This article is Celebrity All In No Longer Includes Gratuities. It is about a change to Celebrity Cruise Line’s All-In Pricing.
One of the things that has been very popular on Celebrity was the fact that most fares included classic drinks, basic Wi-Fi and gratuities.
All In Pricing
At first the price difference on all-in fares were showing up as only marginally higher than cruise only fares.
This has made cruising on Celebrity to be enjoyable and stress free as everything was included.
Over the past year, the price difference between cruise only and all-in has increased significantly.
Still it has been possible to save money over adding the items individually given that a drink package.
In addition, during the pandemic restart, Celebrity was offering a small upcharge to go to Premium All In which included premium drinks and premium WIFI via the Indulge Package which also came with $600 onboard credit.
That deal went away about a year ago.
No More Free Gratuities
Celebrity announced today that Gratuities are no longer included in the All-In Pricing. What that means is that All-In pricing now includes the Classic Drink Package and Basic WiFi. Gratuities are between $18.00 – $23.00 per-day depending on the category of room guests are booked in.
That works out to between $126.00 and $161.00 per-person for a seven night cruise.
This change even applies to guests booked in the Retreat which is Celebrity’s suite class. Retreat guests will continue to received Premium Beverage Package and Premium Internet, but they will no longer include the gratuities.
The changes are being applied for new bookings beginning on October 4, 2023.
Here is a link to the details from Celebrity.
The FAQ about this change is found here.
What if I already have a fare that includes all-in?
The changes are noted to be applicable to new bookings made after October 4, 2023.
Given that language it appears at least for the time being that existing bookings will still include the gratuities but that of course is subject to change.
I have three upcoming Celebrity cruises where I am booked in an All-In rate so hopefully the three benefits will be honored for those sailings. All three sailings are after October 4, 2023 though so there is a risk that the policy will change.
Bottom Line
It is disappointing that All In No Longer Includes Gratuities. I love Celebrity and have found the experience overall from dining to entertainment to be amazing. This change is a devaluation on some of the benefits so it is unfortunate.
Cruise prices continue to be on the rise and this announcement is a further devaluation in the cost of a cruise. Based on the trends, the cruise fares will continue to increase, so having an additional $126+ per-person expense for the gratuities added to your bill is definitely a significant expense.
2 comments
This is what happens when the CFO becomes CEO. You ignore operations and marketing, and nickel and dime your faithful customers, dilute value and brands, and then are left scratching your head in a couple of years as to why people are leaving. Same thing is happening with their Royal Caribbean brand. Mark my words – MSC is going to really cause Royal (and Carnival) issues in a couple of years as they are privately held, have other (larger) revenue streams from their global shipping, are building comparable ships, and can afford to run at a loss to gain market share.
Yes it feels like there is a race to the bottom. Everything nickel and dimed. These types of announcements will continue to happen…