All You can Drink Cruise? Are you in?

[mickeyd]

So for less that $50/day extra (including gratuity) you can drink your ass off 24/7? In my youth I may have taken them up on this and beat the system, but I can't drink that much these days.

Of course, if I went into training and really applied myself I bet I could do it for one day or so.

The per-cruise cost for the My Awesome Bar Program is $42.95 per person per day, plus a 15 percent gratuity. Purchasers can partake of a wide variety of wine, beer and spirits, as well as sodas, bottled water and non-alcoholic frozen cocktails throughout their cruise. (Specialty coffee is not part of the program.) However, all included beverages, including wines by the glass, beers and individual cocktails, must be less than $10 to qualify for inclusion. Program participants who want to purchase bottles of wine and Champagne, as well as more expensive wines by the glass and cocktails will receive a 25 percent discount.

Cruise and Booze: Carnival the Latest to Test All-You-Can-Drink Package - Carnival Cruise Lines

 

[freebird5825]

I'm in.

My last cruise in 2006 was a 7 day Grand Mediterranean. I carefully packed (leak proof), and declared to airport security at all points, a duty free 3L box of white wine in my check-in luggage. I made wine coolers in a plastic cup I brought along, using the free fruit juice mixes or paid for real fruit juice at the bar. I still had some wine left at the end of the cruise.

If there had been a beverage package deal like this, I would have jumped right on that. If I wanted a virgin fruit drink or a real stinger, no big deal either way. I don't drink soda except for the occasional ginger ale or root beer.

 

[MasterBlaster]

So for less that $50/day extra (including gratuity) you can drink your ass off 24/7? In my youth I may have taken them up on this and beat the system, but I can't drink that much these days.

Of course, if I went into training and really applied myself I bet I could do it for one day or so.



Cruise and Booze: Carnival the Latest to Test All-You-Can-Drink Package - Carnival Cruise Lines

Financially you'd have to drink more than 8 domestic bears or 5 imported beers/glasses of wine every day to come out ahead.

I am not so sure this is a positive development. All I can see is a bunch of problems.

 

[NW-Bound]

I have not taken a cruise with Carnival as I heard that its clients were young and most boisterous. Now, with this all-you-can-drink deal, more the reason for me to stay away. I was too old for this even 30 years ago.

... drink more than 8 domestic bears...

Looks like a Freudian slip from a poster who just came from a recent thread that simultaneously discussed financial advisors for millionaires, bacon, RV'ing in Alaska, and grizzly bears.

 

[Buckeye]

I have not taken a cruise with Carnival as I heard that its clients are young and most boisterous. Now, with this all-you-can-drink deal, more the reason for me to stay away. I was too old for this even 30 years ago.

We went on a Carnival cruise Aug 11 - Aug 16 on one of the smaller ships out of Tampa to Cozumel and Grand Cayman. Of the 2000 cruisers, 900 were under 18. We went in March out of Canaveral to the Bahamas. 1000 of the cruisers were under 18. The boisterous ones are definitely young, usually 13-15 years old.

We spent about $20 ($10 each) a day on alcohol so the package price would be far over our consumption rate even if we doubled or tripled it. I didn't quite finish the bottle of wine I took. We prefer to consume our calories in food form!

 

[MasterBlaster]

Looks like a Freudian slip from a poster who just came from a recent thread that simultaneously discussed financial advisors for millionaires, bacon, RV'ing in Alaska, and grizzly bears.

It was just a typo.

I often switch "a" and "e' after consuming 8 or more bears.

 

[Moemg]

I looked at that package but our bar bills for cruises are never that high. We have wine with dinner and maybe a few drinks at the comedy club .

 

[MasterBlaster]

One of the selling points of the very upscale cruise lines is their "free" drinks/open bar policy. Comparing their cost to Carnivals (or Celebrity) package makes the mass market lines seem like even more of a deal than before.

For a mere $350 a week extra one could seriously test their limits.

 

[mickeyd]

(Specialty coffee is not part of the program.

Interesting that this would be excluded. Don't we feed coffee to drunks to sober them up? Or, they could just drink "non-specialty" coffee.

 

[MasterBlaster]

I believe that "specialty" coffee refers to things like Cappuccino, Cafe Latte, espresso etc.

As I recall regular coffee is available 24 hours a day to anyone with or without their bar program

 

[haha]

I had more than enough fo this kind of thing in college. I really do not enjoy drunks, male or female.

 

[Nemo2]

I had more than enough fo this kind of thing in college. I really do not enjoy drunks, male or female.

+1

 

[l2ridehd]

I did an all inclusive vacation once where the wine and beer was part of the deal. The wine was not drinkable and the beer was so watered down it was tasteless. I even bought a bottle of the terrible wine to send to someone I really disliked and told them to save it for a special occasion. I think it was made in Mexico.

 

[BruceinGa]

We went on a Carnival cruise Aug 11 - Aug 16 on one of the smaller ships out of Tampa to Cozumel and Grand Cayman. Of the 2000 cruisers, 900 were under 18.

Looks as if my wife and I will be on the same cruise early in November.

 

[donheff]

I had more than enough fo this kind of thing in college. I really do not enjoy drunks, male or female.

It is worse when they are adults. I was at an all inclusive with unlimited sugary beach drinks and the drunk slobs were obnoxious. I watched a good Samaritan semi drunk nurse tend to a 40 something woman who vomited all over herself and passed out. I would have been tempted to roll her into the pool.

 

[growing_older]

One of the concerns I have about cruising is the sheer number of other passengers crowded into ship sized spaces. With this program, I can now be assured that a significant number of them are trying to get value for their money by drinking heavily all day, every day. I'm not seeing this as a positive development.

 

[Moemg]

Celebrity & Royal Caribbean Cruises have offered the same thing since2011 but because Carnival is known as the party ship it gets bigger headlines . The way to avoid the partying is to cruise when school is in and never on spring break .

 

[Badger]

After the second beer I'd fall asleep and miss the rest of the cruise. On my last cruise a few years ago I tipped the waitress a couple of dollars at the free champagne art auction. My glass was never empty and I missed most of the auction.

I think I'll pass. There aren't enough functional brain cells left that I could afford to lose any more.

Cheers!

 

[Meadbh]

This offer and many other varieties were options on my Celebrity cruise last January. While I met some fellow travelers who had availed of them, I did not see any visible signs of intoxication. I calculated that only heavy drinkers would save money and declined the package.

 

[rescueme]

The only thing I wonder about is how do you folks who take your own spirits/wine aboard get past the luggage scanner? You know, the one that "catches" all the bottle/boxes before you board?

We cruise quite often and know not to even try, since we've seen a lot of folks in line have their "stash" pulled (but returned at the end of the cruise).

 

[antmary]

Many of the drunks are simply doing research for AA.

 

[Buckeye]

The only thing I wonder about is how do you folks who take your own spirits/wine aboard get past the luggage scanner? You know, the one that "catches" all the bottle/boxes before you board?

We cruise quite often and know not to even try, since we've seen a lot of folks in line have their "stash" pulled (but returned at the end of the cruise).

Each adult is allowed a bottle of wine and 12 cans of soda. We met a guy on the last cruise who brought 2 liters of Coke with the rum already mixed in. I don't know whether he got questioned about it but he says he is very careful when he takes the lids off so as not to crack them and then replaces them after substituting some rum for Coke. Too much trouble!

 

[Buckeye]

Looks as if my wife and I will be on the same cruise early in November.

Kids are in school and you are nowhere near Spring Break or Thanksgiving so your boat should be filled with people over 18. You can call Carnival and find out the demographics. They know everyone's age when they book.

Have you been on Carnival? Do you know about the Serenity deck? That's where we spent most of our time. You have to be over 21 to be there. Padded deck chairs and two hot tubs. Deck 8 (?) aft. One deck below the Paris buffet dining room. Easy to run up and grap a snack, water, coffee, ice cream, etc.

Don't know if you are doing organized excursions, but if you are just wandering around, be sure to stop at Ernesto's Fajitas in Cozumel. I just posted a review on TripAdvisor.

 

[mickeyd]

The only thing I wonder about is how do you folks who take your own spirits/wine aboard get past the luggage scanner? You know, the one that "catches" all the bottle/boxes before you board?

We cruise quite often and know not to even try, since we've seen a lot of folks in line have their "stash" pulled (but returned at the end of the cruise).

Where there's a will there's a way, I guess. I have had some success in "repackaging" my Jack Daniels hooch by pouring it into smaller bottles/containers/vials/vessels and distributing them throughout the luggage (shaving kit, shoes, etc). It's more of an opportunity to see if I can beat the cruise line system (w/o breaking the law) instead of saving money.

Of course if I save money, that makes my cruise even more enjoyable.

 

[web_diva]

lol cruise and booze