Drinks on Carnival Sensation cruise
May 15th, 2011, 06:25 PM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 192
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Drinks on Carnival Sensation cruise
We are thinking of taking a carnival cruise. What is the cost of drinks? Do they offer prepay coupons? Can you take your own alcohol with you? Has anyone taken the Sensation cruise recently? We will be leaving from Port Canaveral and will be in the area to visit our son so we thought we would take a quick 4 day cruise. We have never been on a cruise. Any words of wisdom would be appreciated. thanks to all you fodorites.
May 15th, 2011, 08:14 PM
#2
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 4,080
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Seems Carnival has relaxed it's bring on board drink policy although they tend to keep it a secret.
During Spring Break on the Valor we were able to freely bring soft drinks and water on board. If a bottle of wine or two happen to get lost in the mix or well
Drinks on board are EXPENSIVE .. about $9 a mixed drink and $6 for beer. Kids soda cards were available. Not sure about Carnival but other cruise lines do offer pre-paid alcohol account.
During Spring Break on the Valor we were able to freely bring soft drinks and water on board. If a bottle of wine or two happen to get lost in the mix or well
Drinks on board are EXPENSIVE .. about $9 a mixed drink and $6 for beer. Kids soda cards were available. Not sure about Carnival but other cruise lines do offer pre-paid alcohol account.
May 16th, 2011, 03:27 AM
#3
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 2,003
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
You can buy pre-paid coupons on their website through their Bon Voyage Department. You may also bring on board 1 bottle of wine and a 12-pack of soda or water per person over 21. You may not bring any other alcoholic beverages on board with you, but apparently you can call Bon Voyage and arrange for a bottle or two to be waiting for you in your stateroom. And soda cards are also available for adults, although they are a little more expensive than the ones for kids. Coffee, tea, iced tea, lemonade, and breakfast juice are available at no extra charge.
There are forums on their website, and there are a lot of Carnival veterans over there who can be very helpful. Amazingly enough, Carnival doesn't seem to do a whole lot of censoring, either, so some of the discussions can be almost as lively as ones here. Smuggling liquor on board and how to dress for formal night are particular hot button topics. It is a great way to find out about things that Carnival does not widely publicize, however.
There are forums on their website, and there are a lot of Carnival veterans over there who can be very helpful. Amazingly enough, Carnival doesn't seem to do a whole lot of censoring, either, so some of the discussions can be almost as lively as ones here. Smuggling liquor on board and how to dress for formal night are particular hot button topics. It is a great way to find out about things that Carnival does not widely publicize, however.
May 18th, 2011, 11:45 AM
#4
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 7,437
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
We took a Carnival from Port Canaveral. Anything other than wine we tried to carry with us was taken (including water). Onboard, everyone said put a bottle or two of your favorite libation in your bag and it won't be confiscated.
Drinks in general on Carnival are no more expensive than other lines (essentially resort prices). They do daily specials and I believe a wine package but I wasn't really impressed with either option. I bought a soda card for the cruise. We made a lot of lemonade using the lemon wedges and sugar substitute (free).
You can do prepaid coupons, they're marketed as a gift for someone going on a cruise. I don't think they save you any money, but might be useful for budgeting rather than putting it on your room and being shocked later.
Drinks in general on Carnival are no more expensive than other lines (essentially resort prices). They do daily specials and I believe a wine package but I wasn't really impressed with either option. I bought a soda card for the cruise. We made a lot of lemonade using the lemon wedges and sugar substitute (free).
You can do prepaid coupons, they're marketed as a gift for someone going on a cruise. I don't think they save you any money, but might be useful for budgeting rather than putting it on your room and being shocked later.
May 21st, 2011, 04:31 PM
#5
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 347
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
My experience last Fall was that they adhered exactly to their written rules regarding carrying booze onboard. Drinks of the day were $6.75 + tip = $7.76, bucket of Mich Ultra (4 of them, I think) was $21 + tip = $24.15. We carried on a bottle of champagne, which we drank as we sailed away. Everything we carried on went through (wine, sprite)- but everthing we tried to slip through in our checked bag was confiscated and delivered to us the last night onboard. As it ended up, my bar tab was as much as my ticket.
