Drink package question

[JaxsMama]

I was on the magic once and wasn't allowed to buy a bucket of beer at any bar bc I had cheers. I was maybe at drink 5 or so and really just wanted a bucket to take into a show.  I chalked it up to maybe miss training on that ship or something. Of course they were happy to sell me a bottle of wine in the steakhouse.  Made no sense. 

[jerrya72]

It seems like some ships let you purchase drinks when you have cheers and some do not.  When on the Glory earlier in the year I got to 11 and the bartender asked if I wanted to buy one so it didn't count.

[Retired_to_Cruise]

1 hour ago, jen2010ss said:

 Big girl panties are on but thanks for the suggestion, I'm specifically refering to those comments that act like someone is just trying to get drunk just for asking about purchasing drinks in between the alloted 15. On port days where you spend a lot of time off the ship I can see 15 drinks being a lot however, on sea days I can see where 15 drinks isn't necessarily going to get someone drunk, they can still be functioning responsible adults. 

It does not make any difference if the "15 drinks isn't necessarily going to get someone drunk, they can still be functioning responsible adults" because they have agreed to a contract. If they are really "functioning responsible adults", they would not be looking for ways to bypass their agreement, they would accept the fact that they have reached the limits of their agreement. They would have planned ahead and bought a bottle for their cabin and used that. Cheers clearly states that they can only get 15 drinks from 6am to 6pm. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

[Retired_to_Cruise]

18 minutes ago, JaxsMama said:

I was on the magic once and wasn't allowed to buy a bucket of beer at any bar bc I had cheers. I was maybe at drink 5 or so and really just wanted a bucket to take into a show.  I chalked it up to maybe miss training on that ship or something. Of course they were happy to sell me a bottle of wine in the steakhouse.  Made no sense. 

You Cheers contract clearly states that you can only buy one drink at a time with an several minutes interval between purchases. A bucket of beer is more than one drink. And I belive you contract states that it cannot be used for buckets of beer. It is important to read the instructions before using whatever the instructions are for.

[JaxsMama]

1 minute ago, Retired_to_Cruise said:

You Cheers contract clearly states that you can only buy one drink at a time with an several minutes interval between purchases. A bucket of beer is more than one drink. And I belive you contract states that it cannot be used for buckets of beer. It is important to read the instructions before using whatever the instructions are for.

I wasn't trying to buy it with my cheers, I was trying to pay for it. 

[n6uqqq]

4 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

 

It’s possible Carnival may still have Fosters on tap at some bars. However, on our last several cruises I saw more and more taps for Carnival’s own beers at bars on the ship. 

 

The Fosters I used to buy were the " oil can " 25 ounce cans. They were a decent bargain but not my favorite beer.

[japlanet]

If you really want to buy and consume >15 drinks in a 24h period, it seems the best way would be for one lighter/non drinker to forgo the Cheers package and serve as the 'buyer' for any beverages others want to purchase outside of the Cheers package.

[bjd2]

1 hour ago, jerrya72 said:

It seems like some ships let you purchase drinks when you have cheers and some do not.  When on the Glory earlier in the year I got to 11 and the bartender asked if I wanted to buy one so it didn't count.

This is how it worked for us. The bartender asked, "so you want to buy one for a friend", while nodding his head up and down. It wasn't like we were begging them to break the rules.

[jen2010ss]

1 hour ago, Retired_to_Cruise said:

It does not make any difference if the "15 drinks isn't necessarily going to get someone drunk, they can still be functioning responsible adults" because they have agreed to a contract. If they are really "functioning responsible adults", they would not be looking for ways to bypass their agreement, they would accept the fact that they have reached the limits of their agreement. They would have planned ahead and bought a bottle for their cabin and used that. Cheers clearly states that they can only get 15 drinks from 6am to 6pm. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

Obviously you did not read my question at the beginning of this thread, not trying to "bypass" the cheers agreement......First line says: 

23 hours ago, jen2010ss said:

Trying to decide if we want to buy the package or not.

[Retired_to_Cruise]

1 hour ago, JaxsMama said:

I wasn't trying to buy it with my cheers, I was trying to pay for it. 

But the system told them that your drink agreement with Carnival was the Cheers program and that does not allow multi-drink purchases. You cannot choose when you want to pay with Cheers or not. In 20 minutes you could have bought 4 beers - 1 every 5 minutes. Yes they would have counted as 4 drinks on your cheers program. BUT, that is what you signed up fo,

[Retired_to_Cruise]

2 minutes ago, jen2010ss said:

Obviously you did not read my question at the beginning of this thread, not trying to "bypass" the cheers agreement......First line says: 

And then in the next couple of lines you said you did "bypass" Cheers on an earlier cruise and then asked if you could still do that. Seems like you do not remember what you wrote at the beginning of this thread.

[jen2010ss]

2 minutes ago, Retired_to_Cruise said:

And then in the next couple of lines you said you did "bypass" Cheers on an earlier cruise and then asked if you could still do that. Seems like you do not remember what you wrote at the beginning of this thread.

 

Thank you for your input. If anyone is offering to pay for a drink in between their alloted ones it is not cheating the company and obviously at some point was allowed by carnival since their own bartenders would sell them and it would allow them to ring it up under the person who has the cheers package. I was asking IF that still applied, IF NOT we would forgo buying the dang package! 

[Retired_to_Cruise]

10 minutes ago, jen2010ss said:

 

Thank you for your input. If anyone is offering to pay for a drink in between their alloted ones it is not cheating the company and obviously at some point was allowed by carnival since their own bartenders would sell them and it would allow them to ring it up under the person who has the cheers package. I was asking IF that still applied, IF NOT we would forgo buying the dang package! 

So you would forgo the package which gives you about 9 free drinks out of the 15 all because you cannot buy  a couple of drinks over the 15 (9 free ones) the program allows. Interesting financial decision since you will now be paying for all of your drinks.

Edited June 18, 2019 by Retired_to_Cruise

[JaxsMama]

20 minutes ago, Retired_to_Cruise said:

But the system told them that your drink agreement with Carnival was the Cheers program and that does not allow multi-drink purchases. You cannot choose when you want to pay with Cheers or not. In 20 minutes you could have bought 4 beers - 1 every 5 minutes. Yes they would have counted as 4 drinks on your cheers program. BUT, that is what you signed up fo,

You're right. I should of read the rules more carefully. Next time I'll make sure to say I'm buying a round of drinks for friends since that's allowed.

[maryred]

Here's what you do to forestall arguments from crew or Guest Services once on board. Simply visit Carnival.com and go to the FAQs to print out the current Cheers answer about 1 day before you leave for your cruise

Here's what is currently in Carnival's FAQs: (I've highlighted some areas that have been debated in this thread)

"What is the Cheers! Beverage Program?

CHEERS! is an all-inclusive beverage program that allows guests to enjoy a wide range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages by paying a flat daily rate. Guests must be 21 or older to purchase CHEERS! and each adult assigned to the same stateroom must purchase the program. If you are not interested in alcoholic beverages, try our Bottomless Bubbles package for unlimited soda.

 

Our CHEERS! beverage program includes a great variety of non-alcoholic beverages, as well as a wide selection of high quality brand-name spirits and wines by the glass.   

 

• Before your cruise - $51.95 USD, per person, per day plus 18% gratuity. CHEERS! can be purchased at www.carnival.com/Funshops or by contacting The Fun Shops department at 800-522-7648, Monday - Sunday, 8:00am - 10:00pm ET. Cut-off for pre-purchase is 10:00pm ET, the evening prior to the cruise departure. Although we are not able to process the Carnival Gift Card for Fun Shop orders by telephone, you may use a Carnival Gift Card when purchasing CHEERS! online
• On board - $56.95 USD, per person, per day plus 18% gratuity. CHEERS! can be purchased at a bar on board
• CHEERS! will not be offered on Europe itineraries

Included in the price of your cruise, served in the main dining room and available 24/7 in the Lido Restaurant: non-bottled water, lemonade, unsweetened iced tea, hot chocolate and non-specialty coffee and tea.

To view a sample of beverages prices for individual drinks and CHEERS! Q&A's, click here.

CHEERS! includes:

 

• All spirits, including cocktails, cognacs, whiskies and other spirits, as well as beer (including self-serve beer stations - PYOB) and wine and champagne by the glass, with a $20.00 USD or lower menu price, per serving 
• Sodas (including specialty sodas), zero-proof frozen cocktails (including smoothies) and juices 
• Specialty coffees and hot tea served in the main dining rooms, specialty restaurants and coffee bars
• Milkshakes, where available
• RockStar energy drinks, PowerAde, Vitamin Water, Honest Tea, and coconut water
• 500ml bottled water and other non-alcoholic bottled beverages served in bars and lounges
• Large format (1 liter and 1.5-liter) bottles of water in the main dining rooms and specialty restaurants
• 25% discount off the menu price for any spirit, cocktail or wine by the glass, costing above $20.00 USD, per serving
• 25% discount off the menu price for wine and champagne by the bottle 
• 25% discount off beverage seminars and classes

 

CHEERS! excludes:

 

• Beverages promoted and sold in souvenir glasses
• Bottles of liquor
• Beverages offered at the gangway 
• Beverages offered through room service and/or other in-stateroom beverage programs
• Beverages purchased off the ship at any port of call, including Princess Cays and Half Moon Cay
• Sharing cocktails, floaters, pitchers, tubes and buckets 
• Beverages offered through enomatic wine machines
• Freshly squeezed orange juice served in the Havana Bar
• All other beverage-related programs including merchandise, cigars and cigarettes
• Food items

Program Restrictions:

 

• Guests must be 21 years or older to purchase and agree not to give to minors
• Each adult assigned to the same stateroom must purchase the program
• CHEERS! is non-transferable
• Guests must purchase the program for the entire cruise; this program is not offered on a per day basis
• If the program is purchased prior to the cruise, it is refundable up to 10:00pm ET, the evening prior to the cruise departure.  Otherwise, CHEERS! is non-refundable
• Price adjustments (up or down), implemented on the day of sailing, replace any previously advertised price
• Only one drink at a time may be ordered, there is a 5 minute wait time between orders and sharing is not permitted. No double shots as that is considered ordering two drinks at once
• Guests may purchase a round of drinks for themselves and friends. One drink will count towards the CHEERS! program and the remaining drinks will be charged to a guest’s Sail and Sign® account
• Program allows for up to 15 alcoholic drinks, per 24-hour period (6:00am - 6:00am). Once the limit is reached, the guest will not be served ANY additional alcoholic drinks  
• Program only applies to onboard purchases
• All bottles and cans will be served opened
• Carnival reserves the right to refuse service for any reason
• Applicable state and local taxes will be charged to a guest folio when this program is used within US waters. The tax is based on the state's tax structure and the cost of the individual drink purchased (not the daily program rate). For example: if the drink price is $5.00 USD and the tax is 10%, the guest's Sail & Sign® card will be charged $0.50 USD for tax. This applies to all US ports (embarkation home ports and ports-of-call)
• Due to state laws, we cannot sell CHEERS! until the second day of the cruise (starting at 6:00am) for voyages departing from our Texas and New York home ports. Drinks purchased on the first day of the cruise will be charged to the guest's Sail & Sign® card in the usual manner. When purchased on the second day of the cruise, guests are charged for the remaining days only (cruise duration less one day)
• For guests who pre-purchase CHEERS!, it will be activated upon boarding the ship (except for ships sailing from Texas and New York – activation will occur at 6:00am on the second day of the cruise). Guests are instructed to proceed to the bar, once on board, to receive a sticker which will be placed on their Sail & Sign® cards
• Group bookings (consisting of a minimum of 30 adults) can purchase CHEERS! prior to the cruise by contacting Group Event Planning (all adult guests in the group must purchase the program; all minors in the group must purchase Bottomless Bubbles program)
• For pre-purchase orders, a message card will be placed in guest’s stateroom on embarkation day referring the guests to the Casino Bar to activate the program
• CHEERS! is not offered on 2 day cruises, charter cruises, on ships sailing from Australia (Carnival Legend, Carnival Spirit and Carnival Splendor) and beverage purchases made at Half Moon Cay and Princess Cays in The Bahamas

 

 

 

Cruise Duration	Pre - Purchase Price $51.95 USD Per Day	On Board Purchase Price $56.95 USD Per Day
	Price Including 18% Gratuity	Price Including 18% Gratuity
3 day	$ 183.90	$ 201.60
4 day	$ 245.20	$ 268.80
5 day	$ 306.51	$ 336.01
6 day	$ 367.81	$ 403.21
7 day	$ 429.11	$ 470.41
8 day	$ 490.41	$ 537.61
9 day	$ 551.71	$ 604.81
10 day	$ 613.01	$ 672.01
11 day	$ 674.31	$ 739.21
12 day	$ 735.61	$ 806.41
13 day	$ 796.91	$ 873.61
14 day	$ 858.21	$ 940.81
15 day	$ 919.52	$ 1008.02
16 day	$ 980.82	$ 1075.22
17 day	$ 1042.12	$ 1142.42
19 day	$ 1164.72	$ 1276.82
24 day	$ 1471.22	$ 1612.80
27 day	$ 1655.13	$ 1814.43

 

CHEERS! Beverage Program Q&As

What is the price for individual drinks on board?
Sample of beverage prices - prices and product availability are subject to change without notice. 

• Beer: $6.00 - $7.95 (mostly 16 oz.)
• Wine by the glass: $8.00 - $14.00
• Mixed Drinks: $6.95 - $20.00
• Specialty Cocktails: $8.95 -$12.95 (excluding souvenir glassware and premium selections)
• Soft Drinks: $2.50 
• Specialty Drinks (Powerade, Iced Tea, Honest Tea and Ginger Beer) $2.00 - $4.95
• Energy Drinks: $4.95 and up
• Water (San Pellegrino, Perrier, Vitamin Water, Bottled Water and Coconut Water): $1.25 - $5.00

I understand there is a maximum of 15 drinks a day for the CHEERS! program. With the enhanced program, do non-alcoholic drinks count toward this total?
Sodas and other applicable non-alcoholic beverages remain unlimited and will not be counted toward the 15 alcoholic beverages limit, and all other policies and procedures remain the same. Guests are expected to enjoy alcohol responsibly and staff members are trained not to serve guests who appear to be intoxicated.

Do you have procedures in place that keep guests from drinking too much?  
Carnival has a number of procedures in place to monitor guests’ alcohol consumption and bartenders are trained to look for signs of intoxication and will discontinue serving guests who appear to be intoxicated. Certain flags have been built into the system that are designed to monitor guests’ alcohol consumption and encourage responsible use of the program.

Does the package have to be purchased for the entire week or can it be purchased on a daily/a la carte basis?
The beverage package can only be purchased for the entire voyage at a rate of $51.95 USD per person, per day via Carnival’s website and $56.95 USD per person, per day if purchased once on board. 

Why aren’t full bottles of wine and champagne included in the enhanced program?
The program allows guests to purchase drinks on an individual basis at a convenient flat rate and not purchase multiple drinks at one time or bottles of wine and champagne. The program does include a feature that allows guests to purchase full bottles of wine and champagne at a 25 percent discount.

I don’t drink alcohol. Am I still able to purchase the Bottomless Bubbles all-inclusive soda program?
While guests who purchase the enhanced CHEERS! program receive all of the benefits of the Bottomless Bubbles program, CHEERS! does not replace the Bottomless Bubbles soda program which continues to be available to children and adults at a cost of $5.95 USD per person, per day and $8.50 USD per person, per day, respectively."

[bobbyandali]

6 hours ago, Retired_to_Cruise said:

It does not make any difference if the "15 drinks isn't necessarily going to get someone drunk, they can still be functioning responsible adults" because they have agreed to a contract. If they are really "functioning responsible adults", they would not be looking for ways to bypass their agreement, they would accept the fact that they have reached the limits of their agreement. They would have planned ahead and bought a bottle for their cabin and used that. Cheers clearly states that they can only get 15 drinks from 6am to 6pm. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

 

OK. Let's be honest here. 99.9 percent of cruisers, or humans in any capacity, don't read the fine print in the contracts. You seem to be in the minority. Good for you.

Carnival does a GREAT job explaining, in lay terms in their advertising, that Cheers covers 15 drinks per day (6 am to 6 am).

 

Carnival does an OK job explaining that once you have used all 15 of your Cheers allotment, you won't be served any more alcohol.

Carnival does a TERRIBLE job explaining that you can't buy drinks outside of Cheers and consume them yourself.

Based on the language: "Program allows for up to 15 alcoholic drinks, per 24-hour period (6:00am - 6:00am). Once the limit is reached, the guest will not be served ANY additional alcoholic drinks  "

 

I could make the argument that any drink purchased before the 15 drinks in the "program" doesn't count toward the program, and the "ban" on further drinks doesn't take effect until the 15 drinks in the program limit has been reached. 

It's confusing enough that the OP's question is valid and doesn't deserve the snarkiness of your responses. 

[bobbyandali]

On 6/17/2019 at 12:54 PM, jen2010ss said:

Trying to decide if we want to buy the package or not. We have a few in our group who can surpass the 15 drink limit and not be completely intoxicated. In the past we have been able to purchase drinks in between our 15 drinks included. A friend that went on a cruise in January said they were not able to do this then. Has anyone been able to purchase drinks while having the cheers package recently?

 

If you had one drink an hour every hour on the hour, starting at 10 am and having your last drink at midnight, you would hit 15. Spaced out that much, especially with the amount of carbs and meat that many people consume on a cruise, especially if you had half a bottle or so of water between each alcoholic drink, you could easily see that a decent sized human might not get intoxicated. 

[bjfitz0703]

18 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

15 LIT's made to order and not from a pre-made pitcher should do the trick.

That would light up anyone!

[ed01106]

I could be wrong, but I suspect a cheers customer sharing a drink with another cheers customer would not be considered a serious transgression like a cheers customer sharing a drink with a non-cheers customer.  Particularly early in the day when neither is close to the 15 max.  After all you both are on the package.

[mexicobob]

10 hours ago, meanjean80 said:

This can't be quite correct because I had cheers on my last cruise and was able to purchase a round of shots in the special glasses at dinner one night.  Or is it that you can't purchase "on the side" after your 15 drink limit?

 

The rules have changed since your last cruise, on The Valor at least.  They were not allowed to purchase anything "on the side", period.  Including drink #1 of the day.  

[Gatorfan01]

19 minutes ago, mexicobob said:

The rules have changed since your last cruise, on The Valor at least.  They were not allowed to purchase anything "on the side", period.  Including drink #1 of the day.  

 

If this is true, I’m going to be a sad lady! My first cruise I started collecting the cute shot glasses they bring at dinner. I had Cheers but knew they weren’t covered. I’m cruising in September and was looking forward to the new (to me) shot glass design. I’ll have Cheers this cruise also. I want my shot glasses! 

[bobbyandali]

19 hours ago, mexicobob said:

The rules have changed since your last cruise, on The Valor at least.  They were not allowed to purchase anything "on the side", period.  Including drink #1 of the day.  

This is interesting.

So, if I'm on Cheers package, I can't use my S&S card to charge a drink for my buddy, who isn't on Cheers package.

However, my buddy, who isn't on Cheers package, can use his S&S card to charge a drink for both him and me at the bar, then walk back to the pool chairs, give me the drink he bought me, and it doesn't count against my 15.

Also, let us consider the fact that if one isn't on the Cheers program, they certainly appear able to buy more than 15 drinks (and consume them) a day. Of course, this would result in a lot more revenue to Carnival... so I guess they are ok with that? 

You do at all times have the catch-all of "if you appear intoxicated, the bartender/server can cut you off". But that applies, Cheers program or not, and like it has been said, one can certainly consume more than 15 drinks over 24 hours and not appear intoxicated. 

[coevan]

4 hours ago, bobbyandali said:

So, if I'm on Cheers package, I can't use my S&S card to charge a drink for my buddy, who isn't on Cheers package.

 

 

 

Yes you can, done it many times.

[carolinablonde81]

23 hours ago, Gatorfan01 said:

 

If this is true, I’m going to be a sad lady! My first cruise I started collecting the cute shot glasses they bring at dinner. I had Cheers but knew they weren’t covered. I’m cruising in September and was looking forward to the new (to me) shot glass design. I’ll have Cheers this cruise also. I want my shot glasses! 

 

I was able to do this on my Elation cruise in December.  I got the drink for "free" under Cheers, but had to pay $5 or $6 for the shot glass.  I collect them as well!

[bobbyandali]

18 hours ago, coevan said:

 

 

 

Yes you can, done it many times.

 

I thought so, but some people in this thread are swearing that you can't, "new rules"