Carnival is the only major cruise line whose drink package doesn’t work at their private destinations.
Royal Caribbean passengers can use their drink packages at the cruise line’s Perfect Day at CocoCay private island, as well as its Labadee private resort, which is in the nation of Haiti.
MSC Cruises allows passengers to use its beverage packages at its Ocean Cay – MSC Marine Reserve private island.
On the other hand, at Carnival’s two existing private destinations in the Caribbean – Half Moon Cay and Amber Cove – cruisers are responsible for paying for their beverages, even if they’ve purchased Carnival’s Cheers Package.
Related: Carnival Cruise Line makes surprising health and safety change
Carnival is set to open its newest private destination, Celebration Key on Grand Bahama Island, which is clearly designed as a competitor to CocoCay. And many cruisers are upset that there’s no indication the Cheers package will work there either.
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Carnival has multiple private islands.
Image source: Carnival Cruise Line.
Carnival doesn’t plan to match its competitors
Carnival Brand Ambassador John Heald recently responded to a comment on Facebook.
Heald follower Bill LaSage asked “Since raising the drink package price to the same level as your competitors, wouldn’t you think the perks would be equal? The two major American competitors drink packages are valid at private locations.”
“Well, thank you, I understand and let me just reiterate that Celebration Key is not a private island. It is part of the grand Bahamas, and so it is different to perhaps what other cruise lines have. But it is going to be an absolutely brilliant destination and I’m very excited for you to see it I really am,” Heald replied.
To be fair, Heald is correct. Celebration Key is not a private island like CocoCay is. But having a private resort attached to another island (like Royal Caribbean’s Labadee) hasn’t been a roadblock for competitors to honor their drink packages. Similarly, Carnival has a true private island in the form of Half Moon Cay, and that hasn’t been cause for Carnival to honor its CHEERS! package.
We reached out to Carnival for comment on its beverage package policies and plans but had not received a reply at the time of this writing.
Carnival passengers are frustrated
For many cruisers (myself included), the ability to use a drink package at a cruise line’s private destination is a major factor when deciding if I should buy it. We just recently booked a 4-night MSC cruise that includes an overnight stay at Ocean Cay, and the $280-per-adult charge wouldn’t have been worth it if we couldn’t use it for those two days off the ship.
The same can be said when I’ve taken Royal Caribbean 3-night cruises that feature a stop at CocoCay.
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On the other hand, the fact that Carnival’s Cheers package doesn’t work at any of its private destinations makes me think twice about buying it. There’s one sailing in late 2025 I have my eye on that includes stops at both Celebration Key and Half Moon Cay. But I absolutely would not buy the package, knowing I’d have to pay a bar tab at both places.
It isn’t just about the money – at most ports, my wife and I will buy a drink or two at local establishments and are completely fine with it. But I share many cruisers’ opinions that it feels wrong to pay a cruise line for all of your beverages throughout your vacation, just to have to pay the same company another bar tab (for beverages that in many cases were literally carted off the ship that morning).
To be fair, Heald did not explicitly say that it won’t work, but if Carnival had plans to make the drink package available at Celebration Key, his answer would likely be different. He ended his reply to the Facebook comment by saying “(Carnival) will be highlighting more about this as we get closer to the opening.” In other words, stay tuned.
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