What are peoples thoughts on Always INcluded?

[Spif Barwunkel]

I’ll broach this subject again. If tomorrow, all cruise lines discontinue class distinctions, perks, freebies etc. are you still cruising?  In addition, to compensate for doing so, cruise lines will lessen the price of all cabin categories by whatever amount was added because of the perks. The final price you pay to get on the boat includes room, meals and shows, everything else is extra. Understand, no more free food or drink of any kind anywhere on the ship, with the exception of non-bottled water. Most importantly, all our cruise line identification is exactly the same. You won’t know who’s who or what’s what. No difference between the seasoned veteran and the virgin newbie. That will be hard for some folks to take.

 

So, you gonna go? If so, are you gonna cruise with Celebrity? Whatever, don’t get on the ship because you’re getting a bunch of stuff. Get on the ship to enjoy cruising and wherever the ship takes you. A large or small fist full of dollars will buy you anything extra.

 

[highway180]

Just now, jelayne said:

Yes when booking you can’t upgrade just the beverage package.  However within 90 days of sailing you can upgrade the included Classic to Premium at the figures in my example   We recently booked 2 cruises for late 2022 and didn’t elect Elevate, we will call before the and upgrade the beverage to Premium just as we did previously.

i agree, and always do the same, I was ineffectively showing how AI is just a "tool" for marketing, a "gimme" for having to raise the base prices for their product. They expect to recoup some of the costs from those of us who upgrade. Which I am happy to do.

 

Hopefully we can all be cruising by years end or perhaps sooner.

 

[highway180]

2 minutes ago, Spif Barwunkel said:

I’ll broach this subject again. If tomorrow, all cruise lines discontinue class distinctions, perks, freebies etc. are you still cruising?  In addition, to compensate for doing so, cruise lines will lessen the price of all cabin categories by whatever amount was added because of the perks. The final price you pay to get on the boat includes room, meals and shows, everything else is extra. Understand, no more free food or drink of any kind anywhere on the ship, with the exception of non-bottled water. Most importantly, all our cruise line identification is exactly the same. You won’t know who’s who or what’s what. No difference between the seasoned veteran and the virgin newbie. That will be hard for some folks to take.

 

So, you gonna go? If so, are you gonna cruise with Celebrity? Whatever, don’t get on the ship because you’re getting a bunch of stuff. Get on the ship to enjoy cruising and wherever the ship takes you. A large or small fist full of dollars will buy you anything extra.

 

ABSOLUTELY

[kelmac]

I've come to believe that even with Celebrity's AI, it's still cheaper than NCL's promotion cruises.

We have several BtoB cruises coming up next fall and here is an example (two adults):

 

11/20/2021  7-night cruise on NCL's Joy comes in at $2,510 for their best inside cabin.  This includes the drink pkg, but you must add over $100 in drink gratuities paid up front; two free visits to their alternative restaurants + $15.80 in gratuities up front; $50 credit on shore excursions; choice WiFi package.

11/27/2021 7- night cruise on Celebrity's newest ship the Apex at $2,201 for a CAT 9 inside cabin.  This includes the Drink Pkg, Free gratuities, and a WiFi package.

 

HAL has some great prices these days, but still Celebrity remains our "go-to" cruise line.

 

Enjoy!

Kel😄

 

 

[ECCruise]

14 minutes ago, kelmac said:

I've come to believe that even with Celebrity's AI, it's still cheaper than NCL's promotion cruises.

We have several BtoB cruises coming up next fall and here is an example (two adults):

 

11/20/2021  7-night cruise on NCL's Joy comes in at $2,510 for their best inside cabin.  This includes the drink pkg, but you must add over $100 in drink gratuities paid up front; two free visits to their alternative restaurants + $15.80 in gratuities up front; $50 credit on shore excursions; choice WiFi package.

11/27/2021 7- night cruise on Celebrity's newest ship the Apex at $2,201 for a CAT 9 inside cabin.  This includes the Drink Pkg, Free gratuities, and a WiFi package.

 

HAL has some great prices these days, but still Celebrity remains our "go-to" cruise line.

 

Enjoy!

Kel😄

 

 

I think it varies a lot by ship/itinerary/date.

 

We have booked 4 NCL sailings since the inception of AI, 3 Europe and 1 crossing.  All have fairly comparable sailings from =X=.  Comparisons were all midship balconies (no AQ/CC).

All included drinks/wifi.  =X- included grats, NCL included 4 specialty dining reservations (sailings are from 10 to 17 days) + $50 per port excursion credit

 

Prices varied from ~30% less for NCL to ~40% less for NCL. 

Example:  11 day Greek Isles

Celebrity; $6880.00

NCL: $4541.00

 

We will continue to look at =X= first as always.

[tallyho8]

Since there are so many people using lift and shift to get on the upcoming cruises and since they did not have the perks before, they will not get them now. This means that even though most people have the perks you will still have to go to the trouble of showing your card each time you get a drink to prove you have the perks. This is one of the things that slows down the bar service making you wait longer. If everyone had the perks this would not be necessary.

[Fouremco]

3 minutes ago, tallyho8 said:

Since there are so many people using lift and shift to get on the upcoming cruises and since they did not have the perks before, they will not get them now. This means that even though most people have the perks you will still have to go to the trouble of showing your card each time you get a drink to prove you have the perks. This is one of the things that slows down the bar service making you wait longer. If everyone had the perks this would not be necessary.

A few thoughts. First of all, I don't know why you assume that people who did an L&S won't have perks. One of the benefits of the program is that you got to carry forward your perks as well as your pricing. Based on the number of people who booked with perks in the past, especially the beverage packages, I think you are going to have many, many passengers with them as they use their L&S.

 

Secondly, it will be a long time before every passenger is covered under AI, and even then, there will be some who will have upgraded their beverage package. Consequently, showing your card will be no different than pre-AI. Don't forget that Celebrity has also said that for some cruises, it will be possible to book without AI within 90 days of sailing, so we are back to pre-COVID days of passengers with three possible perk levels at the bar, and cards will still need to be checked.

 

My third thought is that showing cards could be eliminated by issuing RFID devices to passengers as a number of lines do. It saves reaching into your pocked for your card, but I don't know how much time it actually saves.

[davekathy]

4 hours ago, tallyho8 said:

Since there are so many people using lift and shift to get on the upcoming cruises and since they did not have the perks before, they will not get them now. This means that even though most people have the perks you will still have to go to the trouble of showing your card each time you get a drink to prove you have the perks. This is one of the things that slows down the bar service making you wait longer. If everyone had the perks this would not be necessary.

You'll still have to show your Sea Pass card when ordering drinks. The server will need to verify if you have the CBP or the PBP.  Same as before. Always had to show our Sea Pass cards if we were having a CC HH drink in another bar during the CC HH. Nothing new there. 

Edited February 17, 2021 by davekathy

[tallyho8]

It was just so much easier and faster on our Norwegian cruise to Cuba where everyone had ALL drinks so you just ordered your drinks and no one had to show anything. That's what all inclusive ought to be.

[Fouremco]

43 minutes ago, tallyho8 said:

It was just so much easier and faster on our Norwegian cruise to Cuba where everyone had ALL drinks so you just ordered your drinks and no one had to show anything. That's what all inclusive ought to be.

Unfortunately, Celebrity opted to go with an Always Included marketing plan instead of an All Inclusive plan. Both "AI" but very different in nature.

[ChucktownSteve]

17 hours ago, ExArkie said:

I hypothesized that AI was tied to the sale of Azamara, with the idea that the corporation wanted a three-tier system for their brands: Royal as the mass-market brand, Silversea as the luxury brand, and Celebrity as the mid-tier (semi-luxury? "better than average" doesn't quite cut it, I think). Without Azamara, the Celebrity brand needs to move a bit up-scale to make a well-defined distinction among the three and fill what could be perceived as a gap. Hence, some of the formerly added-cost items are incorporated into the bookings to give that impression.

 

Always difficult to reposition an established brand in the minds of the consumer, although it has been done successfully on occasion. To me, that means that AI will stick around long enough to see if the brand distinctions sort themselves out.

 

For XX to be semi-luxury or a premium cruise line, they need to walk the walk, not just talk the talk.  I haven't seen the walk matching for the past several years.

 

Keys Kathy, you forgot to mention taking away the daily aqua from Aqua Class. lol  That created quite an uproar back then from the AQ aficionados.

[highway180]

10 hours ago, Fouremco said:

Unfortunately, Celebrity opted to go with an Always Included marketing plan instead of an All Inclusive plan. Both "AI" but very different in nature.

But All inclusive would limit choices, probably similar to Elite HH cocktails. when offered a choice for a glass of wine (red or white), I respectfully would say no thanks, and would just go to Cellar masters for a glass I would truly enjoy. You end up with less than desirable choices.

[Pinboy]

11 hours ago, Fouremco said:

Unfortunately, Celebrity opted to go with an Always Included marketing plan instead of an All Inclusive plan. Both "AI" but very different in nature.

Very good observation-- I never thought of that.

Great to see how well the Senators played the other night making their best comeback in history. 

Any room on the " bandwagon " for Pinboy ??

[Fouremco]

50 minutes ago, highway180 said:

But All inclusive would limit choices, probably similar to Elite HH cocktails. when offered a choice for a glass of wine (red or white), I respectfully would say no thanks, and would just go to Cellar masters for a glass I would truly enjoy. You end up with less than desirable choices.

I don't follow your logic. With All Inclusive, the bar/wine choices remain the same, the only difference being that all passengers have access to the full range of offerings. 

[Fouremco]

19 minutes ago, Pinboy said:

Very good observation-- I never thought of that.

Great to see how well the Senators played the other night making their best comeback in history. 

Any room on the " bandwagon " for Pinboy ??

Yes, the kids put on quite a show. And we always have room for converts! 

[Pinboy]

(  14 pages on the same old, same old , that was discussed months ago )----

Ok, ok, -- I know--- " Move on " !!!!

So, while this is not a forum for " sports talk " other than '' sports " talking , wouldn't it be nice if Celebrity had a current or passed , oops, former " Sport's celebrity " on board every cruise as part of their entertainment program ?  I believe NCL used to do that. 

[Oceangoer2]

21 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

Yes, the kids put on quite a show. And we always have room for converts! 

 

😢

[Pinboy]

Just now, Oceangoer2 said:

 

😢

Leafs fan, perhaps ?????

[Oceangoer2]

1 minute ago, Pinboy said:

Leafs fan, perhaps ?????

Took the game too casually;  last place team doesn't always mean it's a last place effort every time, and playing the Leafs is a super motivator. 

[ChucktownSteve]

36 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

I don't follow your logic. With All Inclusive, the bar/wine choices remain the same, the only difference being that all passengers have access to the full range of offerings. 

 

highway180 and Fouremco,

 

Are y'all referring to XX's "Always Included" but calling it "All Inclusive"?  The  "Always Included" on XX is basically the "Classic" drinks package limited to bar brands.  The cruise lines with "All Inclusive" pour Premium liquors which you would have to pay additional to upgrade to on XX.

Edited February 17, 2021 by ChucktownSteve

[Fouremco]

4 minutes ago, ChucktownSteve said:

 

highway180 and Fouremco,

 

Are y'all referring to XX's Always included but calling it All Inclusive?  The always Always Included on XX is basically the "Classic" drinks package limited to bar brands.  The cruise lines with All Inclusive pour Premium liquors which you would have to pay additional to upgrade to on XX.

No, go back and read my posts. I'm well aware of the difference between the two.

[ChucktownSteve]

22 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

No, go back and read my posts. I'm well aware of the difference between the two.

 

I did go back and read your post 339.  You used the term All Inclusive. So I suppose that means the same as Always Inclusive in the post?

[Fouremco]

10 minutes ago, ChucktownSteve said:

 

I did go back and read your post 339.  You used the term All Inclusive. So I suppose that means the same as Always Inclusive in the post?

As I said in #335, All Inclusive and Always Included are two very different things. Go back to #335 and work forward from there. In #339, I'm responding to @highway180's post #337 on the subject of All Inclusive, not Always Included.

Edited February 17, 2021 by Fouremco

[jelayne]

1 hour ago, Fouremco said:

I don't follow your logic. With All Inclusive, the bar/wine choices remain the same, the only difference being that all passengers have access to the full range of offerings. 

All Inclusive could limited choices.  If All Inclusive were to offer all high end liquors and wines then probably little to no issue, except maybe increase in prices. However some All Inclusive offerings are mediocre liquors and wines.  
 

If  celebrity went to All Inclusive and the bar/wine choices were those included on the Classic Package then those who enjoy craft beers, Baileys, a  top shelve margarita, or a higher quality wine would be unhappy.  

[Fouremco]

2 minutes ago, jelayne said:

All Inclusive could limited choices.  If All Inclusive were to offer all high end liquors and wines then probably little to no issue, except maybe increase in prices. However some All Inclusive offerings are mediocre liquors and wines.  
 

If  celebrity went to All Inclusive and the bar/wine choices were those included on the Classic Package then those who enjoy craft beers, Baileys, a  top shelve margarita, or a higher quality wine would be unhappy.  

I agree, that's always a possibility with any enterprise offering All Inclusive. All Inclusive resorts at which I've been a guest have maintained a full range of top shelf offerings, easily on par with those available with the Premium BP, but others might offer fewer high end products. 

 

Bit of a moot point, I suppose, as Celebrity chose to go with Always Included.