Its only been 6 days since Royal Caribbean started their ‘All Inclusive ‘ campaign for 2015 and goodness me what a week its been, the phonelines have been hot with customers eager to put down their money to secure the All Inclusive drinks package for themselves and their children.
This comes as no surprise since Celebrity announced there Go 1,2,3 Campaign at the beginning of June again offering their Classic Drinks Package for Free , a stampede of happy cruisers desperate to book immediately followed.
Looking back though many cruiselines have been offering an All Inclusive package for a while now, Thomson cruises, Azamara and your luxury brands of Regent, Silversea to name a few have all been including drinks, gratuities and some even shore excursions once on board but is there a catch.
I think when looking at any All Inclusive options its very important to look at the whole picture. When looking at prices originally before you book they may be over your budget but think about what you would actually spend once on board. For example Royal Caribbean’s latest campaign includes the Select Drinks Package, Beer and Wine by the glass together with Non Alcoholic Cocktails and soda. This would normally cost you $40 per person per day which is around £25 per person per day. for a 14 night duration this would set you back £700 a couple , Gratuities which they are also offering Free would set you back £200 a couple. Wouldnt it be nice to go on board knowing that you didn’t have to worry about what you order from the bar and who to tip as that had already been taken care of, so spending money would be alot less. I am sure you get the picture. Its worth weighing it all up especially to if you have children as their drinks are included also .
What I don’t think is great value for money though is Norwegian Cruise lines latest campaign to follow her competitors by offering an All Inclusive package of a mere $899 on top of your cruise price based on a 7 night sailing. This basically means that for £75 a day your cruise will include all drinks, speciality dining restaurants ,bingo sessions, bottled water, photos and Internet time. Norwegian insist the package is worth $1200 per person for a 7 night sailing. Really???. I think the catch for this alternative is that you would be paying for things you may not necessarily take advantage of eg bingo and 20 photos.!! I guess if you are happy to drink and eat as much as you can possibly manage for a whole seven says and have photos taken to prove it (free of course) then maybe its for you. This is of course a trial and will be interested to see if its extended after the 29th August. I would be interested to hear your thoughts.
Is All Inclusive for you? I think we can safely say that for the most of us campaigns that offer All Inclusive offers every now and again are a great way to entice customers to part with their money as long as it was occasionally, All Inclusive cruises on a full time basis may just change the dynamics of a cruise in a way many customers wouldn’t want them to be changed.
What do you think, I look forward to your feedback.
Holly xx