New today - Extra Stuff in Princess Plus & Premier

[timetraveller]

17 hours ago, SinbadThePorter said:

How long has room service not been complimentary for us plebs?

They are going to start charging $5 per order with the roll out of the new program. Each ship has it's own roll out date. Breakfast will still be free with the door card ordering system. There will be a one time activation fee of $14.99 for the Ocean Now system if you don't have a package.

[timetraveller]

8 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

No, Alfredos is one of the "casual dining" restaurants. If you want a pizza at Alfredos it will cost around $22 if you don't have the $65pp per day Plus package. Alfredos pizza isn't worth that much!

That is a change they are rolling out with the new program. Alfredo's will now be a surcharge based dining venue for folks without a package. And Plus only gets two casual dining meals included.

 

 

[Tripmode33]

1 hour ago, timetraveller said:

They are going to start charging $5 per order with the roll out of the new program. Each ship has it's own roll out date. Breakfast will still be free with the door card ordering system. There will be a one time activation fee of $14.99 for the Ocean Now system if you don't have a package.

Can anyone tell me if this $5 per room service and $14.99 Ocean Now activation prices are is USD?  Have they quoted a AUD figure?

I understand the $5 charge is if you phone through a room service order. Is using the Stateroom TV to order considered Ocean Now or just your mobile phone app?

All very disappointing for my upcoming Majestic Princess cruise later this year. We were looking forward to using Alfredo's but will probably now hesitate. We found Majestic Ocean Now ordering not timely enough compared to smaller ships.

[SinbadThePorter]

3 hours ago, timetraveller said:

There will be a one time activation fee of $14.99 for the Ocean Now system if you don't have a package.

 

That $14.99 represents the labour of a computer sending several electrons to another computer.  🤑

[Jean C]

Oh dear, a lot to get our heads around! I always book as a standard pleb as I couldn't get my money's worth from drinks and the like, and I certainly don't want internet on holiday.

 

I'm travelling in November with family members - all standard fares. I couldn't figure out if, when in bars or around pool, will you now be charged a delivery fee for drinks ordered via the app?

 

Not an issue for me as my phone will live in the cabin safe, but the family were looking forward to lounging around the pool and ordering cocktails 🍹 

[BuzzBuzzen]

The Princess board is up to page 39 discussing these changes. Mass confusion and many ruffled feathers. Cheers, Buzz.

[OzKiwiJJ]

4 hours ago, Tripmode33 said:

Can anyone tell me if this $5 per room service and $14.99 Ocean Now activation prices are is USD?  Have they quoted a AUD figure?

 

$7.50 and around $22 AUD.

[2022cruisey]

These changes are very annoying if you travel with kids, or a 3rd and 4th passenger in the same cabin.  All of these extra charges need to be shown upfront prior to booking and shouldn’t be able to be retrospectively included.   
I travel with my 14yo as a 3rd guest - this could mean a lot of extra money for casual food as we only have plus for the two of us.

 

[Yaya_in_Oz]

43 minutes ago, 2022cruisey said:

  All of these extra charges need to be shown upfront prior to booking and shouldn’t be able to be retrospectively included.   
I travel with my 14yo as a 3rd guest - this could mean a lot of extra money for casual food as we only have plus for the two of us.

 

Agreed. To me the cheek of it is that retrospectivity only works one way. People who booked Plus package get to keep what they booked for. I booked Standard and paid in full in May for my cruise and now will have to pay for room service etc. I'm pleased that this wouldn't normally happen in Australia. What a way to do business! I should get a refund. Fortunately there are only 3 sea days out of 14 so I'll be spending most of my time off the ship.

[OzKiwiJJ]

I'd be even angrier with Princess than I was after the corkage fee increase except for one fact. In 239 days of cruising on Princess we've used room service on no more than 10 of those days, and 6 of those were when we were in isolation with Covid last year. Neither of us finds the room service menu appealing so if one of us is feeling unwell the other goes to the buffet and brings more palatable food back to our cabin. 

[capriccio]

The Alfredo's/Gigi's menu with prices (US$) posted on the Princess board:

 

Gigis Pizzeria by Alfredo_EX-XP_2023-7-24.pdf 1.26 MB · 20 downloads

 

[Ondine]

Before I went on Grand Princess last season I looked into Alfredo's because it had not been available on Golden Princess.  I found then that there were two different classes of Alfredo's.  The newer ships seemed to have a larger restaurant and a larger menu with pasta dishes and deserts.  From memory some of these dishes were to pay for.  However on Grand Princess there were only pizzas available and were free.  They are now saying that you will get a 3 course menu for your US$14. I wonder if this new payment will only apply to those ships which had the extended menu because 3 courses was not available on the Grand.

[OzKiwiJJ]

35 minutes ago, Ondine said:

Before I went on Grand Princess last season I looked into Alfredo's because it had not been available on Golden Princess.  I found then that there were two different classes of Alfredo's.  The newer ships seemed to have a larger restaurant and a larger menu with pasta dishes and deserts.  From memory some of these dishes were to pay for.  However on Grand Princess there were only pizzas available and were free.  They are now saying that you will get a 3 course menu for your US$14. I wonder if this new payment will only apply to those ships which had the extended menu because 3 courses was not available on the Grand.

Quite possibly. And will the pizzas still be free in the pop-up Alfredos held in Sabatinis on Coral on some sea day lunchtimes?

 

The whole announcement seems to be very confusing and messy. 

[Yaya_in_Oz]

2 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

 

 

The whole announcement seems to be very confusing and messy. 

 What announcement? if I didn't read the forum I'd be none the wiser. 

 

Despite receiving 2 e-mails from Princess in the last 2 days with the usual guff about your upcoming cruise including promoting Ocean Now, nothing has been mentioned about having to pay extra for things that were once free.

[aussielozzie18]

14 minutes ago, Yaya_in_Oz said:

 What announcement? if I didn't read the forum I'd be none the wiser. 

 

Despite receiving 2 e-mails from Princess in the last 2 days with the usual guff about your upcoming cruise including promoting Ocean Now, nothing has been mentioned about having to pay extra for things that were once free.

Same.  I got 3 emails this week - final payment email, healthy protocols email & the benefits of the medallion app and the new Premier & Plus packages but nothing specific about what the extra costs on board will be because I chose a standard fare….

Edited July 29, 2023 by aussielozzie18

[aussielozzie18]

Being a lowly standard cruiser will I be missing out on Tiramisu in Alfredo’s on the Majestic Princess or does it only serve pizza on that ship? Thanks

[Tripmode33]

5 minutes ago, aussielozzie18 said:

Being a lowly standard cruiser will I be missing out on Tiramisu in Alfredo’s on the Majestic Princess or does it only serve pizza on that ship? Thanks

Majestic has the extended menu at Alfredo's - starter, main including pizza, and desert. The new system price if ordered separately for the Tiramisu is $US3. So I guess about $Au5.  Starters are $US5 and Pizza or other main $US12.

[arxcards]

On 7/28/2023 at 7:36 PM, OzKiwiJJ said:

No, Alfredos is one of the "casual dining" restaurants. If you want a pizza at Alfredos it will cost around $22 if you don't have the $65pp per day Plus package. Alfredos pizza isn't worth that much!

I will concede that Princess has botched the way they have rolled this out and communicated it, and they will only ever spell-out what they are adding without mentioning what they are taking away. I was of the firm belief that Alfredo's would still be Alfredo's, but also double as a venue for a pop-up Prix Fixe in a similar way to the gastro-pubs on other ships that don't open every day. To take away Alfredo's is definitely a sad move. I doubt the menu will be limited to pizza there, and it will be a larger menu. Coral Princess will have N/C pizza by the slice on the pool deck. I expect the menu will be largely based on Salty Dog, as that is their more recent "casual" offering. On those ships, the existing pay venues will become inclusive for those with packages.

 

On drinks alone, we still book with plus so this is no big deal to me. Apart from a bit of variety, any extra "casual" dining also offers no added attraction, and I would be unlikely to pay to upgrade from the $50plus/$85premier packages. It would be a lot less confusing if they would just pick their packages and stick with them for a while.

 

One other change a short time ago, especially with a few short cruises floating around here each season. Now when you book in a suite, the cruise needs to be at least 6 nights in order to get the N/C specialty restaurant on the first night. We had used the voucher to book the "Bistro" on our Majestic 3 nighter in November. When they took away the Bistro, I lost the voucher and they will not replace it for the replacement "Catch" restaurant because of the change of rules.

 

 

[arxcards]

This is a direct link to the attachment on post 1, and a bit more detail than the press release.

 

https://book.princess.com/pdf/onesource/au/news/AUTrade-PrincessPlusandPremierEnhancements27-July2023.pdf

[arxcards]

6 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Quite possibly. And will the pizzas still be free in the pop-up Alfredos held in Sabatinis on Coral on some sea day lunchtimes?

 

The whole announcement seems to be very confusing and messy. 

Looks like that would be a no.

 

For Grand, it would appear that Alfredo's will become the paid casual restaurant. That would likely be the case with Majestic too. The "Whats Included" dining page has been updated, and there is less on the list.

https://www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/food-and-dining/whats-included/

[Tripmode33]

13 hours ago, arxcards said:

 

One other change a short time ago, especially with a few short cruises floating around here each season. Now when you book in a suite, the cruise needs to be at least 6 nights in order to get the N/C specialty restaurant on the first night. We had used the voucher to book the "Bistro" on our Majestic 3 nighter in November. When they took away the Bistro, I lost the voucher and they will not replace it for the replacement "Catch" restaurant because of the change of rules.

 

 

That's a shame to hear that they're now enforcing that rule.  We enjoyed the free first night speciality dining on two three-night cruises this past year when in a suite. I wonder if the free suite minibar (making it two setups for Elite) comes under the minimum six night cruise rule.

Our next two Princess cruises are not in a suite.

[arxcards]

43 minutes ago, Tripmode33 said:

That's a shame to hear that they're now enforcing that rule.  We enjoyed the free first night speciality dining on two three-night cruises this past year when in a suite. I wonder if the free suite minibar (making it two setups for Elite) comes under the minimum six night cruise rule.

Our next two Princess cruises are not in a suite.

I think that loyalty stuff is being left alone or we might all .......

 

I have looked on Princess and it is not saying anything about a 6 night minimum for that suite benefit, but the Asian medallion call centre bunny kept quoting it over and over, until I gave-up - said thanks for your time - ending call - goodbye. I might refer that to our T/A and see if he can get it in writing one way or the other.

[joejoe 59]

So I've read the link that Geoff put up regarding the new packages but still I'm a little confused. We booked our cruise for January 2024 in March 2022. We got the plus package at $30 as many others did.  I can't work out if I'm going to be charged for a room service cup of tea or coffee for instance if I don't upgrade. I'm definitely not upgrading so what do you all think? In my eyes I didn't think they could change the contract once agreed on🤔

[Tripmode33]

8 minutes ago, joejoe 59 said:

So I've read the link that Geoff put up regarding the new packages but still I'm a little confused. We booked our cruise for January 2024 in March 2022. We got the plus package at $30 as many others did.  I can't work out if I'm going to be charged for a room service cup of tea or coffee for instance if I don't upgrade. I'm definitely not upgrading so what do you all think? In my eyes I didn't think they could change the contract once agreed on🤔

I'm sure there's fineprint in contract to say they can change conditions. We're also cruising early next year on $30 Plus and I'm sure we'll be paying the room service fee or Ocean Ready activation fee if we order a coffee or tea (unless it's on the room service breakfast hanger as that remains free for everyone).  We will not be upgrading Plus package.

[LittleFish1976]

10 minutes ago, joejoe 59 said:

So I've read the link that Geoff put up regarding the new packages but still I'm a little confused. We booked our cruise for January 2024 in March 2022. We got the plus package at $30 as many others did.  I can't work out if I'm going to be charged for a room service cup of tea or coffee for instance if I don't upgrade. I'm definitely not upgrading so what do you all think? In my eyes I didn't think they could change the contract once agreed on🤔

These cruise contracts are rather Orwellian - anything that you did agree to yesterday may become something you did not agree to tomorrow. They include clauses allowing them to alter everything, pretty much.

 

From what I have seen, and I've seen a lot of informaiotn about this in the last 24 hours, if you booked prior to 14th December, 2022 then you do not have the 'benefit' of free room service, or free meals at Alfredo's and there is a charge to use the app to order food and drinks (one-off charge of USD14.99). The door swing menu for breakfast is still free of charge - for now- so your first thing in the morning tea and coffee is safe.

 

I think they're counting on 'confusion' so we just pay up as a way of avoiding the confusing scenarios of what's included and what's not once you're on board.