What are peoples thoughts on Always INcluded?

[LGW59]

17 hours ago, jelayne said:

The only one of the other lines we have been on was Azamara.  The suite experience of Azamara  is nothing like on Celebrity.  There is no separate dining room or lounge.  You do get complimentary dining in the 2  speciality restaurants but you have no priority and can’t make reservations until you board.  No priority for seating in the MDR or anything else except embarkation &  debarkation. The included beverages (brands) are below those on Classic beverage package. To get comparable beverages  you need to upgrade to the Ultimate package $21.95 pp per day.  The suite inclusion are minimal, Butler, 1 free bag of laundry per suite every 7 days, 120 internet minutes.

 

Thats not to say there is nothing to like there is, staff is great, White Night and Azamazing evening are both great, they have some wonderful itineraries.  We have a Azamara cruise booked for next year for a itinerary X doesn’t offer.  Bottom line for us Celebrity for the on-board experience, especially the “suite life” but if the itinerary we  want isn’t offered on X we go to Azamara.

Cannot opine on Azamara, but totally agree on the suite experience on Celebrity.  For me AI is all inclusive.  Drinks - check, tips - check, WiFi - check, Luminae, MDR's, specialty dining - check, laundry - check, $800 OBC - check.  I don't shop on ships but anything outside of what is all inclusive for me, is on my dime, which really is not very much if any, other than the cash tips I provide to the crew.

[Ken the cruiser]

4 hours ago, ChucktownSteve said:

 

The free category on XX does not include Suites. Only up to Aqua.

 

The Splendor has seven restaurants included in the fare.  No surcharge restaurants. The Apex has four restaurants included and Blu/Luminae if Aqua or Suite plus . The other five restaurants have surcharges to eat there.

 

The Splendor has 540 crew to 750 passengers while the Apex has 1320 crew to 2,910 passengers. The Apex ration is 2.2:1 vs. 1.4:1  Guess which one should give you better overall quality service?

 

So it's Always Included vs. All Inclusive.

Well, your thoughts have not gone unheard. We will be taking advantage of their current 2 category promotion and booking a 7 day Feb 2023 cruise in a concierge cabin on the Splendor to check Regent out. Funny thing is we will be getting off the Equinox the day before, spending the night in the 5 star hotel, and then boarding the Splendor the next day. We figured it was a pretty good way to compare the two cruise lines by making them a B2B cruise. Thanks again for all of your insights!

[Stockjock]

I'm not a fan of Always Included.  I'd rather pick and choose my perks a la carte.  Plus, it was nice when they offered promotions with low cost or included add ons.

Generally it seems to jack the prices up to the point that I don't look very hard at Celebrity's offerings.  Usually, we prefer MSC, although there are trade-offs.  I find that some of the MSC Voyager's Club offerings are discounted up to 20% legitimately, which is meaningful.  Plus, their status match is nice.

[ChucktownSteve]

59 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Well, your thoughts have not gone unheard. We will be taking advantage of their current 2 category promotion and booking a 7 day Feb 2023 cruise in a concierge cabin on the Splendor to check Regent out. Funny thing is we will be getting off the Equinox the day before, spending the night in the 5 star hotel, and then boarding the Splendor the next day. We figured it was a pretty good way to compare the two cruise lines by making them a B2B cruise. Thanks again for all of your insights!

 

You're welcome.  I'm glad that I could help share what I researched.  I'm an analytical when it comes to determining value. It's not always the cheapest though IMO.

 

I have a very good Regent Rep who gives me great info. Then I transfer it to my TA who gives me the largest OBC/rebate than any other TA I've ever used.  He appreciated that I came back to book with him two additional times but he was worth rewarding especially in this covid cruising scenario.  He doesn't mind me transferring because I let him book so he gets credit for the deposit.  I'd love to hear your comparison after your cruises. Email me sometime at steveL50 hot mail if you like. We enjoyed Equinox when we sailed her.  It's just that XX pricing has gotten so crazy lately.  I probably wouldn't have looked at alternatives so hard had they not gone to AI and promoted themselves as luxury without the real luxury.  I never thought that the two would be in the same price range value.

Edited February 20, 2021 by ChucktownSteve

[Ken the cruiser]

2 minutes ago, ChucktownSteve said:

 

You're welcome.  I'm glad that I could help share what I researched.  I'm an analytical when it comes to determining value. It's not always the cheapest though IMO.

 

I have a very good Regent Rep who gives me great info. Then I transfer it to my TA who gives me the largest OBC/rebate than any other TA I've ever used.  He appreciated that I came back to book with him three times but he was worth rewarding especially in this covid cruising scenario.  He doesn't mind me transferring because I let him book so he gets credit for the deposit.  I'd love to hear your comparison after your cruises. Email me sometime at steveL50 hot mail if you like. We enjoyed Equinox when we sailed her.  It's just that XX pricing has gotten so crazy lately.  I probably wouldn't have looked at alternatives so hard had they not gone to AI and promoted themselves as luxury without the real luxury.

Will do. Thanks!

[prish]

4 hours ago, ChucktownSteve said:

 

You're welcome.  I'm glad that I could help share what I researched.  I'm an analytical when it comes to determining value. It's not always the cheapest though IMO.

 

I have a very good Regent Rep who gives me great info. Then I transfer it to my TA who gives me the largest OBC/rebate than any other TA I've ever used.  He appreciated that I came back to book with him two additional times but he was worth rewarding especially in this covid cruising scenario.  He doesn't mind me transferring because I let him book so he gets credit for the deposit.  I'd love to hear your comparison after your cruises. Email me sometime at steveL50 hot mail if you like. We enjoyed Equinox when we sailed her.  It's just that XX pricing has gotten so crazy lately.  I probably wouldn't have looked at alternatives so hard had they not gone to AI and promoted themselves as luxury without the real luxury.  I never thought that the two would be in the same price range value.

Thanks for the info on Regent, I too will  contact you for further details. We take just about one cruise a year, or even every other year, but have been loyal Celebrity customers and happy with their product and service. But we’re now  looking for other options, especially since we cruise almost exclusively in Europe and are would like different ports and itineraries. 

[laslomas]

With the Always Included pricing there is little left for Celebrity to come up with as actual "Offers", "Promotions" or "Deals". I know most people say that nothing was ever given away, but it was fun waiting for the next Promotion and working it all out 🤔

[Ex-Airbalancer]

8 hours ago, prish said:

Thanks for the info on Regent, I too will  contact you for further details. We take just about one cruise a year, or even every other year, but have been loyal Celebrity customers and happy with their product and service. But we’re now  looking for other options, especially since we cruise almost exclusively in Europe and are would like different ports and itineraries. 

I know what you mean , at $500 a day per person, we will probably looking at land trips instead 

[prish]

39 minutes ago, Airbalancer said:

I know what you mean , at $500 a day per person, we will probably looking at land trips instead 

We always did a combination of cruise and land tours. We usually rented apartments or houses for the land part, which allowed us to visit and explore in depth. The cruise would come in the middle part of the holiday and we really enjoyed the whole X experience, plus of course the ports, which gave us a taste of places we liked enough to visit again at a later date.
 

We aren’t avid cruisers, just about once a year, but it’s been something we really loved right from the very first, 15+ years back. And we would still want to continue cruising, especially when we take our annual extended family vacation. 

[ABoatNerd]

12 hours ago, Airbalancer said:

I know what you mean , at $500 a day per person, we will probably looking at land trips instead 

I agree. It is really interesting the difference between land and cruise. If you want to see the destinations, then land it the way.

That is me, limited cruises going forward unless the ship is the best way like Norway, Cdn Arctic etc. Otherwise land, trains, real local restaurants, private guides and private driver who get you to the front of the line, the best authentic places.

But then, to each their own. 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

This popped up on my Facebook memories 

 

Silhouette TA we book 6 years ago 
 an inside at $634 cdn , got upgrade to a front Oceanview on 8 , and have $200 obc
Then the day before we left we were upgraded to a balcony 😁

A drink package would be about $1200 CAD pp, tips would be $210 pp

we will have wait and see if they offer “sometimes not all inclusive” cruises 😃

 

[prish]

Dream on for such deals now, unbelievable!

[Bo1953]

On 2/19/2021 at 5:57 PM, ChucktownSteve said:

 

Upscale to them yes. Premium no.  Certainly not anywhere close to luxury.

A very good observation, to be sure.

 

Nor would I ever argue that X is 'close' to luxury, yet compared to the aforementioned lines, it is luxury in comparison... do you not think?

 

bon voyage

[drakes2]

49 minutes ago, Bo1953 said:

A very good observation, to be sure.

 

Nor would I ever argue that X is 'close' to luxury, yet compared to the aforementioned lines, it is luxury in comparison... do you not think?

 

bon voyage

After reading all the posts comparing X's AI cruise prices to Princess which are half the cost, I've been reminiscing about all the wonderful cruises I took with Princess, the ports visited and people I connected with along the way. As a solo cruiser it would be a good time to try them again.  Any thoughts?

[Bo1953]

12 minutes ago, drakes2 said:

After reading all the posts comparing X's AI cruise prices to Princess which are half the cost, I've been reminiscing about all the wonderful cruises I took with Princess, the ports visited and people I connected with along the way. As a solo cruiser it would be a good time to try them again.  Any thoughts?

While we have no experience on Princess, I would wholeheartedly endorse you try them again to determine if they still meet your desires and requirements, especially on price.

 

That way you will know if what you remember of them still holds true and be your new line of choice or be added to the mix.

 

I recommend keeping an open mind about it and then you can let us know if they still are as good as you recollect, along with the ports and passengers.

 

bon voyage

Edited February 22, 2021 by Bo1953

[tfred]

54 minutes ago, Bo1953 said:

A very good observation, to be sure.

 

Nor would I ever argue that X is 'close' to luxury, yet compared to the aforementioned lines, it is luxury in comparison... do you not think?

 

bon voyage

I think that this is true, especially with potential cruisers who don't know how the lines differ in actual experience.  If I was used to Holiday Inn and then stayed at a full service Marriott I would be impressed. By the Holiday Inn standard, a Renaissance hotel would be excellent, although to others it would be the minimum. Depends on where you started and what your prior experience is

[Orator]

I've been on luxury cruise lines and I can tell you that Celebrity is not a luxury cruise line.

IMHO: Better than HAL or Princess, but not even close to a Crystal, Seabourn or Silversea. 

[ChucktownSteve]

2 hours ago, Bo1953 said:

A very good observation, to be sure.

 

Nor would I ever argue that X is 'close' to luxury, yet compared to the aforementioned lines, it is luxury in comparison... do you not think?

 

bon voyage

 

While there are many loyal Carnival cruisers, IMO XX IS "luxury" in comparison.  However I've sailed a couple of HAL cruises and I put it on par with XX.  I liked the included food better on HAL. Haven't sailed Princess so can't compare.  I haven't sailed NCL since the mid 90's so can't compare them either.  I've never sailed RCL, nor do I want to.

 

However I place XX below Oceania and Azamara, (which I've sailed),  for some aspects of "luxury."  I will admit though that the XX shows were somewhat better in specter. BTW I've sailed on more Celebrity ships over the years than any other line.  My favorite in the day was the Century class.  But I have enjoyed the M & S classes too.

 

Do you not think?

Edited February 22, 2021 by ChucktownSteve

[drakes2]

1 hour ago, ChucktownSteve said:

 

While there are many loyal Carnival cruisers, IMO XX IS "luxury" in comparison.  However I've sailed a couple of HAL cruises and I put it on par with XX.  I liked the included food better on HAL. Haven't sailed Princess so can't compare.  I haven't sailed NCL since the mid 90's so can't compare them either.  I've never sailed RCL, nor do I want to.

 

However I place XX below Oceania and Azamara, (which I've sailed),  for some aspects of "luxury."  I will admit though that the XX shows were somewhat better in specter. BTW I've sailed on more Celebrity ships over the years than any other line.  My favorite in the day was the Century class.  But I have enjoyed the M & S classes too.

 

Do you not think?

I've only sailed on Celebrity's S class ships, however, prefer the decor on Princess cruise lines. I'll probably still sail on X due to the fact I have an FCC to use. 

[PTC DAWG]

The lack of a casino on the “luxury” lines would leave wanting...I’m thinking nightlife would be lacking too.  
 

As of now, I see Celebrity as my sweet spot...not too many folks just looking for a bargain cruise, looking for a little something extra, that’s my arena. 
 

Different strokes and all.

[Orator]

6 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

The lack of a casino on the “luxury” lines would leave wanting...I’m thinking nightlife would be lacking too.  
 

As of now, I see Celebrity as my sweet spot...not too many folks just looking for a bargain cruise, looking for a little something extra, that’s my arena. 
 

Different strokes and all.

Some luxury lines like Crystal have a Casino. There is even a private room for high rollers. Plenty of entertainment in the evenings. Most nights there is more than one show. Not all lines in whatever the category are the same and careful research is required by the consumer. As the price difference narrows I find myself booking more cruises on luxury lines.

Edited February 22, 2021 by Orator

[PTC DAWG]

On 2/20/2021 at 7:35 AM, ChucktownSteve said:

 

You don't have to go up to Penthouse on Regent for a true comparison.  When comparing it depends upon the SF of the cabin, which ships are being compared and whether having a butler is the most important thing?

 

I found the Concierge suites on Regent more than comparable with the Sky Suite especially since Regent has a two category free upgrade right now. The reason I selected Concierge is it includes a five star hotel night pre-cruise, all transfers, excursions in all ports, air fare and all of the specialty restaurants. I'm not only getting the premium liquor but they also include a bar set up in the suite.

 

I looked at the menus which really sealed the deal for me.  I can order lobster, Alaskan King crab, USDA Prime cuts of beef every day if I want plus the other specialty dishes.

One of my cruises I'm paying $493pp/pd on a 15 day in Concierge from Miami to Montreal. All Inclusive.

 

 

 

EXP Chartreuse Example Menu Dinner.pdf 149.26 kB · 8 downloads Prime7Menu.pdf 451.23 kB · 11 downloads

Those menu items sound good for sure...

[ChucktownSteve]

13 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

The lack of a casino on the “luxury” lines would leave wanting...I’m thinking nightlife would be lacking too.  
 

As of now, I see Celebrity as my sweet spot...not too many folks just looking for a bargain cruise, looking for a little something extra, that’s my arena. 
 

Different strokes and all.

 

Regent ships have small casinos but then again, they have fewer passengers so it doesn't have to be large. '-)   As far as night life, I find the premium and luxury lines have more port of calls so after spending a good bit of the days touring, a quieter night is fine for me.  It's not dead though.

 

But as you say, "Different strokes and all."  Whichever you sail, enjoy!

[PTC DAWG]

More good info on the Casinos on other lines...thanks...