Mini-drink packages

[queeniemi]

Last year when my Fasination cruise was cancelled I jumped on the Adventure. On Tuesday they sold a 10 drink package. My question is does Carnival have anything like that.

[Lottacruises]

No, they don't.

[pacruise804]

Carnival offers Cruise Cash (basically non-refundable OBC). You can get general Cruise Cash that can be used anywhere, Cruise Cash Photo (just in the picture department), or Cruise Cash Bar (beverage services only).

 

You won't have any savings (beyond drink specials), but if you know you would like to try at least 10 drinks and don't want a bill at the end you could purchase Cruise Cash or Cruise Cash Bar in the amount you expect to spend. Tips can also be paid from Cruise Cash Bar if you have more than you think you would need. It's an option for those who don't want to purchase Cheers but also don't want to worry about the bar bill. I think minimum purchase is $25, with a maximum of $500 per typer per cabin.

 

Another option would be a Carnival gift cards. I think these have a minimum purchase of $100, but there are grocery stores that sell them and offer gas points or similar. Also many here purchase from Allstate or AARP with a 10% discount. Unused gift card amounts in excess of $10 are refunded to you via a new gift card mailed to your address. Less than $10 is donated to St. Jude's.

 

Hope that helps.

[Joebucks]

Cruise cash is not a drink package. It is spending the same amount up front to "not spend it later". That is not a savings, no matter how you slice it.

 

The best option in between Cheers and a la carte is to pre-purchase a bottle or two from the fun shops. They give you a good-sized 1 liter bottle for roughly $90-$110 for most options, which would come out cheaper than purchasing that amount of drinks separately. The biggest downside there is variety. You can bring your own canned mixers though. Best option IMO for those who have a simple "go-to" drink, but don't want to pay for Cheers.

[TEXSUN46]

About 10 drinks give or take is all I will have on entire cruise and wife might have two or three. I had thought about cruise cash or bar cash but decided to just put cc on the account and leave money in the bank drawing interest and pay off when we get home. I have no worries about being surprised by how much I spend drinking, I know I will never approach what cheers would cost to make it worthwhile.

[pacruise804]

 

You won't have any savings (beyond drink specials), but if you know you would like to try at least 10 drinks and don't want a bill at the end you could purchase Cruise Cash or Cruise Cash Bar in the amount you expect to spend. Tips can also be paid from Cruise Cash Bar if you have more than you think you would need. It's an option for those who don't want to purchase Cheers but also don't want to worry about the bar bill. I think minimum purchase is $25, with a maximum of $500 per typer per cabin.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Cruise cash is not a drink package. It is spending the same amount up front to "not spend it later". That is not a savings, no matter how you slice it.

 

The best option in between Cheers and a la carte is to pre-purchase a bottle or two from the fun shops. They give you a good-sized 1 liter bottle for roughly $90-$110 for most options, which would come out cheaper than purchasing that amount of drinks separately. The biggest downside there is variety. You can bring your own canned mixers though. Best option IMO for those who have a simple "go-to" drink, but don't want to pay for Cheers.

 

I stated that there is no savings, but there is still the "permission" to try a variety of drinks. Your best option works nicely for those who have a go-to drink, but not for those who want to experiment or like frozen/blended drinks.

 

For a 7 day cruise you would need roughly 35-40 drinks over the course of the cruise to break even with Cheers. OP asked about a mini-drink package (10 drinks). I'd rather pay full price (no savings), get what I want (not what I feel stuck with), and spend $100-$150 than spend more so there's "savings."

 

I actually just pay as I go since I have a generous budget for the cruise. Many have stated liking packages though because they won't order the drink if they have to consider the price of it, and Cruise Cash is one option to prepay drinks.