no1racefan1

This is how I'm handling it, from a sporadic Princess cruiser on a budget: I'm still going on my cruise next year, because I've already booked and paid for excursions, gift cards, etc. and it would be a serious pain in the butt to cancel with Princess. I know it will be a fantastic trip and these things won't ruin it. I'm not getting a package. I didn't get one initially because of cost, and nothing about the change has made me want to spend the money. It's not worth it based on our onboard spending habits. I'm not paying to have the medallion shipped to me. I'll skip room service, Alfredo's, and OceanNow delivery. I paid a specific price when I booked, and don't want to pay for additional items that I didn't originally budget for. I'm annoyed that these were included when I booked and now they aren't, but I am not going to feel pushed into giving Princess more money. I'll miss getting chocolate cake and a glass of milk delivered to my room though 😉 I choose each cruise based on itinerary and price, and I usually compare 3-4 cruise lines each time. In all likelihood, Princess won't make the cut next time I'm cruise shopping, because I'm really jaded with how they handled this. I have no loyalty to any line, so it may be easier for me to say this than for others. I have emailed my feedback to Princess, and received a canned reply, which is what I expected.

OMG... this is all you need to know about how clear this whole situation is 🤣

'Worth it' is such an individual thing. It depends on a lot of factors, I think. Sure, if I'm taking a $10K cruise, maybe I don't care about spending an extra $1K for the Plus package. But....I'm taking a $2K cruise and I'm on a budget, and I've determined the Plus package is not even close to worth it. We are doing a 7-day Alaska cruise in an interior stateroom (booked the cheapest room possible). I've tried to be realistic about what we will spend. I don't drink coffee. DH only drinks black coffee. So no spending on coffee. Neither of us drink soda. I may have 1-2 ginger ales onboard if I start feeling seasick. We both drink water probably 98% of the time on a regular basis. I'll probably have a couple of hot chocolates when it's cold out on deck. I don't drink alcohol. DH may have a scotch or glass of wine with dinner. He may also bring a bottle of wine onboard--although we've never done that before, and don't know if we'll go to the trouble. We've never bought internet, but I think we'll buy the 1-device plan to keep tabs on our dog. We probably would have utilized room service 1-2 times, but it's not something we do regularly, and it will be easy to go without. We're on Sapphire Princess, so there aren't a lot of casual dining options anyway, and I can certainly forego pizza for 7 days since we rarely eat it. It's highly doubtful that we'd have used OceanNow delivery even if it was still free, because I've seen so many reports of it not working well. I already planned on picking up our medallions at check in because I've heard it's not that big of a deal, and there's no way I'm giving Princess more money just for them to send me something they are requiring me to use on their ships. Crew appreciation = $224 Internet = $105 Drinks = $200? Honestly probably not even that much Total: $529 Plus package: $840 I am disappointed in the changes to the packages, since room service and casual dining options were included in my fare when I booked it. I've expressed my disappointment to Princess. However, I don't feel like the changes are enough to negatively impact my trip, nor will they push me into booking a package I'm not going to get value out of. If I spend an extra $300+, it's going to be on a cabin upgrade! I have seen people say they book it just for peace of mind and not having to worry about all the little extras adding up. That's not my personality because I don't want to pay for something I'm not fully utilizing, but when deciding whether it's worth it, I think you just have to be honest with yourself and what your habits are.

Yay, I'm looking forward to it!! I am definitely already itching to plan something else... DH just rolls his eyes at me. LOL

As of Friday a total of 2,207 structures were damaged or destroyed and 2,170 acres have burned as a result of the Lahaina Fire on Maui, according to an updated damage assessment from the Pacific Disaster Center (PDC) and FEMA.

I was able to book my Major Marine tour today! They are open for 2024. After all the conversation we had here, I decided on my original plan of the 4-hour Orca Quest cruise. This was for a few reasons: If I end up seasick and miserable, I don't want to be stuck on that boat for 6+ hours I'm specifically interested in seeing orcas as opposed to other types of wildlife Saved a few bucks doing the shorter tour 🙂 Leaves us a little bit of free time that day to do something else if we want to I was going to wait until Black Friday to see if it went on sale, but I just couldn't wait, haha. If it goes on sale, I may call and see if I can get that price, since it is cancellable up until 72 hours prior. I've decided on a couple other tour operators but they are not bookable yet: MICA Guides--for the Matanuska Glacier hike. I decided on this company because it looks like they are available earlier in the year. Adventure 60 North--for a morning kayak tour in Resurrection Bay. I decided on them because I like the slightly later start time, allowing us time for a leisurely breakfast and packing the morning we leave Seward. Pablo's Bike Rentals--to rent bikes in Anchorage.

I am SO jealous

@cmmaxwell03 is the countdown on??

Maybe they'll be able to arrange some excursions. We did some great snorkeling through NCL when we stopped at Kona.

Nice! I made my screen name a loooong time ago when I was really into dirt track racing. I haven't watched in a while, but sometimes if I happen to catch a race on screen I'll stop and watch 😄

Right, I should clarify, I meant no cruise ships stopping in Maui. They are asking people to NOT travel to Maui at this time. I hope there are relief ships that are able to dock.

Based on current news reports, I'd venture to guess no stops in Maui at all.

I got the same response. I appreciated at least getting a response.

There's absolutely no harm in calling, as long as you won't be disappointed if they don't give you anything. This was many years ago, but on our Hawaii cruise the price dropped significantly after final payment date. I called and asked if there was anything that could be done (understanding they would probably say no). They didn't give me OBC, but they did upgrade me to an aft balcony because it was now a lower price than what I paid for a regular balcony. I was completely happy with that!

Wow

Yessss please @Host CJSKIDS

What do you mean? When I booked standard fare, it included room service, use of the OceanNow delivery app (or whatever the heck it's called), and Alfredo's. Now I will have to pay extra if I want to utilize any of those three things that were included in my fare when booked.

I concur.

This answers about 20 pages of questions

Ocean Now Ocean Ready Ocean App Ocean Medallion App

$5 to $15 'here and there' eventually adds up.... I booked a cruise vacation that included room service...except now it doesn't. I'm not going to cancel our trip over it, since we will have been planning it for over a year by the time we sail, but it certainly will drive me towards other vacation plans in the future. I just want to get the vacation that I paid for. No plans to pay for OceanNow--half the reviews I've seen, people order drinks and never receive them, or receive them 2 hours later. Can't imagine PAYING for that service!

Carnival definitely offers MDR breakfast daily. I especially enjoy Sea Day Brunch on sea days.

Wow, thank you for this. How very odd that they don't just have excursion options listed on their website but at least there is a workaround.

I'm an infrequent cruiser. I voted Standard Fare, continue sailing as usual--because that is what I have booked for 2024. However, I am unlikely to sail Princess after that (unless they have an amazing itinerary I can't get anywhere else), because I find some things to be more confusing and/or cumbersome than other lines.

Doubtful. 'Special' desserts are specific items. I'd be more interested if the specialty desserts were something 'deluxe' you could order with dinner or something.