Pricing is a bit rich

[Elorac123]

Just responding to a Princess ad on another platform about “launch prices” but what did stand out to me was a 28 day round Australia in March 23 where you could get a inside cabin for the bargain basement price of $9790 which equates to $349 that is a bit out there in my opinion,,,,,,other thoughts .

Actually it was just advertised at $11190 as the plus fare I got the standard fare from another source.

Cheers Carole

[Cbtours]

5 minutes ago, Elorac123 said:

Just responding to a Princess ad on another platform about “launch prices” but what did stand out to me was a 28 day round Australia in March 23 where you could get a inside cabin for the bargain basement price of $9790 which equates to $349 that is a bit out there in my opinion,,,,,,other thoughts .

Actually it was just advertised at $11190 as the plus fare I got the standard fare from another source.

Cheers Carole

Wow, we didn’t even pay that for our balcony in October just gone.

[bazzaw]

"Launch" prices - otherwise known as "Glossy Brochure" prices - have always been high for many cruises - depending of course on popularity. Those Princess Around Oz fares have always been in high demand pre-covid - as has been their World Cruises and Round Pacific Cruises. I could imagine that these days the demand is even higher. There are two ways to go cruising - the cheap way and the expensive way , and I am sure that most people here know how to do either without further explanation.  

[Elorac123]

1 minute ago, Cbtours said:

Wow, we didn’t even pay that for our balcony in October just gone.

Ned Kelly rides again

 here’s Carole

[OzKiwiJJ]

51 minutes ago, Elorac123 said:

Just responding to a Princess ad on another platform about “launch prices” but what did stand out to me was a 28 day round Australia in March 23 where you could get a inside cabin for the bargain basement price of $9790 which equates to $349 that is a bit out there in my opinion,,,,,,other thoughts .

Actually it was just advertised at $11190 as the plus fare I got the standard fare from another source.

Cheers Carole

I presume you are referring to the Coral Princess cruise from Fremantle? Where did you get the idea that was the launch fare?

 

I had the launch brochure on file for that cruise and these were the fares when it was released - see below. The current fare is outrageous, of course.

 

 

[OzKiwiJJ]

Interestingly there is only one inside cabin available for selection on the cruise - forward on Baja deck, all the rest are guarantees only.

[Elorac123]

5 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

esume you are referring to the Coral Princess cruise from Fremantle? Where did you get the idea that was the launch fare?

 

I had the launch brochure on file for that cruise and these were the fares when it was released - see below. The current fare is outrageous, of course.

I never thought it was a launch fare what I said was this is what a found when I followed the link and the fare I quoted was from Brisbane

 

[OzKiwiJJ]

7 minutes ago, Elorac123 said:

 

That would be the current fare not the launch fare. Certainly it's an outrageous fare but it's classic supply and demand.

 

The launch brochure didn't show the Brisbane fare but the Sydney fare was the same as the Fremantle one so the Brisbane one would also have been the same.

 

I certainly wouldn't pay that much for an inside cabin but I did pay a fair bit more than launch fare for a last minute minisuite on the recent October Round Australia cruise. It was worth it even though I got Covid ... or maybe that should be especially though I got Covid.

[arxcards]

When that cruise was launched, it was a different world. The price for the around Oz cruises on Princess is usually up there on price, as they are 95% sold within a month regardless.

 

Speaking of launch fares, what month were these launched? I am looking forward to when 2024/25 Coral itineraries will be launched.

[capriccio]

3 hours ago, arxcards said:

Speaking of launch fares, what month were these launched? I am looking forward to when 2024/25 Coral itineraries will be launched.

I don't know if this is any help but the April 2023 28 Day Round Australia cruise bookings were opened to elites in the United States and Canada (I presume) on March 2, 2021 (one day before opening bookings to everyone). 

[arxcards]

2 hours ago, capriccio said:

I don't know if this is any help but the April 2023 28 Day Round Australia cruise bookings were opened to elites in the United States and Canada (I presume) on March 2, 2021 (one day before opening bookings to everyone). 

Plenty of help. Thank you.

[OzKiwiJJ]

5 hours ago, capriccio said:

I don't know if this is any help but the April 2023 28 Day Round Australia cruise bookings were opened to elites in the United States and Canada (I presume) on March 2, 2021 (one day before opening bookings to everyone). 

Yes, March 2nd 2021 was the Elite booking day. The cruises through to the 2024 World Cruise opened 1st December 2021 for Elites. I haven't heard any mutterings about the next release yet. Word usually goes around a couple of weeks or so before bookings open, usually before the brochure is released to Captain's Circle members.

[arxcards]

Lots of ports are yet to add bookings that far out, but there a few things I can figure from what I can see for Cairns and Sydney.

Current schedule for Coral has her in a Singapore drydock from 27th Sep till 18th October 2024, followed by a cruise to Fremantle where her current schedule ends on 30th October.

 

Next cruise is likely to be over the top from Freo to Brisbane, as she shows in Cairns on 10th Nov 2024. There is a series of entries for Cains through to 30th April, and I expect much of this will be from a Brisbane home base. If she continues with Hawaii & world cruises, that will just about fill another year on her calendar.

 

Her 2025 around Oz cruise will be 19th March till 16th April 2025 (Sydney), 21st March (Brisbane)

-------

No Royal Princess in 2024/25, but Discovery Princess instead. Majestic also based in Sydney, and it looks like Grand Princess to still be based out of Melbourne. Lots of 14 night intervals for Discovery, so she will be doing mostly NZ.

 

And I expect pricing to be a bit rich indeed.

 

Plus and Premier package fares will be going up on 14th December. Plus is an extra $10pp per day, but includes "Two premium crafted desserts, two smoothies or juices, two fitness classes". Not per day, per cruise. How about that Julie, you can get 2 fresh OJ's per cruise

 

So, I expect when pricing is released, pricing will be a bit rich. I am interested in finding another Coral cruise, but have spotted a couple of shorties to Eden on Discovery in mid & late March. Hard to get excited about a slightly newer ship when it is pretty much a cookie cutter of Majestic.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Crafted desserts? They are going to charge extra for desserts? No thanks. 

 

I've figured out a way around the OJ issue. I just order a bowl of sliced orange with my melon or papaya for breakfast. 😊 

 

Fitness classes? No thanks, I prefer just walking around the ship. I don't want to huff and puff in a crowded exercise room especially if Covid is still around.

 

The new pricing might just tip it over the edge for us. We have Plus fares locked in for our next three Princess cruises at the old rates. In fact we got the world cruise at $40pp per day.

 

But if it goes up to $60pp per day we'll stop getting the plus fare. I haven't crunched the numbers from our last two cruises but we were spending a bit extra on drinks to get wines we liked plus the XO cognac. If they don't improve their wine list then getting the Plus fare will not be cost effective any more.

[arxcards]

35 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Crafted desserts? They are going to charge extra for desserts? No thanks. 

 

I've figured out a way around the OJ issue. I just order a bowl of sliced orange with my melon or papaya for breakfast. 😊 

 

Fitness classes? No thanks, I prefer just walking around the ship. I don't want to huff and puff in a crowded exercise room especially if Covid is still around.

 

The new pricing might just tip it over the edge for us. We have Plus fares locked in for our next three Princess cruises at the old rates. In fact we got the world cruise at $40pp per day.

 

But if it goes up to $60pp per day we'll stop getting the plus fare. I haven't crunched the numbers from our last two cruises but we were spending a bit extra on drinks to get wines we liked plus the XO cognac. If they don't improve their wine list then getting the Plus fare will not be cost effective any more.

It is all looking a bit fancy and complicated and reported in different ways. Some of the travel media are saying it is value added, while others are saying it is dearer. All in the eye of the beholder. After a couple of decadent desserts and a couple of smoothies, I will need a couple of fitness classes to balance things. How symbiotic is that. A 3 night cruise will be tough with two fancy desserts to fit in.

 

They were great value for a lot of people, but for many less now. As spirits/cocktail drinkers who use internet, it is still within our usual daily spend, but we would likely give it a miss on longer cruises and have a couple of dry days to drop our daily spend, take our wine on etc.

 

Still, when comparing with the prices of the opposition, they are comparatively great value.

 

These fancy desserts will have a charge, as already happens with any of the gelato or "real" ice cream on deck.  Rolling out on sailings after February 20, 2023 are a series of Princess Premium desserts, which will incorporate gelato, pastries, and candies. They’ll be added to both Princess Plus and Princess Premier, and are available Gelateria, Swirls, or Coffee and Cones venues.

They look great, but I want mine to look like a unicorn. 😉

 

 

Princess Cruises Enhances Value with Exciting New Offerings to All-Inclusive Princess Plus and Premier Packages - Princess Cruises

[MMDown Under]

39 minutes ago, arxcards said:

It is all looking a bit fancy and complicated and reported in different ways. Some of the travel media are saying it is value added, while others are saying it is dearer. All in the eye of the beholder. After a couple of decadent desserts and a couple of smoothies, I will need a couple of fitness classes to balance things. How symbiotic is that. A 3 night cruise will be tough with two fancy desserts to fit in.

 

They were great value for a lot of people, but for many less now. As spirits/cocktail drinkers who use internet, it is still within our usual daily spend, but we would likely give it a miss on longer cruises and have a couple of dry days to drop our daily spend, take our wine on etc.

 

Still, when comparing with the prices of the opposition, they are comparatively great value.

 

These fancy desserts will have a charge, as already happens with any of the gelato or "real" ice cream on deck.  Rolling out on sailings after February 20, 2023 are a series of Princess Premium desserts, which will incorporate gelato, pastries, and candies. They’ll be added to both Princess Plus and Princess Premier, and are available Gelateria, Swirls, or Coffee and Cones venues.

They look great, but I want mine to look like a unicorn. 😉

 

 

Princess Cruises Enhances Value with Exciting New Offerings to All-Inclusive Princess Plus and Premier Packages - Princess Cruises

How many calories and walks around the deck?

[OzKiwiJJ]

51 minutes ago, arxcards said:

It is all looking a bit fancy and complicated and reported in different ways. Some of the travel media are saying it is value added, while others are saying it is dearer. All in the eye of the beholder. After a couple of decadent desserts and a couple of smoothies, I will need a couple of fitness classes to balance things. How symbiotic is that. A 3 night cruise will be tough with two fancy desserts to fit in.

 

They were great value for a lot of people, but for many less now. As spirits/cocktail drinkers who use internet, it is still within our usual daily spend, but we would likely give it a miss on longer cruises and have a couple of dry days to drop our daily spend, take our wine on etc.

 

Still, when comparing with the prices of the opposition, they are comparatively great value.

 

These fancy desserts will have a charge, as already happens with any of the gelato or "real" ice cream on deck.  Rolling out on sailings after February 20, 2023 are a series of Princess Premium desserts, which will incorporate gelato, pastries, and candies. They’ll be added to both Princess Plus and Princess Premier, and are available Gelateria, Swirls, or Coffee and Cones venues.

They look great, but I want mine to look like a unicorn. 😉

 

 

Princess Cruises Enhances Value with Exciting New Offerings to All-Inclusive Princess Plus and Premier Packages - Princess Cruises

Not the type of desserts I like anyway. Too fussy. Give me a simple creme brulee, or rhubarb napoleon, or one of the Chocolate Journey desserts, or the coconut dessert, or some of the many others on the MDR list.

[possum52]

1 hour ago, arxcards said:

It is all looking a bit fancy and complicated and reported in different ways. Some of the travel media are saying it is value added, while others are saying it is dearer. All in the eye of the beholder. After a couple of decadent desserts and a couple of smoothies, I will need a couple of fitness classes to balance things. How symbiotic is that. A 3 night cruise will be tough with two fancy desserts to fit in.

 

They were great value for a lot of people, but for many less now. As spirits/cocktail drinkers who use internet, it is still within our usual daily spend, but we would likely give it a miss on longer cruises and have a couple of dry days to drop our daily spend, take our wine on etc.

 

Still, when comparing with the prices of the opposition, they are comparatively great value.

 

These fancy desserts will have a charge, as already happens with any of the gelato or "real" ice cream on deck.  Rolling out on sailings after February 20, 2023 are a series of Princess Premium desserts, which will incorporate gelato, pastries, and candies. They’ll be added to both Princess Plus and Princess Premier, and are available Gelateria, Swirls, or Coffee and Cones venues.

They look great, but I want mine to look like a unicorn. 😉

 

 

Princess Cruises Enhances Value with Exciting New Offerings to All-Inclusive Princess Plus and Premier Packages - Princess Cruises

Kids and I guess big kids would love them, they look way too sweet for me. My big kid husband would probably love them. 

[rkmw]

6 hours ago, arxcards said:

Lots of ports are yet to add bookings that far out, but there a few things I can figure from what I can see for Cairns and Sydney.

Current schedule for Coral has her in a Singapore drydock from 27th Sep till 18th October 2024, followed by a cruise to Fremantle where her current schedule ends on 30th October.

 

Next cruise is likely to be over the top from Freo to Brisbane, as she shows in Cairns on 10th Nov 2024. There is a series of entries for Cains through to 30th April, and I expect much of this will be from a Brisbane home base. If she continues with Hawaii & world cruises, that will just about fill another year on her calendar.

 

Her 2025 around Oz cruise will be 19th March till 16th April 2025 (Sydney), 21st March (Brisbane)

-------

No Royal Princess in 2024/25, but Discovery Princess instead. Majestic also based in Sydney, and it looks like Grand Princess to still be based out of Melbourne. Lots of 14 night intervals for Discovery, so she will be doing mostly NZ.

 

And I expect pricing to be a bit rich indeed.

 

Plus and Premier package fares will be going up on 14th December. Plus is an extra $10pp per day, but includes "Two premium crafted desserts, two smoothies or juices, two fitness classes". Not per day, per cruise. How about that Julie, you can get 2 fresh OJ's per cruise

 

So, I expect when pricing is released, pricing will be a bit rich. I am interested in finding another Coral cruise, but have spotted a couple of shorties to Eden on Discovery in mid & late March. Hard to get excited about a slightly newer ship when it is pretty much a cookie cutter of Majestic.

Geoff have you seen the new itinerary and when’s it being released 

[arxcards]

1 hour ago, rkmw said:

Geoff have you seen the new itinerary and when’s it being released 

Sorry Bob, no.

I was just looking ahead for what might be around in 2024/5 to plan ahead, and joining the dots with the few port bookings I could see.

 

Going from earlier posts, it looks like early March is the typical time for Princess to extend their Aussie itineraries another year. Princess are also creatures of habit, so I also expect most ports would be the same as those this year and next.

 

 

[arxcards]

4 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Not the type of desserts I like anyway. Too fussy. Give me a simple creme brulee, or rhubarb napoleon, or one of the Chocolate Journey desserts, or the coconut dessert, or some of the many others on the MDR list.

They do look a bit young for the drinks package audience.

Or a caramel crème pot, or a soufflé. For the paid options, why wreck a nice gelato by sticking all that other stuff in it. The look like ice cream birthday cakes from the 80's. 

[OzKiwiJJ]

1 hour ago, arxcards said:

They do look a bit young for the drinks package audience.

Or a caramel crème pot, or a soufflé. For the paid options, why wreck a nice gelato by sticking all that other stuff in it. The look like ice cream birthday cakes from the 80's. 

Ohhh! I forgot the souffles! How could I? It wouldn't be a Princess cruise without the souffles! 

 

I didn't like the crème caramel. It tasted a bit weird to me!

[arxcards]

37 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Ohhh! I forgot the souffles! How could I? It wouldn't be a Princess cruise without the souffles! 

 

I didn't like the crème caramel. It tasted a bit weird to me!

I thought it tasted like a caramel version of crème Brule without the Brule. Still, I thought Majestic Brule was much better than Coral, and it might have been the same for their caramel pot.

 

Yes, one can't discount souffles.

[possum52]

My favourite Princess dessert is or was the New York cheesecake. Is it still on the menu?

[MMDown Under]

11 minutes ago, possum52 said:

My favourite Princess dessert is or was the New York cheesecake. Is it still on the menu?

What makes NY Cheesecake different?