This week, Carnival cruisers received an email informing them that the CHEERS! Beverage Program is increasing in price. For cruises 5 days or less, Carnival will increase the price of the program by nearly 20% from it’s current price point of $59.95 to $69.95.
The $10 price increase goes into effect on Monday, October 9 2023, so cruisers still have some time to lock in their savings. And since all passengers in a cabin are required to have CHEERS!, booking before the price goes up will save a cabin with two people $100 over the course of a 5-day cruise.
Longer Cruisers Unaffected
Carnival shared that cruises 6 days or longer would maintain the $59.95 price. We speculate that it has to do with the fact that it’s likely easier to get closer to your daily limit on alcoholic drinks on a 3-5 day cruise versus a longer one. This means, the margin to Carnival on the shorter cruises was suffering as they go through more liquor on the CHEERS! Beverage Program. Raising the price adjusts the margin back in Carnival’s favor.
15 Day Drink Limit Stays Put
Carnival Cruise Line’s Brand Ambassador John Heald took to his popular Facebook page last week to share a post from a cruiser that criticized Carnival’s 15 alcoholic drink daily limit. Heald asked his followers if they thought the 15 alcoholic drinks daily limit was reasonable. Thousands responded with many commenting that it was more than sufficient. Many even asked for a smaller package at a lower price point.
Prices Continue To Rise
Carnival Corporation’s CEO shared that the cruise line has not seen consumer spending slow down all year. In fact, the cruise operator is running out of cabins to sell! Onboard revenue has continued to increase at the same time that cruise fares have increased. Over the past year, we’ve seen the cost of internet, shore excursions, onboarding specialty restaurants, and more increase. Both Carnival Corporation and Royal Caribbean Group have shared they believe there’s still room for more cost increases.
Time will tell if the CHEERS! Beverage Program will increase for cruises longer than 5 days. At least for now, it’s one thing that Carnival isn’t raising the price on.
