Princess Captains Cirrcle Platinum Benefits

Agree. My partner who does not drink has never gotten a free soda during the PSE lounge.

 

Mike:)

 

Agreed. We have always had to pay for soda.

I am the one who posted that we got free sodas during the lounge. That was our 14th Princess cruise, we'd gone to the lounge on past cruises having only ordered alcohol. On the last cruise we ordered Sprites and asked for a bill since we were ready to leave, and he told us no charge.

This was on Grand Princess to Alaska in August

Edited November 22, 2014 by 4cats4me

I am the one who posted that we got free sodas during the lounge. That was our 14th Princess cruise, we'd gone to the lounge on past cruises having only ordered alcohol. On the last cruise we ordered Sprites , and asked for a bill since we were ready to leave, and he told us no charge. This was on Grand Princess to Alaska in August.

 

I think you just got lucky that time.

I don't mean to rain on your parade, but, it isn't any drink as in anything you want. It was any one of the 7 or so different drinks of the day that are featured for the Platinum/Elite lounge happy hour. You are limited to those drink choices even if they aren't limiting it to the one special drink for that specific day. Hope that makes sense. :cool:

 

That does make sense, the Celebrity Elite program is similar they have a selection of drinks available. We should be able to find something we like on the menu of choices

You've got that right Paul.

 

Back in February, same ship, we could only get the featured drink for $5. Not any of the other featured drinks prior or post but just the featured drink.

 

That's why my mind was blown a couple of weeks ago when I said to myself, "I don't really want a "Chairman of the Board" and the waiter said, "Oh you can have any drink for $5". Who was I to argue? And it was not dependent on the waitperson as we had a different one every evening.

 

Mike:)

 

I wouldn't want a "chairman of the board" either I dont know what it is

Agreed. We have always had to pay for soda.

 

Probably can't get free soda as the ship wants you to purchase the soda drinks package

I wouldn't want a "chairman of the board" either I dont know what it is

 

One and a quarter ounces of Grey Goose Vodka

One and a quarter ounces of Bombay Sapphire Gin

One half ounce of Cointreau

 

Mike:)

There is an Platinum/Elite/full suite lounge nightly that offers a special appetizer item and a discounted drink special. There is no free happy hour.

 

The mini-bar setup is for Elites, not Platinum level.

 

Besides the nightly lounge, the main benefits are preferred boarding and free Internet minutes for Platinum.

 

You may want to re-review the benefits specific to Platinum on the Princess website.

 

Love the free minutes. For a balcony that works out to be 1000 minutes between the two of you.

Love the free minutes. For a balcony that works out to be 1000 minutes between the two of you.

Cabin type does not figure into the free internet minutes.

 

I believe you get 500 minutes if the cruise is 21 days or longer.

I wouldn't want a "chairman of the board" either I dont know what it is

 

Those things are lethal! DH orders them, and I'm convinced he'll keel over one day when he orders a second one! ;) He convinced my SIL to have one, and it just about knocked him out--a very fit 35 yr old who can hold his liquor. Still, DH has to do E/P/S lounge on the nights they offer it.

One and a quarter ounces of Grey Goose Vodka

One and a quarter ounces of Bombay Sapphire Gin

One half ounce of Cointreau

 

Mike:)

 

One of the better choices (maybe best) on the PSE lounge special drinks list.

Edited November 23, 2014 by ar1950

I am the one who posted that we got free sodas during the lounge. That was our 14th Princess cruise, we'd gone to the lounge on past cruises having only ordered alcohol. On the last cruise we ordered Sprites and asked for a bill since we were ready to leave, and he told us no charge.

This was on Grand Princess to Alaska in August

 

On our last cruise on the Golden we went almost every night to the Elite Lounge in Skywalkers and my wife usually got the Chairman of the Board and I just drank Cokes and NEVER once paid for them

Okay...this is fun...

 

I really don't cruise for the "benefits"...so I never pay much mind to them except the ones I really use. For example, a departure lounge is pretty much worthless to me since I tend to eat breakfast in the MDR until it's time to leave...free drinks, OTOH, is something I like...

 

On Royal Caribbean, I'm "Diamond"...which gets me free drinks in a dedicated Diamond Lounge from 5:00 to 8:30 every night...Drinks are unlimited...it's not EVERYTHING, but it's a pretty wide list that includes things like my favored Jack Daniels...among a wide gamut of liquor sand cocktails...Also includes all soft drinks...Past that, I get some coupons for various things like an internet package and a free photo...It took 10 cruises under the old system to get to Elite...New system, it's 75 nights at sea...

 

On Celebrity, I am "Elite", but will become the new "Elite Plus" after my upcoming Galapagos cruise...As an Elite, I get free drinks, again a wide gamut...and unlimited, from 5:00 to 7:00 every night...I also get one bag of free laundry (up to 30 pieces) per person per cruise and 90 minutes of free internet...When we hit Elite Plus, it goes to two bags of laundry and 200 minutes of internet. It took me just four cruises (extra points for 10+ night cruises and for suites) or 10 "points" total under their old system to get to Elite. Under the new system, there are points based on actual nights at sea and category of stateroom.

 

Now, on Princess, our upcoming Crown Princess cruise in a couple of weeks will put us to "Platinum" level...

 

I haven't really seen ANY usable benefit to the Gold or Ruby levels...

From what I can tell of Platinum, the only real usable benefit is 150 or 250 minutes of internet, depending on length of cruise...that and "priority check-in" which may get us on the ship a couple of minutes earlier...

 

We're going to need another TEN cruises to get to Elite--which will get us free laundry and the equivalent of two beers and eight small alcoholic drinks for the two of us we can mix ourselves in our stateroom...

 

Correct?

...a departure lounge is pretty much worthless to me since I tend to eat breakfast in the MDR until it's time to leave...

 

I really need to start doing this instead of being herded into a lounge. Is it okay to bring carry-off luggage into the MDR on the final AM? I did this years ago on HAL, but can't remember about the luggage part.

...I haven't really seen ANY usable benefit to the Gold or Ruby levels...From what I can tell of Platinum, the only real usable benefit is 150 or 250 minutes of internet, depending on length of cruise...that and "priority check-in" which may get us on the ship a couple of minutes earlier...

 

Ruby level also gets you a free upgrade from standard to Platinum coverage if you purchase Princess Protection. Standard generally runs about 8% of the cruise fare, and Platinum about 12%. So this perk saves you 4% if you buy it.

Edited December 15, 2014 by Ryndam2002
clarity

And unless I am mistaken...the minibar is only the first set up.....after that you have to pay

 

The in room mini bar is for elites and suites. The pre dinner lounge is hors devours and a reduced price drink choice.

That is pretty much it as far as monetary value. However, I really like the priority tendering. We almost never take a Princess excursion. So the tendering priority allows us to be among the first off the ship and on our way. If you take Princess tours or take your time getting off, then this would be of little or no value.

Okay...this is fun...

 

I really don't cruise for the "benefits"...so I never pay much mind to them except the ones I really use. For example, a departure lounge is pretty much worthless to me since I tend to eat breakfast in the MDR until it's time to leave...free drinks, OTOH, is something I like...

 

On Royal Caribbean, I'm "Diamond"...which gets me free drinks in a dedicated Diamond Lounge from 5:00 to 8:30 every night...Drinks are unlimited...it's not EVERYTHING, but it's a pretty wide list that includes things like my favored Jack Daniels...among a wide gamut of liquor sand cocktails...Also includes all soft drinks...Past that, I get some coupons for various things like an internet package and a free photo...It took 10 cruises under the old system to get to Elite...New system, it's 75 nights at sea...

 

On Celebrity, I am "Elite", but will become the new "Elite Plus" after my upcoming Galapagos cruise...As an Elite, I get free drinks, again a wide gamut...and unlimited, from 5:00 to 7:00 every night...I also get one bag of free laundry (up to 30 pieces) per person per cruise and 90 minutes of free internet...When we hit Elite Plus, it goes to two bags of laundry and 200 minutes of internet. It took me just four cruises (extra points for 10+ night cruises and for suites) or 10 "points" total under their old system to get to Elite. Under the new system, there are points based on actual nights at sea and category of stateroom.

 

Now, on Princess, our upcoming Crown Princess cruise in a couple of weeks will put us to "Platinum" level...

 

I haven't really seen ANY usable benefit to the Gold or Ruby levels...

From what I can tell of Platinum, the only real usable benefit is 150 or 250 minutes of internet, depending on length of cruise...that and "priority check-in" which may get us on the ship a couple of minutes earlier...

 

We're going to need another TEN cruises to get to Elite--which will get us free laundry and the equivalent of two beers and eight small alcoholic drinks for the two of us we can mix ourselves in our stateroom...

 

Correct?

 

You are correct about the Platinum benefits on Princess. It's the priority c.i. and free internet minutes. The rest is useless. Just fyi in the new system it's 80 days to become Diamond, and 175 to become Diamond Plus on Royal Caribbean.

Edited December 15, 2014 by Topo Gigio

I really need to start doing this instead of being herded into a lounge. Is it okay to bring carry-off luggage into the MDR on the final AM? I did this years ago on HAL, but can't remember about the luggage part.

 

Yes. On the Golden three weeks ago, they let us bring our large carry-ons and leave them along the wall just as you enter the dining room...cameras, ipads, etc., we just brought with us to the table...

 

You are correct about the Platinum benefits on Princess. It's the priority c.i. and free internet minutes. The rest is useless. Just fyi in the new system it's 80 days to become Diamond, and 175 to become Diamond Plus on Royal Caribbean.

 

I guess it's 80...I just didn't pay much attention to that number when they changed the system since I was already well past there...I'm at 132 with RCCL, so closing in on that Diamond Plus level. Royal Caribbean also offers some bonus points like "Double Points in December"--we got those the December before last...

 

The great thing about RCCL/Celebrity is how fast you can get to the "free drinks" levels. We actually got to Elite on Celebrity in only three cruises...as they made some sort of accounting error and gave us credit for an extra point...But, typically, if you do longer cruises (we've done a lot of 13-14 night cruises with them) and book Concierge Class or above, you could get to Elite on Celebrity in only 4 cruises under the old system--10 points or above with three points per cruise. I haven't bothered to figure it out under the new points system. When they did the conversion, we were at 24 old points--which were converted to 720 new points. You need 750 to get to Elite Plus. Had we squeezed in one more three-nighter on the old system, we would have been there. Instead, our July Xpedition Galapagos cruise will give us 50 points and get us over that hump. Then, wen we do our July 2016 Europe cruise, we'll get the two loads of laundry and 200 internet minutes each along with the Free Drinks in the Elite Plus Lounge...None of it really matters on the Xpedition cruise as my understanding is that one is "all-inclusive" anyway.

An example of the "happy hour" events

 

An example of the "happy hour" events

 

 

Thanks to see this in writing answered a lot of questions that I had. It appears the Celebrity/ RCCL elite benefits are a little more generous that Princess, but its still a good program

Thanks to see this in writing answered a lot of questions that I had. It appears the Celebrity/ RCCL elite benefits are a little more generous that Princess, but its still a good program

 

RCCL blows all other programs out of the water, followed by Celebrity.

RCCL blows all other programs out of the water, followed by Celebrity.

It depends on your priorities. I looked over the benefits offered by RCCL and did not see anything that comes to the value of the free Internet minutes for Platinum folks and free laundry for Elites for us. We'd have to take a lot more RCCL cruises to get up to the level of amenities where we could enjoy the Concierge Lounge. We took three of them in the 1990s. Once we sailed on Celebrity, Princess, and Holland America, we knew it would take a great offer to get us back to RCCL.

 

My brother and his wife are building up more points on RCCL than any other cruise line. One of his complaints about their recent trans-Atlantic cruise was that RCCL would not combine his shareholder OBC with the other OBC they were receiving. They had to choose the OBC worth more.

Yes. On the Golden three weeks ago, they let us bring our large carry-ons and leave them along the wall just as you enter the dining room...cameras, ipads, etc., we just brought with us to the table...

 

 

 

I guess it's 80...I just didn't pay much attention to that number when they changed the system since I was already well past there...I'm at 132 with RCCL, so closing in on that Diamond Plus level. Royal Caribbean also offers some bonus points like "Double Points in December"--we got those the December before last...

 

The great thing about RCCL/Celebrity is how fast you can get to the "free drinks" levels. We actually got to Elite on Celebrity in only three cruises...as they made some sort of accounting error and gave us credit for an extra point...But, typically, if you do longer cruises (we've done a lot of 13-14 night cruises with them) and book Concierge Class or above, you could get to Elite on Celebrity in only 4 cruises under the old system--10 points or above with three points per cruise. I haven't bothered to figure it out under the new points system. When they did the conversion, we were at 24 old points--which were converted to 720 new points. You need 750 to get to Elite Plus. Had we squeezed in one more three-nighter on the old system, we would have been there. Instead, our July Xpedition Galapagos cruise will give us 50 points and get us over that hump. Then, wen we do our July 2016 Europe cruise, we'll get the two loads of laundry and 200 internet minutes each along with the Free Drinks in the Elite Plus Lounge...None of it really matters on the Xpedition cruise as my understanding is that one is "all-inclusive" anyway.

 

I'm guessing that one reason Princess implemented "silent disembarkation" (you are assigned a lounge to wait in, and the announcement for your assigned color is made only in there) is that some passengers will just camp out on stairwells near the exit, which made for awkward and even dangerous situations. There will be PAs made about not doing this, but often when it was our turn to leave, we would have to make our way through these people and their "stuff." With the current system, passageways are more easily cleared for everyone and it doesn't help these people to be sitting there.

It depends on your priorities. I looked over the benefits offered by RCCL and did not see anything that comes to the value of the free Internet minutes for Platinum folks and free laundry for Elites for us. We'd have to take a lot more RCCL cruises to get up to the level of amenities where we could enjoy the Concierge Lounge. We took three of them in the 1990s. Once we sailed on Celebrity, Princess, and Holland America, we knew it would take a great offer to get us back to RCCL.

 

My brother and his wife are building up more points on RCCL than any other cruise line. One of his complaints about their recent trans-Atlantic cruise was that RCCL would not combine his shareholder OBC with the other OBC they were receiving. They had to choose the OBC worth more.

 

Balcony discount one of the best. Give me some free drinks over internet minutes! I'm on vacation! I meet a lot of people that don't even activate their internet minutes!