cheers package out of Galveston

[NavyCruiser]

That's why in over 30+ cruises, we've never bought the Cheers pkg.  But after hundreds of "Free Cheers" promo emails from Carnival, we've  just "upgraded" to get it on our 5-nights' cruise out of Galveston later this yr, it only added $60 total more per person, so guess it's worth it.  Even though that pkg won't have alcohol on first day, even non-alcoholic coffee & soft drinks might make it worthwhile...

[SNJCruisers]

5 minutes ago, NavyCruiser said:

...on our 5-nights' cruise out of Galveston later this yr, it only added $60 total more per person, so guess it's worth it.  Even though that pkg won't have alcohol on first day, even non-alcoholic coffee & soft drinks might make it worthwhile...

15 bucks per day for Cheers....that's a bargain.  I say 15 because your first day out of Galveston does not include the Cheers package so you will not get the non alcoholic stuff on day one.  It will start at 600AM on day 2, so it's 60 bucks spread over 4 days, so it's 15 per day.

[sparks1093]

16 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

 

Seems like there is no way around what Texas requires regarding only certain brands that were purchased in Texas that can be served on board while in Texas waters.  On the other hand, the NY requirement is adhered to by Carnival and ignored by NCL, allowing the drink package to be served on the NCL ships that embark from NYC and all they do is officially tally in the drinks once the ship hits international waters.  I have to assume they know about this in Albany, but it seems like it's a non closable loop hole that NCL is taking advantage of and has for years.  I'm surprised that Carnival does not follow suit since that is money sitting on the table for them to obtain. 

They may or may not know, but I would suspect that they don't because as you say that's money sitting on the table for them to obtain. I'm not sure what the auditors look at when they do an audit but this would require them to look at each passenger's portfolio, noting that they have a drink package and then noticing that no passenger has any drinks on their portfolio until the next day. Even non-cruisers know that the booze starts flowing as soon as passengers get onboard. And it is a closable loop-hole-- cease the practice or face fines and possible ejection from NY ports of call for continued non-compliance. Of course if someone at Carnival put a bug in Albany's ear....

[sparks1093]

15 hours ago, NavyCruiser said:

That's why in over 30+ cruises, we've never bought the Cheers pkg.  But after hundreds of "Free Cheers" promo emails from Carnival, we've  just "upgraded" to get it on our 5-nights' cruise out of Galveston later this yr, it only added $60 total more per person, so guess it's worth it.  Even though that pkg won't have alcohol on first day, even non-alcoholic coffee & soft drinks might make it worthwhile...

That's an awful lot of coffee and soft drinks in a short period of time, but if it's a promo as you say it might be worthwhile for some. But Carnival would probably have to re-program the onboard computers in order for it to happen and I doubt that they see it as being worth their while (plus there is the whole crew training thing and not everyone sailing would necessarily have the promo). We've only ever had a drink package once and it was on Royal when they lowered the price of the package into the neighborhood of what we spend on drinks anyway. I did enjoy trying every drink I'd ever heard of that I'd always wanted to try (found some new favorites along the way) but I also ended up drinking more than I normally do so I doubt we'll ever pay for another package (excluding promos such as this, of course).

Edited February 26, 2021 by sparks1093

[simplelife]

On 2/24/2021 at 4:15 PM, NavyCruiser said:

 

So why doesn't Carnival serve non-alcoholic drinks on the first/embarkation day under the Cheer pkg...?

Because state tax was not paid on the Cheers package.

[simplelife]

On 2/26/2021 at 7:45 AM, sparks1093 said:

That's an awful lot of coffee and soft drinks in a short period of time, but if it's a promo as you say it might be worthwhile for some. But Carnival would probably have to re-program the onboard computers in order for it to happen and I doubt that they see it as being worth their while (plus there is the whole crew training thing and not everyone sailing would necessarily have the promo). We've only ever had a drink package once and it was on Royal when they lowered the price of the package into the neighborhood of what we spend on drinks anyway. I did enjoy trying every drink I'd ever heard of that I'd always wanted to try (found some new favorites along the way) but I also ended up drinking more than I normally do so I doubt we'll ever pay for another package (excluding promos such as this, of course).

We figured we get our money's worth with the cheers if we drink 10 drinks a day between us.  That's not hard to do especially since a couple of specialty coffees add up to the price of one alcoholics drink. Free bottled water and soda add to the value as well.

[sparks1093]

11 hours ago, simplelife said:

We figured we get our money's worth with the cheers if we drink 10 drinks a day between us.  That's not hard to do especially since a couple of specialty coffees add up to the price of one alcoholics drink. Free bottled water and soda add to the value as well.

Yes, but to pay the full price for Cheers for the first day just to enjoy not having to pay for coffee and soft drinks? That is the crux of the discussion. Most people wouldn't want to do that, so on sailings out of Texas Cheers is only started (and charged for) on the second day. 

[GuardLB]

On 2/26/2021 at 6:41 AM, sparks1093 said:

They may or may not know, but I would suspect that they don't because as you say that's money sitting on the table for them to obtain. I'm not sure what the auditors look at when they do an audit but this would require them to look at each passenger's portfolio, noting that they have a drink package and then noticing that no passenger has any drinks on their portfolio until the next day. Even non-cruisers know that the booze starts flowing as soon as passengers get onboard. And it is a closable loop-hole-- cease the practice or face fines and possible ejection from NY ports of call for continued non-compliance. Of course if someone at Carnival put a bug in Albany's ear....

I did a NCL out of FL that included a bev package and while I was in port they charged me the taxes for my drinks but not my drinks. One of the bartenders told me about it the rest just charged me. 

[ProgRockCruiser]

On 2/27/2021 at 5:47 PM, simplelife said:

Because state tax was not paid on the Cheers package.

I meant to get back to this earlier:

 

Carnival charges any applicable (e.g. State) sales taxes while in port.  Most foreign ports do not have local sales taxes as such, so they are not collected.  But every US state probably has them, and Carnival charges those taxes until out of port and in international waters (or whatever is the requirement).  Even if you have Cheers, local sales taxes will still be applied and charged to your account.

 

The issue with TX and NY is that the alcohol served while in port must be poured from bottles that have the state duty stamp that proves proper TX/NY duty tax was paid on the original purchase of the bottle/container in accordance with TX/NY law.  Those bottles/containers have to bought in TX/NY, through official distributors.  That differs from FL, for example, where Carnival can pour from any bottle, as long as they collect (and pay) the state sales tax.

 

Pouring from the TX/NY duty-stamped bottles is more expensive for Carnival, so they don't offer Cheers for that first day in port.  And they offer fewer selections, which helps keep the price down (cheaper selections) and easier to manage (they don't have to duplicate their entire alcohol offerings).

 

After they leave port, the duty-stamped bottles are put away, and Carnival pours from the much less expensive (for them to buy) bottles sourced elsewhere.

[SNJCruisers]

32 minutes ago, ProgRockCruiser said:

I meant to get back to this earlier:

 

Carnival charges any applicable (e.g. State) sales taxes while in port.  Most foreign ports do not have local sales taxes as such, so they are not collected.  But every US state probably has them, and Carnival charges those taxes until out of port and in international waters (or whatever is the requirement).  Even if you have Cheers, local sales taxes will still be applied and charged to your account.

 

The issue with TX and NY is that the alcohol served while in port must be poured from bottles that have the state duty stamp that proves proper TX/NY duty tax was paid on the original purchase of the bottle/container in accordance with TX/NY law.  Those bottles/containers have to bought in TX/NY, through official distributors.  That differs from FL, for example, where Carnival can pour from any bottle, as long as they collect (and pay) the state sales tax.

 

Pouring from the TX/NY duty-stamped bottles is more expensive for Carnival, so they don't offer Cheers for that first day in port.  And they offer fewer selections, which helps keep the price down (cheaper selections) and easier to manage (they don't have to duplicate their entire alcohol offerings).

 

After they leave port, the duty-stamped bottles are put away, and Carnival pours from the much less expensive (for them to buy) bottles sourced elsewhere.

You are correct regarding TX.  While in TX waters, there are limited alcohol choices from TX and the full range of choices comes out once international waters are hit.  NY does not require NY stamped bottles.  They just do not allow unlimited drink packages.  NCL  gets around this when they disembark from NYC by keeping a tally and not officially entering the drinks into their system until they hit international waters.  Thus they bypass the NY state rule.  Carnival follows the NY rule to the letter and that is why Cheers doesn't start until day two.

[ProgRockCruiser]

1 hour ago, SNJCruisers said:

You are correct regarding TX.  While in TX waters, there are limited alcohol choices from TX and the full range of choices comes out once international waters are hit.  NY does not require NY stamped bottles.  They just do not allow unlimited drink packages.  NCL  gets around this when they disembark from NYC by keeping a tally and not officially entering the drinks into their system until they hit international waters.  Thus they bypass the NY state rule.  Carnival follows the NY rule to the letter and that is why Cheers doesn't start until day two.

Ah, thanks for the correction!  I had mis-understood it to be the same for the two states.  I have now learned something new for the day, so I can book off work and just go goof off, right?

[sparks1093]

3 hours ago, GuardLB said:

I did a NCL out of FL that included a bev package and while I was in port they charged me the taxes for my drinks but not my drinks. One of the bartenders told me about it the rest just charged me. 

Wonder why they don't do that on the sailings out of NY?

[sparks1093]

3 minutes ago, ProgRockCruiser said:

Ah, thanks for the correction!  I had mis-understood it to be the same for the two states.  I have now learned something new for the day, so I can book off work and just go goof off, right?

You have my permission (which probably isn't worth a darn, but still...).🤪

[SNJCruisers]

2 hours ago, ProgRockCruiser said:

Ah, thanks for the correction!  I had mis-understood it to be the same for the two states.  I have now learned something new for the day, so I can book off work and just go goof off, right?

Nothing wrong with "daydreaming " at work and discussing the various topics involved with our favorite method of vacationing.

You could even venture over to the Royal boards and be entertained  by the discussion about whether children need to be vaccinated or not once cruising resumes.  Make sure to bring an extra large popcorn.   😁

[simplelife]

On 2/28/2021 at 5:42 AM, sparks1093 said:

Yes, but to pay the full price for Cheers for the first day just to enjoy not having to pay for coffee and soft drinks? That is the crux of the discussion. Most people wouldn't want to do that, so on sailings out of Texas Cheers is only started (and charged for) on the second day. 

We'd have to drink enough the other days to make up the difference 😄 We don't sail out of Texas, so have not had to do this, but definitely see why you would not but Cheers until the second day.

[bury me at sea]

34 minutes ago, simplelife said:

We'd have to drink enough the other days to make up the difference 😄 We don't sail out of Texas, so have not had to do this, but definitely see why you would not but Cheers until the second day.

 

You can't buy Cheers for the fist day out of Galveston.  The package there begins on the second day.  You are not charged for Cheers the first day.

 

You can buy any alcoholic drink that is offered that day and of course all the non-alcoholic drinks you want.  You simply pay for them.

[NavyCruiser]

OK.  Guess the confusion for us is that we upgraded our cruise out of Galveston to the "Cheers" promo at an added cost, extra $60 per person for the entire 5 day cruise.  We even think about paying for it per day, so guess it still a good deal for just 4 days of drinks, even without the 1st day included....

[SNJCruisers]

3 minutes ago, NavyCruiser said:

OK.  Guess the confusion for us is that we upgraded our cruise out of Galveston to the "Cheers" promo at an added cost, extra $60 per person for the entire 5 day cruise.  We even think about paying for it per day, so guess it still a good deal for just 4 days of drinks, even without the 1st day included....

You're saving about 90 bucks a day between the two of you, so it's an understatement saying it's a good deal.  You're lucky to have been chosen one of the recipients of the RU1-RU3 codes. 

[TheSweetLife220]

Does anyone know the difference between the RU1, RU2 and RX1 Cheers packages?

[SNJCruisers]

2 hours ago, TheSweetLife220 said:

Does anyone know the difference between the RU1, RU2 and RX1 Cheers packages?

Answered in the other thread, but you only get one in your offers box, you can't choose one that the Carnival promotional gods have not bestowed upon you.  

[aka-texas]

On 3/2/2021 at 10:47 AM, SNJCruisers said:

You are correct regarding TX.  While in TX waters, there are limited alcohol choices from TX and the full range of choices comes out once international waters are hit.  NY does not require NY stamped bottles.  They just do not allow unlimited drink packages.  TEXAS DOES NOT ALLOW UNLIMITED DRINK OFFERS ALSO, so.....no Cheers in Tx waters

 

[SNJCruisers]

41 minutes ago, aka-texas said:

 

Thanks for shouting in caps in the middle of my response from almost 3 weeks ago.

[lovetocruise79]

So out of curiosity, why doesn't carnival follow NCL in keeping track and just charging once in international waters to allow the use of drink package from day 1?

Edited March 22, 2021 by lovetocruise79

[sparks1093]

11 hours ago, lovetocruise79 said:

So out of curiosity, why doesn't carnival follow NCL in keeping track and just charging once in international waters to allow the use of drink package from day 1?

Probably because Carnival has been in enough trouble with the law. 

[sparks1093]

13 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

Thanks for shouting in caps in the middle of my response from almost 3 weeks ago.

While it wasn't the best way to quote you it was a good reminder that Texas law doesn't allow unlimited drink offers.