Carnival Cheers! and Bottomless Bubbles: Prices and Break-Even

Where these numbers come from

Carnival has two programs most shoppers ask about. CHEERS! covers alcohol plus soft drinks and coffees. Bottomless Bubbles covers sodas and juices only. The cheapest choice depends on who is in the cabin and how much they drink.

CHEERS! costs $69.95 per person per day if bought before the cruise and $74.95 on board, per the line's drink page. A 20% service charge is added, so a pre-cruise day costs about $83.94. The program covers up to 15 alcoholic drinks in a 24-hour period and drinks priced up to $20 each. It also covers sodas, specialty coffees, bottled water and milkshakes, and it gives a 25% discount on premium drinks above the cap.

The break-even math is simple. Menu prices from a secondary review range from $12 to $15 for cocktails and $7 to $8 for beer. Take a $13 cocktail: with a 20% service charge it costs $15.60. Dividing $83.94 by $15.60 gives 5.4, so you need 6 cocktails a day to win. With $7.50 beers at $9.00 each, you would need 10 beers a day. Over a week for two adults, 2 x 7 x $83.94 = $1,175.16. The drink package calculator takes your own prices.

The rules shape the math. Each adult assigned to a stateroom must buy the program, and the drinker must be 21 or older. A non-drinking partner still costs you $83.94 a day, so price the package for the whole cabin before you buy, and ask the line whether a non-drinker can take a different program.

Bottomless Bubbles is the cheaper route for families. The line's page lists children at $6.95 a day and adults at $11.99, which trade reports say rose from $9.50 in April 2026, before a 20% service charge. At $11.99 plus 20% an adult pays $14.39 a day. If a soda costs about $3.50 with the charge, that is $4.20, so 4 sodas a day break even. A teen who drinks three sodas a day may not.

Two gotchas: sodas and juices come one at a time, with about a 10-minute wait between orders, and the program is non-transferable. Bottled water, specialty coffees and souvenir cups are excluded from Bottomless Bubbles. Compare the whole trip on the cruise vs all-inclusive calculator, and read the Carnival gratuity page and Carnival overview for the other charges.

Sources

• Carnival drink packages
• Carnival Bottomless Bubbles package
• Carnival Cheers! program page
• Travel Weekly: Carnival Bottomless Bubbles and gratuity increase (secondary, quotes Carnival)
• Shiptea: Carnival Cheers! 2026 (secondary, menu price ranges)

Figures checked on September 30, 2026.

This page is general information, not legal, insurance or travel-agent advice. Fees, rules and limits change, so confirm the figures with the official sources listed above before you book or travel.