Premium Desserts question

[Sea Hag]

On 8/2/2023 at 7:04 PM, macandlucy said:

I had one of these. The ice cream was not gelato and the brownie was stale. There were a couple of cheap lollipops stuck in the ice cream and chocolate sauce making the lollipop stick sticky, if I wanted to eat it, I would not be able to without de-stickifying it. I wouldn’t eat one per cruise now, and would never eat two per day. I think this is a non-benefit benefit. 

Looking at these, I'd think of it more as a punishment than a benefit.

[Camberley]

9 minutes ago, Sea Hag said:

Looking at these, I'd think of it more as a punishment than a benefit.

Ah funny you say that: I believe they are trialling these abominations at the moment with a view to force-feeding them to those who hog sun loungers. Finally a deterrent that should work.

[Abercrombie2019]

2 hours ago, kathy49 said:

I am disgusted to think of all the 1/3 eaten glasses that must be sitting around from those that are just taking it because "it is included".  Really a poor choice to include. Also as described above 1/2 eaten pieces of stale cake as I doubt that is served often enough to keep fresh.  Seems like some feeble attempt to cater to their sugar addicted clientele? Most are reporting that the standard deserts these days are not quality and not interesting anymore.

We tried the premium cakes on the Regal (July) and unfortunately they were stale.  They displayed the cakes at Gelato in a very hard to see location - so no one was ordering them.  A week into the cruise we noticed that the cakes had moved to a prominent display case in the International Cafe.  That seemed to solve the problem of the stale cakes. 

 

I'm always amazed when a dessert looks like it will be delicious, but ends up being almost flavorless.  The icing on the red velvet cake had no real flavor to it.  I do like a good dessert every so often, and this wasn't it.

 

We also tried the premium ice cream sundae - but we asked the woman at Gelato not to bother with the lollipops and extras.  She was relieved (and said the hardest thing was trying to remove the wrapper from the lollipop with her gloves on).  It really was just ice cream, fudge sauce and a piece of brownie.  We enjoyed it, but wished that they didn't put the chocolate and sprinkles on the glass.  I imagine that all of that chocolate ends up in the dishwasher because there was no way you could even get it off the glass.

[MissP22]

3 hours ago, Abercrombie2019 said:

I'm always amazed when a dessert looks like it will be delicious, but ends up being almost flavorless.  The icing on the red velvet cake had no real flavor to it.  I do like a good dessert every so often, and this wasn't it.

I'm always amassed that the Princess cakes usually all taste the same. The only difference being the decorations applied. 

On our last Royal class ship they had a dessert afternoon in the buffet where they had many cakes offered. They all looked very nice but lacked any distinguishable flavor... just lots of whipped cream.

[startedwithamouse]

1 hour ago, MissP22 said:

I'm always amassed that the Princess cakes usually all taste the same. The only difference being the decorations applied. 

On our last Royal class ship they had a dessert afternoon in the buffet where they had many cakes offered. They all looked very nice but lacked any distinguishable flavor... just lots of whipped cream.

It's not real whipped cream either, that would have flavour. Everything at a buffet is quantity, not quality.

 

[canadarocks]

I’m hoping that by February 2024 they will realize the stupidity of this and just give gelato as part of the Plus/Premiere package. Again my wishful thinking… 

[marden1970]

4 hours ago, MissP22 said:

I'm always amassed that the Princess cakes usually all taste the same. The only difference being the decorations applied. 

On our last Royal class ship they had a dessert afternoon in the buffet where they had many cakes offered. They all looked very nice but lacked any distinguishable flavor... just lots of whipped cream.

They had that on our last cruise (March/April) on the Crown as well.  I agree that they were not very tasty.

[arizonaperson]

Most posts on cc,,passengers have not enjoyed them. I wonder how many passengers have purchased them out right ?without an included package??

[curlybelle2]

On 8/2/2023 at 4:14 PM, chh said:

The OP asked for a list of the premium deserts. Photo hopefully added below from Sky in May. They didn’t add any of the sweets/candy on Sky. Just ice cream, sauce and cream with a cake on top.

Thanks for the picture and info. Might try The Leaning Tower since I love tiramisu. But one during the week is more than enough. 

[antsp]

2 hours ago, arizonaperson said:

Most posts on cc,,passengers have not enjoyed them. I wonder how many passengers have purchased them out right ?without an included package??

Just thinking the same, how many have they sold, not given away as par of the packages

[mrell345]

On 8/2/2023 at 9:05 PM, Bill B said:

With the 'Plus' package, these Premium Deserts (2 per day) are almost as useless a perk as the Exercise Classes (2 per cruise).

With how those things look, better two desserts per cruise and two exercise classes per day to work off the calories.

[stevenr597]

Princess should fire whoever is in charge of customer relations in respect to their decision to not grandfather those who have already bought these packages into the added benefits they are no being denied.

Similar in a way to celebrity reducing privileges to their Aqua Class.

The cruise lines may save pennies, but it will cost them big in good will. 

[memoak]

1 hour ago, stevenr597 said:

Princess should fire whoever is in charge of customer relations in respect to their decision to not grandfather those who have already bought these packages into the added benefits they are no being denied.

Similar in a way to celebrity reducing privileges to their Aqua Class.

The cruise lines may save pennies, but it will cost them big in good will. 

All cruise lines have always done these sorts of thing since I started cruising in 1992 and they have always sailed full. People act like this is something new. It is not

Edited September 2, 2023 by memoak

[stevenr597]

1 hour ago, memoak said:

All cruise lines have always done these sorts of thing since I started cruising in 1992 and they have always sailed full. People act like this is something new. It is not

We have also been sailing for many years, and it appear that the “nickel & dining” is definitely on the increase.  

And even with that, if they want to add more benefits, but charge more, one can argue in favor of this, but not to grandfather in the individuals who have in good faith purchased this before the “upgrade” is just poor policy. 

[memoak]

28 minutes ago, stevenr597 said:

We have also been sailing for many years, and it appear that the “nickel & dining” is definitely on the increase.  

And even with that, if they want to add more benefits, but charge more, one can argue in favor of this, but not to grandfather in the individuals who have in good faith purchased this before the “upgrade” is just poor policy. 

They have never grandfathered things. Back in the day we had an unlimited alcohol package which became 15 drinks with little notice. 

[bronzey214]

I don’t have the unlimited premium dessert package but am usually successful in asking the crew at Coffee and Cones for a cup of ice cream with a little bit of strawberry syrup on it - which is what I want more than the abominations that the premium desserts are.

[MsSoCalCruiser]

On 8/2/2023 at 4:00 AM, Malleykatt said:

On Sky now I asked if I could have just a scoop of gelato instead of the offer and he said no. The desert offered is just as disgusting in real life... no thanks Princess I would not call it a perk.

I wonder if they would let us have a scoop of sorbet if we were allergic to dairy?

[stevenr597]

2 hours ago, memoak said:

They have never grandfathered things. Back in the day we had an unlimited alcohol package which became 15 drinks with little notice. 

Actually, I believe that you made my point.  

Princess and other cruise lines (Celebrity comes to mind) have had no problem in reducing benefits (unlimited drinks to 15/day)  without a refund, but in the case of Princess Plus, they have extended benefits, but have not made it retroactive to individuals who already have pre-purchased the plan in advance.

 

[Lucky TGO]

I still like this one best of all and it's free in the dining room every night it’s a Volcano 🥰😋

My friend Gregg will agree. 😋

The Captain of The Rowboat,

Tony

[MissP22]

9 hours ago, memoak said:

They have never grandfathered things. Back in the day we had an unlimited alcohol package which became 15 drinks with little notice. 

Yes, but that was a cutback to what was a reasonable amount for even some heavy drinkers, not an elimination. 

[MissP22]

5 hours ago, Lucky TGO said:

I still like this one best of all and it's free in the dining room every night it’s a Volcano 🥰😋

My friend Gregg will agree. 😋

The Captain of The Rowboat,

Tony

 

 

The Volcano is no longer available. 

[stevenr597]

3 hours ago, MissP22 said:

The Volcano is no longer available. 

As long as they have that marvelous area in the Buffet filled up with deserts, as well as the International Cafe in the atrium, I have no problem.

[Oxo]

On 8/1/2023 at 8:47 AM, kywildcatfanone said:

Those "premium" desserts look disgusting.  

Can or may we close our eyes when we eat one? 

[kywildcatfanone]

18 minutes ago, Oxo said:

Can or may we close our eyes when we eat one? 

I think you have to decide that for yourself.  If you are unsure, ask a shipmate for guidance.

[swabs]

Not sure where to put my comments  - so here goes - 

They’ve killed Alfredo’s ! No queues and very quiet! I feel sorry for the staff - I have never known it so quiet !

 

What are the management up to??