Last fall, I cruised with my family on Celebrity Solstice for a port-intensive repositioning cruise from Sydney to Singapore. The 15-night cruise included fabulous ports of call throughout Australia and Indonesia.
Although I had sailed with Celebrity Cruises before, I had never considered splurging on the cruise line’s more all-inclusive fare, known as the All Included package pricing. Instead, I preferred to book only the cruise fare to save money. As a budget cruiser, spending thousands of extra dollars for drinks and internet access didn’t seem worthwhile.
Not to mention, I already receive daily free cocktails with my Captain’s Club loyalty status. Thanks to Royal Caribbean’s status matching program, Diamond Plus members automatically receive Elite Plus loyalty with Celebrity Cruises.
These perks had always felt more than sufficient for me, including Celebrity’s nightly happy hour with complimentary drinks. Although this is more restrictive than Royal Caribbean’s drink vouchers — which can be used at most bars throughout the day — I never felt the need to purchase a drink package. I would have a hard time drinking consistently on a 15-night cruise to justify this cost, anyway!
However, the opportunity presented itself for me to try Celebrity’s All Included package when booking this cruise. I couldn’t believe how much money I saved - and I already plan to book the package again.
What is Celebrity’s All Included pricing?
All Included is a pricing package offered by Celebrity Cruises that bundles cruise fares with the Classic Beverage Package and Basic Wi-Fi Package. Celebrity states these are the most popular amenities for cruise guests, and the All Included pricing allows cruisers to save money by bundling the two together.
According to the cruise line, the All Included pricing package can save guests anywhere from $200 to $800 per person compared to onboard prices for the same amenities. All guests in the stateroom receive the amenities and All Included is available for most stateroom categories. In this way, you can choose a lower-tier stateroom, such as an inside cabin, and still purchase the All Included pricing package.
Celebrity’s Basic Drink includes cocktails, beers, wines, and classic liquors up to $10 each. This also includes specialty coffee, juice, and bottled water. However, for sailings that depart from Australia, drinks up to $12 are included.
While you can certainly save money with this bundled pricing, it’s important to determine which add-ons you plan to purchase regardless. If you are someone who always purchases the drink package and Wi-Fi access, it might be worthwhile to price out the All Included package. If you only need internet access, paying extra for a drink package you don’t use or value could be a waste of money.
I paid $2,069 for an interior stateroom with the All Included pricing package
Although I had used a travel agent for work-related trips, I had never booked a personal cruise through one. While researching prices for the 15-night sailing on Celebrity’s website, I decided to check with my travel agent, Christina from MEI Travel, to see if she could offer a better rate.
Directly on Celebrity’s website, the cruise was listed at $2,300 per person for a non-refundable interior cabin. This price only included the basic cruise fare without any perks or prepaid gratuities. Much to my surprise, Christina had access to group rates for this sailing with a few cabins available - and the savings were substantial!
She provided a quote of $2,069 per person for a refundable interior cabin with the All Included pricing. I was shocked! Even better, this group rate included gratuities (the agency rates were locked in prior to the cruise line’s package changes). Had we booked the same perks directly online with Celebrity Cruises, we would have paid thousands of dollars more.
Read more: My parents paid more for an obstructed balcony, but our cheaper inside cabin was the better choice
Of course, this was a no-brainer decision and we made a deposit on an interior cabin. The only downside of the cabin was its location in the ship’s aft; however, the savings were enough to justify settling on a less desirable location.
The All Included pricing was such a fantastic deal that my parents canceled their prior reservation to book with the travel agent. They paid $800 more to cruise in an obstructed balcony stateroom. It’s not common these days to pay less and receive more, so we were giddy!
I decided to upgrade my Wi-Fi package - and it was cheaper than I expected
Unlike some cruise lines, Celebrity Cruises does not have a set price for its internet package. Prices vary, but Celebrity’s website shows Premium Wi-Fi is $23.99 per day while Basic Wi-Fi is $20.00 per day.
For our 15-night cruise, I was planning to spend $360 on premium internet access to ensure I had proper connectivity. Because I work remotely while traveling, I rely on strong connectivity to ensure I can finish my work when needed.
The All Included pricing comes with the standard Internet Package. But, you can choose to upgrade your drink and internet package, which is what I decided to do for my Wi-Fi access. I was able to upgrade from Basic Wi-Fi to Premium Wi-Fi for only $59.85, which provided unlimited access for the 15-night sailing. This included a discount with my Elite Plus status, but I needed to call Celebrity Cruises to have that applied.
This was well worth the expense! While aboard our cruise, my internet connectivity was consistently stronger than my sister’s connection on the Basic Wi-Fi package. I was able to stream videos and video conferences without issue. On the other hand, my sister’s devices were always buffering; however, she didn’t mind and appreciated the standard access included in her cruise fare.
I recommend upgrading your internet access to the Premium Wi-Fi package if you need to do any sort of video conferencing or streaming during your cruise. My sister had an important Zoom call during our cruise and she needed to borrow my premium internet to ensure the connectivity was strong enough. If you only need to check emails or browse social media, the basic package will suffice. Those needing faster speeds would benefit from the small uncharge for better connectivity.
Having the drink package enhanced our onboard experience, especially on a longer itinerary
With the All Included pricing, our entire family enjoyed access to the standard beverage package—a first for all of us! We were curious to see what kind of drinks would be included in our package. Because we actually saved money booking the All Included fare with our travel agent, it almost felt like we got the drink package for free.
To start, the onboard experience immediately felt more luxurious. We started our vacation with mojitos on the pool deck during sailaway — perhaps one of the most stunning embarkations I’ve ever experienced.
Sipping our cocktails while cruising by the iconic Sydney Opera House was an unforgettable moment. Even better, I was thrilled to learn that my go-to drink choice was included in the package.
Throughout the cruise, I enjoyed not having to worry about paying for drinks individually or waiting until the Captain’s Club nightly happy hour with its restricted cocktail menu. This made the vacation feel more relaxing and all-inclusive.
Because our itinerary was 15 nights, we had plenty of time onboard to take advantage of the drink package. As our ship sailed closer to the equator and the weather was warmer, we savored refreshing drinks on the pool deck to beat the heat.
We also enjoyed drinks during our nightly dinner in the dining room or specialty dining restaurant. I was excited to learn that specialty coffees were included in the drink package; as such, I indulged in my morning latte before starting the day.
Trying new cocktails without pressure was another perk of the drink package during our cruise. I loved the limoncello spritz in Tuscan Grille - and it has since become one of my go-to drinks. My mom also took advantage of her drink package with the sommelier in the dining room to try different wines and ask about his expertise.
I was worried the standard drink package would be restrictive, but this wasn’t the case at all
Although I had never booked Celebrity’s drink package before, I have tried drink packages with Royal Caribbean, Carnival Cruise Line, and Norwegian Cruise Line. While Royal Caribbean and Carnival Cruise Line allow nearly unlimited menu choices with their drink packages, Norwegian Cruise Line had more restrictions on what could be ordered with its standard package.
With this in mind, I was curious to try Celebrity’s drink package for the first time to see whether it would be restrictive or not.
Almost every drink that we ordered was included with the classic drink package, such as mojitos, mudslides, spritzes, martinis, frozen coladas, and Bahama Mamas. It seemed like every drink we ordered was included in our basic package — we started to wonder why anyone would need to upgrade to the premium package when so much was included!
However, it’s important to mention the pricing discrepancy during our sailing. Our cruise departed from Sydney, Australia, and according to the cruise line’s website, this means classic drink packages include drinks up to $12 instead of $10.
There was mass confusion during the first couple of days of our cruise, as the crew members were told that $10 was the drink threshold. Some passengers took this issue to Guest Services and the threshold was increased to $12, per the cruise line’s policy. As such, our cruise might have included more drinks than what is typically allowed and my experience might be skewed because of this.
Another perk of the basic drink package was access to unlimited bottled water
When our sailing departed from Sydney, Australia, the fall weather was crisp and cool. But, as we sailed further north towards the equator, the weather became scorching hot. We were drenched in sweat during our excursions while visiting the Great Barrier Reef, the Australian Outback, and Bali, Indonesia.
With our basic drink package, we were thrilled to learn that bottled water was included! This was a huge perk during our hot sailing. Each morning, we would each ask for one or two bottles of water to pack for our daily adventures.
We were especially happy to have access to this bottled water during our two days in Bali. Considering tap water isn’t typically safe to drink in Bali, we made sure to pack our bottled water from the ship. Not having to worry about water safety or purchasing bottled water was a huge perk of the drink package during our cruise!
Read more: I took my first cruise to Australia. Here are 13 lessons learned, including 4 mistakes I won't make again
However, I’m not sure I would have gotten my money’s worth if I had purchased the drink package separately as an add-on
It’s easy for me to say, “The drink package was absolutely worth it!” when the All Included pricing was actually lower than the cruise fare alone. Had I purchased the standard drink package separately, I don’t think it would have been worthwhile.
Celebrity Cruises charges $107.99 per person per day for the Classic Beverage Package (including gratuities). For a 15-night cruise, this would be $1,619! The cruise line does offer discounts and promotions for their drink package, but this cost is still substantial. In fact, this is almost the amount I paid for the entire cruise!
As a casual drinker who enjoys one or two drinks each day, along with some bottled water and specialty coffee, this cost would be hard to justify. The longer itineraries make it even more difficult to get your money’s worth when you have to drink frequently and consistently to break even. I also don’t enjoy the stress of knowing whether I drank enough to justify the cost of my drink package - vacation is meant to be relaxing, after all!
Even still, I would book the All Included package again if the price was right
For this cruise, the All Included package was an obvious choice. We were able to save money by booking the refundable cruise fare with these perks through our travel agent compared to booking on our own.
When I cruise, I always purchase an internet package and opt for refundable fares to maintain flexibility, which adds to the overall cost. Before this experience, I hadn’t seriously considered the All Included fare, but now I compare both options more closely to assess potential savings.
I’ve already booked another All Included cruise for later this year on Celebrity Millennium, as the price with perks through our travel agent was only slightly higher than the base fare offered directly by the cruise line.
If you’re a budget-conscious traveler, I highly recommend checking with a travel agent about group rates that include perks. You might be surprised at the savings, just like I was!
