Are Celebrity River Cruises All-Inclusive? What’s Included (and What Costs Extra)

Yes — Celebrity River Cruises are very close to fully all-inclusive. Every published fare includes your stateroom, all meals (including specialty dining), unlimited beverages with wine, beer and spirits, complimentary Wi-Fi, onboard entertainment, gratuities, and one curated shore excursion in every port. A short list of extras — premium drinks, additional excursions, the spa, and pre- or post-cruise hotel nights — sits outside the fare. Below is exactly what’s included and what costs extra, so you know the real all-in price before you book for 2026.

Celebrity River Cruises is Celebrity’s brand-new entry into European river cruising, sailing the Danube starting in August 2027 aboard Celebrity Compass and Celebrity Seeker, with Rhine and additional ships following in 2028. As a Celebrity-selling agency, we’ve dug into the fare structure so you can compare apples to apples against Viking, AmaWaterways, Scenic and the rest.

Are Celebrity River Cruises all-inclusive?

In practice, yes. Celebrity has built its river product on a near-luxury, “more is included” model rather than the stripped-down base fares you’ll find on some ocean lines. That matters because river cruising is intimate: with roughly 100–180 guests onboard, the line wants the experience to feel seamless from the moment you step aboard, with very few moments where you’re reaching for your wallet.

That said, “all-inclusive” is not the same as “everything is free.” A handful of premium touches are deliberately left as optional upgrades. The trick to budgeting accurately is knowing which side of the line each item falls on.

What’s included in a Celebrity River Cruise fare

Here’s what comes standard with every Celebrity River Cruises sailing:

• Your stateroom or suite — accommodations for the full 7-night itinerary.
• All meals onboard — breakfast, lunch and dinner, including specialty dining venues, with no per-restaurant cover charges.
• Beverages, including alcohol — wine, beer and spirits are poured with lunch and dinner, and specialty coffees plus non-alcoholic drinks are available throughout the day at no extra charge.
• One curated shore excursion in every port — included daily, ranging from guided city walks and private Austrian wine tastings to cycling along the Danube and Budapest’s thermal baths.
• Complimentary Wi-Fi — available throughout the ship for the whole voyage.
• Onboard entertainment and enrichment — local performances, lectures and the daily program.
• Gratuities — onboard tips are built into the fare, so there’s no end-of-cruise auto-gratuity surprise.
• Port charges and taxes — bundled into the published fare.

This is a genuinely generous baseline. Compared with the typical European river cruise, Celebrity is including more out of the gate — unlimited drinks, a daily included excursion and Wi-Fi are the inclusions guests most often ask about, and all three are covered.

What costs extra on a Celebrity River Cruise

To keep your budget honest, here’s what sits outside the standard fare:

• Premium drinks — top-shelf spirits, rare vintages or bottles beyond the included pours.
• Additional / premium shore excursions — one excursion per port is included; the more specialized “signature” tours beyond that day’s included option carry a fee.
• Spa treatments and salon services.
• Laundry and dry cleaning.
• Pre- and post-cruise hotel stays and land extensions — a night or two in Budapest or Vienna before or after your sailing is optional and priced separately.
• Airfare and airport transfers — getting to and from your embarkation city is on you unless you add a package.
• Travel insurance — always recommended, never automatic.

None of these are surprises if you plan for them. The two that move the budget most are airfare and any pre/post hotel nights — both worth building in early, because Danube embarkation cities like Vilshofen, Vienna and Budapest reward an extra day or two.

How much does an “all-inclusive” Celebrity River Cruise actually cost?

For the inaugural 2027 season, 7-night Danube sailings start from around $4,224 per person. Because so much is bundled in — drinks, daily excursions, Wi-Fi and gratuities — that headline number is much closer to your true spend than a comparable ocean cruise base fare would be.

To estimate your real all-in cost, take the fare and add: round-trip airfare to Europe, any pre/post hotel nights, a few premium excursions if you want them, and travel insurance. For most couples, those add-ons are the difference between the brochure price and the credit-card total. We walk through this math in detail in our Celebrity River Cruise cost and pricing guide.

How Celebrity’s inclusions compare to other river lines

Celebrity is positioning its river product as premium-to-luxury, and the inclusions reflect that. Ultra-luxury lines like Scenic and Tauck famously include nearly everything — most excursions, all gratuities, even some pre-cruise hotel nights. Mainstream-premium lines like Viking and AmaWaterways tend to bundle the core experience (one excursion per port, beer and wine with meals) and keep more items optional.

Celebrity lands in the sweet spot: unlimited drinks (not just with meals on some competitors), a daily included excursion, complimentary Wi-Fi and included gratuities — a richer baseline than the mainstream lines, with optional premium tiers for travelers who want to upgrade. If you’re weighing the brand-new line against an established favorite, our honest “is it worth it” review breaks down where Celebrity wins and where it doesn’t.

A quick note for solo travelers

River staterooms are built for double occupancy, so solo guests typically pay a single supplement to sail alone. If you’re traveling solo, ask us early — supplement levels vary by sailing and cabin category, and we can point you to the sailings that price most kindly for one.

Who gets the most value from Celebrity’s all-inclusive fare?

The included-everything model rewards travelers who would have bought the drinks package, taken the daily tour and paid gratuities anyway — which is most river cruisers. If you enjoy a glass of wine with dinner, want to step off in every port without booking tours à la carte, and prefer a tidy bill at the end, Celebrity’s bundled fare is genuinely good value.

It’s a slightly different calculation if you rarely drink, plan to skip excursions, or want to design every day yourself. Even then, the convenience of one upfront price and the included Wi-Fi and gratuities still appeal to many guests. For a deeper look at the ships, dining venues and onboard experience that round out the fare, see our Celebrity River Cruise dining guide.

The bottom line

Celebrity River Cruises are about as all-inclusive as European river cruising gets without crossing into ultra-luxury territory. Your fare covers the stateroom, every meal, unlimited drinks, Wi-Fi, gratuities and a daily shore excursion. Budget separately for airfare, premium excursions, the spa, and any hotel nights you add on either end, and you’ll have an accurate all-in number.

We’re a Griswold family travel agency — yes, like the movie, and yes, we’ve built the Truckster — and we book these cruises for our clients at no planning fee. If you’d like us to price out a specific Celebrity River sailing and tell you exactly what’s included versus extra, we’re glad to help.

Frequently asked questions about Celebrity River Cruises inclusions

Are drinks included on Celebrity River Cruises?

Yes. Wine, beer and spirits are included with lunch and dinner, and specialty coffees and non-alcoholic beverages are available throughout the day at no extra charge. Only premium top-shelf pours and bottles beyond the included selection cost extra.

Are shore excursions included on Celebrity River Cruises?

One curated shore excursion is included in every port, every day of your sailing. Additional or more specialized premium excursions are available for an extra fee if you want to explore further.

Are gratuities included on Celebrity River Cruises?

Yes. Onboard gratuities are built into the fare, so you won’t see an automatic end-of-cruise gratuity charge. Tipping beyond that is at your discretion.

Is Wi-Fi free on Celebrity River Cruises?

Yes. Complimentary Wi-Fi is included for the entire voyage, so you can stay connected throughout your Danube sailing at no added cost.

What is NOT included in a Celebrity River Cruise?

Airfare, airport transfers, premium drinks, additional premium excursions, spa and salon services, laundry, travel insurance, and any pre- or post-cruise hotel stays are not included in the standard fare.

Are Celebrity River Cruises more inclusive than Viking or AmaWaterways?

Generally yes on beverages and Wi-Fi. Celebrity includes unlimited drinks and complimentary Wi-Fi as standard, along with included gratuities and a daily excursion, giving it a slightly richer baseline than the mainstream-premium river lines, with optional upgrades for those who want more.