Carnival Cruise Line has just made it harder to know when you’re getting a good deal on popular cruise extras like beverage packages, WiFi, and more.
As a cruise expert who has sailed more than 100 times over the past five years, I’m asked about pricing all the time. In most cases, people aren’t asking how to get a cheaper cruise; they’re looking at onboard extras — nearly always the beverage package.
“Is it worth getting the beverage package?” That’s literally the question I get asked most often, and it’s not always a simple answer because of how many cruise lines set prices for that popular add-on.
Until it moves to dynamic pricing on Dec. 1, Carnival Cruise Line made answering easy because it used a fixed price. Its Cheers Beverage Package, which includes 15 alcoholic beverages, and unlimited soda, water, specialty coffee, and other non-alcoholic drinks, costs $69.95 a day if bought before the cruise, or $74.95 onboard, plus a 20% gratuity charge.
A cocktail or glass of wine generally costs $15, while a beer comes in between $8 and $10. A soda or bottle of water comes in at $4, while specialty coffee is somewhere between $5 and $7.
As a cocktail drinker who also has at least one coffee and two bottles of water a day, Cheers makes sense for me if I’m going to have four drinks per day. With the other beverages, that’s roughly break-even, and coming anywhere close to even is a win for me, since I won’t have to think about it when I order a drink.
Carnival Cruise Line, however, has decided that like rival Royal Caribbean, it’s moving to dynamic pricing as of Dec. 1. Because there won’t be a set price, it will be much more challenging to know when (or if) you should buy the Cheers package.
Here’s how cruise line dynamic pricing works
Royal Caribbean regularly advertises its Deluxe Beverage Package (DBP) as being on sale, using a percentage off to communicate the discount. The problem is that 50% off, or even 75% off, means nothing when there’s no set price.
If Royal Caribbean, for example, decides that “full price” is $150 per day, per person, then 50% off is $75 per person per day. At a $100 “full price,” with a 40% discount, you pay $60 per person per day.
For anyone booking a beverage, internet, or dining package on cruise lines that use dynamic pricing, it’s very hard to know — especially if you’re not a regular cruiser — what’s actually a good price.
That’s a challenge a travel agent can help with, even though travel agents do not get a commission on extras like beverage packages on Royal Caribbean or Carnival Cruise Line.
“Because Royal Caribbean uses dynamic pricing for most of its add-ons, we find out what our clients want and track prices for them,” PostCard Travel Planning owner Amy Post shared with TheStreet.
In a broad sense, at least with Royal Caribbean, “any time the price per day gets in the $65 or less range, it’s a good time to book,” she added.
Post also shared that once a client books an extra, she will keep monitoring the price because you are allowed to cancel and re-book right up until pre-cruise sales stop 48 hours before your sailing.
“We won’t cancel and re-book just for a few dollars because it takes up to a few weeks for our clients to get a refund, so most clients want the difference to be meaningful before we do that,” Post said.
Cruise line dynamic pricing creates uncertainty
Royal Caribbean uses dynamic pricing to maximize revenue, and the price shown to every passenger is not the same. I, for example, drink free in the casino whenever it’s open and get five free drinks per day because of my loyalty status.
That makes a drink package less valuable for me because I can drink more or less whatever I want without paying extra.
Because of that, Royal Caribbean often offers me the drink package at a much lower price than what it charges people who don’t have the same beverage perks.
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It’s all about driving revenue, and sometimes that means higher prices, but it can also lead to deals, Parade.com Travel Editor Meghan Foye told TheStreet.
“We’ve seen how popular bundled extras are during peak sale events like Black Friday, so moving toward dynamic pricing is a logical next step for Carnival. Dynamic rates can certainly lead to surge pricing on popular sailings, but they can also yield serious bargains if you time it right. Consumers should plan ahead, keep an eye on rates, and grab a good deal as soon as they see it.”
Carnival’s Cheers package will soon move to dynamic pricing.Carnival Corp.
Carnival also adds “Funpacks”
Royal Caribbean will sometimes bundle things like a beverage package and internet, or beverage and dining packages. It varies by cruise, and sometimes no packages are available at all.
Carnival is trying the same thing and has added four “FunPacks” that bundle some popular add-ons.
“FunPacks can be purchased through My Cruise Manager and are available from October 13 through October 30, 2026, for all sailings departing October 31, 2026 through December 31, 2027. If a FunPack is available for your sailing, you will see it in My Cruise Manager,” the cruise line shared on its website.
The four Carnival FunPacks
Kidstarter, $25 a day: Ages 3 to 17 get unlimited soda and juice, social-media-only Wi-Fi, 1,000 arcade tokens, 50% off bulk candy, a lanyard, and a souvenir cup.
Zero Proof, $50 a day: Includes unlimited non-alcoholic drinks, Value Wi-Fi, a $50 shore excursion discount, and a $25 specialty dining discount.
Social, $60 a day: Includes three alcoholic drinks a day plus unlimited non-alcoholic drinks, Premium Wi-Fi, one excursion up to $100, one specialty meal up to $55, and 50% off spa and Dreams Studio photos.
Epic, $99 a day: Offers 15 alcoholic drinks a day, Premium Wi-Fi, two excursions, two specialty meals, spa and photo discounts, a bottle of sparkling wine, and one bag of laundry.
Whether these are deals for each cruiser depends upon whether they will use the benefits.
“Epic can be a good deal, but only if you planned to buy most, if not all, of the benefits it includes. If you don’t use the excursions, for example, you might be better off buying what you need a la carte,” Post said.
With dynamic pricing for each part, “a good deal can be a moving target,” she added.
Related: Royal Caribbean changes its cancellation rules, and it could cost you more