RoyALL Inclusive

Royal Caribbean have just announced that, for a limited time , their cruises will be ” All Inclusive ” on selected ships sailing in 2015. Out of the UK Anthem and Explorer, in Europe Allure, Rhapsody, Splendour, Serenade and Vision and , in the Caribbean, Adventure, Allure, Freedom, Oasis and Independence. ” All Inclusive ” also means selected drinks as well as selected ships !

Today`s trend seems to be that more and more holidays and cruises are adopting this model so that you pay your money and that’s it – nothing more to spend – or is there ?

I went on my first All Inclusive holiday to St Lucia several years ago. With a group of friends, two of whom were getting married there,  we flew off to the island to stay at Club St Lucia, we were so excited. I sat in the plane imagining sitting at the beach bar drinking exotic cocktails with sparklers and parrots perched on the edge of the glass, enjoying a huge variety of wonderful food and it was all paid for.

The reality was very different ! We arrived and settled in, eventually and headed for the bar, where we ordered our drinks – Pina Colada for me. What a disappointment, the glass was plastic and the mixture came out of a bottle! Worse was the beer, the guys were horrified, not only were the glasses plastic but you had to pour it yourself too. The food was average at best as, in truth, was the hotel, so what did we do? We went out and found some lovely bars and restaurants and had a great holiday, and paid for it.

When I travel one of the best parts is hunting out good local restaurants and All Inclusive doesn`t really allow you to do this, so its not something I personally look for in a holiday or cruise but there are, of course, good and not so good in all things.

I was lucky enough to sail on Regent Seven Seas Voyager a few years ago, and this is what I would call ” proper” All Inclusive. In the cabin was a  bottle of chilled Champagne on arrival, the next thing was knock on the door from our cabin steward to ask which bottles of spirit we would like for our mini bar. We ordered gin and vodka and took the bottles home with us as, if you need a drink in your cabin, you just order it from room service! Ever possible wine and spirit was included in the cruise ( unless you wanted vintage champagne of course ) and the food was wonderful. Yes Regent is more expensive but worth it.

So what does Royal Caribbean`s All Inclusive actually offer ? Well bottled, canned and draught beers, wines by the glass up to $8 value per glass , so about £5, fountain drinks with free souvenir cup and non alcoholic cocktails, that’s it – no Pina Colada on the list! The offer does also include all on board gratuities which is a bonus, but, and I have checked this, the prices have gone up from when the 2015 programme was released earlier in the year.

We will have to wait until next year to see what the customers opinion of this is and, I suspect, it will be very varied. At the end of the day you get what you pay for – we`ll see.