Drink Package or not

[champagne13]

So for our 12/9/18 cruise out of San Juan the both of us are wondering about doing the drink package or not. I drink a lot of wine and rum drunks and she does vodka sodas and rum. So far I don't know anybody who has bought the package personally so, I wanted to ask you all what have been your experiences good or bad. I know both of us have to get it.

[coevan]

break even is 6-7 drinks a day. The addition of the soft drinks, shakes and coffees, makes it a no brainer for us

[easyboy]

Considering that the Cheers package includes non-alcoholic drinks, it may be worth for those who can drink around 6 alcoholic drinks daily.

 

 

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[DramaQueen22]

We decided against it. Both hubby and I enjoy a drink or two, but there's no way we would ever drink the 6-7 apiece every day just to break even. We are carrying on 12 packs of soda and will probably order water from the fun shops. Even with the addition of specialty coffee drinks, we still won't break even.

[springs741]

I gifted the Cheers package to my daughter and son in law for one of their kid free cruises.

 

Per her report. On sea days it was wonderful. No problem making it to the break even point and then some. On port days it was a little more difficult. She did say by the end of the cruise she felt like she had to have a drink to make it worthwhile. She would do it again but only on a shorter cruise (5 day). She really enjoyed to other beverages that were included.

[Can'tWait2SetSail]

Having cruised without it and cruised with it I must say it was completely worth it for us. We like alcohol.

[TNcruising02]

For my husband and me, it is not worth it. I would never have more than two alcoholic drinks in one day. I don't drink specialty coffee. We get the soda package. For people who aren't big drinkers, they would probably be better off paying by the glass.

 

You could always get ahold of a drink price list and estimate how many alcoholic drinks and sodas you might have per day and price it out. That would probably be the best way to figure it out. A perk of getting the drink package is that you might be more likely to try different drinks and you won't have a large bill at the end of your cruise.

[Virga]

We end up spending about the same as we always used to without the package - back then we always paid for a couple bottles to be delivered to the cabin, as well as ending up with a nice long bill at the end of the trip. It's nice to not have to return to the cabin to refill, and just be able to order another wherever we're hanging out without worrying about the cost. With bottled water being included and not being allowed to bring that aboard, it's a no brainer for us now.

[tallnthensome]

Why do people who have one drink a day even bother responding as to the worth of the Cheers package if they don't drink? If you have one drink a day, of course it's not worth it. That's like having someone who is fasting give their opinion on the worth of an all you can eat buffet ......

[beerman2]

Why do people who have one drink a day even bother responding as to the worth of the Cheers package if they don't drink? If you have one drink a day, of course it's not worth it. That's like having someone who is fasting give their opinion on the worth of an all you can eat buffet ......

 

Exactly! The Cheers package ISN'T for everyone, but for many of us it is.

 

It's like those who say I have 4 port days , correct but on those Port days you will still be on the ship 6-8 hrs minimum. And if you only have 1 drink an hour you still reach the break even point.

[blarko]

I've had Cheers on two of my cruises. On my five day cruise, it was totally worth it, and I would definitely get it again on a short cruise. Not only did I have enough drinks containing alcohol to "break even", it was great to be able to have bottled water and specialty coffees included. I am not a big drinker by any stretch. Now on the other hand, on my eight day cruise, I also had Cheers. I don't think I'd get it again on a longer cruise. First of all the cost for a longer cruise is obviously more expensive. But more importantly, for me, I found that after about day five, I was actually tired of drinking that much just to try to break even. After the first few days, I found that I definitely slowed down on my consumption of all drinks, except for water.

 

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[Trivia Trickster]

If you decide to go with Cheers, buy it before January 1st as the price is increasing $2/day in the new year.

[dporter]

Whether it is a good deal for you is very subjective. If you enjoy cocktails and will have at least 5 everyday and you add in the other drinks like soda, water, specialty coffees, etc. then you would at least break even. For me and my BF we have determined it is a good buy for us for many reasons.

 

We enjoy having drinks and even on port days manage 4 to 5 drinks. We also like prepaying as much as possible, typically we book 9-12 months in advance and then make regular payments adding in all the extras like drink packages and tips upfront just works for us. The added bonus for us is that we like to try things we haven't had before and the drink package allows us to do that without feeling like you have to finish something you really don't like because you paid for it.

 

 

Prior to drink packages that includes alcohol we would typically have a large bill for drinks at the end, we obviously planned for this but it still is sticker shock at the end of our vacation.

 

 

Cheers! and enjoy.

[summersigh]

We decided against it. Both hubby and I enjoy a drink or two, but there's no way we would ever drink the 6-7 apiece every day just to break even. We are carrying on 12 packs of soda and will probably order water from the fun shops. Even with the addition of specialty coffee drinks, we still won't break even.

We're much like you :D We only have a drink during the afternoon, maybe a glass of wine at dinner and an after dinner drink. We don't drink shakes or flavored fancy coffees and we order the 12-pack of 16oz water bottles for $4.50 (plus the large "free" bottles of water for gold VIFP members). For us it's not a good deal - for those that enjoy 6-7 drinks a day it would be a good deal.

 

I think your explanation of why you don't get the Cheers package was well done and would help someone trying to decide the worth of the plan to them.:D

[sgttami]

It's worth it for me...The only cruise I didn't do it was my first Carnival cruise. I would have saved over $125.00 if I had done Cheers.

 

Of course it's not for everyone but for me, it's the only way to go. :)

[jeeperzz]

We are 2-3 drinks a day on vacation days. Sometimes more, sometimes less. I see you can order $75 bottles of rum for your room. Was debating on just the soda package and a bottle or two of rum delivered.

 

$120 for soda package and 2 bottles of rum is $150. vs $700 for the Booze package.

 

Any problems in my logic? I’m a cruise newbie

[beerman2]

We are 2-3 drinks a day on vacation days. Sometimes more, sometimes less. I see you can order $75 bottles of rum for your room. Was debating on just the soda package and a bottle or two of rum delivered.

 

$120 for soda package and 2 bottles of rum is $150. vs $700 for the Booze package.

 

Any problems in my logic? I’m a cruise newbie

 

If that works for you, go with your logic. I've done that in the past.

 

Just pack a bubba mug or similar. Less trips back to room.

 

Personally I get bored drinking the same thing day after day. Plus I love my Bailey's and coffee to start the day and my Chocolate Martini's before dinner on vacation.

[champagne13]

I think since I have some credit, I might do drinks a la cart. I mostly drink wine then if I have to malibu bay breezes.

[summersigh]

We are 2-3 drinks a day on vacation days. Sometimes more, sometimes less. I see you can order $75 bottles of rum for your room. Was debating on just the soda package and a bottle or two of rum delivered.

$120 for soda package and 2 bottles of rum is $150. vs $700 for the Booze package.

Any problems in my logic? I’m a cruise newbie

We've gotten a bottle of Crown delivered on some cruises in the past and it worked out great for us. You can carry a drink out of your cabin, We get empty bar glasses at a convenient bar and make the drink in the cabin. In 14 cruises nobody has ever questioned what we had.

You can carry canned soft drinks aboard with you:

Copied and pasted from CCL FAQ

Guests are prohibited from bringing water, sodas and other non-alcoholic beverages onboard that are packaged in bottles.

A small quantity of non-alcoholic beverages (i.e., sparkling water, sodas, juice, and milk) packaged in cans or cartons may be brought onboard on embarkation day and must be in the guest's carry-on luggage. A small quantity is considered a maximum of 12 sealed, unopened cans/cartons of 12 ounces each or less per person.

[jeeperzz]

Maybe a bottle of rum and a bottle of crown ;p Yes I planned on bringing some sort of refillable drink container.

I can put some booze away, especially if I’m in “let’s drink” mode, just not sure it’s $700 worth lol. Especially with 3 of the 7 days off ship all day. I do want to remember some of it lol

[jeeperzz]

You can carry canned soft drinks aboard with you

 

Dang I prepaid for a 10 dollar 6-pack in the room

[riclop]

So for our 12/9/18 cruise out of San Juan the both of us are wondering about doing the drink package or not. I drink a lot of wine and rum drunks and she does vodka sodas and rum. So far I don't know anybody who has bought the package personally so, I wanted to ask you all what have been your experiences good or bad. I know both of us have to get it.

It all depends how much you drink.

[champagne13]

My Spanish side can down maybe 1.5 bottles of wine by myself throughout the day. I am trying to think of how much I drank while I was at Breathless P.C this past April. When I mostly found a good rum drink, I had anywhere from 3-8 MBB and some wine. I figure since our cruise is port heavy it may not be good since we have 1 day at sea.

[lcpagejr]

Just back from a 8 day cruise on Vista. DW and I had the Cheers package and easily got our moneys worth. If you enjoy drinking...its really a no brainer. Easily consumed 4-5 beverages during day (even on port days)....Wife is a big wine drinker...especially in evening.... and at dinner alone she consumed 3/4 glasses of wine and I had 3 mixed drinks. After day 1 ....Our waiter had our drinks waiting for us at table and .....his rule was once he saw our drinks half empty...a fresh one was on the way!! Made it easy for us..lol

[early_winter]

Hubby and I's 4th cruise together is coming up soon and this time we have decided to skip the drink package. I felt the drink package was great for our shorter cruises (4 days) but the last we went on was a 6 day and by the end of the cruise I didn't even want to look at a mixed drink much less drink one. LOL We're also traveling with my mom and her partner so my husband will probably drink less than he did on previous cruises where we were with friends. My husband can easily make cheers worthwhile but I am not a heavy drinker at all so we're going to just go with the flow and hope it saves us a little money.