All Inclusive or a la Carte?

As a child my family's menu consisted of two choices: take it or leave it. ~ Buddy Hackett 

Our 2022 Viking WC was considered "all inclusive." Our airfare was covered--business class both ways. Viking paid for two large suitcases to be sent to the ship through Luggage Forward so we could travel with less stuff to embarkation. There was an included excursion in each port. Wifi was free, if not terribly reliable. Viking provided the Silver Spirits package for us so we could drink anything we wished, anytime we wished on board. (In our case, that meant plenty of sodas.) There was no fee to dine in specialty restaurants. We could use the opulent spa anytime we wanted. Gratuities were built into the fare, but we gave our cabin stewards and dining room servers extra tips each month we were on board. We were given a lavish amount of on board credit to use for additional excursions and on board purchases. Even so, we owed about $2K by the time we arrived back in the States.  

How does this deer under our apple tree relate to this topic? I'll tell you! She can either stick with the all-inclusive grass we're blessed with in the Ozarks, or she can stand on her hind legs to reach the little green apples from the a la carte menu over her head! 

Our 2018 Pacific Princess WC was a la carte. We managed to catch a "last minute" (read: within 7 months of departure) sale because I'd been watching fares on Vacationstogo.com * and when it dropped precipitously, we pounced. It was an incredible deal. Our TA kicked in enough to pay gratuities (though we gave our room steward and servers extra as usual) along with two free specialty dining opportunities. We bought our airfare through Princess and I have to say, we got a spectacular price on first class both ways. I'd never heard of shipping luggage ahead, but we could check 2 big bags apiece without fees in first class. We are not drinkers, so buying a drinks package makes zero sense. In the seven months leading up to our embarkation, I booked our excursions through the very user-friendly Princess website a few at a time so we could spread out the expenditures. By the time we boarded in San Pedro, we had some activity for almost every port planned out already. We pre-purchased some internet minutes at a discount pre-cruise price and then once on board, we received additional minutes gratis because of our loyalty level for each of the cruise's segments. (That perk has sadly gone away now.) Our onboard account was zero at the end of the voyage. 

There are pros and cons to both styles of cruising. Viking treated us like we were made of spun gold and protected us in the time of Covid with almost nanny-ish fierceness. Princess was more our traveling partner, affirming our choices and offering a full slate of things we could take or leave. 

While an all-inclusive experience is lovely, we paid for things we didn't use, like all the alcohol and repetitive "city highlights" or Old Town walking tours. But because they were part of the fare, we also had to pay for insurance on them. (For purposes of comparison, our travel insurance for the Viking WC was double what we paid for our coming Cunard voyage because all those extras aren't included.)

And I really like choosing my own excursions instead of feeling I need to take the included one since I have already paid for it. It's important to me to have different experiences in each place, so picking and choosing what we'll do reflects our personal tastes and interests. And because we'll no longer need to travel in a Covid "bubble"--please, God!--we should be able to do some independent exploration next time, especially since our Cunard itinerary has so many overnights.

You can argue that by the time all the extras are paid for, the difference between all-inclusive and a la carte cruising is negligible. If we were drinkers that might be true, because that's a big ticket item for lots of folks. We can be more creative with our excursions and choose less spendy alternatives. (For example, our Viking 13-hour excursion to Luxor was $700 a piece! A comparable tour through ShoreExcusionsGroup.com is $251.) Our all-in expenses for the 2025 voyage on Queen Anne will be considerably less than an all-inclusive fare. Especially since the entry level fare for Viking's 2025 WC has now risen beyond our financial reach. We'll have an elegant adventure on Cunard and not break the bank. 

We are who we are, and I am my father's daughter. He's most charitably described as..."thrifty." 

I can live with that. 

Queen Anne continues to take shape in the Fincantieri shipyard. She will have a woman as her first captain, Inger Klein Thorhauge. I hope Captain Thorhauge will still be in command by the time we board, but on both of our previous extended voyages, we saw the captain's seat cycle to a new person as each mariner's contract with the line concluded mid-cruise. Ditto for cruise directors. 

*We have used VacationsToGo to book shorter cruises in the past, but now I typically use it to track fares and discover cruise deals. Then we call Teresa Skeim at CruiseSpecialists.com when we've found something we want to book. She deals with extended voyages regularly and has always been very helpful and responsive.