All inclusive

Some would argue that cruise holidays are the original All Inclusive holidays, with all your meals included in the package price, but of course this is technically Full Board, something you rarely ever see now with land based hotel holidays. The aspect that most people want to make a holiday All Inclusive is of course the free drinks. All inclusive has become a popular holiday option over recent years, allowing customers to pre-budget for the majority of their holiday costs, and providing excellent value for money, especially for families. However there is also a perception around the term "All inclusive" which conjures up the image of lots of drunk Brits dressed in shell suits, baseball caps and bling.

Thomson Cruises are now offering a Free All Inclusive package for anyone booking one of their summer 2011 cruises. So what do we think of All Inclusive on cruise holidays, given the perception mentioned earlier, and the fact that cruising attracts a more sophisticated customer? I would be interested to know people's views on this. There's no doubt the market for cruises is definitely moving to a more late booking trend, so cruise lines have to do something to encourage early bookings, and there's no doubt that a free All Inclusive package is a BIG incentive. I think that it's a smart piece of marketing on Thomson's part, and I think that the offer won't exist for ever, meaning that not all the customers on board will be All Inclusive. I think this is going to be key to making it work, the fact that it will probably be a minority of those on board. We had the sales manager from Thomson in to see us last week, and she was saying that they had changed some of the types of drinks that were featured as part of the All Inclusive package and that they had a vociferous response, and as a result have reverted to what was previously featured. I think this goes to show that cruise All Inclusive customers have more of a discerning taste!