Carnival Cruise Line raising Cheers drink package prices

Drink packages, for many passengers, don't count as an optional add-on.

A lot of cruisers don't want the uncertainty of a large bill at the end of their cruise. Many also enjoy being able to never think about cost as they sample everything from fresh juice and milkshakes to beer, wine, and cocktails.

DON'T MISS: Royal Caribbean makes a key beverage package change

Carnival Cruise Line (CCL) - Get Free Report, unlike its chief rival Royal Caribbean, uses a fixed price for its Cheers! beverage package. Passengers pay a set daily fee — currently $59.95 pre-cruise or $64.95 onboard — for access to all the non-alcoholic they can drink and up to (but not more than) 15 alcoholic beverages each day.

That's a set price, which applies to any cruise, which is a very different system than the one Royal Caribbean (RCL) - Get Free Report uses. Carnival's rival line uses dynamic pricing that can change regularly for the same cruise. 

Royal Caribbean charges anywhere from around $50 per day for its Deluxe Beverage Package, which includes truly unlimited drinks (as long as you are not visibly intoxicated) to over $100 per day. In general, Royal Caribbean customers pay more for their drink package and many order it, cancel it, get refunded, and buy it again if the price goes down.

Carnival has a more clear offer, which is about to get both more complicated and more expensive. 

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Carnival raises Cheers! drink package price    

Carnival Brand Ambassador John Heald used his Facebook on Oct. 3 page to share a price increase for its Cheers! beverage package, which will impact cruises shorter than 6 days.

"Now as you know or perhaps you do not, I do not drink alcohol and I will discuss more about that shortly. But first let me talk about the Cheers program because yesterday we sent an email to all the guests booked on 3, 4, and 5-day cruises that there will be a price change for the program which is as follows for cruises departing 12/01/23, and after," he shared.

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Currently, people who pay for Cheers! before their cruise pay $59.95 per day. That price will go up to $69.95 a day. Passengers who opt to book onboard will see the same $10 a day increase, from $64.95 a day to $74.95 a day. 

Carnival passengers on cruises six days or longer will not see a price increase.

"You have until the 8th of October to call us or to book online and grab the current price. I have also been asked by the beards to let you know that from October 9th – December 1st you will only be able to purchase the Cheers program for any cruise via your Cruise Manager and not by calling. This is so that the work my colleagues are doing on the website can continue," Heald posted.

Carnival considers more changes

Heald also acknowledged that he continues to share passenger requests for changes to Carnival's drink package offerings to management (the "beards," as he calls them). 

"I promise I have told the beards that some of you wish for a shorter Cheers program, a non-alcohol-based program and while there are no plans for these at the moment I promise I am letting them know your requests," he shared.

Carnival has a soda package but has no equivalent to Royal Caribbean's Refreshment Package, which includes all drinks aside from alcoholic ones.  

Heald's followers have also asked him if Carnival could copy another Royal Caribbean beverage offer. Chris Saunders posted about his recent experience on Carnival's rival:

"The crew were super nice just like they are on Carnival but the ship did have one thing we really liked and wish Carnival would do. We bought a coffee card which gave us 15 coffees on a 12-day cruise," he shared.

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Carnival has no coffee-only package and Royal Caribbean's coffee card is sold on many, but not all sailings. It includes specialty coffee at the onboard Cafes which serve Starbucks coffee, but not at the dedicated Starbucks locations.