spunks

Coming out of Cozumel yesterday we passed the Wonder and it looked dead in the water.  Maybe it was just resting?

We will be getting off the Regal Princess and getting on Harmony OTS. It is just a bit too far to walk. What is the best option for us?

Thanks

Doug

On 6/18/2023 at 12:50 PM, peterhof said:

Hi

my wife and I are on the Island Princess in October for a 14-Night Northern Lights cruise and we booked a year ago (July 2022). At that time the extras now included with the Princess plus package were not thought off.

 

When Princess announced the extras - ie 2 specialty deserts per day, unlimited juice bar and 2 free fitness lessons, they said they would not be given to already booked passengers, thus creating both a two tier package and lots of disgruntled loyal passengers. I also predicted at the time that this would be unworkable in practice. 
 

The latter it seems I was proved correct, as passengers are finding that the new package is being administered to all passengers having the plus package, no matter when they booked.

 

My question though is, it would seem the new package was designed with the newer larger ships in mind, so will we get all the benefits on the two smallest ships in the fleet. If so, in what bars and where are they?

 

Also, as we are cruising out of and back to Southampton, will all cabins still have tea/coffee making gear, including kettles, as before the pandemic?

 

Paul

 

 

 

 

In over 60 Princess cruises I have NEVER had a cabin with tea/coffee making kettles.Perhaps the Suites do have them

I do have a question about the new policies. In the past we have always ordered coffee every morning from room service and there was never a charge( other than the nice tip we give to the delivery person). We have the plus package. Will we be charged every day for coffee delivery under the new policy?

if you have the Plus package can you order room service coffee in the morning or is there an upcharge every time?

Doug

we went on FB to try and look up saltwater Moms and had no luck. How do you find them?

On Odyssey, the Crown lounge was open to Diamonds all the time. On Symphony Diamonds could be in the Crown Lounge all the time ...EXCEPT....4;30 to 8:00PM ....and yes, they checked and asked anyone below D-Plus to leave. It is no big deal anymore as there is no more unlimited happy hour drinking anyway. They count all the drinks even for Pinnacle....use the voucher at any bar.

slots yield one point for every $5.00 you put in....to get a point at video poker you have to put in $10.00

One thing to realize...every square, oval, triangle or coin slot on felt in a casino is a "sucker bet" Even the most astute gambler knows that he can play expertly and he is still looking at just shy of 50% chance to win. That does not mean you cannot win. Every now and then someone hits a big jackpot. The general rule of thumb is this....someone will hit a big jackpot....just not you.

You can watch the slot players and see how many points they are earning ( it says right on the machine for all to see.) You can also see how much they are betting each spin. For the table games you can go to the host as often as you like and ask to see your table totals. Some ships show table and slot play added together so you can check your total on any slot machine anytime. Ask the Host.

I have watched some players playing $10.00 a spin and hitting the button as fast as they can.

You will get nowhere playing $20.00 a day....but you might have fun and that is what it is all about.

Doug

Agreed that it does not mean abandon ship....

But that begs the question as to why they want the passengers gathered?

I submit that they only want you gathered because it is a very strong possibility 

Agreed that it does not mean abandon ship....

But that begs the question as to why they want the passengers gathered?

I submit that they only want you gathered because it is a very strong possibility they will call for abandon ship

The last night of our Nov 12 cruise on the Symphony, the emergency warning horn goes off at 10:30 pm....you know...7 short one long..

We were in bed, and that was quite a wakeup....there was no warning, and no explanation....none during the ,5 minutes or so we were getting dressed and gathering our pills and such.

After 5 or 10 minutes or so a voice comes on the intercom saying...disregard the warning..

We never heard another word,..nothing

Has anyone ever had a similar experience?

This wont help the OP, but The epicenter for the best Texas BBQ is Central Texas. I guess there may be good BBQ in Galveston, but I never heard of it. And I have never even seen beef ribs in any BBQ place in Texas.

You have to keep in mind that BBQ styles are a very regional thing and what one person likes another may not care for.

But the best advice I have seen on this topic is....get the brisket...

Doug

Thanks Ken

How many cruise points per night does a single traveler get in a junior suite?......asking for a friend....

Thanks

Doug

Princess had a wonderful free restaurant that made very good stone oven cooked pizza and very good ministroni soup....now it is $15.00 to get in....they even charge $15.00 to log into the App which you use to order anything. RCCL has a loooong way to match Princess for penny pinchedness...

However, if you get their $60.00 a day drink package you can go to Alfredo's twice per cruise. If you get the $80.00 per day package you can eat there every day...

Doug

On 8/6/2023 at 1:37 PM, gottagocit said:

Eating at Alfredo’s is no complimentary?  is this correct?
What about the burger/sandwich shop on Lido? International cafe?

 

AND If you don’t pay for the overpriced plus or premier packages and decide to order anything to eat or drink using the medallion app we’ll have to pay $14.99 for the privilege of using the app to order something? Is this correct? 

Am I reading all the references to these changes accurately? We last cruised in April of this year and none of these were in effect. WTH?  I’ve been away from the Princess board for a few weeks and come back to stumble on this. Sorry if this has been beaten to death already but I tried to read back thru several pages of threads to understand what I think I reading. 
 

What else will now cost us more onboard and what Captains Circle benefits did we loose since recently?  
It seems every time we turn around we’re getting hit with a new cost if we want to continue to cruise with Princess! Just wow!

what has been taken away recently?////hmmmmm Oh yeah, Platinum and Elite no longer get free internet.....wait! that went away about 4 years ago....ok, How about all free room service?....No, all but breakfast went away several years ago as well...... The only thing they recently took away is free coffee delivery....Rats!...Let's see....OK...I have it....stacking benefits for OBC?...Sure as heck, you now have to pick between getting Stockholder benefit or Veterans benefit!...Loyalty bonus!....yep, now you no longer get any OBC for cruising over 20,30,40 or 50 times with Princess....Free laundry for Elites!...still there for now, but it now takes 72 hours for return.

The main thing that has been taken away from me on Princess is my desire to sail with Princess.

funny thing.....on a TA Ft Lauderdale to Barcelona about 6 or 7 years ago on the Vision there was no lobster ever offered in the dining room....but in the buffet there was a huge round tub filled with Lobster.....eat all you want!...go figure...but it was only for one night.

1 hour ago, ldtr said:

Not an Elite benefit. A different program.  I miss the $50 dollars per person per cruise I used to get as well. But still not an Elite benefit.  So lets see $50 over a 7 day cruise a little over $7 per day, over a 14 days cruise $3.57 per day.  Really not a major impact compared to the 30 to 35 dollars per day that I get from the rest of the Elite benefits.  That program, I think, was getting far too top heavy than they expected with the number of people exceeding 1000 days on board.  It was due to collapse under its weight.  With the number of Elite reaching 35 to 40% on some cruises and the number qualifying for the loyalty benefit being half that amount, it was changing from a little extra program for really frequent cruises to a major expense.

 

Only if you want to pay $5 each morning.  Order by door hanger - free.  Pay the one time change of 14.99 and order by app  and it become $2.14 per day for a 7 day cruise even if that is the only thing you order. 

 

Is it a cost increase sure, but in the entire scope of cruise fare, on board spend, etc a pretty small one. A change that seems to be more focused at behavior than anything else.

of course it is an Elite benefit! Tell me one person that was ever eligible for it that was not Elite. You are somehow saying it is not an Elite benefit even though only Elites were eligible for it. That does not even make good non sense.

....and I am completely mystified how you can think hanging out  a door hanger is in ANY way accecptable? How do you know what time you will wake up the next day?

21 minutes ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

No, so go basic, save 60 a day, save another 16 a day by removing your tips.  Then you'll save money by spending less than 76 a day on a la carte drinks & wifi.

I think it is a damned shame that people would consider removing tips to get at the cruise lines.

as for the idea of starting over with loyalty points mentioned above....we are close to top tier with RCCL as well

1 hour ago, SCX22 said:

At this point this topic has been discussed ad nauseum.

 

Cruisers need to put their money where their mouth is.  If you're so incensed by these changes don't book with Princess and venture out to competition.  Cancel the remaining cruises you have booked with Princess if that window is open.  The changes are coming and complaining won't change that fact.  IMO, when Princess cruisers see the prices of the "adult focused" competition many will continue to sail with Princess.

 

The effects of a change always lag.  It'll be a while before Princess can quantify if this change was for the better or the worse.  It's also at this time that they will decide if a pivot in strategy is in order or if they should continue in the same trajectory.

I am not trying to tell Princess how to run their business......I am merely explaining why they may no longer have mine.

I find it curious that there are people on here that are minimizing my issues with this new policy while proclaiming these issues do not mean what I think they mean. I have been loyal to Princess for over 60 cruises. I simply wish they were loyal back.

1 hour ago, coo359a2 said:

I wonder if someone has made a comparison chart showing actual costs (i.e. gratuities/drinks/internet/"tax" on drinks and other benefits) between Princess, RCL, NCL, Celebrity, other CCL lines so that someone could see these differences.  Then add the basic cruise costs to costs of benefits  and you could tell if the grass is greener on the other side. 

OK...here is our look at the differences between RCCL and Princess:

It used to be that RCCL was always cheaper than Princess, but Princess allowed us to "stack" OBC benefits so that the money usually came out about the same....i.e....being a military veteran would pay something like $100.00 , being a stockholder of CCL stock paid $100.00..having cruised over 50 times with Princess paid $100.00, plus any TA given benefits...so a total of $300.00 plus on a 7 day cruise. This is onboard credit that could go toward tips, drinks, etc or even specialty restaurants. RCCL would only give a stockholder benefit, and even then if you did not have any discounts....plus 1 Princess!

Princess gives a one time mini bar setup of 8 little bottles, 2 bottles of beer, 2 Perrier and 6 soft drinks per cruise no matter how many days the cruise. RCCL gives 4 drinks PER DAY at any bar for Diamond, 5 per day for Diamond plus and 6 per day for Pennical.....plus 1 RCCL

The sad thing is that within the last year Princess has done away with the over 20-30-40-50 times cruise bonus....gone. Next they took away the benefit stacking. You can now take EITHER the Vet bonus or the stockholder, but not both.....minus 1 Princess.

Princess does still allow unlimited free laundry service for Elite members( 15 cruises), but they now take up to 72 hours to return it.

RCCL allows a small bag of laundry per cruise for Diamond Plus...plus one for Princess

No more free internet for Platinum and Elite for Princess..RCCL gives 2 free days internet per Diamond Plus member in the cabin. ..Plus one for RCCL....internet is Voom starlink...very fast plus another for RCCL

Princess has been reducing benefits ....RCCL has not 

Doug

1 hour ago, gah_cruise said:

Why the $5 charge for room service if you use the phone?  Is it a better service (eg quicker and hotter) than the app?

we never use the card because we wake up at different times. One day it might be 6AM one day it might be 7:30 am...so either they wake us up or we wake up and have to wait an hour. This is a very simple concept.

6 hours ago, PacnGoNow said:

I don’t understand if you had a free cruise and drinks, why you would complain about paying $15 for a one time fee to use the App, IF you are even charged on your free drink package?

 

The $5 room service fee, IF you are charged on your drink package is still a steal IMO.  
 

I think a free cruise and drinks would be great, those new fees would be minor.

 

Maybe I’m missing something. IDK

No...I had a free cruise, but did not have a free drink package. I had VIP status which meant I could get drinks in the Casino when it is open.

My complaint is that things that I liked about Princess which included coffee ( plain old black coffee) delivery each morning,,,, occasional meals at Alfredo's. .free internet and such are now gone. This makes Princess cruises not worth the effort for me, even for free passage. I can get the same benefits on RCCL ( well....actually much better) with less trouble. The free laundry and Most traveled guest luncheons with the Captain mean less and less to us.

1 hour ago, Jeter02 said:

I know it's a random question on this thread but I'm curious to know those who have cruised with the casino comp Cruises Are you guys automatically given the plus package? Or do they give you a standard fare and you can upgrade the plus? There is a reason to my madness on why I'm asking this question.

we were about to book a 27 day Casino comped Cruise with VIP thrown in, That meant unlimited free drinks( of any kind) as long as we were gambling.We read about the new policy changes today and quickly took that cruise off the table.....It is pretty bad when you decide to quit on a free cruise with free drinks in the Casino.....As to the person that asked if we got the Princess Plus included with free cruise offers.....we have not gotten that in about a year. I think they switched to this new VIP thing instead.

Doug

Frankly.....Princess at one time had the best loyalty program at sea. They would have been bypassed by others even if they kept up all the perks they used to have.However, since they keep taking things away they are not even in the hunt anymore. Sadly, they discovered that reducing perks was great policy for the bottom line. They now think of the most traveled guests as extra expense that they do not need anymore. Blue buttons buy more and spend more than black buttons.....simple as that.