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

[joejoe 59]

On 8/7/2023 at 5:03 AM, kywildcatfanone said:

Nothing has been sent to booked passengers.

We have received no updates regarding the new pricing here in Australia.  We have the old plus package & cruise in January. 

[mrstmaxx]

Just heard from Princess. I can’t figure out how to copy what they said but basically it was - ‘too bad. You were given the opportunity to spend more money to upgrade (although I don’t recall my ta telling us that)’.  I responded - that doesn’t help.  Why couldn’t you grandfather people in who already spent a lot of money.

 

I’m done. I’ll pay the $15 on the world cruises but not the other 5 cruises.  

[CruizinSusan70]

7 hours ago, Thrak said:

On cruises in 2022 the limit was $12. Today the limit is $15. Things have changed...

But on our Discovery cruise in 2022, just like our Majestic cruise in 2023, our Plus 40 package covered every drink we wanted at Good Spirits at Sea.  So, things were the same.

[CruizinSusan70]

6 hours ago, LittleFish1976 said:

One of the other subsets of cruisers will be those who are unaware of the changes until they board their ship over the next few weeks and months and think 'WTH?' when they come up against an unexpected and unwanted charge on their account for something they had already paid for.

I think that subset will be thinking of different letters, like WT*?

Edited August 14, 2023 by CruizinSusan70

[LittleFish1976]

1 hour ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

I think that subset will be thinking of different letters, like WT*?

I was trying to keep it acceptable for this audience!

[CruizinSusan70]

13 minutes ago, LittleFish1976 said:

I was trying to keep it acceptable for this audience!

The way that Princess is going about this entire process deserves a little bit more intense verbiage.

[SargassoPirate]

I'm a bit slow sometimes, but it finally dawned on me why the push to Plus and Premier has me irritated.  Princess has adopted the same business model as the automakers and cable TV companies - but at least for now we can still book a standard cruise and go a la carte.  Try that with a car dealer or the cable company.. 

 

Try to find a basic car on the dealer's lot.  They are all loaded up with "convenience" packages with one up to three or four tiers.  Full of stuff you may not want, but to get a feature that you do, you have to accept a "convenience" package.  Used to be you could order a car and then choose from a list of options to equip it the way you wanted.

 

Most basic cable plans consist of about what you can get if you stick up an antenna.  Then they offer tiers and in order to get the channels you really want, you have to get a package with 200 other channels that you'll never watch.  

 

As long as I can go a la carte, give me the standard cruise.  I don't want the premium desserts, I don't want to pay for what used to be complimentary casual dining, I don't want fitness classes, I don't need a special seating area in the theater, and I don't want specialty dining. 

 

Signed,

Old School Boomer and Proud Of It.

[susancruzs]

Great post, Pete from someone purchasing Plus.  I relate to your comments, even automotive because I worked for VWoA for 30+ years.  I had a retiree car program but purchased my Jetta because cars are getting complicated.  I'm getting to the age where I might not need a car.  I live "downtown", things are close by and bus is 50 cents a ride.

 

I miss the easy life style from my early cruises, stick with Princess because of their employees.  I've tried Celebrity a few times, didn't get the vibe I wanted.  I'm a proud baby boomer, too!

Edited August 14, 2023 by susancruzs

[MissP22]

1 hour ago, SargassoPirate said:

As long as I can go a la carte, give me the standard cruise.  I don't want the premium desserts, I don't want to pay for what used to be complimentary casual dining, I don't want fitness classes, I don't need a special seating area in the theater, and I don't want specialty dining. 

That's the part that gets me irritated. 

I suppose I'll find some of the included food which is comparable, so really how much are they going to save in the long run?

[memoak]

3 hours ago, MissP22 said:

That's the part that gets me irritated. 

I suppose I'll find some of the included food which is comparable, so really how much are they going to save in the long run?

The only dining that was free before was the pizzeria and on my 7 cruises currently booked only one of them has a pizzeria so nothing really changes for us. We rarely use room service or use the app to order. We get the plus to save money on our cocktails (8-10 per person per day). We don’t need to upgrade and have always gotten the $15 drinks regardless of which plus package we had purchased 

[whitecap]

20 hours ago, suzyed said:

What exactly should we ask?

 

Dear Mr. Padgett;

I am writing to express my concern regarding the latest changes that Disney, uh, Princess has made to the Plus and Premium Drink Packages including the higher cost and the removal of previously "no cost" items to the drink packages that are now at a cost.  As I have reviewed these changes along with the ever-diminishing loyalty amenities, I find myself describing the current situation as "Mickey Mouse" like, and wondering if the person(s) who developed these changes and those that approved them are from another world, such as Pluto.

These changes, which by the way seem to have started when a former Disney executive joined Princess, have caused many conversations among the most loyal of Princess cruisers and almost to a Tea cup, they agree that the diminished loyalty amenities and current changes are just plain Goofy.  Things are so confusing that not even Buzz Light Year can keep up.  Even Donald and Daisy can't Duck fast enough from all the disparaging comments.  When the Pixie Dust settled, even Tinker Bell couldn't calm the masses.

Although I have written this with tongue in cheek, I still find myself asking: 

Is the new goal of Princess to replace loyal cruisers with first time/family cruisers?

Has the reduction of Elite in cabin amenities really reduced operation cost?

Did anyone consider that charging a fee for room service will reduce the "tips" received by room service staff?

Did anyone consider how adding a fee to previously free food venue would be accepted by cruisers? 

Did anyone consider grandfathering in those passengers who had already purchased drink packages?

Why weren't ALL BOOKED PASSENGERS, regardless of whether or not they had purchased a drink package, informed of the changes, and here is the crucial words, before implementation?

Luckily for most, we are no Dumbos and we can, with the help of Aladdin's lamp, see a very Frozen future for Princess.

Sincerely,

A very loyal Princess cruiser now sitting on the fence. 

 

 

Edited August 14, 2023 by whitecap

[voljeep]

4 minutes ago, whitecap said:

previously free food venues

venue - singular - Alfredos/Gigi's - and not even on all ships

[whitecap]

10 minutes ago, voljeep said:

venue - singular - Alfredos/Gigi's - and not even on all ships

Good catch, thanks.

[MissP22]

1 hour ago, memoak said:

The only dining that was free before was the pizzeria and on my 7 cruises currently booked only one of them has a pizzeria so nothing really changes for us. We rarely use room service or use the app to order. We get the plus to save money on our cocktails (8-10 per person per day). We don’t need to upgrade and have always gotten the $15 drinks regardless of which plus package we had purchased 

It certainly affects each person in a different way. We have never used room service- ever but did use GiGi many times.

We always use the app to order food/desserts only because some items are not available unless you order that way. If I could get it myself,  I would like drinks.

 

 

[suzyed]

1 hour ago, whitecap said:

Dear Mr. Padgett;

I am writing to express my concern regarding the latest changes that Disney, uh, Princess has made to the Plus and Premium Drink Packages including the higher cost and the removal of previously "no cost" items to the drink packages that are now at a cost.  As I have reviewed these changes along with the ever-diminishing loyalty amenities, I find myself describing the current situation as "Mickey Mouse" like, and wondering if the person(s) who developed these changes and those that approved them are from another world, such as Pluto.

These changes, which by the way seem to have started when a former Disney executive joined Princess, have caused many conversations among the most loyal of Princess cruisers and almost to a Tea cup, they agree that the diminished loyalty amenities and current changes are just plain Goofy.  Things are so confusing that not even Buzz Light Year can keep up.  Even Donald and Daisy can't Duck fast enough from all the disparaging comments.  When the Pixie Dust settled, even Tinker Bell couldn't calm the masses.

Although I have written this with tongue in cheek, I still find myself asking: 

Is the new goal of Princess to replace loyal cruisers with first time/family cruisers?

Has the reduction of Elite in cabin amenities really reduced operation cost?

Did anyone consider that charging a fee for room service will reduce the "tips" received by room service staff?

Did anyone consider how adding a fee to previously free food venue would be accepted by cruisers? 

Did anyone consider grandfathering in those passengers who had already purchased drink packages?

Why weren't ALL BOOKED PASSENGERS, regardless of whether or not they had purchased a drink package, informed of the changes, and here is the crucial words, before implementation?

Luckily for most, we are no Dumbos and we can, with the help of Aladdin's lamp, see a very Frozen future for Princess.

Sincerely,

A very loyal Princess cruiser now sitting on the fence. 

 

 

Well that's language he certainly should understand! Well done.

Edited August 14, 2023 by suzyed

[amandawalker1]

On 8/11/2023 at 12:29 PM, CruizinSusan70 said:

If you're on a 4 or 5 day cruise, your investment to upgrade from plus to premier is 160/200.  The two nights of specialty dining is worth 156.  So for the additional 4 or 44 dollars you would get all of the other peripheral items included with the premier package.  For cruises that are 6+ days only you can determine if spending an extra 84 or more dollars over and above the specialty dining cost is worth it or not and how much value it is to you.

I think you have summed that up well and explained why many are so annoyed. It’s quite a good deal for short cruises, but stupid cost for 23 days I am booked on. The upgrade to premier is just not justifiable for the cost, I will just pay what extras I really want. 
However, this whole implementation has left me feeling very anti princess. Have two booked which I can not change. But booked my next cruise with Virgin, which I would never have even looked at before, and Wow, everything is included, and I have to say I’m impressed. So after 15 princess cruises, I’m off, oh and they match the elite status from first cruise.

[SargassoPirate]

32 minutes ago, amandawalker1 said:

I think you have summed that up well and explained why many are so annoyed. 

Nothing like annoying your customer base to help your bottom line. How did that work out with Bud Light?

[Guest ldtr]

22 hours ago, LittleFish1976 said:

One of the other subsets of cruisers will be those who are unaware of the changes until they board their ship over the next few weeks and months and think 'WTH?' when they come up against an unexpected and unwanted charge on their account for something they had already paid for.

 

 

Princess is now sending out notice to those that are booked. Just go a notice linked to my October cruise.

[villauk]

4 minutes ago, ldtr said:

Princess is now sending out notice to those that are booked. Just go a notice linked to my October cruise.

Great that they are sending to those going in October. What about those sailing this week on the first sailings with the new changes - you’d have thought they would have been the first to be informed 🤷‍♀️?

[Megamixer]

12 minutes ago, ldtr said:

Princess is now sending out notice to those that are booked. Just go a notice linked to my October cruise.

We're booked for a cruise the end of September and I received the email today informing me I was in "steerage" unless I upgraded.

[tellis90245]

11 minutes ago, ldtr said:

Princess is now sending out notice to those that are booked. Just go a notice linked to my October cruise.

I got mine also. I will say it is slightly less deceptive than the original press release. But they are still trying to make it sound like charging us for stuff we thought was free when we booked is somehow a benefit to us. That kind of nonsense makes me more angry than the actual charges themselves. 

[whitecap]

18 minutes ago, ldtr said:

Princess is now sending out notice to those that are booked. Just go a notice linked to my October cruise.

We just got the email as well (sailing Jan 2024)however, there is a contradiction between the email and the Princess website. 

Website, under FAQ states that the $5 room service fee only applies to room service orders "placed by stateroom phone". 

The email states:  OceanNow delivery:  To ensure you can have whatever you need during your cruise delivered directly to you, a nominal access fee of $14.99 per guest per voyage will now apply to OceanNow deliver." 

Next paragraph:  Room service fee:  "A $5 delivery fee will be charged for all room service orders (except complimentary stateroom breakfast orders)." 

No where does it exempt those that have paid the OceanNow fee.   

Am I confused or is this just another poorly written message from them.

Edited August 14, 2023 by whitecap

[SargassoPirate]

23 minutes ago, whitecap said:

We just got the email as well (sailing Jan 2024)however, there is a contradiction between the email and the Princess website. 

Website, under FAQ states that the $5 room service fee only applies to room service orders "placed by stateroom phone". 

The email states:  OceanNow delivery:  To ensure you can have whatever you need during your cruise delivered directly to you, a nominal access fee of $14.99 per guest per voyage will now apply to OceanNow deliver." 

Next paragraph:  Room service fee:  "A $5 delivery fee will be charged for all room service orders (except complimentary stateroom breakfast orders)." 

No where does it exempt those that have paid the OceanNow fee.   

Am I confused or is this just another poorly written message from them.

Well, at the end they did say:

 

"Come Feel The Love"

[Guest ldtr]

Funny thing is that if Princess just raised fares by the same amount as these changes will cost most basic fare passengers,  most likely no one would have even noticed

[Thrak]

28 minutes ago, whitecap said:

Next paragraph:  Room service fee:  "A $5 delivery fee will be charged for all room service orders (except complimentary stateroom breakfast orders)." 

No where does it exempt those that have paid the OceanNow fee.   

 

Ordering to your room via Ocean Now is not considered "Room Service". Idiotic of course but it's "The New Princess"...