GRAYTech

Yes the bottle is half the size of a "normal" 750ml but the price is about what you would pay for the full sized bottle.

It may not matter much with only one person getting the AIBP. For us it would have been 4 people on a recent 7 day cruise with 4 sea days.

We did not have the package but did do the BOGO happy hours, Platinum discounted hours and champagne at Sabatinis breakfast. The AIBP would have been at best a break-even for us even with the free champagne factored in. I would also say we are at the upper-end of consumption while cruising. I thought it would have made sense for sure.

Whatever you do keep track of what you drink and compare it in the end to find out what makes the most sense.

As others have said the perks don't transfer and the perks you get vary between the two lines.

We have cruised both Princess and HAL and they have both similarities and differences. Food in general was very similar IMHO. Princess wins on accommodations both cabin and general areas. HAL wins on service and attention to detail.

Our Princess Vista Suite was much nicer than a comparable suite on HAL. Same money got us a better cabin for sure on Princess.

HAL dinner service was top notch in the MDR. It appeared the waiter and helper had two tables to attend to. They were there to straighten your silverware, sweep crumbs, replenish water, butter you name it. They were on standby but not intrusive. Princess waiters seem like they have 5 or 6 tables. Doable but often times they have gone missing when you need something. Not bad but HAL wins the service category.

We have really enjoyed the balcony breakfast (albeit included with our VS suite). We have never done Alaska or the Panama Canal but think it would be great to have a leisurely breakfast, some mimosas / bloody Mary's with a great view. Even while in port it's fun to sit outside, eat, drink and watch the activity of the ports.

I actually love the smoked salmon /bagel / cream cheese thing. The eggs benedict also travel well. Be aware an order of bacon really means about 10 pieces. We got 4 orders the first time and it had to be at least a pound of bacon.

Is it still $45 for two if you are not in a full suite?

Have not been in Crown C748 (aft Penthouse) but we have stayed in D736 and D737 (aft Vista) and never noticed any noise or bad smells etc. I would think the wake noise would drown out any kind of fan noise or whatever. The wake noise is pretty loud.

The thing we like the best about staying in a suite is being able to order from the main dining room and have it delivered to our cabin. Be sure to go to Sabatini's at least once for breakfast. Eating on the balcony isn't bad either.

Get your laundry out to the cabin steward before 9AM and it will come back that evening free of charge.

It's a great ship and that's a great room, enjoy!

...It is all very organized and the purpose of the procedure is to make tendering as efficient as is practical and get people to their excursions together and on time.

It is very organized but I didn't like being in the Theater for 45 minutes prior to our excursion. It was supposed to be no more than 15 but there were delays with other passengers. Our group was there but they kept to the assigned group order. So 2 people held up an entire theater.

Gone are the days that said meet on the dock by the bow at 9:00AM (of course that wasn't for tendering) and we will walk to the bus or whatever. There sometimes would be a few slow to arrive but normally everyone was there a few minutes early and we left right on time.

So yes, when the theater works it's very organized and probably a better way to do it than the free for all it used to be. Just be sure you use the bathroom before you go there, they did not want anyone leave because you have already been counted and ready to go.

We sail on her Mar. 5....are there accessible ports on the tv to play your own device?

We were in CB E733 January 2017 and the TV by the couch had an unused HDMI port that we plugged an Apple TV into and were able to switch the input on the TV using the TV remote.

Worked great for playing music / watching videos and photos from the day.

We usually stay in a suite so the cover charge is waved the first night. If service is good, (outstanding usually in the Crown Grill) I shake the waiter's hand with a $50 folded up. They have always been very appreciative of the cash tip. And yes he did hover as we were leaving.

This was a while ago but one thing I discovered by accident was if you don't let the dryer "finish" and swap out the dry stuff with wet stuff (quickly) from a new load it will happily just keep on doing it's thing without another token.

So with the AIBP do they still swipe your card or just look at it?

Here I am thinking about drinking again....

If you have the AIBP does it appear as a daily charge on your shipboard account?

Do they still swipe your card but then credit you back the amount like they do for the suite laundry?

It would be next to impossible to figure out if the AIBP was worth it to you if the drink amounts don't show up on your shipboard account.

We do it for convenience. It is a great way to eliminate the uncertainty of the final bill

When I started this thread I was convinced the AIBP is not for us. After reading through the posts I'm beginning to waver on it. The final bill is always sticker shock. I think not planning around the BOGO happy hour would be another for us.

I think the next cruise will either be with the AIBP and keep the late dinner seating or start and end the day earlier with 3PM BOGO and the early dinner seating. ATD might be another option but we like the same wait staff and the better table location a suite normally gets you.

At any rate this has got me thinking again as we look to book our next cruise.

...Overall we'd say the PS was maybe 10-15% better than the VS so wouldn't pay 15%+ more for the PS. And if we wanted to use the price difference for excursions or other things and be in a VS we'd be very pleased with that overall cruise formula.

I think this is where we are at. I was looking yesterday and see the forward premium suites may be another option. Looks like the same suite benefits, good sized room but a smaller balcony. Have you stayed in the forward premium suites (Like A101) and how do they compare to the aft PS, VS or OS?

What you will get is a check in the mail a few weeks after you return home from your cruise,not a cash refund as you leave the ship. So try to underestimate the amount of OBC to purchase rather than overestimate.

Why not just let the balance roll to your credit card when the cruise ends?

If prepaying is to lessen the shock at the end put those same funds aside at home for use when your credit card bill arrives.

Sure your are not talking about the boarding pass? We are platinum and stayed in a Vista Suite and no preferred on the luggage tags.

Our boarding pass did say Preferred because we were in a full suite and I think platinums are also preferred status boarding wise.

I was stopped by the ships exit card reader person with a monster bloody Mary in a styro cup. Don't remember which port tho because I stepped back by the elevators and drank it down before I left.

Never would take any kind of food off but thought I would have been OK with V8 juice from a can and vodka. I guess they have no way to know what exactly is in the cup and I was openly carrying it.

I think even if it isn't heavily publicized don't take anything that isn't processed / sealed in a container. There are usually lots of local places to visit that have good food and drink, of course it will cost you a few bucks.

It's more then location. It's size and configuration. Although on the Princess web pages they show the same picture, having stayed in both suites I can tell you from experience they are quite different, the Penthouse being considerably nicer.

We really like the grand class vista suite. The only negative usually noted is the beam which I think is a positive as I use it to hide my easily burnable skin.

We have also stayed in a grand class Owners Suite and found the extra space was just a waste for us. Not that it was bad but even with 4 in the room we just never used the table and extra space over the vista.

We have never been in a Penthouse because we prefer the aft cabins and balconies. I see now there are actually a few aft Penthouse Suites and might give them a try. (Although it looks like the book pretty fast)

Can you be more specific why the PS is "considerably nicer" than a VS? Does the fridge actually work in a PS ?

I keep checking prices for our next two cruises that were booked under the Sip and Sail and, even with the promos that have happened since we booked the price has always been higher and we come out ahead just sticking with what we have.

To "check prices" are you just doing a "fake booking" for the same cruise and cabin class or is there any easier way to see if the price has changed?

We have a 7-day Alaska cruise in August. We could have the AIBP included or get. $150 pp credit.

AIBP or OBC when you book makes more sense. But a 7 day AIBP is $418, the $150 isn't even half of the value. Not a surprise I guess but what a sharp stick in the eye.

We are pretty light drinkers so would not find purchasing the AIBP worthwhile for us however the AIBP was included in a future 7-day cruise so we will have a glass or two of wine with our dinner and perhaps a pre-dinner cocktail. We always buy a coffee card so we won't need to purchase one this time.

I don't know if it's true but someone else said you can turn your AIBP into OBC. If you don't consume much that might be a good option for you.

Chairman of the Board is "our drink" on Princess. We also prefer it with a twist of orange to compliment the Cointreau in the drink. Both of us personally like it on the rocks and if having it at the BOGO$1, will order one on the rocks and one "up" so it doesn't get watered down. :)

That's a good tip. I had them both up to avoid the watering down but would rather have it on the rocks, not quite so jet-fuel like. A good compromise to have one of each. Haven't tried an orange twist but you are probably right, it does have a little sweetness to it. I do wish I could have one now. Oh well.

The olives also take a bit of the bite out of the drink. Not quite a dirty martini but the olive taste does permeate the drink.

This thread is five 5 years old

The really important topics never seem to go away. :rolleyes:

Can you please tell me what this drink is? I've never heard of it before.

Thank you.

A Brassie Marina was on the elite/suite drink menu. It's basically a vodka gimlet. Vodka with lime concentrate. It was actually very good but a bit too sour for me, the Mrs. enjoyed them though. I stuck with the jet-fuel "Chairman of the Board" straight up with olives.

Taking OBC instead of the AIBP is probably the way we will go if we get it as a perk. It would be nice though, not starting to cocktail at 3PM to get the BOGO. The late seating was well, late.

How would it have worked if say the two heaviest drinkers got it, but not the other two.

This may have some truth as my daughter likely didn't keep up one-for-one with the rest of us. Still I'm surprised with what we consumed that it didn't come out dollar wise. At the very least the AIBP would not have been a "great deal" for us. Taking advantage of the other "deals" on board and the breakfast champagne likely made the difference.

I'm with Thrak - I'll take it as a perk but likely won't pay for it based on these results.

Even if all four shipboard accounts were using the same credit card, didn't each passenger receive a separate folio on disembarkation morning? Or couldn't you have asked for individual ones from the Purser's desk?

 

Anyway, it seems that the value of the beverages included with your suite breakfast may have made up the difference (or more) in your calculations. Plus if you consumed anything from your mini-bar. A good argument for offering a discount on the AIBP to full suite passengers as some other lines do.

We did finish the minibar setup included with the suite. Yes, the Sabatinis breakfast could probably account for at least one bottle of champagne between the 4 of us, perhaps more per day. As well as coffees/juices/water that we didn't do. The ship's water was fine to refill a water bottle and the MDR/Sabatinis coffee was quite good.

We did get separate folios but I paid for 99% of the drinks on my card and none of it was itemized. It was in the app while on the ship but not the final printout. Not sure it would have been worth the effort anyway.

At the very least the AIBP would not have been "a great deal" for us.