Would you sail on or continue to sail Royal if they went inclusive?

[BND]

1 minute ago, Biker19 said:

The math of providing internet at a land based facility can be quite different from a limited BW sat connection. 

That's not the point.  Everyone pays for it.  Heck, people who don't use the public library are still paying for free WiFi for those who do use it there via taxes.  You can also argue if you've cruise on Carnival, that they provide WiFi for a very low price that works very well, so it doesn't cost them anywhere near as much as they charge for it.

[ownedbypets]

How would this affect Star class cruisers since all of this is already included in their price?

Edited November 11, 2020 by ownedbypets

[John&LaLa]

7 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Definite downgrade with the new update. 

 

Jenn says they are working on it.

[cruisegirl1]

Seems one way to stop the complaining of an overcrowded loyalty  lounge is to eliminate the  lounge/ happy hours and have everyone pay ( buried  in the cruise fare) for a drink package.  I think this falls in a category of.....Be careful what you wish for!

 

If Royal does this,  I can see a huge depletion of C&A benefits. 

 

Funny how everyone was booking double point  cruises and bragging about an anticipated  elevated C&A status.  If  RCCL does an all inclusive, many of the elevated C&A  benefits will  worthless.  

 

M 

Edited November 11, 2020 by cruisegirl1

[Plum Happy]

9 hours ago, yogimax said:

This policy which would raise prices dramatically will simply lead people away from Celebrity and toward Viking, Avalon and the River Cruise companies.

Not really.  You are fooling yourself if you don't think that they have built those prices into those river cruises where you think everything is free.  It's in the price.

[spunks]

I am sure this has been discussed adnausium, but my guess will be that the majority of pushback on this will be from those that will demand their automatic tips be removed.

 

 

 

 

he says with popcorn in hand......

[BND]

21 minutes ago, spunks said:

I am sure this has been discussed adnausium, but my guess will be that the majority of pushback on this will be from those that will demand their automatic tips be removed.

 

 

 

 

he says with popcorn in hand......

If it's all inclusive then it becomes what some  have wanted it to be called, a service charge, not tips.  Flat rate for everything based on cabin category.  There will still be some things that are additional fees, such as specialty restaurants and some onboard experiences.

[cruisegirl1976]

Wow.. I would def try celebrity now .. all inclusive would be great.

[Diver2014]

This topic has me in stitches.  For so long, many on CC have been complaining about being 'nickeled and dimed' to death so now Celebrity comes up with the brilliant idea to be all inclusive (thank goodness!!!) and the complaints are rolling in!  I think more people than not will like the inclusive idea us included!

[fabric_fabric]

2 minutes ago, Diver2014 said:

This topic has me in stitches.  For so long, many on CC have been complaining about being 'nickeled and dimed' to death so now Celebrity comes up with the brilliant idea to be all inclusive (thank goodness!!!) and the complaints are rolling in!  I think more people than not will like the inclusive idea us included!

I don’t this this will stop ‘nickel diming’.  There will always be upgrades to drinks, excursions, room amenities, dining options (even in the MDR), and internet service. It will mean that folks who cruise on a budget will be shut out or need to wait until 90 days before sail to grab a room.  I do know the cruise lines are hurting because of the lost revenue this year, and even more, the staff who have lost their income. Very sad.

[sjb317]

2 hours ago, BND said:

Celebrity has been basically doing this already.  Last time we were on we got an included  drink package, gratuitities and wi-fi.  Our next book trip on the Summit in July includes all of these (drink pkg is the premium one under the special we booked) and OBC, but in reality, you pay for it in your fare, but I don't find it more expensive than RCI without those things..  We're also Elite on X so we get a few additional perks.

 

We did find since pretty much everyone had the drink pkg that getting a drink a certain times (like sailaway) was virtually impossible as it took so long, but other times it was easy.  When we were going ashore for an excursion we just grabbed a couple of bottles of water at a bar.  

Agree with you, our last 5 or 6 cruises on Celebrity had 3, sometimes 4 “included” perks and I felt the prices were not any more expensive than similar Royal cruises.   We never buy a drink or WiFi package on Royal, just use the C&A perks but it is nice to have the included packages on Celebrity.  
 

We have stopped going to the CC happy hour, much more enjoyable to try out various bars and not have to drink the cheap stuff.   I imagine we would not visit the lounge on Royal if they switched to this. 
 

Sherri🙂

[grapau27]

1 hour ago, cruisegirl1 said:

Seems one way to stop the complaining of an overcrowded loyalty  lounge is to eliminate the  lounge/ happy hours and have everyone pay ( buried  in the cruise fare) for a drink package.  I think this falls in a category of.....Be careful what you wish for!

 

If Royal does this,  I can see a huge depletion of C&A benefits. 

 

Funny how everyone was booking double point  cruises and bragging about an anticipated  elevated C&A status.  If  RCCL does an all inclusive, many of the elevated C&A  benefits will  worthless.  

 

M 

Excellent description.

We have absolutely no interest in All Inclusive.

I wonder if the AI DP has a price ceiling and people have to pay extra for certain drinks?.

Graham.

[dani negreanu]

12 hours ago, firefly333 said:

I'd love to see the Galapagos. 

 

Go for it with X -- it'll be a top notch experience.

[TravelerThom]

4 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

We have absolutely no interest in All Inclusive.

I wonder if the AI DP has a price ceiling and people have to pay extra for certain drinks?.

The only way that everything is included is if they get rid of the expensive half their wines, their top line single malts, their extra aged brandies etc (and that isn’t going to happen). 
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there is no free lunch. As someone who no longer has a desire to drink myself under the table or spend my cruise absorbed in the internet I have no interest in paying for this in an All Inclusive price, and I suspect the prices may become non-competitive with my other choices. And I do have other choices...

[Norwich Cruiser]

20 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

Excellent description.

We have absolutely no interest in All Inclusive.

I wonder if the AI DP has a price ceiling and people have to pay extra for certain drinks?.

Graham.

 

5 minutes ago, TravelerThom said:

The only way that everything is included is if they get rid of the expensive half their wines, their top line single malts, their extra aged brandies etc (and that isn’t going to happen). 
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there is no free lunch. As someone who no longer has a desire to drink myself under the table or spend my cruise absorbed in the internet I have no interest in paying for this in an All Inclusive price, and I suspect the prices may become non-competitive with my other choices. And I do have other choices...

Absolutely agree

[sjb317]

29 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

Excellent description.

We have absolutely no interest in All Inclusive.

I wonder if the AI DP has a price ceiling and people have to pay extra for certain drinks?.

Graham.

Yes, the included drink package is a classic package so, although it fits our wants and is, I think, pretty extensive, you are limited to a specific list of beers, wines, etc.  It looks like you can upgrade your package to a premium package, so more choices.  
 

On our cruises, you could upgrade your classic to premium for $10 per person per day.  We did that once when we had quite a bit of OBC and found we drink more classic than premium drinks.😂

 

Sherri🙂

[yogimax]

4 hours ago, Milwaukee Eight said:

I think it’s already been shown that prices are going to increase significantly across all cruise lines in the future. Are you in?

 

M8

I like the compulsory tips.  That's about it.

Edited November 11, 2020 by yogimax

[Nunagoras]

If what X is doing is what the OP's statement explains, then X fares will be, like MSC ones, based on the experiences. Basic, Elevate and Indulge. You choose the experience at the time of booking your cabin, so, I believe that the loyalty programs thing will be solved the same way MSC is solving right now: You choose your cabin and experience and they will give you a discount according to your loyalty level.

 

If I personally like it or not? Perhaps yes. The cruise becomes more stress free for both us and the workers. No need to have the worker scanning a card for just the odd coffee... And more controlled costs...

[grapau27]

28 minutes ago, sjb317 said:

Yes, the included drink package is a classic package so, although it fits our wants and is, I think, pretty extensive, you are limited to a specific list of beers, wines, etc.  It looks like you can upgrade your package to a premium package, so more choices.  
 

On our cruises, you could upgrade your classic to premium for $10 per person per day.  We did that once when we had quite a bit of OBC and found we drink more classic than premium drinks.😂

 

Sherri🙂

Thanks for the information.

Graham.

[RFerrington]

2 hours ago, ownedbypets said:

How would this affect Star class cruisers since all of this is already included in their price?

If the SC program remains the same as before, this all-inclusive option (were it to be implemented on Royal) would not affect SC at all, as far as I can tell.  SC has many exclusive attributes that even an all-inclusive wouldn’t have, most notably, the Genie.  I don’t think an all-inclusive would negatively impact SC pax unless the new AI would include unlimited specialty restaurant dining, unlimited room service from specialty restaurants, unlimited water, beer and juices stocked in your suite and Genie services.

[Tree_skier]

It would not be my choice.  We generally get one DBP and one RP so we'd be overpaying for one of us. We do get internet and pay our auto grats so those would be a wash.  I just prefer to pick and choose what I want and don't want and the all inclusive concept, unless it is significantly discounted in the included benefits, wouldn't be to my liking.

[Domino D]

2 hours ago, grapau27 said:

Excellent description.

We have absolutely no interest in All Inclusive.

I wonder if the AI DP has a price ceiling and people have to pay extra for certain drinks?.

Graham.

Our 2021 Celebrity booking (includes drink package) definitely does.  I don't know if what we booked will be exactly the same as the new all inclusive offering. 

[docruth]

2 hours ago, TravelerThom said:

The only way that everything is included is if they get rid of the expensive half their wines, their top line single malts, their extra aged brandies etc (and that isn’t going to happen). 
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there is no free lunch. As someone who no longer has a desire to drink myself under the table or spend my cruise absorbed in the internet I have no interest in paying for this in an All Inclusive price, and I suspect the prices may become non-competitive with my other choices. And I do have other choices...

 

Thom,

 

Great to see you here!

 

We’re with you, all-inclusive hold no Allure for us. Having stayed in places like the Moon Palace in Jamaica, an Apex of all-inclusive beach resorts, I believe they have an Edge over the cruise lines.

 

We do have a lot of options these days, and the lines will have to compete hard to stay in the mix.

 

Doc Ruth

[grapau27]

7 minutes ago, Domino D said:

Our 2021 Celebrity booking (includes drink package) definitely does.  I don't know if what we booked will be exactly the same as the new all inclusive offering. 

We rarely drink alcohol during the day.

We had a free Drinks Package on Freedom in June 2017 as part of a UK promotion although the price went up £500 for the weeks cruise to cover it.

As D+ we didn't use the DL and got Sauvignon Blanc instead of the Diamond Pinot Grigio in the bars and restaurants and paid an extra $4 per drink plus tip.

I can understand the benefits for a lot of people and especially the cruise line but it would not influence our cruise decision.

[twangster]

At the end of the day it's all about price.

 

If RCI went all in it still comes down to price relative to other options for comparable products.  All in doesn't change the logic, it changes the numbers on the page.  For some the numbers will change in their favor, for other the numbers will work against them.

 

Like when NCL includes the fake "free" drink promo it doesn't change the logic, it changes the numbers on the page.  Time and again running numbers for NCL with their "free" drink package it did not end well for them relative to my vacation needs.  For others the numbers may have worked for them.

 

The same will prove true for Celebrity.  The new pricing may work out for some but not for others.  Charging solo double for the elevate and indulge upgrades but not providing two wifi plans or two drink package upgrades makes the numbers look terrible for solo cruisers on X.  Others may find the new X numbers looking great.