New today - Extra Stuff in Princess Plus & Premier

[OzKiwiJJ]

49 minutes ago, Jules Syd said:

I love a margarita. Anyone that has been onboard recently can they tell me the price. If we purchase plus with the drinks included to $22 will that cover a margarita?  I think the one I liked was a golden margarita. Thanks 

This is the list from Grand in March. The only one over the Plus limit is the watermelon one. 

 

[Jean C]

19 hours ago, ~*Lou*~ said:

Hate to sound like a broken record, but they still haven't updated their website:

 

Nor their email communications. Received this information on 8 August re an upcoming cruise. The health status on travel checklist has disappeared from my app and, as I hear from here, the ability to choose my arrival time!

[BuzzBuzzen]

On the Princess board , people are, finally, receiving emails, from Princess, outlining the changes. At last some official communication. Unfortunately some of the emails do not correctly show the packages people have purchased either upgraded or not. Guest Services are going to be really swamped for the first few days of each sailing.Cheers, Buzz.

[lyndarra]

After reading all the irking of cruisers caused by Princess post COVID I find I'm no longer checking out Princess Cruises ads I get from TAs.

[NSWP]

This whole plus and premier package is a joke. Imagine being on a 107 day worldie, package cost for two would be $10,000 plus. Plus $100,000 plus for single fare. Out of my league. 😢

Edited August 15, 2023 by NSWP

[icat2000]

16 hours ago, NSWP said:

This whole plus and premier package is a joke. Imagine being on a 107 day worldie, package cost for two would be $10,000 plus. Plus $100,000 plus for single fare. Out of my league. 😢

I know Cunard and PO UK do have single cabins . I suspect they go quick but its a possibility. I think NCL has single cabins.

 

When I cruised solo (for about 20 cruises) I looked at the cost per day when deciding. Long gone when you can get 160% fares as solo. You just have to look out for deals and prepare to be flexible with dates, ships etc.

 

 

Edited August 16, 2023 by icat2000

[arxcards]

25 minutes ago, icat2000 said:

I know Cunard and PO UK do have single cabins . I suspect they go quick but its a possibility. I think NCL has single cabins.

 

When I cruised solo (for about 20 cruises) I looked at the cost per day when deciding. Long gone when you can get 160% fares as solo. You just have to look out for deals and prepare to be flexible with dates, ships etc.

 

 

Luminosa had plenty of cruises last season where there was no solo supplement - ie $1000 twin share was $500 solo. They were relatively last minute and on undersold cruises. 180% is more the go now.

 

The solo cabins are a bit of a furphy, especially on NCL. Twin inside cabin pricing started at way less than double the price of the smaller inside solo studio cabins. Sure, no solo supp on them, but they had a more expensive base price.

[SinbadThePorter]

Wasn't Grand Princess offering $2100 solo insides next month from San Francisco to Sydney?

[Tripmode33]

6 hours ago, SinbadThePorter said:

Wasn't Grand Princess offering $2100 solo insides next month from San Francisco to Sydney?

The Grand, the Royal and Majestic all have zero single supplement on their repositioning cruises (from USA to either Sydney or Auckland) in September and October this year.

[arxcards]

There are plenty of these ATM, but they only become the norm when the cruises aren't going to sell out. If you can book flexible & late, there are great solo deals.

[resordanis]

Hi all,

Finally got the PVP to confirm that when we booked in December our Plus package only includes Drinks and Wifi. It would cost $365 each to upgrade, which we definitely will not do.

Can someone let me know whether the drinks packages includes water, coffees and some spirits? I do know about the cheap wine! Thanks Cheryle

[OzKiwiJJ]

53 minutes ago, resordanis said:

Hi all,

Finally got the PVP to confirm that when we booked in December our Plus package only includes Drinks and Wifi. It would cost $365 each to upgrade, which we definitely will not do.

Can someone let me know whether the drinks packages includes water, coffees and some spirits? I do know about the cheap wine! Thanks Cheryle

Water, coffees, cocktails, spirits, liqueurs. 

[resordanis]

28 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Water, coffees, cocktails, spirits, liqueurs. 

Thank you! That will be fine with us. Just won’t use the medallion a great deal though!

[arxcards]

12 hours ago, resordanis said:

Thank you! That will be fine with us. Just won’t use the medallion a great deal though!

The medallion charge is a one-off, so it is make the most of it or don't use it at all for ordering.. 

Any drinks or room service ordered via the app will score the one-off charge,

Room service menu via the traditional phone ordering is $5 per order,

At this stage I think the cabin TV ordering is part of the medallion service, as I recall the menus being similar to the app (far from certain about this),

Room service via the door card is still n/c.

 

I think the only change to what we have done previously on Majestic is we will be skipping Alfredo's for our embarkation lunch. I am just indignant that they are still promoting that we are getting extras.

[resordanis]

2 hours ago, arxcards said:

The medallion charge is a one-off, so it is make the most of it or don't use it at all for ordering.. 

Any drinks or room service ordered via the app will score the one-off charge,

Room service menu via the traditional phone ordering is $5 per order,

At this stage I think the cabin TV ordering is part of the medallion service, as I recall the menus being similar to the app (far from certain about this),

Room service via the door card is still n/c.

 

I think the only change to what we have done previously on Majestic is we will be skipping Alfredo's for our embarkation lunch. I am just indignant that they are still promoting that we are getting extras.

Thanks for explaining Geoff. The PVP didn’t really know. I will pay the one off fee (reluctantly). Our cruise is 21 days. We really have never ordered room service except for breakfast. We did use Alfredo’s too, but the charge is $23 each (or so the PVP said). $46 for Pizza, not going to happen.

He did say, this was all good news, but I am unable to see it. They should call the new Plus, something else. Imagine the confusion! 

[Yaya_in_Oz]

I’m on the Island at present and ordering Room Service is not available on the TV, you have to use the app. It’s free until the new system starts on this ship on Aug 25. It makes sense to take it off the TV so people don’t get even more confused.

Packages heavily promoted first 2 days, premium desserts look even more hideous in reality with longer lines at Swirls where you get them. You can buy them for $12 if you don’t have the package….as if🙃

[arxcards]

2 hours ago, Yaya_in_Oz said:

I’m on the Island at present and ordering Room Service is not available on the TV, you have to use the app. It’s free until the new system starts on this ship on Aug 25. It makes sense to take it off the TV so people don’t get even more confused.

Packages heavily promoted first 2 days, premium desserts look even more hideous in reality with longer lines at Swirls where you get them. You can buy them for $12 if you don’t have the package….as if🙃

So, how were the desserts? 😂

 

The line-up would be like the dessert bar used to be at Sizzler, only for the ones that don't have to pay extra.

[LittleFish1976]

14 hours ago, Yaya_in_Oz said:

You can buy them for $12 if you don’t have the package….as if🙃

$19 AUD for one of those! Imagine!

[Hammer61]

10 hours ago, LittleFish1976 said:

$19 AUD for one of those! Imagine!

Its the fact on the package you can have 2 every day! Imagine eating 2 of these a day.........🤢

[arxcards]

11 hours ago, Hammer61 said:

Its the fact on the package you can have 2 every day! Imagine eating 2 of these a day.........🤢

If you are on the current premier package, you can eat them all day every day 🤢🤢🤢

[OzKiwiJJ]

I feel sick just reading that! 

 

 We have that "perk" on our Japan cruise late October. I'm tempted to go and get one just to see how bad it really is. I doubt I'd actually eat any of it unless I can dig my way down to the gelato if it's chocolate.

[arxcards]

One idea has only just jumped into my head, and I wish I had thought of it prior to final payment of our upcoming cruise. With all the talk of "upgrading" to the current versions of plus or premier, it would be fun to consider a downgrade protest to their sneaky changes.

 

We have the old $85 premier for our next cruise, which will come with charges for Alfredo's and Ocean Now. Rather than pay $10pp/pd to upgrade, I could have saved $20pp/pd to downgrade to the current version of plus. While we would lose some free photos and a couple of specialty meals, we would save some dollars and get Ocean Now & Alfredo's included.

 

On Majestic, the newish specialty restaurant "Catch" (replaced the Bistro) is no longer available for pre-booking. I am wondering if they are going to back off on the menu and turn it into a "casual" restaurant!

[Hammer61]

Received this overnight from Princess, anyone who booked before December 2022 will be getting $25 OBC, also explains all the changes and costs in $A.   At least they have now emailed guests, was thinking it had been pretty poor to announce these changes but not tell anyone, so credit to them for that and for giving a bit of compensation in the form of $25pp won't get you much a meal at Alfredos or the one-time activation of OceanNow, but better than nothing.

·         New charges for Alfredo’s and Gigi’s by Alfredo’s: We've introduced new prix fixe casual dining options at some of our favourite restaurants like Planks, Steamers, Alfredo's, Gigi's by Alfredo, Ocean Terrace and Kai Sushi (availability may vary by ship). Alfredo's and Gigi's by Alfredo join these other locations in adding a nominal cover charge of AU $22.99 per guest for the prix fixe meals, with a la carte items also available for purchase. ·         A diverse array of exceptional culinary choices are available at no cost, ensuring a top-tier dining experience throughout your journey. Choose from multicourse meals in all main dining rooms, buffet-style delights at World Fresh Marketplace and Horizons Court, treats at the International Café, pizza and other poolside offerings at Slice, Coffee & Cones and more, as well as our traditional stateroom breakfast available using the classic door-hanger menus. ·         OceanNow® delivery: A nominal one-time access fee of AU $22.99 per guest per voyage will now apply to access unlimited OceanNow delivery. ·         Room service fee: An AU $7.50 delivery fee per order will be charged for all room service orders (except complimentary stateroom breakfast orders). ·         These new enhancements have been added at no charge to guests booked on new Princess Plus and Princess Premier packages that have been purchased since 14 December 2022.

While you currently are booked on a package that does not include these new benefits, in light of these changes, Princess Cruises is providing an onboard "AU/NZ regional spending credit" of AU $25~ to those on Standard cruise fare or Plus/Premier bundles purchased prior to 14 December 2022. This will be issued on the first day of sailing and is not combinable with the new Plus & Premier packages (purchased since 14 December 2022). Should you prefer to upgrade to a Princess Plus or Princess Premier package to take full advantage of these new perks, you can easily upgrade using the Cruise Personalizer® tool.     To upgrade, please contact your travel agent, or visit Cruise Personaliser here ❯

[arxcards]

I agree. Poorly conceived & horribly communicated to date. The first $AU cruise departed a few days ago, with passengers that will be aboard for a month. They may have tugged a couple of apron strings, as I have heard no mention of OBC on overseas cruises that had already departed with this arrangement.

 

We are on the old version of premier in November, so at least our Ocean Now charge will be offset with the token olive branch OBC. We will leave Alfredo's for the current premier passengers. It will be interesting to see how busy it gets.

 

Until now, we haven't been too bothered about using Ocean Now to our room. If we are paying that fee for a 3 night cruise, it is gonna get used a whole lot more.

[OzKiwiJJ]

That piddly $25 is fair enough for a short cruise but won't go far on next year's world cruise! 🤬