JLC0912

LOL. My husband joked that by the time we go on our next cruise, they will charge extra for the bed.

I think they are going to go up really soon. Can you use the OBC now with Princess, prior to the cruise?

So, if we Plus pkg guests share a pizza meal, could the one not ordering the meal get a free dessert, since we are eligible for free special* desserts?

I believe in living beneath your means, and as such, do not appreciate the cruise lines trying to put me into a certain class of ppl. At an Asia cruise I was looking at- Spectrum of the Seas, the entire solarium is to be used by only a certain class of suite guests. That is a huge portion of the ship to be cordoned off and not be used by the remaining passengers.

I also agree. This small increase will not prevent me from cruising with Princess again. However, I really do not like the attempts at deception by trying to call it increasing the value of the packages. For me, it's not the small extra cost, it is the deception. I keep an eye on businesses that are not honest and if anything additional happens will lean pretty quickly to taking my business elsewhere. I think it reflects the culture of the organization and the culture seems to remain static over the years. For example, I think Wells Fargo will continue in much the same way as they always have in spite of getting large fines and sanctions. The culture persists..... However, things are relative and that is a consideration. I believe that RC is much more ruthless in squeezing out every dime from every customer, so I will stay away from them for at least a couple of years. Presently, I think Princess offers a good value on their cruises, so I will likely stay with them for awhile going forward. More changes might change my mind though.

That is a great idea. Thanks. That is what we will do. We are trying to watch our weight anyway, plus it saves more room to try other food.

Agree, except I don't feel comfortable with the idea of taking unlimited drinks because (1) I was raised (drilled) with the motto of not wasting food/drink and I can't seem to get that out of my head and (2) there is some history of alcoholism in my family so that does not sit well with me. This strategy would work for others though. I think that we will plan on doing some short "introductory" cruises to new places to get a feel for what we like. Then, we will follow-up with a land vacation to the places we really liked and want to see more of. If it wasn't for the nickel and diming, we would have been happy to do nearly all cruise vacations.

Exactly. Princess P.R. is claiming that the new Plus pkg adds "value" to what they previously offered. It clearly does not. I guess they have concluded that most guest are obtuse and will not notice. ... On a side note, I really hate it when business offer up propaganda P.R. as I feel it insults my intelligence. I would have more respect for a more honesty based explanation or justification. When companies make a concerted effort to play games with me, I want to jump ship to another company with my business. (pun intended).

I should have mentioned in my post it was a Mediterranean cruise to Europe. I agree with considering a drink pkg for the Caribbean- just not for other places. I would still have a hard time forking over that money, even for a Caribbean cruise though. I told my husband I am not interested in another Caribbean cruise, regardless of how nice the ship is.

"These expanded enhancements demonstrate the cruise line’s focus on providing unmatched service and value for guests. " Not only do Plus pkg buyers get less "VALUE" since they no longer get unlimited meals at Alfredo's, but they and everyone else will likely get some degree of reduced service in the main dining room. The people who used no longer go to ALfred's because of the surcharge will likely now be in the main dining room. This will put extra strain on the DR staff and result in NOT "providing unmatched service."

Agree! On our RC cruise, we did not purchase the horrendously expensive drink package. It was around $75 pp per day. I "gifted" 2 small bottles of Absolute vodka pre-cruise to our cabin and brought 4 bottles of wine. It was more than enough to last through our 7 day cruise. I do not see why ppl would be interested in that drink package for a 7 day cruise with 6 port days. We ate a meal at every port with a glass or two of wine and really did not spend that much day time on the ship.

Re: new "packages" and changes to the Plus pkg Am I missing something here? We are new to Princess and got the Plus pkg. Under the old rules, we could go to Alfredo's whenever for free, as could any cruiser. Under the new "improved" Plus pkg, Princess has grouped Alfredo's with other casual speciality dining options, so it is also not available to Plus pkg guests as well as those who do not purchase the Plus or Premier pkg. Now, Plus pkg guests can go to Alfredo's for free only one time, as they get one voucher for specialty casual dining for each guest. If this is how it works, this is not IMO an "improved" Plus pkg. It seems that even Plus pkg purchasers are getting something less than they used to. For us, I could care less about the possibility for quicker boarding. That has no value for me. Princess press release states that "These expanded enhancements demonstrate the cruise line’s focus on providing unmatched service and value for guests." There is no benefit for Plus pkg other than quicker boarding and they took away Plus pkg purchasers ability to go to Alfredo's numerous times for free. There is NO IMPROVED VALUE to the new Plus pkg.

That might be the case. Regardless, I think they will make an effort to make this a soft landing since they do have a vested interest in their reputation.

That is a good question. If they do it like RC does, the app will work when ordering anywhere EXCEPT in your room. For room service, there would be a seperate charge. Princess might, however, be more generous and allow room service also when the guests pay the $14.99 for the app use.

I read an article a while back that discussed how the changing demographics- mainly the large cohort of baby boomers, will put a strain on many of our systems. The reason stated was that a proportionately larger group of people are going to retire in comparison to the percentage of people of working age. This will increase demand on many things and increase prices due to the law of supply and demand. One of the areas the author said will be put under strain is travel. This large retired group will overwhelm the present travel system with high demand. The increased demand will be paired with a decreased supply of workers available to offer the travel experience. Supply and demand are simple concepts and the cruise lines are going to take advantage of the situation and maximize their profits. If they lose your business, they don't care. I think we need to face the reality that cruising and traveling are not going to be the same as what they have been. We are getting ready to retire in a few months and I am already trying to figure out how we can still travel and have it be a nice, pleasant experience. I love cruising because it has been a very pleasant way of traveling and seeing new places. But, I do not think I will find it that pleasant with all the nickel and diming. I think there is just going to be a big money grab in the cruise industry. Also of note is that on our RC cruise, the staff was extremely stressed out by this concerted requirement that they do everything they can do wring out the last possible dime they can from every guest. It puts them in a bad position because they want to offer a good experience and their employer is putting them at odds with the customer.

My guess is that the changes will not be enforced by the staff for the next 2-3 months. They will likely quietly let guests get the old benefits. That is what happened with us on our recent RC cruise. We brought four bottles of wine with 2 cabins and three people. The old policy was two bottles of wine per cabin. They changed it to one. We brought the four bottles because those are the rules we booked the cruise under. Nobody said a word to us. I was prepared to argue my case if they did. The staff that is supposed to be enforcing the rules do not want to have confrontations with guests. On a case by case basis, they will make exceptions.

I booked a 2025 9 night cruise to NZ on July 14 and the rate was $60pp. However, I would not be at all surprised to see that they increased the price. It seems like the business policy is probably to tout the "increased" benefits now offered in the plus package and follow that up with a price increase. My guess is that in the next few weeks they will be offering the Plus pkg intermittently at the lower $60pp rate and then gradually move everything over to the higher rates. If anyone is interested in getting the plus package, I think now is the time to lock in the lower $60 pp rate. ***As for the "increased" benefits of the "newly improved" Plus pkg, I think they are negligible- and mostly just P.R. hype. I think it is funny (ironic) that CEOs think the public is stupid enough to believe their hype.

I don't think they have thought this through all the way. IMO, not as many kids sail on Princess, so they have not given that scenario their full attention. If it were me, I would call Princess directly and explain the predicament. Once I get someone on the line who understands (maybe a supervisor), I would ask for a discounted plus package for a child under 12. I find that businesses are usually accommodating when the ask is a reasonable, logical one and the asker is polite and respectful. Typically, once I get a change, I will ask the supervisor to escalate the issue to make a more permanent change to a policy.

We are thinking about doing the same thing for our trip. Hope to see some info or advice on your post.

Hi. I am new to Princess and have a question on this cruise we just booked. The itinerary says that it goes to the Fjord National Park. Others cruise lines specify that they will be going through the three sounds. Princess just says that it is going to the park. Does that mean that the ship stops at a port for the Fjord National Park? Or does it mean that the ship will be cruising through the sounds? Thanks :)