All inclusive?

[eddie11]

Whenever I do a P&O questionnaire it asks my view on whether I would prefer to have an all inclusive holiday. I've never been sure - it would depend on the cost, I guess?

 

I've received an NCL brochure today, with their new fully inclusive cruises - drinks package and gratuities included. 1 litre of bottled water pppd. No speciality coffee.

 

I popped over to the NCL board to check their reaction. Most are not happy, particularly the non-drinkers.

 

Would you be pleased if P&O introduced something similar? Thomson already do, for early bookers, of course. I don't know about other, non-luxury lines

[daiB]

I have seen posts from unhappy campers because the price has risen quite a lot to compensate.

 

 

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[Dartmoordan]

I'm not sure either, it's good to have tips included which Thomsons do without their all inclusive package but as we are not big drinkers of alcohol it would very much depend on the cost and the inclusion of specialty coffees. Princess do a soda and coffee package which worked out great for us as I do like my coffee and OH likes his soft drinks. We have wine with dinner and an after dinner tipple but our ships bill is never very high. I don't know what packages if any P and O do as December will be our first time with them.

[happy v]

I hope P&O don't go AI. It would really put the prices up and as I don't drink I would be paying for nothing. I think OBC is much fairer as everyone can spend it on what they want.

Paying more for tips to be included is a different matter and should be considered.

[john watson]

I have seen posts from unhappy campers because the price has risen quite a lot to compensate.

 

 

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Yes, some people may think the all inclusive price is unrealistically expensive but I disagree. I generally get up around 8am and my head is a bit whoosey on account of the alcohol still in the system. However you can take stuff you have stashed overnight into breakfast for a top up and have it with your meal. There's generally a quiz mid morning and if you want a good seat I get there early and get a few bevvies in for the quiz and when bingo follows you don't mind if you do not win. I think I have won in the past but was busy getting the waiter's attention and missed the boat. Lunchtime is soon after that and normally as you know, they store up your unused wine and save the rest for dinner. There's normally an afternoon trivia, so I just repeat the morning system. Then on to the evening meal, I like second sitting as some cruises you get an officer on the table who buys the wine, a godsend in my opinion. Then it's off to the theatre where it's best to get an end seat so the waiters can get at you. I go to second performance, then onto the karaoke place where I like to sing a bit and get a few rounds in with the current crowd. After that it's on to the casino, which is a bit of a waste of money but normally the waiters are good at bringing the drinks round to the players. Normally this closes at around 12.30 so I like to get an early night so I can be up early for breakfast. In my opinion All Inclusive will be excellent value for money.

 

Regards John

[Adammara]

We booked a Princess suite on P&O's sister company Cunard in October, just over £3k per person, including 'free' drinks. Current price is just under 2k pp. I have an awful lot of drinking to do, as my wife does not drink!

 

We have purchased non alcoholic drinks packages on Celebrity in the past, and I think we about broke even.

[daiB]

Yes John.

 

My condolences to your liver.

 

 

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[happy v]

Well done John.

However 'many a true word..............!!!:)

[insanemagnet]

I have seen posts from unhappy campers because the price has risen quite a lot to compensate.

 

 

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I think there is a quite a bit of people comparing apples and oranges in those posts.

 

You need to keep in mind NCL have been including free alcoholic drinks (or something else) in their package for some time, as it is a never ending promotion.

 

The difference is previously those booking had a choice of an AI drinks package, a certain number of meals in the premium restaurants, 250 minutes of internet, or an amount of credit for excursions.

 

Aside from removing the choice and simply giving everyone the AI drinks, something which I believe most people choose anyway as the cost of drinks is extremely high, the real difference is including the service charge.

 

The only time you couldn't get the AI (or other offers) was if you booked late or booked a 'guarantee' cabin. Now even the late and 'guarantee' cabins get the promotion, it will be interesting to see what happens to those prices.

 

At the end of the day NCL have introduced this because they think it will increase profits. It probably will, despite what some think.

 

It gets rid of the opportunity for European's to remove the service charge, whilst keeping the tipping Americans happy.

 

As for some saying they don't drink, so no good to them. Well you can't keep everyone happy, and my experience has been NCL has a much younger customer base, who would consume more than the odd sweet sherry at Christmas which is more typical of P&O's customer base, so an AI promotion would be attractive.

 

Quite simply NCL are offering a modern 'the price you see is the price you pay' approach, rather than the old fashioned 'tipping' and OBC approach P&O currently have.

[kalos]

What no yard of ale contest John ?

 

Joking apart I'm with Happy V on this one .

 

OBC is much fairer as everyone can spend it on what they want.

Paying more for tips to be included should be considered also remember that P&O let you take

your own drinks on-board .

No need to smuggle, nor do you pay for safes or fridges, they come as standard with P&O.

[insanemagnet]

OBC is much fairer as everyone can spend it on what they want.

 

You can, but the amount of OBC varies massively between different cruises, and is often nothing if you don't book early.

 

AI is a known amount, which is the same for every cruise.

 

nor do you pay for safes or fridges, they come as standard with P&O.

 

I haven't come across a company that does.

[Florry]

I wouldn't like AI, it may be a misconception but I imagine that the quality and choice of what's in the package would be limited. We do drink, probably the equivalent if two bottles of wine a day between us (I drink the least [emoji56]) but even if a package worked out cheaper I'd rather be in an environment where getting value for money wasn't a passenger priority. Not only that I like having the choice of what I spend and when and would regard AI as yet another example of us subsidising others onboard.

 

 

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[kalos]

You can, but the amount of OBC varies massively between different cruises, and is often nothing if you don't book early.

 

Agreed but there's the carrot to get you to book early

 

AI is a known amount, which is the same for every cruise.

 

A few years ago Thomson AI used to have extra charges on top of certain drinks and a few would be at full price , regardless to the fact you could have already paid to be AI at a hefty price for some people.

 

 

I haven't come across a company that does.

 

Thomson do think it was £25 for the safe not sure about the fridge as we never had one .

Don't get me wrong , I loved our cruisers with Thomson , Olsen and Princess and we love our P&O cruisers too and like the fact that they are all different.

It would be a shame if they all had the same , so fair play to the AI ships and the OBC ones

as everyone gets a choice of a cruise to suit.

Having said that , if P&O went down the AI route then I would still sail with them.

Down to personal choice really .

[reilly1]

Yes, some people may think the all inclusive price is unrealistically expensive but I disagree. I generally get up around 8am and my head is a bit whoosey on account of the alcohol still in the system. However you can take stuff you have stashed overnight into breakfast for a top up and have it with your meal. There's generally a quiz mid morning and if you want a good seat I get there early and get a few bevvies in for the quiz and when bingo follows you don't mind if you do not win. I think I have won in the past but was busy getting the waiter's attention and missed the boat. Lunchtime is soon after that and normally as you know, they store up your unused wine and save the rest for dinner. There's normally an afternoon trivia, so I just repeat the morning system. Then on to the evening meal, I like second sitting as some cruises you get an officer on the table who buys the wine, a godsend in my opinion. Then it's off to the theatre where it's best to get an end seat so the waiters can get at you. I go to second performance, then onto the karaoke place where I like to sing a bit and get a few rounds in with the current crowd. After that it's on to the casino, which is a bit of a waste of money but normally the waiters are good at bringing the drinks round to the players. Normally this closes at around 12.30 so I like to get an early night so I can be up early for breakfast. In my opinion All Inclusive will be excellent value for money.

 

 

 

Regards John

 

 

Can I cruise with you soon?!!

 

 

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[Selbourne]

I wouldn't like to see all inclusive on P&O. In recent years we have witnessed a few drink related incidents with a very small minority of passengers (the last one a few months ago on Ventura when a very drunk man harassed a singer who had to curtail her set, left in tears and then security arrived). I fear that all inclusive drinks would result in a significant increase in this sort of behaviour. Also, we tend not to drink alcohol until the evenings (lunchtime drinking makes me drowsy all afternoon!) and then it's usually one drink before dinner, a bottle of wine with dinner and maybe one (two max) afterwards, so I suspect that we would be out of pocket given the inevitable price hike that would result.

 

A number have mentioned all inclusive packages on some lines extending to Select Dining restaurants. Again, I would hate that as we really love these restaurants and use them extensively, partly due to the fact that we find the main dining room experience to be quite 'average' compared to the P&O of the past. In addition to the far superior food and service, we use them to escape the hustle and bustle of the MDR's and some of the poor passenger behaviours of, again, a small minority of passengers of the very loud 'look at us' type or those who allow their children to wander around the tables. We have found that those who behave in a disruptive way are rarely found in the select dining venues due to the additional cost and we find these restaurants to be a calm sanctuary in comparison. If attending those venues becomes 'free' then the exclusivity aspect disappears one fell swoop.

 

Although the P&O product has, through necessity, now become a mid / mass market one compared to the relatively upmarket experience we first had in 1996, Select Dining restaurants still provide something of high quality. Incorporating them into the 'included' aspects would remove the one bit of exclusivity that remains.

[insanemagnet]

I wouldn't like AI, it may be a misconception but I imagine that the quality and choice of what's in the package would be limited.

 

That is not my experience. On NCL the AI includes all drinks that cost up to $15 a glass, so everything except the absolute premium drinks, and if you wanted those you only paid the extra.

 

Thomson do think it was £25 for the safe not sure about the fridge as we never had one .

 

I can understand charging for a fridge, but charging for a safe is crazy.

 

On the only occasion a hotel tried to charge me for a safe I called their bluff, and told them if anything went missing from the room the police would be called and the first suspect would be the chamber maid as having a key. They blinked first.

[davecttr]

That is not my experience. On NCL the AI includes all drinks that cost up to $15 a glass, so everything except the absolute premium drinks, and if you wanted those you only paid the extra.

 

 

 

I can understand charging for a fridge, but charging for a safe is crazy.

 

On the only occasion a hotel tried to charge me for a safe I called their bluff, and told them if anything went missing from the room the police would be called and the first suspect would be the chamber maid as having a key. They blinked first.

 

Thomson do charge for the use of safes. It is an easy way to gather extra revenue for very little effort for the company. P&O could well consider doing this as another way of raising the extra revenue they need (speaking as a shareholder) or spending the money on better quality food. ;)

 

However.....

 

I tried the TUI Discovery last year and they did not charge for the use of the safe so maybe they have changed the policy on the TUI brand ships.

 

If you don't use a provided safe best check your insurance policy, you might be surprised to find they will refuse a claim if you did not use the provided safe, even if you had to pay for it.

[danielundecided]

We had a £400 bill at the end of a week, mainly alcohol and soft drinks. I think it would be better to have the gratuities AI style and for P&O to just have some decent soft drinks and alcoholic drinks packages, so you have an extra option if you drink enough to make the packages worth it. I'm not sure going completely AI including the drinks is a good idea as it will force P&O to make price hikes and this would probably frustrate people who wouldn't take advantage of the free drinks.

 

Dan

 

 

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[A UKCRUISER]

Yes, some people may think the all inclusive price is unrealistically expensive but I disagree. I generally get up around 8am and my head is a bit whoosey on account of the alcohol still in the system. However you can take stuff you have stashed overnight into breakfast for a top up and have it with your meal. There's generally a quiz mid morning and if you want a good seat I get there early and get a few bevvies in for the quiz and when bingo follows you don't mind if you do not win. I think I have won in the past but was busy getting the waiter's attention and missed the boat. Lunchtime is soon after that and normally as you know, they store up your unused wine and save the rest for dinner. There's normally an afternoon trivia, so I just repeat the morning system. Then on to the evening meal, I like second sitting as some cruises you get an officer on the table who buys the wine, a godsend in my opinion. Then it's off to the theatre where it's best to get an end seat so the waiters can get at you. I go to second performance, then onto the karaoke place where I like to sing a bit and get a few rounds in with the current crowd. After that it's on to the casino, which is a bit of a waste of money but normally the waiters are good at bringing the drinks round to the players. Normally this closes at around 12.30 so I like to get an early night so I can be up early for breakfast. In my opinion All Inclusive will be excellent value for money.

 

Regards John

 

Thanks for this you just brightened up a bad day

[SquishTheWhale]

I'm an NCL cruiser and I can say it's pretty certain that you are worse off under the AI rate, so I hope P&O don't follow. There's been some pretty big price differences in rates- I compared the rate for my upcoming cruise in October and taking everything into account you would pay £60pp more and also lose the 3 day dining package. That's probably the smallest difference in rate anyone posted but it's still a lose-lose situation for the consumer. I'm not going to make up that price difference in 'free' coffee and bottled water (especially considering those are also limited).

AI doesn't really mean anything when you've been able to get the free drinks package on almost all bookings for years anyway- it's just included tips now, which I have factored into the price difference above. But you get no free dining package (or other second perk), and the prices are higher, so like I say lose-lose. I bet I have a wonderful cruise on NCL in October but we are looking at P&O for the next one as NCL as just silly expensive now.

[insanemagnet]

If you don't use a provided safe best check your insurance policy, you might be surprised to find they will refuse a claim if you did not use the provided safe, even if you had to pay for it.

 

Reasonable advice, but I don't take anything away that would be worth making an insurance claim for. It would be the hassle which would be more irritating.

 

As for whether a payable safe is 'available' I doubt the insurance ombudsman would agree.

 

However my argument was the safe was to protect the hotel staff from accusations of theft, not protect me from theft. Unless there was physical evidence of the door being forced open, who else would have been able to steal my stuff other than a member of staff with a key (I know the door locks are not very secure, but what hotel is going to admit that).

[Charleyben]

The term 'all inclusive' can be misleading and what exactly is included can vary substantially between different cruise lines as has been clearly demonstrated in this thread. There is also a need to draw a distinction between all inclusive and drinks packages which are often confused.

 

The luxury cruise lines pretty much include most things in their package and Regent include certain excursions but even on these lines, certain wines, champagnes and spirits attract an extra charge as do certain excursions on Regent. No line, to my knowledge, provide free spa treatments.

 

Azamara provide a 'more inclusive' package which includes a basic offering of drinks and also offer various beer, wine and spirits packages and a further option to pay as you go on items not included in their package.

 

Mainstream lines vary considerably in what they offer particularly with regards to the provision of alcohol. The American Lines tend to include all drinks up to a certain price whist the European Lines are inclined to offer a set selection and generally only provide house wines.

 

Before I book an all inclusive cruise or one offering drinks packages, I research exactly what is being offered before making up my mind.

 

Returning to initial posters question. There are a large number of options open to P & O if they wish to go down the all inclusive or drinks package route. Whatever they decide to do will not please all of their customers.

 

I would personally not like to see them going down the all inclusive road as my wife and I are mostly wine drinkers. We do not particularly enjoy the Ollie Smith house offerings and would prefer to choose our own. The price of wine is very reasonable on P & O and it does not break the bank to move up from the house wines.

 

I would not worry about them introducing drinks packages as I can choose whether or not I want to purchase them.

 

Confused? I am!

[ocean42]

I just want the choice of a drinks package. Cant believe P&O don't give you at least the option. My drinking offends no-one. In fact its mainly the cost of soft drinks that is offensive. Think even with the card its £35.00 for the equivalent of 15 cans. 24 cans at Tesco is often £5.00!!!! That's one hell of a mark up!

[lake5298]

Yes, some people may think the all inclusive price is unrealistically expensive but I disagree. I generally get up around 8am and my head is a bit whoosey on account of the alcohol still in the system. However you can take stuff you have stashed overnight into breakfast for a top up and have it with your meal. There's generally a quiz mid morning and if you want a good seat I get there early and get a few bevvies in for the quiz and when bingo follows you don't mind if you do not win. I think I have won in the past but was busy getting the waiter's attention and missed the boat. Lunchtime is soon after that and normally as you know, they store up your unused wine and save the rest for dinner. There's normally an afternoon trivia, so I just repeat the morning system. Then on to the evening meal, I like second sitting as some cruises you get an officer on the table who buys the wine, a godsend in my opinion. Then it's off to the theatre where it's best to get an end seat so the waiters can get at you. I go to second performance, then onto the karaoke place where I like to sing a bit and get a few rounds in with the current crowd. After that it's on to the casino, which is a bit of a waste of money but normally the waiters are good at bringing the drinks round to the players. Normally this closes at around 12.30 so I like to get an early night so I can be up early for breakfast. In my opinion All Inclusive will be excellent value for money.

 

Regards John

 

John Watson - you are a LEGEND !!!!!

[daiB]

John Watson - you are a LEGEND !!!!!

 

 

No no no, his liver is the legend.

 

:) :)

 

 

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