p.pete

I assume a call centre in the Philippines can have well trained staff, just as well as a call centre in the US or Europe can have incredibly poorly trained staff - either way you have to put the effort in to train people properly and reward them properly to retain them. 

I think it's a bit of a red herring in the conversation that it's easier to do x or y via the website or by waiting until you get onboard - assume it's a different issue - some people will always want to contact the company.  If the app is poor, and the chat bot is poor, and the call centre is poor, there are going to be frustrated people. 

I'd definitely endorse the route of complaining directly - but I think these kind of threads must do harm too.  If I was thinking of going on a Princess cruise (first one very soon and I'm excited!) and I came on here to get a sense of what to expect, I'd very quickly be looking to see what my other options are.  Luckily there's lots of very happy people on here too, posting great things, but complacency is never good!  It's a "service" industry - if Princess is associated with poor service before you even get onboard then that's a poor starting position with potential customers who don't know everything yet. 

2 hours ago, FancyPants21 said:

There is one disadvantage for not taking the package pre-cruise and that is that it means you then cannot take advantage of any offers that might be available from your TA. I booked a cruise for November this year... the offer was Premier for the price of Plus. As we were likely to get Premier anyway it made it quite a bit cheaper as it is a 12 day cruise.

 

I do accept that buying it on board is a great way to do it for all the reasons stated and if there are no offers like this one then we will likely buy on board in future 🙂

 

 

But similarly if you've already bought it and then a new or better offer comes up, what do you do?

5 minutes ago, skynight said:

It makes no sense to purchase a stand alone beverage package. The stand alone plus beverage package is $65/pp/day and the premier stand alone package is $85/pp/day. Stand alone packages do not cover wifi, daily housekeeping & food service gratuities as well as the other items.

The cost for stand alone beverage packages are higher than the $60 and $80 costs for the full plus and premier packages. 

Good info - the only way of coming even slightly ahead by getting just a drinks package would be to cancel gratuities and then sit at the bar and not want smoothies / coffee / wifi etc - I wouldn't be in a rush to serve that person!

3 minutes ago, FancyPants21 said:

I am not saying they are the only option... you might be able to convert your Standard cruise fare into a Plus or Premier cruise fare, including the extras, gratuity etc, when on board... that I am not sure of... perhaps someone else can confirm this for us.

 

But what I am saying regarding the beverage packages I believe is correct. 🙂 

Cool.  I think the confusion is around the Plus package including the Plus beverage package - as you rightly point out they are not the same thing.  I'm comfortable that if I'm switching to 'Princess Plus' then that is multiple things that I'm purchasing, one of which being the beverage package.  If someone tries to upsell me something that just claims to be a 'beverage package' I'll say that's not what I want 🙂 

3 minutes ago, FancyPants21 said:

Princess makes the packages very confusing IMO.

 

There are three types of cruise fare... Standard, Plus and Premier. These are cruise fares and include the appropriate beverage package (see below) and other extras like gratuities, wifi, meals etc.

 

So, if you book a Plus or Premier cruise fare when you first make your booking the package cost becomes part of your ticket cost and so it is included as far as cancellation and insurance is concerned. Consequently, if you book a Plus or Premier cruise fare you cannot cancel the package without cancelling your entire cruise as it is an integral part of your fare.

 

If you book a Standard fare you will then have to pay on top for all your drinks, wifi, speciality and casual dining meals, crew appreciation etc. This works well for a lot of people that won't want to use these extras. 

 

But for those on the Standard fare that may be only want the drinks, without the other extras that are included in the cruise package fares there are several optional add-on packages which you can purchase on board or before boarding through the app.

 

So, if you get the Standard fare (which remember, doesn't include anything) but you still want to have drinks included, but not the other extras that are included in the cruise package fares, you can add the Plus or Premier beverage package. This is different to the cruise package fare in that it does not include the extras like wifi, gratuities meals etc. Just beverages.

 

If you don't drink alcohol and you are on the Standard fare you can add the zero-alcohol package which just includes Sodas, Fruit juices, Smoothies, Mocktails, Hot chocolate, Premium and speciality coffees and teas, Bottled water, San Pellegrino, Evian and Red Bull.

 

So, at the time of booking, you have to decide which cruise fare you are going for... Standard, Plus or Premier... and with Plus and Premier you get the wifi, meals, gratuities etc etc. With Standard you get nothing but you can then add the Plus or Premier beverage package or the zero-alcohol package after booking or when on board.

 

It is very confusing because they use Plus and Premier as names for the cruise fare packages as well as the add-on beverage packages but as you can see they are different.

 

There is also a classic soda package for those on the standard fare that just want sodas, fruit juices, mocktails and smoothies.

 

Confused? Yup... so was I. I think I have all this right. If not then please say.

Hmmm - this is not the understanding that I had built up in my head!!!  I was aware that there were 'drinks packages' with the same name - but actually what you're saying is that if we buy Plus onboard the *only* option is the drinks-version of the same-named package.  So there is no way to purchase 'Plus' onboard and for that to include wifi and gratuities?  [but it costs the same per day as if you had purchased it in advance as a Plus cruise fare - which is doubly sneaky if they make it sound like you're upgrading to the same thing for the same price, but actually it's of far less value]

1 hour ago, skynight said:

4) Yes, $60/pp/day. The rep is correct. If you have lots of OBC the cost of the package will be netted against the OBC amount. You also will not be charged any insurance premium for the package cost. 

We are expecting OBC via the site that we booked through, but I don't think it's visible to us yet - we are assuming that it appears once we are onboard and I think I have seem messages here saying this is standard for some types of OBC.  If we still can't see it by the time we're onboard and looking to purchase Plus is that important with regards to one being used to pay for the other?  If the package is netted against the OBC is that just something that happens at the end of the cruise, so we don't really need to think about it until the last day - ensuring that we have managed to identify (and leave intact!) the OBC by then - at which point they will balance against each other?

7 minutes ago, karatemom2 said:

My suggestion would be to schedule your meet up in Take Five on deck 6. It’s a small lounge, bar area that is very quiet and gets very little use during the daytime hours. It’s a great spot in the evening to listen to music and enjoy a cocktail in a low key setting. But during midday it will likely be fairly deserted. You can check out the Sky Deck plan for exact location, but it is basically just across from the Princess theatre entrance at the back and opposite the Casino on deck 6. 

Our upcoming sky cruise has a few 'optimise your life' type talks early in the day in Take5 - don't think there are that many but worth being flexible until the schedule starts to flesh out so you don't clash... 

28 minutes ago, Lady Arwen said:

I specifically said that my situation does not apply to everyone.  Clearly, you personally need to justify the cost of the packages.  I completely agree that a lot of people need to take a hard look at the added cost.  If you enjoy preparing spreadsheets, more power to you.  I have no issue whatsoever with how you budget for your cruise.  I do, however, take issue with your first sentence.  No need for sarcasm.  

Really, "Great fiscal sense right there"?  I was agreeing with you, and my second sentence expanded upon why I agreed with you.  I feel privileged to be able to send myself on a cruise and that's definitely not something we should take for granted and there needs to be flags for people as to when they might be over-extending themselves.  It's nice to treat ourselves, but that has to mean different things for different people.  I could take issue with your use of the word 'clearly', but yes the packages are an extra - I would definitely enjoy a cruise without them - and they need to be justified, for me at least.

16 hours ago, Lady Arwen said:

If I had to make spreadsheets just to see if I could afford a little extra for a package, I’m sure I’d just stay home.  I look at it this way:  Can I afford the extra $xxxx it costs for Plus or Premier?  In the big picture does a few hundred dollars make the slightest difference in my future lifestyle?  Will we enjoy having it?  Do we care if one or two days we’re under break even?   
 

The answer for us is clear.  Enjoy your life, it’s too short to worry about this  for more than two minutes.  I understand I’m probably in the minority, so my thoughts certainly don’t apply to everyone.  

Great fiscal sense right there.  If paying for a package seems like 'a little extra' to you - you can probably afford it - go on your cruise.  If it's more than a little extra to you, like for most people, put some thought into how you are spending your money - should you be spending a large chunk of money on a cruise and more than a little extra for a package.

After that, a very different question is whether a package is good value for you - a very real part of the value is in not having to think about things on board once you get there.  Although I've said above that I'm likely to only spend a small amount on a bottle of wine day to day, not having to think about it once I'm onboard means a lot to me.  Sadly I'm not in the minority where I don't have to do a little math before I take that route - but luckily I enjoy spreadsheets and it adds extra time that I'm thinking and planning for being on board.

4 hours ago, 2MellowCruisers said:

Funny thing, once I put it in writing on here, my DH all of a sudden started to change his mind.  He is more fiscally conservative than me but he said he does like not worrying about the charges on a cruise and enjoys when we order drinks to be delivered to wherever we are.  Usually when playing cards together.  Our cruise is still a month and a half away so I told him we will go over the math again closer to the cruise.

 

Either way, I'll report back.  We still have another cruise later this year if we decide to get the Plus onboard for this one.

If they are fiscally conservative then it's a great idea if you can stretch to a package to be able to just switch that part of their brain off for a few days.  

I think doing the math is important but it's obscured by several big things for me:

• The prices they list are often nonsense ~$30 for a 30-minute exercise class?  some people won't ever go near them anyway - I would but - I probably wouldn't for $10, maybe for $5...  So when I look at plus with 2 free classes, yes I'll do them but what's that worth to me?  Definitely not $60!
• I like wine, and booze generally, but I don't spend that much on it.  I can buy bottles of wine that I'm perfectly happy with for < $10 for home - $25-30 if I'm out for a meal - so I'm not bothered about plus-wines having vague titles but I definitely wouldn't ordinarily indulge in many $15 glasses - they're worth half that price to me at best and I'd drink more only if I'm at home when it costs even less. 
• Casual and specialty dining have questionable value, on their own they seem 'reasonably' priced to me, but...  You can only eat so much in the day, time / money spent eating at Alfredos is food that you're not eating in the MDR, buffet or IC.  You can eat perfectly well elsewhere, so in addition to whatever charge there is for these venues you factor in that you already had that meal covered, what's the value (to you) of the meal your paying extra for as well as the meal that you're not having elsewhere?
• Duration of cruise - as often stated - will affect things for most people.  X number of drinks makes the package worth it for you, and you'll happily drink that much because you're on a cruise, but personally I might not want to keep drinking at that rate beyond a few days.  Similarly if you have lots of port days you're less likely to reach X.

These are factors that obscure 'the math', but it's still worth doing.

So, 8-day cruise coming up and I'll very happily get the plus package.  It's not too many days for us to fork out for (just!), I think the cost will balance just about, but I won't have to think about things which is worth a lot.  I'll try not to go with the mentality of needing to make sure that I consume enough - do things because I want to, have things because I want them, and not need to think too much about cost.

On 3/11/2024 at 1:21 AM, mrrom92 said:

For the sake of the scientific method, I hope to thoroughly peer review your findings soon

Replication studies are where it's at

1 hour ago, Jazzjannsg said:

FYI, I managed to get hold of the Princess Support in Singapore and they had replied. 
 

You may click the following link https://oceanready-personalinfo-ui.prod.ocean.com/ use booking number to accept the website version to accept the Passage Contract.

 

It finally works! 

Thanks, I was able to do this with the link - on my phone the contract never appeared for me to scroll through.

similar issue - I click the tick-box, it pops up with please read carefully / Can't load the content / 'next' button greyed-out, click back and repeat clicking the tick-box and the same thing happens.  Any chance they're allowing themselves scope to update the contract as late as possible?  5 weeks til we cruise.  Alternative option is that my phone isn't great, the app seems to be running okay but I know that my phone needs replacing sooner rather than later...

17 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

 

Since your onboard account isn't charged to your credit card in real-time, I think this would work. Say you had a reservation for CG and Rudi's. They are ~$35 per person? So you have spent $140 (assuming there are two of you) to pre-book specialty restaurants through the app. Once onboard, you upgrade to Premier from Plus, so you spend $280 to upgrade. That $280 gets billed against your account, but then you get $140 credited back to your account for the two specialty reservations. Your total balance owed on your account at the end of your cruise and billed against your credit card would be $140.

Thanks, really helpful.  An alternative perspective is people upgrading while onboard getting the $10 for non-lanyard-shipment as OBC - why doesn't it get deducted against the cost of their upgrading?  I know such a small amount is likely to disappear anyway, so maybe that's just a case of swings and roundabouts.

At the moment I'm thinking a good option would be to just wait to decide whether we upgrade when onboard - at that point we could do it based on whether there are actually SD reservations that suit us.  I get the impression that you can purchase packages from lots of places when you board - is there somewhere we could go to directly that could upsell us premier that also has knowledge of what SDs are bookable?

On 3/15/2024 at 9:49 PM, memoak said:

We have never booked prior to a cruise and have always been accommodated 

On 3/15/2024 at 10:04 PM, memoak said:

Again I have always been able to get in however we do prefer to dine after 7:30 or 8:00 even at home. It may also help that we usually take 14-21 day cruises. If all you take short cruises it may be harder

17 hours ago, memoak said:

We always book specialty dinners while on board however we prefer to eat after 7:30

17 hours ago, p.pete said:

  I'd be interested in more people's experiences - especially on SKY - as to whether there's always capacity once on board / one or two saying no or few options when they got on board.  

Thanks, very thorough.  Assuming the same prerogative, of repeating myself 😄, I'm interested in getting perspectives from additional people.  You raise really good points re time of dining and length of cruise.  I can definitely see why there'd be more capacity at SD over longer cruises - and if we were happy eating at 5pm, is that early enough for it to be a bit quieter again (assuming the busiest time might be 6-7:30)?

On 3/17/2024 at 3:47 PM, JamieLogical said:

 

I was told on the phone that, if I wanted, I could pay to book my specialty reservations while waiting for my Premier package to show up on my account and then I could have the cost of the pre-paid reservations refunded onboard as OBC.

New scenario, maybe...

If you were planning to book Plus when on board, using OBC that you already have - but then decided actually, maybe we'll go for Premier (when we get on board) - assuming you book and pay for a couple of specialty reservations in advance knowing that they can be swapped to OBC, is there a way for this extra OBC counting towards your purchase of Premier?  In my head that sounds very circular, I hope it makes sense!

Also, looking ahead, roughly 7 weeks away so the same as the original poster - I can see in the app that most of the times left for bookings are very late at night, which wouldn't suit us (and these meals would be a big factor in Prem vs Plus).  I'd be interested in more people's experiences - especially on SKY - as to whether there's always capacity once on board / one or two saying no or few options when they got on board.  Any of Sky's 3 SD's would be fine, but ideally we'd try two of the three rather than double visiting one of them.

22 hours ago, Stromer1969 said:

Is it just me or does $6.37 sound like a small refund for a lost port stop?

Maybe that's why they were striking? 😄 

15 hours ago, Lady Arwen said:

I agree 100%.  If Princess fails to enforce their own rules, then the rules become meaningless.  Dress codes fall into the category of obsolete.  I like to dress up, some don’t.  I honestly don’t care.  If Princess cares, then enforce the dress code, if not then eliminate it.  Simple.

Because the dress code is there, I'll dress up.  If I thought nobody was going to be dressed up then I'd do something more relaxed - so the dress code assures me that at least some people will also be dressed up, and like you I don't care if others are doing their own thing.  Lots of people enjoy dressing up, so having the dress code is a good thing as it means there'll be some dressed up people - but if they are making boats bigger and bigger and want to reliably sell 3000+ cabins every time, the proportion of people conforming is going to start to slip.

15 hours ago, kywildcatfanone said:

Nor are they enforced.  At the end of the day, this is the cruise lines fault if they create rules or guidelines and don't enforce them.  Same with dress policy at the MDR. 

Possibly we're trying to be a bit binary - it's either good or bad.  From Princess's perspective, it costs money to check everybody getting on board for contraband, and it would create ill will and mistrust - just because it's not enforceable doesn't mean it's a bad rule.  If it made no difference to how much money they made, or if they could make more money by letting everyone bring their own drink, then that might be the path that they'd take.  Obviously they wouldn't, so they have a rule against it, but that rule isn't enforceable (strictly, 'period', as lady arwen would say).  So they pull the occasional person aside, and people know it's not a free for all.  From a personal perspective, being honest, I'd rather pay the money for a cruise where they aren't allowing everyone to do exactly as they like, I go to music festivals when I want to spend time with people turning up with their own slabs of beer 🙂

And yes, what was the original topic? 😄  Isn't it wonderful how conversations go, are there rules for this thing - still figuring it out...

2 hours ago, Lady Arwen said:

Actually it does not matter what you personally think.  It is a rule that is strictly enforced.  Period.

It is a rule that you have anecdotally observed being enforced on a finite number of occasions.  Other anecdotes suggest that enforcement is not particularly strict - though I am sure it varies by day and by port and by busier / quieter times etc.  

14 minutes ago, MacMadame said:

Sorry to burst your bubble, but I didn't realize I hadn't pulled out the items until I got on the plane and was rummaging through my purse looking for a protein bar. 😉 

 

IME the TSA doesn't treat the liquids rule very seriously. This is probably because they are well aware that liquids aren't really that dangerous.

 

As is yours. 🤷‍♀️

Of course your opinion matters.  You even got replies!

Princess need to have rules, and we to a greater or lesser extent need / should comply with them, and that's basically what we're agreeing to when we buy a ticket - but... as you said above, not all rules are good. 

25 minutes ago, Lady Arwen said:

And, this is one of the reasons it takes so long for us to get through security.  People who “forget” or “accidentally” try to push through prohibited items and the TSA agents are now spending my valuable time removing items and conversing with the offender.  If we all just followed the rules we would get through security faster and with less stress.

 

Again, your opinion of the rules is completely irrelevant.

That was an anecdote about accidentally having chapstick and sunscreen on their person.  

1 hour ago, SargassoPirate said:

You do know that the app and the MDR printed menu don't always agree.

 

For example, on the app one evening it listed an asparagus appetizer with bacon bits and a fried egg on top. One of my favorites.  When we go to the MDR, the menu said nothing about a fried egg.  I had my taste buds all set for what was listed in the app.  

 

Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice, shame on me.

 

After the Asparagus Affair, we relied on the printed menu only.

Do you reckon they could have obliged with an egg, if you asked?

On 11/3/2023 at 11:15 PM, CruizinSusan70 said:

Would that boozy desert be the Sahara, Mohave, or the Gobi? 🤔😉🤔😉

Choices choices 😄 

I was more thinking - with a plus package - the first two desserts were 'free' but your 15 drinks on your drinks package has taken two hits.  You're paying for the third dessert,  be it Sahara, Mojave or Gobi (thirsty work), is your drinks package left intact this time? or should it count as a cocktail and just pay excess over $15?