I guess we missed the announcements. So now we pay for…?

[kywildcatfanone]

7 hours ago, Mike07 said:

Need to sell $7 long necks bought for pennies on the dollar and $10 cocktails with maybe a dollar of liquor.

Yep, that is what they are pushing. And it's working.

[kywildcatfanone]

6 hours ago, TheMichael said:

And don't look now at how much it costs for a beer at a baseball game!

Yeah, I've cited this in this thread and others for myself.  I can't bring myself to pay that kind of money for a drink.  I also do mostly take out at restaurants so I don't pay $4 for an iced tea.  Yeah, I'm that guy, and I'm okay with it.

[kywildcatfanone]

6 hours ago, TheMichael said:

I think, generationally speaking, the concept of "loyalty" to a company is falling by the wayside.

Agree.  It goes both ways.  You used to could work for a company for 30 years and retire.  Now, there is little to no loyalty from the company side (or the employee side).  

 

6 hours ago, TheMichael said:

Quite literally, it may be a case of saying "our deal may not be as good a deal as yesterday, but feel free to compare us to our competition, we'll be here when you're done." 

I have an upcoming cruise on Celebrity, and as has been mentioned in this thread and others, they are higher in everything than Princess.  As high as Princess is now on things like the drink packages, Celebrity is higher still.

6 hours ago, TheMichael said:

But airlines are busier than ever in these days of packing 'em in and giving 'em the minimum, and Vegas is making record revenues with ever-higher "resort fees," so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

Yep.  People are now trained to pay whatever is being charged and not blink an eye.  It's what it's become.  Look at the price of new trucks.  Did people stop buying eggs when they doubled in price?  

People are conditioned to reach deep into their pockets for virtually everything now, and these businesses know it and are using it to their advantage.

[villauk]

1 hour ago, kywildcatfanone said:

Did people stop buying eggs when they doubled in price?  

No, but as I said on the closed thread, I’d still expect half a dozen in my box when I came to use them after paying at the shop - something that is not happening on Princess at the moment.

[voljeep]

a 'Stella' on the plane yesterday was $8.99 - captive audience if you want one, you pay their prices

[memoak]

2 hours ago, kywildcatfanone said:

Yep, that is what they are pushing. And it's working.

Just like every bar I have ever gone to.  A pint of craft beer costs $7-$8 and I live in the heart of craft beer country 

[CruizinSusan70]

2 hours ago, voljeep said:

a 'Stella' on the plane yesterday was $8.99 - captive audience if you want one, you pay their prices

Marlon Brando would buy a "Stella" no matter what the cost. 🤔

[tellis90245]

Do we have any indication that anyone at Princess is paying any attention to this thread or the earlier one? Or are we just venting to each other?

Also, has anyone with an upcoming cruise gotten any communication from Princess saying you're not getting what you thought you were getting when you booked?

[Guest ldtr]

1 hour ago, tellis90245 said:

Do we have any indication that anyone at Princess is paying any attention to this thread or the earlier one? Or are we just venting to each other?

Also, has anyone with an upcoming cruise gotten any communication from Princess saying you're not getting what you thought you were getting when you booked?

This is Cruise Critic of course it is just venting to each other.

[brisalta]

On 8/6/2023 at 12:23 PM, PacnGoNow said:

Lido: The burger grill and slice/prego pizza are still free.  

 

So is flushing the toilet.

[brisalta]

2 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Marlon Brando would buy a "Stella" no matter what the cost. 🤔

 

Ah, but that  that would be a real Stella and not some over priced swill.

[suzyed]

So now we get 2 "free casual dinners" with the New Princess Plus.   The NEW Plus raised the fee to $60/pp/day and now we pay for what was previously free. Got it.
So someone with the Plus package sailing on a 7 day cruise gets 2 free casual dinners.  Others who are sailing on 14, 25, 32, etc day cruises only get the same 2 free dinners even though we are paying $60/pp/day for 25 days.   Does that seem right?  Perhaps they could have provided for 2 free per week of the sailing? But no.  It's 2 free, I guess even if you are doing a 110 World Cruise.   WOW.  This is new level nickel and dimeing.

 

[voljeep]

7 minutes ago, suzyed said:

So now we get 2 "free casual dinners" with the New Princess Plus.   The NEW Plus raised the fee to $60/pp/day and now we pay for what was previously free. Got it.
So someone with the Plus package sailing on a 7 day cruise gets 2 free casual dinners.  Others who are sailing on 14, 25, 32, etc day cruises only get the same 2 free dinners even though we are paying $60/pp/day for 25 days.   Does that seem right?  Perhaps they could have provided for 2 free per week of the sailing? But no.  It's 2 free, I guess even if you are doing a 110 World Cruise.   WOW.  This is new level nickel and dimeing.

 

I think it's great for our next 2 scheduled cruises!  We even already upgrade to Premier on our 2024 cruise to get 2 specialty dinners ... it was only $20 pp per day

[suzyed]

On 8/6/2023 at 2:57 PM, Steelers36 said:

You say you have seen references.  There is a large thread discussing all of the changes in detail and with varied opinions.  Casual Dining new menus have been posted as well. 

 

There was no change to CC Benefits in this last set of changes.

 

Casual Dining has always had free locations and for-fee locations.  The change here is that Alfredo's/Gigi's will be for-fee going forward.

 

The info provided in Post #2 is not really accurate.  The for-fee casual dining locales will offer a prix-fixe option for $15/pp whereby guest gets an App, a Main, and a Dessert.  However, the menus all have a la carte pricing, so if you just want one item, you can do so.  

 

Standard burgers, pizza, ice cream on Lido remain free.  Only Alfredo's /Gigi's affected.

 

Yes, there is a one-time charge per guest for using Ocean Now to order food/drink via the App or cabin TV.  If you can arrange it so that only one guest orders all, you can get by with one service charge of $15.  A phone call to Room Service to order something is $5 - per call, but that is covered if you have already paid the $15 fee.

The previously free (with a purchase of a glass of wine)Tapas/Sushi in Vines is now a charge item. Salty Dog is a charge venue....we did it once and it was horrible. Won't do that again.

[suzyed]

5 minutes ago, voljeep said:

I think it's great for our next 2 scheduled cruises!  We even already upgrade to Premier on our 2024 cruise to get 2 specialty dinners ... it was only $20 pp per day

And that wouldn't be too bad a deal on a short cruise but it is not a good deal on say a 25 day cruise, just JMHO. 

[suzyed]

2 hours ago, tellis90245 said:

Do we have any indication that anyone at Princess is paying any attention to this thread or the earlier one? Or are we just venting to each other?

Also, has anyone with an upcoming cruise gotten any communication from Princess saying you're not getting what you thought you were getting when you booked?

Nope

 

[voljeep]

1 minute ago, suzyed said:

And that wouldn't be too bad a deal on a short cruise but it is not a good deal on say a 25 day cruise, just JMHO. 

I 100% agree - just taking what Princess is currently offering ... which we all know now is subject to change by increasing costs and reducing prior inclusions.  

 

Seems like if after final payment - whatever you booked is what you got, no exceptions

[suzyed]

On 8/8/2023 at 6:35 AM, kywildcatfanone said:

Cruise lines no longer care about loyalty.  They have figured out that blue medallion people will spend as much, if not more than black medallion people.  Therefore, loyalty benefits are reduced/removed/changed to benefit the cruise line, so that revenue producing items can replace them.  Loyalty is no longer a consideration. 

And with the cruise line demonstrating their lack of loyalty so will the long time Princess cruisers. Many of us will be cruise shopping and comparing.

[suzyed]

On 8/6/2023 at 3:56 PM, memoak said:

What company is not run by pencil pushers ?  Look at how much it costs to go to Disneyland. Are there that many new rides ?  I don’t think so

And the new guy running Princess is from Disney....explains a lot.

[bassmk]

On the Princess site in my booking information, it itemizes all of the things included with my Premier package. It's possible I'm overlooking something, but I feel like it's 100% worth the cost. I'm open to someone showing me what I'm overlooking. I fully understand Princess is trying to make as much money as possible, so I know I'm not getting anything "for free."

 

I added up every item that I will use with the cost they listed and it adds up to $1332.38pp value. I excluded the cost of: free medallion shipping, photo package, fitness classes, Princess prizes, but including those things, the total becomes $1650.67pp. That also doesn't include not having to pay the extra fees that are now charged all over the ship if you don't purchase a Plus or Premier package.

 

The price difference right now between Princess Standard and Princess Premier for that sailing is $580. Again, I truly am open to learning if I'm wrong or not taking something into consideration. To me, it seems like a good deal, but I certainly don't want to spend extra money if I don't want to. I just don't feel like I am based on my math.

[kywildcatfanone]

15 minutes ago, suzyed said:

And with the cruise line demonstrating their lack of loyalty so will the long time Princess cruisers. Many of us will be cruise shopping and comparing.

While I agree with you, I think people used to Princess will find princess is still better priced than say Celebrity.

[Guest ldtr]

17 minutes ago, suzyed said:

And with the cruise line demonstrating their lack of loyalty so will the long time Princess cruisers. Many of us will be cruise shopping and comparing.

As other cruisers on other lines are doing the same.

 

Comparing is always good.

[Guest ldtr]

2 minutes ago, kywildcatfanone said:

While I agree with you, I think people used to Princess will find princess is still better priced than say Celebrity.

Yep, that matches what I have found.

[Cruise Raider]

6 minutes ago, bassmk said:

On the Princess site in my booking information, it itemizes all of the things included with my Premier package. It's possible I'm overlooking something, but I feel like it's 100% worth the cost. I'm open to someone showing me what I'm overlooking. I fully understand Princess is trying to make as much money as possible, so I know I'm not getting anything "for free."

 

I added up every item that I will use with the cost they listed and it adds up to $1332.38pp value. I excluded the cost of: free medallion shipping, photo package, fitness classes, Princess prizes, but including those things, the total becomes $1650.67pp. That also doesn't include not having to pay the extra fees that are now charged all over the ship if you don't purchase a Plus or Premier package.

 

The price difference right now between Princess Standard and Princess Premier for that sailing is $580. Again, I truly am open to learning if I'm wrong or not taking something into consideration. To me, it seems like a good deal, but I certainly don't want to spend extra money if I don't want to. I just don't feel like I am based on my math.

That’s pretty much what hat I am seeing as well.   People sometimes get stuck in that ‘it’s used to be free mentality’ while everything else is going up trifold.  Well, it’s just not like that anymore and they can be mad and stay home, try to find something new (like camping) or they can deal with it.  The packages are the best deal going!  We just upgraded on 5 of our future cruises to the premier package .. such a great deal.  

 

[roadster08]

 

13 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

That’s pretty much what hat I am seeing as well.   People sometimes get stuck in that ‘it’s used to be free mentality’ while everything else is going up trifold.  Well, it’s just not like that anymore and they can be mad and stay home, try to find something new (like camping) or they can deal with it.  The packages are the best deal going!  We just upgraded on 5 of our future cruises to the premier package .. such a great deal.  

 

 

 

Edited August 10, 2023 by roadster08