Alchemy prices

[cruiser8607]

Hi everyone.  Heading on the carnival glory 8/4/19.  Just making sure alchemy prices are still 10.95 per drink plus tip.  Of course we are debating cheers as we always do even after many cruises without it.  Thanks

[ProgRockCruiser]

I could have sworn they were $11.95 now, but since we always have Cheers, we don't pay too much heed to that, sorry.

[amyotravel]

Screenshot is from a popular video site March 2019

 

Edited July 3, 2019 by amyotravel

[cruiser8607]

Thanks.  I just noticed recently they adjusted prices at the pool bars by .50 or .75 cents so I wondered if there was a chance alchemu went up too.  Probably only a matter of time.  

[SNJCruisers]

8 hours ago, cruiser8607 said:

Thanks.  I just noticed recently they adjusted prices at the pool bars by .50 or .75 cents so I wondered if there was a chance alchemu went up too.  Probably only a matter of time.  

The price is good for all of the drinks on their standard menu and most alternatives that the mixologists come up with.  If they use a higher end ingredient, then the price will be higher.  Examples are Grey Goose VX, which was 17.00 chilled and 20.00 with other ingredients at the Alchemy on the Horizon last August out of NYC.  They were all covered by Cheers, so we didn't care.

[cruiser8607]

For any of you who have done cheers and are

Moderate drinkers, did you like it?   We are always on the fence if we can keep up but paying for drinks individually ruins the vacation vibe.  We really only drink mixed drinks and prefer alchemy drinks.

[fresnel468]

Moderate drinkers here and our last cruise (7 day) was the first to use Cheers.   Based on post-cruise calculations, we barely broke even including coffees and Perrier each day.   Not an Alchemy fan so zero drinks from there.  Literally drank the Havana bar out of 18 yr old Flor De Cana and many Patron shots over the course of the cruise.   Ordering whatever I wanted without regard to cost (for the most part) was certainly good - however I eventually felt I was drinking only to justify the cost.   Would I do it for another 7+ day cruise?  Maybe.   Definitely not doing Cheers for upcoming 5 day cruise.  

[CruisingViper]

18 hours ago, cruiser8607 said:

For any of you who have done cheers and are

Moderate drinkers, did you like it?   We are always on the fence if we can keep up but paying for drinks individually ruins the vacation vibe.  We really only drink mixed drinks and prefer alchemy drinks.

It's great if you don't want to worry about drink prices, and especially if you're an alchemy fan. Cheers is $52 a day, which means if you just have 4-5 drinks a day at alchemy, you're pretty much there. Even if you just do 2-3 drinks at alchemy, then you add in some wine at dinner and a mixed drink or two during the day, that's pretty close to covering too. Then you add in the lattes and coffee every morning, the shakes and bottled water, and you can make it work easily.

 

There's also something to be said for being able to try any drink and any high-end liquor or wine you want. If you are paying by the drink, you may stick with wells or your usual mid-level liquor or wine. With Cheers you can try all the high end stuff, and the 18 year old scotch in the steakhouse bar.

 

I like to try all that. My wife is planning on using it mostly for specialty coffees, bottle water, champagne at brunch, maybe a glass of wine at dinner, and a couple of drink at alchemy. Even with that, you can be close to making it work financially. Even if you don't though, for instance on port days which can be hard, it's like you said, there's the ability to just let your mind relax and be fully on vacation. 

Edited July 5, 2019 by CruisingViper

[havanadaydreaming]

I love getting the Cheers package.  I find value in not getting a big surprise bill at the end of the sailing. We were on a sailaway rates on a competitor and we decided to go without the drink package...we lost big time on that cruise.  (however a Knob Creek bourbon, on ice, was $23. OUCH!)

 

I've had to change my behavior.  I don't drink off the ship nearly as much as I used to when in port, which saves us $$$.  it's pretty cool being able to order top shelf drinks without reservation. 

[cruiser8607]

Thanks everyone.  I have a lot to think about.  However I am leaning towards just doing cheers.  I just don’t want to fret about the cost of each drink.  With cheers we may drink a little more but can experiment and enjoy.  Plus we are not doing much in ports this go around so we have 12 hours a day to break even.  

[Bases5]

We are moderate drinkers.  I understand the math, 5 of these 4 of those and you pay for cheers.  So that's $110 per day for 2.

 Maybe we spend that much 1 or 2 days but defiantly not 7.   Our personal bar bill never reaches $770.  Like I said the math seems like it would add up but not for us.   The few time's I have talked myself into buying Cheers we both felt like we drank more than we really wanted just because we had cheers. 

  It's a great deal for many people but not so much for us. 

[livingthedream1]

10 hours ago, cruiser8607 said:

Thanks everyone.  I have a lot to think about.  However I am leaning towards just doing cheers.  I just don’t want to fret about the cost of each drink.  With cheers we may drink a little more but can experiment and enjoy.  Plus we are not doing much in ports this go around so we have 12 hours a day to break even.  

 

10 hours ago, cruiser8607 said:

Thanks everyone.  I have a lot to think about.  However I am leaning towards just doing cheers.  I just don’t want to fret about the cost of each drink.  With cheers we may drink a little more but can experiment and enjoy.  Plus we are not doing much in ports this go around so we have 12 hours a day to break even.  

We have done cheers the last couple of cruises. That button initially is hard to press but we have not regretted it. We are moderate drinkers and as others have said its peace of mind not worrying about a big bill at the end. Throw  a couple of shots into the mix and you will have no problem breaking even. I always like to ask the different bartenders to make me their specialty.

[DJ from Ky]

I have never done this but we are going to sign up for our cruise in November.  I will have a mimosa or bloody Mary to start the day and then a specialty coffee.  After a couple of diet cokes, I will have a frozen alcoholic beverage after lunch and then get a liter of water to take to the cabin. Then a glass or two of wine with dinner, and then a coffee.  Of course I have to have an after dinner drink and something after the show.  I dont like the shore excursions offered so I will only browse the shops in the port area and won't be spending a lot of time off the ship!  Plus I can try drinks I have never had.  If I don't like it I can get something else in 5 minutes.  I always hated all those bar receipts!  Some days I might not spend $61.30 but others I might go over since soft drinks, specialty coffees water and smoothies are included in the Cheers package!

[LBumb]

I think its great to have the option

[beerman2]

18 hours ago, cruiser8607 said:

Thanks everyone.  I have a lot to think about.  However I am leaning towards just doing cheers.  I just don’t want to fret about the cost of each drink.  With cheers we may drink a little more but can experiment and enjoy.  Plus we are not doing much in ports this go around so we have 12 hours a day to break even.  

Always love those who say "but I'm in port 3 days". Ok but pax are still ON the ship at 3 p.m. and don't go to bed until 11 p.m. Or so.

 

That's 8 hrs  right there. Average 1 drink an hour ( easy to do) and Cheers is paid for. That's not even taking into account having 1or 2 Bloody Mary's or Minosa's or Bailey's and Coffee with breakfast.

 

Certainly can't drink like I used too, but last cruise DW and I would have had a $1,350.00 bill for 8 day cruise. Drinks can add up in a hurry if you spend time at Achlemy.

[SNJCruisers]

7 hours ago, DJ from Ky said:

 After a couple of diet cokes, I will have a frozen alcoholic beverage after lunch and then get a liter of water to take to the cabin.

Just to let you know, the liter of water is only covered by Cheers in the MDR or in a specialty restaurant.  You can get as many small bottles of water or Perrier that you want. 

[CheersPkg4Us]

Buy the Cheers pkg, everything else is included !

[pacruise804]

On 7/4/2019 at 2:23 PM, cruiser8607 said:

For any of you who have done cheers and are

Moderate drinkers, did you like it?   We are always on the fence if we can keep up but paying for drinks individually ruins the vacation vibe.  We really only drink mixed drinks and prefer alchemy drinks.

 

What do you consider a moderate drinker?  We typically enjoy 3-5 drinks per day on a cruise, which seems moderate to me but light to others.  We can budget $500 for drinks pay less than Cheers but not feel like we are paying individually.

 

On 7/5/2019 at 12:51 AM, fresnel468 said:

Moderate drinkers here and our last cruise (7 day) was the first to use Cheers.   Based on post-cruise calculations, we barely broke even including coffees and Perrier each day.   Not an Alchemy fan so zero drinks from there.  Literally drank the Havana bar out of 18 yr old Flor De Cana and many Patron shots over the course of the cruise.   Ordering whatever I wanted without regard to cost (for the most part) was certainly good - however I eventually felt I was drinking only to justify the cost.   Would I do it for another 7+ day cruise?  Maybe.   Definitely not doing Cheers for upcoming 5 day cruise.  

 

The bolded is how we felt when we had packages on NCL and Princess - drinking just to get the "value" of the perk.  I'm probably opposite of you though that if I ever did do Cheers it would be a short cruise (but only with stay on the ship Bahama ports) that I was treating like an AI but wouldn't do on a 7 day when I know there would be days I wouldn't drink much.

 

On 7/5/2019 at 9:58 PM, cruiser8607 said:

Thanks everyone.  I have a lot to think about.  However I am leaning towards just doing cheers.  I just don’t want to fret about the cost of each drink.  With cheers we may drink a little more but can experiment and enjoy.  Plus we are not doing much in ports this go around so we have 12 hours a day to break even.  

 

With the added info of not doing much in ports and knowing you want to experiment, Cheers sounds like it might be worth it in your case.

 

On 7/6/2019 at 8:18 AM, Bases5 said:

We are moderate drinkers.  I understand the math, 5 of these 4 of those and you pay for cheers.  So that's $110 per day for 2.

 Maybe we spend that much 1 or 2 days but defiantly not 7.   Our personal bar bill never reaches $770.  Like I said the math seems like it would add up but not for us.   The few time's I have talked myself into buying Cheers we both felt like we drank more than we really wanted just because we had cheers. 

  It's a great deal for many people but not so much for us. 

I like to enjoy local drinks in port too, and if I've already sunk a bunch in Cheers it is harder to justify spending off the ship for alcohol.

[CruisingViper]

On 7/6/2019 at 3:11 PM, beerman2 said:

Always love those who say "but I'm in port 3 days". Ok but pax are still ON the ship at 3 p.m. and don't go to bed until 11 p.m. Or so.

 

That's 8 hrs  right there. Average 1 drink an hour ( easy to do) and Cheers is paid for. That's not even taking into account having 1or 2 Bloody Mary's or Minosa's or Bailey's and Coffee with breakfast.

 

Certainly can't drink like I used too, but last cruise DW and I would have had a $1,350.00 bill for 8 day cruise. Drinks can add up in a hurry if you spend time at Achlemy.

username checks out

[beerman2]

51 minutes ago, CruisingViper said:

username checks out

LOL

(Beerman2) is how I paid the bills, having spent 20 years in the beer industry.

[cruiser8607]

Since we are doing cheers.  Any favorite drinks we must try.

[amyotravel]

Just now, cruiser8607 said:

Since we are doing cheers.  Any favorite drinks we must try.

All of them at Alchemy!! 🙂