Plus vs Premier

[Dinglebert]

I have searched and indeed searched. At the end of the day I know it’s my ultimate choice but I can’t work out if premier is worth it and would welcome opinions. 
 

The price difference for our 12 night Baltic cruise is £324 for the cabin or £162 each.  I know the plus works for us.  Don’t know it premier does. 
 

Drinks.  Looking at what I can see online there are not that many drinks above the $15 mark.     As a whisky drinker there are some very premium whiskies above the limit which I would enjoy.  OH likes her cocktails but I’m not seeing a large amount over the $15 and there seems to be lots available.  We enjoy a nice sparkling and the Champagne is over the threshold but Prosecco is available.   However am I using an outdated price list.  Latest I can find is early 2023.  
 

if we had premier we would enjoy the speciality dining.  Not sure we w oh ld be using the deserts that frequently.  Unsure also about the casual dining as it’s our first Princess cruise.  Do they Aksumite do these at lunch on sea days?

 

The photo but would be good.  E have tended in the past not to take cruise photos as have always found them too dear.  Are there a lot of photographers around. Have had very different recent experiences with different lines.  RCI they were everywhere to the degree of almost annoyingly not being able to have dinner without a photographer sat next to you.  Marella were ok, Pando could see a photographer when you actually wanted one. 
 

the seats for the shows I’m not sure about.  Are these at the front so you can walk in at last minute?

 

I do like the thought about not being concerned what drink we get or wanting photos etc.  Equally like the idea of having 

£32; to spend on excursions

 

any experiences welcome 

[Rick&Jeannie]

@Dinglebert  We had booked Plus for quite a few sailings before we finally tried Premier.  We really like the fact that it included 2 SD restaurants along with the reserved seating at *production* shows (not the run-of-the-mill entertainer shows).  Those reserved seats are NOT up front...(at least for the cruises we've been on.)  They are *generally* mid-way back and on the left side of the theater.  Not bad seats...but a bit surprising that they are not up close.  Their real draw is that they are there and waiting for you as long as you get there within the time window allowed and the then open them up for all.

The "premium" desserts really don't appeal much to us at all...we might get *one* for the whole cruise.  No way are we going for 2 a day!  And somewhat on that same note...even though we're not partaking of the premium desserts if you saw us you'll see that we are not partaking of the "free" fitness classes!

Still...we are much more open to Premier now than we were...but it's a very subjective thing.  You could always start out with Plus and (assuming that you do more cruises with Princess) then step up to Premier if you like.

Edited January 5 by Rick&Jeannie

[Guest Snaxmuppet]

We love Premier and use all that is offered except the fitness classes and premium desserts although even that will be used on our next cruise with just gelato.

 

I am intending to use that $20 limit where I can to try some better wines, champers and spirits (mainly whisky). I will also get a better quality bottle or two of wine using the 25% discount.

 

Having said all that it is such a personal thing that it is impossible for anyone to advise you on whether it will suit you or not. For many it would be a total waste... for many (me included) it is value for money. You really have to look at what is offered, look at what you might use and make up your own mind.

 

Personally... I would not do a Princess cruise without Premier!

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, Dinglebert said:

Latest I can find is early 2023.  

I don't see that as out-dated.

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, Dinglebert said:

the seats for the shows I’m not sure about.  Are these at the front so you can walk in at last minute?

They are not at the front - most reports have them back a bit and off-center.  You should plan on being in them with about 10 minutes before showtime.  Unused seats are opened up generally, but the time could be 5 mins, 10 mins - depends on what the particular ship practice is.

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, Dinglebert said:

I do like the thought about not being concerned what drink we get or wanting photos etc.

It isn't easy to relate to your numbers in GBP and ship will be in USD as you realize.  We are not users of either package, but I can say that a good number of folks book Plus and figure their extra spend on any premium drinks, plus the SD if used, doesn't work out to the $20 USD per day difference.  That said, some figure the splurge is worth it for a short voyage, but not a longer one since the number of SD passes is fixed.  You are along the right path.  Just do some noodling and cost estimating and see what you think. 

 

[memoak]

20 minutes ago, Snaxmuppet said:

We love Premier and use all that is offered except the fitness classes and premium desserts although even that will be used on our next cruise with just gelato.

 

I am intending to use that $20 limit where I can to try some better wines, champers and spirits (mainly whisky). I will also get a better quality bottle or two of wine using the 25% discount.

 

Having said all that it is such a personal thing that it is impossible for anyone to advise you on whether it will suit you or not. For many it would be a total waste... for many (me included) it is value for money. You really have to look at what is offered, look at what you might use and make up your own mind.

 

Personally... I would not do a Princess cruise without Premier!

Note the 25% discount on bottles of wine applies to plus packages as well. We find the plus works for us as we don’t do photos , most drinks we have are under $15 and we get a free specialty dinner for being in a suite and often get gifted one by the casino

[Guest Snaxmuppet]

14 minutes ago, memoak said:

... clipped...

 

and often get gifted one by the casino

How do you get that? We do bet in the casino but I suppose we don't bet enough. What kind of money are we talking about to stand a chance of that happening to me?

[memoak]

21 minutes ago, Snaxmuppet said:

How do you get that? We do bet in the casino but I suppose we don't bet enough. What kind of money are we talking about to stand a chance of that happening to me?

It is all based on points. We each generally hit 10,000!+ over a 10 day cruise more on longer. We probably spend at least 2-3 hours a day in the casino and do not bet max all the time

[wallyj]

2 hours ago, memoak said:

It is all based on points. We each generally hit 10,000!+ over a 10 day cruise more on longer. We probably spend at least 2-3 hours a day in the casino and do not bet max all the time

@Snaxmuppet, I believe the ratio of amount of bet to points has been adjusted from years ago when I used to play in the casino. I think at one time it was every $3 or $5 played on a slot, you received 1 casino point. Let’s just say for fun it is only $1.50 bet for 1 point. At that ratio, to earn 10,000 casino points you churned thru $15,000.  Remember you gain a casino point for betting which will not necessarily mean you ‘lost’ all that $.

 

Even if you got 1 point for betting $1, you would need to churn/bet a total  $10,000!  to gain 10,000 casino points. I believe video poker earns the least points per play and it is different  between slots and table games. The casino host in the casino will be happy to explain it all.

 

@memoakgets ‘free’ cruise offers for their play besides other bennies(specialty dinners, etc.) and it works for them. 
 

 

[memoak]

2 minutes ago, wallyj said:

@Snaxmuppet, I believe the ratio of amount of bet to points has been adjusted from years ago when I used to play in the casino. I think at one time it was every $3 or $5 played on a slot, you received 1 casino point. Let’s just say for fun it is only $1.50 bet for 1 point. At that ratio, to earn 10,000 casino points you churned thru $15,000.  Remember you gain a casino point for betting which will not necessarily mean you ‘lost’ all that $.

 

Even if you got 1 point for betting $1, you would need to churn/bet a total  $10,000!  to gain 10,000 casino points. I believe video poker earns the least points per play and it is different  between slots and table games. The casino host in the casino will be happy to explain it all.

 

@memoakgets ‘free’ cruise offers for their play besides other bennies(specialty dinners, etc.) and it works for them. 
 

 

I will tell you we don’t put $10,000 in the machines per trip. Having free play helps and hitting  some decent jackpots helps. Occasionally we hit enough to pay off the folios sometimes not. Last cruise I hit 3 $800 majors

 

[wallyj]

@Dinglebert, you need to consider which ship you will be sailing on as it varies on which ‘casual dining’ venue will be available and if these venues you would be interested in enjoying.  Premier gives you unlimited casual dining visits opposed to only 2 with Plus.
 

I personally do not care for Prosecco if I can have real ‘Champagne’. I believe Prosecco is $11 and the Champagne offered with the premier package is $19. Princess offers even higher priced options if you desire. 

Try to estimate how many over Plus drinks you might order, if casual dining is available on your ship and it matters to you. Do you care about fitness classes or the premium desserts having unlimited with Premier and limited with Plus.

 

Princess prizes is a game, and the odds of winning a prize can be found on the website.

 

 

 

[wallyj]

8 minutes ago, memoak said:

I will tell you we don’t put $10,000 in the machines per trip. Having free play helps and hitting  some decent jackpots helps. Occasionally we hit enough to pay off the folios sometimes not. Last cruise I hit 3 $800 majors

 

Do you know what the ratio is of bet to casino point is on slots?
 

I did not say you put $10,000 of your own $ into the casino. I assume when you hit your jackpots, you played thru with thier(casino$)/winnings, so yes with free play and jackpot wins, the amount of your own $ put into the machine would be less than $10,000, but even at 1 point per $1 bet, you have to ‘play’ /bet $10,000. 
 

So for your example as I am sure you had other smaller wins, you had 3 x $800 wins, plus let’s say $1,000 free play and a total of $1,500 smaller wins, so yes, you will not have needed to insert $10,000 of your own $ , but gained points playing with your winnings. 
 

My comment was to @Snaxmuppet, to give them an ideal of how much ‘play’ is needed to earn those 10,000 casino points.

 

[cr01s13r3]

For us, the plus vs. premier comes to three things:

Length of the cruise. Anything one week or shorter, Premier has more value for us due to the two included specialty dinings. We usually do two per week. Longer cruises, same price difference for still only two SD for entire cruise holds less value.

Wine. If you mostly drink soft drinks, liquor, and cocktails, almost everything is covered by Plus. If you enjoy drinking wine, however, the included wines on Premier are far, far better than the wines included in Plus.

Internet. If you want to frequently use more than one device without the hassle of switching between devices, and aren't platinum/elite with discounts in internet, Premier has more value.

 

I know the calculations will be different based on what each person values, but that's what it comes down to for us.

 

[memoak]

1 minute ago, cr01s13r3 said:

For us, the plus vs. premier comes to three things:

Length of the cruise. Anything one week or shorter, Premier has more value for us due to the two included specialty dinings. We usually do two per week. Longer cruises, same price difference for still only two SD for entire cruise holds less value.

Wine. If you mostly drink soft drinks, liquor, and cocktails, almost everything is covered by Plus. If you enjoy drinking wine, however, the included wines on Premier are far, far better than the wines included in Plus.

Internet. If you want to frequently use more than one device without the hassle of switching between devices, and aren't platinum/elite with discounts in internet, Premier has more value.

 

I know the calculations will be different based on what each person values, but that's what it comes down to for us.

 

If you have plus go to Vines. Their list of wines are much better. They have an old vine zin for $15 which is excellent 

[Thrak]

I notice that there are many Irish Whisky choices that fit within the Plus package in the US that were just outside the limit on our Australia/New Zealand cruises.  They are all listed at $15 on the US voyages but were listed at $22.50 AUD on the Australia/New Zealand cruises. I found it quite annoying that they priced them just over the limit. On those cruises I drank mostly Bulleit during the day and Single Malt Scotch in the evening. I may well be drinking more Irish on our upcoming cruise. Redbreast 12, Jameson Stout, etc. Typical of Princess to have different pricing structures in different areas.

[jwattle]

33 minutes ago, Thrak said:

I notice that there are many Irish Whisky choices that fit within the Plus package in the US that were just outside the limit on our Australia/New Zealand cruises.  They are all listed at $15 on the US voyages but were listed at $22.50 AUD on the Australia/New Zealand cruises. I found it quite annoying that they priced them just over the limit. On those cruises I drank mostly Bulleit during the day and Single Malt Scotch in the evening. I may well be drinking more Irish on our upcoming cruise. Redbreast 12, Jameson Stout, etc. Typical of Princess to have different pricing structures in different areas.

what was the limit fo plus in AUD?

 

[Papa Yoda]

We hit about $400 with Premier just by opening our cabin door.  One hit was $250. 15 day Hawaii cruise a year ago.  And we do appreciate the better wines...Sadly, Fortuna Luck didn't give us the 5 grand, or a free cruise, or even $100K at the end of cruise drawing.

 

 

[Thrak]

1 hour ago, jwattle said:

what was the limit fo plus in AUD?

 

 

$22.00 AUD

[jwattle]

14 minutes ago, Thrak said:

 

$22.00 AUD

ouch!

[Thrak]

2 hours ago, jwattle said:

what was the limit fo plus in AUD?

 

 

18 minutes ago, Thrak said:

 

$22.00 AUD

 

4 minutes ago, jwattle said:

ouch!

 

$22.50 is barely over the limit and $0.50 AUD +18% = $0.59 USD which is only about $0.40 USD  but it's annoying that they priced so many things just barely over the limit when they are all included in US sailings.

 

I always hear how Australia pays a "living wage" but, when we went ashore, everything was priced crazy high. Yes, it was AUD so it was okay for us but the Aussies are paid in AUD and it's the "regular" currency there so things are stupid expensive.

Edited January 8 by Thrak

[nini]

@Dinglebert: Just sit down with pen and paper and contemplate what you would normally consume and/ or participate in for the average day; even when you go onshore.

For example; for just myself, I know:

(2) bottles of water         5.00

(2) glasses of wine       30.00 plus gratuity of 5.40

(1) Espresso beverage   5.00 

Crew Gratuities            16.00

WiFi                              15.00

Total for average day   76.40

 

So, you can see that the bare basics for me already exceed 60.00 per day and no worries if I want a cocktail or to splurge.

 

Edited January 8 by nini