Response from Princess to email re changes

[D&L Thomas]

I am currently onboard Caribbean Princess, on the first sailing affected by these new changes to the Plus and Premiere packages. This ship doesn’t have Alfredo’s/Gigi’s. The casual dining choices are Vines, Planks, and Steamers. All are open for dinner only, and Planks/Steamers are open on alternating nights.

We have the Plus package, for full disclosure, and can honestly say the changes haven’t affected us at all. We never ate dinner at any of the casual places; the menus didn’t appeal and early reviews weren’t great.

What is very noticeable is how few people are using OceanNow. Last year on this same cruise it was borderline ridiculous. Last year I saw people sitting in a hot tub have a plate of potato chips delivered; I saw people sitting in the Piazza have a whole meal delivered; and I listened to someone who said their two teenagers loved to hang out in their cabin and have multiple orders of pizza and cookies delivered all night long.

Yes, this is what they marketed: Anything you want, anywhere you are. But the fact is they don’t have nearly enough crew members to make good on that.

It’s a course correction. And it puts Princess more in line with charges on other comparable lines.

Edited August 29, 2023 by D&L Thomas

[memoak]

8 hours ago, Snaxmuppet said:

I had forgotten that you cannot remove CA from packages. Perhaps not including them in packages would give people the option as to who to tip... like in the old days. 

 

I see manually tipping as a much better option than included CA. It incentivises crew to go above and beyond. It gives satisfaction to the passenger that rewards great service. It gives satisfaction to the passenger as it does NOT reward bad service.

 

I would much prefer manual tipping for everyone. Gratuities should be just that... extra for crew that make an effort. It shouldn't be automatic as it then just becomes a subsidy for crew salary saving the cruise line a bit. It also just becomes part of the cruise fare as it is now. It might go to the crew but it isn't a gratuity in any way that I understand it.

That worked in the pool old days when there were few specialty dining areas and everything was traditional dining with the same wait staff every night. Now many people have multiple servers also in the old days there were people who skipped last nights dinner 

[Oxo]

Who of you now work for the Cruise line? It sounds that many of you do when you try to justify the price increase, cutback in perks, etc. 

Example: 'But do you understand that, based on the current dynamic, you're the least attractive type of passenger to any cruise line?  "Cruise fare" now means less to the cruise lines than "revenue per guest."  It's the entry point vs. the final outcome in terms of what they make per sailing.  And clearly they are focused on doing everything they can to elevate revenue per guest.  Even if it throws loyalty members and frugal cruisers under the bus.  Princess could easily have said "Platinum's and Elite's are grandfathered" and instead chose to accept the consequences of their ire.'

 

Personally I do NOT cruise to increase any Cruise Lines profit!!

I cruise to enjoy my remaining years with the best value for the $.

You may cruise for other reasons. Good for you! Pay for the extras that you don't need and trying to justify why Cruise Lines are raising prices. 

Example Celebrity now charging $2.00 for a Cookie.

JMHO!

. 

[memoak]

3 minutes ago, Oxo said:

Who of you now work for the Cruise line? It sounds that many of you do when you try to justify the price increase, cutback in perks, etc. 

Example: 'But do you understand that, based on the current dynamic, you're the least attractive type of passenger to any cruise line?  "Cruise fare" now means less to the cruise lines than "revenue per guest."  It's the entry point vs. the final outcome in terms of what they make per sailing.  And clearly they are focused on doing everything they can to elevate revenue per guest.  Even if it throws loyalty members and frugal cruisers under the bus.  Princess could easily have said "Platinum's and Elite's are grandfathered" and instead chose to accept the consequences of their ire.'

 

Personally I do NOT cruise to increase any Cruise Lines profit!!

I cruise to enjoy my remaining years with the best value for the $.

You may cruise for other reasons. Good for you! Pay for the extras that you don't need and trying to justify why Cruise Lines are raising prices. 

Example Celebrity now charging $2.00 for a Cookie.

JMHO!

. 

I never use room service and never order food via Ocean ready so why should I have to pay the same amount as those who use them all the time ?  I also have gotten tired of waiting over an hour to get into a casual eatery and then see people ordering tons of food and not eating it. 

[Oxo]

2 minutes ago, memoak said:

I never use room service and never order food via Ocean ready so why should I have to pay the same amount as those who use them all the time ?  I also have gotten tired of waiting over an hour to get into a casual eatery and then see people ordering tons of food and not eating it. 

Did you buy the package? Did you pay for the extras you don't need?

So, I agree with you. Pay for what you want and need. You are not justifying the additional cost and why the cruise lines are increasing the costs.

[memoak]

12 minutes ago, Oxo said:

Did you buy the package? Did you pay for the extras you don't need?

So, I agree with you. Pay for what you want and need. You are not justifying the additional cost and why the cruise lines are increasing the costs.

I do buy the package but for the drink package and Wi-Fi. The 2 times I have been quarantined for Covid it took at least an hour to get my meals from room service because they were so swamped with calls and observing tons of plates stacked up in hallways some. Anima had at least 6 pizza boxes next to their door

[CruizinSusan70]

15 hours ago, Snaxmuppet said:

This then shows why this is not a gratuity. How can it be a gratuity when those behind-the-scenes people don't interact with the passengers. A gratuity to me is a voluntary extra payment for good service. You can only give good service if you interact. As it stands, CA is not a gratuity in the sense that I understand it. It is a crew wages subsidy and it gets the cruise line off the hook for paying poor wages to crew.

 

What should happen IMO is that all crew should get a decent wages regardless of whether they are passenger-facing or not. Then, the passenger-facing ones can have the possibility to earn extra by going beyond what is expected.

I can see where you're coming from, but since you're from the other side of the pond you are accustomed to a different kind of tipping culture.  I wish that the monies were just rolled into the fare and then if someone whether that be a server, a room steward or a bartender goes over and above, then extra monies are extended to them.  We do this now, usually with bartenders that serve us continuously over the length of our cruises. But it doesn't feel right to us that we keep the included gratuities attached on those lines that they can be removed while many others remove them.  It wouldn't even be an option for us if we ever wanted to since we buy the plus package.

[villauk]

On 8/24/2023 at 3:42 PM, kevinyork said:

We booked our cruise June 22 for this Oct 23’, 12 night ex Southampton.  We booked it a couple of weeks after returning from our second Princess cruise as we were pleased with the cruise and the inclusions. 
 

We paid our final balance 10 days before the changes to the packages started being discussed (although still no official notification). Main thing for us is a chargeable Alfredo’s and the Ocean Now activation fee.  Both are not huge amounts however it’s the principal.  We emailed the CEO in the U.K. and a customer service supervisor responded in a fairly dismissive way and even spun the changes as positives. They should have grandfathered these in. We booked understanding what our cruise included and indeed paid the final balance on the same basis. 
 

Our booking in our online account shows we have purchased the Plus package and lists all of the current inclusions, see attached. How do you think we will stand if we present this onboard as “proof” of what we expected to receive?

 

It won’t make any difference; you won’t get anything, no matter how much you protest.

[HaveDogWillTravel]

On 8/27/2023 at 11:54 AM, mike&elena said:

HaveDog---

Glad you're on the case to stop this no-sharing nonsense!  The next task will be to get an equitable number of casual meals based on cruise length.  We have 2 upcoming cruises booked with Princess for 22 days and 4 days, respectively.  It is ridiculous that we will receive 2 casual dining credits with the Plus package for each cruise.  Last week, Carmen Roig, VP of Sales, commented on her webinar that Princess has received so many complaints about the 2 credit per cruise policy that they are reviewing it and will be making adjustments.  We can only hope that they do this soon.

Enjoy your cruises!

Mike and Elena 🌴👨👩🌴

 

Hi back at you!  That would be great if they did give more dining credits for longer sailings. On the first 18 day leg of my December SA/Antarctica sailing I plan on buying Plus with OBC. If I like the wines and feel it’s worth it I’ll also get on the second 16 day leg. 
 

and yes having a great cruise!  

[Cruise Raider]

Just of note, we met a couple on the Ruby renegotiate and they claim used they could split a dinner in the Crown Grill.  Not sure how that happened but it would be interesting if it worked.  
I can never eat that much at one time so would be more than happy to find out I could split a lobster tail with my DH and still each get the appetizers.  
BTW, I’m not sure if this would actually work.  But, I’d certainly like to try.  

[memoak]

6 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

Just of note, we met a couple on the Ruby renegotiate and they claim used they could split a dinner in the Crown Grill.  Not sure how that happened but it would be interesting if it worked.  
I can never eat that much at one time so would be more than happy to find out I could split a lobster tail with my DH and still each get the appetizers.  
BTW, I’m not sure if this would actually work.  But, I’d certainly like to try.  

I would think as soon as you both order appetizers the price per dinner would kick in for both of you. There is no ala carte pricing there

[coo359a2]

CG would be losing $40 for every couple that wanted to share. 

[Guest Snaxmuppet]

19 minutes ago, coo359a2 said:

CG would be losing $40 for every couple that wanted to share. 

But then again, they might gain $40 from a couple that might not have booked CG if they couldn't share 😉

[coo359a2]

54 minutes ago, Snaxmuppet said:

But then again, they might gain $40 from a couple that might not have booked CG if they couldn't share 😉

2 tables sharing is $80 vs $160 if all 4 ate. Whatever floats your  boat - go for it. Can’t hurt trying 

[Cruise Raider]

14 hours ago, coo359a2 said:

2 tables sharing is $80 vs $160 if all 4 ate. Whatever floats your  boat - go for it. Can’t hurt trying 

I never found out if they were successful as this was the last night on the cruise.  they did mention they’ve done it in the past, though.  I’d have never thought about trying that in the past but it is way too much food for one person.  
 

[jwattle]

On 8/24/2023 at 6:03 PM, CalLuvsCrusingToo said:

 

Yes there continues to be gray areas.

Afternoon tea is an Elite perk, yet you must call Room service to set up date/time.

Will there be a charge for that?  Forpetesake.🙄

50 Shades of Gray areas 😄

[MsSoCalCruiser]

On 8/20/2023 at 12:47 PM, azbirdmom said:

Actually the part about addressing guest satisfaction about long lines seems like a bit of a reach to me.  It wasn't even mentioned on the webinar a couple of weeks ago.  But if they are truly concerned about guests waiting unnecessarily then I think the first thing they should have tackled is the long wait times to reach a phone representative, and then when you reach them they are often not likely to be able to solve your issue.  Let's see them address that customer dissatisfaction issue which has been a lot more painful than waiting in line for pizza.

I tried calling today and never got an answer.  I tried reaching them on Chat today too.  I had 22 people ahead of me. It was finally my turn but they never spoke to me. It just kept asking me if I was still there and I finally gave up. Total you know what… 

[MsSoCalCruiser]

On 8/31/2023 at 5:10 PM, memoak said:

I would think as soon as you both order appetizers the price per dinner would kick in for both of you. There is no ala carte pricing there

Maybe it would work if they only ordered one of each course???

[Brad1185]

Today we received the semi monthly promotion material from Princess in the mail. It went straight to the trash.  Right now unless Princess makes some big changes back and get rid of all this complicated non sense and all these new extra charges cruising with them will not be in consideration. 

[voljeep]

11 hours ago, Brad1185 said:

Today we received the semi monthly promotion material from Princess in the mail. It went straight to the trash.  Right now unless Princess makes some big changes back and get rid of all this complicated non sense and all these new extra charges cruising with them will not be in consideration. 

enjoy your new cruise line - which one will it be?

[Oxo]

11 hours ago, Brad1185 said:

Today we received the semi monthly promotion material from Princess in the mail. It went straight to the trash.  Right now unless Princess makes some big changes back and get rid of all this complicated non sense and all these new extra charges cruising with them will not be in consideration. 

Do let us know what cruise line you go to. The past 2 years we were on RCI, CELEBRITY, MSC, NCL & Princess.

They all have their pluses & minuses!

Happy Cruising! 

[CruizinSusan70]

13 hours ago, Brad1185 said:

Today we received the semi monthly promotion material from Princess in the mail. It went straight to the trash.  Right now unless Princess makes some big changes back and get rid of all this complicated non sense and all these new extra charges cruising with them will not be in consideration. 

Out of curiosity, which new cruise line of choice has not had any changes post Covid?  Curious minds want to know about this lengthy list of none.

[Brad1185]

We have love Viking and have our first Oceania and Silversea cruises coming up.  

[CruizinSusan70]

3 minutes ago, Brad1185 said:

We have love Viking and have our first Oceania and Silversea cruises coming up.  

Then why are you slumming it on Princess?  Celebrity or HAL would be a horizontal move, while all 3 you mentioned are upgraded.

[memoak]

19 minutes ago, Brad1185 said:

We have love Viking and have our first Oceania and Silversea cruises coming up.  

Then you have a lot more money than I do