"Unlimited" and "all-you-can-eat" have always been qualified consumer terms, some more qualified than others.
For example, unlimited wireless plans allow the providers to slow a customer's data speeds after they exceed certain thresholds. That's sort of shady, but numerous court cases have declared that it's not illegal so long as the rules are in the fine print.
Similarly, restaurants that offer customers all they can eat say in their fine print that they can cut off service to diners if they're not finishing what they've taken or, in rare cases, simply because they had eaten too much.
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It gets harder to interpret "unlimited" when it comes to alcoholic-beverage plans because of the added factor of intoxication. Cruise lines may offer "unlimited' adult-beverage packages. but if you're visibly intoxicated, passing out, or being hostile to staff or passengers, they will slow you down or shut you off.
Royal Caribbean (RCL), MSC, and Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCLH) offer true all-you-can-drink adult-beverage packages. You pay them a set fee per night of your trip and you can indulge as much as you want as long as you don't misbehave.
Carnival Cruise Line (CCL) has an unlimited-beverage package, called Cheers, that works a little differently than the ones its rivals offer. It also has in place one overall alcoholic-beverage rule that none of the other cruise lines imposes.
Image source: Carnival Cruise Line
Carnival Cruise Line and the 15-Drink Limit
Carnival Brand Ambassador John Heald on his Facebook page recently cleared up some uncertainty around its beverage package and alcohol policies.
Name: T----
Message: Can you finally once & for all clear this up answering truthfully. Its it true yes or no that you will be cut off after you order your 15th drink. Not talking the cheers program but those of us who drink glass to glass. For most of the passengers 15 is not enough and we are being treated like criminals. Some also think that the 15 drink limit is all drinks (soda, coffee, etc.). It is not - it is only alcoholic drinks!
Thank you “T” and yes, it is indeed 15 drinks in a 24 hour period. That is alcoholic drinks and indeed sodas, coffee etc is unlimited.
So, it's important to know that Carnival won't serve any passenger more than 15 alcoholic drinks in a single day. And that's not just for beverage-package buyers. The cruise line has a hard limit on 15 alcoholic drinks per person.
Is 15 Alcoholic Drinks Enough for Carnival Passengers?
Heald's post followed up his answer by asking his followers: "So let me ask that as 'T' mentions 'For most of the passengers 15 is not enough,' Is it enough for you?' He then offered people three choices:
- A. Yes, 15 is enough
- B. No, 15 is not enough
- C. I do not drink alcohol
The responses were overwhelming with over 4,500 people commenting in the six hours after Heald made the post. "A" was actually the overwhelming top choice.
"A, most of the time, but I have hit the limit, especially on sea days," Robin Carlow wrote.
"A 15 is plenty. But I was surprised to learn that other cruise lines don't have a drink limit," shared Julie Loos.
Some "A" voters did acknowledge why some people would vote "C," although very few did.
"A - I understand that some people question that number because 15 light beers are much different than 15 martinis," wrote Debbie Rose.
Jessica Crooks, however, summed up what a lot of the "B" voters think.
"I think B is more of a correct answer...especially on sea days. I personally have had days where 15 was enough but I also would prefer not to be limited. On sea days I get up early and enjoy a couple of mimosas....have a few drinks by the pool....it's easy to be at 8 or so before I even go in for dinner. Dinner, shows, casino, and club, and before you know it I'm at 15," she wrote. "When I'm on vacation I would prefer to not be limited. When I'm home I don't drink 15 drinks a day....most days none...but I shouldn't have to worry about being limited on a trip."
Many of the posters also said they've seen managers make exceptions and sell drinks to people over the limit who were not visibly intoxicated. That is technically against the cruise line's policy.
