Carnival Cruise Drink Packages

It’s good to have options. If we didn’t have options all our closets would look like Doug Funnie’s.

A TINA.org reader thought she was getting options when Carnival advertised that she could save 10 percent with “prepaid bar and soft drink packages,” compared to what she would have to pay for the same drink packages once she was on board.

But despite the plural “packages,” our reader said only one of the three drinking packages Carnival offers was eligible for the 10 percent discount: Carnival’s CHEERS! beverage program, which is good for up to 15 alcohol drinks per day, in additional to other non-alcoholic beverages. The other two are Bottomless Bubbles, an unlimited soft drink package, and Cruise the Vineyards, a wine deal.

“The ONLY one with a discount is Cheers,” our reader wrote, noting that she’s been on 18 cruises with Carnival. “However they advertise bar and soda packages.”

And CHEERS! has its own strings attached to it. For example, if one person in a room gets the drink package, everyone in the room has to get it. The cost is $51.95 per person per day plus 18 percent gratuity when purchased before boarding and $56.95 per person per day plus 18 percent gratuity when purchased on the ship. That’s the 10 percent discount, though Carnival warns:

Price adjustments (up or down) implemented on the day of sailing will replace any previously advertised price.

TINA.org asked Carnival if CHEERS! was indeed the only drink package eligible for the 10 percent discount. In response to our inquiry, a spokesman noted the Bottomless Bubbles package but could not say whether it can be purchased at any type of discount.

UPDATE 5/6/19: Carnival now promotes a singular “prepaid bar and soft drink package” in connection with savings for those who purchase the drink package before they are on board. Our reader submitted the following screenshot.

Find more of our coverage on alcohol here.