Carnival Cruise Drink Packages (CHEERS! and More)
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In this ultimate guide to Carnival cruise drink packages, we’ll break down everything you need to know before deciding if the drink package is right for you.
From the different package options to the drinks included in each, we have all the info you need to make the best choice for your vacation. Cheers!
Carnival Cruise Drink Packages
Carnival Cruise Line offers a simple choice between two drink packages.
Carnival’s straightforward approach to its beverage packages makes choosing the best package for your needs easy. Choosing a beverage package comes down to whether or not you drink alcohol.
The CHEERS! package is the “all-inclusive drink package” because it includes virtually every drink onboard the ship, up to a $20 value. Bottomless Bubbles is Carnival’s non-alcoholic beverage package.
CHEERS! Beverage Package
Carnival Cruise Line’s Cheers! Beverage Package is the cruise line’s “all-inclusive package,” offering a range of non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages for one flat price.
The Cheers! package starts at just $59.95 per person per day for each day of your cruise. It’s important to know that there’s an 18% gratuity added when you buy the package.
We recommend purchasing the CHEERS! program in advance of sailing because package prices are higher on the ship. If you wait to buy it once onboard, the price is $64.95 per person per day plus the 18% service charge.
You can pre-purchase the package until 10:00 pm the night before you embark on the cruise ship.
Carnival’s CHEERS! beverage package is arguably the most comprehensive package you’ll find on mainstream cruises. There are hardly any restrictions on what drinks you can get, and the maximum price per drink is a generous $20—higher than many other cruise lines.
The package covers almost every drink from the Carnival drink menu.
One important thing to mention is that Carnival has a policy limiting the number of alcoholic beverages you can buy. The limit is 15 alcoholic drinks in a 24-hour period, from 6 am to 6 am.
While this restriction has raised a few eyebrows among some passengers, in our experience, it’s rarely an issue. The majority of people never come close to the 15-drink limit.
According to Carnival’s website, Carnival’s CHEERS! beverage package includes the following:
- Soft drinks
- Juice
- Spirits & cocktails
- Zero-proof frozen cocktails
- Beers
- Wine by the glass
- Energy drinks
- Specialty coffee and tea
- Bottles of water
- Milkshakes (where available)
- 25% discount on spirit or wine by the glass above $20.00
- 25% discount on wine and champagne bottles
- 25% discount on beverage seminars and classes
Although the Carnival CHEERS! drink package is very inclusive, but there are some restrictions. For example, the drink package doesn’t include minibar or room service purchases.
The CHEERS! package doesn’t include the following:
- Beverages promoted and sold in souvenir glasses
- Bottles of liquor
- Drinks offered on the gangway
- Beverages purchased through room service, minibars, or in-stateroom beverage programs
- Sharing cocktails, pitchers, buckets, floaters, and tubes
- Self-serve wine from the Enomatic wine machines
- All other beverage-related programs, including merchandise, cigars, and cigarettes
- Drinks purchased at port or private islands, including Princess Cays and Half Moon Cay
To purchase the drink package for your next Carnival cruise, visit: https://www.carnival.com/drink-packages/cheers-package/cheers-SUM
If your cruise embarks from Texas or New York, it’s important to know that state laws prevent you from using your drink package on the first day of your itinerary.
Instead, any beverages you buy on the first day are billed to your onboard account. Your Cheers package becomes active at 6 am on the second day of your itinerary.
But don’t worry.
You’re not charged for the package on the first day. So, despite the little delay, you still get full value for your purchase.
Bottomless Bubbles
With Carnival’s Bottomless Bubbles drink package, you can indulge in unlimited soda and juice for the entire length of your cruise.
Bottomless Bubbles is just $6.95 per day for kids and $9.50 per day for adults. Remember that an 18% service charge is added at the time of purchase.
However, there are a few things this package doesn’t cover. The unlimited soda package doesn’t include bottled water, hot drinks, room service, mini bar beverages, drinks offered at the gangway, or alcoholic drinks. But with the amount of soda and juice you can enjoy, you’ll find it provides great value and convenience.
To purchase the drink package for your next Carnival cruise, visit: https://www.carnival.com/drink-packages/bottomless-bubbles-package/
Carnival Drink Prices
When deciding whether or not to purchase the drink package, it is a good idea to calculate how much you would be spending if you bought the individual drinks rather than the package.
Knowing the prices before you cruise can help you decide if purchasing a drink package makes financial sense. If you spend less money buying individual drinks, the package might not be worth it for you.
Here are the average prices for drinks on a Carnival cruise:
| Drink | Average Price |
|---|---|
| Beer | $7.00 – $9.00 |
| Wine | $9.00 to $14.00 |
| Cocktails | $10.00 -$15.00 |
| Spirits and mixers | $7.00 to $15.00 |
| Soft Drinks | $2.75 |
| Specialty Coffee | $2.00 – $5.00 |
| Energy Drinks | $5.00 |
| Smoothies | $6.50 |
| Bottled Water | $1.50 |
Carnival Cruise Line provides a variety of complimentary beverages, including:
- Water
- Lemonade
- Iced tea
- Coffee (regular or decaffeinated)
- Hot tea
- Hot chocolate
- Chocolate Milk
- Milk (regular or skim)
How to Get a Discount on the Drink Package
Carnival’s drink packages rarely, if ever, go on sale. We’re not saying they won’t ever go on sale in the future, but we’ve never seen them sell at a discount.
We recommend purchasing the package before your cruise begins because the price of the package is higher when purchased on the cruise ship.
You save 10% when you pre-purchase the package. The savings add up to more than $50 over a week-long cruise.
You can pre-purchase the beverage package up to 10:00 pm the day before embarkation and take advantage of the savings.
Are Carnival’s Drinks Packages Worth It?
Generally speaking, the CHEERS! drink package is worth the price if you consume six or more drinks per day.
However, the exact number depends on the cost of the drinks you order.
If you’re considering purchasing a drink package, it’s best to do the math to make sure it makes financial sense. For most passengers, we think you’ll actually spend less money when you purchase individual drinks.
One often-forgotten consideration is whether you will be getting off the ship at ports of call.
While exploring the port, you won’t be visiting the poolside bar to purchase drinks throughout the day, but you will still be paying for the drink package. And you can’t use the drink package at ports of call.
Additionally, if one person purchases the drink package, all adults sharing a cabin must purchase the same plan.
So, while the drink package might be worth it for you, you’ll need to consider the drinking habits of your travel companions.
Before purchasing the drink package, you’ll also want to consider how many drinks you’ll have each day and how much time you will spend on the ship.
If you’re on the fence and aren’t sure whether the drink package is right for you, check out our full article: Is the drink package worth it on a cruise ship?
Carnival Drink Package FAQs
Is There A Daily Limit Of How Many Drinks You Can Order?
Yes. Carnival allows passengers to purchase up to 15 alcoholic drinks in a 24-hour period (from 6:00 am to 6:00 am). The limit only applies to alcoholic beverages. So feel free to indulge in unlimited juice and soda.
How Many Drinks Can You Buy at One Time?
You can order only one drink at a time when using your beverage package. The restriction will likely prevent passengers from sharing the drinks package with other guests, which is against Carnivals’ terms of use.
Can the Drink Packages be Used at Carnival’s Private Islands?
No, passengers cannot use Carnival’s drink packages at either of their private islands; Princess Cays and Half Moon Cay. Any drinks purchased at the private islands are charged back to your Sail & Sign card.
Does Carnival Have a Specialty Coffee Package?
Carnival does not offer a Specialty Coffee Package. The CHEERS! drink package includes specialty coffees. You can purchase specialty coffees individually if you don’t have the CHEERS! package. Regular coffee and hot tea are free and can be found in the main dining room, buffet, or room service.
Does Bottomless Bubbles Include Coffee?
Carnival’s Bottomless Bubbles drink package does not include specialty coffee. Regular drip coffee is complimentary on Carnival Cruise Line.
Do I Have to Buy the Drink Package for the Entire Cruise?
Yes, you must purchase the drinks package for the entire cruise. You cannot buy the package for individual days.
The only exemption to this policy is for Carnival cruises that depart from New York or Texas when you aren’t allowed to use the drink package on the first day of the cruise. Sailings departing from Texas and New York have the drink package activated at 6 am on the second day of the cruise.
Can Just One Person Buy the Drink Package?
Carnival’s policy mandates that if one adult purchases the drinks package, all adults sharing the stateroom must purchase the same package.
If one adult in the stateroom cannot drink for medical or religious reasons, you can call Carnival and ask for an exemption. Exemptions aren’t guaranteed, but we have met passengers who didn’t have to purchase the drink package for their travel companion.
Can I Share the Drink Package?
You cannot share either Carnival drink package. Carnival mandates that every adult sharing a cabin must purchase the same drink package to prevent sharing.
If a cruise ship employee catches you sharing the drink package with other passengers, the cruise line will cancel your package without a refund.
Are Wine And Champagne By The Bottle Included In The Drinks Package?
No. Bottles of wine and champagne are not included in the drink package.
But, guests can purchase bottles of wine or champagne at a 25% discount as part of the CHEERS! drink program.
Can I Bring Drinks on a Carnival Cruise?
Each adult can bring one 750ml bottle of wine or champagne in their carry-on luggage on embarkation day. Further, guests can bring 12 sealed, unopened cans or cartons of non-alcoholic beverages.
You can consume the wine or champagne in your stateroom. But, if you want to drink it at a bar or restaurant, Carnival charges a corkage fee of $15 per bottle.
Can You Get Free Drinks in the Casino?
You can get free drinks in the onboard cruise ship casino when you collect 1500 points while playing. After collecting the required points, you’ll receive a “Drink On Us” card, which allows you to get free drinks while playing.
You earn one casino point for every $2.50 you play on the slot machine.
So, you’ll need to spend $3750 at the Carnival casino to get free drinks. And once you accumulate 5000 points, you’ll also receive a Drink On Us card for your next Carnival cruise vacation.
It’s important to note that you can only use the Drink on Us card while you are actively gambling.
We don’t recommend gambling for the sole purpose of winning “free” drinks. You’ll likely spend more money playing than the cost of the drinks. But the Drink on Us card is a great benefit if you plan on playing.
Do Carnival cruise ships serve Coke or Pepsi?
Carnival cruise ships serve Pepsi and other PepsiCo sodas such as Mountain Dew and Bubly. You won’t find Coke or Coca-cola beverages on a Carnival cruise. Since January 2020, only Pepsi and PepsiCo drinks are available on Carnival.
Is the Carnival CHEERS Package Refundable?
If you opt to purchase the Cheers package before your cruise and then realize you no longer require it, you have the ability to receive a refund up until 9:00 pm on the night prior to the start of your cruise journey.
However, you can’t get a refund for the drink package after the designated time.
Can You Purchase the Drink Package With Onboard Credit?
Yes, you can use your onboard credit on Carnival Cruise Line to purchase either drink package.
We don’t recommend using onboard credit to purchase the drink package because you can only use your onboard credit on the ship. That means you’ll be paying the higher price of the package compared to purchasing it in advance.
