Changes to Princess Plus, room service fees, Alfredo's and others. Fee changes. Etc

[ceilidh1]

More details for Ocean Now and Room Service

Ocean Now and Room Service.pdf

[CruizinSusan70]

2 hours ago, cargoagent said:

If that is the case, I have many other travel options to spend my money on. We enjoy cruising, but we do not enjoy being forced to pay for options we will not use. IMO, If all cruise lines follow this trend, they are going to lose a lot of clients. Travel and vacation options are a lot more accessible today thanks to the internet. I am sure there are people watching what the cruise lines are doing and they are planning to try and attract some of those clients over to their options.

Enjoy your land vacation.  Pick a hotel, get your car rental, pay for your 2-3 meals a day.  Pay for your entertainment.  Pay for your adult beverages if you indulge.

 

Go to an all inclusive.  Everything is included except you're only going to be in one place.  The entertainment is usually a joke and if you don't drink, you're paying for something that you will not utilize.

 

If either of these scenarios is a much better way for you to spend your vacation dollars, go for it.  Personally, after 55 past cruises and 16 future cruises booked, we know where we're spending our vacation dollars.  

Edited July 30, 2023 by CruizinSusan70

[Te Aroha]

Lots of pages so sorry if this has already been asked.

 

World cruises or longer than 50 day voyages is it still only two free meals at the above on the Plus package? Seems a little unfair to me and should be every two weeks at a minimum.

[ceilidh1]

Comparative Fare Chart - apologies if this has already been posted

Comparison.pdf

[eltigre]

Appreciate all the pdf's however on the Caribbean Princess other than Vines & Salty Dog how are the 2 casual dinner offers of any value? There are none of the other restaurants and I don't think you can get a 3 course meal at either of these two!

Edited July 30, 2023 by eltigre

[ceilidh1]

11 minutes ago, eltigre said:

Appreciate all the pdf's however on the Caribbean Princess other than Vines & Salty Dog how are the 2 casual dinner offers of any value? There are none of the other restaurants and I don't think you can get a 3 course meal at either of these two!

Salty Dog is 2 plates and a dessert for the $14.99 cover charge (or free if on the packages). Steamers and Planks were on Caribbean but I thought they had been done away with - the menus were updated recently, so I may be wrong. I haven't sailed Caribbean in a long time.

[Guest ldtr]

Here on Princess people are up in arms over 3 relatively small price increases (14.95 for app ordering per cruise, $5 for room service  via phone per order, and Alfredo's changing to for fee) over on Celebrity the discussion is that they are removing Butlers from Sky Suites.

 

Needless to say even more are talking about leaving Celebrity then are talking about leaving Princess over the price increases.

[Redwing55]

On 7/27/2023 at 12:57 PM, Jeter02 said:

I agree with you 💯% for those on longer voyages, to keep it the same as 2 per cruise not considering the length is wrong.

I do find it add that it's a per day charge for the upgrade yet some of the benefits are per cruise.. regardless of length.  Of course we end up taking the longer itineraries.  

[Gwendy]

29 minutes ago, Te Aroha said:

Lots of pages so sorry if this has already been asked.

 

World cruises or longer than 50 day voyages is it still only two free meals at the above on the Plus package? Seems a little unfair to me and should be every two weeks at a minimum.

These are generally sold in segments, half  world cruise 2019 from Dover to Brisbane, there were 3 segments, new mini bar for each.  On Enchanted in April, 14 day Med cruise, 2 mini bars as 2 segments,

[Princessfan20]

1 hour ago, SCX22 said:

Comparing apples to oranges.  No cruise line’s loyalty program offers free passage based on loyalty.  If there is one please educate me.  Most “normal” people don’t travel enough or have to wait a long time before accumulating enough points for a free anything.  Most times you will be spending double or triple on a trip to gain enough points for the freebie.  Unless you’re riding on bonus earnings.

 

No one is forcing anyone to purchase the packages and the option of picking the Standard fare is still there.  For people that don’t use room service and are happy with the pizza on the Lido deck, like me, I’m happy I have the option of not purchasing the package and not paying for something I don’t use.

 

I am really surprised how little you literally do not know about travel reward programs and us normal people’s travel opportunities.  Now hitting ignore button.

[Astro Flyer]

49 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

More details for Ocean Now and Room Service

Ocean Now and Room Service.pdf 162.48 kB · 32 downloads

Thanks for sharing all of the information & menus to have a clearer idea about these changes. They don’t state how orders placed from the cabin TV will be managed…do you think it will it be the same as from the app & incur the $14.99/pp/cruise fee.

 

[ceilidh1]

15 minutes ago, Astro Flyer said:

Thanks for sharing all of the information & menus to have a clearer idea about these changes. They don’t state how orders placed from the cabin TV will be managed…do you think it will it be the same as from the app & incur the $14.99/pp/cruise fee.

 

Yes, that appears to be something not clarified. I'm not sure if it would incur the room service fee or the ocean now fee. Maybe they are abandoning the option to order from the tv? Who knows?

[SCX22]

21 minutes ago, Princessfan20 said:

 

I am really surprised how little you literally do not know about travel reward programs and us normal people’s travel opportunities.  Now hitting ignore button.

 

If anything, I hope we can both agree upon Princess' survival.  Don't want it to turn into Crystal where because of defaulting, it's ships were seized, the company folded, and had to be re-invented.

 

Maybe consider changing your username on the CC board as well.

[ceilidh1]

Another thing to keep in mind is that the ocean now fee is per guest, rather than per room. So a couple in one room would either need to both pay the fee in order to use the feature or have one person pay and do all the ordering. The charge also applies to minors, so if my kid decided to order on the app they would be charged. My kids are old enough now to not do something like that unless given permission, but I suspect there may be some unhappy parents out there if they incur a charge from their kid ordering on the app. My kids use the app ordering a lot as I have a bit of a "pet peeve" about seeing kids standing at a bar...but that's a whole other conversation.

[CynCyn]

2 hours ago, ldtr said:

Yep they just added that as well as a benefit if you are a teacher or a retired teacher. Just as the Veterans benefit is also something new for them. I believe all of them require that you have the benefit linked to your account be fore booking though and cannot be added after you have booked.

Interesting.  I could get AARP and teacher, or can you stack?

[cargoagent]

2 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Enjoy your land vacation.  Pick a hotel, get your car rental, pay for your 2-3 meals a day.  Pay for your entertainment.  Pay for your adult beverages if you indulge.

 

Go to an all inclusive.  Everything is included except you're only going to be in one place.  The entertainment is usually a joke and if you don't drink, you're paying for something that you will not utilize.

 

If either of these scenarios is a much better way for you to spend your vacation dollars, go for it.  Personally, after 55 past cruises and 16 future cruises booked, we know where we're spending our vacation dollars.  

Quite impressive, 55 cruises and 16 booked. Very nice. I've been travelling and paying for it myself since I was 16. I kinda have the cost thing down pat. I get interline rates for pretty much all travel products after 34 years at an airline. Our last two cruises to and around Australia were booked at over 70% discount two weeks before departure. We've enjoyed all our cruises except for the constant nickel and diming that has become the norm over the last number of years. It's great that you have found something you love so much that you are happy to put up with these price increases for things that were part of your fare at one time. I'll look for discounts on other cruise lines in the future as we weren't impressed at all with Princess and also look at all the other travel opportunities we have available. I wish you nothing but enjoyment on all your future cruises. Take care.

[CruizinSusan70]

3 hours ago, nasa1974 said:

Just like Royal Caribbeans dynamic pricing.

There is nothing good about RCI's Dynamic Pricing.  No other cruise line bases supplemental spending on specialty venues, drink packages and excursions based upon when you cruise and which ship you cruise on.

 

3 hours ago, ceilidh1 said:

NCL at ambassador level gets a free 7 night cruise in a balcony cabin. Just a one-time thing, but free all the same.

You need to sail on NCL for 700 points to reach Ambassador.  

[CruizinSusan70]

2 hours ago, ldtr said:

Here on Princess people are up in arms over 3 relatively small price increases (14.95 for app ordering per cruise, $5 for room service  via phone per order, and Alfredo's changing to for fee) over on Celebrity the discussion is that they are removing Butlers from Sky Suites.

 

Needless to say even more are talking about leaving Celebrity then are talking about leaving Princess over the price increases.

So, what you're saying is that the people most up in arms come from those that sail in Suites losing Butlers on X, versus standard fare passengers on Princess upset over paying 14.95 for Ocean Now and having to pay for Alfredo's coupled with those that also have Plus being relegated to only two included visits.

 

Either way, first world problems.

[CruizinSusan70]

2 hours ago, Princessfan20 said:

I am really surprised how little you literally do not know about travel reward programs and us normal people’s travel opportunities.  Now hitting ignore button.

Out of curiosity, the points that you accumulated to fly international first class from the west coast and stay at Hiltons for three weeks and have a comped car from Hertz....were these points all accumulated by your own personal vacationing or were they accumulated on your companies dime and you benefited by having the job you have.  Most "normal" people are not able to accumulate enough points for the airline, hotel & car rental perks that you got because of the traveling associated with your job. 

 

[CruizinSusan70]

2 hours ago, SCX22 said:

Maybe consider changing your username on the CC board as well.

👍👍👍

[Bugalugsnz]

Just here to send best wishes to all of the travel agents rocking up to work on Monday… thoughts and prayers.

Edited July 30, 2023 by Bugalugsnz

[devonuk]

On 7/27/2023 at 9:03 PM, JGmf said:

 

Read: stiffing the crew.  It is what it is. Can't candy-coat or use righteous justification.

On a previous Sky cruise my stateroom attendant informed me that she was salaried so it made no difference to the crew whether CA was removed or not and that she was not informed who did or did not remove the CA. This revelation caused some doubt so on my cruise last week I asked my SA in a roundabout way about salaries for staff etc. and he was more than happy to inform me that removal of CA made no difference to him whatsoever and that cash left for him was a real bonus. He also confirmed that he had no way of knowing who did or didn’t pay the CA but that he had an idea if a particularly hefty tip was left. 
 

[villauk]

4 hours ago, SCX22 said:

 

Not trying to be an apologist.  It is what it is when it comes to price increases.

 

Everyone is aware of the astronomical debt Princess and other cruise lines had to incur during the pandemic.  Inflation is up and interest rates are up.  That is…unless you have been living under a rock for the past few years.

Princess has to raise revenue to make ends meet and service their debt.  Defaulting would cause even bigger repercussions.  

This is the fairest way, in the sense of everyone gets what they paid for.  Those that book Princess Standard have to pay for RS.  This is better than increasing the fare across the board for all, when not everyone uses room service.

 

Even airlines are now cutting back benefits.  For those flying first domestically with no status, lounge access is no longer granted.  If they want lounge privileges they have to pay for a day pass.

 

On Viking, shore excursions are included, but sign ups are class based.  Those in suites get first dibs when signing up.  Everyone is guaranteed an excursion, but you’re not guaranteed a spot on you’re preferred excursion; you might be on an alternative one.  The all inclusive pricing they offer isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

 

Yes, we understand the need to increase revenue like every other brand, but to be told 3 weeks prior to your cruise that the amenities you paid for, which they stated were included with your package - remember they quoted the pricing not me, are now not included is not the way to do it! I fully paid for those items months ago.

[SCX22]

3 minutes ago, villauk said:

Yes, we understand the need to increase revenue like every other brand, but to be told 3 weeks prior to your cruise that the amenities you paid for, which they stated were included with your package - remember they quoted the pricing not me, are now not included is not the way to do it! I fully paid for those items months ago.

 

Cruises lines choose the start date arbitrarily and the Princess' lead time for the notice falls in line with other cruise lines.  RC and Carnival gave 2 to 3 weeks notice before they started charging for room service in 2017 and 2019, respectively.  RC and Carnival had a lot of grumbling passengers at the time, but all have seemed to move on.  

[MBandJSinUK]

I have read this long thread with interest and amusement. When the change was first announced on here, I figured it might be an issue so watched the TA webinar and in doing so could see clearly that this was pre-emptive marketing (or spin) to sell more.

 

Distilling it down:

- they need to increase their bottom line

- they will do this by pushing more people into Plus/premium packages - standard is much less profitable

- by making standard less attractive, they increase the perception that plus/premium is a better investment pushing more people who were undecided or borderline into upgrading

- the spin is to try and create more perception of “value”

- for those who don’t want/need plus/premium, they make more profit (or less loss)

in trying to create the casual dining “product” to create perceived value, they needed to move Alfredos/Gigis into the chargeable product

 

 

This, whilst sensible from a business perspective, created a few anomalies which is where the “spin” comes in:

- For Plus60/Premium80 - we will get the same other than the Alfredo’s/Gigis which is reduced to give a free casual dining in some other venues - some will win/more will lose on this

- For standard fares it will cost more to get what was previously inclusive - either we upgrade or pay the EXTRA as we go.

 

For guests that are after the cancellation window, that really sucks as it will cost more - for guest who can cancel free of charge, it still sucks but they still have the option to vote with their wallets. In the UK we don’t get a free cancellation but that discrepancy is not new.

 

I see the big anomaly for those guests that booked nice and early (pre-Dec 22) getting Plus50/Premium75 and can still cancel free of charge

- This group will either have to pay an upgrade to move to Plus60/Premium80 or will be hit with on board charges for services that were previously free

- For some the maths work out to just pay the new charges onboard

- The “spin” is added value whereas the value is made up with things of little interest or were previously free

- This creates negative perceptions and is a slap in the face for those booking early even if the upgrade or on board charges may not be financially significant in the context of the total fare

 

The gaping hole in their plans is for guests that booked nice and early (pre-Dec 22) getting Plus50/Premium and CANNOT still cancel free of charge or have already paid in full (voyages within the next 90 days). These guests will pay more than was agreed when booking.

 

I’m struggling to think of any other scenario where a retailer or service provider can legally agree a deal, advertise a specification, take full payment then change the terms requiring more money (ether upfront or at a later date) to deliver the agreed item/service. Some contracts allow for a change in specification/price but those change provisions have to be notified up-front in the contract.

 

So what will they do? Nothing, they will ride out this mini-storm.

 

What should they do? Either delay the implementation for 3 months to allow those on the old Plus/Premium to make a reasoned decision or Grandfather the facilities to those on the old Plus/Premium.

 

This action looks to undermine the goodwill we have in the brand. Time will tell if it backfires on them.

 

Having 33 cruises under our belts and sitting on 5 future cruise bookings (Only one on Plus50 fully paid), for us this is a slap in the face and in between reading this mega-thread, I’ve been looking at different cruise options for the future - elsewhere.

Edited July 30, 2023 by MBandJSinUK