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Carnival tests 'all-you-can-drink' alcohol package

By Gene Sloan, USA TODAY

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Photo by Andy Newman/Carnival Cruise Lines

Add industry giant Carnival to the list of lines offering "all-you-can-drink" alcohol packages.The world's largest cruise company this month has begun testing a nearly $50 per day package on the Carnival Victory that gives buyers access to unlimited wine, beer and spirits as well as sodas and non-alcoholic frozen cocktails.
The "My Awesome Bar Program" package, as it's being called, costs $42.95 per person per day plus an automatic 15% gratuity of $6.44 and can be used to order all wines by the glass, beer and individual cocktails priced at $10 and lower. Full bottles of wine and champagne, as well as wines by the glass, beers and individual cocktails priced above $10, are available at a 25% discount.

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A caveat: Each passenger ages 21 years and over in the same cabin must purchase the beverage package -- a rule presumably enacted to prevent cabin mates from "sharing" a package. Passengers under 21 cannot buy the package as passengers must be 21 years or older to consume alcohol on Carnival ships.
Passengers can sign up for the package at Carnival Victory's atrium and casino bars, as well as a bar within the main pool area.
Carnival's move comes a year after rival Royal Caribbean rolled out all-you-can-drink alcohol packages on three ships based overseas. Celebrity Cruises unveiled all-you-can-drink packages fleetwide in 2010.
A spokesperson for Carnival tells USA TODAY the line hasn't decided whether it will add the new alcohol package on its 23 other ships.