Both Royal Caribbean and Carnival Cruise Line are after the same passengers as their namesake cruise lines: they're looking for families and catering to party-seekers.
The party aspect is something Carnival has tried to downplay a bit, given its not-quite-fair reputation for hosting unruly passengers. Royal Caribbean has embraced the party idea with its newest ship, the Utopia of the Seas, which runs short, 3- to 4-day “weekend” cruises.
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And while it's certainly possible to have a wonderful time on either cruise line without alcohol, drinking is a major feature of their cruises. Both companies offer a variety of bars on each ship and have focused on having truly distinctive bars on their newer ships.
For many cruisers, the wide variety of bars and drinks makes purchasing a beverage package an important part of their trip. Royal Caribbean's Deluxe Beverage Package (DBP) offers unlimited beer, wine, spirits, and cocktails, plus fresh-squeezed juices, specialty coffee, soft drinks, and milkshakes. Carnival's Cheers package is very similar, but stops offering alcoholic beverages to customers after 15 drinks per day (although all other drinks remain unlimited).
This is a major advantage for Royal Caribbean, as its package is truly unlimited (although visibly intoxicated passengers will be banned from boarding). However, it is not the only advantage Royal Caribbean has when selling its drinks package to passengers.
Image source: Carnival Cruise Lines
Royal Caribbean's beverage package works in more places
In addition to being truly unlimited (as long as you stay consistent), Royal Caribbean's DBP has another big advantage over Carnival's. In addition to being accepted on the cruise line's ships, it can also be used on its private islands, including Perfect Day at CocoCay and the currently closed Labadee, Haiti.
It is expected, though not confirmed, that DBP will be accepted at Royal Caribbean's upcoming “Royal Beach Clubs” in Cozumel and Nassau. These will be private island-style destinations that will incur an additional cost to visit (CocoCay and Labadee are included).
The fact that you can use the DBP on Royal Caribbean's private islands makes it even more valuable. On port days, people tend to consume fewer drinks, as many passengers are on land for much of the day. CocoCay (and Labadee when it's operating) offer several bars and bartenders who bring you drinks virtually everywhere.
Including these drinks in the DBP saves passengers money and will likely encourage some people to disembark or stay longer on the ship because they won't have to pay extra for drinks. And it's not just alcoholic drinks: the DBP also includes water, soft drinks and non-alcoholic cocktails.
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Carnival has not changed its Cheers package
Carnival does not specify exactly where its Cheers beverage package will be accepted. In fact, its private islands are not mentioned in the actual page which shares what is included and what is excluded from the package.
Another version of that page shows that “drinks purchased on the ship in any port of call, including Celebration Key, Half Moon Cay and Princess Cays,” Cruzely That language is no longer on Carnival's website — at least not on the page you first encounter when you go to book Cheers — but the cruise line's media relations team said its policy hasn't changed.
The media outfit also denied that its website had changed and did not respond to a request to clarify that the current exclusion list does not include private destinations on the exclusion list, while the version shown on Cruzely does.
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“We have not made any changes to that page,” the cruise line shared in an email response to Come Cruise With Me.
Celebration Key, the cruise line's newest private destination, is expected to open in August 2025.
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