Celebrity's Always Included fare is the foundation of the Celebrity booking experience on most sailings. It bundles the Classic beverage package and streaming-capable Wi-Fi into the published fare — inclusions that would cost roughly $490 to $695 per person to purchase separately on a 7-night sailing. One thing to get right up front, because it changed: as of October 2023, standard Always Included fares no longer bundle daily crew gratuities — those are billed separately (only Retreat and AquaClass bookings still include them). When a lower fare appears on celebritycruises.com, the first question isn't whether the fare is lower. It's whether the lower fare carries the same inclusions.
A lower non-AI fare that looks $100 per person cheaper isn't $100 cheaper once the bundled inclusions are priced out separately. In most scenarios it's more expensive. This is the most common and preventable calculation error in Celebrity price monitoring — the kind that trips up a Best Price Guarantee claim — and it happens specifically because the guarantee calculates on cruise fare only, not on total booking value. It's a core piece of the wider Celebrity price-drop strategy.
What Actually Matters
Celebrity's AI fare bundles the Classic Beverage Package and streaming-capable Wi-Fi (one device per person) into the published fare on most sailings. Since October 2023, standard AI fares no longer include daily crew gratuities — Retreat and AquaClass bookings are the exception.
The combined per-person value of these two inclusions on a 7-night sailing runs approximately $490–$695, or $980–$1,390 per stateroom for two guests. (Add the daily crew gratuity separately — roughly $18–$23 per person per day — since it's billed on top of a standard AI fare.)
A lower non-AI fare requires purchasing these three items separately. The total cost of the non-AI fare plus separate inclusions typically exceeds the AI fare by $200–$500 per stateroom.
Celebrity's BPG calculates on cruise fare only — not on inclusion differences. Running the full value comparison is the passenger's responsibility before any claim.
Celebrity also offers a non-refundable deposit (NRD) option at a lower entry price. NRD bookings trade cancellation flexibility for the lower fare. The BPG applies to NRD bookings, but repricing to a new fare type requires matching the same deposit structure.
Edge-class ships (Edge, Apex, Beyond, Ascent) carry higher base pricing than the Solstice and Millennium class. The AI value comparison is the same, but the baseline fare is higher and meaningful drops are less frequent.
What Celebrity's AI Fare Actually Includes
For most Celebrity sailings booked in 2025–2026, the standard Always Included fare bundles two inclusions (daily crew gratuities were removed from the bundle in October 2023 and are billed separately, except on Retreat and AquaClass):
Classic Beverage Package Unlimited beverages up to a daily limit, covering: wine by the glass at Classic tier, beer, Classic spirits, specialty coffees, non-alcoholic beverages, bottled water (limited), and soft drinks. Premium spirits, premium wines by the glass, and specialty cocktails above the Classic tier are available at a surcharge above the package rate.
At Celebrity's onboard pricing, a moderate drinker consuming 5 to 7 drinks per day at the Classic tier generates approximately $60–$85 in daily bar value — or $420–$595 per person on a 7-night sailing. Non-drinkers should value this component at or near zero in their comparison.
Basic (Surf) Wi-Fi One device per person. Streaming-capable — this is not a browsing-only package. Covers video streaming, video calls, and standard app usage. At Celebrity's current à la carte pricing, a 7-night Wi-Fi package runs approximately $70–$100 per person.
Daily Crew Gratuities — Billed Separately (since October 2023) On standard Always Included fares, the daily crew gratuity is no longer bundled — it posts to your account separately at roughly $18–$23 per person per day (about $126–$161 per person on a 7-night sailing, tiered by stateroom). It's included only on Retreat and AquaClass bookings. Because it applies to standard AI and non-AI fares alike, it's not part of the AI-versus-non-AI comparison — leave it out of that calculation and budget for it either way.
Total AI value estimate per person on a 7-night sailing (moderate drinker): Classic Beverage: $420–$595 + Wi-Fi: $70–$100 = $490–$695 per person, or $980–$1,390 per stateroom. (Daily crew gratuities are separate on standard AI fares and apply whether or not you have AI, so they're excluded here.)
Track your Celebrity Cruises fare and get an alert the moment it drops — CruiseAlert.com
The Celebrity Premium Package (Upgrade from Classic)
Celebrity also offers the Celebrity Premium package — an upgrade from the bundled AI inclusions on some sailings and booking windows:
Premium Beverage Package: expands from Classic tier to Premium tier — higher-quality spirits, premium wines by the glass, specialty cocktails at full price. No daily cap on the number of drinks (subject to responsible alcohol service). At Celebrity pricing, the upgrade from Classic to Premium runs approximately $30–$50 per person per day.
Premium Wi-Fi: upgrades from one device to unlimited devices per person, same streaming capability.
When a lower fare is found that carries the full Premium package versus an existing booking with the standard AI Classic package, the comparison may favor the new fare once the package upgrade value is included. This is less common than the reverse scenario (new fare without AI), but worth recognizing as a scenario where the BPG claim clearly works in the passenger's favor.
How to Run the Correct Comparison
Before submitting any BPG claim on Celebrity, walk through these four steps:
Step 1: Identify the fare type on the lower fare. On celebritycruises.com, AI fares display their included amenities during the booking flow. A lower fare without the "Always Included" label or bundled inclusions listed is likely non-AI. Screenshot both the fare and the inclusions (or lack thereof) on the lower fare.
Step 2: Calculate the total cost of the lower fare including missing inclusions. Lower fare per person
Classic Beverage Package at current à la carte price (if not included)
Wi-Fi at current à la carte price (if not included)
Daily crew gratuity at the standard rate — but note this applies to both AI and non-AI standard fares, so it usually cancels out of the comparison = Total cost of lower-fare booking
Compare this total against your current AI fare per person. If the total cost of the lower-fare booking exceeds your current fare, the comparison doesn't favor the claim.
Step 3: Check the promotional OBC on both fares. If the lower fare carries promotional OBC and your current booking doesn't (or vice versa), factor the OBC difference into the total comparison.
Step 4: Make the decision. If the lower-fare booking total is clearly lower than your current AI fare total, submit the claim. If it's comparable or higher, don't. If it's very close, the cash refund certainty (on fully paid bookings) may tip the calculation — a modest fare reduction that produces a cash refund is more predictably valuable than an OBC-denominated difference of similar size.
NRD vs. Refundable Deposits: How They Interact with the BPG
Celebrity offers two deposit structures on most sailings: standard refundable deposits at the standard fare, and Non-Refundable Deposits (NRD) at a lower entry fare. NRD bookings trade cancellation flexibility for the lower price.
The Best Price Guarantee applies to both, but the deposit type sets what you can reprice to. Per Celebrity's current terms: a refundable-deposit booking can reprice to either fare type, while a non-refundable-deposit (NRD) booking can only reprice to the same fare type — NRD to NRD. So if your booking is NRD and the lower fare you find is a refundable fare, it isn't a matching reprice; you'd be comparing against the NRD version of the lower fare instead.
The non-refundability itself doesn't change the repricing mechanics — it changes your cancellation terms and which fare type you can match to. Confirm the deposit type on both your booking and the lower fare before you call.
Edge-Class vs. Traditional Fleet: Different Monitoring Profiles
Celebrity Edge, Apex, Beyond, and Ascent command premium pricing year-round. The AI value comparison applies identically to Edge-class as to the standard fleet. What differs is the frequency of qualifying fare drops:
Traditional fleet (Solstice, Millennium, Summit, Constellation, etc.): more pricing volatility, particularly on Caribbean and repositioning sailings. Qualifying fare drops appear more frequently in our monitoring data. The BPG fare adjustment path produces more alerts per booking.
Edge class: stronger demand holds pricing more firmly. Meaningful fare drops in the pre-payment window are less common, particularly on 7-night Caribbean sailings. Where drops do appear on Edge-class sailings, they cluster on longer, higher-priced itineraries where demand occasionally softens against the entry fare.
Because the repriced fare now carries its own promotion, monitoring on any Celebrity sailing means watching the total package a current fare offers — fare plus promotion plus inclusions — not the fare number alone. On Edge-class bookings especially, the promotion attached to a new fare can matter as much as the fare movement itself.
What We've Seen In Practice
The non-AI lower fare error is the most consistently preventable mistake in Celebrity price monitoring. A passenger finds a fare on celebritycruises.com that's $120 per person lower than their current booking. They reprice to it. The passenger receives the lower fare. At embarkation they discover their beverage package and Wi-Fi are no longer covered. The total cost of their voyage — after paying for beverages and Wi-Fi onboard — is $300–$400 more than their original booking. (Daily crew gratuities post separately on both fares, so they don't factor into the gap — but the beverage and Wi-Fi difference alone is enough to flip the math.)
The five-minute calculation before filing — total cost of new fare including missing inclusions — prevents this entirely. We see it happen enough in the post-voyage feedback from monitored Celebrity sailings that it's worth emphasizing the calculation step over everything else.
On the positive side: in our monitoring data, Celebrity AI fare drops that maintain the full bundled inclusions — where the comparison is genuinely favorable — produce some of the cleanest repricing outcomes of any line we cover. The cash refund on fully paid bookings means the savings are realized immediately, not tied to future sailing plans.
Common Questions
What's the difference between Celebrity's AI fare and Celebrity's Premium package?
Celebrity's AI fare includes the Classic Beverage Package (drinks up to Classic tier) and one-device streaming Wi-Fi bundled into the fare. (Daily crew gratuities are no longer part of the standard AI bundle as of October 2023 — they're billed separately except on Retreat and AquaClass.) The Celebrity Premium package upgrades the beverage to Premium tier (higher-quality spirits, more wines by the glass) and upgrades Wi-Fi to unlimited devices. The Premium package is an add-on to the AI fare at additional cost.
If I reprice to a lower non-AI fare, can I add the inclusions back at the same value?
You can add the inclusions separately, but at current à la carte pricing — which is typically higher than the bundled AI rate. The total cost of a non-AI fare plus separately purchased inclusions almost always exceeds the original AI fare. This is specifically why the full comparison before filing matters.
Does Celebrity ever run sales where AI fares are lower than non-AI fares?
Generally no — AI fares carry the cost of the inclusions and are priced above non-AI fares. Occasionally during significant promotional events, the AI fare promotion (with strong OBC) produces a better total value than the lower non-AI fare, but the headline AI fare number is higher. What changes is the total booking value including promotional OBC.
I'm a Captain's Club Elite member. Do I get a beverage upgrade as part of my status?
Elite Captain's Club members receive a complimentary Classic Beverage Package on sea days (not all days) as a loyalty benefit, separate from the AI fare bundling. This doesn't change the AI fare comparison — it's an onboard benefit, not a fare inclusion. Check your specific Elite benefits package for current details.