could have a double CR and Coke while my daughter drank the OJ at the bar (because apparently Orange Juice by itself wasn't allowed)

That was the bartenders suggestion BTW when I asked for an OJ for my daughter and was told that technically fruit juice by itself wasn't part of Cheers...He said go get your wife's card and order two drinks....he brought me a double size glass of Coke and Crown Royal and an extra single shot of Crown Royal and a clean glass of OJ for my daughter and handed it to her. I poured the second shot of CR into my glass...Everyone gets what they want. Remember...bartenders idea, not mine!

 

No one ever questioned me once... I didn't think I was ever breaking any rules.

Like I said the only thing they stuck to was waiting 5 minutes and that I couldn't get fruit juice on it's own. Even at dinner they would bring soda for the kids and wine for my wife and I every night without a single concern (they brought the wine 5 minutes after the soda)...They never questioned us there either, not once...not ever.

 

When I purchased the program on the first day if I specifically asked that if I ordered NA drinks for my "kids" would they count towards the 15 limit...The answer was that only alcoholic drinks counted towards the 15 limit and that virgin drinks and sodas were unlimited... They didn't say you can't share with your kids.

 

It was never even implied...never...that I was breaking the rules.

 

I understand that no one can ever know every rule or law and that everyone has broken some rule or law unkowingly. But someone knowingly breaking the rules (such as smuglers) is a completely different ball of wax. I assume that now that you know you're not supposed to share, you won't. :)

Edited June 3, 2013 by Out to sea!

[SNJCruisers]

i assume that now that you know you're not supposed to share, you won't. :)

Funniest statement I have heard on here in a long time....:D

[Davey-D-99]

I assume that now that you know you're not supposed to share, you won't.

 

I'm sure that Carnival doesn't want people to share their alcoholic drinks with fellow passengers who are not on the Cheers program...I get that, I understand that and would never do that.

 

They don't care if you order a soda for your own child.

[Davey-D-99]

...

Edited June 4, 2013 by Davey-D-99

[Out to sea!]

I assume that now that you know you're not supposed to share, you won't. :)

 

I'm sure that Carnival doesn't want people to share their alcoholic drinks with fellow passengers who are not on the Cheers program...I get that, I understand that and would never do that.

 

They don't care if you order a soda for your own child.

 

I guess I assumed incorrectly (my bad) that you would understand the rules against sharing. I've never seen anything in the rules that stated no sharing of drinks under any program........unless it's your own kids. :rolleyes:

Edited June 4, 2013 by Out to sea!

[prattmom]

I guess I assumed incorrectly (my bad) that you would understand the rules against sharing. I've never seen anything in the rules that stated no sharing of drinks under any program........unless it's your own kids. :rolleyes:

 

That's why you can't buy a bottomless bubbles card for children. Oh, wait....

[Out to sea!]

Again, as stated by others, here are the rules for the Cheers Program directly from the Carnival website. Note the highlighted passage.

 

 

The following restrictions apply:

• Guests must purchase the program for the entire cruise - this program is not offered on a per day basis.

• Guests must be 21 years or older to purchase and agree not to give to minors.

• Each adult (21 years or older) assigned to the same stateroom must purchase the program.

• Only one drink at a time may be ordered. No sharing is permitted.

• Applicable state and local taxes will be charged to the guest folio when this program is used within US waters.

• Carnival reserves the right to refuse service for any reason.

• Program allows for up to 15 alcoholic drinks per 24 hours period (6AM - 6AM).

• Carnival reserves the right to refuse service for any reason.

• Program is non-refundable.

• The Cheers program is only available onboad.

 

 

http://www.carnival.com/core/faq.aspx?icid=CC_Header_466

[Out to sea!]

That's why you can't buy a bottomless bubbles card for children. Oh, wait....

 

Yes, you can buy a soda cards for the kids......for EACH kid (that wishes to partake). You cannot buy a single card and give all of your kids soda from that one card. Then again, I guess you can get away with stealing (which is what it is) if you buy only one soda card and give 2-X number of kids drinks from it if you're slick enough. :(

[prattmom]

Yes, you can buy a soda cards for the kids......for EACH kid (that wishes to partake). You cannot buy a single card and give all of your kids soda from that one card. Then again, I guess you can get away with stealing (which is what it is) if you buy only one soda card and give 2-X number of kids drinks from it if you're slick enough. :(

 

Exactly ;)

 

 

· The “Bottomless Bubbles” unlimited soda program is non-transferable and may not be shared. Guests or family members who would like to enjoy soft drinks through this program must purchase their own sticker.

 

 

 

But I'm sure no harm was done *rolleyes*

[Out to sea!]

Exactly ;)

 

 

· The “Bottomless Bubbles” unlimited soda program is non-transferable and may not be shared. Guests or family members who would like to enjoy soft drinks through this program must purchase their own sticker.

 

 

 

But I'm sure no harm was done *rolleyes*

 

 

I truly don't think any harm is done by people who don't know that they are not allowed to share and are not told by the employees on board. But once you know, then it is purely theft as you are then getting a product that you know you shouldn't be receiving and are not paying for. I have no problem giving someone the benefit of doubt but when they know the rules, then they are expected to follow them. We did all voluntarily agree to those rules (whether we like them or not) when we decided to cruise with Carnival. That is why I have zero tolerance for smugglers.......they are hiding their contraband because they KNOW it is wrong and yet are still trying to get away with it. Same with sharing if you know ahead of time it's not allowed.

Edited June 4, 2013 by Out to sea!

[Hanzo]

Were you tipping over the top while the bartender was knowingly breaking the rules? I imagine as long as they are making money why would they care if Carnival was losing some?

 

I truly don't think any harm is done by people who don't know that they are not allowed to share and are not told by the employees on board.

 

Should you really have to be told? It's common sense. I suppose they'd have to be told not to go into Golden Corral buy one dinner and share among the family too?

Edited June 4, 2013 by Hanzo

[wannago35]

Really enjoyed Cheers on our Dream cruise in April. Did.well on it especially with the NA fruity drinks for kids that weren't on 15 limit. Now that its $120 a day for my wife and I, I just don't see the value. It might not be worth it on our Feb. Breeze cruise, especially at.8 days worth. Definitely on the fence now.

 

Davey-D-99 (or anybody else that has cruised Dream recently and bought Cheers) did you get to 15 drinks and if you tried to order more, did they cut you off?

[Davey-D-99]

Davey-D-99 (or anybody else that has cruised Dream recently and bought Cheers) did you get to 15 drinks and if you tried to order more, did they cut you off?

 

Sorry..I never made it to 15. I was told late one evening at the casino bar that I had just ordered my 14th however...so they do give you a heads up.

[wannago35]

Sorry..I never made it to 15. I was told late one evening at the casino bar that I had just ordered my 14th however...so they do give you a heads up.

 

Thanks much!

[Out to sea!]

Were you tipping over the top while the bartender was knowingly breaking the rules? I imagine as long as they are making money why would they care if Carnival was losing some?

 

 

 

Should you really have to be told? It's common sense. I suppose they'd have to be told not to go into Golden Corral buy one dinner and share among the family too?

 

 

A lot of people in this world don't have or use common sense. Cruising is a different animal for most of us and there are certain things that are different than elsewhere and so I stated it would not be out of the realm of imagination to believe that while sharing at Golden Corral is a no-no, it might be okay on a cruise ship. In how many restaurants can you order multiple meals or seconds and thirds without paying extra like you can in the MDR? But, big but, once someone knows it's against the rules, they should not do it anymore instead of rationalizing their lapses in judgement away.

[jess798]

I've seen many different answers but does anyone know for sure if the package can be purchased on the second day of the cruise? I have even spoken to a carnival rep on the phone and all she could do was quote me the wording on the website, she was no help and it seems to be the pattern. We well be on carnival pride for a 7 day cruise, but we don't leave until 430pm. I would like purchase the cheers program the second day because chances are we aren't going to drink $100 of alcohol that first night. Any help would be appreciated! :-)

[jess798]

I've seen many different answers but does anyone know for sure if the package can be purchased on the second day of the cruise? I have even spoken to a carnival rep on the phone and all she could do was quote me the wording on the website, she was no help and it seems to be the pattern. We well be on carnival pride for a 7 day cruise, but we don't leave until 430pm. I would like purchase the cheers program the second day because chances are we aren't going to drink $100 of alcohol that first night. Any help would be appreciated! :-)

[MaraBerk]

Yes you can purchase the program on the second day

[cshively90]

Just got off the Miracle to Alaska, me and my boyfriend did the Cheers. We signed up on the first day. 49.95/day plus gratuities. We had a credit of almost $700 and decided to just go for it because the credit would cover most of the cost of the program. We were charged tax for the drinks that we bought when not in international waters. No biggie though. NOT charged tax on the whole program.

We loved it..... don't think that we ever hit 15 drinks (which surprises me, because we can drink a lot) but it was nice to know that we didn't have to worry about spending more than our budget allowed. Just to clarify.. we were able to buy buckets if we paid for them, and got 25% off. Also, they said if we got to 14 drinks, we could stop before cut off and start paying full price. I asked both questions when I signed up in the atrium bar. The lady at the bar called her manager and that were the answers.

We always make friends with bartenders, so drinks were very strong. We brought a lot of $1 and would leave a tip for almost every drink.

I do think we would have drank more if on a Caribbean cruise, rather than Alaska.

***if you are in the mood for a veryyyy strong drink ask for an "AMF", those bad boys will kick your butt!!! :)

[SNJCruisers]

I've seen many different answers but does anyone know for sure if the package can be purchased on the second day of the cruise? I have even spoken to a carnival rep on the phone and all she could do was quote me the wording on the website, she was no help and it seems to be the pattern. We well be on carnival pride for a 7 day cruise, but we don't leave until 430pm. I would like purchase the cheers program the second day because chances are we aren't going to drink $100 of alcohol that first night. Any help would be appreciated! :-)

It has already been confirmed that you can indeed purchase the program on day two, but just because you don't set sail until 430, it does not mean that you can't buy the program. If you got on board at 1130 or 12 Noon you can buy the program right away and and the only extra monies involved would be taxes on whatever drinks you ordered the first day until you hit international waters, which should be around 630 or so. You can do some serious pounding of drinks the first day with the excitement of being on vacation. You'll certainly be able to consume more drinks on day one than you'll be able to on a port day when you're off the ship from say 900-500.

[kg21rules]

I see a lot of posts in this thread complaining about the price and talking about going on Celebrity or RCCL instead for thier much better drinking program. Maybe I'm not a good bargain hunter, but looking at those lines I'd pay another $300+ per person to get an equivalent balcony cabin. Lets keep price in perspective. Carnival presents amazing value. Yeah, the Cheers program may be a rip off for many and I'm not sure if I'll get it, but simply saying switch cruise lines for a better deal is foolish and misleading.

[cruizinisthebest]

I see a lot of posts in this thread complaining about the price and talking about going on Celebrity or RCCL instead for thier much better drinking program. Maybe I'm not a good bargain hunter, but looking at those lines I'd pay another $300+ per person to get an equivalent balcony cabin. Lets keep price in perspective. Carnival presents amazing value. Yeah, the Cheers program may be a rip off for many and I'm not sure if I'll get it, but simply saying switch cruise lines for a better deal is foolish and misleading.

 

Plus... you don't have to buy it. Totally and completely 100% optional.:rolleyes:

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

[SNJCruisers]

I see a lot of posts in this thread complaining about the price and talking about going on Celebrity or RCCL instead for thier much better drinking program. Maybe I'm not a good bargain hunter, but looking at those lines I'd pay another $300+ per person to get an equivalent balcony cabin. Lets keep price in perspective. Carnival presents amazing value. Yeah, the Cheers program may be a rip off for many and I'm not sure if I'll get it, but simply saying switch cruise lines for a better deal is foolish and misleading.

 

Plus... you don't have to buy it. Totally and completely 100% optional.:rolleyes:

Let's see if cold hard facts and numbers are "foolish & misleading".

Here's a comparison from 3 different ports San Juan, Ft Lauderdale & Miami, comparing 3 Celebrity ships versus 3 Carnival ships with all of the cruises departing some time during next April.

 

Valor 4/27/14 7 nights 459 in 539 ov 799 bal

Summit 4/26/14 8 nights 549 in 649 ov 894 bal

 

Freedom 4/5/14 8 nights 589 in 729 ov 1009 bal

Silhouette 4/6/14 7 nights 769 in 899 ov 974 bal

 

Breeze 4/12/14 8 nights 839 in 1029 ov 1309 bal

Reflection 4/12/14 7 nights 869 in 999 ov 1074 bal

 

All of these numbers are for cruise only, just pulled from a site online. All 3 of the Celebrity ships are higher rated and the numbers are fairly comparable, even when you factor in the 1 day differences.

 

But, all 3 of the Celebrity cruises above will include at no extra cost, their Classic drink package for FREE, which is valued at 44 per day, plus 15% tip. If you want the Cheers package, it's another 49.95 plus 15% added onto the above numbers.

 

I'm a loyal Platinum cruiser with Carnival and 17 of my 23 cruises have been with them. Mainly because I have seen the value with Carnival over the years. But.....after seeing the price comparison above and even if you pick other sailings where Celebrity could be 300 more per week, the Cheers program will cost you 402 per week, so you'll still come out ahead on Celebrity and more often than not be on a better ship to boot. I have praised Carnival for being a value leader over the years and that is why they have gotten my loyalty, but my next two are booked on Celebrity because their recent promotions offer more value than what Carnival is offering.

[kg21rules]

Let's see if cold hard facts and numbers are "foolish & misleading".

Here's a comparison from 3 different ports San Juan, Ft Lauderdale & Miami, comparing 3 Celebrity ships versus 3 Carnival ships with all of the cruises departing some time during next April.

 

Valor 4/27/14 7 nights 459 in 539 ov 799 bal

Summit 4/26/14 8 nights 549 in 649 ov 894 bal

 

Freedom 4/5/14 8 nights 589 in 729 ov 1009 bal

Silhouette 4/6/14 7 nights 769 in 899 ov 974 bal

 

Breeze 4/12/14 8 nights 839 in 1029 ov 1309 bal

Reflection 4/12/14 7 nights 869 in 999 ov 1074 bal

 

All of these numbers are for cruise only, just pulled from a site online. All 3 of the Celebrity ships are higher rated and the numbers are fairly comparable, even when you factor in the 1 day differences.

 

But, all 3 of the Celebrity cruises above will include at no extra cost, their Classic drink package for FREE, which is valued at 44 per day, plus 15% tip. If you want the Cheers package, it's another 49.95 plus 15% added onto the above numbers.

 

I'm a loyal Platinum cruiser with Carnival and 17 of my 23 cruises have been with them. Mainly because I have seen the value with Carnival over the years. But.....after seeing the price comparison above and even if you pick other sailings where Celebrity could be 300 more per week, the Cheers program will cost you 402 per week, so you'll still come out ahead on Celebrity and more often than not be on a better ship to boot. I have praised Carnival for being a value leader over the years and that is why they have gotten my loyalty, but my next two are booked on Celebrity because their recent promotions offer more value than what Carnival is offering.

 

I certainly didn't mean to offend anyone, so I apologize for my word choice. I stand by the concept of what I'm saying though. I'm looking at it from the perspective of someone who as already booked the cruise and airfare. Comparing a Celebrity cruise leaving the same time as the Carnival cruise I already booked is a $1200 difference. You could see where it would not make sense to me. If you have more flexibility, you may indeed be able to find something that is somewhat closer in price range, especially if you choose a lesser ship of a competitor in comparison to something like the Breeze, which I will be sailing.