Do You Have To Pay Tips And Gratuities On Marella Cruises
No! All the tips and gratuities are included in your cruise fare. Gratuities will never be added on at restaurants or at the bar. There is no pressure to tip any extra at all. In fact, I would say it isnt encouraged. When given a receipt in a speciality restaurant there wont be a line to write an extra tip, the receipt instead will say remember, all tips are included.
Creating All Inclusive Cruises
Now you know the options available for all inclusive cruises. Depending on what you want to include in your vacation, your budget, and where you want to go, any number of the combinations above will provide you with an all inclusive cruise experience that is tailored specifically to you and your travel party. All you need to do now is book your next cruise. Bon Voyage!
Food & Drinks At A Cruise
If youre looking for a cruise where youll be able to eat and drink as much as you want without having to pay extra fees, youll have to read the fine print carefully. This doesnt tend to be the norm for cruise, which means youll likely pay extra for things like alcohol, and sometimes even soda and juice. Food is often not at its freshest, especially on longer cruises. The fact that theres limited space translates to the number of menu-items available at any given time, which isnt usually as wide of a variety as that of all-inclusive resorts.
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What Drinks Are Included On A Cruise
Coffee and tea in the buffet and main dining room. In some cases, like on Royal Caribbean ships, there is complimentary coffee also available at the Promenade Cafe.
A variety of juice from concentrate and flavored drinks are usually available in the buffet. At breakfast there will also be milk available.
The classic cruise ship drink, unsweetened iced tea is usually available as well. Since we started cruising in 2004, since is still one of our favorites. I add a slice of lemon and a splenda and its perfectly refreshing.
Water is always available on board and safe to drink.
Tip: Consider bringing a good refillable water bottle or coffee mug with you on your cruise.
Which Cruise Lines Advertise Themselves As All
I have a full post on what is included in Marellas all-inclusive cruise fare. Make sure you check that out here if you are considering a cruise with Marella. Id definitely recommend it, I had a brilliant time and for the price everything that is included was amazing.
The Marella cruise fare includes the following:
- Meals in multiple restaurants
- Drinks, lots and lots of drinks. Including hundreds of alcoholic options. For the full list,
- Tips/Gratuities
Norwegian Cruise Line
Until recently Norwegian Cruise Line has had a promotion in the UK meaning that all cruises are booked on an all-inclusive basis. This made it a little too expensive for me so I am relieved to see that theyve removed this in the UK.
At the moment the current promotion is to pay £99 and choose two perks.
Virgin Voyages
There is a lot included in the cruise fare with Virgin Voyages. Virgin Voyages are part of the Virgin group and will be launching their first ship Scarlet Lady in 2020.
Virgin Voyages definitely are a premium cruise line and this is reflected in the price. All cruises with Virgin Voyages include:
- WiFi
- Fitness classes
- Some drinks
-
Viking Cruises
Viking ocean cruises are definitely a premium product. I cruised with Viking into the midnight sun last year and it was unlike anything Ive ever done before, or since! The ship was incredible. The standard Viking Cruises cruise fare includes:
- ALL food
Which Cruise Lines Include Alcohol? Drinks Lists Emma Cruises
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Sticker Shock On Mass
Many unsuspecting passengers discover that quite often especially on the big mass-market ships soft drinks, bottled water , alternative dining venues, shore excursions, ground transportation to and from the ship, certain exercise classes like yoga and Pilates, Internet service, tips, ship-to-shore phone calls, and in some cases even ice cream that is dished out on deck, all come with an added fee. Some lines charge fees for use of certain areas of the spas treatments are always extra unless you purchase a special package.
Ive seen parents suffer final bill shock when discovering their little tykes spent a small fortune at the ice cream parlor on one ship. Another couple argued vehemently with the purser about a $400 phone bill for calls made from their stateroom. Many passengers think juices and sodas are courtesy, but on some ships they are not.
So before plunking down that credit card for your cruise deposit, ask your travel agent, call the cruise line or go to the website to see what you get for what you pay, even when youre told its all-inclusive. While the mass market cruise lines sometimes roll out all-inclusive specials, generally all-inclusive pricing refers to sailings on luxury or boutique ships.
Celebrity Cruises Goes All
11/11/2020, 7:00 PM
When travel collapsed, one of the first things that happened was the airlines stopped playing some of their petty pricing games with customers.
Suddenly, when they realized they needed us, airlines wanted to be our friends. Cancellation fees were dropped. Then change fees went out the window.
Now that the cruise lines are gearing up to restart vacations in the United States, it’s cruising’s turn to play nice.
Celebrity Cruises has announced that when it returns to service, all passengers will automatically be enrolled in the new “Always Included” program. Beginning November 17, two Wi-Fi logins per stateroom, both alcoholic and nonalcholoic beverages, and gratuities will be part of everyone’s standard cruise fare. Normally, all those things are charged separately.
The standard package entitles passengers to basic Wi-Fi and “classic cocktails, wines by the glass, beer, sodas, specialty coffees and teas, juices and bottled water,” according to the official FAQ. Here, “classic” pretty much means no top-shelf booze. The Celebrity website goes into detail about which kinds of alcohol are included it’s a decent list that would satisfy the general public.
Connoisseurs can pay another $30 a day for the Elevate add-on that buys them more bandwidth for streaming video and access to the premium hooch.
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Food & Drinks At An All
Did you know that 96% of all ingredients used for the dishes at Sandals Resorts in Jamaica are freshly sourced from a local farm and on your plate within 24 hours? Not only do all-inclusive resorts often work together with the local communities, but the food also tends to be as fresh as it gets – and you can taste the difference.
Besides freshness, all-inclusive resorts also tend to offer a wider variety of dishes at any given time. At Sandals and Beaches Resorts you can eat as much as want, whenever you want. Its always included, always unlimited. Three deserts? No problem. Want to have the lobster AND the steak? Its all included. Now that is all-inclusive!
Expert tip: Stay at Sandals Montego Bay or Sandals Royal Caribbean and youll get access to both all-inclusive resorts in Jamaica, including all amenities and restaurants . The resorts are located on a 5-minute drive from each other, transfers included.
Picture: Soy sushi restaurant at Sandals Montego Bay. One of the 12 restaurants at this property. The best news: food and drinks are always included, always unlimited.
Verdict on food and drinks: Serving food in the middle of the ocean has its limitations. All-inclusive resorts tend to have a wider variety of restaurants and dishes on offer. At all-inclusive resorts the ingredients used are often sourced locally and fresh. This means there is a shorter time between harvest and consumption: a difference youll taste.
Cruises That Include Alcohol In Your Fare
running upward of $50 per day per passenger and individual drinks charged at restaurant prices.
Travelers who feel the pinch of every beer or margarita, or simply don’t want to be bothered with the nickel and diming, might want to explore cruises that include alcohol in their vacation cost.
Here are 17 cruise lines that offer free alcohol with your cruise year-round — no additional package purchase required. Caveat: Most are higher-end cruise lines, with several offering river cruises across the globe, so you’ll definitely pay a premium price for your all-inclusive vacation. Cheers!
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Nightly Entertainment Is Included
On most vacations, you can rack up quite the tab with entertainment. Well, thats not the case with cruising as most nightly entertainment on the ship is included in your cruise fare.
Want to catch a Broadway show? Want to listen to a guitarist at a local pub? Need a good laugh at the comedy club in town? Yup, thats right- these activities will not cost you any money on a cruise.
In the ships main theater, there will be headliner acts, revue shows featuring a cast of singers and dancers, and even Broadway productions.
Select cruise ships also have comedy clubs and one of a kind theaters featuring Cirque-like acrobatic productions. You can also enjoy a variety of musicians around the ship including vocalists, guitarists, and pianists.
Gratuities And Personalised Service Onboard
Setting sail on Silversea promises peace of mind from start to finish. That means no worrying about tipping the butlers or staff. Our crew to guest ratio of almost 1:1 ensures flawless service from pole to pole, but with us, you never have to think about who should get a tip, how much you should give and when. Its all included! We think that not having to deal with tipping helps make you luxury cruise even more special and stress free. And that is worth every penny.
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Why Buy A Norwegian All
Mostly, because youre on vacation! With any one of Norwegians beverage packages, you wont have to reach for your wallet or mentally tally how much youve spent on booze. Theres not a much worse way to end a cruise than to get the final bill and go into shock for what youve spent on drinks.
But, if you dont think you can drink enough to break even, then even for the convenience, its not worth it. Basically, with the least expensive Premium Beverage Package, youd have to put away close to six to ten drinks a day to even the score. While this doesnt include certain Lavazza specialty coffees, bottled water or fresh juices, you can get your drinks at any bar or restaurant onboard plus its good at Norwegians private island, Great Stirrup Cay.
Norwegian offers five drink packages. They range from just about every ultra-premium brand an adult could request down to two kids unlimited soda programs.
Hidden Fees At An All
Although all-inclusive resorts tend to rely less on upselling their guests than cruise ships, not every all-inclusive resort is equal. Make sure to find out upfront what is included in the booking price, and what is not. If a deal sounds too good to be true, it often is.
Picture: Although Sandals and Beaches Resorts have a no-tipping policy , this can be one of those costs that are not included at an all-inclusive resort.
Verdict on hidden fees: Whether you book a cruise or an all-inclusive resort, youll have to read the fine print to make sure everything is truly included. However, especially cruises are known to make their money by selling upgrades left, right and center. If the website is not giving you this information, its best to reach out to customer service and ask them the following questions before booking:
- Which activities are included, free of charge?
- Is WiFi included ?
- Are tips and taxes included?
- Are all restaurants included and unlimited? What are the opening times? Do the restaurants serve à la carte or buffet?
- Are alcoholic drinks included at any time?
- Are the mini-fridges in the room stocked and free of charge?
- Are airport transfers included?
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Transportation To A Cruise
Cruises as opposed to all-inclusive resort vacations dont necessarily require that you pay to get to your destination via flight unless of course you live nowhere near one of the select port cities that cruises depart from. The lucky few who do live in a city with a cruise terminal will be able to save money in this area, but generally, most people will have to catch a domestic flight to get there. Flights can make your overall vacation more expensive, especially if travelling in a group. Therefore, this is something worth factoring into your decision.
Kids Programs Are Included
If you are a traveling as a family, another great feature of cruise vacations is the kids programs that are available. Included in your cruise fare are youth drop-off programs for children aged 3-17 years old. Grouped by age, your children will be supervised by trained staff as they participate in various edutainment offerings and make some new friends along the way.
There are plenty of activities for teens too. From sports tournaments to video games and dance zones, they will never want to leave. Of course, these programs have family fun activities that everyone can enjoy like movie nights and scavenger hunts too.
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Activities & Entertainment At An All
If you love to spend time in the water on your vacation, all-inclusive resorts tend to offer a wide variety of water sports. From stand-up paddleboardsto kayaks, from Hobie Cats to waterskiing youll be able to enjoy these activities and more, for free, anytime during the day.
Rather sip on a Piña Colada while floating down a lazy river? The water parks on board a cruise ship often cant compete with the expansive water parks offered by all-inclusive resorts.
The most thrilling waterparks in the Caribbean, where kids of all ages will have a blast. It’s all part of Beaches all-inclusive family vacation package.
Although cruise ships might offer a limited amount of land sports, theyll often have to be booked in advance. At all-inclusive resorts youll be able to join other guests on the beach volleyball, basketball and tennis courts whenever you feel like getting active.
Do you love to play a few rounds of golf while in the Caribbean? Youll even be able to find all-inclusive resorts that include green fees!
Sandals includes some of the most challenging and prestigious golf courses in Jamaica, Saint Lucia and The Bahamas.
Insider tip: PADI® certified guests staying at any Sandals or Beaches Resort will be able to join free scuba diving trips , including professional equipment. Not PADI® certified yet? Get certified at the resort at an additional cost and dive the rest of your vacation for free.
What A Basic Ticket Provides
On a typical cruise, your meals, accommodations, non-alcoholic beverages and on-board activities are included. Some of the newer vessels offer additional perks, such as rock-climbing walls, water parks, kids clubs, state-of-the-art facilities and extravagant casinos. In addition, several cruise lines allow children to sail for free or at a significantly reduced rate. Probably most important is that typical cruise fares cover port stops in multiple destinations, which means you won’t have to dole out additional expenses when stopping in multiple locations. The downside, however, is that a basic ticket typically doesn’t cover alcoholic beverages, shore excursions, airfare and other premium services that are included in all-inclusive cruises.
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What Your Fare Covers And Doesn’t Cover On An All
You may be considering taking a cruise and, of course, price matters. So when you see the words all inclusive, you likely believe that everything is covered in the cruise fare but that isnt always the case. In fact, its usually not the case.
If you’re looking for all-inclusive that really covers all the bases, your best bets are Regent Seven Seas, Seabourn, Silversea, Crystal, SeaDream and Paul Gauguin.
Taking A Cruise: Recommendations And Resources
Book a Cruise:Have a specific cruise you want to book or just need some help and inspiration? Get a cruise quote through us: Cruise Quote Form.Not Sure What to Book?Learn everything you need to know to find and book the perfect cruise in my How to Cruise For Less cruise course.Dont Forget Your Travel Insurance:You could be stranded abroad, lose your entire cruise fare, or be hit with MASSIVE medical bills if you dont have cruise travel insurance. I use comparison websites to compare quotes: Compare Quotes Here.Our full list of travel recommendations can be found here.
Tuesday 6th of April 2021
If you are considering a Marella cruise you may be wondering what the all-inclusive cruise fare actually includes. SPOILER ALERT: It doesnt include everything! All-inclusive very rarely ever does. To learn about what is actually included, check out this post: Marella Cruises, what does all-inclusive include?
Which Cruise Lines Include Gratuities? Emma Cruises
Saturday 17th of October 2020
I came away from my Marella cruise with an incredibly small onboard bill. There are lots of included food options on Marella cruises as well as included alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks. To find out more about the all inclusive fare from Marella check out this post: Marella Cruises, what does all inclusive include?
vindiah
Friday 17th of May 2019
great reviewam going on my first cruise in October i dont know what to expect and its MARELLA cruise .
Simon
Tuesday 14th of May 2019
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