rideev

There is no service charge on the Plus package. Where are you getting your data? It is obviously flawed.

So, how much of the princess Plus does princess put into the CA pot and process outside of corporate financials?

Why can't they say that they take full Internet fees out of the Plus package, full drink prices, and whatever is left over they put into the CA pot? No one knows how much of the Princess Plus is allocated to anything. Why are you so adamant about thinking Princess is just giving money to their employees? If so, why wouldn't they just pay them more? Don't matter to me, I won't ever do plus or premier ever again. I spend much more money that way.

Of course not. They pay bunches for that. Others say those costs are minimal. I think they may be a fixed cost. What in really saying is no one knows how much of the $60 or $80 from Plus or premier that Princess puts into the CA pot. But to say that all other costs are negligible so they can put the full $16,17 or 18 into the pot based on your cabin choice is foolish.

It's not remotely crazy. Everything else in the packages costs them a minimal amount. Putting in the amount they say they do leaves them with plenty of profit. Where do they say they put that amount in the pot? The CA costs them nothing, less than minimal. By your logic, if the drinks costs them a few Dollars, and Internet cost them nothing more, then they should put the whole thing into the CA pot, but they don't. And there is nothing anywhere that says how much of that $60 goes to CA. All of the crew is on salaried contracts. Some of them may get a bonus with all of the CA money pooled fleet wide.

But still doesn't answer the question of how much of the $60 for Plus that process puts into the Crew Appreciation pot. Not the gratuity pot or the tip pot, but the "Crew Appreciation" pot. Saying that $16, $17, or $18 of that $60 is allocated to the CA pot is just crazy. Saying that because the CA amount is $16 for someone not on the Plus program means PCL will put $16 in the pot for those on the program is about as asinine as someone buying the Princess Plus Beverage package for ~$76 per day and then paying an additional $16 per day for CA and passing up Princess Plus. And how much of that crew appreciation goes to each individual? No one knows because they give it out as they see fit and to whom they are for.

I believe more along the lines that Princess has entered into a contract with their employees and they have an agreed upon salary that both parties are happy with. Then Princess tries to get people into the Plus and Premier packages as they know that they are money makers for the cruise line. Then they don't put any of the money from Plus and Premier into the CA pool.

The real question, and no one is answering, is how much of the Plus and/or Premier is Princess adding to the CA pool? If the $60 is a savings, then Princess is either not putting the allotted amount into the CA pool, or they are not using any of it to pay for their Satellite, or their drinks, etc. I would suggest that if you have the Plus or Premier, then princess doesn't pull the $16, $17, or $18 out of the $60 or $80 and put it into the CA pot. And notice, princess calls it crew appreciation, not gratuities or tips. And it is pooled fleet wide and given out as Princess sees fit. The people that make your cruise amazing may or may not get a dime of that CA money.

Ok, I have eaten at the steakhouses on 4 different cruise lines. Princess, HAL, NCL, and RCL. I loved the salt selection at the Crown Grill, and have since bought some like it, but that is all I can say. None of the four stood out to me. Yes, the service was good, but the steaks were just ok. Is it just me? I do like some of the other specialty restaurants. I think Sabatini's is wonderful, along with Le Bistro on NCL. I don't think I will ever book a steakhouse on a cruise again. For our anniversary cruise we have Sabatini's booked for $90. As to that the cost of the meal that we are turning down in the MDR and it turns into a pricey meal. It will be good, but not any better than what we would get here at home for the same cost.

The title of this post caught my eye, and then I saw who was writing the post. The first thing I thought of was that you said you would never sail Princess again. So I had to read this post, lol. Glad you explained. I was on the Emerald with you on that sailing of the Panama Canal. I remembered the name. I hope you enjoy this upcoming cruise.

We did Plus on one cruise. It was great to be able to get "free" bottles of water all day. I think I drank them out of San Pellegrino at dinner. However, my last four cruises without Plus I didn't drink any San Pellegrino and haven't bought one at the grocery store in 4 years. While in the cruise with Plus I also noticed we spent a lot of time wasting away on Facebook and Cruise Critic while on the cruise, LoL. For us, the package was convenient, but it cost way more than PAYG. We have never been surprised or overwhelmed at our final bill, but then again we don't go to the spa or indulge on alcoholic drinks. We like our coffee black (DW like a touch of cream) and specialty coffees are just too sweet. And definitely don't want any ice in the coffee. I can definitely see where some people would see value in Plus or Premier. But for us it's a hard no. Tried it once and quickly realized we spent much more money with Plus than we would of without Plus.

There is. My buddy got off last week and let me know. He said he didn't play because there were pretty long lines too get on the court.

Future Cruise Length Per Person Shipboard Credit* 17 - 44 Days $125 Inside, $125 Outside, $150 Balcony, $150 Suite 11 - 16 Days $75 Inside, $75 Outside, $100 Balcony, $100 Suite 7 - 10 Days $25 Inside, $25 Outside, $50 Balcony, $50 Suite 3 - 6 Days $15 Inside, $15 Outside, $25 Balcony, $25 Suit

Thanks. That makes it interesting. Yes, the longer cruises are a completely different clientele from the short cruises. Our next cruise is a 29 night Trans Pacific. Then we will be on a 7 night holiday Western Caribbean . Those will be two completely different passenger groups. Also, the specialty restaurants will be staffed and visited differently. Our 29 night will be our longest cruise. Very curious to see how the group dynamics happen on that cruise.

How full is the ship?