Two of the more popular things people spend money on during their cruise are drink packages and wi-fi.
Now, Carnival is making some major changes to how you buy both — including on how they are priced and introducing a new drink package option — that could have an impact the next time you set sail.
Here’s what’s happening…
Carnival Introduces “FunPack” Bundles
In a press release on Wednesday, Carnival announced the introduction of “FunPacks” for its cruises. The offers are bundle options that can include everything from a drink package and wi-fi to shore excursions, laundry service, specialty dining and more.
The new FunPacks come in four categories, including the Kidstarter, Zero Proof, Social, and Epic FunPack.
The graphic below lays out everything that’s included:
Frankly, these offers look to be good values. For instance, the Epic FunPack is priced at $99 per day. It includes the drink package with gratuity, which runs about $84 per day if purchased normally before your cruise.
So for only an extra $15 per day, you’ll receive premium wi-fi (a ~$25 per day value), two specialty meals, two shore excursions, spa discounts, and more. That’s a strong offer.
Carnival says that these FunPacks can only be booked from October 14-30, so they do appear to be a limited time offer. If popular, however, don’t be surprised if they come back at a later date.
A New Drink Package Offer: CHEERS! Social
While the FunPacks are certainly the highlight, we also noticed a couple of other things in the press release that weren’t the focus of the announcement.
First, the Social FunPack offers a new drink package that some people will absolutely love.
The new CHEERS! Social drink package is the highlight of the Social FunPack and looks to be a blend of the regular CHEERS! package and the Zero Proof non-alcoholic package. With the CHEERS! Social offer, you get unlimited non-alcoholic drinks but also three alcoholic beverages per day.
For those that aren’t heavy drinkers, this could be a perfect fit. It still offers some alcoholic drinks, but at a price tag that’s significantly less. The Social FunPack is priced at just $60 per day instead of $99 per day for the Epic FunPack.
According to Carnival, the Social drink package is “exclusively available as part of the Social FunPack,” so you can’t buy it on its own. Still, it’s nice to have an option for those that like to drink some, but not enough to buy a full drink package.
Dynamic Pricing Comes to Drink and Wi-Fi Packages
But it was a single sentence buried in the press release that caught our attention. And it could cause headaches for many people.
Near the end of the release, the cruise line says that “beginning Dec. 1, 2026, Carnival will also introduce dynamic pricing for beverage packages and Wi-Fi plans.”
It goes on to add that pricing will change “based on sailing length, itinerary and season.”
Right now Carnival has one set price for things like drink packages. In the near future, that price looks to change from cruise to cruise.
Dynamic pricing isn’t a new concept in cruising. Royal Caribbean uses it already. But for those that like consistency in knowing what they will pay, it’s not a favorable concept.
For instance, with Royal Caribbean you only know what the drink package costs for your cruise after you book. Only then is the price revealed in the online cruise planner.
So it could be that you book a cruise and get a favorable price or you book and get something much higher than you’re used to paying.
Either way, things are changing come December 1.
