If you are sailing with kids — or you just like soda yourself — then you’ve likely considered the “Bottomless Bubbles” package offered by Carnival. Put simply, this package offers unlimited soda and juices for passengers during their entire cruise.
While the concept is simple, you might still have plenty of questions about the package such as if Bottomless Bubbles is worth it, how the package works, what’s included, and how much it costs.
We’ve rounded up details on the package to help you learn more and decide if purchasing this drink package is the right move for your next cruise.
What Is Carnival’s Bottomless Bubbles?
Bottomless Bubbles is Carnival’s unlimited drink package for soda and juices. With this program, you pay one daily rate to enjoy your fill of these drinks without worrying about costs adding up. You simply head to anywhere drinks are served, show your room card, and get your drink.
While Carnival already offers tea, coffee, lemonade, and hot chocolate free of charge in dining rooms, Bottomless Bubbles offers up more choices for those who want sodas or juices during their cruise.
What’s Included in Bottomless Bubbles?
The package offers a variety of soft drinks and juices. Since Pepsi products are served on the Carnival, you can expect items like:
Soda: Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Pepsi Zero Sugar, Caffeine Free Pepsi, Diet Pepsi Caffeine Free, Sierra Mist, Sierra Mist Zero Sugar, Mug Root Beer, Mountain Dew, Diet Mountain Dew, Schweppes Ginger Ale, Schweppes Club Soda, Orange Crush
Juice: Orange Juice, Cranberry Juice, Tomato Juice, Pineapple Juice, and Grapefruit Juice
Just keep in mind that what’s offered at a particular location will vary. For instance, the fountain at the buffet will have more limited options compared to heading to the bar where you can get cans of just about anything.
What’s Not Included?
Unfortunately, Bottomless Bubbles doesn’t give you free reign to order any non-alcoholic beverage. In fact, the list of what’s not included in pretty lengthy. Don’t expect to enjoy special coffees or “virgin” versions of alcoholic drinks. If it’s not soda or juice, then it’s likely not included. That includes bottled water.
Here’s the complete list of what’s not included, according to Carnival:
- Drinks other than the sodas or juices
- Drinks sold in souvenir glasses
- Bottled water
- Specialty coffees
- Room service drinks
- Drinks offered during debarkation on the gangway
How Much Does Bottomless Bubbles Cost?
Compared to most other drinks on the cruise ship, the package offers an affordable price. For example, a six-pack of Pepsi runs $10 through Carnival’s Fun Shops. By comparison, the cost of Bottomless Bubbles is $6.95 per day for passengers 17 and under and $9.50 per day for those 18 and older.
This price does not include the automatic 18% gratuity added to the package. Therefore, the actual price is $8.20 per day for those under 18 and $11.21 for those 18 years and older.
Note that if you are still in U.S. waters, you will also be charged state sales tax on your purchase. The charge will appear on your onboard account.
How Do I Buy Drinks?
Buying drinks is simple. Your card will be tagged with a “Bottomless Bubbles” sticker. When you want a drink, just head to wherever they are served and show your card. You’ll be served a 16 oz. drink if getting soda or a 10 oz. drink if ordering juice.
Note that only one drink can be purchased at a time. There is a five-minute wait between ordering drinks.
We have never seen limits on the amount of drinks that can be purchased in a day using the Bottomless Bubbles package.
Also, drinks can only be purchased on board the ship. The package does not work in ports of call, even if you are at Half Moon Cay or Princess Cays, which are islands operated by Carnival.
Does Everyone in the Cabin Have to Buy Bottomless Bubbles?
First, buying the drink package is completely optional. If you don’t want it, then you don’t have to purchase.
Unlike some beverage packages, not every passenger in a cabin has to purchase Bottomless Bubbles if one person does. So if a parent wants to purchase the package for the kids but not for themselves, that is no problem.
That said, note that sharing is not permitted. You cannot purchase the package for one member of your party and have them order sodas for everyone.
What About Bringing Drinks Onboard Instead?
Carnival is one cruise line that allows you to bring sodas and other non-alcoholic drinks on the ship. You can bring up to a dozen cans or cartons of drinks like sodas, juices, or waters with you when you board.
In other words, if you are on the fence about getting your money’s worth for the Bottomless Bubbles package, then you could just bring on your own soda or juice.
As well, if you like to drink Coca-Cola products, then you can bring them on the ship with you. Carnival now serves Pepsi products exclusively.
Do I Have to Buy it For Every Day of the Cruise?
If you purchase the package, then know that it’s purchased for the length of the cruise. So you can’t simply buy it for one day when you’re feeling thirsty and then skip it the next day. Similar to the traditional alcoholic drink package, it’s all or nothing.
How Do I Buy the Package?
You can purchase the Bottomless Bubbles package in the Fun Shops before your cruise. Once on board, you can purchase once on the ship. There are tables setup around the ship advertising the program, or head to the pool bar or casino to buy it. You can also head to Guest Services, but note that the line is usually long on the first day on the ship.
Want to know more about CHEERS! — Carnival’s alcoholic drink package? See our article here with all the details.
Is Bottomless Bubbles Worth It?
Our opinion is the package is worth it only if you are a big soda/juice drinker and don’t plan to bring your own with you onto the ship.
The average soda/juice on board the ship costs about $3-4, so it only takes a few purchases a day for it to be worth your money. If you are the type that has to have their daily soda, then the odds are you will get your money’s worth. Especially when you consider there are no free refills on a drink if you purchase it normally.
But keep in mind is that on Carnival guests can bring on up to 12 cans or cartons of 12 oz. each. So if you like Coke, you can bring on a 12-pack from home for no charge. For many people, this is plenty of soda for the entire trip. Keep this in mind when determining if the package is right for you.
Which ship are these soda dispensers on?
Incorrect…They do let you use your BB package at your dinner table, they bring it to you, and include the whole can, and there is no extra charge. We went on the Carnival Vista last year; March 2022 and the BB package was well worth it for my husband and I and we used it everywhere on the ship, including the Serenity Spa, which is what deck we were on!
Never had to pay for a soda at dinner with the bottomless bubble and they did bring it to the table.
need a coke card
We paid for Bottomless Bubbles on our first cruise last year and what a waste of money. They do NOT deliver sodas to your room, so if you need a little pick-me-up of caffeine in the afternoon you have to go get it yourself from the bar. That’s right: You can only get soda at the bar. If the bar is closed, no soda for you! If there are long lines, you have to wait. For a soda. Really. No room service on sodas. We usually like a soda with our meals, so figured we’d each have 2 at minimum per day, plus one while we lounged by the pool, went to a show, etc. But they DON’T bring sodas at dinner. If they do, they will charge you extra for them, even if you have the package. I think we ended up drinking maybe 3 sodas total on our cruise because of the long lines at the bars, which was a WIN for Carnival and a big loss for us. At the time, the package plus gratuity cost us about $80 so that’s we paid for 3 sodas. Ugh, it angers me even a year later. But fool me once, right?