United Kingdom
USAAll-inclusive cruises ensure a jam-packed holiday without the worry of surprise costs. Here are Sailawaze’s top picks.
All-inclusive cruises ensure a jam-packed holiday without the worry of surprise costs. Here are Sailawaze’s top picks.
Marella Cruises 2025 offers awesome, wallet-friendly and most importantly all-inclusive holidays all over the world from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean. One of their biggest selling points is, they often include return flights from multiple UK airports!
Marella Cruises’ fleet of five ships have a friendly and relaxed atmosphere, with four family-friendly vessels and one adults-only, Marella Explorer 2, complete with a funky 1920s nightclub.
During your all-inclusive Marella cruise experience, dive into a flurry of free flavours across restaurants including Nonna’s – a tasty pizza joint, traditional waiter-serviced Latitude 53, or the lively ‘Market Place’ – where cuisine from across the world and jolly themed evenings abound.
Cabins are comfortable and have everything you could need, plus on two ships (Marella Explorer and Marella Explorer 2), you’ll find a huge Champneys spa – the only one of its kind at sea.
So, what’s included? All meals, onboard facilities, drinks, tips, gym classes, kids’ clubs, flights and transfers.
What’s extra? Speciality dining, wi-fi and all excursions.
One of the most established and renowned cruise lines out there, Silversea’s fleet of 13 ships each offers the ultimate in luxury all-inclusive cruising, all while exploring some of the world’s most remote regions. Champagne and caviar on tap, butler service, a wellness programme inspired by ancient Rome, gourmet dining and an incredible series of shore excursions are just some of the included elements you can expect from this deluxe cruise line.
Silversea voyages sail to the far reaches of the globe – from the Galapagos Islands to Alaska, while five smaller expedition ships regularly sail to the Poles. Whether it’s intense expedition or laid-back Caribbean cruising you’re after, Silversea has it all, and the onboard experience will always be replete with unimaginable luxury.
So, what’s included? There are two price options when you book a Silversea all-inclusive cruise. ‘Door-to-door’ includes chauffeur service to the airport, business-class flights, transfers, dining, drinks, gratuities, wi-fi and a selection of shore excursions. The second option, ‘Port-to-port’ includes the above, save the chauffeur and flights.
What’s extra? Speciality French restaurant La Dame is an additional fee of £50pp while Japanese restaurants Seishin and Kaiseki are an extra £30pp. Spa treatments, laundry service and some shore excursions cost more.
Regent’s ships offer lavish cruising at its finest, and when they say all-inclusive they really mean it. Think sweeping staircases, vast suites and lounges, endless pampering and outstanding dining. Each guest has a personal butler, and there’s even a suite that has its own spa…
The luxury cruise line’s fleet of six ships sail all over the world, and their small size means reaching destinations that larger ships can’t get to. Cruise in finery through the azure waters of French Polynesia or Hawaii, immerse yourself in the temples of Sri Lanka and India, or explore the concrete jungles of Tokyo and Hong Kong.
What’s included? Pretty much as far as the eye can see onboard is included – and sometimes beyond! All dining (including a number of speciality restaurants) drinks, return flights, valet laundry, tips, wi-fi, complimentary shore excursions, plus on select voyages there are add-on land programmes. You often get a pre-cruise hotel stay thrown in too.
What’s extra? Spa treatments and select excursions.
Scenic’s combined fleet of state-of-the-art river ships and two ocean discovery yachts push to be the most inclusive cruise line there is, so though the price may be slightly eye-watering when you book, you need hardly bring your wallet as everything onboard is included. It’s one of the few cruise lines to include every single excursion in the overall price.
While Scenic’s discovery yachts do offer luxe warm-weather cruising, both vessels spend most of their time in polar waters – traversing Drake Passage to reach the snowy plains of Antarctica or gliding among polar bears in the Arctic. 24-hour room service is at your beck and call and though they may be small, (228 passengers each) a mighty 10 restaurants are packed onboard. Each one serves mouth-watering flavours, from daily fresh sushi to an invite-only chef’s table experience. Innovative features cover every corner of Scenic’s fleet of ships – from a swimming pool that converts into cinema (yes, really), to two onboard helicopters and two onboard submarines on the expedition vessels.
What’s included? All meals, drinks, tips, wi-fi, flights, all excursions, spa and gym access, fitness and wellness classes, water sports and toys, flights and transfers.
What’s not included? Salon and spa treatments, select speciality spirits and fine wines.
MSC Cruises luxurious little sister, Explora Journeys, launched its first ship in the summer of 2023 and has just launched second ship, Explora II. Four more ships are expected to sail by 2028.
Aiming to stimulate guests on physical, intellectual and spiritual levels, Explora Journeys cruises promise immersive experiences that will put you in an ‘ocean state of mind’. 461 stunning oceanfront suites, penthouses, and residences give sweeping ocean vistas, each one with a spacious private terrace. Though this is very much luxury cruising, numerous connected suites make this a great option for family travel, while chic kids clubs replete with pool tables, game consoles and cinema areas would ensure a pleasant space to while away an afternoon for even the pickiest of adults, let alone younger guests.
Elsewhere on the ship, choose from six restaurants – one featuring regular guest chefs – and don’t miss the expansive spa with a hydrotherapy pool, Finnish sauna and salt cave. Four swimming pools, private cabanas, and high-quality entertainment are also at the fingertips of all guests. And as for for drinks? Twelve bars ensure you’ll be well-quenched throughout your sailing. When you’re not revelling in the decadent onboard experience, excursions include foraging for ingredients before cooking with a local chef, snorkelling around a historic shipwreck, meeting with a park rangers and lots more.
What’s included? All food, drinks, wi-fi, gratuities, transfers, wellbeing programmes (both onboard and in destination).
What’s extra? There are options to upgrade food and drink packages, spa treatments, and all ‘destination experiences’.
One of just a handful of adult-only cruise lines, Saga all-inclusive cruises combine fine living and enviable peace and quiet. This cruise line takes the adults-only theme one step further by being exclusively for travellers age 50+: Gen Z and millennials, move over.
Saga Cruises are perfect for tapping into the ‘slow travel’ trend that’s surfaced over the last few years, as here itineraries go at a leisurely pace, calling on ports for much longer than average cruise lines do. Voyages brim with overnight stays ensuring you can really get the most out of each destination, whether it’s discovering hidden gems in the Baltics or island-hopping in the Caribbean.
The good news is that pretty much everything is included with Saga Cruises – we’re talking even premium spirits and the speciality restaurants. Try out delicious Nepalese cuisine at the Khukuri House restaurant onboard Saga’s Spirit of Adventure or dig into sumptuous seafood at Coast to Coast on Saga’s second ship, Spirit of Discovery. The luxe cruise line goes the extra mile for its guests by covering door-to-door transfers, unlimited luggage allowances and travel insurance.
Though the cruise line may cater for an older traveller, that’s not to say the excursions are tame. See bubbling volcanoes, geothermal lagoons and cross glaciers on a Saga Iceland cruise, or try out rum-tasting, coral diving and rainforest hiking on Caribbean and Central America itineraries.
What’s included? All meals (including speciality restaurants), drinks, sailaway parties, afternoon teas, wi-fi, selected excursions, 24-hour room service, door-to-door transfers and travel insurance and gratuities.
What’s extra? Additional shore excursions, spa and beauty treatments.
Ponant’s all-inclusive cruise experience is available across its 13 ships -– from hybrid-powered icebreaker, Le Commandant Charcot, (which recently got rid of its singles supplements) to six ‘Ponant Explorers’ vessels which lead expedition cruises in tropical waters along the world’s equator. Once onboard, it doesn’t take long to realise you’re sailing on a French cruise line, as partnerships with iconic French brands such as Veuve Clicquot, Diptique and with chef Alain Ducasse all provide distinctly French overtones.
Elegant, French-inspired interiors reign supreme across Ponant’s fleet of small ships where the maximum capacity sits at a cosy 245 passengers. Intimate atmospheres are complemented by personalised service and exquisite dining, and while exploration is central to the Ponant experience, luxurious comfort is never compromised. Suddenly feel the need to get your hair done before traversing the icy planes of Greenland? No bother, Ponant’s onboard hair salon has got your back.
But perhaps coolest of all is the ‘Blue Eye’ underwater lounge, found across five of the line’s exploration ships which provides multi-sensory experiences including a ‘natural symphony’ of live sounds occuring within a three-mile radius of the ship as it sails. To go full underwater immersion, kick back on one of the ‘Body Listening Sofas’ which vibrate in sync with the ocean acoustics as you look out of the lounge’s underwater portholes.
What’s included? All dining, drinks, wi-fi, fitness classes, kids’ clubs if applicable to the ship (note: not all ships have a kids club), entertainment and most excursions.
What’s extra? While some flights are included, (mostly from Paris) many are not. Some excursions cost extra, and crew tips are not included.
Swan Hellenic combines decades of history with modern innovation. After a total rebrand, the cruise line relaunched with two brand new expedition vessels in 2020. SH Diana joined the fleet in May 2023, the largest of the three ships, with a capacity of 192. Swan Hellenic’s all-inclusive cruise experience brings education, adventure and cultural immersion to the fore, with a range of ambitious itineraries. If live shows and glitzy entertainment are what you’re after then this is not the cruise line for you: here, enrichment and education is the entertainment.
A partnership with wellness guru Deepak Chopra takes the form of holistic wellness retreats known as ‘Explore & Restore’ voyages, where Chopra-certified meditation and yoga teachers offer daily private and group sessions, covering everything from breathwork to how to master an Ayurvedic diet.
Swan Hellenic expedition ships thrive in polar regions, spending much of their time at the extremes of the Earth, however unique itineraries along Africa’s abundant west coast or through the plentiful rainforests of Madagascar and its surrounding islands are also hugely popular.
What’s included? All meals, 24hr room service, wi-fi, most drinks, gratuities, one-night pre-cruise accommodation, regional flights to the port of embarkation (only applicable to polar itineraries), one selected shore excursion per port of call, and all lecture programmes.
What’s extra? Spa treatments, ultra-premium drinks (e.g. vintage wines), private tours and additional shore excursions.
Norwegian small-ship cruise line HX Expeditions specialises in adventure-focused, expedition cruises to remote destinations including the Arctic, Antarctica, and Norwegian coast. The line’s hybrid-powered ships lead the way in sustainable cruising, and the importance of conservation and sustainable travel is central throughout voyages. During Hurtigruten’s all-inclusive cruises, expect close encounters with nature, wildlife, and fascinating cultural experiences, all led by field-leading experts. Warm up around a campfire under the polar night sky while trying out authentic Norwegian delicacies, join one of the many Zodiac landings and spot everything from whales to walruses, or try your hand at snow-shoeing through the Arctic Circle.
HX Expeditions’ fleet of seven small ships range from capacities of 90 up to 570, and while offering complete comfort, the focus is very much on exploration and discovery, rather than luxury. Think less lounging by the pool and more getting stuck in at the onboard science labs! Each ship has a Science Centre to which all guests have access, where you can find onboard scientists analysing samples collected during cruises and carrying out studies. After a day out on the ice, saunas, hot tubs and steam rooms await to warm up in, and two ships – MS Roald Amundsen and MS Fridtjof Nansen – also boast infinity pools.
What’s included? Daily excursions and activities in the onboard Science Centre, all meals, wi-fi, expedition gear, professional photos, gratuities, drinks and entertainment.
What’s extra? A few specialist excursions with limited capacity, fine dining in the Lindstrøm restaurant, spa treatments, premium drinks (e.g. vintage wines, champagne, etc.).
Alongside Viking’s popular ocean fleet, Viking River Cruises offer culturally rich explorations along the inland waterways of Europe, Asia, America and Africa. Chic Scandinavian decor gives an instant air of luxury and calm (assisted by the strictly 18+ guest policy), and as the cruise line offers exclusively all-inclusive cruises you can be sure to leave your worries behind as you board and sail off into a glamorous river sunset.
Though river cruise ships are generally restricted in terms of space compared to their ocean sisters, Viking river cruises are packed with plenty to do and give a wholly comfortable onboard experience. Up on the sundecks, find putting greens, a shuffleboard area, sunloungers and even a herb garden! Walking tracks also offer 360-degree views of the scenery floating past – from remote fishing villages along the Mekong River to a glimpse into ancient Egypt while meandering down the Nile.
What’s included? All dining, one shore excursion in each port, wine, beer & all soft drinks, return flights from select UK airports, UNESCO site visits, lectures & entertainment, wi-fi.
What’s extra? Alcoholic beverages that are not beer or wine, additional shore excursions.
VIVA Cruises offer a laid-back, contemporary approach to river cruising, with comfortable ships and attractive prices. Itineraries are centred around the European river heavyweights, including the Rhine, Danube, Elbe, and Seine, and can be as little as three nights. You won’t find any pandering, or deferential service here – crew are friendly, relaxed and open, giving a delightfully refreshing cruise experience.
Gourmet dining is key to the onboard experience with VIVA: each ship generally has one stylish dining venue, complemented by a spacious lounge area where you can sip on complimentary cocktails as glorious European landscapes unfurl before you. Viva’s all-inclusive cruises pack in shore excursions aplenty, whether it’s taking a foodie tour of Amsterdam or hiking up to the magical Lichtenhain Waterfall in Germany. Back on the ship, chill out in the sundeck’s whirlpool, or, if you’re on one of the cruise line’s newer ships, take a trip to the spa, where massage treatments and saunas await.
What’s included? All meals, most drinks, high tea (once per cruise), wi-fi, a welcome glass of bubbles, daily excursions, mini-bar, entertainment, and all wellness/fitness facilities if applicable.
What’s extra? Laundry services and spa treatments.
Uniworld’s fleet of 17 idiosyncratic riverships each resembles a quirky, boutique hotel more than a river cruise ship when you step aboard, thanks to its founders’ five-star boutique hotel heritage. Interiors are designed to reflect the destination you’re sailing through – so if it’s Venice you’re exploring, expect ornate chandeliers and Murano glass mirrors, or if cruising along the Danube, opulent Baroque decoration awaits on SS Maria Theresa. Though each ship varies, there’s always one constant: a ubiquitous sense of luxury and traditional refinement. Think rich fabrics, treasured original artworks, preserved antiques, the list goes on…
Sailings go to pretty much all four corners of the globe: along the Ganges and Mekong rivers, the Nile or the Rhine, and even along the Amazon. Fun-filled shore excursions are included in the all-inclusive offering, and many take place ‘after-hours,’ ensuring a crowd-and-queue-free outing. Bliss! From visiting Cambodian temples to cycling through vineyards in Bordeaux, you won’t find it hard to peel yourself away from the ships’ stunning interiors and go out exploring.
What’s included? All meals, drinks, shore excursions, wi-fi, gratuities, bicycle usage, and airport transfers. Flights are also sometimes included, dependent on the itinerary.
What’s extra? Select excursions, some flights, premium alcoholic drinks such as vintage champagnes, wines and spirits.
