Princess Cruises introduces all-inclusive Premier Package

[MommyOTwins]

Wow, ugh, I really wish I hadn't purchased plus.  I went with it because I'd red almost every drink and wine is included, I don't want to drink two-buck chuck and bottom-shelf liquor and wake up with a headache every day.   Seems like the solution is just to keep plus since I'm past my pay in full date, and pay the price difference for the good drinks.  This trip gets more expensive by the day.... inflation on everything, flights, hotel, transportation, and now this.  I've almost stopped looking forward to it.

 

I will say, one thing kind of amused me about their raffle thingie.  You get an entry every time you enter the stateroom with your medallian?  Now I'm wondering if we're going to see masses of people opening and shutting their doors all day and night, playing it like a slot machine.  Lol.

[thundercleese]

10 minutes ago, MommyOTwins said:

I went with it because I'd red almost every drink and wine is included, I don't want to drink two-buck chuck and bottom-shelf liquor and wake up with a headache every day.

I don't think there is any indication the selection is going to change in that way. I'm staying with Plus, the higher tier doesn't offer anything I need.

[rheathslc]

59 minutes ago, Tedferg said:

Were you comparing the cabin you would normally pick on Princess?

I was comparing a mini-suite which is comparable in size and features to a Viking Deluxe Verandah. These costs are based on how I like to sail. On Princess we reserve the Sanctuary for the whole cruise if we can get it in time and the Thermal Suite. On Viking there are no kids so the whole ship is a Sanctuary. 😉These also both included some OBC based on promotions I was seeing at the time (this was about a month ago) Right now Viking has a great promotion with $500 OBC per couple and included drinks upgrade.

[HBCcruiser]

16 minutes ago, MommyOTwins said:

Now I'm wondering if we're going to see masses of people opening and shutting their doors all day and night, playing it like a slot machine.  Lol.

I was wondering the same thing! 🤣 That's one way to keep the social distancing going.

[rheathslc]

16 minutes ago, MommyOTwins said:

Wow, ugh, I really wish I hadn't purchased plus.  I went with it because I'd red almost every drink and wine is included, I don't want to drink two-buck chuck and bottom-shelf liquor and wake up with a headache every day.   Seems like the solution is just to keep plus since I'm past my pay in full date, and pay the price difference for the good drinks.  This trip gets more expensive by the day.... inflation on everything, flights, hotel, transportation, and now this.  I've almost stopped looking forward to it.

 

I will say, one thing kind of amused me about their raffle thingie.  You get an entry every time you enter the stateroom with your medallian?  Now I'm wondering if we're going to see masses of people opening and shutting their doors all day and night, playing it like a slot machine.  Lol.

Many of the decent wines and liquors ARE included so you shouldn't have to resign yourself to cheap stuff. There is no evidence so far that Princess is limiting the number of options available at the $12 level. It's all speculation. It's a lot of worst-case scenario assumptions that people are making. That's not to say they won't do that. But so far they have not. Just my two cents. 🙂 

[Tedferg]

12 minutes ago, rheathslc said:

I was comparing a mini-suite which is comparable in size and features to a Viking Deluxe Verandah. These costs are based on how I like to sail. On Princess we reserve the Sanctuary for the whole cruise if we can get it in time and the Thermal Suite. On Viking there are no kids so the whole ship is a Sanctuary. 😉These also both included some OBC based on promotions I was seeing at the time (this was about a month ago) Right now Viking has a great promotion with $500 OBC per couple and included drinks upgrade.

Excellent presentation. We always book Balcony so would not upgrade to mini-suite for a comparison. I wouldn't get past Princes Balcony $5048 and Viking lowest Verandah $7598. 

[pms4104]

So, will anyone train the telereps who'll be expected to give correct and accurate info to clients who phone for clarification?

[Doug R.]

I may be confused here but my cruise on the Enchanted in October still only offers the two options, Saver and Plus. Maybe I got lost in all the speculation and conjecture.

[HBCcruiser]

4 minutes ago, Doug R. said:

I may be confused here but my cruise on the Enchanted in October still only offers the two options, Saver and Plus. Maybe I got lost in all the speculation and conjecture.

The start date is May 25th:   https://www.princess.com/news/news_releases/2022/04/princess-cruises-introduces-all-inclusive-premier-package-offering-top-amenities-at-incredible-value.html

Edited May 12, 2022 by HBCcruiser

[Tedferg]

3 minutes ago, Doug R. said:

I may be confused here but my cruise on the Enchanted in October still only offers the two options, Saver and Plus. Maybe I got lost in all the speculation and conjecture.

I think the new program starts May 25

[rheathslc]

10 minutes ago, Doug R. said:

I may be confused here but my cruise on the Enchanted in October still only offers the two options, Saver and Plus. Maybe I got lost in all the speculation and conjecture.

Exactly what @HBCcruiser said. It won't show up as an option until the 25th. And if you've already booked Plus at the $40 per person per day you'll get the Plus benefits without any extra cost. If you want to upgrade to Premier on or after May 25th you can do so for an extra $25 per person per day. 

[Doug R.]

16 minutes ago, HBCcruiser said:

The start date is May 25th:   https://www.princess.com/news/news_releases/2022/04/princess-cruises-introduces-all-inclusive-premier-package-offering-top-amenities-at-incredible-value.html

 

15 minutes ago, Tedferg said:

I think the new program starts May 25

 

5 minutes ago, rheathslc said:

Exactly what @HBCcruiser said. It won't show up as an option until the 25th. And if you've already booked Plus at the $40 per person per day you'll get the Plus benefits without any extra cost. If you want to upgrade to Premier on or after May 25th you can do so for an extra $25 per person per day. 

Thanks guys! 

[thundercleese]

3 hours ago, rheathslc said:

I also want to try Viking. I compared the prices for comparable cabins and all the things that Viking includes and it was only about $10pp/day more than a Princess cruise and I love that they have no smoking, no art auctions, no people under 18 , no casino and very few shops with none of the big sales events. The one drawback for us right now is that with Viking you basically have to pay in full upon booking. We like that we can book well in advance with Princess and then make monthly payments up until the final payment date.

There is a lot that is attractive about Viking, but two things that keep me away for now. One is, if I love it I would then have to agonize over that more expensive option every time, and realistically right now that isn't a good place to be in. Second is the presumption that we would not fit in well with Viking guests. We already don't really fit in great with Princess when it comes to formal nights –we'll usually do one and then eat at specialty restaurants on other formal nights, missing the somewhat elevated offerings in MDR those nights offer–etc, and Viking is a different ballgame in that regard.

[Sea Hag]

1 minute ago, thundercleese said:

There is a lot that is attractive about Viking, but two things that keep me away for now. One is, if I love it I would then have to agonize over that more expensive option every time, and realistically right now that isn't a good place to be in. Second is the presumption that we would not fit in well with Viking guests. We already don't really fit in great with Princess when it comes to formal nights –we'll usually do one and then eat at specialty restaurants on other formal nights, missing the somewhat elevated offerings in MDR those nights offer–etc, and Viking is a different ballgame in that regard.

You might consider my philosophy - I fit in anywhere that I choose to be. I don't give it a thought about whether or not I fit in.

[dreaminofcruisin]

4 hours ago, ceilidh1 said:

I would be less complainy if I could get a lower price option for my kids who CAN"T drink alcohol. Lol. 

 

So...there is this under the FAQ:

https://www.princess.com/cruise-deals-promotions/plus-premier-cruise-packages/

3. Do all 4 guests in a stateroom receive all items in Princess Premier?
YES, however when this package choice is selected it will automatically be defaulted to the first 2 guests in the stateroom. Should your 3rd and 4th guests want to opt in to receive the items they will need to contact Princess or their Travel Advisor to have it applied to the booking. For guests under the legal drinking age, the Coffee & Soda Package will be applied before sailing and they will not be eligible to win prizes in Princess Prizes.

 

It is really unclear if this means that if the Premier package is selected, guests 3 and 4 get nothing? or get Plus? or what?

On a past cruise with my grandkids, after pushing back at my TA and having her call Princess a couple of times, there was an option to book Plus and have guests 3 and 4 have nothing. There was a 'code' for this and it it had a lower cost. However, it was not very well explained to most of the Princess reps who answer the phone, so it took a lot of work. It would just be nice if one could select options by person.....

 

[Steelers36]

My understanding is that if parents elect to keep the PLUS Fare option for kids in cabin, there is no price reduction to reflect that the kids are getting a lower value package.  But, yes, you can call to have it removed and leave kids on a SAVER Fare level in terms of cost.

 

It would be a NTH, but Princess seems determined to collect the full amount.  It becomes really questionable with the new price of $50 for PLUS Fare.  Do kids really need $50 worth of non-alcoholic bar drinks every day?

[caribill]

7 hours ago, rheathslc said:

 

On the Facebook post announcing this new tier Princess has responded to people and said they are not increasing the price of beverages on board. Now maybe they aren't being honest but we'll have to wait and see on that. If they DO increase prices and many of the items that were previously available at the $12 limit aren't anymore, that would be pretty lame. 

 

 

 

The comparison chart earlier in this thread said there are over 60 additional alcohol beverages available with the new package than available now with the original package.

 

Since there were very few beverages over $12 with the original package, either Princess is adding a large number of new liquors, wines, beers and cocktails on board or they are raising prices.

 

Which do you think is more likely?

[rheathslc]

10 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

It would be a NTH, but Princess seems determined to collect the full amount.  It becomes really questionable with the new price of $50 for PLUS Fare.  Do kids really need $50 worth of non-alcoholic bar drinks every day?

I mean, the $50 also includes the wifi which some kids other than the really young ones might use now that even young kids seem to have phones or tablets. And the daily crew gratuity. So that takes the total they would need to spend on drinks to $30 to make it worthwhile. For most kids that's probably more than they would use but for older teens it might still be a good deal.

[Steelers36]

1 minute ago, rheathslc said:

I mean, the $50 also includes the wifi which some kids other than the really young ones might use now that even young kids seem to have phones or tablets. And the daily crew gratuity. So that takes the total they would need to spend on drinks to $30 to make it worthwhile. For most kids that's probably more than they would use but for older teens it might still be a good deal.

No, my bad.  Kids have the grats too and I wouldn't count full value for internet.  If parents are discount eligible, you could have one 4-device plan for kids and so I attach $17/day to those, leaving $33/pp/day for the drinks.  Still a lot.  Bottom line is that each guest needs to do their own calculations, attaching their own values, and considering their wants and habits.  If still not sure, try it one way and see how it turns out for the next time.

[rheathslc]

3 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

The comparison chart earlier in this thread said there are over 60 additional alcohol beverages available with the new package than available now with the original package.

 

Since there were very beverages over $12 with the original package, either Princess is adding a large number of new liquors, wines, beers and cocktails on board or they are raising prices.

 

Which do you think is more likely?

I guess we'll just have to wait and see. I agree that it's possible they will raise prices but I'm not gonna spend time and energy complaining about something that hasn't happened yet. I like the new tier and plan on upgrading when it becomes available. Maybe I'm a sucker and I'll be getting ripped off. But I guess we won't know for sure until after June 25th.

[cruzin4us]

 

It's probably cheaper just to haul your expensive wine on board and pay the corkage 🙂

 

[Shelly97060]

2 hours ago, jgd3rdbcfd said:

I manage to watch their presentation with my TA.  What a bunch of up sell ... Wonder what you will get in beverages with Plus.

I viewed the webinar today and they said they aren’t planning to raise drink prices to  eliminate them from Princess Plus  beverage package so you should see the same beverages as before  (I know.. time will tell… just repeating what TAs were told don’t kill the messenger 😂). They said their plan isn’t to devalue Princess Plus beverage package - Premier package is intended to include more of the higher priced wines and higher priced spirits that aren’t currently covered by the Princess Plus.  

It also sounded like there were plans to add more specialty cocktails (they mentioned a name but I don’t recall who creates them)  that would be covered under the Premier. 
 

 

Edited May 13, 2022 by Shelly97060
Added info

[caribill]

5 hours ago, HBCcruiser said:

Interesting how Princess worded that. NCL did something similar years ago. The price for drinks did not increase but the types of brands made available in the basic package did change. The "basic" package (Premium Package) includes more common brands for drinks and lower priced wines,  whereas the Premium PLUS package includes higher-end brands (see attached lists). I wonder if Princess is going to do something similar and release a list of brands included in each package.

premium-beverage-package.pdf 159.1 kB · 29 downloads premium-plus-beverage-package.pdf 723.29 kB · 31 downloads

 

But Princess sells the packages by price levels, not with a list of brands.

 

So the only way from a brand to migrate to the Premier package is to increase the price.

[rheathslc]

3 minutes ago, Shelly97060 said:

I viewed the webinar today and they said they aren’t planning to raise drink prices to  eliminate them from Princess Plus  beverage package so you should see the same beverages as before  (I know.. time will tell… just repeating what TAs were told don’t kill the messenger 😂). They said their plan isn’t to devalue Princess Plus beverage package - Premier package is intended to include more of the higher priced wines and higher priced spirits that aren’t currently covered by the Princess Plus. 

This is what I've been saying. Of course they reserve the right to increase prices later and they might do it now even though they're saying they won't but we won't know until the first cruises with new system sail and we hear back from people on board. 

I DO understand why a lot of people are worried though. In the last year Princess has changed benefits at the different Captain's Circle levels, specifically turning the free wi-fi minutes based on cruise length into a 50% discount instead (in my option most likely to make the Princess Plus more attractive to their loyal guests since that's one of the things that's included) and they very recently changed the Full Suite benefits and took away some things. That did ruffle my feathers because we had already booked a suite on two B2B 5-Day cruises for my 40th bday in September and now it appears we won't get the mini-bar set up (now only on voyages 6 days or longer) and some other benefits went away completely like the Platinum Studios portrait session.

[Shelly97060]

2 hours ago, MommyOTwins said:

Wow, ugh, I really wish I hadn't purchased plus.  I went with it because I'd red almost every drink and wine is included, I don't want to drink two-buck chuck and bottom-shelf liquor and wake up with a headache every day.   Seems like the solution is just to keep plus since I'm past my pay in full date, and pay the price difference for the good drinks.  This trip gets more expensive by the day.... inflation on everything, flights, hotel, transportation, and now this.  I've almost stopped looking forward to it.

 

I will say, one thing kind of amused me about their raffle thingie.  You get an entry every time you enter the stateroom with your medallian?  Now I'm wondering if we're going to see masses of people opening and shutting their doors all day and night, playing it like a slot machine.  Lol.

Princess told TAs today that they don’t plan on raising beverage prices as a result of adding Premier.  ( time will tell, but at this point it seems like you need not worry).