Just got an email outlining the "NEW" offerings

[dreaminofcruisin]

3 hours ago, JG&Lcruisingnewbies said:

I got an email from Princess today

 

no, not THAT email

 

one linked to my cruise in a few days telling me I need to select my arrival time. The one Princess got rid of weeks ago.

 

Princess are really on the ball aren’t they 😂 😂 

 

Got the same email today....sail on Saturday.

Also have not received THAT email......for either this cruise, the next 2 in 2023 or the next one in 2024...

 

I'm in the U.S.

Booked the 2023 ones direct and the 2024 one through a CVP.

 

[Blue Midget]

1 hour ago, JGmf said:

On the matter of grandfathering-in older standard bookings to that they wouldn't be subject to the changes: that would be a flat-out operational nightmare for on-board staff, the IT department, and the Princess company....a mess that would drag-out deep into next year. 

Maybe so, but to deliberately not grandfather in packages purchased prior to December 2022 is probably logistically and operationally more complex than doing so would have been. It is this in particular that comes across as especially money grabbing and makes the underlying company ethos appear questionable.

[Veinless]

1 hour ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

A slice or two can be obtained up on Lido at Slice.  The "added benefit" would be the inclusion of the other casual venues such as Salty Dog or O'Malleys that were previously charged for and now would be included twice per sailing for package holders.  The downfall of course is the twice is for 4 day or 24 day cruises.

 Slice isn’t an option on all ships. I wonder what they’re going to do there?

[CruizinSusan70]

47 minutes ago, Thrak said:

 

Not so. We've booked Plus every time we've cruised since it came out. We were booked in a Lido deck balcony on Grand Princess for 32 days with Plus this coming fall. However, we added on 31 days to the front end of the cruise and booked those days in an inside cabin with no package.

 

Will we miss Plus? You can bet your butt we will but we got the extra 31 days of food, lodging, and entertainment for the same cost as the original flight to Melbourne and the cost of the hotel there for one night. We will "suffer through" without Plus for the first 31 days of the cruise. It may well make the last 32 days with the large balcony and the Plus fare seem even better when we get to that point.

If you had the plus on the front end you could have at least stocked up on soda, water and beer to enjoy on the back end.  63 days....my DH is jealous.  But even he would miss our doggie for 2+ months.

[JGmf]

10 minutes ago, Blue Midget said:

......to deliberately not grandfather in packages purchased prior to December 2022 is probably logistically and operationally more complex than doing so would have been. It is this in particular that comes across as especially money grabbing and makes the underlying company ethos appear questionable.

 

Totally, totally agree that not grandfathering-in the $50 PP packages was a cheapo move that could've been implemented rather easily.  Same thing for adding more than the 2 casual dining meals for cruises longer than 7 days.  On those two counts, Princess blew it.

 

[villauk]

39 minutes ago, dreaminofcruisin said:

Got the same email today....sail on Saturday

 

Wonder why pax who are due to sail imminently aren’t receiving ‘the’ email, especially when we’ve been receiving all these other ‘informative’ notifications 😏. Perhaps they are waiting until we board as they are too embarrassed to inform us this close to sailing (hoping pax on cruises further out will forget by the time they cruise), and prefer the onboard staff to deal with the fallout instead 🤷‍♀️.

[memoak]

7 minutes ago, Veinless said:

 Slice isn’t an option on all ships. I wonder what they’re going to do there?

I have been on 52 Princess cruises and cannot recall a ship that I was not able to get a slice of pizza on

[villauk]

4 minutes ago, JGmf said:

 

Totally, totally agree that not grandfathering-in the $50 PP packages was a cheapo move that could've been implemented rather easily.  Same thing for adding more than the 2 casual dining meals for cruises longer than 7 days.  On those two counts, Princess blew it.

 

 

Exactly: would have been so easy to do.

[ceilidh1]

2 minutes ago, memoak said:

I have been on 52 Princess cruises and cannot recall a ship that I was not able to get a slice of pizza on

Majestic?

[Oxo]

7 minutes ago, memoak said:

I have been on 52 Princess cruises and cannot recall a ship that I was not able to get a slice of pizza on

Agree, we have 55 Princess cruises! 

[lesharona]

18 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

It looks like you have not been sailing Princess for some time.  

 

You can read all about Platinum and Elite benefits on Princess.com under the Captain's Circle pages.  There is a download PDF with the details.  There have been some changes and additions. 

 

Free Internet (you called it Wifi) has been gone for a long time now.  Internet access is sold by the voyage or by the day.  It is unlimited.  Platinum and Elite can purchase for 50% off the rates.  It is included in the Plus and Premier cruise fare packages.

 

No, Plus and Premier have nothing to do with Captain's Circle member levels.

 

Good to know, thank you for the clarification.

[Thrak]

22 minutes ago, Veinless said:

 Slice isn’t an option on all ships. I wonder what they’re going to do there?

 

14 minutes ago, memoak said:

I have been on 52 Princess cruises and cannot recall a ship that I was not able to get a slice of pizza on

 

Likely still called Prego on some ships. I think Coral had a different name as well but no idea what each ship has. I agree that there should be pizza on Lido deck on all Princess ships.

[ceilidh1]

7 minutes ago, Oxo said:

Agree, we have 55 Princess cruises! 

Majestic has a noodle bar where pizza usually is...

[memoak]

15 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

Majestic?

I have only been on that ship once and I recall there being a pizz station in the Marketplace  This was right after the restart. We mostly cruise on Grand class ships just don’t like the noise level on the Royal class ships

Edited August 15, 2023 by memoak

[NoWhiners]

Hi all

 

Well, I just got off the phone with my TA, after explaining my issue (Summary: Had the 'old' Plus 50', went to my booking to see what it would cost to upgrade, got back "$1K each" 😮 So, not just the difference. It's on post #126 on this thread if you want the details.) After 3 hours with my TA talking to at least 5 different Princess agents, they said "don't worry, it's OK, we don't see this on our side".  Along the way, it turns out my TA can't login (like me), and can't empty my cart. Neither could any of the Princess people.

 

So yeah, no worries, it's all good. I told my TA I was concerned they were wrong and she said she thinks they are wrong and had flagged my booking and will talk to her boss. She also documented all that she went thru today to make no progress.

 

One agent did say that they were having trouble with their consumer online site, so that's why I can't always log in. I sure hope my cruise doesn't get cancelled because Princess is so inept.

 

Good luck everyone 😉

[CruizinSusan70]

25 minutes ago, Veinless said:

 Slice isn’t an option on all ships. I wonder what they’re going to do there?

Those on the Majestic will have to go to Alfredo's and pay for it.  Not familiar with any other older ships that don't have Slice.

[CruizinSusan70]

8 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

Majestic has a noodle bar where pizza usually is...

And it's absolutely delicious.

[Veinless]

12 minutes ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Those on the Majestic will have to go to Alfredo's and pay for it.  Not familiar with any other older ships that don't have Slice.

Darn. First time sailing Princess and was looking forward to the pizza. Not going to bother paying extra for it though. Thank you for the information. 

[Skai]

"Princess handled this wrong."

Where and how many times have I read that before?

 

The correct way to have done this (and all future price increases/base-fare amenity reductions) was(is) to implement these changes on all future sailings not currently offered for sale.  I.E. -- cruises starting Dec. 2025.  That way, prospective cruise purchasers would know exactly what they were buying at the time of purchase.

 

I understand the need for Princess to remain competitive by continuing to offer (relatively) dynamic fares, and also find new ways to generate additional onboard revenue.  It still sucks that, as a standard(package) cruiser, I will be missing out on what was included in my fare at the time of booking. I was looking forward to a meal (or few) in Gigi's to be included with my sailing on the Discovery next spring.

 

Having not been overly impressed with the efficiency of OceanNow® delivery, it was still my understanding that the service was a key facet of the MedallionClass® experience.  Now, it is an additional charge to add it on?

 

Personally, I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to have been able to sail Princess before all of the numerous cutbacks throughout the years; before the aggressive moves towards the a la carte business model that has taken over the mainstream crusing industry as a whole.

 

Perhaps, it's finally time to move on from (mainstream) cruising altogether, so that we aren't left with a longing for (or even worse, resentment) for how it used to be.

Edited August 15, 2023 by Skai

[MamaFej]

41 minutes ago, JGmf said:

 

Totally, totally agree that not grandfathering-in the $50 PP packages was a cheapo move that could've been implemented rather easily.  Same thing for adding more than the 2 casual dining meals for cruises longer than 7 days.  On those two counts, Princess blew it.

 

My next cruise is 28 days. I have the "opportunity" to "upgrade" my current ($40)) Plus package and get the same number of casual meals as someone on a 5 day cruise. I can also get what look to be children's birthday party desserts 56 times and have a total of 2 fitness classes in which to burn them off. I think I'll pass. 

 

 

Yes, I know I can work out on my own, and I will. that's not the point. 

[Thrak]

25 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

Majestic has a noodle bar where pizza usually is...

 

24 minutes ago, memoak said:

I have only been on that ship once and I recall there being a pizz station in the Marketplace  This was right after the restart. We mostly cruise on Grand class ships just don’t like the noise level on the Royal class ships

 

We have never sailed on Majestic Princess. Can anybody here tell me what The Bistro section is in the buffet?

 

[LittleFish1976]

5 hours ago, 1cruiselvr said:

You are right, Celebrity charges more but we think it's worth it. We usually book when they have their special which includes perks in the pricing. I think we are done with Princess after this cruise. They should have grandfathered bookings and started their new program with new bookings. 

I agree about having a preferred line which seems like better value as well as what you said about grandfathering.

 

To me part of the 'cost' of a holiday is the fuss and bother the company you're booking and/or travelling with puts you to. I've got my first Princess cruise coming up in a couple of months and I doubt very much I would book with them again (I have one very expensive and long cruise booked with them for next year but I plan to now cancel that). What a fuss! They've changed the inclusions in my package twice since I booked as well as altering the basics of service.

 

My own go-to line is not more expensive and still has free room service including an extensive hot breakfast (not just cereals and pastries; imo an egg mc muffin is not a cooked breakfast!).

 

I'm disappointed as I wanted to like Princess but this level of complication, fuss and disregard for the passenger is not worth bothering with. There are better and easier options out there.

 

 

[cheetosrevil]

26 minutes ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Those on the Majestic will have to go to Alfredo's and pay for it.  Not familiar with any other older ships that don't have Slice.

Just did a review of the Princess deck plans. Here's a summary:

 

All ships except the ones I list below have Slice.

 

Princess Pizzeria - Coral, Island

 

Prego Pizzeria - Diamond, Regal, Royal, Sapphire

 

Chopsticks Noodle Bar - Majestic

 

List above includes the Star, but not the Sun.

[LittleFish1976]

9 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

Right, but we are one and the same for Princess in market sectors.

No email in Australia (for me anyway).

 

edit to add: but they did email me yesterday to ask me if I wanted to bid to upgrade my cabin

Edited August 15, 2023 by LittleFish1976

[cdngrl]

21 minutes ago, Skai said:

"Princess handled this wrong."

Where and how many times have I read that before?

 

The correct way to have done this (and all future price increases/base-fare amenity reductions) was(is) to implement these changes on all future sailings not currently offered for sale.  I.E. -- cruises starting Dec. 2025.  That way, prospective cruise purchasers would know exactly what they were buying at the time of purchase.

 

Perhaps, it's finally time to move on from (mainstream) cruising altogether, so that we aren't left with a longing for (or even worse, resentment) for how it used to be.

I don’t think they need to wait until December 2025, why couldn’t Princess implement these on NEW bookings as of yesterday? Anyone already with a booking number gets what they expected they were getting when they booked. Or for the packages, you get what you paid for when you purchased it. Don’t change the goalpost each time!

 

I’m close to feeling the resentment you mention. I know that the onboard experience is better than the shoreside but it’s exhausting keeping up with the changes (are any of them good changes?), the ignored emails and the dread if you have to call the 1-800 number.

Edited August 15, 2023 by cdngrl