Have you ever...

[villagenut]

1) bought the cheers program and then after that cruise regretted it because u didn't feel like u drank enough to pay for it..

 

And/or

 

2) chose not to buy cheers and after the cruise realized it would have saved you money and wished you had made the purchase

 

 

Stories and explanations? Thanks!

[SkyPiglet]

1) No, but I have not used Cheers yet. I will for the first time this Summer so we will see.

 

2) Not exactly, but DW loves casinos and is very "goal oriented." The Drinks on Us reward at the casino is very motivating. Every cruise she usually earns that the first night, and then uses the casino to get drinks for the remainder of the cruise. Unfortunately, to use that reward, you need to be in the casino playing to get each additional drink. So for the amount of time it takes to play at a machine, order from a waiter, and then have a waiter return with said drink, you might spend $20 for a $9 drink. So the amount to spend to get the reward, plus the additional being spent to maintain it in the casino work out to be FAR more than just buying Cheers in the first place. So in that respect, yes, buying would have likely saved us some money. Carnival wants to keep you in the casino, and keep you spending. This Summer is our experiment to see how buying Cheers plays out.

 

Additionally) Cheers works all over, not just in the Casino and has benefits besides booze such as coffee, pop (soda for you non-mid-Westerners), and without worrying about price as long as it is under $50, I am hoping to just "Be on vacation and stop thinking so much!"

[cricket_7]

My husband and I bought it and I regretted it afterwards because I constantly felt the need to drink to "get my monies worth". [emoji23] I mostly drink the frozen drinks and by the time we went to dinner I was so full that I couldn't eat a lot of my meal. The frozen drinks on the ship we were on weren't very strong either. As many as I drank I should have been stumbling around but I pretty much felt sober the entire time.

 

I calculated the number that we drank versus what cheers cost us and it was pretty much a wash. I would have saved money if we just paid as we go because I wouldn't have drank as much as I did.

 

 

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[ray98]

1. No. It is a low cost barrier to reach for even a moderate drinker. If you try to judge its worth by your ability to hit 15 drinks you are throwing math and logic out the window.

 

2. No.....I had plenty of prior bar tab experience to know it was a money saver on its own without even accounting for the all inclusive type freedom it offers which adds to the vacation experience.

[lwhitlock1231@gmail.com]

I bought Cheers for our first cruise because I liked the convenience of it. We had a pretty port intensive itinerary though. Initially, I thought I, for my half, would not be able to break even. However, I started drinking more cocktails from the bars like Alchemy and the piano bar.

 

Also, my other half began offering to buy drinks for others whom we befriended and also for some of the entertainment staff (piano bar). By the end of our cruise, we definitely feel like we got our $$ worth!!!

 

#SHARINGISCARING :*:*:*:*

[tef43]

The break-even is nowhere near the 15/day limit, so do not analyze it using that benchmark. It's closer to six (more if you drink beer).

[BoDidly]

I buy two drinks when we board the ship .One for my wife ,one for myself. :cool:

[WMQueenie]

So glad you asked these questions as we are debating buying Cheers for our October cruise to Canada... We had booze included on a NCL cruise and enjoyed not worrying about a bar tab but in the end we barely hit $600 total (kept all the receipts) so we're doubting we could hit $800 which is the total cost of Cheers for 7 days....

Following!!!

[Drazil65]

We have never purchased it and have never regretted it, we know our drinking habits. I am a total light weight when it comes to drinking, prefer wine and purchasing the wine package with the bottles we bring on board are more than enough for me. DH drinks wine but also has a few beers during the cruise when he feels like it. We both get a DOD when we board just to toast the vacation starting but rarely do we buy another cocktail type of drink (I do not consume that type of extra calorie intake in drinks or food regularly).

 

Our bar bill is very manageable and with 3 or 4 (especially 4) ports in a week, we just would not utilize the cheers program enough on a 7 or 8 day cruise. No regrets!

[Pops, Esq.]

I am option #3. After a lot of worrying and calculating, we decided to buy Cheers. I am very "cost conscious " and worried I would regret it. I didn't regret it one bit. A coffee drink or two in the morning (non-alcoholic) with a bottle of water before heading back to the cabin started off saving money before most of the ship was awake. Although I never went back and calculated it to see if it "paid off" I also never once worried about the cost of another drink or whether I wanted to get a bottle of water or sports drink on my way back from the gym/steam room. I found it worth the cost certainty. No surprises at the end of the trip.

 

And, as an added bonus, after day 1, my wife never had to get up and go with me to the coffee bar. I would have my first drink, the swing by on my way to the cabin and they would have my second drink and my wife's ready to go. I had my wife's card at first, but after that, I just needed her number. That left her a little more time in the bed.

 

 

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[sgttami]

On my first Carnival cruise I didn't buy it but I've bought it ever since. I like the fact that it's paid for and don't really think about breaking even since I know my habits...lol. I pretty much drink Coor's Light ( 6 of them and your'e already ahead for the day), wine at dinner, and an occassional cocktail.

 

After that first cruise I did the math when I got home (I had saved my bill) and I would have saved about $150 if I had done Cheers.

 

I just consider it part of the cruise cost!

[Xmansmom]

We have brought it once before and for our upcoming cruise. I drink a lot less then my husband. I like the cocktails and he likes beer. I was worried about not getting my money worth but we definately did. heck a couple of days he even hit the 15 limit sitting in the piano bar just hanging out.

[Saint Greg]

1. No. Always save money with it.

2. No. Two beers in on the first cruise I realized I should've bought it. I corrected the error at that time and haven't looked back.

[riffatsea]

We don't buy it and don't regret it.

We may have 1 drink during the day and then 1 or more at night(maybe wine with dinner and then after dinner).

We don't drink differently on the ship than we do at home.

Our on board bill at the end of a 7 day cruise is usually $300 or less.

[cmecruise1962]

It was a GREAT deal for me when my daughter was under 21...but now I have to buy it for both of us and she doesn't drink much. She did discover (on the last day of our last cruise) that she liked raspberry mojitos (blecch!) and while I'm not pushing her to drink as much as mommy ;p that might get us a little closer to breaking even! I also like that she will run and get me a drink while I'm laying out in the Serenity area (she doesn't get tan either like mommy either! WHAT??)

 

Anyway, I still don't regret it and I try not to drink to get my money's worth (after the first cruise when I DID try to get my money's worth...and that was a BAD idea), but I LOVE the Alchemy bar, the specialty coffees, wine with dinner and being able to get bottles of water...so it's worth it to me, even if I barely break even or don't quite break even for both of us.

[ray98]

Well....it should be obvious for someone who drinks two drinks a day wouldn't benefit from purchasing a drink package.

 

If you see yourself having a 3 or 4 beers on deck during the day, a glass of wine with dinner and maybe another 2 or 3 drinks in the lounge after dinner then the math already says you will come out ahead even factoring in the average port day. If the glass of wine turn into 2 and the after dinner ends up lasting late into the night with a few more drinks it has cost you nothing. If you want to try something new then go for it. The freedom adds value in my experience.

[sgttami]

Well....it should be obvious for someone who drinks two drinks a day wouldn't benefit from purchasing a drink package.

 

If you see yourself having a 3 or 4 beers on deck during the day, a glass of wine with dinner and maybe another 2 or 3 drinks in the lounge after dinner then the math already says you will come out ahead even factoring in the average port day. If the glass of wine turn into 2 and the after dinner ends up lasting late into the night with a few more drinks it has cost you nothing. If you want to try something new then go for it. The freedom adds value in my experience.

 

Exactly!

[gannk]

We didn't purchase it on our first Carnival cruise and I regret it. I feel like I would have been much more willing to just grab a drink or smoothie. I made a point of telling my husband I want to save up and snag it next year on Breeze.

 

 

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[happy cruzin]

I am option #3. After a lot of worrying and calculating, we decided to buy Cheers. I am very "cost conscious " and worried I would regret it. I didn't regret it one bit. A coffee drink or two in the morning (non-alcoholic) with a bottle of water before heading back to the cabin started off saving money before most of the ship was awake. Although I never went back and calculated it to see if it "paid off" I also never once worried about the cost of another drink or whether I wanted to get a bottle of water or sports drink on my way back from the gym/steam room. I found it worth the cost certainty. No surprises at the end of the trip.

 

And, as an added bonus, after day 1, my wife never had to get up and go with me to the coffee bar. I would have my first drink, the swing by on my way to the cabin and they would have my second drink and my wife's ready to go. I had my wife's card at first, but after that, I just needed her number. That left her a little more time in the bed.

 

 

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We're in "option 3" with you.

 

Yes - we use CHEERS enough with coffee, milkshakes, water and soda - in addition to the bar drinks to make is "worth it" for us.

 

But your point of not having to worry about "wasting money" on something that you don't like or worrying about the cost of something not even come in to play.

 

 

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[villagenut]

Thanks to all that have replied and to any ones that choose to chime in moving forward. Being an accountant I can easily calculate the break even and all of that. I just wanted to here the stories and really just how many are on which side. Worth and cost are vastly different and that is really not the point of this thread. It's really more and being glad u did or sad u didn't.

[ilovemy3boys]

I am a single mom of 3 teens...I bought it for my last trip with them and am again for our upcoming trip SATURDAY! I did it to "treat myself" and give myself permission to try new drinks I do not normally drink. I figured I had saved up for a nice vacation and wanted the option to have the freedom on not worrying about a budget while I was there. I tried so many yummy martinis from the Alchemy Bar, got chai tea in the morning, lots of bottle water, and even had some wine at dinner sometimes. I feel it was worth it financially, as well as for the freedom to have fun!

[happy cruzin]

Thanks to all that have replied and to any ones that choose to chime in moving forward. Being an accountant I can easily calculate the break even and all of that. I just wanted to here the stories and really just how many are on which side. Worth and cost are vastly different and that is really not the point of this thread. It's really more and being glad u did or sad u didn't.

 

 

 

Glad we do!

 

 

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[Rudyard]

No, because math isn't as hard as the "is it worth it?" people seem to think. When Cheers first came out I simply pulled out the Sail and Sign statement from my previous cruise and looked to see how much I had spent and compared that to how much Cheers cost. Even with the addition of non-alcoholic drinks I'd lose money by buying it.

[DebJ14]

We don't buy it and don't regret it. We pretty much just drink red wine these days.

We get the free bottles of wine the first night and on elegant evening in the Steakhouse and take whatever is left back to the cabin so we can enjoy a pre-dinner glass of wine on the balcony.

Our TA always sends us a bottle of wine or 2 to our table in the MDR. We have a glass with dinner and have the waiter save it for the following nights.

We get drinks at the Diamond event, drinks at the Platinum/Diamond reunion and get a drink coupon to use in the dining room at breakfast or brunch.

If we buy 2 drinks each the rest of the cruise it is probably a nightcap of Baileys on the rocks.

The bar bill is the least of our expenses on a cruise!

[chipmunkx]

I have never purchased cheers and never will. My husband and i dont drink enough to justify the costs. Our bar bill is rarely more than $50 for a 4 day cruise. Everyone is different. If you dont drink much dont purchase it. The water, tea, and lemonade was plenty for us.

Edited to add we bring 2 bottles of wine each time and usually have an unopened bottle of wine.

Edited July 16, 2017 by chipmunkx
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