How to Get the MOST Out of Your Carnival Cheers! Drinks Package in 2024

[@candigirl1788]

This is THEE BEST video I have seen about this topic. Thanks for doing the research for us!!

[@laughremixsquad]

This was incredibly helpful. Keep the useful content coming! ❤

[@lacheazure]

Thank you, although I’ve cruised before I’ve never bought the drink package. I’m considering buying for my upcoming cruise so this video was extremely informative & very helpful 😊

[@JessicaCastro-mk6nv]

Thank you for an incredibly detailed and informative video!

[@TheApprehensiveRVerDessy]

Thank you, super helpful! I just sent it to my son because you did a way better job then me explaining the cheers package.

[@bettylanza83]

Great video, thank you for all the information.

[@Gregory-Masovutch]

It will cost us $2,158 plus an additional 18% Gratuity if we were to get the Cheers package on an 18-day Carnival cruise for a couple. Insanely a total joke.😢

[@genesnyder2985]

Unless you get a coffee or two a day some water then a few drinks by the pool and wine at meals we have went 2 times without it and both cost more than if we had it and we don’t ever get drinks over the 20$ Its not cheap but we find it works out for us

[@EmbraceToday-travel]

I agree, that is ridiculously expensive! I’m surprised that no cruise line offers a bigger discount for their drinks package on two week or longer cruises. The price might make sense on a shorter cruise, but I think there are alot of people who don’t drink enough to make it worth it on longer cruises.

[@nataliajimenez1870]

I travel with powdered drink mixes and a variety of tea bags, plus make sure to bring the allowed champagne/wine bottles and the bottles for fizzy drinks. Then just buy a few hard drinks if we feel like. And if it's a very port-intensive itinerary it's cheaper to drink while in port

[@rolandhoffman4456]

great info again, thanks!

[@livingthevacationlife]

Awesome review, very informative, I'll share this with my group, some are considering. As far as kids, any insights if chocolate milk is included with breakfast/dining service or does it require the kids drink package? We're contemplating if we should carry on some for our son

[@EmbraceToday-travel]

Yes, chocolate milk is included for free at breakfast. They have the little 1/2 pint containers with chocolate, 2%, and fat free milk. I only saw these at breakfast, though, not lunch or dinner. There are also instant hot chocolate machines near the coffee makers that are availble all the time.

[@jysonjackson]

Are we allowed to order a drink with the cheers package while dining (ex. At a Steak dinner) or just chilling at the pool? Or do all cheers package drinks have to be ordered from the bar?

[@EmbraceToday-travel]

Yes, definitely! Cheers covers drinks ordered anywhere on the ship. Main dining, specialty dining, at the pool, in the casino, etc.

[@jysonjackson]

@@EmbraceToday-travel Sweet! Thank you 🙏🏾

[@alexis-rebeccajackson648]

So both my 18 yr old daughter and I do not drink sodas. I want to drink alcohol all 5 days of the cruise and have my morning coffee a few days. She’ll have water. Which package would you recommend? This is our first time cruising and I’m getting confused

[@EmbraceToday-travel]

You should get the Cheers! package. That will cover your coffee, alcoholic drinks, and bottled water. Your daughter doesn’t have to get a package because she is under drinking age. And if she doesn’t drink soda there would be no benefit of getting Bottomless Bubbles. Hope that helps! Have a great first cruise!!

[@curekad.4570]

Hi. So we will be going on Carnival cruise in a few months as a family of four, there will be 3 of us thats ober 21, but my husband is the only one that drinks alcohol, so that means 2 of us will have to purchase a card for nothing, when we don't drink alcohol?

[@EmbraceToday-travel]

You call up Carnival and ask them to put your husband on the Cheers plan and give the other 2 of you the Bubbles (soda only) package. They are usually willing to do that, but you have to talk to an actual person, not just through the app. But remember, you never “have” to purchase a drink package. Your husband can just pay for his drinks one at a time - if the rest of you are only having the complimentary drinks, then this will most likely be less expensive. Have a great cruise!

[@curekad.4570]

@EmbraceToday-travel Hello and thanks so much, that's some very helpful information. I can't wait we will be going in March. Thanks again.

[@annettemartinez4063]

Great video! Does it include premium rum such as Bacardi?

[@EmbraceToday-travel]

The Cheers package includes any drink under $20 - which is MOST of the varieties of Bacardi. However, the Bacardi Gran Reserva Limitada is $22, so this one is NOT included. If you order this, you’ll be charged $22 minus a 25% discount plus an 18% tip = $20.77.

[@elizabethramsey2429]

Question for clarification: You're saying when I'm doing the math to calculate the cost of the cheers package, for my 7 night cruise, I do 70.74 X 6?

[@EmbraceToday-travel]

No… well, maybe! 🙃 For most cruises, you would take the daily drink package rate times the number of nights of your cruise. So for a 7 night cruise, it would be $70.74 x 7. This can be kinda confusing because a 7 NIGHT cruise is actually 8 DAYS - but you aren’t charged for the drink package on the last day (disembarkation). HOWEVER, if your cruise is departing out of Texas, New York, or Virginia, then because of state laws you would pay for one day less. In this case, your 7-night cruise would be $70.74 x 6. BUT, if you get any drinks before 6 am of Day 2 on your cruise, you’ll be paying out of pocket. I hope that clarified things and didn’t just leave you more confused! 😀

[@jackiejoYT]

Where I get confused is I’ve purchased Cheers package with included the 18% gratuity…. But depending on what I order, am I going to be looking at an additional 18%?! Like $2 per cocktail? So would I get hit with another bill at the end of the cruise?

[@EmbraceToday-travel]

No. Although I agree it is confusing :) When you buy the Cheers package, gratuities ARE included. You will NOT get charged again when you order a drink at the bar - unless you voluntarily put an amount in the “tip” section when you sign your bar tab. You would see this appear on your cruise account in your app - and if you didn’t authorize this, you should definitely go to Guest Services and make them take it off! The one charge you might see on there is tax. But this only applies if you order a drink in a US port where Carnival is required to collect sales tax.

[@jackiejoYT]

@@EmbraceToday-travel okay! Thank you!

[@susanvanderhaar2670]

Thank you so much!

[@Mctaerin]

​@EmbraceToday-travel not just AT the U.S. port but while in U.S. waters

[@704musicent]

Can you save a little more money and use the AARP Carnival gift cards to pay for the drink package?

[@EmbraceToday-travel]

Yes, thanks for the tip! Just buy the AARP Carnival cards, then go online to your Carnival account and purchase the Cheers package. When the payment screen comes up you should have an option to pay with a gift card.

[@mrstyle25]

Bravo!, Bravo!

[@mylessmith8059]

Wait so if carnival makes you pay on the taxes, I’ll still have to pay a bill at the end of the cruise, even if I have a drink package?

[@EmbraceToday-travel]

Yes, but there are no taxes when you are in international waters, which is most of the time. We had the drink package on our last cruise, the tax ended up being less than $1 for 5-6 drinks that we ordered when not in international waters.

[@mylessmith8059]

@@EmbraceToday-travel oh ok, thank you. Still not better than Royal Caribbean’s drink package with all the restrictions, but we’ll give it a shot on our first carnival cruise in January

[@nestorreyes242]

I saw another video where the guy said that the Cheers package doesn’t work at ports, did he mean when you are off the ship or the time the ship is at the port? If you know something about it pls let me know

[@EmbraceToday-travel]

He meant when you are off the ship. If you stay on the ship, you can use your drink package regardless of whether you’re at sea or at port. Although when the ship is at some ports, you might be assessed a tax based on the drink price.

[@AnissaMorris-c4p]

So if I’m three days into a 7 day cruise and want to purchase the cheers package at that point, I wouldn’t be able to purchase?

[@EmbraceToday-travel]

No, according to Carnival’s rules, you can’t. And I haven’t heard from anyone that they’re willing to bend those rules at all.

[@trav5043]

So what if i buy a drink thats excluded from the package like a drink in a souvenir glass or on a carnival private island? Does it count against the 15, it shouldn't since its excluded from the package, right?

[@EmbraceToday-travel]

Hmm… that’s a great question! It isn’t specifically addressed in the fine print. What Carnival DOES say is “Program allows for up to 15 alcoholic drinks, per 24-hour period (6:00am - 6:00am). Once the limit is reached, the guest will not be served ANY additional alcoholic drinks.” Meaning - AFTER you reach 15, you can’t get any more. But if you go to the private island, buy some drinks there, and then come back on the ship to use your drink package - I’d say the private island drinks don’t count. (Keep in mind, though, that the bartenders can refuse to serve you at anytime at their discretion - I did see that happen once.)

[@HTS_LLC]

The drink package doesn’t include souvenir drinks nor drinks on private island!!

[@Pats_Monster]

No, you cannot use the dispenser as part of Cheers.

[@EmbraceToday-travel]

Thanks for letting me know!

[@JunkmansSonsSister]

I remember them being covered, and I found this on their website: "The following beverages are available within the CHEERS! program: All spirits, including cocktails, cognacs, whiskies and other spirits, as well as beer (including self-serve beer stations - PYOB) and wine and champagne by the glass, with a $20 USD or lower menu price per serving "

[@EmbraceToday-travel]

Wow, thanks for that. I see that on the Carnival website now. I’m pretty sure Carnival added that since I did this video, because I had copy and pasted the fine print into my notes when I was researching it, and the part in the parentheses wasn’t there.

[@JunkmansSonsSister]

@@EmbraceToday-travel I think it depends on where in the site, because I remember seeing it two years ago for my boyfriend's first cruise- but then I had to search for it to find it this time.

[@playboykrome]

I wanted the cheers package but my wife doesn’t drink much and they are making us pay for two people for a 5 day cruise …no way

[@EmbraceToday-travel]

Did you try calling Carnival directly - rather than booking the drinks package online? They are often willing to allow a non-drinking spouse to buy the Bottomless Bubbles rather than the Cheers package. Just be sure to tell them that she doesn’t drink at all, not that she doesn’t drink “much” 😉

[@tonysimpson9895]

@@EmbraceToday-travel Negative, no more exceptions due to, you guessed it, sharing.

[@jusadude7162]

I’m about to cruise with Carnival for the first time (I’ve cruised several times on other lines) and after watching this, Carnivals drink packages are the worst of all the others. I drink very lightly thankfully. But the most despicable part of it, they serve PEPSI products 🤢

[@EmbraceToday-travel]

Haha, yeah I know. I think they’re one of the few cruise lines that have Pepsi instead of Coke!

[@LeeZellous]

Why do you say this is the worse?

[@texquin]

The mention about it being a Texas Law to start on the second day is not accurate. Royal Caribbean leaves right next to Carnival in Galveston, Texas. You start their drink package as soon as you step on the ship. Carnival does not want to cover the state taxes on the first day, Royal Caribbean does; Carnival is lying.

[@EmbraceToday-travel]

Yes, that’s a good question. I did notice that Royal Caribbean doesn’t have this restriction. Neither does Princess, and they are owned by the same company as Carnival. But I think it’s more complicated than simple taxes. When Carnival cruises out of Baltimore, they start the package right away but charge passengers tax on the drink. So there must be something in the wording of Texas state law that bans the Carnival drink package. Or maybe you are right, and the wording of the Texas law requires Carnival to pay the tax rather than pass it on to passengers. Anyways, it seemed like too much of a deep dive for this video, LOL!

[@JaniceCrowell]

Carnival did not have regular milk, just low-fat, on the Glory.

[@takeontravel9076]

I drink but can’t drink that much

[@takeontravel9076]

I’ve never been on a cruise and won’t ever. This is too complicated.

[@yungkalimusic]

Why am i paying 247$ ?

[@jimjab3631]

Went on a Walmart of the seas cruse as well and thought I was teleported into detroit. Never again, the reason the higher priced cruises are nice is that these thugs can't afford to attend and destroy it. Ymmv