Some people love all-inclusive cruising. Personally, we think it’s cracking value for money and should at least be considered when booking your cruise.
Drinks prices onboard some ships can be very expensive and that’s before you add the average 15% service charge on top of each order you place. Before you know it, you’re staring blankly at your cabin bill and asking yourself why you didn’t just book the drinks package to begin with. Let’s face it, they’re a great way of controlling your onboard spend.
We appreciate that sometimes it can become a little confusing as all-inclusive can be offered, but what the cruise line really means is that they’re including a drinks package for you. So, on that note, let’s narrow things down a little bit.
Cruise lines offering drinks packages
It’s rare these days to come across a cruise line that doesn’t offer a drinks package and more often than not, people will take up the offer at the time of booking – which is the best time to do it. You can save your chosen package with your quote, at time of booking (online or over the phone) and sometimes, you can also book this onboard, however, you often find it’s charged at a higher price per person.
The following cruise lines all offer drinks packages of varying options and prices: Costa Cruises, MSC Cruises, Celebrity Cruises, Princess Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line.
Some offer basic drinks packages, premium drinks packages, soft drinks only packages and occasionally, you’ll also find a speciality coffee drinks package.
All-inclusive cruise lines
If we go back to all-inclusive, this can sometimes only refer to a drinks package, but always double check because some cruise lines throw in just about everything but the kitchen sink, including Princess Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line.
Princess Cruises offers the Princess Plus and Princess Premier all-inclusive packages which we personally think are excellent value for money!
Norwegian Cruise Line offers a Premium All-Inclusive experience, but this can only be applied to new bookings, so make sure you check this out before you confirm your reservation. It can’t be booked for guarantee cabin categories.
Celestyal Cruises, now they offer everything as standard, including a selection of choice shore excursions, so there’s nothing to confirm here at time of booking. All dining, drinks, select shore excursions, onboard entertainment and port taxes and gratuities are all covered in the cost of your fare.
Luxury all-inclusive cruising
If you want to take things up a few more levels, then why not consider a luxury all-inclusive cruise? Our favourites include Regent Seven Seas, Silversea and Seabourn.
Regent Seven Seas have been offering an all-inclusive luxury experience for a very long time and it’s one of the best. Everything is covered, the only extra charges you’d come across onboard would be for anything purchased onboard or treatments in the spa.
We think you’ll agree that all-inclusive (or a drinks package at least) is definitely going to save you money in the long-term during your cruise holiday.
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