Paying Once, Enjoying for Days on All Inclusive Cruises
Many people enjoy cruises so much to start out with because on most cruise lines, you aren’t charged for every little thing, anyway. Of course, your room is covered, just like at a hotel, and most meals will be included in the price tag, also.
On most cruises, there are open buffet-style eating options available almost anytime, day or night, and set hours for restaurant-style eating in one or more dining halls. Room service is usually often available free of charge also, though the menu is often fairly limited. An all inclusive cruise, on the other hand, would have a much more broad, diverse menu available to the passengers in their staterooms.
On almost all ships there will be at least one restaurant where cruise goers have to pay extra to eat at, however, and they usually must also make reservations. The thought process is that the menu is supposed to be even more elite and high-class than the normal cruise eating fare, but this is not always the case.
Also, convenience store food items like candy and soft drinks are often not included in the cruise’s ticket price, either, and are often fairly pricey compared to market prices on land. However, most cruises link their passengers’ room cards with their credit card, so people can spend a lot of money without really having to think about it.
It is important for people looking for all inclusive cruises to read the fine print on the cruise details at the ship line’s website – with the advent of price comparison engines like Expedia and Travelocity, cruise lines got more competitive in their pricing to make the actual price tag go down, but they made up for the decline in potential revenue by having a greater tendency to “nickel and dime” the passengers by charging them for items that were previously included in the ticket price.
All that said, all inclusive cruises are still possible to find, particularly on the higher-end cruise lines that don’t compete on prices but on the prestige and quality of their ships. With the best all inclusive cruise packages, the ship’s restaurants on-board will probably be covered through the ticket price, as will premium service like 24-hour attendants on call and high-quality food available at all hours of the day.
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