Could somebody confirm my math please?

[erienetuser]

First time cruiser and hoping my math is correct.  I have the basic package and it  will  cost me $840 to upgrade  to Plus. So I take $840, less  my  $200 OBC, less  $240 for my crew appreciation, less roughly $200 for  wifi, I'm now at $200. But  if I buy $600 of AARP  gift certificates at 10% off I'm  now at $140, is that  correct?  And  to confirm,  I can upgrade the day  I board? Thank you!

[Cruise Raider]

3 minutes ago, erienetuser said:

First time cruiser and hoping my math is correct.  I have the basic package and it  will  cost me $840 to upgrade  to Plus. So I take $840, less  my  $200 OBC, less  $240 for my crew appreciation, less roughly $200 for  wifi, I'm now at $200. But  if I buy $600 of AARP  gift certificates at 10% off I'm  now at $140, is that  correct?  And  to confirm,  I can upgrade the day  I board? Thank you!

Not a comment about your math but yes, you can upgrade to the Plus Package (or premium package) once you are onboard .. directly through your app.  You can only do so on day 1 or 2.  
If you go over your obc onboard, you can use the gift cards to pay off your balance at the front desk.  At least that’s been my experience in the past.  

[Ken the cruiser]

The Plus Package is $60 per person per day. 

 - Gratuities                = $17 pp/day (for a mini-suite)

 - Wi-Fi                       = $15 pp/day (for 1-device)

 - Beverage Package = $?? pp/day (for up to 16 drinks at $15 or less)

 

Not sure where the $200 OBC came from as both packages offer the same OBC perk, or at least they did. From my math, it comes down to the value of the drink package. Are you two going to drink beverages worth an average of at least $28 pp/day on your 7-day cruise?

 

Oops, I forgot the $4.30 pp for the AARP 10% discount. That brings down the net cost for the beverage package to $23.70 pp/day. But, if you are Elite, the Wi-Fi is only $7.50 pp/day which would then increase the cost to $31.20 pp/day. So many variables. 🤔

 

Edited March 10, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[erienetuser]

14 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Not sure where the $200 OBC came from

 

 

My OBC is from my travel  agent, I  assume I can use it  to upgrade my package? And  thank you for the breakdown.

[Ken the cruiser]

9 minutes ago, erienetuser said:

 

My OBC is from my travel  agent, I  assume I can use it  to upgrade my package? And  thank you for the breakdown.

Sure. You can pretty much use it for anything you purchase once onboard. Of course, you'll get the $200 from your TA regardless of whether you get the Basic or Plus package. Well, except for Future Cruise Deposits.

Edited March 10, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[Tedferg]

Your math is correct, but let's look at 'reasoning'. I would ignore AARP cards because they will discount whatever decision you make. Taking fixed costs, Crew Appreciation $240 less $200 OBC means you have to come up with $40. Plus Package costs $840 - $200 = $640. Subtract the $40 you will owe for Crew Appreciation and you have a $600 decision to make. $600/7 is ~ $85 per day. How important is WiFi to you? How many drinks, water, specialty coffees per day?

 

If your a la carte total is anywhere near the Plus total, then the convenience and opportunity to splurge makes Plus a no brainer.

[erienetuser]

36 minutes ago, Tedferg said:

Your math is correct, but let's look at 'reasoning'. I would ignore AARP cards because they will discount whatever decision you make. Taking fixed costs, Crew Appreciation $240 less $200 OBC means you have to come up with $40. Plus Package costs $840 - $200 = $640. Subtract the $40 you will owe for Crew Appreciation and you have a $600 decision to make. $600/7 is ~ $85 per day. How important is WiFi to you? How many drinks, water, specialty coffees per day?

 

If your a la carte total is anywhere near the Plus total, then the convenience and opportunity to splurge makes Plus a no brainer.

 

Thats a great  way to look  at it, thank you!

[ChangeOrder]

I do this same math almost every time I book, between Standard and Plus. A lot of times it comes close, but in your case I may not upgrade. Wifi is a necessity for me, and gratuities are required, so $440 is for sure. That leaves another $400 leftover from your upgrade cost to use as I please. I can get away with only a couple paid special coffees/soda/water bottles/alcoholic drinks through the cruise, and still have a lot of money to spend on a few rounds of bingo, or buying tshirts and souvenirs on board.

 

Of course now Plus offers Juice bar drinks, 2 fancy desserts, and 2 special fitness classes. You'd have to factor that in to your vacation fun meter. 

 

There is something to be said for being relaxed and knowing you have free rein to have as many cappucinos and martinis as you want, especially as it's your first cruise. Just remember that you are still likely going to create other charges on board, even if you upgrade to Plus. 

[Redwing55]

I'll keep watching.  Our TA got us a rate that IF I want to have PP package, it winds up being an additional over $80/day.  Apparantly the rate we have is lower (I agree it's much lower than what I can find) and to add the package, the cabin rate goes up.  So, it's not that the package is more than $60/day but it's that they won't allow me to add the package to the rate we have.  Odd IMO.

 

We're on the fence anyway, so it'll be a savings for us to not purchase it, but I find it odd.  Though if things stay as is, we may try to purchase the package once we're on board.  But who knows what it may cost next Feb?

Edited March 10, 2023 by Redwing55

[Tedferg]

3 hours ago, erienetuser said:

 

Thats a great  way to look  at it, thank you!

As a first time cruiser also think about buying Future Cruise Deposits. You can only buy them onboard and they are charged directly to your credit card, so a totally separate expense. The FCD becomes your deposit on a future cruise and depending on cabin and cruise lentgh you will get OBC for using FCD. Also, if you do not use it it is refunded after two years.

[Cruise Raider]

54 minutes ago, Redwing55 said:

I'll keep watching.  Our TA got us a rate that IF I want to have PP package, it winds up being an additional over $80/day.  Apparantly the rate we have is lower (I agree it's much lower than what I can find) and to add the package, the cabin rate goes up.  So, it's not that the package is more than $60/day but it's that they won't allow me to add the package to the rate we have.  Odd IMO.

 

We're on the fence anyway, so it'll be a savings for us to not purchase it, but I find it odd.  Though if things stay as is, we may try to purchase the package once we're on board.  But who knows what it may cost next Feb?

The $80 per day pp is the Premier Package.  The Plus Package is the one for $60 per day pp.  

If you add it to your booking now, you will keep that price bust still get the same perks.  They just raised the price recently so, chances are they may wait at least another year to do another price increase.  ???

[AZjohn]

Calculations above from everyone for making decision at today costs is correct.

 

Question to evaluate is how far in the future is your cruise?

I have noticed rates continue to climb for packages and al la cart frequently in the past 6 or 8 months.

Gut feel, this trend will continue in the not-too-distant future also.

 

The good news is, here on CC fellow members seem to hear about these increases ahead of time, so we have a chance to purchased what we need before the price increases (got to love CC 🙂 ).

 

Cheers

[Redwing55]

3 hours ago, Cruise Raider said:

The $80 per day pp is the Premier Package.  The Plus Package is the one for $60 per day pp.  

If you add it to your booking now, you will keep that price bust still get the same perks.  They just raised the price recently so, chances are they may wait at least another year to do another price increase.  ???

Yes, I understand both prices for each package.  BUT, my cabin fare goes up for me to be able to add the package.  So no matter, if it's $60/day, $80/day or whatever/day, my cabin fare goes up first, THEN add in the cost of the package.  So if my fare is say, $1500, Princess wants will change my fare to $1900 then allow me to add the package for the $60/day.  I was told this when I booked it so I'm not surprised about it.  I'm saving over $350/person over the published fare.  So I would be charged over $700 first to get Princess Plus or Premier.  Then add in the per day costs.

Edited March 11, 2023 by Redwing55

[AZjohn]

2 hours ago, Redwing55 said:

Yes, I understand both prices for each package.  BUT, my cabin fare goes up for me to be able to add the package.  So no matter, if it's $60/day, $80/day or whatever/day, my cabin fare goes up first, THEN add in the cost of the package.  So if my fare is say, $1500, Princess wants will change my fare to $1900 then allow me to add the package for the $60/day.  I was told this when I booked it so I'm not surprised about it.  I'm saving over $350/person over the published fare.  So I would be charged over $700 first to get Princess Plus or Premier.  Then add in the per day costs.

How strange,

I can easily add Plus or Premier at any time through Medallion app without any price increase to the basic cruise price we booked at

 

 
 

[Redwing55]

I get the same thing.  But then click on the upgrade price button.  It shows the same price, but has this note:

 

• In some circumstances, package upgrades may increase your cruise fare. Please review your remaining balance on the Payment page or contact your travel advisor.

 

I never can see remaining balance, but my TA confirmed w/ Princess that my increase would be like I described above... Increase in cruise fare that is.

[Steelers36]

14 hours ago, erienetuser said:

First time cruiser and hoping my math is correct.  I have the basic package and it  will  cost me $840 to upgrade  to Plus. So I take $840, less  my  $200 OBC, less  $240 for my crew appreciation, less roughly $200 for  wifi, I'm now at $200. But  if I buy $600 of AARP  gift certificates at 10% off I'm  now at $140, is that  correct?  And  to confirm,  I can upgrade the day  I board? Thank you!

It seems to me an odd way to look at the math.  And as a first cruiser, you won't be get any discount that one or two others mentioned.  I agree with another comment that you can get the same benefit from AARP Rewards with Princess Gift Cards whether you purchase the Plus or Premier package.  If you want to use that "gift" from AARP Rewards, then why not do it for paying off the cruise balance owing?

 

I have deduced there are two of you going on a 7-night cruise and you booked a mini-suite.

 

Crew Incentive   =  2 x 7 x $17 = $238.

MedallionNet      = 2 x 7 x $15  = $210.

Total "Fixed" Costs                    = $438.

 

Cost of PLUS pkg = 2 x 7 x $60 = $840.

 

Amount allocated to drinks        = $402, or  avg $57.43/day combined.

This is $48.67 total from menu prices, after taking out the 18% bar gratuity.

 

Do you order enough alcohol and non-alcohol drinks each day between you and cabinmate to come to $48+/day on average.  Think about the port days if you are off the ship most of the day.

 

If you want to consider the $200 OBC as "free money", then you have only $202 allocation to drinks which comes to $28.86/day combined - or ~$24.45 worth of menu pricing combined.  That may be a no-brainer decision for you, but the OBC can be used in other ways.  Are you doing any Princess excursions, or doing your own excursions?  Are you doing any Specialty Dining (cost is up to $39/pp)?

 

I make the decision based on how much I am paying in the package price each day for drinking and do we spend that much typically.  A lot of people consider their OBC as free dollars so it doesn't matter.  Not me.  I just look at whether I am going to get any value from the package versus a la carte.

[caribill]

7 hours ago, Redwing55 said:

Yes, I understand both prices for each package.  BUT, my cabin fare goes up for me to be able to add the package.  So no matter, if it's $60/day, $80/day or whatever/day, my cabin fare goes up first, THEN add in the cost of the package.  So if my fare is say, $1500, Princess wants will change my fare to $1900 then allow me to add the package for the $60/day.  I was told this when I booked it so I'm not surprised about it.  I'm saving over $350/person over the published fare.  So I would be charged over $700 first to get Princess Plus or Premier.  Then add in the per day costs.

 

Did you book your fare under a special sale that applied only to standard rates?

 

If so, even if you had booked with Plus originally your basic fare would have gone up.

 

Best to add the Plus package on board as I do not think the fare increase would happen there.

[Moondogy]

I'll put my little 2 cents in here on couple of other ways to get OBC.

1) Veterans from US, Canada and I believe England can get OBC

2) 1oo shares of CCL also gets you OBC in case you plan on doing more cruising on Princess or even some of the other lines Carnivale owns. 😊

Edited March 11, 2023 by Moondogy

[kdzgon]

3 hours ago, Moondogy said:

I'll put my little 2 cents in here on couple of other ways to get OBC.

1) Veterans from US, Canada and I believe England can get OBC

2) 1oo shares of CCL also gets you OBC in case you plan on doing more cruising on Princess or even some of the other lines Carnivale owns. 😊

Thank you for sharing this info. Wish I realized this earlier - need to request OBC at least 4 weeks before sailing date for stock. Not sure of the timeline for veterans.

[kdzgon]

Can anyone tell me the cost of a bottle of water on ship? Thank you!

[caribill]

1 hour ago, kdzgon said:

Thank you for sharing this info. Wish I realized this earlier - need to request OBC at least 4 weeks before sailing date for stock. Not sure of the timeline for veterans.

Even if your sail date is closer than 4 weeks, it does not hurt to submit for these OBC benefits.

 

The four weeks is to allow for lengthy processing time. Often it just takes a day or two, not weeks.

[travelin.sisters]

54 minutes ago, kdzgon said:

Can anyone tell me the cost of a bottle of water on ship? Thank you!

the least evpensive way is to pre-order 1 or more 12 packs of .5L bottles for about $7 onboard they are $2 each

 

1.5L bottles are $3.95

[alfieisgod]

1 hour ago, caribill said:

Even if your sail date is closer than 4 weeks, it does not hurt to submit for these OBC benefits.

 

The four weeks is to allow for lengthy processing time. Often it just takes a day or two, not weeks.

Can confirm. Requested OBC for shares recently. It was on my account by the next day.  
 

[Tedferg]

14 hours ago, Redwing55 said:

I get the same thing.  But then click on the upgrade price button.  It shows the same price, but has this note:

 

• In some circumstances, package upgrades may increase your cruise fare. Please review your remaining balance on the Payment page or contact your travel advisor.

 

I never can see remaining balance, but my TA confirmed w/ Princess that my increase would be like I described above... Increase in cruise fare that is.

Is this because Insurance increases cruise fare? You could add on first day on board and avaoid the fare increase.

[Redwing55]

9 minutes ago, Tedferg said:

Is this because Insurance increases cruise fare? You could add on first day on board and avaoid the fare increase.

Nothing to do with insurance.  It's due to the fare we got.  I just booked it last week and fare was less than the Best Ever Sale that was going on.  (Sorry for hijacking the thread.)  As Caribill and some others mentioned, maybe we'll get it on board... if it doesn't increase even more.  Or maybe we'll just pass on it altogether since spouse doesn't drink and frankly, I'm not not a big drinker... though I do enjoy it.