Princess Plus Drinks Pkg

[Thrak]

9 hours ago, socmft said:

The Plus vs Premium packages seem to primarily affect the wine selections.  Am I correct to see (hope) that cocktails, for the  most part, are unaffected?

 

 

All of the "regular" cocktails one is used to are still covered by Princess Plus. There are some "specialty" cocktails that are priced above the $12 limit but, if you want to try them out, you are only charged the difference plus 18% gratuity.

[Mackenzie1]

On 7/26/2022 at 8:32 AM, lx200gps said:

Nope, not just you ;o)  It's a very poor way of showing the offerings under the Plus plan. Question: On the right edge of your photo is what looks like a larger and more comprehensive wine list, which I assume is from the CG?  Did that list also show wines by the glass or were they full bottles only? IOW are there any other wines by the glass, regardless of cost, than what you show on the right side of the photo? I'm trying to decide whether upgrading to the Premier package makes sense for us, and there are only 3 named whites shown on your photo under the Premier plan, and 3 "anonymous" whites under the basic plan. If there were a lot more in that "full" wine list beside it, it might be worth us upgrading. Thanks for the photo, very helpful.

Thank you. This information is very helpful. 

[billrach]

I just stepped off Discovery Princess on the 24th. 

 

Overall the wine by the glass program is a disgrace and in turmoil. 

 

All of the "generic" wines for the plus package are Canyon Road...at least the ones I tried including Chard, Merlot, Cab and Sauv Blanc. 

 

More disappointing is there are very few alternatives by the glass. My wife loves big, buttery Chards and we were perfectly willing to buy-up to a more expensive wine off the Premier list.

In many bars, specialty restaurants and all of the main dining rooms....there were Zero alternatives by the glass.  The only Chard by the glass regardless of package or price was often Canyon Road. The situation was less dire with Reds.

 

I only had the Plus package but if I had the Premier package I would have been furious and felt cheated.

 

Regarding Alcohol.....the $12 limit was sufficient for all but the most expensive brands and a few premium cocktails. 

Most "top shelf" brands were included in Plus. I drink good bourbon and I had no problem. Blanton's, Maker's, Woodford, Buffalo Trace and Bulliet were all included.

 

[LynnSD]

Can you still purchase a bottle in your favorite bar, and have them store it for you?

[daydreamer16]

Thanks everyone for all of these updates!

 

I'm really going to miss those little bottles of Korbel, always kept a stash in our fridge!

[gr82cu2]

We booked our upcoming transatlantic in May, 2021.  At that time, Princess was running a promotion which included the Premier beverage package.  I have the confirmation email naming the premier beverage package as being complimentary along with the other perks.  Now, when I go into the Onboard Services section of my reservation it is showing the Plus Beverage Package.  I realized they swizzled things around but that makes me feel cheated.  I feel like I was baited and switched.  Does anyone have any experience in them doing something like this?  What happened?  Did you raise a ruckus about it?  Is it even worth calling them about it.  Our final payment is less than 2 weeks away.....not that this will make us cancel or anything 😄

[prmssk]

49 minutes ago, gr82cu2 said:

We booked our upcoming transatlantic in May, 2021.  At that time, Princess was running a promotion which included the Premier beverage package.  I have the confirmation email naming the premier beverage package as being complimentary along with the other perks.  Now, when I go into the Onboard Services section of my reservation it is showing the Plus Beverage Package.  I realized they swizzled things around but that makes me feel cheated.  I feel like I was baited and switched.  Does anyone have any experience in them doing something like this?  What happened?  Did you raise a ruckus about it?  Is it even worth calling them about it.  Our final payment is less than 2 weeks away.....not that this will make us cancel or anything 😄

You still have the exact same drink package you booked which includes all alcoholic drinks up to $12.  The conditions and terms of the package itself has not changed.  They just gave it a new name and named the new one the same name as the old one (not a smart move in my opinion).  So there was no bait and switch.  

 

Drink prices could have gone up at any time even without the introduction of a new drink package.

[gr82cu2]

12 hours ago, prmssk said:

You still have the exact same drink package you booked which includes all alcoholic drinks up to $12.  The conditions and terms of the package itself has not changed.  They just gave it a new name and named the new one the same name as the old one (not a smart move in my opinion).  So there was no bait and switch.  

 

Drink prices could have gone up at any time even without the introduction of a new drink package.

I agree!  Keeping the same name for a benefit that changed is not good business.  I'm sure we'll still have a great time!  Thank you.

[memoak]

1 hour ago, gr82cu2 said:

I agree!  Keeping the same name for a benefit that changed is not good business.  I'm sure we'll still have a great time!  Thank you.

This has been known for months and is just a change in wordage people have been claiming they were scammed or misled for all that time. 

[vmontell26]

I asked this question over on another thread that posted both plans fine print but was thinking it might be more appropriately asked on this thread.
 

I am sailing with the Plus package on Discovery at the end of the month. If after the first day I am finding that I am spending too much money on the difference between the wines included and what I want to drink, can I upgrade to Premier? The fine print on the other  thread  made me think that I cannot. I normally cruise on Celebrity, and before they went more inclusive, you could upgrade at any time. I assume most lines did the same. 
 

Thanks

[memoak]

37 minutes ago, vmontell26 said:

I asked this question over on another thread that posted both plans fine print but was thinking it might be more appropriately asked on this thread.
 

I am sailing with the Plus package on Discovery at the end of the month. If after the first day I am finding that I am spending too much money on the difference between the wines included and what I want to drink, can I upgrade to Premier? The fine print on the other  thread  made me think that I cannot. I normally cruise on Celebrity, and before they went more inclusive, you could upgrade at any time. I assume most lines did the same. 
 

Thanks

Pre covid you could only add a drink plan on the first day I doubt things have changed 

[geoherb]

1 hour ago, vmontell26 said:

I asked this question over on another thread that posted both plans fine print but was thinking it might be more appropriately asked on this thread.
 

I am sailing with the Plus package on Discovery at the end of the month. If after the first day I am finding that I am spending too much money on the difference between the wines included and what I want to drink, can I upgrade to Premier? The fine print on the other  thread  made me think that I cannot. I normally cruise on Celebrity, and before they went more inclusive, you could upgrade at any time. I assume most lines did the same. 
 

Thanks

 

You have to stick with the package you book is my understanding. I couldn't even add Princess Plus to my cruise in December because I did not book it initially. I did manage to add Princess Plus for my cruise in February, but it entailed the rep canceling my initial booking and rebooking me (and nine hours of being on the phone with nine different reps to get it to work somewhat correctly). 

[vmontell26]

Thanks @memoak and @geoherb for the helpful yet disappointing feedback. It seems odd to me that Princess doesn’t let you upgrade. It is more money in their pocket. 

[lx200gps]

17 minutes ago, vmontell26 said:

Thanks @memoak and @geoherb for the helpful yet disappointing feedback. It seems odd to me that Princess doesn’t let you upgrade. It is more money in their pocket. 

I don't know what time frame you are asking about, but to be clear, you definitely can upgrade from the Plus to the Premier ahead of your cruise, as we just did it. I would imagine that you could also upgrade immediately upon embarkation as well, though I can't confirm it.  I would doubt that you could upgrade after the first day.

[geoherb]

I should clarify that for both of those cruises, it was after the final payment date.

[_rusty_shackleford]

You can definitely add Princess Plus after final payment. We just did for our sailing in September. It's still the same $50pp per day they advertise on their site. You'll likely need to either call Princess directly or your travel agent (our case) to do so.

[jagoffee]

6 hours ago, _rusty_shackleford said:

You can definitely add Princess Plus after final payment. We just did for our sailing in September. It's still the same $50pp per day they advertise on their site. You'll likely need to either call Princess directly or your travel agent (our case) to do so.

But that is just the Beverage package, correct?  Does not include the WiFi and gratuities?

 

[Steelers36]

6 hours ago, _rusty_shackleford said:

You can definitely add Princess Plus after final payment. We just did for our sailing in September. It's still the same $50pp per day they advertise on their site. You'll likely need to either call Princess directly or your travel agent (our case) to do so.

I am not so sure this works all the time.  Princess could ask for the current fare price for the cabin category with Plus option.  It's like if I decided to upgrade from a BE Balcony to a BB and expected to just pay the differential between the categories.  Nope - you have to pay today's fare.

[suzyed]

2 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

I am not so sure this works all the time.  Princess could ask for the current fare price for the cabin category with Plus option.  It's like if I decided to upgrade from a BE Balcony to a BB and expected to just pay the differential between the categories.  Nope - you have to pay today's fare.

Could be, but I added the Plus Package last December after I already booked.

Also, while we were on the Crown last month we were given the opportunity to upgrade from Plus to Premier.   We decided against it.

[caribill]

3 hours ago, jagoffee said:

But that is just the Beverage package, correct?  Does not include the WiFi and gratuities?

 

 

There are booking upgrade codes that allow you to do any of the following pre-cruise up to about a week before the cruise:

a) Upgrade from standard to Plus

b) Upgrade from standard to Premier

c) Upgrade from Plus to Premier
 

In all cases it is the entire package, including WiFi and gratuities. For the Premier package, all of its "benefits" (such as the unlock you cabin door while at sea contest) are also included.

 

If your TA or Princess rep does not know what these codes are, tell them to find out as they do exist.

[_rusty_shackleford]

@caribill might be right, not sure how it works. @jagoffee it's the whole Plus package, not just the drinks. Gratuities and WiFi as well.

[chamima]

Another question about what's included in the Plus package - is sparkling water ( Perrier or Pellegrino) included ?

(On Celebrity we have to upgrade to their premiere package to get it but the upgrade was only $10/pp/day)

[voljeep]

Sparkling water is included Perrier and Pelligrino in small bottles

[chamima]

14 minutes ago, voljeep said:

Sparkling water is included Perrier and Pelligrino in small bottles

 

 

Thanks!

I knew that it used to be included but wasn't sure if it changed.

(The small bottles seem so ridiculous as my husband and myself go through 2 or 3 each during dinner and just opening one large bottle seems so much more sensible. But....................)

[suzyed]

1 hour ago, chamima said:

Another question about what's included in the Plus package - is sparkling water ( Perrier or Pellegrino) included ?

(On Celebrity we have to upgrade to their premiere package to get it but the upgrade was only $10/pp/day)

It's included in the Plus package.