A better way (IMHO) to introduce the new wine/alcohol policy

[PunkiC]

Dear Passengers,

 

As you are well aware, the past few years have presented economic challenges to many, if not most, hospitality companies, including ours. We have been searching for ways to remain profitable, without dramatically increasing prices or reducing the level of service, food and entertainment on our cruises.

 

One step in that direction is to begin charging a corkage fee of $15.00 for all wine and champagne (in excess of one bottle per adult passenger) that is brought on the ship. I know this may be a disappointment to some, but it is truly necessary if we hope to keep cruise prices down.

 

Here is our plan:

 

1. The plan will go into force fleet wide 120 days from today--XX-XX-2013

 

2. Passengers may bring as much wine and/or champagne as they would like on board, either at embarkation or at ports of call, and pay a $15.00 corkage fee for all 750 ml bottles in excess of one per adult passenger.

 

3. The wine may be brought on in either carry-on or checked baggage.

 

4. Once the wine is boarded, it will be stamped to show that the corkage fee has been paid. Thereafter it can be consumed anywhere on the ship, so long as proper safety precautions are observed, i.e. plastic glasses are required in the pool area.

 

5. If you choose to take you "free" unstamped bottle into a public forum, such as the dining room, you will be charged a $15 corkage fee for it's consumption.

 

6. We realize that some people prefer box wine that comes in larger than 750 ml. For those passengers the corkage fee will be charged at $15.00 x 750 ml to equal the quantity of wine brought on board. Partial portions will be charged $15.00 to avoid bookkeeping nightmares.

 

Hard liquor:

 

1. Hard liquor brought on board by passengers may not be consumed on the ship.

 

2. We realize that purchasing special liquor at points of embarkation and ports of call to take back home can be very important to our customers and will allow declared liquor to be stored by the crew during the cruise, and returned on the last day. Undelcared liquor will be destroyed.

 

3. We have tried to keep our liquor prices by the bottle quite reasonable and hope that those of you who enjoy a cocktail on your balcony before dinner, will explore that option.

 

4. We are sorry that we are only able to carry a limited number of brands, but that is one of the limitations of life on a ship.

 

Beer:

 

1. We also know that some folks like special beer and are trying to figure out how to deal with this. How would a surcharge of $15.00 per 6-pack brought on board fly?

 

We have approximately four months before we implement this new plan and want to make sure we get it right and have ample time to consider all options and properly train all of our staff, fleet-wide, to avoid any unnecessary issues.

 

We also realize that no matter how carefully we plan there are bound to be some questions and confusion, so would you please be so kind as to present your questions and concerns for our consideration at your earliest convenience to give us time to evaluate them. While it will be impossible to make everyone happy, we really do want to work together with you to make this transition as smooth as possible.

 

Thank you very much for your input in trying to help us develop a win/win plan for everyone.

 

And, most of all, thank you for your business and loyalty.

 

John Smith

Princess Cruises

[greenie082756]

After all the threads I have read about the wine / beer / alcohol this puts it simply. Nicely worded. I think some of that just might get implimented.:D

[Bemidji Ty]

Well done.

[Cruise Junky]

You should send this to them

[PunkiC]

Oh, I am sure they will read it. :)

 

I think we all respond far better to honesty and inclusion. I believe that the folks most affected by the new policy are people who are long-time loyal Princess passengers who have been bringing wine on board without questions or penalty for years. The trick is to include them, not alienate them with poorly executed orders and clumsy mistakes.

 

Think of all of the trouble they would have saved, and all of the support they would have gained by approaching it in this fashion.

[Astro Flyer]

Thanks...iooks good to me except for a few things that I think differently about.

 

Checked luggage: Allowing wine results in an extra step to hold bags containing drink containers & then to process corkage fees for more than 1 bottle of wine/champagne per person & to dispose of other types of prohibited alcohol. The process would seem to be faster by requiring it in carryon bags only but either way works for me.

 

Beer fee: I like the idea but $15/6-pack seems to be too much.

 

Public comment: It may be difficult to have to process comments from anyone. I think companies use a sampling of customers to get their input in an effort to determine what the majority of their customers desire before making changes. Although some of the changes they've made in the past couple of years have me wondering about the process they use which has resulted in sometimes reverting to previous procedures.

 

I had a bottle of wine from Princess stamped with the Princess Seawitch logo which would be simple to do as they calculate how many corkage fees are charged.

[umbertsmum]

Well put

[paul929207]

Except for number 3 under hard liquor (keeping bottle prices reasonable), which I assume is a joke, sounds good to me.

[PunkiC]

Thanks...iooks good to me except for a few things that I think differently about.

 

Checked luggage: Allowing wine results in an extra step to hold bags containing drink containers & then to process corkage fees for more than 1 bottle of wine/champagne per person & to dispose of other types of prohibited alcohol. The process would seem to be faster by requiring it in carryon bags only but either way works for me.

 

Beer fee: I like the idea but $15/6-pack seems to be too much.

 

Public comment: It may be difficult to have to process comments from anyone. I think companies use a sampling of passengers to get their input in an effort to determine what the majority of their customers desire before making changes.

 

I had a bottle of wine from Princess stamped with the Princess Seawitch logo which would be simple to do as they calculate how many corkage fees are charged.

 

Thanks, Astro Flyer. The whole purpose would be to generate discussion and get input.

 

They have already decided to let people bring wine on board in checked luggage and I think that is a good thing. Lots of folks will have packed it before they left home for the airport and accept the fact that they will be held up going down to pay the fee and collect their luggage.

 

So, what do you think would be a fair charge per six pack?

[spingal]

A great idea!!! You would think that someone at Princess would have thought of this.

 

I have wanted to work at Princess Corporate for a long time. IMHO they need people working there that really understand the cruise "product" AND how to treat customers. After 30 cruises with them I think I know there programs inside and out. Princess, are you listening?? Hire me!! :D:D I can help you!!!

[pascalburns]

sounds good.but too simple.when has a company done anything simple?:)

[Sunviking]

Sounds good! As you said, I'm sure Princess will read this here, but I think it would be worthwhile to send it to them anyway.

[Astro Flyer]

Thanks, Astro Flyer. The whole purpose would be to generate discussion and get input.

 

They have already decided to let people bring wine on board in checked luggage and I think that is a good thing. Lots of folks will have packed it before they left home for the airport and accept the fact that they will be held up going down to pay the fee and collect their luggage.

 

So, what do you think would be a fair charge per six pack?

It's great to generate discussion & to get input because most cruise lines seem to misjudge reactions to changes. Of course any change will generate unhappiness from some passengers but like these changes many of us understand why it's changing even though we're not happy about it. :(

 

I agree that it's easier to have wine/ champagne in checked luggage but looking at it from their point of view it will require additional staffing to determine whether it's allowed bottles or not & to collect corkage fees. Although that extra cost could be offset by the additional corkage fees so having it in checked bags could be very doable.

 

I hesitated to give my opinion for a beer fee but costing about $1/bottle adding over $2/bottle seems excessive to me...maybe $5/6-pack? ;)

 

Once again, thank you very much for starting this discussion on a better way for Princess or any cruise line on another way to consider changes by getting better customer input.

[caribill]

I agree that it's easier to have wine/ champagne in checked luggage but looking at it from their point of view it will require additional staffing to determine whether it's allowed bottles or not & to collect corkage fees. Although that extra cost could be offset by the additional corkage fees so having it in checked bags could be very doable.

 

 

Even if only permitted in carryon, they would still need to x-ray every piece of checked luggage and quarentine any bags with suspicious contents until the owner came down to open it for inspection.

[paul929207]

Even if only permitted in carryon, they would still need to x-ray every piece of checked luggage and quarentine any bags with suspicious contents until the owner came down to open it for inspection.

Hopefully people would learn not to put their wine into the checked bags.

[bhopal21]

It's great to generate discussion & to get input because most cruise lines seem to misjudge reactions to changes. Of course any change will generate unhappiness from some passengers but like these changes many of us understand why it's changing even though we're not happy about it. :(

 

I agree that it's easier to have wine/ champagne in checked luggage but looking at it from their point of view it will require additional staffing to determine whether it's allowed bottles or not & to collect corkage fees. Although that extra cost could be offset by the additional corkage fees so having it in checked bags could be very doable.

 

I hesitated to give my opinion for a beer fee but costing about $1/bottle adding over $2/bottle seems excessive to me...maybe $5/6-pack? ;)

 

Once again, thank you very much for starting this discussion on a better way for Princess or any cruise line on another way to consider changes by getting better customer input.

 

I agree $5 a six pack would be more reasonable ($20 a case).

 

Thanks for trying to make some sense from nothing.

 

Mike:)

[Astro Flyer]

Even if only permitted in carryon, they would still need to x-ray every piece of checked luggage and quarentine any bags with suspicious contents until the owner came down to open it for inspection.

 

Hopefully people would learn not to put their wine into the checked bags.

Thank you Paul...if wine is placed in carryon bags then a small fraction of every scanned checked bag would require further examination...it's a pretty simple concept to understand. ;)

[GHDPeter]

Hopefully people would learn not to put their wine into the checked bags.

 

Sometimes you have no choice if you have come straight off a flight.

 

 

On the Sun Princess on Friday out of Brisbane a slight change in procedure, Security Screeners ( 3rd Party) were told that one bottle wine per pax was ok, anything above that or any other alcohol the pax were to taken to the Princess Alcohol Collection Crew. Spirits were being kept till the end of the cruise and the wine would be delivered and charged corkage. A big reduction on the previous cruise where ALL wine was being collected.

 

Great letter and someone should have thought about it in Princess, but the issue of communication within Princess and then within each ship is still a problem. Princess has confirmed to me via email that all ships have been notified of the policy change, but that does not filter through to those who are actually in the front line.

[cruzsnooze]

I disagree that Beer should be allowed on board. That is a major source of revenue, and would be a great loss to Princess whereas Wine at $15 corkage is all profit. They sell many more beers then bottles of wine. How about we let Princess decide their own policies and either abide by them or take our dollars else where. I'm no cheer leader for any particular cruise line. I find the value of a cruise to be better then most land based vacations. The liquor policies will never even enter into my decision of which cruise to take, that is determined by the important stuff, itinerary, price, cabin availability, flights etc....

[Happy2cruise]

IMHO Princess has the right to make or change policies as any other company doing business. All I would ask is that they make the new policy known by publishing it thru their website, snail mail and emails (they email about everything else) AND making it effective on ALL ships at the SAME time. They also need then to enforce it on ALL ships the SAME way, not one ship does it this way, another does it that way.

[IECalCruiser]

We written letter. Part of the problem on the Golden was making the change without true warning. An even bigger issue is the moving target that the proposed new policy has become. Implementation was not well thought out.

[bigeagle12]

I think you need to get over it :rolleyes:

[trbeer]

I disagree that Beer should be allowed on board. That is a major source of revenue, and would be a great loss to Princess whereas Wine at $15 corkage is all profit. They sell many more beers then bottles of wine. How about we let Princess decide their own policies and either abide by them or take our dollars else where. I'm no cheer leader for any particular cruise line. I find the value of a cruise to be better then most land based vacations. The liquor policies will never even enter into my decision of which cruise to take, that is determined by the important stuff, itinerary, price, cabin availability, flights etc....

 

Why?

We're planning on touring the Kenai Peninsula before our Alaskan cruise and I look forward to trying beers from different breweries and look forward to hopefully bringing a few on board to enjoy on our balcony. Below is the swill that Princess shows on their website. How is wine corkage any different than allowing beer but also having a "corkage fee"?

 

Beer Package Choose any of the following beers and receive six for the price of five: Beck's, Coors Light, Dos Equis, Miller Genuine Draft, Miller LiteItem #2310$23.25

[poncho1965]

I would jump on a liquor package similar to the coffee card, mocktail package, etc. Unwinding, have a drink, seeing the view on my balcony is a valuable part of my cruise experience.

[PunkiC]

Why?

We're planning on touring the Kenai Peninsula before our Alaskan cruise and I look forward to trying beers from different breweries and look forward to hopefully bringing a few on board to enjoy on our balcony. Below is the swill that Princess shows on their website. How is wine corkage any different than allowing beer but also having a "corkage fee"?

 

Beer Package Choose any of the following beers and receive six for the price of five: Beck's, Coors Light, Dos Equis, Miller Genuine Draft, Miller LiteItem #2310$23.25

 

I can't really see any reason that people shouldn't be able to bring their own beer on board if they pay a boarding fee. How hard can that be.

 

In this highly competitive market that may be the thing that swings some beer lovers to choose Princess.