prmssk

My favorite drinks were at Good Spirits that are priced at $12 and wines that are in the $10-12 range. I occasionally paid the $1.18 for a $13 glass of wine I like. So it wouldn’t take much of an increase to start adding up for me. But for those who normally drink the $6-9 drinks, any price increases probably won’t bump their drinks out of the Plus package. We shall see.

Please report back about your experience with this package. I really don’t think any of us really know whether you wasted your money or not because Princess has not done a great job outlining the benefits of upgrading. The uncertainty has a lot of us worried drink prices are going to suddenly go up and significantly de-value the Princess Plus. And I get that prices are going to go up but for those who were after final payment date when they first started promoting it, it really feels like a last minute switch. We personally prefer Celebrity and I really appreciate how they clearly outline what is covered under each package which makes the decision to upgrade easier. They also have had the two drink packages for a while so people have lots of experience with them. I think once we see this new package implemented and people get enough experience with it, there won’t be so much pushback. Princess made the decision for us to not upgrade easy though when they gave no option for only one person in a cabin to upgrade just the drink package. My husband doesn’t drink and we have no interest in photos, extra Wi-Fi, or specialty dining. We can justify Princess Plus but can’t justify the additional $50 (US) per day for a couple to upgrade to Princess Premier just so I can enjoy nicer drinks that may or may not be available. I board tomorrow for a B2B and my second leg starts June 25. I will report back any changes I notice.

Right now most drinks, including cocktails are $12 or less. And the cap is 15 alcoholic drinks a day. They don’t count non-alcoholic drinks (specialty coffees, bottled water, fountain soda, etc.) in that cap. Who knows how menus and prices will change after the new drink package goes into effect June 25.

When we were on the Emerald in February, there were only a couple wines by the glass over $12.

The Constellation has not been revolutionized and so doesn't have the Retreat Sundeck. Michael's Club has not been converted to the Retreat Lounge. The color scheme/decor/furniture are still the traditional darker look, not the revolutionized look that the Summit has (the Summit has been revolutionized). The dry dock last year was just to refresh her (and they did an amazing job), not change her.

The Plus terms and conditions still clearly state that any drink over $12 will only cost the difference plus gratuity. So a $13 drink for some with Plus would cost $1.18.

But when we cross the road we don't generally wear a helmet, wear brightly colored clothing to be seen better, or even only cross at crosswalks with walk signals. It's all about degrees of how many precautions we feel are necessary to mitigate the risk. I don't think anyone on this thread would argue there aren't any precautions that should be taken. Our disagreement is in how many precautions need to be taken based on how effective we think those precautions are based on the cost (time, money, emotional, etc.) of taking those precautions.

CDC has the same 5 day quarantine recommendation in the US as long as you are fever free on day 5 and your symptoms are improving.

Embarkation day testing of either kind also wouldn’t catch the cases from exposure to COVID in the travel to the port.

The other factor here is that most cruisers are likely more cautious in the two weeks leading up to their pre-cruise test and try to to avoid situations where they may be exposed. Then after they get their negative test, they get on an airplane, stay in a hotel, eat at restaurants, take a shuttle or train, etc. as they travel to the port.

I don’t think this is true because you can go in the cruise planner and purchase just the Plus Beverage Package or just the Premier Beverage package. So anyone cruising on a no perks fare can add on either drink package without upgrading the whole fare. So it makes absolutely no sense that those with the Plus fare wouldn’t be able to upgrade just their drink package.

Not exactly because a ship with more passengers is going to have more bars, restaurants, and other venues and so the number of possibly infected passengers per venue is still going to be pretty similar. On a smaller ship, your chances of repeat exposure to those infected is pretty high as you are more likely to repeatedly interact with a larger percentage of the passengers. On a ship of 3,000, there are a lot of passengers you will never have any contact with.

That depends on how many countries in a region have a testing requirement. I know that the US and Canada still have this requirement so it isn't hard to have different requirements for North American countries. Are there other countries? I believe Greece was one of the strictest in Europe but I understand they are dropping a lot (maybe all) of their protocols in a couple days. Protocols are disappearing fast. Are there other countries that still require testing?

Do any of those studies include circumstances where otherwise masked individuals removed their masks for long dinners in a crowded main dining room or to drink in a crowded bar? I agree there is enough evidence to show that wearing a mask 100% of the time while in crowds can make a significant difference. I just don't know how much is thrown out the window when your time in a mask is then interrupted by fairly lengthy times not in a mask.

Viking had been doing daily testing on all their cruises not just the river cruises.

And I believe Greece's protocols change on June 15 to eliminate this requirement so I think even countries that recently had such requirements are changing fast.

200 actually tested positive or 200 didn't continue on because they either tested positive or a travel mate tested positive? I would imagine one-half of a couple likely wouldn't continue on and if that couple was traveling with more people, those others may also not continue on. And how would someone know that number?

We are booked on this tour on the Constellation in November. I've done bridge tours before and even galley tours but I've never been able to see the engine control room, laundry, or some of the other areas this tour is supposed to visit and I am quite excited.

Absolutely, any cruise line will have to follow country requirements, although those requirements seem to be disappearing fast. But what I think it says is that Viking doesn't feel these tests are necessary any longer for their purposes. They don't see the value in these tests or at least the cost (in time, money, lost sales, etc.) is greater than any potential value.

As was I. Before their announcement, I was not very optimistic that testing would go away anytime soon but now that one of the most cautious cruise lines is dropping testing....maybe it will come sooner than we think to the rest of the lines.

You already are getting into elevators, eating in the MDR, and going to the theater with people who have COVID. The only way to avoid it is to avoid any enclosed space with other people. Most people who get COVID are contagious before they develop symptoms and many never develop symptoms and so never get tested. I'm not sure what exactly we are accomplishing by quarantining only people who develop symptoms and test positive after they have already spread it to countless other people.

Where is this 5% coming from? A second-hand report regarding no shows (with no information as to why they were no shows) from one ship almost a year ago? And keep in mind even if they were all related to a positive test, 1 positive test likely results in multiple no shows as travel companions (who may or may not have been exposed) also cancel/no show.

Well, not actually. Current testing protocols just tell us that everyone received a negative covid test result within a few days of their cruise. That test result may have been a false negative (common with the antigen tests) or the individual may just not have been contagious enough yet to test positive. It also doesn't consider the fact that people's travel to the port (usually after they take their COVID test) is likely their riskiest part of the trip as far as exposures go (flights, restaurants, shuttles, etc.).

Exactly! Pre-cruise testing is not catching ANY COVID cases that are picked up during the trip to the port (from flights, shuttles, hotels, restaurants, etc.) which is by far the most likely time for a passenger to get infected. I just can’t imagine it is truly doing anything to prevent COVID on ships besides giving passengers a false sense of security.

I've heard stories of passengers not knowing what ship they are sailing on and giving their luggage to porters in front of the wrong ship. On my last Princess cruise (out of San Pedro), I watched porters have to spend time double checking tags because there were a lot of confused passengers with two Princess ships in port. I don't know if that is what happened here but it is possible it is not fully the cruise line's fault. It will be interesting to hear what really happened.