Just off the Dream couple comments F2f and cheers

[3ricT]

Just a quick comment on FTTF - we loved it just to be on and off quick - almost no lines. We got Zone 2 for debarking - in rental car and on road by 9.

 

Cheers - hard 15 stop - we both hit it twice, but we were pretty much done and had our wine in the room, plus we gave cash to a couple of nice folks for one more. Found that, if you get to , say 12, ramp it up to the martinis :-)

Cannot get floater on frozee for 5 minutes and for extra drink cost.

 

You can , however, share, so I may have had a couple of the wifes one day ;-)

 

Cruise was fun. Ya know, I complained about no steel drums on lido, but the acoustic guys they used quite a bit were very good and a good volume/vibe. The DJ on the last sea day wasn't that bad either - didn't find it to be too loud and the music, though not my genre, was fine for all.

 

Caught "Hunger Games" on the big screen one night at 6. What a great way to spend a couple hours before dinner! Popcorn and everything - a great hang - very good vibe, like the drive in.

 

Food was fine although we only did the MDR once - the menu needs a facelift, which I guess is forthcoming.

[dna529]

Thanks for the comments. Sailing on her in 25 days! We have FTTF also. What time did you get there and what time were you on board?

[maldenmusic]

Were you tendered to any of the ports on your Dream cruise? Just curious about how that works. We have purchased FTTF for our June cruise.

[hftmrock]

 

Cheers - hard 15 stop - we both hit it twice, but we were pretty much done and had our wine in the room, plus we gave cash to a couple of nice folks for one more. Found that, if you get to , say 12, ramp it up to the martinis :-)

Cannot get floater on frozee for 5 minutes and for extra drink cost.

 

You can , however, share, so I may have had a couple of the wifes one day ;-)

 

.

 

you might have just gotten lucky and I wouldnt say everyone will have the same success

 

The following restrictions apply:

· Must be 21 years or older to purchase and agree not to give to minors

· Each adult 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

· For ships sailing from Texas, due to state laws, CHEERS! cannot be purchased on embarkation day but will be available for purchase on the 2nd day of the cruise

· Program allows for up to 15 alcoholic drinks per 24 hour period (6:00am-6:00am); once the limit is reached, the guest will not be served any additional alcoholic drinks

· Program allows for unlimited soda and non-alcoholic frozen cocktails

· Carnival reserves the right to refuse service for any reason

· Program is non-refundable

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

· CHEERS! is not offered on the following:

§ 2-day cruises

§ Charter cruises

§ Ships on a 3-day/4-day cycle: Carnival Imagination, Carnival Inspiration, Carnival Sensation and Carnival Ecstasy; FYI-the program is offered on ships that sail on a 4-day/5-day cycle.

§ Ships sailing from Australia: Carnival Spirit and Carnival Legend

§ Port calls in Half Moon Cay, The Bahamas and Little Stirrup Cay, The Bahamas

Edited March 20, 2014 by hftmrock

[bigdawg_cb]

Cannot get floater on frozee for 5 minutes and for extra drink cost.

 

 

I need translation on that. I don't know what you mean. Can you not buy a drink with your sail and sign card if you don't want to hit your limit??

[rdler]

No, you cannot. In my experience if you have Cheers they won't let you buy anything off the plan. No more buckets of beer, etc, even if you are willing to pay (and are relatively sober).

[Thommy_Boy]

No, you cannot. In my experience if you have Cheers they won't let you buy anything off the plan. No more buckets of beer, etc, even if you are willing to pay (and are relatively sober).

 

Yes you can if you buy them before you hit the 15 limit. Around 12 or 13, tell the bartender you want to pay for the drinks. Save your last couple of program drinks for right before bed time.

 

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Forums mobile app

[hftmrock]

Yes you can if you buy them before you hit the 15 limit. Around 12 or 13, tell the bartender you want to pay for the drinks. Save your last couple of program drinks for right before bed time.

 

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Forums mobile app

 

this does not work on all ships or on the same ship with different bartenders. Technically its not allowed but sometimes they will do this

[partyonaharleyx2]

Did you tip with the Cheers Program? I know they automatically add tip when purchasing drinks but am unclear if they do with cheers as your receipts show a zero balance. Do the pre-paid tips include bar tenders?

[3ricT]

We arrived at the terminal about 11:20 - on by 11:45

 

We could not purchase any drinks before or after the 15 drink limit - I asked 2 bartenders about that - same answer

 

You CAN share drinks as long as the person on the card procures it, really, how would anybody know who drinks it?

 

The floater counts as a drink, AND you have to wait 5 minutes to get it

 

We did not tender anywhere - nassau, st thomas, and at maarten

 

sometimes i gave the bartender extra over the auto 15%

Edited March 21, 2014 by 3ricT

[hftmrock]

We arrived at the terminal about 11:20 - on by 11:45

 

You CAN share drinks as long as the person on the card procures it, really, how would anybody know who drinks it?

 

 

as I posted, the rules are very clear. you can NOT share.

 

This goes with smuggling alcohol, staying in the serenity area under 21, chair hogging, etc...

 

it is absolutely against the rules but many have ignored the rules.

Edited March 21, 2014 by hftmrock

[3ricT]

I'm sorry, that's not a good comparison. It's really a 30 drink limit per cabin, since you must purchase 2 pkgs anyways. What we do with our 30 drinks is our business and does not affect other passengers as chair hogging does, or by smuggling does in the form of higher prices.

[brooklynfc]

as I posted, the rules are very clear. you can NOT share.

 

This goes with smuggling alcohol, staying in the serenity area under 21, chair hogging, etc...

 

it is absolutely against the rules but many have ignored the rules.

 

They BOTH paid for the program, as the rules state that anyone 21 and over in the same cabin has to purchase the CHEERS program. They were in no way stealing drinks as they were paid for (I would guess as they are married, out of the same bank account). If he wife wasn't going to drink all of her 15 drinks, then I don't think it is breaking the rules for her to pass them off to her husband.

 

Now, if you had the program and started giving away your free drinks to other passengers who did not.........then I think Carnival would have a problem with that b/c that is lost revenue.

[hftmrock]

I'm sorry, that's not a good comparison. It's really a 30 drink limit per cabin, since you must purchase 2 pkgs anyways. What we do with our 30 drinks is our business and does not affect other passengers as chair hogging does, or by smuggling does in the form of higher prices.

 

not true.

 

if you buy 2 packages and you drink all 15 and the other person in the room drinks 7 then there is 22 alcoholic drinks served and you paid 2 cheers packages

 

if you buy 2 packages and you drink all 15 and the other person drinks 7 and you take the other 8 from them, then there is 30 alcoholic drinks served and you paid 2 cheers packages.

 

 

 

carnival is counting on not everyone hitting 15. If everyone did what you did, they would raise the price significantly, stop the program or monitor it more carefully.

 

the rules say no sharing. it doesnt say no sharing with people not on the cheers program but you can share with people on the cheers program.

 

if you extrapolate this out to a group of 20 people (10 rooms), that would be 20 cheers programs bought. if half had all 15 and the other half only had 9 that would be 240 drinks served

 

If those same people that drank all 15 of their cheers help the people who didnt by drinking their 'leftovers' there would be 300 drinks server. thats 60 extra drinks. that will add up.

 

This is just my opinion. I respect yours and you are free to do what you want. no judgement. but it is against the rules to share with other cheers members or non cheers members

 

edit - fixed math mistake

Edited March 21, 2014 by hftmrock

[spikester]

3ricT, I was on the Dream a couple weeks ago, and the acoustic performers were awesome, especially Scott.

 

They jammed on the last night at 11pm for a few of their own songs instead of covers.

I had a really great time.

[3ricT]

Yeah Scott was very very good! Troy had his thing going on as well - loved going to Sam's bar to enjoy music there as well.

 

And the comedy was great and we didn't find it hard to find seats as I have heard from others, but then again, it was the midnight show (probably the 15 drink night :-)

[Luke gs Daddy]

Keep calm and share!

Who cares he was just making a few comments for goodness sakes.

[1kaper]

I need translation on that. I don't know what you mean. Can you not buy a drink with your sail and sign card if you don't want to hit your limit??

 

 

There are some frozen drinks that are typically served with a "floater" - an extra shot- on top. You are not allowed to get doubles with Cheers and are required to wait 5 minutes between drink orders. If you want a floater, you can ask for the shot on the side 5 minutes later. Like everything else, it can depend on your bartender. Some will give it to you at the same time and just wait the 5 minutes to ring you in. Its not supposed to work like that, but its one of the rules that you may see certain bartenders bend/break.

 

Same with the sharing.

 

The whole buying extra drink things is another complicated matter with no consistency. Some, as mentioned in this thread, were absolutely not allowed to buy more drinks. Others have been allowed to start paying for drinks before hitting 15 to continue on past 15 drinks. And yet others were allowed to hit 15 and then buy some more (one lady was quite upset her 21 yo son was able to do this and even went to Guest Services over it where she was told there was no rule saying you could not buy more).

 

 

These seem to depend on who you are dealing with, possibly depend on the ship.

Edited March 21, 2014 by 1kaper

[kmc500]

No, you cannot. In my experience if you have Cheers they won't let you buy anything off the plan. No more buckets of beer, etc, even if you are willing to pay (and are relatively sober).

 

That makes absolutely no sense. Buckets of beer (among other even higher end items) are not included in the cheers program, so Carnival will not sell them to someone with the Cheers program? Huh?

 

The fact that they are not included for free within the program certainly does not mean you cannot buy those items separately. What if you wanted a bottle of wine at dinner? Can't buy it because it is not in the Cheers program?

 

It is amazing how much disinformation is presented here as fact.

 

Kevin C

[hftmrock]

That makes absolutely no sense. Buckets of beer (among other even higher end items) are not included in the cheers program, so Carnival will not sell them to someone with the Cheers program? Huh?

 

The fact that they are not included for free within the program certainly does not mean you cannot buy those items separately. What if you wanted a bottle of wine at dinner? Can't buy it because it is not in the Cheers program?

 

It is amazing how much disinformation is presented here as fact.

 

Kevin C

 

what was written is basically correct. you can not buy the bucket of beer because the cheers program states there is a 5 minute wait between drinks. Also in the cheers program you can purchase wine at a 25% discount(I think). That is in the cheers program.

 

Beverages Included In The Program:

 

 

[*]All spirits (including cocktails), as well as beer and wine by the glass with a $10.00 or lower menu price.

[*]Sodas and non-alcoholic frozen cocktails.

[*]25% discount off the menu price for bottled water

[*]25% discount off the menu price for spirits or wine above $10.00 per drink.

[*]25% discount off the menu price wine and champagne by the bottle.

 

 

 

Beverages Excluded From The Program:

 

 

 

[*]Non-alcoholic beverages other than soda and non-alcoholic frozen cocktails.

[*]Beverages promoted and sold in souvenir glasses.

[*]Bottles of liquor.

[*]Bottled water (offered at a 25% discount).

[*]Beverages offered at gangway while debarking.

[*]Beverages offered through room service as well as mini bars and/or other in-stateroom beverage programs.

[*]The sharing of cocktails and floaters.

[*]Buckets of beer, pitchers of beer, and beer tubes.

[*]Wine and champagne by the bottle (offered at a 25% discount).

[*]All spirits or wine above $10.00 per drink (offered at a 25% discount).

[*]Beverages offered through enomatic wine machines.

[*]Coffee beverages and food items.

[*]All other beverage-related programs including cookbooks and bar books, beverage seminars and classes, as well as cigars.

 

 

 

Restrictions:

 

 

 

[*]Must be 21 or older to purchase and agree not to give to minors.

[*]Each adult (21 and over) assigned to the same stateroom must purchase the program. cruise-lines/cheers-beverage-

[*]Only one drink at a time may be ordered. No sharing is permitted.

[*]There is a 5 minute wait time between ordering drinks.

[*]Program allows for up to 15 alcoholic drinks per 24 hour period (6AM-6AM).

[*]Carnival reserves the right to refuse service for any reason.

[*]Program is non-refundable.

[*]Guests must purchase the program for the entire cruise. The Cheers Program is not offered on a per day basis.

Edited March 21, 2014 by hftmrock

[kmc500]

What it says is that it is not included in the program, not that you cannot purchase it, along with cocktails that cost more than those included in the program.

 

Kevin C

[hftmrock]

What it says is that it is not included in the program, not that you cannot purchase it, along with cocktails that cost more than those included in the program.

 

Kevin C

 

 

actually that's true but people have come back saying they cant get the bucket.

[frayedend]

actually that's true but people have come back saying they cant get the bucket.

 

There is probably some disparity in how it is handled by each bartender. First, you probably have to make it clear that you intend on paying for the bucket of beer. Then the issue of 15 drinks can be an issue, but it seems from other threads that it only becomes an issue after 15 drinks.

 

I've seen reported that after 15 drinks were used on Cheers the person was no longer allowed to purchase any alcoholic beverages. Then I've seen that you can purchase them before 15, for example if it's more than $10. Also that if you purchase drinks before your 15 cheers is up it doesn't count toward your 15. It's very confusing.

[3ricT]

I did not think of trying to buy a >10$ drink before hitting 15. Shoot! Now I have to take another cruise......