What Cruise Extras Are Worth Paying For?
Friday, 2 October 2026
A cruise fare with Ambassador already covers a lot: your cabin, full board dining, onboard entertainment and, of course, an itinerary packed with incredible culture and scenery. So if your fare already covers a baseline cruise experience, why would you pay for additional extras?
Whether you’re a first-time cruiser hoping to make the most of your time on board, or a regular guest looking to enhance your next sailing, there’s a long menu of extras on offer. Here’s an overview of each available upgrade and its benefits to help you decide which is worth its salt.
MAKE THE MOST OF EACH PORT WITH DESTINATION EXPERIENCES
You choose the cruise for the itinerary, so you’ll want to make the most of each port. At many ports, a wander through town, a spot of lunch or a bit of local shopping are easily accessible, but sometimes the best sights and activities sit further out or require transport, timing or local expertise to reach comfortably and safely. Destination Experiences are carefully curated to help you maximise your time on land, whether that’s through a coach journey to a distant landmark, a boat trip to a secluded area inaccessible by foot or an activity requiring specialist equipment and expert guides.
Our Destination Experiences team handpick the available activities to showcase the best each port has to offer, ensuring you return to the ship ahead of its scheduled departure time, so there are no last-minute panics as you rush back to port. Book your Destination Experiences ahead of your sailing via My Ambassador Sailing (available around 6-8 weeks before departure) to secure your place at the best price.
Verdict: Bucket-list activity? Once-in-a-lifetime experience? A port you’ve only ever dreamed of seeing? Destination Experiences enhance your shoreside experience and ensure you make the most of your time at port.
Read more: Top 5 Experiences to Enjoy on Your Next Cruise
A FANTASTIC EXPERIENCE!
Ambassador exceeded all my expectations and when they say the warmest welcome at sea - they mean it!
Great service, great food and drinks and fab entertainment! Will certainly be back on board again soon!
– Verified Guest Review, Trustpilot
EMBRACE THE FLAVOURS OF THE SEA WITH SPECIALITY DINING
Full board dining is included in your fare, so speciality dining isn't about filling a gap; it's about elevating your evening. A table at one of our speciality restaurants is perfect to mark an occasion like a birthday or anniversary at sea, but even without an occasion, being at sea and on your well deserved holiday, is enough of a reason to celebrate! Embark on a journey into Indian gastronomy at Saffron, experience seven acts of our Executive Chef’s finest flavour at Sea & Grass or explore Mediterranean and Italian fusion at Lupino’s (speciality restaurants vary by ship).
There’s more than enough on offer at Borough Market and the Buckingham & Holyrood Restaurants, so speciality dining is a truly optional add-on to your experience, but booking in at a speciality restaurant is a great way to refuel after a busy day at port or to enhance a day spent at sea.
Saffron
Sea & Grass
Terre & Mer
Lupino's
Lotus
Kreole by Mondi
The Grill
Chef’s Table
Verdict: As a treat to mark an occasion or simply to experience a new cuisine at sea, our speciality restaurants are an optional expense that elevates your evenings on board.
PICK YOUR POISON WITH A DRINKS PACKAGE
You can already graze all day with full board dining, so why not extend that feeling to your drinks as well? Grab a sun lounger, sit back and relax knowing your drinks are covered. Whether it’s a foamy cappuccino in the morning, a fruity cocktail on a sunny afternoon or a glass of premium whiskey in the evening, whatever your poison, a drinks package is the best way to experience everything our bar menus have to offer.
Without a drinks package, you can pay-as-you-go across our onboard bars and restaurants. Before you set sail, consider how much you expect to drink per day, and compare the prospective costs with the relevant package price. Purchasing a drinks package removes unnecessary guesswork so you can spend less time doing mental maths and more time working your way through the cocktail menu!
Verdict: For the guests who like to calculate costs ahead of time, or those who know they’ll be enjoying multiple drinks a day, a drinks package is a great value addition to your fare.
Top tip: Secure the best value by booking the Ambassador Fare, which includes the Premium Drinks Package among other benefits.
Read more: How to spend a sea day on an Ambassador cruise
We thoroughly enjoyed our first cruise with Ambassador
Food was excellent self service restaurant had fantastic variety & we liked that staff served food so everyone wasn’t touching everything! Variety shows were fantastic singers & dancers were fantastic
Our cabin attendant was super & also waiter & assistant in Buckingham Restaurant
Overall excellent all round
– Verified Guest Review, Trustpilot
FEEL RESTED AND REJUVENATED WITH A SPA TREATMENT
Our onboard oasis, the Green Sea Spa, is fully equipped with a sauna and steam room, with access included in the price of both our Saver and Ambassador Fares. For guests looking to enhance their relaxation further, various treatments are available for an extra cost, including massage therapies, full body treatments, hair removal, facials and more. The spa is also home to a dedicated salon area where guests can purchase a range of hair care and styling treatments, as well as manicures, pedicures and other hand and foot treatments.
Spa treatments are not essential to a fulfilling cruise, but plenty of guests see the value in a calming massage after a long day ashore or a full body treatment as part of a relaxing sea day. It’s also very popular to pop down to the spa for a hair styling treatment ahead of gala night as an extra treat to yourself before the black-tie evening ahead.
Verdict: The spa is a nice extra if a certain treatment takes your fancy, or for itineraries with a larger number of sea days, but it isn’t a requirement for a true cruise experience.
STAY CONNECTED WITH A WI-FI PACKAGE
While there’s plenty on board to keep you entertained, a Wi-Fi package ensures you can stay connected with your loved ones back home throughout the duration of your sailing. It’s not essential to the cruise experience, but many people feel comforted to know they can video call their children/grandchildren or send a quick check-in message to a friend while on board.
Our ships are equipped with Starlink Wi-Fi, offering the best level of connectivity at sea. We have three levels of Wi-Fi package to ensure you only pay for what you need: Basic for emails and messaging, Value for web browsing and social media and Premium for video calls and streaming.
Verdict: Whether you can’t go without your favourite TV show, plan to FaceTime home throughout the sailing or simply don’t want your emails to pile up while you’re away, Wi-Fi is a home comfort that’s nice to have at sea.
Read more: Planning Ahead: Why Booking Your 2028/29 Cruise Early Is the Smartest Move You’ll Make
We have sailed with you many times the crew are amazing very polite and friendly and helpful nothing is too much trouble. The fjords were amazing too I had been before but my partner hadn't but we went to different fjords before. I think the Saturday on our way home when we done the sail by fjords just finished the cruise of a treat, and we also had lovely weather which helps.
– Verified Guest Review, Trustpilot
CRUISING WITH EVERYTHING COVERED
Before you start totting up extras, it's worth remembering how much is already included in your fare, and that you can still have the full cruise experience without any additional upgrades. Extras are just that: extra. It's less about needing them and more about choosing the ones that add something to your personal experience.
Add Wi-Fi if staying in touch matters to you. Book a Destination Experience for the ports you couldn't easily see on your own. Treat yourself to a speciality dinner or a spa afternoon on the sailing that calls for it. Skip whatever doesn't feel worth it for you, and put the savings towards your next cruise booking instead! Choose wisely, and every extra you do treat yourself to will be worth its salt!
WANT MORE ONBOARD EXTRAS TIPS AND OFFERS?
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WHY CRUISE WITH AMBASSADOR
Experience more with Ambassador. Sailing from UK ports with welcoming service, comfortable smaller ships and a wide range of destinations, there's plenty to uncover, from speciality dining to spa days and everything else worth treating yourself to on board.
For more destination guides, travel tips and must-see locations, be sure to read the articles on our blog.
