Should I get "Cheers" package?

[Jenna1983]

I bought it on an eight night cruise of a port intensive itinerary. I honestly got my money out of it. I wasn't hammered either like many would say. I'm normal weight, taller than the average woman and I was fine

[MasterMason]

You see, that's one of the problems with the Cheers program, a lot of people think you have to be a lush to take advantage of it. But the truth is, lots of people that drink moderately are finding that they save money with it.

 

I know that I cannot cruise without it. I've done so in the past before it was available, and I still remember what my drink bill was like. But then again, I'm a lush! :D

 

My wife on the other hand isn't, and she saves money with it regardless of how many island days we have, because we'll have a drink in the morning before leaving the ship, and a couple after returning.

 

To me, anything over 4 drinks a day, and Cheers becomes the better deal.

[DarthGrady]

I am considering buying the cheers package, however, I am not sure if its worth it. I have been told not to buy it, and I have been told I would be stupid if I don't buy it.

 

About us: At home we normally don't drink much, maybe a couple drinks per week, however, when we go out drinking I can get carried away and purchase 10 drinks. This will be a speical cruise for us because I will be proposing on board. Is it smart to purchase the beverage package or should we buy drinks as we want them?

 

Thanks for your advice.

I opted out, but only because of the 15 per-day cap. My annual guys group cruise used to have the old corporate open bar package that was totally unlimited. Last year CCL discontinued it and said we'd have to go the Cheers route. As a beer drinker, and all around bon vivant, 15 a day might not be enough.

 

So we're going with RCI this year. Not only do they have a cheaper tier for beer/wine, it's unlimited. So hopefully someday "the fun ships" will get fun and let the boozers do their merrymaking without having to count beverages. Carnivals dance clubs are definitely more lively than Royals, but what's the point if you're not well buzzed?

 

Puritans preach away, this hedonist isn't changing.

[GrannyFlamingo]

We will buy it for our first cruise. I like yo start my day with a bloody Mary. I will get my months worth I'm sure. Hubby might have two or three a day at most, were guessing. But since we have two sea days and our two port days end early we figure we will go the safe route rather than have a surprise bar bill. The next cruise were looking at is more port intensive with longer port days. We may just buy booze for our cabin for that one. I could do that now, but I don't want to be bothered with running to my cabin all day long.

[LuckyZ]

NO. enough said.

 

No. Well said. Nough said

[tdggal1980]

I don't want to be bothered with running to my cabin all day long.

 

I feel the same. We're getting the Cheers program for our cruise on Saturday and for us it's worth it because a.) no sticker shock at the end of the cruise b.) being able to drink drinks I may not normally because of the price and c.) the convenience. Plus my husband and I are moderate to heavy drinkers (especially on vacation) so it definitely pays off for us! :D

[jenne252]

I feel the same. We're getting the Cheers program for our cruise on Saturday and for us it's worth it because a.) no sticker shock at the end of the cruise b.) being able to drink drinks I may not normally because of the price and c.) the convenience. Plus my husband and I are moderate to heavy drinkers (especially on vacation) so it definitely pays off for us! :D

We bought bottles last time and it was a real pain to go back and forth for drinks so a lot of times we just went without

[Cruisin 4 Ever]

I am not much of a drinker, but my husband likes his beer. On our past cruise we decided to try cheers. It was great! I was able to try all the different fancy cocktails that I would normally not try and we definitely got our money's worth even though we were in port several days. I definitely recommend it.

[RiotAct]

We need to sticky a "Should I Purchase Cheers!?"-type thread on the Carnival forum. :D

[tdggal1980]

We bought bottles last time and it was a real pain to go back and forth for drinks so a lot of times we just went without

 

I understand. If you're out on deck having a good time & want a drink who wants to run to the room?? Believe me, it hurts to pay that huge amount right off the bat but once it's done I'm totally relaxed because I know it's taken care of! I'm looking forward to it!

[jenne252]

I understand. If you're out on deck having a good time & want a drink who wants to run to the room?? Believe me, it hurts to pay that huge amount right off the bat but once it's done I'm totally relaxed because I know it's taken care of! I'm looking forward to it!

I just wish my fiance drank enough to make it worthwhile!

[Retired_to_Cruise]

I'm not much of a wine person but that is a great idea.

 

But the cheers package will not cover the total cost of the wine package..........

[Halfpint012]

We get our money's worth easily with the cheers program & we are never drunk. I wake up to a couple mimosas, have a few fruity drinks throughout the day, one or two glasses of wine at dinner, and a drink at a show. I'm a tiny female- about 110 lbs and can manage just fine. My SO probably averages 2-3 drinks a day more than me. We love the cheers program & wouldn't consider not purchasing it. We aren't heavy drinkers at home. I probably average a bottle of wine a month & he drinks about the same. We are on vacation and want to enjoy it

[tdggal1980]

We get our money's worth easily with the cheers program & we are never drunk. I wake up to a couple mimosas, have a few fruity drinks throughout the day, one or two glasses of wine at dinner, and a drink at a show. I'm a tiny female- about 110 lbs and can manage just fine. My SO probably averages 2-3 drinks a day more than me. We love the cheers program & wouldn't consider not purchasing it. We aren't heavy drinkers at home. I probably average a bottle of wine a month & he drinks about the same. We are on vacation and want to enjoy it

 

I have yet to run into fall down sloppy drunks as a result of the Cheers program & I think a lot of people have that misconception. Through the course of a day 15 drinks really isn't that much. If you have 5-6 mixed drinks throughout the course of every day on the ship you'll benefit from the program.

[bargainsniper]

I love a math puzzle!

 

We are not getting cheers. We are on a 5-night cruise, so it would be $575 for the two of us for the cruise. We won't spend that much.

 

I think a big part of it is the type of drink that you like to drink.

 

If you are a beer drinker who only has 5-6 a day, it is cheaper to buy a bucket and have them keep it on ice with lids. Or if they won't keep lids on, just buy separately, still less than the $57 a day.

 

If you drink 5-6 fruity/fancy cocktails at $9 a pop, Cheers is probably worth it. but only if you will drink that many every day of the cruise. If you will be in port and may only drink 3 on the ship that day, you should factor that into your calculations.

 

I am not including off-ship drinking in any of these calculations, because Cheers is not good off-ship.

 

We drink wine and Cuba Libres with the occasional fruity cocktail or beer if the mood strikes us. We might get to 15 onboard drinks in a day between the two of us (not each), but not every day of the cruise.

 

We are buying a bottle of rum for the room ($80) and carrying on 18-24 cokes ($8 bought off-ship). We will have 20 ounce tervis tumblers with us. We will not have to run back to our room often because we are not drinking alcoholic drinks for our hydration. We will drink coffee, tea, or water in-between. Also bringing on our two bottles of wine ($10-15 each, nothing fancy). One night we will be paying the corkage fee ($15).

 

So far we will have spent $125 on alcohol for the cruise and that is for 20 drinks (~12 Cuba Libres and ~8 glasses of wine).

 

We can drink another 5- $8 drinks a day EACH and we will still come out ahead of paying the $575 for Cheers. ($125+$400).

 

And we are all about the drink specials (would buy a bucket of beer, taste bar specials, etc) so I think the $8 average price tag is estimating high even including gratuity.

 

But, I would be very surprised if we drank as much as I just described on-ship.

 

 

So, it depends on a lot of things, but even for moderate drinkers of 6+ in a day, Cheers does not always make sense.

[Vitamin_Sea]

I love a math puzzle!

 

We are not getting cheers. We are on a 5-night cruise, so it would be $575 for the two of us for the cruise. We won't spend that much.

 

I think a big part of it is the type of drink that you like to drink.

 

.

 

We also wont do it. We do about 4 alcohol drinks a day.

 

No need to make the cruise cost twice as much with cheers

[sc4125]

I haven't bought it in the past - but this time I will. My sister & I will each have our own cabin (got the great Casino deal) and I will be celebrating my 60th birthday during the cruise. I figure with the amount I saved on the cabin, I should splurge.

 

I am really excited to get the Cheers Package! I plan to spend some time in the Alchemy every night, a glass or two of wine at dinner, couple of fruity frozen drinks during the hot days of July, and I'll be good to go.

 

I tend to spend an hour or two out by the pool, and I'm thinking even if I have a "I've had enough alcolhol" day, I'm looking forward to a few virgin frozen drinks (unlimited with Cheers) while hanging out on the Lido.

 

I don't normally drink that much and usually order a bottle from Bon Voyage, but it will be so nice to order what I want whenever I want without having to think about the $$ I'm spending.

 

I don't know if I'll ever order it again - but totally looking forward to it this time.

[cantthinkofanythingfun]

I wasn't going to do it on the next cruise, but the fact that it includes frozen non-alcoholic beverages and this new Alchemy Bar intrigues me. I may wait until day 2 and buy it. I really never get my money's worth out of it, but I do like just paying the 400 and being done with it.

[momof3cruisers]

I love a math puzzle!

 

We are not getting cheers. We are on a 5-night cruise, so it would be $575 for the two of us for the cruise. We won't spend that much.

 

I think a big part of it is the type of drink that you like to drink.

 

If you are a beer drinker who only has 5-6 a day, it is cheaper to buy a bucket and have them keep it on ice with lids. Or if they won't keep lids on, just buy separately, still less than the $57 a day.

 

If you drink 5-6 fruity/fancy cocktails at $9 a pop, Cheers is probably worth it. but only if you will drink that many every day of the cruise. If you will be in port and may only drink 3 on the ship that day, you should factor that into your calculations.

 

I am not including off-ship drinking in any of these calculations, because Cheers is not good off-ship.

 

We drink wine and Cuba Libres with the occasional fruity cocktail or beer if the mood strikes us. We might get to 15 onboard drinks in a day between the two of us (not each), but not every day of the cruise.

 

We are buying a bottle of rum for the room ($80) and carrying on 18-24 cokes ($8 bought off-ship). We will have 20 ounce tervis tumblers with us. We will not have to run back to our room often because we are not drinking alcoholic drinks for our hydration. We will drink coffee, tea, or water in-between. Also bringing on our two bottles of wine ($10-15 each, nothing fancy). One night we will be paying the corkage fee ($15).

 

So far we will have spent $125 on alcohol for the cruise and that is for 20 drinks (~12 Cuba Libres and ~8 glasses of wine).

 

We can drink another 5- $8 drinks a day EACH and we will still come out ahead of paying the $575 for Cheers. ($125+$400).

And we are all about the drink specials (would buy a bucket of beer, taste bar specials, etc) so I think the $8 average price tag is estimating high even including gratuity.

 

But, I would be very surprised if we drank as much as I just described on-ship.

 

 

So, it depends on a lot of things, but even for moderate drinkers of 6+ in a day, Cheers does not always make sense.

 

I love math. We did essentially the same type of calculations for our last cruise. One of our port days, we had an all inclusive beach package so we knew we wouldn't drink a drop back on the ship.

 

However, this cruise, my spouse and I are in different cabins due to traveling with the kids so, only I am going to buy the package. (Don't worry, we aren't sharing, he just doesn't drink much.)

 

I can come out at least even. I will have a soda with lunch, probably two in addition to fun drinks while in the sun and in the evening dancing or seeing a show, a soda in the casino, and a glass of wine or two at dinner or a kahlua and cream with dessert. Plus, there are quite a few Alchemy Bar drinks I really want to try and I wouldn't do that if I had to pay for them and risk not liking them.

 

If we had to pay for him to also have Cheers, it wouldn't be worth it. He barely got his money's worth out of the Bottomless Bubbles. :o

[fuddrules]

We bought bottles last time and it was a real pain to go back and forth for drinks so a lot of times we just went without

 

Hey, hey, hold on there.

 

Booze from the fun shops is only supposed to be consumed in your cabin :confused::D

[jenne252]

Hey, hey, hold on there.

 

Booze from the fun shops is only supposed to be consumed in your cabin :confused::D

Oh! I had no idea! We had Tervis style tumblers that we filled.

 

We ported out of San Juan and it was different experience there lol no one seemed to care about anything [emoji1]

[fuddrules]

Oh! I had no idea! We had Tervis style tumblers that we filled.

 

We ported out of San Juan and it was different experience there lol no one seemed to care about anything [emoji1]

 

Sounds like the Med cruises. You could walk right through security coming from back from the port and they didn't care (wine, not sure with other liquor).

 

It makes our next cruise from the Med kinda likely I won't get it. My wife and I are in (or registered) separate cabins so it would only cost us $575, whoops, I mean cost me, $575 :D (10-day cruise)

 

If she gets crazy wild, it's 2 drinks per day but normally it's 0 or 1. I could drink 4 to 5 but we will be off the ship a bunch, maybe bring back some wine, so it's probably not worth it.

 

I guess if the ports/security cracks down on open, honestly smuggling, I'll consider getting Cheers.

Edited June 23, 2015 by fuddrules

[Hinano]

We are going to give it a go on our shorty weekender. We aren't getting off the boat in Ensenada so I think it will be worth it but we will see.

[YubaSutter]

The Cheers program isn't worth it for us. Last cruise in April, we brought on 4 bottles of wine, 32 oz of rum, 16 oz of vodka, 16 oz of bourbon. At the first port we brought on another bottle of wine and 3 six packs of beer. Our bar bill was less than $10 on our s&s.

[cantthinkofanythingfun]

The Cheers program isn't worth it for us. Last cruise in April, we brought on 4 bottles of wine, 32 oz of rum, 16 oz of vodka, 16 oz of bourbon. At the first port we brought on another bottle of wine and 3 six packs of beer. Our bar bill was less than $10 on our s&s.

 

Did you have room to bring clothes with you?