old plus package is now minus package

[Guest Snaxmuppet]

1 minute ago, voljeep said:

sorry, I shouldn't have responded to a UK with a USA

I think the concepts of budget airlines is universal and not specific to one country or part of the world.

[Yowman]

On 8/30/2023 at 12:10 PM, irishgirl said:

I too have the Plus-50 package but if I want pizza, I’ll either go to slice, or fork over $12.99 for a pizza.  Not going to upgrade for $120 just to get 2 pizzas, not worth it.  I don’t want the salad or the dessert, just pizza and a drink.  I don’t think I’ve ever gone out for pizza anywhere and ordered salad, pizza and dessert.  Nor have I ever seen my friends do that.  

 

So much this.  Even if I pay the one-time $15 per person for OceanNow delivery, a pizza here and there, and even $5 per room service (as has been suggested I may have to if wanting to order RS from MDR menu in my suite - allegedly the full MDR menu is not available on the app), I'm still better of financially by not upgrading to Plus-60.  Out of principle I've decided not to buy souvenirs on board - if Princess won't grandfather me then I'm not buying their merchandise.  This may seem petty to some, but it is what it is.

[MissP22]

12 minutes ago, Yowman said:

 

So much this.  Even if I pay the one-time $15 per person for OceanNow delivery, a pizza here and there, and even $5 per room service (as has been suggested I may have to if wanting to order RS from MDR menu in my suite - allegedly the full MDR menu is not available on the app), I'm still better of financially by not upgrading to Plus-60.  Out of principle I've decided not to buy souvenirs on board - if Princess won't grandfather me then I'm not buying their merchandise.  This may seem petty to some, but it is what it is.

I like you thinking. If they're so money hungry not to grandfather people in for the items that were included when they booked the cruise, I'll make my purchases like excursions, merchandise elsewhere and they can keep their room service & pizza at Gigi's or Alfredo's. 

[Roberto256]

5 hours ago, Snaxmuppet said:

Like the way that budget airlines are going... race to the bottom (if you'll pardon the pun!).

I posted that here a year or two ago.

And was bashed by a couple posters.

One of which is posting in this thread.

Too funny.

[Steelers36]

On 8/30/2023 at 12:10 PM, irishgirl said:

I too have the Plus-50 package but if I want pizza, I’ll either go to slice, or fork over $12.99 for a pizza.  Not going to upgrade for $120 just to get 2 pizzas, not worth it.  I don’t want the salad or the dessert, just pizza and a drink.  I don’t think I’ve ever gone out for pizza anywhere and ordered salad, pizza and dessert.  Nor have I ever seen my friends do that.  

Where did you get the idea of $13 for a pizza?  A La Carte Pizza is $8.50.

[Steelers36]

5 hours ago, alyssamma said:

Yes, that is what I think but I'm still going to call to see exactly what I get. I'm honestly confused about the perks I have.

 

And I bought it included in the fare. Like I said, I had the cruise booked, there was a massive price drop so I canceled and rebooked (not sure why they couldn't refare).

 

4 hours ago, alyssamma said:

First, I thought I made it clear that with all of the changes I'm unsure what perks I have...this is my main reason for calling.

 

Second, there is a difference between rebooking and refaring. My point was I was unsure *why* I couldn't just refare and had to rebook - this is *independent* of the plus package.

 

Lastly, I'm very appreciative to the OP and others on different threads that have made this point clear about old vs. new packages, but that being said, to be *sure* of what I have, I'm calling Princess...not sure why that would confuse or perplex anyone. Again, happy for the reassurances here, but I want to hear it directly from Princess (and I know, reps are wrong all the time so that doesn't guarantee anything).

You found a better deal and 99.9% it was a different Fare Code (3-alphanumerics) than you originally booked under and what you booked under was no longer available.  Although, why would a guest want to simply re-fare by adding $10 to Plus package if the current fare code is much lower, saving money?  Generally, when you want to "re-fare", it has to be a cancel/re-book if the original Fare Code is no longer available or guest wants a new Fare Code with the lower price.

 

It can be a pain, but the pain should be easily avoided.  First, a FCD can be moved to the new booking as long as it has not expired since making the original booking.  Check this first and advise TA or Princess to extend the expiry date before processing the cancellation.

 

You should also be able to have an EZ-Air reservation "lifted and shifted" over to the new booking.  I have also had this done with SOBC (Shareholder OBC).

 

You will lose any perks, OBC, that may have come with the original Fare Code, but you will gain anything that comes with the new Fare Code.

 

[alyssamma]

5 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

 

You found a better deal and 99.9% it was a different Fare Code (3-alphanumerics) than you originally booked under and what you booked under was no longer available.  Although, why would a guest want to simply re-fare by adding $10 to Plus package if the current fare code is much lower, saving money?  Generally, when you want to "re-fare", it has to be a cancel/re-book if the original Fare Code is no longer available or guest wants a new Fare Code with the lower price.

 

It can be a pain, but the pain should be easily avoided.  First, a FCD can be moved to the new booking as long as it has not expired since making the original booking.  Check this first and advise TA or Princess to extend the expiry date before processing the cancellation.

 

You should also be able to have an EZ-Air reservation "lifted and shifted" over to the new booking.  I have also had this done with SOBC (Shareholder OBC).

 

You will lose any perks, OBC, that may have come with the original Fare Code, but you will gain anything that comes with the new Fare Code.

 

Sorry, i don't understand your response at all. It seems like you are trying to tell me why I had to rebook instead of refare? Or are you saying something else?

[Steelers36]

14 minutes ago, alyssamma said:

Sorry, i don't understand your response at all. It seems like you are trying to tell me why I had to rebook instead of refare? Or are you saying something else?

Yes, that is what I was attempting to explain. 

 

ETA:  All Princess cruises are sold with Fare Codes.  There can be several active at any time and more than one may apply to you.  It is up to guest to elect the Fare Code that suits them.  Princess.com only shows you ONE Fare Code, but is supposed to be the best one for you.  Princess CVP and outside TA's can see all Fare Codes eligible for you.  You can also see these for yourself if you have access to a good 3rd party booking site.

Edited September 1, 2023 by Steelers36

[alyssamma]

9 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

Yes, that is what I was attempting to explain. 

 

ETA:  All Princess cruises are sold with Fare Codes.  There can be several active at any time and more than one may apply to you.  It is up to guest to elect the Fare Code that suits them.  Princess.com only shows you ONE Fare Code, but is supposed to be the best one for you.  Princess CVP and outside TA's can see all Fare Codes eligible for you.  You can also see these for yourself if you have access to a good 3rd party booking site.

Yes, I understand this completely and AFAIK all cruise lines work this way, not just Princess. 

 

I didn't book this on Princess.com (used a TA), but even without that I can see multiple fare codes for Princess by using other sites (against T&C to mention them here, but several sites allow you to see this).

 

Don't understand how that answers why Princess said I had to rebook instead of refare. I've done this a few times on different lines and except for MSC (which *always* makes you rebook) it seems "random" to me whether you can refare or renook. Perhaps it's the rep you get, or perhaps some TAs I use are better than others 🙂 Regardless, it made no difference to me then, and doesn't now other than curiosity. I didn't lose anything by rebooking instead of refaring.

Edited September 1, 2023 by alyssamma

[coo359a2]

Some T&C are for new bookings only.  Possibly that is why you were told you had to rebook - cancel old booking and make a new booking with the lower fare.

[Hlitner]

Unlike many, we cruise on lots of different cruise lines in both the mass market and luxury market.  Within the mass market class (which includes lines like Princess, RCI, Celebrity, HAL, etc) all the lines have implemented changes intended to boost their revenue and bottom line.  On every line, there are issues regarding the changes and Princess is among the pack.  It seems to be like rolling the dice as to whether what you booked is what your get?  In our case, we booked a Princess cruise where we paid for the Plus Package, but got upgraded to Premier because there was a short-term limited promotion for veterans.  From the e-mails we have received from Princess, our package continues as booked with the addition of a few things (such as unlimited at the casual restaurants).  Why?  I imagine the "suits" at LA have had lots of meetings on how to deal with all the various types of bookings.  Another bummer, for Princess, is that those of us who are "Elite" have watched the benefits be consistently watered down to a point where there are hardly any benefits.  I get it!  Princess made it relatively easy to become Elite, and then had to deal with a problem.  

 

One solution is cruise on the luxury (or call it the ultra luxury) lines such as Seabourn. Silverseas, etc.  These lines are essentially all-inclusive and do not play all these games with packages.  On Seabourn, we recently cruised for 32 days and did not spend a penny onboard until we realized that our $250 shareholder credit would be lost.  At that point we booked 1 excursion (1 more excursion than we would prefer) and bought an expensive bottle of wine which used all our remaining credit.  At the end of 32 days our On Board Account was zero!  I mention this because luxury lines are a good option for those that are sick of the nickel and diming.  Imagine a cruise with only 400 other passengers, no tipping, no add-on fees (even for caviar), no photographers, no art auctions, etc.  In the end, the luxury line can often be a much better value than a mass market line with all the added packages, add-ons, etc.

 

I do agree that "it sucks" that folks who thought they were getting certain package benefits are later told, "pay more or suffer the consequences."  But not much anyone can do other than take your business elsewhere.

Hank

[Buckeye10640]

On 8/30/2023 at 10:36 AM, jrblach said:

we are on Sky - boarded Aug 19, 2023. we bought cruise and  plus package August 2022. there have been many changes to the plus package and cruising. casual dining has been added where you $15 for Alfredos pizza. plus package includes 2 casual dining visits. BUT, NOT THE OLD PLUS PACKAGES. we were told we would have to pay for Alfredos. why dont they grandfather the benefits? instead, Princess want you to pay the difference between $ 60 per day and what you paid

UNFAIR

I understand your point, but to be fair many of us booked without Princess Plus when Alfredos was free, there was no room service charge, etc. Should we all be grandfathered in too?

[SargassoPirate]

17 hours ago, Yowman said:

 

So much this.  Even if I pay the one-time $15 per person for OceanNow delivery, a pizza here and there, and even $5 per room service (as has been suggested I may have to if wanting to order RS from MDR menu in my suite - allegedly the full MDR menu is not available on the app), I'm still better of financially by not upgrading to Plus-60.  Out of principle I've decided not to buy souvenirs on board - if Princess won't grandfather me then I'm not buying their merchandise.  This may seem petty to some, but it is what it is.

Your move is a page right out of Economics 101.  Any company will charge what the traffic will bear.  As long as folks line up to pay more, there is no incentive for the company to lower their prices.

 

As a consumer, we have the final say on how and when we choose to spend our money.  As you plan to do, I generally push back in some fashion by keeping my money in my pocket.  I refuse to pay outrageous or inflated prices just because I may be a captive audience at the moment.

 

That's why my hot dog and beer are still in the inventory at the ball park.

 

 

 

 

[kiwimum]

14 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

Where did you get the idea of $13 for a pizza?  A La Carte Pizza is $8.50.

And a few pizzas for $12.00.

[MissP22]

9 minutes ago, SargassoPirate said:

Your move is a page right out of Economics 101.  Any company will charge what the traffic will bear.  As long as folks line up to pay more, there is no incentive for the company to lower their prices.

 

As a consumer, we have the final say on how and when we choose to spend our money.  As you plan to do, I generally push back in some fashion by keeping my money in my pocket.  I refuse to pay outrageous or inflated prices just because I may be a captive audience at the moment.

 

That's why my hot dog and beer are still in the inventory at the ball park.

 

 

 

 

I believe most people are annoyed that they changed their rules about what's included after they booked. Not so much that their increasing prices. 

[Yowman]

2 hours ago, MissP22 said:

I believe most people are annoyed that they changed their rules about what's included after they booked. Not so much that their increasing prices. 

 

In my case they changed the rules after final payment, which in my eyes is worse

[alyssamma]

18 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

 

You found a better deal and 99.9% it was a different Fare Code (3-alphanumerics) than you originally booked under and what you booked under was no longer available.  Although, why would a guest want to simply re-fare by adding $10 to Plus package if the current fare code is much lower, saving money?  Generally, when you want to "re-fare", it has to be a cancel/re-book if the original Fare Code is no longer available or guest wants a new Fare Code with the lower price.

 

It can be a pain, but the pain should be easily avoided.  First, a FCD can be moved to the new booking as long as it has not expired since making the original booking.  Check this first and advise TA or Princess to extend the expiry date before processing the cancellation.

 

You should also be able to have an EZ-Air reservation "lifted and shifted" over to the new booking.  I have also had this done with SOBC (Shareholder OBC).

 

You will lose any perks, OBC, that may have come with the original Fare Code, but you will gain anything that comes with the new Fare Code.

 

BTW, tone sometimes isn't carried well in text. I do appreciate you trying to answer my Q 🙂

 

[SargassoPirate]

3 hours ago, MissP22 said:

I believe most people are annoyed that they changed their rules about what's included after they booked. Not so much that their increasing prices. 

I agree.  Since I book standard cruises, the changes to PP doesn't affect me personally, but when the suits see that they can get away with that, what's next?  

 

 

[jrblach]

our old plus included 2 fancy deserts PER DAY at Gelato on sky aug 19 to sept 2

we lost 2 free casual dining - pizza at alfredos & others places that used to be free

princess now charges $15 for these

we did not do room service so we were never charged the $15 one time set up fee

[Drout]

Had this from my travel agent, but can’t find it anywhere on princesses website, think they might have read it wrong

 

“The Princess Plus package will match the new option as Princess have changed the inclusions for any passenger who has purchased this before or after the change. I have added a link to confirm what will be included. ”

[memoak]

58 minutes ago, Drout said:

Had this from my travel agent, but can’t find it anywhere on princesses website, think they might have read it wrong

 

“The Princess Plus package will match the new option as Princess have changed the inclusions for any passenger who has purchased this before or after the change. I have added a link to confirm what will be included. ”

My thought is that they are referring to the $15 drink limit not the casual dining options 

[Outerdog]

2 hours ago, Drout said:

Had this from my travel agent, but can’t find it anywhere on princesses website, think they might have read it wrong

 

“The Princess Plus package will match the new option as Princess have changed the inclusions for any passenger who has purchased this before or after the change. I have added a link to confirm what will be included. ”

 

Yeah, that's not correct.

 

Plus 50 and Plus 60 are distinct. It's hard to dig out the details from the site, but the Plus 50 bookings do not get the new dining options and room service included. You have to look at the itemized travel summary to see the details on what's in your package. You can also see "Plus 50" referenced in the Onboard Services page in the personalizer. Not sure how much of this is visible to those who have used a TA.

 

 

 

[Kamfish642]

Had a very disappointing Princess cruise out of Sydney Australia this past February, but we are giving Princess one more change with a cruise around Australia this coming March.  However, with the recent changes to Plus package, we are thinking of just cancelling outright before final payment is due.  Too many other cruise line options.

[Hlitner]

1 hour ago, Kamfish642 said:

Had a very disappointing Princess cruise out of Sydney Australia this past February, but we are giving Princess one more change with a cruise around Australia this coming March.  However, with the recent changes to Plus package, we are thinking of just cancelling outright before final payment is due.  Too many other cruise line options.

Yes and no.  We have long cruised many different lines, including both mass market and luxury.  Yes, there are always other cruise lines.  But each line has their pros and cons.  I do not get too upset about various "packages" and "promotions" since that stuff has long been a staple of all the mass market lines (things are somewhat different with the luxury products).  If you become totally fed-up with all this package stuff and constant changes regarding inclusions, you could certainly book one of the luxury lines where just about everything is included!  However, keep in mind that the initial sticker shock does scare off many folks who are used to mass market lines with all their add-ons and packages.  

 

What is happening at Princess seems to be across the board with other mass market lines, although each has their own way of doing things (and trying to pull the wool over cruiser's eyes).  Trying to find the best value (which is not the same as the best price) in the cruise world is always fun (at least for me).  Unfortunately, the current "value" is generally found with the higher end luxury lines.  You pay more, but you get a lot more for your money,

 

Hank

[donaldsc]

On 9/1/2023 at 4:33 AM, inspiration100 said:

In 2024, Princess plans to charge you every time you take a crap in the toilet.  Therefore, enjoy what you've got now.

 

Also probably an upcharge for soft toilet tissue that does not feel like sandpaper.  

 

DON