Is Cruise Only plus WiFi and drink sale the best way now?

[zitsky]

Looking at a future Japan cruise 2026, I see extra cost for All Included is maybe $1500 for a $8000 cruise.  It seems if you wait for a sale on WiFi and drink package that Cruise only is the way to go?  It makes no sense to pay extra for basic then upgrade.

[NutsAboutGolf]

In a single word "maybe"

[zitsky]

9 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

In a single word "maybe"

I’ll do a spreadsheet when it comes time to really think about it.  We may book on our Bali cruise in January to get the $100 deposit.  For cruise in May/June 2026.

[BobbM81]

This is what I did for an upcoming Equinox cruise. I ended up paying less to book cruise only and add premium drinks and premium WiFi than it was to book the all included (classic drink and basic WiFi). This was during the Black Friday savings. 

[the penguins]

6 hours ago, zitsky said:

Looking at a future Japan cruise 2026, I see extra cost for All Included is maybe $1500 for a $8000 cruise.  It seems if you wait for a sale on WiFi and drink package that Cruise only is the way to go?  It makes no sense to pay extra for basic then upgrade.

My thoughts/questions are:

1) Do you really need the Wifi? Our free Elite + Captains Club minutes are more than enough - share one lot and once that's used you will see if the second lot will last until the end of the cruise. If not use the second lot as a discount on a full package as by then there could well be a special on the remaining days. Free WiFi in every port.

2) how much do you drink? All speciality teas/coffees/chocolate are free if you are Elite+. Japan is port intensive so not much drinking time in the day. 

3) if you are a couple do you both drink the same amount of alcohol?

Do the maths (sorry math) and you may find neither WiFi or drinks packages are the best option. These products are priced to give X a profit I.e. the majority of passengers lose.

No right or wrong just personal choices.

[NutsAboutGolf]

1 hour ago, the penguins said:

My thoughts/questions are:

1) Do you really need the Wifi? Our free Elite + Captains Club minutes are more than enough - share one lot and once that's used you will see if the second lot will last until the end of the cruise. If not use the second lot as a discount on a full package as by then there could well be a special on the remaining days. Free WiFi in every port.

2) how much do you drink? All speciality teas/coffees/chocolate are free if you are Elite+. Japan is port intensive so not much drinking time in the day. 

3) if you are a couple do you both drink the same amount of alcohol?

Do the maths (sorry math) and you may find neither WiFi or drinks packages are the best option. These products are priced to give X a profit I.e. the majority of passengers lose.

No right or wrong just personal choices.

 

To expand on the alcohol, you can carry some wine and "forget" that you left some wine in your checked luggage

[the penguins]

53 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

To expand on the alcohol, you can carry some wine and "forget" that you left some wine in your checked luggage

True - but we would be carrying it for "others" as we don't drink any alcohol - perhaps we should offer this as a service for say $10 a bottle cash 🤣

[Klinkschakel]

2 hours ago, the penguins said:

 

Do the maths (sorry math) and you may find neither WiFi or drinks packages are the best option. These products are priced to give X a profit I.e. the majority of passengers lose.

No right or wrong just personal choices.

Holiday is not about math 😀 For us the package makes it carefree. And would I drink as much or the same drinks, without a package, for sure not. I would drink less sodas and alcoholic bev. So I am not sure that X wins, for me its a win-win 😀

Edited May 22 by Klinkschakel

[Lena11033]

9 hours ago, zitsky said:

I’ll do a spreadsheet when it comes time to really think about it.  We may book on our Bali cruise in January to get the $100 deposit.  For cruise in May/June 2026.

 

I have a spreadsheet that does the rough calculation so I can get an idea. One cruise I didn't get an option but AI but otherwise I book cruise only and then wait for a sale if I want wifi/drinks added on especially being a solo traveller they really like to add on extra charges.

Also if a European cruise with lots of ports I tend to drink less so package may not even be needed (more likely I'm needing more coffee than alcohol)

[NutsAboutGolf]

11 hours ago, zitsky said:

I’ll do a spreadsheet when it comes time to really think about it.  We may book on our Bali cruise in January to get the $100 deposit.  For cruise in May/June 2026.

 

If you go sail only, I'm sure you know, that purchases like the wifi, drinks, etc., are fully refundable if you cancel them.  Therefore, as soon as there's a flash sale, you should purchase to lock it in which protects you from the inevitable wifi retail price increases yet you do have the flexibility to cancel if a bigger flash sale appears

[zitsky]

5 hours ago, the penguins said:

My thoughts/questions are:

1) Do you really need the Wifi? Our free Elite + Captains Club minutes are more than enough - share one lot and once that's used you will see if the second lot will last until the end of the cruise. If not use the second lot as a discount on a full package as by then there could well be a special on the remaining days. Free WiFi in every port.

2) how much do you drink? All speciality teas/coffees/chocolate are free if you are Elite+. Japan is port intensive so not much drinking time in the day. 

3) if you are a couple do you both drink the same amount of alcohol?

Do the maths (sorry math) and you may find neither WiFi or drinks packages are the best option. These products are priced to give X a profit I.e. the majority of passengers lose.

No right or wrong just personal choices.

 

1) Yes.  Reddit doesn't read itself.

 

2) A lot.

 

3) He drinks less.  Do I still have to get premium for both of us?

[the penguins]

4 hours ago, zitsky said:

 

1) Yes.  Reddit doesn't read itself.

 

2) A lot.

 

3) He drinks less.  Do I still have to get premium for both of us?

question 3 - yes. 

Makes me glad our answers to 1 and 2 are no and neither of us drink any alcohol.

What we "save" on drinks/wifi we spend on private guides.

Choice is wonderful

[markeb]

It's an interesting question. And a lot of potential twists and turns. 

 

I haven't done this for awhile, but if memory serves to actually see the actual package pricing on your cruise, you'd have to already be booked. Most of the promos are on "select sailings". So you've committed to the cruise only fare before you know the cost of your add on. I think people have found that to be a good gamble recently, but that's not a sure thing going forward. We don't cruise enough to follow sites that track deals like that (to the point I don't even know one). That's a strategy to see what others are paying.

 

The AI pricing is still its own fare, so you can't add it later. You're repricing the cruise, and potentially losing any benefits you had (fewer of those these days, admittedly). Have to be careful about that as well.

 

I suspect that with OBC being largely a thing of the past and gratuities no longer included in AI, buying cruise only (with a promotion if possible) and then adding the drink package and Wi-Fi on promotion is a decent gamble. You'll lose sometimes, but you'll likely come out ahead many times. Until Celebrity decides that's not a winning pricing scheme and closes that door.

 

I think Nuts' "maybe" is the best answer you'll get!

[PTC DAWG]

5 hours ago, zitsky said:

 

1) Yes.  Reddit doesn't read itself.

 

2) A lot.

 

3) He drinks less.  Do I still have to get premium for both of us?

I resemble remark #2.  

 

My Bride would be livid if she didn't have the premium package while I did.  🙂

Edited May 22 by PTC DAWG

[clskinsfan]

On 5/21/2024 at 8:44 PM, BobbM81 said:

This is what I did for an upcoming Equinox cruise. I ended up paying less to book cruise only and add premium drinks and premium WiFi than it was to book the all included (classic drink and basic WiFi). This was during the Black Friday savings. 

I just booked cruise only a few days ago for a late 2025 cruise. I will do the same. Nice thing about booking well in advance is it gives you time to catch the best sales. And if by chance you see a drop below that you can always cancel and rebook your packages. 

[Stem to Stern]

On 5/21/2024 at 7:53 PM, zitsky said:

Looking at a future Japan cruise

Are you married to a specific sailing?  Maybe there is an identical itinerary on a different date that is pricing out less expensive.  Or maybe another cruise line is offering something similar.  On a recent European consideration, I decided Celebrity’s itinerary was too expensive so I took a few deep breaths and finally went with a somewhat similar itinerary on another cruise line.

 

Are you shopping your preferred itinerary around to different travel agencies?  On three of my six most recent bookings, I have found very competitive group pricing that includes the Classic alcohol package, basic WiFi, and refundable deposit for thousands less than Celebrity’s direct pricing.  On two of them the travel agent included some on board credit.

I am so sick and tired of all of Celebrity’s attempted money grabs including the all-included and refundable deposit schemes.  
 

The couple of future cruises we have booked as Cruise Only will be firsts for us.  If we do not end up booking the packages in the cruise planner pre-cruise, then these will be explorations of our levels of boozing and net surfing.  And the ideas of how much restraint we can exercise while on vacation and how much we can put our Elite benes to better use.  But we suspect the money saved will outweigh the convenience of all-included.  It should not dampen the vacation mood either.

 

Our cruise line and agent loyalty have evolved into everything coming down to price and value for our money.  Over the years we have cruised on six different lines.  We are intensively researching alternative cruise lines and itineraries more than ever.  Our current bookings are with three different travel agents.  They are all aware that they are competing for our business.  And we won’t cap the roster at three.

Edited May 23 by Stem to Stern

[zitsky]

7 hours ago, Stem to Stern said:

Are you married to a specific sailing?  Maybe there is an identical itinerary on a different date that is pricing out less expensive.  Or maybe another cruise line is offering something similar.  On a recent European consideration, I decided Celebrity’s itinerary was too expensive so I took a few deep breaths and finally went with a somewhat similar itinerary on another cruise line.

 

Are you shopping your preferred itinerary around to different travel agencies?  On three of my six most recent bookings, I have found very competitive group pricing that includes the Classic alcohol package, basic WiFi, and refundable deposit for thousands less than Celebrity’s direct pricing.  On two of them the travel agent included some on board credit.

I am so sick and tired of all of Celebrity’s attempted money grabs including the all-included and refundable deposit schemes.  
 

The couple of future cruises we have booked as Cruise Only will be firsts for us.  If we do not end up booking the packages in the cruise planner pre-cruise, then these will be explorations of our levels of boozing and net surfing.  And the ideas of how much restraint we can exercise while on vacation and how much we can put our Elite benes to better use.  But we suspect the money saved will outweigh the convenience of all-included.  It should not dampen the vacation mood either.

 

Our cruise line and agent loyalty have evolved into everything coming down to price and value for our money.  Over the years we have cruised on six different lines.  We are intensively researching alternative cruise lines and itineraries more than ever.  Our current bookings are with three different travel agents.  They are all aware that they are competing for our business.  And we won’t cap the roster at three.

It’s two years away and there is a lot going on in life right now so I haven’t looked at other companies, dates or travel agents.

 

When people say look at other cruise lines, are there certain ones you would recommend for Japan?  I tried to look at MSC but all I saw was a 5 day Tokyo to Taiwan.

[Stem to Stern]

I usually start with a basic search and narrow my parameters if the results are too numerous.  I did a search of cruises from November 2025 and beyond embarking anywhere in Japan.  They are listed in accending price order in the pic below.  I hope the text in the pic is readable.

 

It looks like it is going to be Celebrity, Princess, Holland America, or Azamara.  Unless you look at stratospherically priced 6-star lines toward the bottom of the list.  I am not yet familiar with Princess or Holland America, but I know they both have many loyalists.  For me it might come down to itinerary.  
 

Azamara offers an intimate, 700-passenger, small ship experience with included basic-level drinks and tips.  I have just made our second booking with Azamara.  They are recently under new leadership headed up by an industry-seasoned, customer-focused CEO.

 

 

 

Edited May 23 by Stem to Stern

[zitsky]

14 minutes ago, Stem to Stern said:

I usually start with a basic search and narrow my parameters if the results are too numerous.  I did a search of cruises from November 2025 and beyond embarking anywhere in Japan.  They are listed in accending price order in the pic below.  I hope the text in the pic is readable.

 

It looks like it is going to be Celebrity, Princess, Holland America, or Azamara.  Unless you look at stratospherically priced 6-star lines toward the bottom of the list.  I am not yet familiar with Princess or Holland America, but I know they both have many loyalists.  For me it might come down to itinerary.  
 

Azamara offers an intimate, 700-passenger, small ship experience with included basic-level drinks and tips.  I have just made our second booking with Azamara.  They are recently under new leadership headed up by an industry-seasoned, customer-focused CEO.

 

 

 

I’ll look at this.  Where did you get this information?  A website?  Is this a spreadsheet you created?

Thanks.

[Stem to Stern]

17 minutes ago, zitsky said:

I’ll look at this.  Where did you get this information?  A website?  Is this a spreadsheet you created?

Thanks.

This is from an online agency’s website, but the rules here permit me from identifying it.  I forgot to mention that I am not sure how comprehensive their search engine is, but it’s a start.  I no longer book through them, but I love some of their search features.

 

I would imagine there are cruise lines that have not yet released their 2026 and beyond itineraries.  So, more itinerary options may arise.

 

I will echo what has been said here previously that it can be most fortuitous to book as soon as itineraries are released or as far into the distant future as possible.  The comments about Cruise Only fares allowing for lower insurance rates and cancel-ability and rebook-ability of cruise planner items are very on point.

[islabahia]

29 minutes ago, zitsky said:

I’ll look at this.  Where did you get this information?  A website?  Is this a spreadsheet you Asked answered above.

Edited May 23 by islabahia

[dreamer321]

On 5/21/2024 at 4:53 PM, zitsky said:

Looking at a future Japan cruise 2026, I see extra cost for All Included is maybe $1500 for a $8000 cruise.  It seems if you wait for a sale on WiFi and drink package that Cruise only is the way to go?  It makes no sense to pay extra for basic then upgrade.

As a solo passenger, it definitely pays to book Cruise Only then wait for Flash sales on WiFi and Beverage Packages.  Celebrity really gouges solo passengers on All Included fares.

[ljk76]

Recently did a cruise only for an Ascent transatlantic. We later booked greatly discounted basic drink package and found us really easy to share one internet package. Came out way ahead in this case.  We were going to be really frugal and try to do without beverage packages but…for us that’s just silly…

[IsanTom]

On 5/21/2024 at 8:44 PM, BobbM81 said:

This is what I did for an upcoming Equinox cruise. I ended up paying less to book cruise only and add premium drinks and premium WiFi than it was to book the all included (classic drink and basic WiFi). This was during the Black Friday savings. 

Book your cruise Basic and yes, Black Friday Sales are the time for ad-ons at a discount!

[Ergates The Ant]

We just pay as you go for drinks. Given how difficult it was to find seats in il Baccio in the mornings, I’d have been really annoyed if I’d splashed out on a package thinking I’d get full use of it.

Coffee was usually much better on shore for half the price.