All In vs. Escape to Sea Rate

[sbd78]

Just wondering if there is any advantage to booking the "all in" rate that includes drinks and wifi vs. booking the "escape to sea" rate and adding drinks and wifi a la carte? A little background, this is for a Caribbean sailing out of Miami and we will likely purchase the easy drink package and basic internet regardless. Doing the math, it doesn't appear that "all in" saves any money vs. a la carte. Just wondering if there is anything I'm missing? Thanks!

[Epos Man]

The all in includes the easy drinks package and standard wifi where as the escape to sea rate is just the cruise only so you would need to add the easy package and the standard wifi just be aware that it is cheaper to buy the drinks package and standard before you board.

 

So looking at the 2 what is the price difference between the all in and the escape to sea and these are always based on Bella Experience.

 

what they are giving you is the choice of all in but just the easy package or escape to sea and go for the better drinks package depending on what you drink as the easy package for most is okay it does not include any of the better cocktails including frozen ones

 

 

 

Edited August 16, 2019 by Epos Man

[Até]

I've recently noticed some sailings with the All In package are priced very high, to the point where like the OP states you could choose the Escape rate and purchase them separately and come out the same.  I've seen some sailings that are over $300pp more for All In versus Escape rate.  Historically the All In package offered some savings, typically costing $150 to $200 per person per week more, I've seen it a few times only costing $100pp more.  That made the Easy drink package typically cost between $16 and $23pp per day, so not a bad deal.  My European sailings recently went to All In pricing and that will cost me between $17 and $19pp per day, combined with the European sailings being $12pp per day to upgrade to Premium I felt that was a good enough deal to take.

 

What is the price difference on your sailing?

[slei15]

They are two different types of pricing promotions based on the original brochure prices.  The pricing does not always make sense. I have seen Aurea pricing on these two rates be hundreds of dollars of difference, even though the only added perk for Aurea on the All In is the internet since the easy drink package is already included.  Not everyone always does the math, so they sometimes get away with charging more for the All In than the items would cost ala carte with the Escape.  The two discount deals are not connected though, so the all in will not necessarily be x dollars more than the escape.

[sbd78]

Thanks for the replies everyone! I was looking at the June 14, 2020 Armonia sailing and doing the math, the escape rate plus adding easy drinks and internet a la carte actually comes out just slightly cheaper, so I was wondering if there was something I was missing? Sounds like it's better to just book the escape rate, thanks!

[Até]

How many people are in the cabin?  For two people on that sailing in Bella and Fantastica the All In rate is $200 per person more than the Escape rate.  So $400, minus any Voyagers discounts which will make it cost a little less than the following.  I'm not sure of the exact price on Armonia right now but on US sailings the standard internet has been about $75, leaving approximately $325 as the cost of the beverage package.  Dividing by two people then by seven nights yields $23 per person per day.  Pre-purchasing the Easy package is now $35 per person per day, add 15% if you do it on the ship.  Not the best deal I've seen, but at least it's some savings if you wanted the a drinks package and internet anyway.

[sbd78]

9 hours ago, Até said:

How many people are in the cabin?  For two people on that sailing in Bella and Fantastica the All In rate is $200 per person more than the Escape rate.  So $400, minus any Voyagers discounts which will make it cost a little less than the following.  I'm not sure of the exact price on Armonia right now but on US sailings the standard internet has been about $75, leaving approximately $325 as the cost of the beverage package.  Dividing by two people then by seven nights yields $23 per person per day.  Pre-purchasing the Easy package is now $35 per person per day, add 15% if you do it on the ship.  Not the best deal I've seen, but at least it's some savings if you wanted the a drinks package and internet anyway.

It's actually for 5 people, 2 adults and 3 kids. (Well, 2 kids and 1 teen.) We are looking at booking 2 cabins. 1 adult and 1 child in 1, 1 adult and 2 children in the other. This is what I was basing my math on.

[Até]

I'll agree paying for the All In promotion is tough if children are the #2 or even #3/4 passengers as they get hit with the same fares, which are all $200pp higher.  The internet is shared so the per person cost for the drinks package is thus even higher.  I think part of the reason the non-alcohoilic package is priced so outrageously high at $29pp/day is to justify this type of situation.  MSC is definitely not kid friendly in this regard - in fact it now seems very hard to find any "Kids Cruise Free" itineraries.  In your case I'll agree about going with the Escape rate.

 

ETA: If you plan on purchasing a drinks package for just the two adults you may have trouble because officially everyone in the cabin is supposed to be required to have an equivalent package.  That said there have been reports of people being able to purchase the drinks package for only one of the passengers in the cabin on the MSC website.  It would also be best to purchase packages in advance because once on the ship a 15% gratuity will be added to the cost of the package.

Edited August 17, 2019 by Até

[sbd78]

2 hours ago, Até said:

ETA: If you plan on purchasing a drinks package for just the two adults you may have trouble because officially everyone in the cabin is supposed to be required to have an equivalent package.  That said there have been reports of people being able to purchase the drinks package for only one of the passengers in the cabin on the MSC website.  It would also be best to purchase packages in advance because once on the ship a 15% gratuity will be added to the cost of the package.

Thanks for the reply! I was pricing it out with the non-alcoholic package for the kids because I thought it was required and it still came out slightly cheaper. If we can get away with only buying the easy package for the adults, that would be great! I don't think my kids will drink enough soda/juice to justify the price so I'd prefer to not buy it for them if possible.