Cruise Line Plots to Get Passengers Wrecked

Carnival Cruises is testing out a new drinking option that will appeal greatly to those intending to get soused at sea, despite the risk of encouraging passengers—perhaps quite literally—to go overboard. At around $50 per day, their all-you-can-drink package, encouragingly called “My Awesome Bar Program,” would allow cruisers unlimited wine, beer and spirits—as well as non-alcoholic frozen drinks. Initial testing for the program is set for only one of their ships, the Carnival Victory, but if successful, the company plans to expand the program to its entire fleet. Potential problems aren't hard to envisage. Smashed shipmates may be obnoxious at best—and at worst, have been known to cause mass brawls or throw small children overboard. A quick search of Carnival Cruise's own official forums reveals tales of unruly intoxicated teens and drunken groping. Perhaps such considerations are why Carnival is actually the last of its major rivals to offer an unlimited drink ticket—with Royal Caribbean rolling out the program on three of its ships last year and Celebrity Cruises offering such a program fleet-wide since 2010.