Princess Cruises introduces all-inclusive Premier Package

[prmssk]

4 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

 

When I click on the links for full T&C, both links pull up the same pop-up page which is for the old Premier package - the lower-priced one.

 

Another anomaly they have is that they have not changed the purchase price for the old Premier/new Plus package from $71, so the new Premier Package is set at $87, which is not 50% higher than the old Plus package.  Kind of dumb in a way since the Cruise Fare differential is 50% ($50 for the Plus and $75 for the Premier). 

 

Nonsensical pricing IMO.  With $87 on the new package, the old one should be $58.  Looks like someone screwed up or forgot the 18% in one case, or just made up a number that was something more than the Cruise Fare up-charge so the package would cost something more in the Personalizer. 

 

 

Both are the old package.  The second is just for the Australian market.  And the prices on the far right are the prices with the 18% gratuity.  According to the promotional materials, the new package is not available for purchase until May 25 so it probably won't show up in the cruise planner until then.

[Steelers36]

3 hours ago, prmssk said:

On Princess's website about their drink packages, this new drink package is just called the "Premier Beverage Package". The old one is now called "Plus Beverage Package".    https://www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/food-and-dining/beverages/

I'm having a field day with these idiots.

 

Take a close look at the linked page above. 

 

Princess has put a value of $60 on the Plus package (the former Premier Drink package).  This comes to the selling price in the Cruise Personalizer of $70.79.  Okay. So that matches the past and we know it is an over-bloated offering price-wise.

 

And on this page, the new Premier Package indicates a value of $80.   But wait, for consistency, I need to add the 18% on, right?  So, that comes to $94.39.  

 

Another point - besides how they conveniently left out the 18% grats on the marketing page and save that for the ordering page.  From a Cruise Package perspective they are charging $50 for the PLUS Fare and $75 for the PREMIER FARE - a 50% upcharge.

 

But when they present us the marketing splash page, the relative values are $60 and $80.  What happened to the 50% extra "value" for the Premier? 

 

Total mess IMO.

 

Edited May 12, 2022 by Steelers36
Corrections due to fact that Princess is showing an Aussie market package in a N.A. market Cruise Personalizer - mine at least.

[Steelers36]

8 minutes ago, prmssk said:

Both are the old package.  The second is just for the Australian market.  And the prices on the far right are the prices with the 18% gratuity.  According to the promotional materials, the new package is not available for purchase until May 25 so it probably won't show up in the cruise planner until then.

OH!! I see what you are getting at.  This just gets better by the minute.  So for the first time ever, I am seeing an Aussie market drink package in my Cruise Personalizer and I am North American market and the voyages are in Europe sector.  

[Steelers36]

12 minutes ago, prmssk said:

And the prices on the far right are the prices with the 18% gratuity.

Yes, know that.

[Steelers36]

18 minutes ago, prmssk said:

Both are the old package.  The second is just for the Australian market.  And the prices on the far right are the prices with the 18% gratuity.  According to the promotional materials, the new package is not available for purchase until May 25 so it probably won't show up in the cruise planner until then.

If I was to order this package, it goes into my Cart and looks like they will happily charge me the higher price in USD which would normally be AUD for an Australian market voyage.  

 

Maybe they will get this fixed and sorted out in the next two weeks.  But look at all the questions they have raised and the phone lines will clog with inquiries.  

[rheathslc]

Well apparently I'm in the minority here but I really like this new tier and will be upgrading my two B2B 5-Day cruises in September to the Premier package which Princess confirmed that we can do for $25pp/day once it's available. And since we're on the Plus package currently at the $40 price the total for the Premier will be $65pp/day instead of the full $75.

We drink enough coffee and alcoholic beverages, each use at least 2 devices, and book specialty dining on each cruise that it makes the Premier package a good deal, especially on shorter cruises. On the longer ones it might not be as good of a deal given that some of the benefits are fixed no matter how long the cruise is.

And for us a $10/day increase in the Plus tier isn't the end of the world. $50pp/day is still a good deal when you add up all the inclusions.

Just my take. 🙂

[rheathslc]

10 hours ago, dreaminofcruisin said:

• Princess Plus ($40 per person, per day until May 25; $50 per person, per day starting May 25) – including unlimited WiFi for a single device; Plus Beverage package (covering drinks up to $12, 25 percent off bottles of wine, specialty coffees, smoothies and bottled water); and daily crew appreciation

The highlighted phrase is a little disturbing. Sooooo...does this mean that bottled water, smoothies and specialty coffees are NOT included? Just a 25% discount?

☹️

Specialty coffee, fountain sodas, smoothies, and the small bottled waters are still explicitly included. If you read the info on princess.com it is pretty clear. 

 

[VibeGuy]

Ok, buried in all this is a promised expansion of wines by the glass.  I look forward to seeing the new list. 
 

 

[jimmieg]

Moving forward the challenge for Princess (or left to TA's who will officially have a webinar tomorrow to introduce what we've been talking about all day🤔) will be an explanation to those currently booked, that though their reservation documents say "Premier Beverage Package" it is really the Plus Beverage Package.

I think a small focus group of real passengers would have encouraged the marketing/sales/revenue folks to come up with a different name to avoid confusion.

[CineGraphic]

2 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

I am trying to figure out if the Three Stooges or the Keystone Cops are setting up this new drink package.

 

It wasn't us.

 

[jimmieg]

1 hour ago, rheathslc said:

Well apparently I'm in the minority here but I really like this new tier and will be upgrading my two B2B 5-Day cruises in September to the Premier package which Princess confirmed that we can do for $25pp/day once it's available. And since we're on the Plus package currently at the $40 price the total for the Premier will be $65pp/day instead of the full $75.

We drink enough coffee and alcoholic beverages, each use at least 2 devices, and book specialty dining on each cruise that it makes the Premier package a good deal, especially on shorter cruises. On the longer ones it might not be as good of a deal given that some of the benefits are fixed no matter how long the cruise is.

And for us a $10/day increase in the Plus tier isn't the end of the world. $50pp/day is still a good deal when you add up all the inclusions.

Just my take. 🙂

As they price the package at $75, I wonder if the they will change $25 or $35 for upgrading old package? As so much is unclear, remains to be seen what they will do.

[ceilidh1]

5 hours ago, MileHighAko said:

While it may be cool to have a premiere package with all the extras, I was hoping for something between standard and plus that cost a bit less but included the coffee and soda package - something suitable for those that don't/rarely drink alcohol and for minors too young. 

Agreed! I have been waiting for that since Princess Plus came about. I travel with 2 kids so, while Plus is good value for me, it really isn't a great value for them. I have been successful ONCE in removing the Plus from the kid's booking and retaining it for mine. It can be done, and is permitted for minors, BUT it 100% depends on who you get to answer the phone when you call to do it (this is the only way to do it). Most reps don't know it's possible and don't know how to do it, so now I just roll with it and make sure that I get my money's worth for MY package - lol! Here is my take on this and why this upgraded package makes no financial sense for me:

 

- Drinks: Unless a majority of drinks suddenly increase in price over $12, the current package works just fine for me. I don't need high end liquor, can make do with standard wine, and mostly drink the simple cocktails or beer. I'm Elite so also get the mini bar, which I usually end up giving away to staff - I could always just use this liquor/beer as an addition to the Plus package if my drink choices were limited due to price. For the kids, they pay the same price but get the coffee/soda package. One kid drinks maybe 3 sodas/mocktails/juice per day and zero coffee. The other kid drinks one or two coffees and 3 or 4 sodas a day. Definitely not worth the cost of either Plus or Premier for either one.

 

- WiFi: The one device per person option with Plus is more than adequate. As Elite, I could upgrade to 4 devices at a 50% discount so would have no need for either kid to have either Plus or Premier package.

 

- Grats: The only part of either package that makes sense for all of us

 

- Dining: This would have value IF the app functioned correctly and allowed you to book pre-cruise without having to pay with a credit card. On my recent cruise, I was unable to do this and had no intention of paying and then getting OBC that I had to use or lose. One of my kids still eats from the kid menu, which is free in specialty restaurants. Plus, the kid price for specialty dining is half the adult price...so, no benefit there for buying Premier. I have a feeling this inclusion will be a huge issue as it is hard enough to get reservations for specialty restaurants as it is - if folks now have this included in their package, it will be next to impossible!

 

- Photos: This is a nice addition. I liked the all-inclusive photo package that used to be available (haven't seen it in some time) BUT why would I need this for every person in the room (ie kids?) They would be in my pictures anyway, so I would still get them...

 

- Prizes: This is a confusing add-on. Chance to win prizes each time adult unlocks room door (kids not eligible but no reduction in price). On my last cruise, the door recognized my kid's medallion before mine EVERY TIME, even when he was behind me in the hallway....maybe I just spend my cruise going in and out of my room to try to win a prize?

[rheathslc]

17 minutes ago, jimmieg said:

As they price the package at $75, I wonder if the they will change $25 or $35 for upgrading old package? As so much is unclear, remains to be seen what they will do.

I asked today and was told that anyone who currently has a booking for a cruise departing June 25th or later with the original Princess Plus at $40 can upgrade for $25pp/day. It's in writing on the fb post. Not super official I know. I but I will use that as proof if anyone tries charging me $35 to upgrade.

[ceilidh1]

FAQs provided to TAs

 

[ceilidh1]

[MsSoCalCruiser]

Who comes up with this stuff? I thought they want us out spending money not running in and out of our room trying to win a prize.  Hilarious.

[ceilidh1]

[ceilidh1]

[ceilidh1]

Ha - just reading the FAQs on Princess Prizes - we have this....

 

 

Followed by this...

 

So, it's either unlimited entries or just one per room per cruise. Crystal clear.

 

[MsSoCalCruiser]

3 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

Ha - just reading the FAQs on Princess Prizes - we have this....

 

 

Followed by this...

 

So, it's either unlimited entries or just one per room per cruise. Crystal clear.

 

So why would more than one person want to purchase this if it’s only one per room per cruise? What a joke.

[ceilidh1]

4 minutes ago, MsSoCalCruiser said:

So why would more than one person want to purchase this if it’s only one per room per cruise? What a joke.

I'm not really understanding. I need to be on the webinar tomorrow. It says in the FAQs that all 4 in room get Premier benefits but it defaults to first 2 guests and if 3 and 4 want the benefits they have to request them. Does this mean not everyone has to buy it? Or everyone pays for it but only 1 and 2 have it assigned? So confusing

[jimmieg]

20 minutes ago, rheathslc said:

I asked today and was told that anyone who currently has a booking for a cruise departing June 25th or later with the original Princess Plus at $40 can upgrade for $25pp/day. It's in writing on the fb post. Not super official I know. I but I will use that as proof if anyone tries charging me $35 to upgrade.

I didn't see it on FB, but I now see it on website:

[caribill]

14 hours ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

The press release is poorly worded. Looking at Princess.com specialty coffee and small bottles of water still included. I do expect bar menu prices to go up so that a number of spirits and wines currently included in Princess plus to now fall under premier 

 

 

Definitely. Previously all but a handfull of spirits and wines cost more than $12. The chart in your post now says there are at least 25 spirits and at least 15 wines plus the 20+ high end cocktails that will not be included in the Plus package.

 

Definitely a bait and switch for all those who purchased Plus package and expected almost all alcohol beverages to be included.

[caribill]

13 hours ago, Daniel A said:

Well... Reading the US newspapers, it appears that the price of everything is going up.  It's called inflation and shrinkflation.  Princess is not immune to the costs of their purchases going up and that is on top of the payments on loans Carnival Corp had to take out during the forced shutdown. ☹️

 

 

Remember that alcohol drinks on land are expensive because of the Federal and State taxes that muist be paid on each and every bottle and can.

 

But Princess (and other cruise lines) do not have to pay those taxes. If an onboard alcohol drink increases in price by $3, I guarantee that one drink increase covered any increased cost of an entire bottle.

[caribill]

12 hours ago, Ombud said:

I've already suggested that they cut the 15 per day drinks to 10. Tired of drunken fools onboard. The way I see it: 2 lattes, unlimited drip coffee or tea, 3 sodas or waters, still leaves 5 booze. Maybe that adjustment is next??

 

The 15 per day limit is booze only. lattes, fountain sodas and 1/2 liter waters are unlimited.