The Carnival CHEERS! package costs $59.95–$84.95/person/day depending on sailing date, and you need to drink roughly 5–6 alcoholic beverages per day to break even — making it worth it for moderate-to-heavy drinkers but a bad deal for light drinkers.
Photo: Carnival Cruise Line
The Carnival CHEERS! package sounds like a dream: unlimited drinks, no tab anxiety, just swipe and sip. But 'unlimited' has a price, and that price might be higher than what you'll actually consume. Here's exactly how to figure out if CHEERS! puts money back in your pocket — or just lines Carnival's.
Watch: How much is the Carnival Cheers drink package worth it?
Published
Video Transcript
So you're looking at Carnival's CHEERS drink package. Sixty bucks a day. Eighty-five bucks on peak dates. Let me show you the actual math.
You need to drink five to six alcoholic drinks per day to break even. That's roughly one every three hours if you're awake for 15 hours. Five drinks.
Here's the thing — Carnival knows exactly who this is for. If you're the person having two mojitos by the pool and one drink at dinner? Skip it. You're paying for 5 and drinking 2. That's a loss.
But if you're someone who has a drink at breakfast, two by the pool, one at dinner, one after dinner? Yeah, you're in. For seven days that's the difference between spending $300 out of pocket or $420 to $595. And the package includes beer, wine, and drinks up to $15 each. Not top shelf, but decent.
Here's what Carnival doesn't advertise — this package doesn't include beer at the pool bars some days, depends on your ship. And gratuities? Eighteen percent gets added automatically. That's another $11 to $15 per day on top of the package price.
So your actual cost isn't $60. It's $73 to $100 per person per day once you add tips.
My take: If you're a moderate drinker, this barely works. If you're heavy, it saves money. If you barely drink, stick to cash and order what you want. You'll spend $20 and move on.
Full cost breakdowns at travelmutiny.com — link in bio.