Guest Boards Carnival Cruise In Miami. Then She Shares Common Way You Might Be Getting Ripped Off If You Buy The Drink Package

If the idea of drinking tap water while on a cruise ship makes your stomach churn, you may want to follow this travel influencer’s advice.

Kristine Explores (@kristineexplores1111) shared the way some Carnival Cruise-goers may not be getting the most out of their drink packages.

Drink Packages Are Not Just For Alcohol

Kristine says, “If you have the Carnival drink package, skip the tap water in the dining room. Ask for San Benedetto bottled water instead. It’s included in [the package], and most people don’t even realize they can order it.”

She shows off the bottle of the Italian drinking water brand along with footage of a member of the ship’s wait staff performing a long pour of water into Kristine’s glass.

Viewers thanked her for the travel tip. One person wrote, “Oh wow thanks! My cruise leaves in three weeks and I had no idea.”

Whereas another said that when they asked for bottled water, their servers brought out a different brand entirely. “Because I’ve never even heard of it [San Benedetto] before. They gave me Crystal Geyser,” they wrote.

Kristine replied to this commenter, intimating that cruise guests should ask for San Benedetto by name. “They don’t even mention it but they will get it for you,” she said.

And at least one person in the comments section of Kristine’s TikTok wanted to know if this drink was marked against a CHEERS! package holder’s daily allotment. “Does it count as one of the 15 drinks?”

Kristine replied that this isn’t the case.”

Is The Carnival Cruise CHEERS! Program Worth It?

Carnival’s drinking pass costs $83.94 (after taxes) per person each day if guests pre-purchase online. The price goes up to $89.94 once you are on board. This allows guests to consume 15 alcoholic beverages within a 24-hour period.

Carnival does reserve the right to put CHEERS! passengers in alcohol jail in the event they’re displaying any erratic behavior they believe may be attributed to drinking. That’s exactly what happened to one woman’s husband during their trip, only for his CHEERS! pass rights to be reinstated after 24 hours.

Does Carnival’s CHEERS! Beverage Package Include San Benedetto?

According to Carnival’s website, it sure does. Buying this package allows folks to enjoy “packaged water in the Dining Room and Specialty Restaurants,” Carnival notes.

Also covered in the drink package are “sodas, zero-proof frozen cocktails, energy drinks, specialty coffee, hot tea, 500ml bottled water and other non-alcoholic beverages.”

But there are some restrictions and rules appended to the CHEERS! Membership for guests while they’re on board. Of course, each passenger must be 21 years or older. And if you’re sharing a room with other adults, they’re going to have to purchase a CHEERS! package as well, in what’s more than likely an attempt to curb folks from sharing drinks.

Additionally, a 20% service charge is attached to the CHEERS! Program. And specialty booze or cocktails valued at over $20 aren’t included in the package. So you’ll have to shell out extra cash for that separately, but you’ll get a 25% discount if you bought the pass.

And if you’re drinking alcohol with the CHEERS! program while in U.S. waters, you’ll have to pay taxes on your drinks, too.

For those who aren’t into getting krunk on the open sea but don’t want to drink water, Carnival also sells a Bottomless Bubbles daily pass that costs $11.99. This allows for guests to have as much juice and soda as they want while on board. Like CHEERS!, this excludes any beverages from your room’s minibar.

Is San Benedetto Any Good?

That depends on your opinions on bottled water. If you’re like comedian Jim Gaffigan, you probably won’t be wowed by any type of still water. San Benedetto has received distinctions from the International Taste and Quality Institute of Brussels for its water’s flavor. Bell-Italia writes that it’s “among the most widely exported Italian mineral water brands … [and has] distribution in more than 100 countries across all five continents.”

According to San Benedetto, its water is sourced “from the Veneto Alps.” Furthermore, the bottler gets water from the Primavera Mineral Springs in Abruzzo and Fonte del Pollino.

And if forking over $80 and some change a day just to try out some bottled water and alcohol while you’re stuck on a ship isn’t your thing, you could always buy the stuff a la carte. According to Cruise Fares, depending on your trip, you’ll be charged anywhere from $1.50 to $5.00 for a bottle of San Benedetto aboard. The site encourages travelers to check their cruise line’s menu options prior to boarding their ships to be appraised of pricing.

BroBible has reached out to San Benedetto, Carnival, and Kristine via email for further comment.