The nation’s well-known Carnival Cruise line is using a new incentive to lure customers: an “all-you-can-drink” alcohol package. This package is now available to four of its ships. The $50 per day package will give buyers access to nearly unlimited wine, beer and spirits, as well as non-alcoholic beverages.
Talk about a strategic marketing technique! But is it brilliant or pathetic?
Now I don’t assume Carnival is planning to host a liner full of intoxicated customers, but you can’t help but wonder if they aren’t going a little bit overboard.
Yes, there are limitations: you must be 21 years of age to buy the “My Awesome Bar Program,” and the deal is valid only for alcoholic drinks priced under $10.
I’m sure and not every sane person going on the cruise is going to return staggering and vomiting (maybe a really bad hangover). No doubt Carnival has regulations about the drinking, but one thing’s certain: there will be more intoxicated people on a ship with an alcohol buffet than one without.
Really folks, think of the consequences! People who are most likely to buy the package tend to be those who really like to drink, and people who like to drink already tend to drink too much. Besides, it takes a lot of booze to justify a $50/day price tag, and those who purchase it will want to get their money’s worth—that likely means getting hammered every day.
Encouraging your customers to partake in out of control boozing, does that still sound genius? Parents with young kids—are you honestly going to book a spot in a place where everyone is drinking free booze till their drunk into oblivion?
If you don’t even like to drink—guess what? You have to if you’re rooming with someone over age 21 who wants unlimited booze. According to USA Today’s coverage, “In their efforts to prevent ‘sharing’ of packages, each passenger ages 21 years and over in the same cabin must purchase the program.”
There’s nothing wrong with enjoying a cruise, but sacrificing your sobriety, safety, and the relaxing atmosphere of everyone on the cruise for drunken reveling is downright pathetic.
Apparently, the deal must be working pretty well if Carnival has decided to extend the package to four ships. Still, it’s really pathetic when you rely on facilitating alcohol binging to bring in customers. If you want people to enjoy the cruise, make the cruise itself worth the money—without turning yourself into an alcoholic factory.