Has anyone purchased the plus package for less than $60 per day? (in the US)

[Esjung1]

I'm planning to upgrade my standard package to plus once on-board but strangely enough my upgrade price is $540 now and not $600 for 10-days.  Has anyone experienced a lower price than the $60 per day in the US? I would just buy it now but I have lots of on-board credit to use so I need to wait... I'm just wondering if this lower price is a fluke or what....

 

 

[cr8tiv1]

1 hour ago, Esjung1 said:

I'm planning to upgrade my standard package to plus once on-board but strangely enough my upgrade price is $540 now and not $600 for 10-days.  Has anyone experienced a lower price than the $60 per day in the US? I would just buy it now but I have lots of on-board credit to use so I need to wait... I'm just wondering if this lower price is a fluke or what....

 

There are 2 different beverage packages. Be careful to NOT select just the drinks (without wifi and crew incentive).

[Rick&Jeannie]

2 hours ago, Esjung1 said:

I'm planning to upgrade my standard package to plus once on-board but strangely enough my upgrade price is $540 now and not $600 for 10-days.  Has anyone experienced a lower price than the $60 per day in the US? I would just buy it now but I have lots of on-board credit to use so I need to wait... I'm just wondering if this lower price is a fluke or what....

 

 

Just exactly *how* are you seeing this magic pricing?  You may very well be about to purchase something you did not intend!  Princess should be ashamed of their "naming practices" which are SO CONFUSING!

[Outerdog]

20 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

Just exactly *how* are you seeing this magic pricing?  You may very well be about to purchase something you did not intend!  Princess should be ashamed of their "naming practices" which are SO CONFUSING!

 

Doesn't seem all that confusing to me. The roll-out of the new packages has been IRRITATING, but that's not the same as confusing.

 

[Outerdog]

35 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

There are 2 different beverage packages. Be careful to NOT select just the drinks (without wifi and crew incentive).

 

This isn't accurate.

 

There are 2 beverage packages: Plus Beverage Package, and Premier Beverage Package

 

There are 2 UPGRADE OPTIONS packages: Princess Plus and Princess Premier (alongside Princess Standard, of course).

 

[cr8tiv1]

Using the OPs prices ($540 and $600), and PLUS.... OPs was not considering Premier.

 

But looking at the "other beverage package", the numbers still would not add up to $540.

 

https://www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/food-and-dining/beverages/ (drinks ONLY)

 

I was just trying to let the buyer beware.  Don't get sucked into their drink only packages.  

 

$60 a day = $600 if purchased on board FOR PRINCESS PLUS

$60 a day + insurance = $642 if purchased with fare FOR PRINCESS PLUS

 

Don't see anywhere where $540 would even calculate out correctly.

Princess Premier does not factor into this equation at all.

 

3 hours ago, Esjung1 said:

I'm planning to upgrade my standard package to plus once on-board but strangely enough my upgrade price is $540 now and not $600 for 10-days.  Has anyone experienced a lower price than the $60 per day in the US? I would just buy it now but I have lots of on-board credit to use so I need to wait... I'm just wondering if this lower price is a fluke or what....

 

 

 

37 minutes ago, Outerdog said:

 

This isn't accurate.

 

There are 2 beverage packages: Plus Beverage Package, and Premier Beverage Package

 

There are 2 UPGRADE OPTIONS packages: Princess Plus and Princess Premier (alongside Princess Standard, of course).

 

 

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

There are 2 different beverage packages. Be careful to NOT select just the drinks (without wifi and crew incentive).

 

1 hour ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

Just exactly *how* are you seeing this magic pricing?  You may very well be about to purchase something you did not intend!  Princess should be ashamed of their "naming practices" which are SO CONFUSING!

I guess some do and some don't.  IMO, they got things right when they named the beverage package similar to the fare package each one belongs to.  It was much worse when the old Premier standalone name was in play when Plus Fare package was introduced. 

 

Maybe they should have called them standalones Bad Idea and Worse Idea.

Or Package A & B.  Or Good and Better.  Plus gets the Good one and Premier gets the Better one.  But it would be a Bad Idea to order them alone.

 

15 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Using the OPs prices ($540 and $600), and PLUS.... OPs was not considering Premier.

 

But looking at the "other beverage package", the numbers still would not add up to $540.

 

https://www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/food-and-dining/beverages/ (drinks ONLY)

 

I was just trying to let the buyer beware.  Don't get sucked into their drink only packages.  

 

$60 a day = $600 if purchased on board FOR PRINCESS PLUS

$60 a day + insurance = $642 if purchased with fare FOR PRINCESS PLUS

 

Don't see anywhere where $540 would even calculate out correctly.

Princess Premier does not factor into this equation at all.

 

 

 

 

The OP is not confused.  The OP was not looking at the standalone beverage package.  The OP was looking at the Plus Cruise Fare Package.

 

I seem to recall reading this from another poster not too long ago.  For some reason, it appears as though the pricing system knocks a day ($60) off the cost, but I suspect it is an error.

 

Up to @Esjung1 whether they would rather save $60 before the price changes, or use OBC.

 

Edited September 9, 2023 by Steelers36

[cr8tiv1]

I didn't think the OP was confused.  I knew from the get go that they were looking at standard fare to buying Princess Plus on the ship.

 

It's Princess that chooses to confuse everyone with all of their meaningless and confusing names that do not represent the actual item (I won't go into all of the misnomers).  

 

I knew about the $642 Princess Plus added to fare ($60 x 10 days plus insurance) since I got sucked into that one.  

 

I am confused about the $540 for seemingly purchasing Princess Plus onboard the first day.  I am also confused why the OP was given the option of an upgrade price of $540 (instead of $642).  I'm not a gambler...and wouldn't take the risk to upgrade at $540 for a $600 package.  Is this really a 10 day cruise ($600) or a 9 day cruise ($540)?

[highloyo]

1 hour ago, cr8tiv1 said:

fare ($60 x 10 days plus insurance) since I got sucked into that one.

Hi Renee. What is the insurance? Isn’t it just $60 per day for the Plus package?

Just returned from Maui Tuesday. Our daughter has a displaced family of 4 living with them. They lost everything. We brought 3 boxes of clothes, toys and other necessities gathered by our daughters. They will soon move to semi-permanent/temporary housing. It’s hard for their 3 and 5 year old to understand what happened. 

[cr8tiv1]

1 minute ago, highloyo said:

Hi Renee. What is the insurance? Isn’t it just $60 per day for the Plus package?

Just returned from Maui Tuesday. Our daughter has a displaced family of 4 living with them. They lost everything. We brought 3 boxes of clothes, toys and other necessities gathered by our daughters. They will soon move to semi-permanent/temporary housing. It’s hard for their 3 and 5 year old to understand what happened. 

 

You can imagine my "sticker shock" when I was charged $642 when I added the Plus Package to my already confirmed fare.  My original fare was standard.  This cruise was many months down the line and I wanted to "lock in" the current rate before Princess had any more great ideas to raise the rate.  I counted on $60 x 10 = $60.  $42 was the increase in base fare for insurance to cover fare and Plus.  

 

It's a hedge agains inflation.  You either pay the insurance or risk Princess raising the rate on a cruise down the line.  You can always cancel Plus Package x number of days before cruise and then buy it once on board.  

 

Thank you for helping out those who are still trying to piece their lives together.  It's only been a month, but for these residents, I am sure they see a very long road ahead of them.  

[Esjung1]

Update for those interested in HOW I'm seeing this price.

 

1) There's a big button in my cruise personalizer that shows "upgrade now".  Once I click on that, I do get the option for Princess Plus for $60 a day.  Once I click on that, the total comes to $1080 for two passengers which is $540 each.  And YES, both passengers in the cabin would be upgrading. 

[Esjung1]

8 hours ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

Just exactly *how* are you seeing this magic pricing?  You may very well be about to purchase something you did not intend!  Princess should be ashamed of their "naming practices" which are SO CONFUSING!

8 hours ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

Just exactly *how* are you seeing this magic pricing?  You may very well be about to purchase something you did not intend!  Princess should be ashamed of their "naming practices" which are SO CONFUSING!

[Esjung1]

6 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

I didn't think the OP was confused.  I knew from the get go that they were looking at standard fare to buying Princess Plus on the ship.

 

It's Princess that chooses to confuse everyone with all of their meaningless and confusing names that do not represent the actual item (I won't go into all of the misnomers).  

 

I knew about the $642 Princess Plus added to fare ($60 x 10 days plus insurance) since I got sucked into that one.  

 

I am confused about the $540 for seemingly purchasing Princess Plus onboard the first day.  I am also confused why the OP was given the option of an upgrade price of $540 (instead of $642).  I'm not a gambler...and wouldn't take the risk to upgrade at $540 for a $600 package.  Is this really a 10 day cruise ($600) or a 9 day cruise ($540)?

Yes, confirming this is a 10-day cruise (That's what the itinarary shows anyway) 🙂

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, Esjung1 said:

Just curious about this pricing anomaly.  If you choose the Premier option, does it also give you a 1 day discount?  I.E. $720/pp instead of $800/pp? 

[Steelers36]

6 hours ago, highloyo said:

Hi Renee. What is the insurance? Isn’t it just $60 per day for the Plus package?

Just returned from Maui Tuesday. Our daughter has a displaced family of 4 living with them. They lost everything. We brought 3 boxes of clothes, toys and other necessities gathered by our daughters. They will soon move to semi-permanent/temporary housing. It’s hard for their 3 and 5 year old to understand what happened. 

If you have booked with Princess insurance, they will assess a premium on the Plus/Premier package value as well.  If you do not have Princess insurance, then you are just paying the package cost.  

 

BTW, the Princess Plus rate has been 8% for years and someone posted just this week that the rate is now 9% of cruise fare.

[Esjung1]

3 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

Just curious about this pricing anomaly.  If you choose the Premier option, does it also give you a 1 day discount?  I.E. $720/pp instead of $800/pp? 

Sure does! 

[Coral]

I just looked at mine (solo 7 night cruise and it shows $457.80) which would be $60 plus insurance. No discount for me.

[Steelers36]

14 minutes ago, Coral said:

I just looked at mine (solo 7 night cruise and it shows $457.80) which would be $60 plus insurance. No discount for me.

This post also confirms new insurance rate of 9% for Princess Standard insurance.  The premium is 12%, but Platinum and Elite get the premium coverage at the standard rate.

Edited September 9, 2023 by Steelers36

[Coral]

3 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

This post also confirms new insurance rate of 9% for Princess premium insurance.

It went up to 9%. Missed that also....... My cruise is pretty cheap - insurance was cheap ($54). I didn't calculate it. My last 2 months have been crazy. Looking forward to getting away just for a cheap coastal after a land trip in Canada.

 

I also bought Allianz for my land trip so it will cover medical for cruise but I will mostly be in US so it doesn't matter. My insurance has poor coverage (50%) outside of the US.

Edited September 9, 2023 by Coral

[CalTexCruiser]

I'm confused by "In some circumstances, package upgrades may increase your cruise fare" in the screenshot below when trying to upgrade to the Plus package.

 

It sounds like they may increase the standard fare you paid originally, but I'm sure that's not what they mean?

 

[NavyVeteran]

8 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

It's a hedge agains inflation.  You either pay the insurance or risk Princess raising the rate on a cruise down the line.  You can always cancel Plus Package x number of days before cruise and then buy it once on board.  

Are you sure you can change from Plus fare to Standard fare without refaring? It is not a package - it is a different fare code, subject to the normal cancellation penalties. That's why the insurance cost goes up. If you cancel during the penalty period, you pay the penalty on the entire fare including the Plus part. If you were to purchase the separate overpriced beverage package instead, it would be fully refundable up to three days before sailing.

[Coral]

24 minutes ago, CalTexCruiser said:

I'm confused by "In some circumstances, package upgrades may increase your cruise fare" in the screenshot below when trying to upgrade to the Plus package.

 

It sounds like they may increase the standard fare you paid originally, but I'm sure that's not what they mean?

 

I think it means it increases your insurance (so total cruise fare). If you don't have insurance, it would just be $60 per person. This is why it is cheaper to do it on the ship (no insurance increase).

 

At least that is what I think. Princess isn't known for clarity.

Edited September 9, 2023 by Coral

[CalTexCruiser]

19 minutes ago, NavyVeteran said:

Are you sure you can change from Plus fare to Standard fare without refaring? It is not a package - it is a different fare code, subject to the normal cancellation penalties. That's why the insurance cost goes up. If you cancel during the penalty period, you pay the penalty on the entire fare including the Plus part. If you were to purchase the separate overpriced beverage package instead, it would be fully refundable up to three days before sailing.

 

I think this answers my question above regarding "In some circumstances, package upgrades may increase your cruise fare" noted in the upgrade screenshot.

 

I currently have a very cheap casino rate on my mini-suite, so if I decide to cancel last minute I'm out just a few hundred dollars.  On the other hand, if I "upgrade" to the Plus package, Princess refares us to the Plus fare, and if I cancel last minute I'll be out a couple thousand dollars.  In view of this, we are waiting to upgrade to the Plus package.

[cr8tiv1]

You may be correct.  I added the plus package AFTER initially booking the standard fare.  Then removed the Plus Package when I did a passenger change (I was able to keep original fare).   Then regretted removing it (ha ha).  

 

The mystery is still there...Why is OP only paying $540 for a 10 day cruise?  

 

3 hours ago, NavyVeteran said:

Are you sure you can change from Plus fare to Standard fare without refaring? It is not a package - it is a different fare code, subject to the normal cancellation penalties. That's why the insurance cost goes up. If you cancel during the penalty period, you pay the penalty on the entire fare including the Plus part. If you were to purchase the separate overpriced beverage package instead, it would be fully refundable up to three days before sailing.

 

[Steelers36]

43 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

You may be correct.  I added the plus package AFTER initially booking the standard fare.  Then removed the Plus Package when I did a passenger change (I was able to keep original fare).   Then regretted removing it (ha ha).  

 

The mystery is still there...Why is OP only paying $540 for a 10 day cruise?  

 

 

We might get a bit more insight if a CC Member reading this thread has a 10-night booking with Standard Fare and checks the cost of upgrading to Plus in the Personalizer.  Hopefully a different ship and voyage than the OP.  @Esjung1, do mind sharing your ship and departure date?  Perhaps a CC Member with a 7-nighter or 14-nighter at Standard Fare could also check and see what they would be charged if looking to upgrade.  I would expect any guest waiting until embarkation day will be charged $60/pp/day, less a flat $10 (Medallion shipping credit).