To be or not to be All Inclusive, that is the question?

More and more request lately have been for cruises that offer the all inclusive package options,  those that ask tend to be past cruise guests that have once before experienced this like the option of all inclusive, or for newer guests that want to try cruising but have been used to All Inclusive land based holidays.  Many years ago, I used to opt for All Inclusive holiday options when in the Caribbean as this was normally the only choice, for drinks I always found this great but not so much for the food. One think I disliked about all inclusive resorts was the food and the way it was always a buffet style counter.  Thankfully you do not have this with a cruise ship.   So I can understand where my clients are coming from, as when you do go on holiday, food and drink are normally the biggest expenditure once you arrive if it hasn’t been included prior.

Over the years more and more cruise line companies have started to offer drinks packages on board their ships, now these drinks packages can be either pre-purchased at time of booking (depending on the cruise company) or prior to sailing via your cruise personaliser.  If you forget to add this on they will also offer packages that you can add to your cabin once you are on board.  More and more people sailing like the idea of adding on a drinks package, especially as in most cases it can mean an alternative way to buying as you go making a saving and also means that the gratuities for drinks are added into the package and not required to be paid again (unless you want to).

Now, most regular cruise guests will budget for the cost of drinks when planning their cruise, knowing what the cruise liners tend to charge on their bar prices. But for the newer cruise guest, sometimes the bar bill at the end of the cruise can be the biggest shock of all, as it is very easy to get carried away with the cashless card system on board the ship, but as always this still needs to be paid at the end of the cruise.

MSC, Thomson, Oceania, Fred Olsen currently offer you the option to add your drinks package at time of booking so that you pay for it with your cruise as opposed to adding and paying for it later.  Prices start from just £10 per person per day for the basic drinks package (this is with Fred Olsen). Prices for the drinks packages vary depending on the cruise liner but most offer a variety of packages from just beer & wine to a premium package for wines, spirits and champagnes.

The catch with most of these packages is the fact that if one in the cabin wants the package you all have to have it.

Some of the luxury cruise liners such as Silverseas, Regent and Azamara have now included all gratuities and drinks with their main cruise price.

Thomson Cruises also offer All Inclusive cruises and options to add on All Inclusive to their ships and itineraries.

Over the last couple of years, Celebrity Cruises have offered their classic drinks package as a promotional offer when booking set cruises/dates with them, as with any type of promotion these do normally come with strict terms & conditions, such as cabin status required to book for the offer, set sail dates or ships and also restricted to only the 1st and 2nd paying guests in the cabin.

Royal Caribbean are currently offering a similar deal on their summer 2015 sailings and it includes everyone in the cabin and for children too.

When you are lucky enough to book a cruise and have this added as part of the cruise booking, the savings can be on average £500 plus per person per sailing (based on Celebrity drinks prices for a 14 night cruise).

Most clients do often say that they cannot justify the cost of many of the drinks packages that are being offered as they may not drink enough during the day to cover the costs paid. I can assure you that in most cases the drinks packages are truly justified, as soft drinks can be just as expensive as alcoholic drinks nowadays. Even for teas & coffees.  I am not a big drinker, I very rarely drink alcohol, but when I am on holiday, as most people do, I tend to drink more. Maybe an afternoon cocktail, or a couple of refreshing beers at the poolside,  a glass of wine or two with dinner and then a drink during the entertainment and maybe a nightcap. It is easy to end up with a nice bill at the end of the day, but you haven’t drunk that much.

Some cruise companies such as P&O offer a form of drinks packages but they tend to be a wine package or coffee card package.  They currently do not have a drinks package that covers wines, beers, spirits or soft drinks and I am very sure that soon enough P&O and some of the other cruise liners will follow suit and start to offer a fuller drinks package options like the other cruise companies.

So is it time that cruise companies started adding drinks in as part of their cost?  Although this will make the cruise cost higher, which is fair enough, but may be more advantageous to the cruise liner as more guests maybe prepared to pay a slightly higher cost knowing everything is included?

How do you personally feel about the drinks package options? Is it something that you prefer to try and have added at the time of booking or add on once booked?

Have you ever come off a cruise regretting not adding a prepaid drinks package?

I would love to hear your opinion and find out if you feel that in the way cruises are moving forward should they be All Inclusive or not?

Dawn

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