For many cruisers, kicking back with a cocktail (or two or three!) is a quintessential part of the cruising experience. Whatever your drink of choice, a drink package makes it more affordable.
If you’re traveling with Carnival Cruise Line in the near future, here’s everything you need to know about the cruise line’s popular CHEERS! drink package, how to take advantage of it and the benefits you can expect.
In This Article:
- What is the Carnival CHEERS! Package?
- How Much is Carnival’s Drink Package?
- How Much Will I Spend Without the CHEERS! Package?
- What is Included in the CHEERS! Drink Package?
- What is Not Included in the CHEERS! Drink Package?
- Are There Any Other Restrictions to the CHEERS! Program?
- Are There Drink Packages That Don’t Include Alcoholic Beverages?
- How Can You Purchase the CHEERS! Package?
- When Can I Start Using My CHEERS! Package?
- Should You Buy Carnival’s Drink Package?
What is the Carnival CHEERS! Package?
Carnival’s CHEERS! drink package allows you to pay a flat daily rate for alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. You must be 21 years of age or older to purchase the CHEERS! package and each adult in a stateroom must purchase the package individually. You can’t share with your family members.
You can buy the CHEERS! package before you board the ship, or you can pay for it after you’re on-board the ship. While the package does charge a “per day” fee, don’t think that that means you can buy a CHEERS! pass for just one or two days out of your cruise. If you want to buy the package, you have to buy it for your entire cruise.
How Much is Carnival’s Drink Package?
How much you’ll pay for Carnival’s drink package will depend on when you buy it, as well as how long your cruise is.
If you purchase the package ahead of your cruise, you’ll pay $70.74 USD per person, per day for cruises of six days or more. For cruises of five days or less, you’ll pay $82.54 per person, per day. The purchase always comes with an 18% service charge.
If you wait and purchase the package after your cruise has departed, you’ll pay $76.64 per person, per day for cruises of six days or more. For cruises of five days or less, you’ll pay $88.44 per person, per day. Again, there’s also an 18% service charge.
Keep in mind that, while the cost difference between a pre- and post-embarkation purchase doesn’t seem that steep, only about $6, it can add up. If you’re on a seven-day cruise, that’s $42 extra per person.
If you want to purchase the drink package using a Carnival gift card, ahead of your cruise, you can only do so online, not by calling.
How Much Will I Spend Without the CHEERS! Package?
Don’t think you could ever drink enough liquids, alcoholic or otherwise, during a cruise to warrant a $70 per day, per person fee? Well, think again. Let’s consider what might be an average day on a cruise ship.
Keep in mind that Carnival’s beers start at $6.50, wine starts at $9.50, mixed drinks start at $7.50, cocktails start at $10.50. Soda is $2.75, coffee is $2.50 and up, energy drinks are $4.95 and bottled waters start at $1.50.
So let’s say you wake up and go to breakfast. You have a bottle of water because you’re dehydrated from the night’s fun before and you need a coffee to wake up. That’s $4. However, the mimosas look pretty good, too, so you have two: that’s $21.
Then, you head to the pool. Around lunch, you’re parched and thinking a beer might be nice, so you grab one to quench your thirst for $6.50. Then two more, because you’re on a cruise, so why not? Lunch beers end up being $19.50.
You drink another few bottles of water after you’ve been in the sun awhile ($4.50), and your energy’s lagging by late afternoon, so you grab an energy drink ($4.95).
Worth Reading: Carnival Cruise Gratuities: How Much and Why?
Then, you decide to grab a few drinks before dinner ($21), you have two glasses of wine at dinner ($19) and one night cap afterward ($7.50). That’s assuming you don’t hit the nightclub and really have a great time.
What was your total cost for the day? $101.45. Do the same thing over a seven-day cruise and you just spent $710.15 on beverages, when you could’ve spent $495.18 with the CHEERS! package. That’s a big difference!
Despite all this, maybe you still say you really don’t think you’ll get your money’s worth out of the CHEERS! package. If that’s the case, we encourage you to keep reading, but also, consider how little you get without the CHEERS! package.
If you don’t have a beverage package, the only drinks you can have are non-bottled water, lemonade, unsweetened iced tea, hot chocolate and non-specialty coffee and tea.
That’s right! You won’t even be able to order soda without paying each time! Though, if you do want to order soda with a drink package, but you’re not interested in alcohol, there’s an unlimited soda program option for that as well, discussed below.
What is Included in the CHEERS! Drink Package?
So what all will you get if you spring for the CHEERS! drink package? You’ll be able to enjoy:
- All spirits, including cocktails, cognacs, whiskies and other spirits, as well as beer (including at self-serve beer stations) and wine and champagne by the glass, with a $20 or lower menu price per serving
- Sodas (including specialty sodas), zero-proof frozen cocktails (including smoothies), Lyre’s zero-proofcocktails and juices
- Specialty coffees and hot tea served in the main dining rooms, specialty restaurants and coffee bars
- Milkshakes
- Energy drinks
- 500-ml bottled water and other non-alcoholic bottled beverages served in bars and lounges
- Packaged water in the main dining rooms and specialty restaurants
In addition, if you purchase a package, you’ll also get a 25% discount off the menu prices for any spirit, cocktail or wine that costs $20 or more per serving (so basically any drink that costs too much to be included in your drink package), as well as 25% off bottles of wine and champagne, and 25% off beverage seminars and classes.
What is Not Included in the CHEERS! Drink Package?
Of course, the CHEERS! drink package is not a free-for-all. You won’t be able to just order anything and everything, all the time. Here’s what’s not included in the CHEERS! package, and what you’ll pay extra for.
- Spirits, cocktails and wines that cost $20 or more per serving
- Beverages promoted and sold in souvenir glasses
- Bottles of liquor, wine and champagne
- Beverages offered at the gangway
- Beverages offered through room service, mini bars and/or other in-stateroom beverage programs
- Beverages purchased off the ship at any port of call, including Celebration Key, Half Moon Cay and Princess Cays
- Sharing cocktails, floaters, pitchers, tubes and buckets
- Beverages offered through enomatic wine machines
- Freshly squeezed orange juice served in the Havana Bar
- Main Dining Room fresh squeezed juice
You also can’t buy drink-adjacent merchandise like cigars or cigarettes.
Are There Any Other Restrictions to the CHEERS! Program?
Yes, there are some other restrictions that come with the CHEERS! package, beyond just particular drink orders that aren’t included in your package.
The biggest one to know is that the package still isn’t technically all-inclusive. It’s not a buffet. You can’t drink as much as you want. Package holders are limited to a maximum of 15 alcoholic drinks per 24-hour period.
After that, you’re completely cut off. Even if you want to pay the normal cost for a 16th alcoholic beverage, you’re not allowed. (However, you can order unlimited non-alcoholic drinks.)
Other restrictions include, but not are limited to:
- You can only order one drink at a time and you must wait five minutes between drink orders.
- Sharing is not permitted
- You cannot order double shots
- If you purchase a round of drinks for yourself and friends, you only get one drink out of that round as part of your CHEERS! package. The rest of the drinks must be paid for individually.
- You can only purchase opened bottles and cans (so you can’t purchase multiple unopened bottles and cans and horde them up).
- The package is only refundable up until 10 p.m. ET the evening before cruise departure.
Other restrictions apply, and you may need to pay local taxes in accordance with state laws. Make sure to read all the fine details before purchasing the CHEERS! package.
Are There Drink Packages That Don’t Include Alcoholic Beverages?
As we mentioned above, without any drink package whatsoever, you won’t be able to enjoy a range of drinks without paying for each individual drink order. It’s not just alcoholic beverages that you’ll pay extra for. Sodas and similar are also an extra fee.
The good news is, though, the CHEERS! package isn’t the only drink package that Carnival offers. If you want a drink package that gives you access to a wide range of drinks that aren’t alcoholic, you can purchase the Bottomless Bubbles package, which gives you as much fountain soda as you want, throughout your cruise. This includes Pepsi products and juices like tomato juice, cranberry juice and pineapple juice.
The Bottomless Bubbles package costs $11.21 per person per day for adults and $8.20 per person per day for children, including an 18% service charge.
How Can You Purchase the CHEERS! Package?
As mentioned, you can purchase the CHEERS! package either before or after your embarkation day. You can do so online or via phone, before the cruise. After the cruise departs, you can make this purchase by simply walking into any bar on your ship.
If you want to purchase the package ahead of time, which is highly recommended, it’s one less thing you have to do once you’re on the ship, and because it’ll save you money.
Do note that there is a cut-off for when you can purchase the package ahead of the cruise. You must do so by 11:59 p.m. ET, the evening before your cruise departs.
When Can I Start Using My CHEERS! Package?
Ready to hit the high seas and enjoy all the benefits of your Carnival Cruise Line CHEERS! package? There’s one last important thing to know.
Depending on your departure port, you may not be able to use your CHEERS! package during the first day of your cruise. This is the case if you’re departing from Texas, New York or Virginia.
If your cruise departs from Texas, New York or Virginia, your package will be usable starting at 6 a.m. on the second day of the cruise. Before that time, you’ll have to pay for your beverages like normal, at the a la carte fee.
Otherwise, if your cruise departs from any other state, your package will be usable as soon as you board the ship, so long as you pre-purchased the package. If you did not pre-purchase the package, it will become active as soon as you buy it from a bar on the ship.
Should You Buy Carnival’s Drink Package?
Yes, while it’s an extra cost and there are stipulations and limitations, don’t automatically turn up your nose at the thought of paying for a Carnival CHEERS! drink package. You could find you sorely miss out if you pass up on this purchase.
Read Also: When Is the Best Time to Buy a Royal Caribbean Drink Package?
After all, when you’re sailing through the Bahamas with the sea breeze in your hair and the sun on your face, it just feels natural to sip on a pina colada or a margarita. Or, if you’re sailing through the fjords of Europe or along the Alaskan coast, you might want a warming hot toddy or a spiked hot chocolate.
The CHEERS! drink package makes it possible for guests to have (most of) the drinks they want, (usually) when they want, without worrying about running up huge bills.
