Alcohol from Fun Shops vs Cheers Package

[sgttami]

1 hour ago, my kids mama said:

I totally agree.  We always buy cheers.  The only time I felt like it wasn't worth it was on a 10 day Med cruise.  We had 8 ports and were gone all day long.  We found ourselves ordering another drink just to get our moneys worth.  Our next cruise in December, I have free drinks anywhere on the ship.  I am glad that carnival decided to let us buy cheers just for my DH. I am sure they figured out real quick that people were sharing when only one person was awarded cheers. 

I used to buy Cheers but I get Drinks Anywhere for most cruises so I'm good.  I'm usually solo so I only worry about me.  In the old days, I'd have Cheers, room liquor, you name it.  Can't do that anymore (LOL)

I sometimes take 2 or 3 mini cans of V8 for my Bloody Mary since they never have that on a cruise.

[tinkr2]

If its to save money, then bring your mixers on board. They can be all different as long as not glass. Like I had red bull, juice and soda water. But I wouldn't not get a drink you want one. The fun of a cruise is having that fun blue tropical drink with fruit. But definitely buy a bottle for drinks to walk out of the room with.It is a big money saver. And yes , I had a rum runner for the private island. Easy to carry.

[new_cruiser_75]

comparing Cheers to buying a bottle to be delivered to the delivered to the room... never thought of THAT equation and it's definitely one to consider!  And unless you're drinking a bottle every 2 days buying bottles is probably the better deal (bottom line).  Not as convenience, but better for the bottom line 😉 

[Denise72]

Lots of people view this as "if I drink 6-8 drinks a day it pays for itself." while I see their perspective, I just can't get on board with it. My view is in what world would I spend almost $1000 on alcohol, etc in one week??? I just can't

 

On our upcoming January cruise we were able to book with the free cheers for only $300 more than the cruise had already been booked for (difference in price from the time we booked). I am a little concerned about getting spoiled having the package this time though LOL.

 

So if it were me I would order the bottles to the room.

[drafterdw]

On 11/10/2021 at 1:00 PM, HollyHobbie22 said:

Interesting....I didn't know if you purchased alcohol from the Fun Shop you got to take it right then. I thought it was held until the last night. This may be a nice option for some. 

You have to pre-order and it will be delivered to your room before you board. We have done that several times but decided not really worth running back to room or carrying a flask around.

[sab666711]

We do both. I don't think i have a drinking problem. LOL

[boomhower]

For ligher drinkers ordering from the shops before the cruise can make sense.  My wife hardly drinks and I am pretty heavy on vacation.  With my Booz/water plus her sodas/coffee/milkshakes we always make out.  Another factor is freedom.  I can go where I want and get what I want.  Have the same liquor with a few different mixers would get old for me.  It certainly isn't cheap but our cruises are the one splurge we do during the year. We work hard and want to get the most of it. 

[Schoifmom]

19 hours ago, Denise72 said:

On our upcoming January cruise we were able to book with the free cheers for only $300 more than the cruise had already been booked for (difference in price from the time we booked). I am a little concerned about getting spoiled having the package this time though LOL.

 

We did the same thing on our last cruise, and I had the same concern.  We paid attention to what we were drinking and I ran the numbers when we got home.  Even with our non-alcoholic drinks, we would not have broken even on Cheers had we paid full price for it.  The total increase for our cruise was something like $150, so we did well with that.

[Joebucks]

I've done Cheers multiple times. Quite frankly, I hate it. The dream of unlimited (I know it's not) drinks wherever you are without having to worry about individual charges is a marketing dream. How could that not sound good?

 

In the end, I find myself drinking more to justify a high price tag. All of those mixers, sugars, etc make me feel like crap to drink 24/7. Day 3 or 4 is never as much to drink as much as day 1 or 2 was. Even my heavy drinking friends often take a day or so off.

 

For me, the bottle is the best deal, and it isn't even up for debate. The vast majority of my drinks on the ship are bourbon and ice. That 1 liter of bourbon is a LOT. You can bring canned mixers. I used to, but don't want them anymore. I'll usually buy drinks out of pocket like a drink or two at alchemy (a must), a margarita at blueiguana, and sometimes the beer sampler. I like those things, but not all day, everyday. I don't "worry" about these costs. I worry about blowing my money on stupid things.

 

As for the "inconvenience" of having to go to my room for drinks, I find it to be the complete opposite in many scenarios. When I go to the pool area, I am almost always coming from my room. I can fit a nice heavy pour in my tumbler that will last quite a while. There is no convenience in waiting on the staff or lines at the bar for dinky poors that will be gone in minutes. Often when getting ready for dinner, I love me a good pour of the wine I brought. I know carrying it to dinner is the end of the world for some people. It's quite ok to me to already be enjoying myself. We stop in the room a few times as day as we get ready, shower, grab things, use the restroom, etc. There's never any line in my room!

[sparks1093]

5 hours ago, Joebucks said:

I've done Cheers multiple times. Quite frankly, I hate it. The dream of unlimited (I know it's not) drinks wherever you are without having to worry about individual charges is a marketing dream. How could that not sound good?

 

In the end, I find myself drinking more to justify a high price tag. All of those mixers, sugars, etc make me feel like crap to drink 24/7. Day 3 or 4 is never as much to drink as much as day 1 or 2 was. Even my heavy drinking friends often take a day or so off.

 

For me, the bottle is the best deal, and it isn't even up for debate. The vast majority of my drinks on the ship are bourbon and ice. That 1 liter of bourbon is a LOT. You can bring canned mixers. I used to, but don't want them anymore. I'll usually buy drinks out of pocket like a drink or two at alchemy (a must), a margarita at blueiguana, and sometimes the beer sampler. I like those things, but not all day, everyday. I don't "worry" about these costs. I worry about blowing my money on stupid things.

 

As for the "inconvenience" of having to go to my room for drinks, I find it to be the complete opposite in many scenarios. When I go to the pool area, I am almost always coming from my room. I can fit a nice heavy pour in my tumbler that will last quite a while. There is no convenience in waiting on the staff or lines at the bar for dinky poors that will be gone in minutes. Often when getting ready for dinner, I love me a good pour of the wine I brought. I know carrying it to dinner is the end of the world for some people. It's quite ok to me to already be enjoying myself. We stop in the room a few times as day as we get ready, shower, grab things, use the restroom, etc. There's never any line in my room!

I have often found that I can make it back to our cabin and return to, say, the theater faster than a server can return with our drinks. The added benefit is the extra steps involved to help work off those darn buffet calories.

[Scfilla]

On 11/12/2021 at 12:09 PM, Joebucks said:

I've done Cheers multiple times. Quite frankly, I hate it. The dream of unlimited (I know it's not) drinks wherever you are without having to worry about individual charges is a marketing dream. How could that not sound good?

 

In the end, I find myself drinking more to justify a high price tag. All of those mixers, sugars, etc make me feel like crap to drink 24/7. Day 3 or 4 is never as much to drink as much as day 1 or 2 was. Even my heavy drinking friends often take a day or so off.

 

For me, the bottle is the best deal, and it isn't even up for debate. The vast majority of my drinks on the ship are bourbon and ice. That 1 liter of bourbon is a LOT. You can bring canned mixers. I used to, but don't want them anymore. I'll usually buy drinks out of pocket like a drink or two at alchemy (a must), a margarita at blueiguana, and sometimes the beer sampler. I like those things, but not all day, everyday. I don't "worry" about these costs. I worry about blowing my money on stupid things.

 

As for the "inconvenience" of having to go to my room for drinks, I find it to be the complete opposite in many scenarios. When I go to the pool area, I am almost always coming from my room. I can fit a nice heavy pour in my tumbler that will last quite a while. There is no convenience in waiting on the staff or lines at the bar for dinky poors that will be gone in minutes. Often when getting ready for dinner, I love me a good pour of the wine I brought. I know carrying it to dinner is the end of the world for some people. It's quite ok to me to already be enjoying myself. We stop in the room a few times as day as we get ready, shower, grab things, use the restroom, etc. There's never any line in my room!

Last cruise I had a bottle delivered to my room and used a flask and my bubba mug. Previously I felt the need to get “ my money’s worth” and was often bloated by the end of the day/trip. Felt much better this last time just ordering a drink if I wanted or mixing my own before I left the room.  Brought our 12 pack of soda and one bottle of wine each and all was good. Spent less, felt better and it was a win win for us.

if you’re an AARP member you can still buy $100 and $500 Carnival gift cards online at 10% off. I used them to pay off next cruise and have 1 $500 and 3 $100’s that I’ll apply to my account as needed while on our next cruise. 

[Scfilla]

Sorry for going off topic, but in the interest of being frugal (cheap), here’s my next cruise plan. We’re bringing two bottles, 1 each, Uno Mas margarita ready to serve from Wally World. I read about it elsewhere that it’s a margarita WINE and has been allowed as such on boarding when brought in as carry on and declared.

This mixed with the 12 pack of carry on Sprite soda will make a dozen of refreshing wine spritzers. We’re going with Peach and Strawberry and have enjoyed testing both extensively. LOL

[ray98]

That method can work if saving money is higher on the list than having full access to all the bars and drinks on board.  Cheers has become a huge part of the experience for us.  We know in advance what the cost is and it transforms the week into basically an all-inclusive.  To me the limitations of dragging around a flask is not worth the money savings.  I enjoy the freedom and we spend a good bit of our time around bars as we mingle during the day and catch entertainment at night.

[ray98]

46 minutes ago, Scfilla said:

Sorry for going off topic, but in the interest of being frugal (cheap), here’s my next cruise plan. We’re bringing two bottles, 1 each, Uno Mas margarita ready to serve from Wally World. I read about it elsewhere that it’s a margarita WINE and has been allowed as such on boarding when brought in as carry on and declared.

 

 

I would double check....those are usually the big 1.5L bottles and the allowance Carnival extends is for 750ML bottles.

[Scfilla]

1 hour ago, ray98 said:

 

I would double check....those are usually the big 1.5L bottles and the allowance Carnival extends is for 750ML bottles.

You are correct on my bottle size. Welp, guess we’ll be drinking these for thanksgiving.. lol Thank you sir!
 

[rcandv]

Thanks for your thoughts.  We bit the bullet and bought the Cheers Program for all adults. We'll see how it works out this time, and if we decide it wasn't worth it, we'll do it differently on our next cruise.

[Gabruska]

Our plan is to order 2 bottles of liquor from fun shops. Order 5 wine package from the main restaurant to have at dinners and bring two bottles of wine or champagne plus some mixers on board. Coffee every morning in coffee shop ( buys 5 get one free ) order bottles of water for the room.

Total money spend approximately $400.00 for both of us much cheaper than cheers $800.00

plus we get free drinks at the casino and we buys some drinks at ports!