On most cruises, you pay your cruise fare, but that’s just the start of what you’ll spend. Drinks are extra, shore excursions are extra, specialty restaurants cost more, and wi-fi is a charge.
All of that can feel like you’re being nickeled and dimed. Instead of enjoying your cruise, you’re adding up costs.
A more carefree way to sail is having everything included. That’s why many cruise lines offer packages, such as NCL’s Free at Sea or Princess’ Plus & Premier deals. These offer a number of things that normally cost extra included in your fare.
Now Carnival is testing out these packages, with the ability to add drinks, wi-fi, and more to your cruise. But there are some details you need to know before you jump on the deal.
What Is Carnival’s Onboard Value Package?
Put simply, the Onboard Value Package gives passengers the option to pay one set price and get a number of items included with the cruise that normally cost extra. This way, passengers can get more included while also saving money on buying the items individually.
Carnival is offering up two levels: the Essentials Value Package and the Ultimate Value Package.
What’s Included in the Packages?
What you get will depend on which package you buy. They each have somewhat different items.
The Essentials Value Package includes:
- CHEERS! Zero Proof drink package (non-alcoholic drinks only)
- Value wi-fi plan
- $50 shore excursion discount (pre-cruise)
- $25 specialty dining discount (pre-cruise)
The Ultimate Value Package includes:
- CHEERS! Drink Package (alcoholic drinks included)
- Premium wi-fi plan
- $50 shore excursion discount (pre-cruise)
- $25 specialty dining discount (pre-cruise)
- 50% off spa & photo services (pre-cruise)
Is This a Limited-Time Offer?
Late December 2025 is the first time Carnival has offered these packages. They also seem to be a limited time offer, with an expiration of December 18.
Most likely, this is a test of the offer to the general public. Depending on how it goes, we’d expect to see the packages offered again, possible with tweaks based on real-world usage.
For instance, Carnival’s sister cruise line Princess offers an all-inclusive package that’s similar.
How Much Do the Packages Cost?
Given the different items included, there are different prices for each.
The Essentials Value Package is priced at $50 per person, per day. So on a 7-day cruise, you’d pay $350 in total for the offer.
The Ultimate Value Package is priced at $90 per person, per day. That means a week-long cruise would cost $630 for the trip.
Does Everyone Have to Buy the Package if One Person Does?
It’s common that if one adult in a cabin buys a drink package, then everyone in the cabin is required to do so. That same logic applies to these value packages.
According to the Carnival website, “Essentials Value Package requires all guests ages 3+ in the cabin to purchase; guest aged 2 and under are ineligible.”
Further, “Ultimate Value Package requires all guests aged 21+ in the cabin to purchase; guests 20 and under are ineligible. All eligible guests in the same cabin must purchase the same package.”
So yes, if a husband wants the package but a wife doesn’t, they will both have to buy it or go without.
What Happens if I Don’t Use the Shore Excursion or Restaurant Discounts Before the Cruise Starts?
You might have noticed that the discounts for things like shore excursions and specialty dining mention being applied pre-cruise.
These appear to be “use it or lose it” benefits.
In the fine print, Carnival specifies that “pre-cruise discounts are not available on board and must be used online prior to sailing.”
Are the Shore Excursion and Specialty Dining Discounts One-Time or Multiple Use?
The $50 discount on shore excursions and $25 off specialty restaurants for both packages certainly get your attention. Given that you pay the package price each day, does that mean you can use these discounts multiple times?
Looking through the fine print, Carnival says both of these discounts are only one-time use.
Are the Packages a Good Deal?
If you plan to use these benefits, then yes, these packages are a good deal.
Take the values with the Essential Package:
- CHEERS! Zero Proof drink package ($35.99 per day, including gratuity)
- Value wi-fi plan ($23.80 per day, pre-cruise)
- $50 shore excursion discount ($50)
- $25 specialty dining discount ($25)
For someone on a 7-day cruise, this comes out to $493.53 in total value. Meanwhile, the price of the package would be only $350, a savings of about $145 or about 29% less.
The dollar value with the Ultimate Package is even more:
- CHEERS! Drink Package ($83.94 per day, including gratuity)
- Premium wi-fi plan ($25.50 per day, pre-cruise)
- $50 shore excursion discount ($50)
- $25 specialty dining discount ($25)
- 50% off spa & photo services (Varies)
Here, someone sailing for a week would get a value of $841.08 for $630. (Since the price of spa and photo services will vary based on what you get, we’ve left them out of the calculations, but they would increase the value even more.) That’s about $210 in discounts, or about 25%.
In fact, if you’re buying the drink package alone, that’s $588 for a 7-day cruise at normal prices. You need to only get about $40 in value from the rest of the benefits to come out ahead.
