Current Coupon Book

[ramrax4]

Does anyone have input with re: to the current coupon book? We cruise in June and I am debating on whether I should wait till we board the ship to buy the coffee card, it used to have BOGO but not sure if they did away with that particular coupon or not. If I remember right they don't charge the tax if you wait until you are out to sea.

It's been awhile since we cruised Princess.

Thanks in advance!

Edited March 23, 2016 by ramrax4

[Thrak]

I see no value to the coupon book. There is no BOGO for the coffee card. I hear there was one once upon a time but it's long gone.

 

I did have a BOGO coupon for a drink at Skywalker's between 10:00 PM and 11:000 PM on one cruise. I used that and then took advantage of the "regular" BOGO in that same venue that ran from 11:00 PM - 12:00 AM. Other than that I don't have a use for the coupon book.

[Pam in CA]

The BOGO has been gone for at least 3-4 years. Everyone is different but IMHO, the only useful coupon is the 10% off in the shop. Otherwise, good as coasters or to make a door stop.

[yoyosma]

We had a pair a few weeks ago on the Royal and it was a bit better than the last several we have gotten. There was a coupon for a free 375ML bottle of red or white Mondavi wine at the specialty restaurants and a coupon for BOGO glass of wine in Princess Theater. We used one of the free wine coupons. No coffee BOGO coupon but BOGO coupon for slot tournament. These are the coupon booklets given out by TAs, not the passport to savings coupon booklet everyone gets.

[Roatanfans]

How about the Savvy Shopper book? We are off to Hawaii in a week and a half and I was wondering if any of those coupons are worth it?

[Working 2 Cruise]

How about the Savvy Shopper book? We are off to Hawaii in a week and a half and I was wondering if any of those coupons are worth it?

 

Absolutely worthless, sorry!

[cruzsnooze]

Buy your coffee cards on ebay if you want to save some money. The coupons are really not worth the paper they're printed on.

[ramrax4]

Buy your coffee cards on ebay if you want to save some money. The coupons are really not worth the paper they're printed on.

 

I did check out the cards for sale on ebay and you can save $10 or more by doing this.

 

Is this a common practice?

 

I notice quit a few people(another coffee thread) were not thrilled with people buying their coffee cards on ebay.

 

I did notice there were 2 versions for sale....I believe one is being phased out by Princess.

Has anyone had an issue with using the cards bought on ebay?

[Thrak]

I did check out the cards for sale on ebay and you can save $10 or more by doing this.

 

Is this a common practice?

 

I notice quit a few people(another coffee thread) were not thrilled with people buying their coffee cards on ebay.

 

I did notice there were 2 versions for sale....I believe one is being phased out by Princess.

Has anyone had an issue with using the cards bought on ebay?

 

People who are Elite and don't drink alcohol turn in their complimentary mini bar setup for two coffee cards. Even if they do enjoy drinking the specialty coffee they can end up with an excess of coffee cards so they sell them on eBay. As long as there is no voyage information written on the card and there are no punches taken from it then it works as a brand new coffee card when you sail.

 

There has been no information regarding plans to stop accepting the older cards and I would guess Princess may still have some of them in stock on some ships. They have no reason not to continue to issue and accept them as long as they have some in stock. They may eventually stop taking them but one would hope that, if that should occur, they would be willing to trade an unused and unmarked old style card for a new card.

[ramrax4]

People who are Elite and don't drink alcohol turn in their complimentary mini bar setup for two coffee cards. Even if they do enjoy drinking the specialty coffee they can end up with an excess of coffee cards so they sell them on eBay. As long as there is no voyage information written on the card and there are no punches taken from it then it works as a brand new coffee card when you sail.

 

There has been no information regarding plans to stop accepting the older cards and I would guess Princess may still have some of them in stock on some ships. They have no reason not to continue to issue and accept them as long as they have some in stock. They may eventually stop taking them but one would hope that, if that should occur, they would be willing to trade an unused and unmarked old style card for a new card.

 

Thank you for the nice answer! I did notice that ebay had the new version for sale already.

[IECalCruiser]

The punches on the coffee cards don't expire. We found an old Queen of Cups card with a couple of punches and used it on a cruise last year. The issue would be with the complementary fresh brewed coffee for the cruise on which the coffee card is purchased. If you bring an old coffee card with no voyage name on a ship selling the new card then I doubt they will accept the old cards for fresh brewed coffee unless you use a punch.

Edited March 25, 2016 by IECalCruiser

[Pam in CA]

I did check out the cards for sale on ebay and you can save $10 or more by doing this.

You're really not saving as you won't be able to get the unlimited coffee. Just the leftover punches for any coffee or tea.

[ramrax4]

You're really not saving as you won't be able to get the unlimited coffee. Just the leftover punches for any coffee or tea.

They are listed as new, "Cafe Selects" no ship and sail date on them and come with ebay's 100% guarantee or money back policy if misrepresented. If I understood right the cards are not used, in most cases, and that's why they are offered for sale on ebay.

Do you have knowledge otherwise, I would be interested to know.

Edited March 25, 2016 by ramrax4

[Pam in CA]

They are listed as new, "Cafe Selects" no ship and sail date on them and come with ebay's 100% guarantee or money back policy if misrepresented. If I understood right the cards are not used, in most cases, and that's why they are offered for sale on ebay.

Do you have knowledge otherwise, I would be interested to know.

The coffee cards are to be used on the ship/voyage on which they are bought or obtained. So, whether a card has been used or not, they are automatically misrepresented. The seller is working the system to their advantage if the card hasn't been marked. Once the seller disembarks, the card is technically not new. Edited March 26, 2016 by Pam in CA

[IECalCruiser]

The coffee cards listed on eBay with 15 punches will definitely get you 15 specialty coffee drinks. Scanning the current listings, most of the sellers stated nothing more than that. One seller advertising old cards without a voyage marked stated that they are good for unlimited fresh brewed coffee and that will probably not be the case on ships that are now selling the new cards. We are Elite and have sailed in suites several times over the past few years and we exchanged one of our mini-bars for coffee cards. DW enjoys the specialty coffees so we just keep using the punches on later cruises. It is their right but I don't like the fact that people sell coffee cards on eBay. Maybe Princess will look at the cards for sale and decide to delete the fresh brewed coffee as a benefit. If they roll out the coffee brewers on the Royal class ships there probably isn't a need to offer fresh brewed. I'm not a coffee drinker but that is DW's opinion. She also found the regular coffee on the Pacific in December to be better and only used a few punches of an old card for an occasional specialty coffee during out 14 day cruise.

[ramrax4]

The coffee cards listed on eBay with 15 punches will definitely get you 15 specialty coffee drinks. Scanning the current listings, most of the sellers stated nothing more than that. One seller advertising old cards without a voyage marked stated that they are good for unlimited fresh brewed coffee and that will probably not be the case on ships that are now selling the new cards. We are Elite and have sailed in suites several times over the past few years and we exchanged one of our mini-bars for coffee cards. DW enjoys the specialty coffees so we just keep using the punches on later cruises. It is their right but I don't like the fact that people sell coffee cards on eBay. Maybe Princess will look at the cards for sale and decide to delete the fresh brewed coffee as a benefit. If they roll out the coffee brewers on the Royal class ships there probably isn't a need to offer fresh brewed. I'm not a coffee drinker but that is DW's opinion. She also found the regular coffee on the Pacific in December to be better and only used a few punches of an old card for an occasional specialty coffee during out 14 day cruise.

 

Thank you for your response, well said and informative.

 

IMHOP I don't feel that it's working the system, if you have obtained Elite status, at a high cost I might add, the cards are yours to do with as you please.

 

They can not be used for more than 15 specialty beverages, the cards are not being physically altered in such a way as to get more than the allotted 15 beverages. So what's the difference if you or someone who has purchased the card receives the 15 specialty coffees?

 

I do realize that they are intended for the current sailing, but if Princess is so worried about this issue then I'm sure they would have figured out a way to curb the cards being sold on ebay. A disclaimer that says non-transferable, a start and end date perhaps, I don't know.

The end result is they are only being used 1 time by the purchaser who ever that may be.

 

I really don't think Princess is loosing too much sleep over this issue. For those that want to buy the cards elsewhere I certainly wouldn't judge them.

I for one have decided it's not worth the extra effort to buy the card on ebay but choose to purchase it once I board the ship.

Problem solved!

 

One last thought, when someone post's a question it would be nice for once just to to have it answered in a non-judgmental way. I don't understand why some people feel like they have to be everyone's moral compass, can't we just have a nice logical discussion about a topic, I mean this in the nicest way possible:D:D

Edited March 26, 2016 by ramrax4

[24639]

I have purchased coffee cards on board and on Ebay. I have never had a problem getting the brewed coffee. A card usually lasts me several voyages since I don't really get any of the specialty coffee just brewed.

The thing I am sensitive to, however, is that if you purchase your card on Ebay there is no gratuity added for the crew. When using one of those cards or when my card is a carry over I always carry singles with me and tip whomever is serving.

[Happy2cruise]

 

One last thought, when someone post's a question it would be nice for once just to to have it answered in a non-judgmental way. I don't understand why some people feel like they have to be everyone's moral compass, can't we just have a nice logical discussion about a topic, I mean this in the nicest way possible:D:D

Very nicely said:)