Drinks packages - European Sailings

[lachelli]

Hello

 

I think I read sometime ago that Carnival doesn't offer drink packages on European cruises.  

 

Can anyone confirm if this is true? 

[EllaDuChien]

This is not true.  However, since you can bring alcohol on in every port on European cruises, it may not be worth it in Europe.

[cyntil8ing]

Not true. We had Cheers last week on Carnival Pride.

[nybumpkin]

5 hours ago, cyntil8ing said:

Not true. We had Cheers last week on Carnival Pride.

cyntil8ting, did you think it was worthwhile getting? We're sailing the Norway cruise next June.  We just had Cheers on Magic and it was worth it - but we had a lot of time on the ship (4 sea days and a port day when we stayed on the ship), and we also drank coffees and sodas.

[cyntil8ing]

23 minutes ago, nybumpkin said:

cyntil8ting, did you think it was worthwhile getting? We're sailing the Norway cruise next June.  We just had Cheers on Magic and it was worth it - but we had a lot of time on the ship (4 sea days and a port day when we stayed on the ship), and we also drank coffees and sodas.

 

I admit I drank a lot more than I normally would since I had the package. I wouldn't have had nearly as many had I been paying per drink. So, is it a value for me? No. Is it worth getting? I'd say yes.

 

I would have a coffee in the morning, then a rum punch when we got back onboard, then a sail away frozen drink, a cocktail at the show, followed by two glasses of wine with dinner, a cappuccino with dessert, another cocktail at the comedy show, then a nightcap at the casino bar.

 

I never got close to the 15 drink limit. In fact, one night when we arrived to the casino for our nightcap, the bartender remarked that our count was only four. That was the night we accidentally napped through dinner. Busy days!

 

 

[CruizinSusan70]

With European cruises skewed with longer, more tiresome ports than when you cruise the Caribbean, combined with the fact that you can bring on a bottle of rum or vodka back onto the ship from any given port, it's probably not worth it to get Cheers.  

[alliecat1970]

Clarifying I can buy a bottle of gin and bring on board carnival won’t hold onto it until end of cruise?      Thank you jay

[EllaDuChien]

38 minutes ago, alliecat1970 said:

Clarifying I can buy a bottle of gin and bring on board carnival won’t hold onto it until end of cruise?      Thank you jay

 

This is true.  The shop in the Carnival terminal in Barcelona sells liquor to bring on board, but you don't have to buy it there in order to bring in onboard.

[Schlinger]

On 8/18/2022 at 2:59 AM, EllaDuChien said:

 

This is true.  The shop in the Carnival terminal in Barcelona sells liquor to bring on board, but you don't have to buy it there in order to bring in onboard.

I saw that shop and you're right, you could take anything from there on the ship (Pride in May this year) as the security check took place before that.  I didn't realize that you were allowed to do this, and neither did I know that this was also the case for other European ports.  They did check my backpack in every other port, but never asked to see the bottles (of water) i was carrying in it.  I guess this explains that.

The problem I see with this is that you'd have to finish a whole bottle of liquor in one week as it's impossible to take back with you on the flight back.  I'd drink a nightcap before bedtime, but drinking in the cabin alone sounds pretty sad to me (I'd probably buy bourbon and my wife only drinks wine and pre-dinner cocktails).

[CruizinSusan70]

2 hours ago, Schlinger said:

The problem I see with this is that you'd have to finish a whole bottle of liquor in one week as it's impossible to take back with you on the flight back.  I'd drink a nightcap before bedtime, but drinking in the cabin alone sounds pretty sad to me 

Vodka or rum is popular since it's easy to mix with juice or soda.  It's less than 5 oz per day, or just a smidgen over 3 drinks, based on a liter bottle over 7 days.  They don't have to be consumed in your cabin.  

[cyntil8ing]

I admit that with this last cruise, my plan was to buy a local bottle of wine in port for dinner each night, then just pay per drink otherwise, but my husband insisted on getting Cheers. 

 

I get that Cheers is expensive, but it's such a convenience that I'll probably just factor it in to my cruise cost from now on. And since we usually choose between Celebrity and Carnival, it makes the cost comparison fairer anyway since it's included with most Celebrity rates (so are tips and wi-fi).

 

When bringing on my own, I am responsible for shopping for it and lugging it on and going back to my cabin every time to get a new drink. But most importantly, I am stuck with that drink. To me, having a bottle of rum in my cabin would be like having to choose which chicken dish I wanted for dinner each night.

With Cheers, I can walk up to any bar on the ship and order whatever I like. And most importantly, I get those great cocktail cherries Carnival has!