Family lines jump on the all-inclusive bandwagon – who offers the best value?

• While cruising was once known as all-inclusive holiday, over many years cruises became increasingly itemised, with lines opting for a pay-as-you-go model.
• However, Cruise Passenger surveys show that cruisers prefer all-inclusive pricing and being able to package together as many of their costs as possible.
• It would seem that cruise lines have caught onto this, with more and more of the major lines offering new packages which bundle together amenities, such as a drinks package and wifi access.

For the past decade, the landscape of cruising has shifted from an all-inclusive experience to one where you pay for extras, such as drinks, Wi Fi, specialty dining, certain entertainment and more.

Cruise industry marketing departments called this “choice”, and promoted it as offering passengers the chance to sail a better ship for a cheaper price.

But while the move did indeed unlock a different category of guest for premium and luxury ships, it also undermined one of the cruise industry’s key differences with hotels and resorts. Just as some hotels started offering meals and Wi Fi packages.

Now the pendulum is swinging back. And even contemporary lines are jumping on the bandwagon.

A recent Cruise Passenger sentiment survey showed how Australian cruisers prefer to leave their wallets in the safe when they go on a cruise. Almost three-quarters of our readers (74%) said they preferred all-inclusive, and only 17% said they liked pay-as-you-go.

Perhaps even more significantly, 72% said they were likely or highly likely to upgrade to packages that gave them the attributes of an all-inclusive holiday.

It appears the cruise lines have been listening.

Nearly all major cruise lines offer a packaged price for various add-ons, most commonly a package that bundles together alcoholic drinks and Wi Fi.

How all-inclusive packages started

It was Princess Cruises who began this trend when they started offering Princess Plus and Princess Premier. These packages offered drinks and wifi, as well as other additional add ons such as fitness classes, specialty dining, desserts, photos packages and more.

The latest line to join the party has been Carnival, with their new essential value package and ultimate value package. These bring together various categories of drinks and wifi packages, as well as discounts on other extras like specialty dining, shore excursions and spa treatments. 

Norwegian Cruise Line offers its More At Sea package and other lines like Celebrity Cruises and Holland America also have options that package together drinks and wifi.

In fact, the surprising major cruise line that doesn’t offer a package like this is Royal Caribbean. Royal Caribbean’s drinks offer in particular remains distinct to other lines, because it employs a dynamic pricing model, meaning the price of the drinks package is constantly changing due to factors like demand and promotions.

Carnival’s new package offering is fairly new and it remains to be seen whether this will nudge Royal Caribbean into doing something similar.

In general, having these packages available seems to be a positive for most cruisers. Many cruisers were already purchasing drinks and wifi anyway, and can now enjoy a  lower, packaged price. Royal Caribbean fans will surely be hoping that the line offers something like this soon.

To get an idea of what the major lines are offering in terms of packaged inclusions, here’s the run down of who’s offering what. 

Carnival Cruise Line

While Carnival’s new value packages were originally a temporary promotion, and have technically not been locked in as a permanent option, they continue to be offered to Aussies, and appear set to stick around. Here’s what you get from each package.

Essential Value Package $60 per day

• Cheers! Zero Proof (a drinks package with specialty drinks, but no alcohol) 
• Value Wi-Fi plan (one device)
• $75 discount on a shore excursion 
• $35 discount on specialty dining 

Ultimate Value Package $120 per day

• Cheers! (alcoholic drink package) 
• Premium wifi plan (four devices)
• $75 discount on a shore excursion 
• $35 discount on a specialty meal 
• 50% off spa treatments
• 50% off photo packages 

Princess Cruises

As mentioned, Princess were the first major line to offer a package like this and the packages success was clearly a factor in bringing other cruise lines into the space as well. While the packages don’t quite offer the exactly value they did when they come out, they still offer some of, if not the very best value at sea. Here’s what’s on offer. 

Princess Premier Package $129 per day 

• A new shore excursion credit, varying by voyage length: $100 (6–9 days), $200 (10–20 days), and up to $300 for voyages of 21+ days.
• Premier Beverage Package
• Unlimited casual and specialty dining,
• Four-device Wi Fi
• Fees waived for OceanNow®
• Room service delivery
• Unlimited digital professional photos 
• Reserved seating for theatre shows

Plus package $79 per day

• Four casual dining meals (up from two)
• Plus Beverage Package
• Single device wi-fi
• Fees waived for OceanNow®
• Room service delivery

Holland America Line

Holland America offers the option to upgrade to the Have It All package, which brings together shore excursions, a drinks package, specialty dining and Wi-Fi together, with different stipulations for the length of your cruise. The packages cost US$60 (Au$86).

For a six to nine day voyage the package includes 

• US$100 shore excursion credit
• A signature beverage package 
• One night of specialty dining 
• A wi-fi package 

For a 10 to 20 day cruise the package includes 

• US$200 shore excursion credit
• A signature beverage package
• Two nights of specialty dining 
• A wi-fi package 

For a cruise of 21 days or more the package includes 

• US$300 shore excursion credit
• A signature beverage package
• Three nights specialty dining 
• A wi-fi package 

Royal Caribbean

As mentioned, Royal Caribbean uses dynamic pricing on their drinks packages, you can spot a package from anywhere between $90 and $130 per day, or even outside of these ranges during promos or heavily booked cruises. They use the same system for wifi prices and you can see prices between about $25 to $35 per day for a basic package. 

Celebrity Cruises 

Celebrity Cruises has an option bundle that adds just drinks and wifi, which can be purchased at the point of booking. Prices vary from cruise to cruise but you can generally expect to add about $85 to $100 per person. This earns 

Norwegian Cruise Line 

While NCL used to bundle packages into the fare on their Australian sailings, they’ve changed the way they do things. Now NCL has its add ons like drinks, wifi and so on outside of the fare, and you can add them for a fee of $59 per person. 

They certainly rival Princess for having the best value package at sea, when considering the low price but worthy inclusions.

NCL’s bundle for $59 per day 

• Premium drinks package 
• Wifi package 
• Specialty dining package 
• Shore excursions credit ($50 per port) 

Disney Cruise Line 

Disney does not currently offer a bundle. In fact Disney doesn’t actually offer an unlimited drinks package like other lines do, you can buy a specialised wine package or just buy drinks separately. The line does offer wifi packages, which range from about $40 – $65, depending on the number of devices.