Platinum Free Drink Question

[simplelife]

I will be Platinum next cruise and have a benefits question. I know there is a 
"Free Drink at Seaday Brunch" perk. My question is: If there is more than one Seaday Brinch, do you get a free drink each time, or is this a one-time-per-cruise benefit?

[scottasp]

19 minutes ago, simplelife said:

I will be Platinum next cruise and have a benefits question. I know there is a 
"Free Drink at Seaday Brunch" perk. My question is: If there is more than one Seaday Brinch, do you get a free drink each time, or is this a one-time-per-cruise benefit?

It's one and done.

[Wolfshair]

It's a 1 time per cruise benefit.

[cruisinpips]

Leaving on my 24th Carnival cruise in 23 days, I have never once used this “perk”, as a matter of fact I have never been to brunch now that I think about it. Really pretty useless to most I would say. I doubt if there is a 25% redemtion rate on these, so I am sure thats why Carnival sticks with it….

[staceyglow]

1 hour ago, cruisinpips said:

Leaving on my 24th Carnival cruise in 23 days, I have never once used this “perk”, as a matter of fact I have never been to brunch now that I think about it. Really pretty useless to most I would say. I doubt if there is a 25% redemtion rate on these, so I am sure thats why Carnival sticks with it….

Just because you don't use it doesn't mean that no one else does either. 

 

I have used mine on every cruise since I qualified for it. So I am going to say that the redemption rate is at least 75% 😊

[txcruiser1234]

23 minutes ago, staceyglow said:

Just because you don't use it doesn't mean that no one else does either.

Indeed! One other note is that you don't actually have to sit down for brunch... you can just swing by the dining room reception desk anytime during brunch and they will hook you up with bar service and you can be on your merry way with drink in hand...

[luv2kroooz]

Silliest perk with silliest rule ever. Load a drink credit on the account and remove the silly restrictions Carnival.

[shof515]

6 minutes ago, luv2kroooz said:

Silliest perk with silliest rule ever. Load a drink credit on the account and remove the silly restrictions Carnival.

 

i agree. the gold drink benefit is soo much better then the limited brunch platinum drink benefit. why are platinum restricted to where you can get a drink and not gold members?

[Crusin Karen]

I’ve been Diamond for a couple of cruises and just go to sea day brunch hostess and ask for my drink without being seated. And I usually take to cabin, take ice out, put in fridge and save for later. One thing i

believe is new since my cruise last june and my cruise last week-they charge 18% tip to your “free drink.” I was 🙄🤨 but $2.30 for a Bloody Mary not too bad. But please….and yes you should be able to “cash it in” at any bar on the ship. Just dumb! Cheers! 😉

[bar1068]

1 hour ago, luv2kroooz said:

Silliest perk with silliest rule ever. Load a drink credit on the account and remove the silly restrictions Carnival.

Totally agree, the restriction is a complete crock of poo, however, we and our travel companions inadvertently fell into a umm....workaround to this silly rule. We infrequently go to Sea Day Brunch, and when we do, prefer not to drink. However on our last few Carnival cruises, we've  gone to various bars on the last day of the cruise, ordered a drink, only to have the bartenders ask us did we want to use our "free drink coupon", the one we didn't use at brunch. We of course we're like, sure! My wife even went to a bar, got a soda, the bartender mentioned the coupon not being used, put it to the soda, wife asked not to, tender reversed it, and she used it later for a booze drink. Can't say this is an absolute, we'll see again next month if this still happens, but thats been our experience.

[simplelife]

On 1/17/2024 at 4:15 PM, scottasp said:

It's one and done.

Thanks, I thought that was the case but just wanted to confirm

[simplelife]

My understanding from reading on the  website and the comments here is that you can use it at any bar during sea day brunch hours,

[simplelife]

On 1/18/2024 at 7:19 AM, luv2kroooz said:

Silliest perk with silliest rule ever. Load a drink credit on the account and remove the silly restrictions Carnival.

That would make too much sense 😃

[mz-s]

On 1/18/2024 at 7:58 AM, Crusin Karen said:

I’ve been Diamond for a couple of cruises and just go to sea day brunch hostess and ask for my drink without being seated. And I usually take to cabin, take ice out, put in fridge and save for later. One thing i

believe is new since my cruise last june and my cruise last week-they charge 18% tip to your “free drink.” I was 🙄🤨 but $2.30 for a Bloody Mary not too bad. But please….and yes you should be able to “cash it in” at any bar on the ship. Just dumb! Cheers! 😉

 

The problem you're running into is the free drink certificate is only good for up to $10 I think. So you must pay the overage, plus the gratuity for that overage. Not many drinks are $10 or less anymore on Carnival. It's basically just beers or basic drinks like a Jack and Coke at this point.

 

My last few cruises I've just used my free seaday brunch drink for either a mimosa that I give to my wife, or just a diet Pepsi.

[mz-s]

On 1/18/2024 at 7:26 AM, shof515 said:

 

i agree. the gold drink benefit is soo much better then the limited brunch platinum drink benefit. why are platinum restricted to where you can get a drink and not gold members?

 

The seaday brunch drink was added to Platinum and Diamond back when seaday brunch was first instituted years ago. Gold never got anything like this.

 

Recall that originally, Gold was included in the past guest party. When they were eliminated from the party, they were given the free drink on the last evening of the cruise as a consolation.

[Crusin Karen]

8 minutes ago, mz-s said:

 

The problem you're running into is the free drink certificate is only good for up to $10 I think. So you must pay the overage, plus the gratuity for that overage. Not many drinks are $10 or less anymore on Carnival. It's basically just beers or basic drinks like a Jack and Coke at this point.

 

My last few cruises I've just used my free seaday brunch drink for either a mimosa that I give to my wife, or just a diet Pepsi.

I did not know there was a limit. I know they charged me $2.30 which I assumed was the gratuity. I ordered a Bloody Caesar. If it was $13 (not sure how much it is) the 18% would be $2.34. Still a good deal!  But if it’s free it should be free IMO. 🤷‍♀️

[DallasGuy75219]

On 1/23/2024 at 2:42 PM, Crusin Karen said:

I did not know there was a limit. I know they charged me $2.30 which I assumed was the gratuity. I ordered a Bloody Caesar. If it was $13 (not sure how much it is) the 18% would be $2.34. Still a good deal!  But if it’s free it should be free IMO. 🤷‍♀️

The terms and conditions of the VIFP program state, "One (1) complimentary specialty coffee, soda or alcoholic beverage with a value no greater than $10.00 + gratuity at Seaday Brunch."

 

So your $2.30 charge was the $1.95 overage on an $11.95 drink plus 18% gratuity on that overage. 

[ledges1]

I get my free drink every cruise at the sea day brunch. My wife and I ask for a beer unopened and take it back to the room for later. On top of that, the sea day brunch is better than the lido buffet in my opinion.

[Wolfshair]

My wife and I always use the free drink, we also just go to the dining room, order our drinks and then leave with them. I have to admit, I have always recommended to Carnival that they just give us a free drink at any bar.

[cruisinpips]

We have been Platinum for many cruises, 23 total for me and 24 for the wife. We have never claimed the free drink. I cannot remember ever going to sea day brunch either. We have always bought the drink package since it was introduced, so 1 free drink doesn’t interest us. I imagine Carnival has realized that most people are like us, and never use that perk. I think they should offer a % discount on the drink package based on Platinum and Diamond status, but that’s my two cents….

 

 

 

[ChuckF]

While it may not be the best value, we always get a specialty coffee at Sea Day Brunch as our free drink. 

[Wolfshair]

Just as a different opinion, my wife and I never get a drink package because it's not cost effective for us and we always go and get our free drink at the dining room. Different strokes for different folks.

[mz-s]

19 hours ago, ChuckF said:

While it may not be the best value, we always get a specialty coffee at Sea Day Brunch as our free drink. 

 

It's not always about best value. I usually order a diet Pepsi or something like that. I just don't want alcohol before lunch. Whatever works for you!

[Crusin Karen]

41 minutes ago, mz-s said:

 

It's not always about best value. I usually order a diet Pepsi or something like that. I just don't want alcohol before lunch. Whatever works for you!

I’m the same! I’m an “it’s 5:00 HERE” not somewhere drinker! That’s why I get my drink, take back to cabin, remove ice cubes and keep in fridge until 4:59.59 lol! 🍻

[Lee Cruiser]

On 1/17/2024 at 9:48 PM, cruisinpips said:

Leaving on my 24th Carnival cruise in 23 days, I have never once used this “perk”, as a matter of fact I have never been to brunch now that I think about it. Really pretty useless to most I would say. I doubt if there is a 25% redemtion rate on these, so I am sure thats why Carnival sticks with it….

My wife and I just completed cruise 24 and have only used that perk once or twice. One of those was at Cucina for lunch one sea day when my wife ordered a soda.  We didn't even know until later that the bar staff had given her the soda as her free drink. Another time after that we asked about getting a soda for lunch and was told that we could only get that in the dining room, so I guess it just depends on the ship and who you ask.  We liked the gold perk much better because we could use it at the coffee bar for a milk shake or other specialty drink.  We don't drink alcohol, so the party means nothing to us.  We rarely go to that either.