All inclusive

[richleeds]

Princess Cruises Expands Rollout of All-Inclusive Beverage Package

Friday, March 7th, 2014

Eight Princess Cruises ships have the line’s all-inclusive beverage package available, which the line began trialing late last year. Three more are scheduled to receive the package by April 1.

[richleeds]

These packages will not be rolled out across the whole fleet just yet, Royal Caribbean will instead be trialling it out on three of their ships. However, if it is successful and people feel they are getting good value for money, it is very likely that it will be rolled out fleetwide in the future.

[richleeds]

Plenty, according to Norwegian Cruise Lines, which is introducing “all-inclusive” pricing for 2015 cruises it sells this month after successful trials last year. The package is priced according to the length of the cruise, from three days to two weeks, and offers a 10 percent discount on the cruise fare.

[davecttr]

Yes of course they manage it and P&O can manage it too after they know what volumes they are managing.

 

You might be able to fit liquid in volume in a small space. But think outside the box for a minute. Bottles, cartons, containers, bottles of beer, cans of beer, cans of soda do not fit in your neat ideology - they take up a lot of space.

 

All the other issues are of logistical importance.

 

Of course they will be making money from it and also hoping to encourage cruisers to P&O who like AI packages.

OK, add in the packaging, it still fits in my lounge :)

[Somerset Cruiser]

OK, add in the packaging, it still fits in my lounge :)

 

I sure it will, especially as you are rarely there ;)

[davecttr]

Dave they would only need a small tanker for me as I drink G&T. :)

 

 

 

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You will like Britannia then as they will have over 70 different gins - allegedly

 

Maybe they will need a tanker after all :eek::D

 

ps - that might be beer

[richleeds]

You will like Britannia then as they will have over 70 different gins - allegedly

 

Maybe they will need a tanker after all :eek::D

 

ps - that might be beer

 

 

He's gone very quiet all of a sudden. I could hear a slice of lemon drop in my trialled all inclusive G&T!

[tfg]

They have compacters to compact all the rubbish.

I don't think space is an issue otherwise why are other cruise lines offering AI.

Didn't mean to start a war by starting this topic

Terry

[hunnibunni123]

does anybody actually know what is happening? rather than speculating and rowing about it...any idea which ship this is on this month?

[daiB]

does anybody actually know what is happening? rather than speculating and rowing about it...any idea which ship this is on this month?

 

 

Go back to the start. The rumour came from staff at a TA. With an Internet presence. Nothing has been heard since.

 

 

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[richleeds]

They have compacters to compact all the rubbish.

I don't think space is an issue otherwise why are other cruise lines offering AI.

Didn't mean to start a war by starting this topic

Terry

 

 

Hi Terry

 

Space won't be an issue once they know the approx volume of space needed. Hence why they trial such things, work out the logistics of running it then roll it out fleet wide if successful.

 

There isn't spare space below but they are usually very creative at creating it.

 

Something will have to give but that may not impact passengers or service.

 

As someone above says it works on Celebrity - of course it does, it has been made to work since it's conceptualisation.

[CCFC]

The Grand class ships on Princess have been doing it since March, I'm sure P&O will have learnt a thing or two from other Carnival brands. It's not like the staff don't have their own M&M.

 

Costa (not just Grand class) have been doing an AI for over a year. (At a lot less than Princess too I might add.)

Edited August 6, 2014 by CCFC

[soobs]

May I suggest they do a trial on the early December cruise on Ventura in the Caribbean apart from the fact I hope to be on board, we were informed last year that this cruise is rarely full because of the dates being so close to Xmas.

 

So ship not being full is a good time to trial when the pressure is not on.

 

Sounds like a good idea to me

[daiB]

May I suggest they do a trial on the early December cruise on Ventura in the Caribbean apart from the fact I hope to be on board, we were informed last year that this cruise is rarely full because of the dates being so close to Xmas.

 

 

 

So ship not being full is a good time to trial when the pressure is not on.

 

 

 

Sounds like a good idea to me

 

 

No no no no. I have it on good authority, that it is to happen on Oceana. This will take place in late September and those on Baltic and above are to get it half price. ;)

 

I also understand we have to were a badge which says I am getting all my booze on a cheapie. :) :) :)

 

Oops did I say we. Obviously I meant they.

 

 

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[davecttr]

I heard it is on Oceana late September but only for solo cruisers who frequent the casino. Now where did i read that ;)

[richleeds]

An interesting read from the trial on board a Celebrity ship. If you don't believe trials exist or you don't want to read any more posts about them, then please skip this post. For all others, its quite informative.....

 

Celebrity Cruises introduced four unlimited-beverage packages that customers can purchase before sailing. The line designed the packages after a trial launch in December. Cruise editor Johanna Jainchill talked with Tony Tahmosh, Celebrity's beverage operations manager, about how the line settled on the final packages, and whether they will encourage excess consumption.

 

Q: Many people say you'd have to drink a huge amount to make these packages worth it. But you said feedback indicated passengers were willing to pay these prices.

 

A: The new packages are somewhat less expensive than in the trial. We did market research in January and February and adapted the new packages to fit more of what our guests are looking for. We included more options and at a lower price point. The key thing was to package alcoholic drinks with nonalcoholic drinks.

 

We were getting a lot of requests last year for some kind of package plan, and we really focused on the convenience and value point of view.

 

Q: Did the packages sell well during the trial?

 

A: Yes, they've been picking up momentum. Like anything else, we realized after the launch they could be improved. ... People may look at them and say they seem expensive: $44.85 per day for the Classic Package. But when you factor in that it's cappuccinos, espressos, bottled water, fresh-squeezed orange juice and glasses of wine at dinner, it really covers your entire day's beverage needs.

 

Q: People expressed concern that this would lead to more drunkenness on the ships. Has that happened?

 

A: We've not had issues with intoxication. We've had a safe alcohol [serving] policy in effect for quite some time. Now we've decided to start using ServSafe alcohol service, a national program sponsored by the National Restaurant Association. All employees will be going through this program to make sure they don't overserve and know the signs and things to look for.

 

A lot of the value in the Classic and Premium packages are in the nonalcoholic selections. The last thing we wanted to do was create [a situation where] you have to get your money's worth by drinking as much liquor as possible.

 

Q: How do you police this policy and keep people from sharing the drinks?

 

A: We keep our eyes open as much as possible. It's not a perfect system, but we do random audits on guest folios. Because each drink is rung up at a zero value. If you see a large number of zeros being rung up at a time, it is potentially being abused or there is some fault. We haven't had any major issues. There have been some isolated incidents, and we had to address some guests who tried to share the package with others. Once we speak to them, the issue seems to go away.

 

Q: I haven't seen any comparable programs in the industry. Is this a first?

 

A: Yes. A lot of lines have soda packages, but in terms of offering the convenience of having the nonalcoholic and alcoholic beverages all together, we are the first to do this.

 

Q: Are the packages more popular on less port-intensive itineraries?

 

A: Yes, and also on shorter cruises. We sell more packages on the four- and five-day than on the 14-day sailings.

 

Q: Why not be all-inclusive and include these drinks in the cruise price?

 

A: We wanted to make them available for people that drink a lot of beverages. Some people want to go on ships and not spend money on beverages. If you are all-inclusive, you are forcing everybody to pay this amount when there are people that this doesn't work for.

[FAB1]

Thank you. That was very interesting. I am hoping that P&O will have a similar package to Celebrity.

 

Sue

[davecttr]

Q: I haven't seen any comparable programs in the industry. Is this a first?

 

 

A: Yes. A lot of lines have soda packages, but in terms of offering the convenience of having the nonalcoholic and alcoholic beverages all together, we are the first to do this.

 

Ha Ha, Thomson have been offering combined packages for years

 

Their daily price is similar as well

[richleeds]

Thank you. That was very interesting. I am hoping that P&O will have a similar package to Celebrity.

 

Sue

 

Yeah I thought it was, particularly how they sell more packages on the shorter cruises, shows people are willing to cram in as much as possible on their mini break or the cost of the daily all inclusive price x 14 puts people off buying it.

[FAB1]

Our next cruise is in November for 12 nights. Will have to wait and see if package is offered by then or not. It all depends on the cost whether we will purchase for 12 nights. Hopefully they will do what Celebrity do and let you purchase on board. You don't have to purchase for the full length of the cruise, think you can purchase up to the last 2 or 3 days for the remainder of your cruise.

[BalkanCruiser]

There is only one thing certain about AI packages and that is overall they will be to the advantage of P&O and not the customer.

 

P&O will not introduce AI fleet wide unless it is to their financial advantage to do so.

[heywood]

There is only one thing certain about AI packages and that is overall they will be to the advantage of P&O and not the customer.

 

P&O will not introduce AI fleet wide unless it is to their financial advantage to do so.

 

I am not sure about Celebrity but other companies operate very strict rules re bringing alcohol on board whereas P and O are quite generous at the moment. Do you think that policy will go if AI is available?

[bee-ess]

Yeah I thought it was, particularly how they sell more packages on the shorter cruises, shows people are willing to cram in as much as possible on their mini break or the cost of the daily all inclusive price x 14 puts people off buying it.

 

Also a big factor is the itinerary, these are not such good value on port intensive cruises.

[insanemagnet]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/cruises/cruise-news/11021248/168-units-of-alcohol-just-an-average-week-on-a-cruise-ship.html

[richleeds]

There is only one thing certain about AI packages and that is overall they will be to the advantage of P&O and not the customer.

 

P&O will not introduce AI fleet wide unless it is to their financial advantage to do so.

 

 

Of course, same goes for all lines/hotels/resorts that offer it.