JimmyVWine

WYSIWYG. No additional charges can or will be applied.

I agree. But I don't recall this ever being an advertised and paid-for feature of a package. I have sailed with Medallions both with and without packages and gotten them mailed to be each time for free. But I think this was a "courtesy" and not a feature. As a courtesy, they can revoke it at any time. And honestly, given the elaborate packaging, it is a bit irrational to expect this to be mailed around the country for free. Is $10 the right number? I don't know. Is this $10 per order (meaning 1, 2, 3 or 4 Medallions in the order), or is it $10 per person. The first would not phase me at all. We sail as a party of three most of the time, and that would be $3.33 per person. But $30 for the three of us would be excessive.

I wasn't shouting. I cut and pasted the copy from the email and that is how it shows up. Blame them, not me.

You are understanding this right. The only reason to pay to upgrade is if you think that the new desserts and a couple of gym classes are worth $70 more on a 7 day cruise. $100 more on a 10 day cruise.

I do not understand how that can be unclear given the blast email that went out yesterday. It starts out with: "You'll be able to upgrade to the new or keep the old at the current price" Query why I would ever want to pay to upgrade if they were going to grandfather me in to the new additions? Clear as day, if I want the new additions, I have to call on or after 12/14 and upgrade for $10 per day.

This is true across the travel industry. For all the whining about the economy and gas prices, people are finding the disposable income to travel, cruises or otherwise. National Park reservations are selling out months in advance. Airports are overflowing. Cruise bookings are at record pace. Hotels are filled. Covid did not kill travel. To the contrary. It created an unprecedented demand. What the end of WWII did to maternity wards, the "end" (or tolerance of) Covid is doing to travel bookings.

I don't know what is unclear or what is so confusing. But if it helps, let's look at this from the back end. Let's say that you purchased a cruise with the Plus Package and your all-in price is $2700. You made a deposit of $500 and you have $2200 left to pay. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL YOU EVER GO TO YOUR PERSONALIZER AFTER 12/14 AND FIND THAT THE NEW BALANCE IS A PENNY HIGHER THAN $2200. THEY CANNOT DO THAT. But let's say that you did not pay for a package and have not yet pre-paid gratuities. After 12/14 the new gratuity amount will be the higher amount. You have not yet paid it, so it is subject to change. And if you did pay it (let's say at the $15.50 per person per day rate), you are NOT GOING TO BE ASSESSED ANOTHER $1.50 PER PERSON PER DAY. This isn't complicated and people are either making more out of it than is necessary, or have no basic understanding of contract law which includes the requirements of an offer, acceptance and consideration. Yes, it is embedded in fine print, but it clearly says: "(the terms on such site before the update apply to the original Princess Plus and Princess Premier packages for which you booked.)" That means, in no uncertain terms, that the terms that were posted on the website and were in effect on the date you booked carry through and stay with you no matter what. As for free shipping of Medallions, if that was an advertised and promised feature under the terms and conditions when you booked, then you get to keep that. But honestly, I don't recall ever seeing that as a paid-for "feature" so if it wasn't, then they can change that at any time. But the bottom line is that EVERYTHING THAT WAS BUNDLED TOGETHER IN YOUR PACKAGE ON THE DAY YOU PUT DOWN YOUR DEPOSIT IS YOURS TO KEEP AND THEY CANNOT AND WILL NOT TAKE ANY OF THAT AWAY FROM YOU.

If you have a package nothing changes. If you selected “Plus” then you agreed to pay $50 per day in exchange for the advertised features. That will not change. Same price. Same features. You don’t pay more and you don’t get more. These price increases are for people paying a la carte for gratuities and Wi-Fi. Pre-pay by next week or pay more after 12/14.

Got my email today!

CAVEAT: I don’t know all the laws of all the places the ships go. With that said, ports do use drug sniffing dogs at boarding areas and luggage loading areas. Not all the time, but it is done. I would guess that if the substance is illegal, dogs are trained to sniff it out. So the “since you don’t smoke it they’ll never know” assumption could be problematic. Wasn’t Brittany Griner arrested for possession of an oil and not a smokable substance?

That is the point that people are missing. If you book today you pay $50 per day for Plus and you get what you get. There is no obligation, legal or otherwise for you to get included desserts that you haven’t paid for. That doesn’t mean that Princess might not make a goodwill gesture. But it isn’t obligated to do so.

It would have been very easy for the press release to have said that guests who have already purchased a future cruise that will set sail after February will automatically be upgraded to the new package…but it didn’t. It cannot have escaped them that this question would be reoccurring. Sometimes you have to read a lot into words that aren’t there. Also, the new packages aren’t available for sale until 12/14. If the allow retroactive application (or at least announce retroactive application) people can game the system by booking now under the $50 per day price but getting all the benefits of the $60 package. Of course there is always time for them to change their minds. I think that a $10 per day upgrade option is coming for people who are already booked, or as a show of good will, they might announce a free upgrade. They just can’t advertise this now otherwise people will game the system and rush to book.

Well, it does seem to be the sine qua non of the price increase as there aren’t any other enhancements that would drive the change in price. It makes perfect sense to weigh (pun intended) the pros, cons, value and desirability of the carnival concoctions (pun intended) when discussing this upcoming change.

The Ruby ones are fine, and pair well with a nice Pinot Noir. The Silver ones have an odd metallic finish and the Blackened ones are fine with an ale, but utterly obliterate the nuances of any wine pairing. 😜

It was featured in Horizon Court at lunch on the first Sea Day. Consecutive chafing dishes in an area of the buffet serving all of the usual options. Not really the same as the sit down meal with beer service. And battered fish served en masse in a chafing dish does the texture no favors. But it was better than not having it at all.

Ah, but I am on the literal opposite side of the spectrum. To me the apps are where the experimentation and joy reside. I could (and have) make a whole meal out of a coursed tasting menu of four appetizers.

In culinary texts and cookbooks, I have seen it spelled as foo foo; foo-foo; fufu; and fou-fou. All seem to be accepted.

My condolences to the poor crepe!

Fufu is a sticky dough ball made from cassava root. What does it have to do with coffee? (Not a coffee drinker, so maybe I am missing something, but I have never seen fufu juxtaposed with coffee before.)

And while I said that we average 1 to 1.5 desserts per night for the three of us, we almost NEVER skip drinking our dessert. Port. Sambuca. Irish coffee. Scotch. Always find room for that!

I guess it is semantics. I don't consider the gelato on Deck 5 to be "dessert". I think of dessert as the last course of a sit-down meal, and for that, gelato, ice cream and sorbet have always been included. The gelato station on Deck 5 has always been viewed (by us) as a mid-afternoon snack, (and rarely used at that.) Am I going to eat one of those carnival monstrosities in the middle of the afternoon? Heck no!

To each their own. The sight of adults sharing a rainbow colored pinwheel lollipop in a dining room would cause me to look away, hard.

I'm sure some will. Honestly, those look horrid to me. A mish-mash of textures and flavors, and way too substantial to order as the last course of a dinner in the MDR. Who the heck wants a giant pinwheel lollipop with a bowl of ice cream? Even when they are included in the price, our family averages 1 to 1.5 desserts between the three of us on any given night, and that is for desserts that are one quarter the size of these.

Gelato is not sold a la carte as a dessert in the MDR.

Couldn't answer the survey because my choice isn't represented. It is: **On a domestic (U.S.) we will go Basic and bring our own supply of wine, drinking very little of the ship's alcohol and will not miss the perks of either package one little bit. **On cruises from foreign ports where we cannot bring on our own wine, we will evaluate Plus to see if it works for us. But the increased price coupled with the downgraded $12 and under wines makes this a tough pill to swallow. Still, the math might work. TBD.