Don't even think of trying to share the Cheers program with another cabin...

[beerman2]

We know that's _why_ they do it. We are saying it's a stupid rule. If I buy Cheers I certainly did buy up to 15 drinks and I should be able to use them how I see fit. When I get to 15 in a day I'm done as per my agreement with Carnival. It's not really my problem if they hope I don't use all my 15 drinks - the point is if I buy Cheers I am entitled to 15 drinks. (And on a side note, I know for a fact if I drink 15 drinks in one day I won't be drinking much, if at all, the next day. Even if I shared with my wife, she'd drink 2 or maybe even 3 and I would be ready to take it easy on my liver the next day so Carnival still wins.)

 

As it is, I'm not buying the package because my wife won't drink nearly enough to make it worth it. We will probably bring cans of orange and pineapple juice and buy a bottle from the Funshop for the room. If I could have bought Cheers for just me (and be allowed to share with her) I would have. They'd have gotten 350 bucks from me instead of just 80 or so.

 

Carnival really needs to rethink this.

 

You can't purchase bottles from the Funshopto drink onboard. It's through Bon Voyage or I believe room service. Not sure if you can purchase a bottle from a bar.

 

If you go to the liquor store on board to purchase bottles , they keep them and give them to you at the end of the cruise.

 

Whether you believe you are "entitled" to the 15 drinks per day no matter if you or spouse are drinking that is not how Carnival perceives it. It's their policy ,not anyone else's ?

 

Liquor sales and the Casino's are how cruiselines make money.

 

Liquor is a High PROFIT item, so the cruiselines can/will do all to protect that.

[Sitzmark]

You can't purchase bottles from the Funshopto drink onboard. It's through Bon Voyage or I believe room service. Not sure if you can purchase a bottle from a bar.

 

http://www.carnival.com/FunShops/in-room-beverages/liquor

[lele100]

Just a question, and maybe I am missing something real obvious, so don't flame me to hard if I am....so you book it that way and you put your daughter and sisters hubby in one room and you and sis in the other room, so the Cheers program works out....doesn't it get to be a pain in the arse when you try to access rooms? Meaning, obviously your daughter is not "rooming" with your BIL and your sister is not "rooming" with you....your daughter cant get into your room and your sister cant get in her hubbies room because your SS card only allows you to access the room you are "booked" in....and your daughter just cant switch cards with your sister, because your sisters card doesn't have the Cheers package activated....how do u get around it?

 

 

I maybe wrong, but I believe you can go to guest services and ask for a room only access key but all parties need to be there

Edited May 17, 2016 by lele100

[sc4125]

Just a question, and maybe I am missing something real obvious, so don't flame me to hard if I am....so you book it that way and you put your daughter and sisters hubby in one room and you and sis in the other room, so the Cheers program works out....doesn't it get to be a pain in the arse when you try to access rooms? Meaning, obviously your daughter is not "rooming" with your BIL and your sister is not "rooming" with you....your daughter cant get into your room and your sister cant get in her hubbies room because your SS card only allows you to access the room you are "booked" in....and your daughter just cant switch cards with your sister, because your sisters card doesn't have the Cheers package activated....how do u get around it?

 

 

No, no - I was just giving an example of what someone else said they do and that it's perfectly legal and doesn't break the CHEERS rules.

 

What these people do is they book the cabins this way so that only the 2 drinkers have to purchase the package, and then when they get onboard they go to Guest Services and "switch" back. Guest services (in this example) would then put me & daughter back in one cabin & sister and husband back in their cabin & re-issue the cabin keys.

 

Somehow people seem to think getting around the "everyone over 21 in a cabin must purchase the package" in this way is more honest & rule abiding than those that simply buy the package and share a drink or two with someone who didn't buy it.

 

My poiint was that however you slice it CCL would be out the same amount of $$ and though you can switch cabins once onboard, you're still cheating them out of that $$.

 

Sorry if that was confusing to you - it was simply a response to someone else's post.

 

Also - no flames here at all!!!

[beerman2]

http://www.carnival.com/FunShops/in-room-beverages/liquor

 

Then that has changed since I've last sailed Carnival. Thank's for the update even though it won't let me open the link.

 

Don't remember alcohol being in the funshop! But then again I was probably drinking what I was entitled to, you know getting to my limit.

[sparks1093]

Unless you know each lines operating costs you can't say that lower fares equal more revenue from alcohol sales. I'm sure all the mainstream lines depend heavily on drink sales.

 

And carnival isn't always the lowest price. Many people have posted comparisons showing that often times Royal, ncl or even some of the other lines are less for the same cruise.

 

I think it is safe to say that the lower the overall fares are the more the line in question relies on onboard revenue for their profit. I mentioned "Cruise Inc." upthread and I see no reason to believe it's that much different for CCL now as it was for NCL then.

[First and Ten]

No, no - I was just giving an example of what someone else said they do and that it's perfectly legal and doesn't break the CHEERS rules.

 

What these people do is they book the cabins this way so that only the 2 drinkers have to purchase the package, and then when they get onboard they go to Guest Services and "switch" back. Guest services (in this example) would then put me & daughter back in one cabin & sister and husband back in their cabin & re-issue the cabin keys.

 

Somehow people seem to think getting around the "everyone over 21 in a cabin must purchase the package" in this way is more honest & rule abiding than those that simply buy the package and share a drink or two with someone who didn't buy it.

 

My poiint was that however you slice it CCL would be out the same amount of $$ and though you can switch cabins once onboard, you're still cheating them out of that $$.

 

Sorry if that was confusing to you - it was simply a response to someone else's post.

 

Also - no flames here at all!!!

 

we are good SC, I get you were giving an example....I believe lele also responded about how you would get around that example, just requesting another card....I didn't know if Carnival would do that or not.... I put out the "flame" warning because sometimes other posters and responders cant wait to jump on someone if they asked a question with an obvious answer :D

Edited May 17, 2016 by First and Ten

[Sitzmark]

Then that has changed since I've last sailed Carnival. Thank's for the update even though it won't let me open the link.

 

Don't remember alcohol being in the funshop! But then again I was probably drinking what I was entitled to, you know getting to my limit.

 

Don't know why the link won't work, but it's to the in room purchasing for liquor, There is also beer or wine that can be purchased and delivered to the room. It is pretty pricey in my opinion but it's there.

[beerman2]

Don't know why the link won't work, but it's to the in room purchasing for liquor, There is also beer or wine that can be purchased and delivered to the room. It is pretty pricey in my opinion but it's there.

 

Pricey for sure, I think 5 years ago I purchased a 1 liter bottle of Vodka for approx. $80.00 on Carnival.

 

But doing the math at approx. 32 shots to a bottle that's what 2.50 a drink compared to $6.50-$7.00 if purchasing at the bar.

 

And don't get me started on the cost of a bottle of beer compared to what the cruiselines sell it for.

 

Cruiseline DO make a very nice profit !

[grumpyjr88]

Pricey for sure, I think 5 years ago I purchased a 1 liter bottle of Vodka for approx. $80.00 on Carnival.

 

But doing the math at approx. 32 shots to a bottle that's what 2.50 a drink compared to $6.50-$7.00 if purchasing at the bar.

 

And don't get me started on the cost of a bottle of beer compared to what the cruiselines sell it for.

 

Cruiseline DO make a very nice profit !

 

The Funship bottles are pricey but like you said, it's actually worth it. I usually buy a bottle to be delivered to my stateroom and through out the day I'll buy 2 maybe 3 drinks. My sister swears by the bucket of beer though... she thinks that gets her the most bang for her buck. LOL

[Sitzmark]

Pricey for sure, I think 5 years ago I purchased a 1 liter bottle of Vodka for approx. $80.00 on Carnival.

 

But doing the math at approx. 32 shots to a bottle that's what 2.50 a drink compared to $6.50-$7.00 if purchasing at the bar.

 

And don't get me started on the cost of a bottle of beer compared to what the cruiselines sell it for.

 

Cruiseline DO make a very nice profit !

 

might be a good deal if you always drink the same thing. The bottles I saw are one liter, that's about 22 1.5 ounce shots.

[poz222]

I still don't understand why this is seen as "not cheating." Okay, let's say my adult daughter and I are cruising with other family members. My daughter will drink alot more than me when on vacation, so buying Cheers would only benefit her. If we both were honest about the fact that we would be sharing a room, for her to get it, I would have to also - so instead of $400 it would be $800 for CCL.

 

Now, my sister & her husband are cruising with us and are staying in their cabin - husband drinks alot, sister doesn't - being honest with CCL for husband to get it sister will have to - again $800 for both.

 

How do you get that instead we lie and book daughter & husband in one cabin - me and sister in another & then switch when we get onboard and it's "all perfectly legal and breaks no rule"???

 

Whether I'm dishonest about which cabin I'm staying in or like the OP stated - one couple purchases it knowing that only one in each cabin will actually be using it (husbands in each cabin)- CCL got paid for 2 packages in this case and CCL gets paid for 2 packages in your case. How is your lie more acceptable than their's???

 

Now, personally I have no problem with either - but, let's not pretend that playing muscial cabins is somehow perfectly acceptable when is comes to purchasing CHEERS. I can almost bet that CCL would not see it that way.

I'm not a shamer and I try to stay out of other people's business - I've (gasp!!) been known to share a drink or two when I've purchased the packages - but at least I admit I'm cheating.

 

From a purely "technical" standpoint, The room switch is not a violation of the written rules of the program as the program just states both persons over the age 21 booked in "the cabin" must purchase it... However it does violate the "spirit" of the rule...

 

Now from a practical standpoint, CCL would,never enforce this "no switch" because it is a win/win for pax and them. If one person was a drinker, but the other person was not, in all likelihood they would NOT purchase CHEERS. They would instead pay As they go, and statistically, they would spend less overall... Factor this in by 2 cabins (the drinker cabin and the non drinker booked cabin) and the income from all 4 combined (2x cheers and 2 x pay as you go) is a MUCH higher profit margin than 4x pay as you go...

 

As I said earlier, they added in all the "extras" to try to create value for the "light" drinkers in an effort to be able to continue the "everyone in the cabin must buy" policy. If in fact the sales are still down and it does not generate enough sales, then they will have to look at other enticements (lesser packages, lifting of the everyone must buy clause, beer and wine packages etc...)

 

Drinkers create more profit.... They gamble more, shop more and spend more time out at the bars and thus the light drinkers spend more time at the bars with the cheers people and the non cheers friends hanging with them on the pay as you go plan buy more full priced drinks...

 

I say it is obvious that they are trying to increase the interest in Cheers with their recent changes cause they DO NO GIVE STUFF OUT OFMTHE GOODNESS OF THEIR HEARTS! Profit drives such decisions!

[Ready 2 Go]

People book parents separately all the time and then switch so the kids share a room. I agree that the package shouldn't be shared, but I see nothing wrong with booking this way.

 

 

 

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We do that because Carnival requires us to book a parent in each room. I personally think it's wrong that they force each adult in a room to buy the package. Not fair for those that have a spouse that doesn't consume alcohol. Makes no sense if they are monitoring the package use by picture when the room card us swiped.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

[grumpyjr88]

might be a good deal if you always drink the same thing. The bottles I saw are one liter, that's about 22 1.5 ounce shots.

 

You can make all kinds of different drinks with tequila and vodka by using the juices/lemonade from lido. :)

[mrsfuzzmo]

Unless you know each lines operating costs you can't say that lower fares equal more revenue from alcohol sales. I'm sure all the mainstream lines depend heavily on drink sales.

 

And carnival isn't always the lowest price. Many people have posted comparisons showing that often times Royal, ncl or even some of the other lines are less for the same cruise.

 

TRUE! And we just got off an NCL cruise.....unlimited drinks packages were a FREE option. The price of the cruise was amazing (lowest I've paid in years for a 7 day, 4 port cruise) PLUS the option of unlimited free drinks (we did have to pay a $79 per person tax, so essentially $160.00 total extra) it was a no-brainer for us. $160.00 sure beats the $900.00 drink package that I will have to pay for my Vista 8 night cruise in January. Ugggh. I probably will not purchase it, and therefore not have nearly as large of a bar bill. Their loss in my eyes.

[Galatz]

Just a question, and maybe I am missing something real obvious, so don't flame me to hard if I am....so you book it that way and you put your daughter and sisters hubby in one room and you and sis in the other room, so the Cheers program works out....doesn't it get to be a pain in the arse when you try to access rooms?

 

In that example, absolutely. I think in the OP's example though it would make more sense. If Husband 1 and Wife 1 do all/most of their activities together and Husband 2 and Wife 2 do all/most of their's together, then its a much easier situation.

 

Additionally I wonder if you have connecting cabins if they count that as one cabin. If they don't then it would make getting to your cabin easier.

[momof3cruisers]

Booking the two drinking adults in the room and switching them afterwards on the cruise is the EXACT same thing as splitting it like the OP's couples did. You're still 'tricking' Carnival either way you do it. I have no problems doing it either way, but people need to stop thinking they're on a higher morale ground because they trick them a different way.

 

But to the OP I agree with the others in the thread. Lots of people do the bait and switch technique with buying cheers. Guest services will move people and give out extra keys to rooms, so it's really simple to do most of the times.

 

There is no trick here. Our PVP told me we "could" book myself and husband in the same cabin and the kids in their own but if only one of us wants to do Cheers then to keep us seperate. People have brought this way of doing things up to John Heald and he has said no problem. When my husband and I went to the bar to get him the Bb pkg and me Cheers, the bar person said we had to both get it. I explained we were in two different cabins and he said, "No problem, then." This is not a trick. If it was, they'd do like NCL and make everyone in your "party" purchase it if you buy it ahead of time. But NCL has no limit and Carnival does.

[momof3cruisers]

In that example, absolutely. I think in the OP's example though it would make more sense. If Husband 1 and Wife 1 do all/most of their activities together and Husband 2 and Wife 2 do all/most of their's together, then its a much easier situation.

 

Additionally I wonder if you have connecting cabins if they count that as one cabin. If they don't then it would make getting to your cabin easier.

 

No, they don't. In my above post scenario, our cabins were connecting and he was considered a seperate cabin.

[hftmrock]

We know that's _why_ they do it. We are saying it's a stupid rule. If I buy Cheers I certainly did buy up to 15 drinks and I should be able to use them how I see fit. When I get to 15 in a day I'm done as per my agreement with Carnival. It's not really my problem if they hope I don't use all my 15 drinks - the point is if I buy Cheers I am entitled to 15 drinks. (And on a side note, I know for a fact if I drink 15 drinks in one day I won't be drinking much, if at all, the next day. Even if I shared with my wife, she'd drink 2 or maybe even 3 and I would be ready to take it easy on my liver the next day so Carnival still wins.)

 

As it is, I'm not buying the package because my wife won't drink nearly enough to make it worth it. We will probably bring cans of orange and pineapple juice and buy a bottle from the Funshop for the room. If I could have bought Cheers for just me (and be allowed to share with her) I would have. They'd have gotten 350 bucks from me instead of just 80 or so.

 

Carnival really needs to rethink this.

 

 

you are not buying up to 15 drinks to do what you want with. you are purchasing up to 15 drinks that YOU CAN DRINK. that is the rules and thats why it makes a difference. I already posted this on page one but I assume no one read it

 

they have a price point and if everyone got to the limit of 15 (because they can do whatever they want with their 15 drinks) the price of cheers will double.

 

the rules are UP TO 15 drinks that YOU can drink. anything else is breaking their rules.

[beerman2]

might be a good deal if you always drink the same thing. The bottles I saw are one liter, that's about 22 1.5 ounce shots.

 

I do switch back and forth, but mostly vodka! And isn't 32- 1 oz . Shots approx.The same as 22- 1.5 oz. LOL.

 

You are correct they are 1 liter.

[originalgeek]

you are not buying up to 15 drinks to do what you want with. you are purchasing up to 15 drinks that YOU CAN DRINK. that is the rules and thats why it makes a difference. I already posted this on page one but I assume no one read it

 

they have a price point and if everyone got to the limit of 15 (because they can do whatever they want with their 15 drinks) the price of cheers will double.

 

the rules are UP TO 15 drinks that YOU can drink. anything else is breaking their rules.

 

How many freaking times do I have to say I know what the rule is? I know what the rule is. I think the rule is stupid.

[Bluemoon319]

It's seems like reasonable rationale that drink sharing would occur more often between people who share a cabin so I do understand the basis for the rule. What I don't agree with is that Carnival stopped allowing exceptions to the rule that all passengers 21 & over have to buy the package. I have an adult autistic son with multiple medical problems & taking multiple medications. I also have a letter from his primary physician on his office letter head that states he is "expressly forbidden" to drink alcohol. In the past, that would have exempted him from the rule, but no longer. Clearly I would not be sharing any alcohol with him.

 

I wish they would go back to allowing exceptions. I can't imagine I would ever drink anywhere near 15 drinks in a day, but it would just be nice to prepay a bar tab for the cruise & not have to think about it again.

[Bluemoon319]

You cannot pay separate for more than 15 drinks. If you have your 15 you are cut off and cannot pay for more drinks. We were on a cruise once with a guy who cancelled the program the second day because they limited his drinking... I do find it odd that no more after 15 with Cheers but if you buy individually you can drink all you want. Not sure where Carnival is coming from there...

 

It may depend on the bartender but last cruise a lady told me she would never get it again because of the one hour rule. She could not even get a plain soda before one hour. Another lady stood for an hour in the aft pool holding a shot that she was going to put in her next drink to make it stronger. She was annoyed because she could not just get the extra shot and have it count as 2 drinks.

 

I think many do not realize all the crazy little rules with Cheers. I don't drink that much and have never gotten it but you learn a lot hanging out at the aft adult pool!

 

 

You can buy drinks apart from the 15/day limit provided you do it before you hit the 15 drinks.

[hftmrock]

How many freaking times do I have to say I know what the rule is? I know what the rule is. I think the rule is stupid.

 

you did say that and I understand and I apologize if it looks like I thought you didn't, however by saying its stupid, it might not show you really know why.

 

they do it because of the price point they determined which is probably south of 10 drinks on average. the more people that 'do whatever they want with THEIR' 15 drinks, the more that price point will change

 

so in your scenario they will let only one person in a cabin get the package and you can do what you want with the 15 drinks but the package is now north of $80 per day.

 

would that be better? they found what they think is the sweet spot and if it changes, the price will follow.

Edited May 18, 2016 by hftmrock

[originalgeek]

you did say that and I understand and I apologize if it looks like I thought you didn't, however by saying its stupid, it might not show you really know why.

 

they do it because of the price point they determined which is probably south of 10 drinks on average. the more people that 'do whatever they want with THEIR' 15 drinks, the more that price point will change

 

so in your scenario they will let only one person in a cabin get the package and you can do what you want with the 15 drinks but the package is now north of $80 per day.

 

would that be better? they found what they think is the sweet spot and if it changes, the price will follow.

 

And I'm sorry I got frustrated. But now we're talking - let's get some dialog going. Raise prices or lower the count - those are real and viable options. As a consumer I feel like if I buy something I should be allowed to do what I want with it. Right now, Cheers is useless to me. If they would figure out a program with less drinks for a lower price or maybe have a small fee to allow sharing then they have a shot at my money. (Restaurants often charge a sharing fee for couples that want to split an entree. Cheaper than 2 full meals so the diners are happy and the restaurant gets to cover the cost of washing the extra plate and utensils)

 

There's a lot of ways they could do it. It's completely at their discretion. I think they could make more people happy and still make money.