Carnival Cruise Line Makes a Major Beverage Change

Entire social-media groups are devoted to the various all-you-can-drink packages offered by the major cruise lines. 

People love to share not only what their favorite drinks are, but their thoughts on the best bars, favorite bartenders, and (sometimes) exactly how much value they managed to extract from the drink packages they bought.

In the Royal Caribbean (RCL) - Get Free Report Deluxe Beverage Package Facebook group, for example, people readily share pictures of drinks as well as lists of how many beverages they have consumed. 

That's not always all alcoholic drinks -- since the packages include soda, juice, some shakes/smoothies, and specialty coffee as well -- but booze is the majority of it.

Since these packages cost a set price per day, per passenger, the people in these social-media groups want to demonstrate what they saved by purchasing an unlimited package. 

Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH) - Get Free Report, and MSC Cruises all offer truly unlimited drink packages (although they will cut you off if you are visibly intoxicated). But Carnival's Cheers! beverage package limits people to 15 alcoholic drinks per day. 

That may sound like more than any person can drink, but at least some passengers hit that limit (and when they get shut off, they're generally not happy). 

There was, however, another way to get yourself a drink while onboard, but Carnival has decided to do away with that option.

Carnival Wants to Control Liquor Consumption

Every cruise line limits where and how alcohol gets consumed while passengers are onboard. 

Carnival, like its major rivals, allows passengers to bring two bottles of wine with them per cabin when they board. And while the cruise lines, along with the ports they stop in, sell alcohol by the bottle, any purchases made are stored by the ship and returned to the passenger late on the last night of the cruise.

Ostensibly, Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, MSC, and the other cruise lines want to more or less be able to see how drunk passengers are. That oversight enables them to cut off service (and politely suggest a walk or a cup of coffee).

There has, however, been one other way to get hard liquor in your room that's not breaking the rules. Carnival has allowed passengers to order full bottles of liquor to be delivered to their rooms. That's a policy the cruise line has decided to get rid of, Carnival's loyalty ambassador, John Heald, shared on his Facebook.

"My apologies. You will have seen that we no longer have full bottle liquor sales available on preorder. Hard liquor is no longer available for preorder on our Fun Shops. All existing sales will be honored and guests can still preorder up to two bottles of wine for onboard delivery and consumption," he wrote.

Heald went on to explain why the change was made.

"The change is because it will help us monitor drink consumption on board and I do apologise for any frustration," he added.

He made clear that the decision was not about saving money or staffing issues (which have caused some other recent changes.

“This is not a cutback. Not when it affects our revenue can this be called a cutback," he wrote.

Cruise Lines Must Balance Fun and Safety

All cruise lines reserve the right not to serve a passenger who is visibly intoxicated no matter what beverage package the person has paid for. Heald shared the news and many of the people in his Facebook feed seemed angry at the suddenness of the change.

"Another thing Carnival is taking away. And this time without any warning," John Hendrickson shared (a sentiment similar to many other posts).

"Would have been nice if they sent communication to the travel agents prior so we could be prepared . I had a client ask me about it and i had to search to see if it was true," wrote Latisha Mitchell-Donald.

Some members of the group were angry because they travel with another adult who does not drink alcohol. Carnival generally requires all adults in the same cabin of legal drinking age to purchase the Cheers! package in order for anyone to purchase it. (Calling the cruise line may get you an exception to that rule, but that is technically the policy.)

"I am sailing in December with a nondrinker. I’ve never ordered liquor before. I normally get Cheers even with free drinks in the casino," Kimberly King shared.

While liquor bottles can no longer be ordered, orders placed previously will be honored.