all inclusive – Emma Cruises

Cruises are often advertised as 'all-inclusive' but this all-inclusive fare rarely includes alcohol. There are a number of cruise lines, however, that do. In this post, we will be looking at the cruise lines that include alcohol as standard in the cruise fare. Many cruise lines do offer beverage packages that, when purchased, can make the cruise fare closer to being all-inclusive. The following all-inclusive cruise lines include alcohol: Budget Cruise Lines There are VERY few cruise lines that I would consider budget/mainstream that include alcohol in the cruise fare. Marella and Celestyal both do and I have cruised with both. I have been on two cruises with Marella and I have always been extremely impressed. I continually recommend them to families and young cruisers, to learn more check out our recommended cruise lines page: Recommended Cruise Lines. I would also recommend Celestyal Cruises for anybody wanting to explore the Greek Islands. Marella Cruises Include Alcohol Marella is a British cruise line, formerly known as Thomson. Their cruise fare is all-inclusive by standard and includes hundreds of alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks. Amazingly the prices are reasonably priced and you can pick up a Marella cruise for around £100 per night if you cruise out of season in an inside cabin. What Alcohol is Included on Marella Cruises? Marella Cruises include a variety of alcoholic drinks as standard on all of their cruises. Including but not limited to: Draught Beers Wine Classic Cocktails Frozen Cocktails Aperitifs, Liqueurs, Ports and Sherries Gins, Vodkas, Rums and Tequilas Whiskies and Brandies Soda, juices, and mocktails are also included. To see the full list of the drinks available on Marella cruises check out the post here: Marella Cruises All Inclusive Drinks List What Alcohol isn't included? When cruising with Marella it is possible to upgrade to a 'premium' beverage package. This costs £50 a week and means you can have premium spirits, soda by the can instead of fountain soda, and premium teas and coffees. Drinks packages on other cruise lines can cost in excess of £50 per day so £50 for a week is an absolute bargain. Celestyal Include Alcohol Celestyal is a greek cruise line that owns two ships, Celestyal Olympia and Celestyal Crystal. They cruise the greek islands and often have more than one port stop per day. I cruised with Celestyal on a 4-day cruise and we managed to visit 7 ports! I've never known a cruise line to do this before and it was amazing. To learn more about Celestyal check out the cruise diary I kept onboard my Celestyal cruise: Celestyal Cruises: Review and Daily Photo Diary 2019 What Alcohol is Included on Celestyal Cruises? Celestyal Cruises include a variety of drinks including the following: Cocktails Liqueurs Spirits Wines To see the full list of the drinks available on Celestyal cruises check out the post here: Celestyal Cruises All Inclusive Drinks List. It is worth noting that soft drinks and coffees/teas are included in the cruise fare. On most cruise lines (including Marella mentioned above) you have to pay extra if you want to have a variety of teas or coffees. What Alcohol isn't included? On Celestyal cruises, you will find that most bars have two menus. One includes included drinks and the other you have to pay extra for. During my cruise I didn't order anything from the premium menu and instead always chose the drinks that were included. The paid-for extra menu features premium spirits and a greater variety of beers, wines, and cocktails. Luxury Cruise Lines If you have a little more budget to play with it is worth looking into the luxury cruise lines below. Viking Cruises Include Alcohol Viking Ocean Cruises Viking ocean cruises include beer, wine, and soft drinks with dinner but don't include drinks at any other time of the day. I took a 4-night cruise with Viking into the arctic circle in pursuit of the midnight sun. It was one of the best experiences of my life, if you can afford to cruise with Viking I can't recommend it enough. Viking does have a premium drinks package available for purchase. Azamara Cruises Include Alcohol Cruises with Azamara include some beers, wines, and selected spirits. The drinks are available all day but are not available to order through room service. There are two packages that you can upgrade to a premium package and an unlimited package. These packages allow you to have a much wider choice of drinks. That said, you could quite happily cruise with Azamara and not spend another penny on drinks. Seabourn Cruises Include Alcohol All alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks are included in Seabourn cruises. There may be a charge for things like a particularly rare bottle of wine but generally speaking, you'll probably come away from your Seabourn cruise without any charges for a drink. Silversea Cruises Include Alcohol Silversea cruises include LOADS of drinks. Wine, beer, even champagne. Some premium spirits, champagnes, and spirits do have an extra charge but these are few and far between. Regent Seven Seas Include Alcohol Regent seven seas offer unlimited complimentary drinks. Wines, spirits, beers, and champagnes. The mini bar is even restocked daily! "All-Inclusive" Cruise Lines That Don't Include Alcohol: Virgin Voyages Virgin Voyages frequently advertise their cruises as being 'all-inclusive' but there is no alcohol included in the cruise fare. The cruise fares do include a lot, Wifi, gratuities, and some basic drinks are included. Virgin Voyages do not offer drinks packages so cruisers must pay as you go when it comes to drinks. Norwegian Cruise Line Norwegian cruise line often describes their cruises as 'all-inclusive' but the basic cruise fare doesn't include any drinks. Norwegian often have promotions that include things such as drinks and speciality dining which can bring the cruise product more in line with that of an 'all-inclusive' cruise line. Norwegian Cruise Line does offer a variety of drinks packages similar to most other mainstream lines. One of the most popular packages is the premium beverage package, more info about that can be found here: NCL: Ultimate Beverage Package (Now Premium) River Cruises Generally speaking, river cruises will include, at a minimum, wine and beer with meals. Some river cruise lines include wine and beer at all times of the day and some river cruise lines will have all alcohol included. Generally speaking, river cruises are usually more expensive than ocean cruises but this is because of the size of the ship and the amount included in the cruise fare. To learn more about what is included in the typical cruise fare, check out this post: Are Cruises All Inclusive? Your Guide To What Is Included.