All posts by Nicky

Drinks Packages & All Inclusive Cruising

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Royal Caribbean are currently running an all inclusive promotion offering free drinks packages and free tips for many of their 2014 and 2015 cruises. This is sure to appeal to the family market, tempting those who usually opt for an all inclusive holiday on land to maybe try a break at sea. It’s a smart move by Royal Caribbean as most families hoping to get away in the school holidays are mindful of costs and an all inclusive option means you don’t have to worry about your bar bill. Knowing the cost of your holiday from the outset means no nasty shocks and it’s lovely not to have to say no to the constant requests for ice creams and drinks – unlimited wine and other grown up drinks is a bonus too! Once you’ve tried a cruise you’ll almost certainly be hooked so this promotion by Royal Caribbean should win them many new loyal customers for the future.

When we first cruised around 5 years ago, there were no all inclusive packages as such. You could buy a wine package with a set number of bottles to enjoy at your dinner table but all other drinks were paid for on consumption. Prior to cruising we’d enjoyed many all inclusive beach holidays so the bar bill at the end of our first two weeks at sea was one heck of a shock! Thankfully we were sailing on Ocean Village, the now defunct P&O line so the drinks were fairly reasonable British pub prices but our next cruise was with Royal Caribbean and at $8 for a glass of wine the bill after a fortnight resembled the phone book, printed across four pages! It certainly added significantly to the cost of the holiday as it was back in the days where RCI didn’t allow you to take any alcohol on board for your room. More recently they began to let you take two bottles of wine or champagne per stateroom which was very welcome.

Fast forward a few years and all the major cruise lines now offer some sort of all inclusive upgrade or package. I think they recognise it is an essential move to win over land lovers and cruise novices and I’m sure this is one of the reasons for the huge surge in the number of people cruising these days.

I see many posts on cruise forums such as cruise critic asking questions about drinks packages and whether they are worth the value. The simple answer is it depends how much you drink! Personally we always go for the drinks package if it’s available as we like a drink and I love the freedom a package gives you. You don’t have to worry about what you are spending and if you order a cocktail and don’t like it you can try another with no huge bill at the end of your cruise.

Drinks package costs vary from cruise line to cruise line and many of them offer different levels such as soft drinks only, beer and wine by the glass or premium packages that includes all top shelf spirits and champagne so do ensure you do your research to work out which is best for you.

Cruise.co.uk has a fantastic guide to drinks packages here http://www.cruise.co.uk/guides/cruise-information-drinks-packages/ and also a list of the drinks prices and packages on all lines here http://www.cruise.co.uk/guides/cruise-information-drinks-prices/ The simple rule of thumb is that if you are planning on having 5 drinks or more a day then a drinks package could save you a considerable amount and don’t forget those 5 drinks don’t need to be alcoholic, I love having diet coke available on tap all day long too.

You can pre-purchase drinks packages before you board which often saves you paying tax or service so if a package suits you, book ahead to save money. If you’re in two minds, most of the cruise lines allow you to purchase a package on board on days one or two which allows you to check out the prices, see how much you are drinking and work out if a package would be more cost effective. You’ll pay for all the drinks you’ve consumed up to the point you purchase and then the price per day after that.

It’s worth pointing out that you have to buy the drinks package for every day of your cruise, you can’t choose to just have the package on sea days for example. Some cruise lines insist that you must buy the same package for all adults in the cabin and that children also take the soft drinks option to avoid unscrupulous passengers taking one package and sharing it. Royal Caribbean are happy for just one person in the cabin to take a package or for you to take different packages but NCL insist everyone sharing a cabin signs up which meant I had to buy a soda package for my little boy who only drinks water : (

For our next cruise on The Adventure of the Seas in around four weeks we were lucky enough to get a free Royal Caribbean all inclusive upgrade so those glasses of wine and cocktails will taste even better knowing I’ve not paid for them. Cheers!

The Cruise Show Manchester 2014

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As a bit of a cruise geek I was pleased to see The Cruise Show was coming to Manchester and it seemed a good opportunity to alleviate my post cruise blues and inspire some future holiday ideas. I picked up buy one get one free tickets via last minute.com at a bargain £6 for the pair.

A few days ahead of the show we looked at the exhibitor list online and were disappointed to see none of the major cruise lines would be present. I’d expected and hoped the likes of Royal Caribbean, Carnival, MSC and P&O might be at the show but sadly this wasn’t the case. Undeterred we decided to make the best of it and at £3 each I guess we couldn’t complain.

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We drove into the city, parked up and made our way to Manchester Central the old railway station previously known as GMEX. On arrival we quickly realised that the show wasn’t in the whole of the main hall but instead in a smaller partitioned space at the rear of the building. As I handed in our ticket printout I noticed the on the door price was £10 per adult which made me thankful I’d booked in advance.

The exhibition was quiet although we were there as the doors opened at 10am so maybe it got busier as the day progressed. There were a number of talks by some of the exhibitors scheduled throughout the day in a small seated area but we didn’t actually stay for them.

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The whole show had less than 30 exhibition stands of which at least six were of no relevance to cruising whatsoever such as The Cats Protection League, someone selling shoe insoles and a handbag stall! The remainder were predominantly river cruise lines or those aimed at the older market like Fred Olsen and Saga and 6 star cruising such as Silversea. The only family friendly cruise line present was Thomson so it was disappointing to see the other major players absent although most are exhibiting in Birmingham and London.

On a positive note I did like the look of Star Clippers old style sailing ships and I visited the Viking River Cruises stand as their itineraries are definitely of interest too. I was keen to find out if river cruising was suitable for families but a friendly member of the Viking team explained that they weren’t geared for younger kids and children under 13 aren’t actually permitted on board. Maybe it’s an option we’ll sample in a few years when our boy’s older…

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We walked around the exhibition in about 15 minutes and left unimpressed and uninspired. I suspect the bigger London and Birmingham shows are far more worthwhile but the Manchester experience was a disappointment. We made the best of the day with some retail therapy and a spot of lunch in the city but I guess I’ll be doing my cruise research online in future ; )

The Manchester Cruise Show took place on Saturday 13 & Sunday 14 September and exhibitors included Ama Waterways, Avalon Cruises, Emerald Waterways, Fred Olsen, Hapagg-Lloyd, Hurtigrutern, Oceania, Regent Seven Seas, Silversea, Saga, Star Clippers, The River Cruise Line, Thomson and Viking River Cruises.

It really should have been called the River Cruise Show!