Joebucks Posted April 6, 2019 #1 Share Posted April 6, 2019 As you may know from previous threads, I'm not always the biggest Cheers fan. Later this month, I will be going on a 4 day Bahamas cruise on the Liberty with the guys. Ewww, a booze cruise!! We figured there would be no better time to try it out. For previous cruises, it has proven to be a colossal waste for the girlfriend and I. She barely drinks. I do, but nothing to make Cheers worthwhile. I don't drink any of the other stuff included. Maybe a soda here and there. So help me like it. I'm not a mimosa, coffee, milkshake, juice, or water bottle (I stay away from plastic when possible) person. I'm also losing my interest in beer, especially the heavier ones. They just make me feel bloated. What I would normally do on cruises is buy a bottle (whisky or rum), bring wine, and buy a few a la carte drinks. I love having a nice strong drink that will get me a nice buzz without a ton of filler sugars. I usually don't finish the bottle within 7 days. For me, at this point in my life, it's mostly about the bourbon. I love it. I noticed on a previous drink spreadsheet that there was Booker's bourbon. Where can I find it? The newer spreadsheets don't list that anymore. What other places have the good bourbon? What is exclusive to the steakhouse that is good, and is it acceptable to get a drink there if you aren't eating there? I'll probably do some red wines with dinner too. I love Alchemy, but I just can't put away a ton of those. Lots of sugar. It's a treat for me. Maybe 1-2 a day during the shows. The old fashioned is my favorite drink. What other tips do you have for me that will make me a believer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naxer Posted April 6, 2019 #2 Share Posted April 6, 2019 On my last cruise, one of the Alchemists did a class on bourbons. I don't know if they would do that on a 4 day cruise, but ask. Having Cheers is what makes Alchemy so much fun for me. I'm an Alchemy bar fly on a cruise--and there are usually a few others, and we kind of become the hub of the scene. Go shortly after they open, before there's a crush. Tell them you like bourbon drinks, but not sweet. They'll find you your drink if you give them time, and maybe even hit it right the first time. Each cruise they find me a couple gin martinis I really like, and a couple Manhattans I really like. (I don't like the Caribbean Manhattan--far too sweet for me.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chipperberg Posted April 7, 2019 #3 Share Posted April 7, 2019 No bar bill at the end of the cruise. No evidence. 😉 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim and Monika Posted April 7, 2019 #4 Share Posted April 7, 2019 My experience and advise: You will very much enjoy the fact that you went with Cheers, we always have. My advise, pace yourself. With friends that are "drinkers", you may be inclined to start early and go strong. You will burn out your drinks fast and be left unhappy until the next day. Plan out your 15, we have hit most days we've had Cheers and always after midnight. We enjoyed our drinks and never got blitzed. We tipped with every round and felt that we got generous pours, but paced ourselves and included a lot of bottled water. Have fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurab23 Posted April 7, 2019 #5 Share Posted April 7, 2019 1 hour ago, chipperberg said: No bar bill at the end of the cruise. No evidence. 😉 Oh I like that thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlanoDebbie Posted April 7, 2019 #6 Share Posted April 7, 2019 If your girlfriend doesn't drink, it might not be worth it to buy Cheers since both of you in the same cabin would have to buy it. They won't let just one person buy the package. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mapman_2004 Posted April 7, 2019 #7 Share Posted April 7, 2019 3 hours ago, PlanoDebbie said: If your girlfriend doesn't drink, it might not be worth it to buy Cheers since both of you in the same cabin would have to buy it. They won't let just one person buy the package. Guys cruise, read his post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mapman_2004 Posted April 7, 2019 #8 Share Posted April 7, 2019 4 hours ago, chipperberg said: No bar bill at the end of the cruise. No evidence. 😉 How do you pay for the Cheers in the first place to not have evidence? Lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilcruisers Posted April 7, 2019 #9 Share Posted April 7, 2019 I have thought about getting cheers on a 4 day, to try it out. I would be the only one to benefit, none of my cruise partners drink, my husband drinks a little, My sis and mom don’t drink at all. I am looking to be convinced, at least for a 4 day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SNJCruisers Posted April 7, 2019 #10 Share Posted April 7, 2019 37 minutes ago, Quilcruisers said: I have thought about getting cheers on a 4 day, to try it out. I would be the only one to benefit, none of my cruise partners drink, my husband drinks a little, My sis and mom don’t drink at all. I am looking to be convinced, at least for a 4 day. You need to do the math. Two people for 4 days including 18% gratuity is $490. Your DH drinks a little. How many per day? Is it beer or Alchemy Bar drinks? Does he drink espresso based coffees, bottled water and all of the other non alcoholic stuff that's included? If you each have only 3 drinks per day at the Alchemy Bar, that's about 340 towards your 490. Convince him to splurge and try new cocktails that he has not tried in the past because it would be a waste of money. He can sample another dozen drinks over the three I mentioned. Doing it over a four day is the time to do it. Roll the dice and enjoy. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joebucks Posted April 7, 2019 Author #11 Share Posted April 7, 2019 4 hours ago, naxer said: On my last cruise, one of the Alchemists did a class on bourbons. I don't know if they would do that on a 4 day cruise, but ask. Having Cheers is what makes Alchemy so much fun for me. I'm an Alchemy bar fly on a cruise--and there are usually a few others, and we kind of become the hub of the scene. Go shortly after they open, before there's a crush. Tell them you like bourbon drinks, but not sweet. They'll find you your drink if you give them time, and maybe even hit it right the first time. Each cruise they find me a couple gin martinis I really like, and a couple Manhattans I really like. (I don't like the Caribbean Manhattan--far too sweet for me.) I really like this advice. I also did not care for the Carribean Manhattan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chipperberg Posted April 7, 2019 #12 Share Posted April 7, 2019 6 hours ago, mapman_2004 said: How do you pay for the Cheers in the first place to not have evidence? Lol Gift cards! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abby1257 Posted April 7, 2019 #13 Share Posted April 7, 2019 11 hours ago, Jim and Monika said: My experience and advise: You will very much enjoy the fact that you went with Cheers, we always have. My advise, pace yourself. With friends that are "drinkers", you may be inclined to start early and go strong. You will burn out your drinks fast and be left unhappy until the next day. Plan out your 15, we have hit most days we've had Cheers and always after midnight. We enjoyed our drinks and never got blitzed. We tipped with every round and felt that we got generous pours, but paced ourselves and included a lot of bottled water. Have fun! I'm sorry....I have to ask, how can you have 15 drinks in one day and not be blitzed???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhillyFan33579 Posted April 7, 2019 #14 Share Posted April 7, 2019 23 minutes ago, abby1257 said: I'm sorry....I have to ask, how can you have 15 drinks in one day and not be blitzed???? Obviously everyone reacts differently to alcohol, but if you start with say a mimosa at 8 AM and order your last drink at 11 PM, for example, you are only having roughly one drink an hour, even though you drank a total of 15 drinks. Plus, you don’t have to come any where close to 15 drinks for Cheers to be beneficial financially. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mistyness Posted April 7, 2019 #15 Share Posted April 7, 2019 17 hours ago, Joebucks said: So help me like it. I'm not a mimosa, coffee, milkshake, juice, or water bottle (I stay away from plastic when possible) person. I'm also losing my interest in beer, especially the heavier ones. They just make me feel bloated. What I would normally do on cruises is buy a bottle (whisky or rum), bring wine, and buy a few a la carte drinks. I love having a nice strong drink that will get me a nice buzz without a ton of filler sugars. I usually don't finish For me, at this point in my life, it's mostly about the bourbon. I love it. I noticed on a previous drink spreadsheet that there was Booker's bourbon. Where can I find it? The newer spreadsheets don't list that anymore. What other places have the good bourbon? What is exclusive to the steakhouse that is good, and is it acceptable to get a drink there if you aren't eating there? I'll probably do some red wines with dinner too. I love Alchemy, but I just can't put away a ton of those. Lots of sugar. It's a treat for me. Maybe 1-2 a day during the shows. The old fashioned is my favorite drink. What other tips do you have for me th We are debating getting cheer's or not for our upcoming Cruise. I am also avoiding almost all sugar. I have started googling some drinks to try without adding sugar or syrup juice etc. Some drinks I'll just say don't add the extra sugar. But I wanted a list of drinks to try as my drink preference is changing. I've found many prohibition area cocktail are easy to remove all or almost all of the sugar. The sugar was introduced to help with how bad some of the alcohol was back then. We don't have that problem so less sugar doesn't change the drink. I do especially for crowded bars have a drink idea ready so that's why I am getting a list together. And an idea of how to make it as I know it will be different than what most people are ordering Use this to experiment with drinks. If you don't like it you don't have to finish it. You can explore drinks and maybe find a new favorite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruizCuz Posted April 7, 2019 #16 Share Posted April 7, 2019 1 hour ago, abby1257 said: I'm sorry....I have to ask, how can you have 15 drinks in one day and not be blitzed???? I usually get CHEERS on 5 day or less cruises. Especially when the cruise is to ports that I have visited many times, and would prefer to stay on the "private" ship when in port. I don't drink quickly. When I have CHEERS and the beer I am drinking gets too warm, I toss it and get another frosty, cold one. I also like to try new drinks with out the pressure of having finish them if I don't like them. That's usually how I get to 15 in day, which I do a couple of those days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MasterMason Posted April 8, 2019 #17 Share Posted April 8, 2019 If you drink 5 drinks in a day, you’ve hit the break-even point. And that’s not even including the unlimited power drinks, specialty coffee, milkshakes, or sodas. We don’t cruise without Cheers. For us, it’s a no-brainer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JQTravels Posted April 8, 2019 #18 Share Posted April 8, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProgRockCruiser Posted April 8, 2019 #19 Share Posted April 8, 2019 (edited) On 4/7/2019 at 10:02 AM, abby1257 said: I'm sorry....I have to ask, how can you have 15 drinks in one day and not be blitzed???? Practice. Seriously though, if you start the day with a breakfast mimosa at 9am, as others have said, and just casually get a drink every couple of hours up until 5pm, say, and then have a drink every hour during and after dinner (easy to do with glasses of wine, at least for us), you will be at 9 drinks at 9pm. Another at 11pm as an early nightcap, and you are at 10. That is super easy for us to hit. And we don't wait two hours between drink orders after lunch, typically. Port day? Might hit 7 drinks at that rate (probably skip the 9am, 11am, 1pm, back on board for 3pm) - but more than likely would drink a bit more frequently once back on board, so probably at least 9 total for the day. That is for us, and our metabolism/livers. Not everyone is like that. Maybe as time goes on that may change, but I'm not exactly young (in my 50s), so it isn't like I'm some rowdy 20-something looking to party. If I was cruising with a light/non drinker, I would probably not get Cheers, and instead just drink a la carte, since the drinking I do now is somewhat social drinking with my wife, so my overall drinking would be diminished. But I cannot foresee ever not cruising with my wife, so that is a bit of a moot point. Edited April 8, 2019 by ProgRockCruiser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowlinmoe Posted April 8, 2019 #20 Share Posted April 8, 2019 You have to estimate how many drinks you will have (be honest) and do the math. For a lot of people, they end up losing money by paying for the Cheers! program. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruiser_1977 Posted April 8, 2019 #21 Share Posted April 8, 2019 (edited) I love Bourbon. I met some fellow Bourbon drinkers on the Fantasy in January! We definitely enjoyed the Woodford Reserve. So much so that we drank a few of the bars out of it! Enjoy. I think Cheers! is definitely worth it on a shorter cruise. Post #167 Edited April 8, 2019 by JennyB1977 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Kehote Posted April 8, 2019 #22 Share Posted April 8, 2019 On 4/6/2019 at 5:43 PM, Joebucks said: For me, at this point in my life, it's mostly about the bourbon. I love it. I noticed on a previous drink spreadsheet that there was Booker's bourbon. Where can I find it? The newer spreadsheets don't list that anymore. What other places have the good bourbon? ... What other tips do you have for me that will make me a believer? I went back into the archives for this. I talked my stepdaughter, a whisky lover, into booking a cruise with this list of whiskys and scotches that are supposed to be available fleet wide by mid year 2019. I found this late last year: WHISKEYS Templeton Rye BlantonsWoodford Reserve Buffalo Trace Gentleman Jack Teeling Irish Whiskey Jameson Caskmates 'Stout' Jack Daniels Jack Daniels Rye Jack Daniels Honey Crown Royal Jameson Seagrams 7 Old Forester 80 proof Sazerac Rye Elijah Craig Small Batch Bourbon The Duke Old Overholt Rye High West Double Rye High West Prairie Bourbon Eagle Rare 10 year Four Roses Single Barrel Bourbon Breckenridge Bourbon Basil Hayden TX Wild Turkey Rare Breed BLENDED SCOTCHES Chivas Royal Salute Chivas Regal 18 Dewars 12 Chivas Regal Dewars White Label Cutty Sark SINGLE MALT SCOTCHES Macallan Enigma Aberfeldy 16 Macallan Quest Highland Park 12 Ardbeg 10 year Glen Deveron 16 Glenlivet Founders Reserve Aberfeldy 12 Glenmorangie 10 year Aulmore 12 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SNJCruisers Posted April 9, 2019 #23 Share Posted April 9, 2019 On 4/7/2019 at 11:05 PM, JQTravels said: One...why would you incur the cost of additional 12 packs of water for your cabin when unlimited bottles are already included bc and paid for with Cheers? You can bring back bottles from any bar each time you come back to your cabin. So that was wasted money. Two...you stated that you were back on board by 300 on your port days, yet you used that as a major reason that you lost money on Cheers. If you're back on board by 300 and stay up till Midnight, that gives you 9 hours. If you drink ONE drink every hour and a half, you have consumed six drinks and Cheers is paid for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joebucks Posted April 9, 2019 Author #24 Share Posted April 9, 2019 On 4/7/2019 at 11:13 AM, Mistyness said: Use this to experiment with drinks. If you don't like it you don't have to finish it. You can explore drinks and maybe find a new favorite. I'm funny about wasting things. It just doesn't sit right with me. Unless something is coffee flavored, which I know not to order, few things are really that bad that I won't finish them. If anything, I can politely ask them to doctor it up a little. I do agree though, you gotta explore. Just like with vacation as a whole. 17 hours ago, Don Kehote said: I went back into the archives for this. I talked my stepdaughter, a whisky lover, into booking a cruise with this list of whiskys and scotches that are supposed to be available fleet wide by mid year 2019. I found this late last year: WHISKEYS Templeton Rye BlantonsWoodford Reserve Buffalo Trace Gentleman Jack Teeling Irish Whiskey Jameson Caskmates 'Stout' Jack Daniels Jack Daniels Rye Jack Daniels Honey Crown Royal Jameson Seagrams 7 Old Forester 80 proof Sazerac Rye Elijah Craig Small Batch Bourbon The Duke Old Overholt Rye High West Double Rye High West Prairie Bourbon Eagle Rare 10 year Four Roses Single Barrel Bourbon Breckenridge Bourbon Basil Hayden TX Wild Turkey Rare Breed BLENDED SCOTCHES Chivas Royal Salute Chivas Regal 18 Dewars 12 Chivas Regal Dewars White Label Cutty Sark SINGLE MALT SCOTCHES Macallan Enigma Aberfeldy 16 Macallan Quest Highland Park 12 Ardbeg 10 year Glen Deveron 16 Glenlivet Founders Reserve Aberfeldy 12 Glenmorangie 10 year Aulmore 12 Thanks for this list! By chance, how did you get it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sc4125 Posted April 9, 2019 #25 Share Posted April 9, 2019 I always purchase CHEERS on any 4 day cruise I take even though I seldom "get my moneys worth" I don't always drink more than 3 drinks a day, but I do like the coffee. Even though most of the time I don't break even, I always think I will. I've only purchased it one time on a 7-day, and quickly realized that wasn't a great idea for me - paying for 7 days is just too much for me. I'm assuming that you will be rooming with one of the guys that is purchasing CHEERS which is why you are trying it? Otherwise from what you have said about your drinking habits, I wouldn't think it would be worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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