Tell Me About Being "Elite" w/Princess, Is It That Much Better Cruise Experience?

[geoherb]

The free laundry came in very handy on our British isles cruise this summer. We had five nights before the cruise in England and then the 12-night cruise. The priority tendering did not help much on that itinerary. We probably would have been on the same tender without priority.

 

I like getting the mini bar water. Neither of us currently drinks liquor, but I bring them home to cook with. I trade the beers for Perrier. DH trades the soft drinks for Diet Coke and ginger ale.

 

We have enjoyed the internet minutes ever since becoming Platinum. They were especially nice before we retired and had to keep in touch with our workplaces. I have done several live threads from our cruises.

 

All that said, though, it comes down to price when I'm booking a cruise. In February, we sailed on a Holland America ship on a partial Panama Canal cruise. The cost was considerably less than the equivalent itinerary on Princess. It was our fifth cruise on HAL. We enjoyed the difference and I hope to sail on HAL again enough to work our way up in its Mariner Society program. We're more than halfway to 3* status but a long way off from 4*, which is where the best perks start kicking in.

[Musky Ike]

Can someone explain the stocked mini-bar? I assume Princess stocks the bar for you, but at what cost? Or is it complimentary? And if so, do they restock it at no cost at different intervals or based on the length of the cruise? Just curious in case I ever get to Elite status. :)

One included setup for elite and/or suite. Contents may be changed upon arrival. Lots of other discussions here. on this Just search "elite mini bar" .

[Grego]

The Elite benefits are a factor, but certainly not the only one. For us the most important is the itineraries. We have been fortunate to sail all over the world with Princess

 

I totally agree. With the upcoming addition of Ocean Medallion, there will be an expanded experience to the whole journey. Thank you, Jan Swartz, for stepping up and wanting Princess to be the company to implement the *****.

[Thrak]

We were just in port with an NCL ship & from the looks of the types of passengers I know why we stick to Princess.

 

Bless your heart.

 

OMG! What a total "Steel Magnolias" response. I freaking love it!! :hearteyes:

[jdvmd]

I have platinum status with NCL as well as elite status with Princess. The perks are good on both but I will give the edge to NCL.

Gosh, I wonder if that poster thought I was coming off the NCL ship last week and not Princess.

[DrivesLikeMario]

I have pretty good status with most cruise lines but Princess' Elite perks keep us coming back to them. Celebrity's are next best IMO. I just wish Princess would come up with a level above Elite as there are too many of us on some cruises.

[Host CJSKIDS]

I totally agree. With the upcoming addition of Ocean Medallion, there will be an expanded experience to the whole journey. Thank you, Jan Swartz, for stepping up and wanting Princess to be the company to implement the *****.

 

Appreciate them implementing the *****, but it has to actually work! There is always growing pains with new technology, there was when Disney started their bands. But shouldn’t one aspect of the ***** actually be working at this point?!!!

[Mike45LC]

For me, most of the Elite perks are “who cares?” I mostly do 7 day cruises, so I do not need the free laundry.

 

Free canapes? I can go to the buffet on Lido to graze.

 

Free tea? Ditto. I don’t even bother with the High Teas.

 

Wine tasting? I’ve never bothered to try it.

 

Captain’s Parties? Waste of my time, I don’t go.

 

We don’t drink, so the free minibar setup is not important. I leave the mini-bottles to our steward at the end of the cruise. I might trade the minibar setup for the Coffee Cards next cruise but we are not big coffee drinkers either. We drink soda, and the Soda And More package takes care of our needs!

 

I do like the free internet minutes – I check my email twice a day while on a cruise.

 

I like priority boarding, but I usually don’t get to the ship until after lunch and the crowd has already dissipated, so this is not a big deal.

 

I usually don’t need priority disembarkation, but I do like a nice quiet lounge to wait in while the rest of the ship is bedlam.

 

I keep cruising on Princess because of the itineraries. This is why I made Elite and it is why I continue to cruise mostly on Princess. But thanks to FloridaLover’s recommendation, I might try NCL sometime.

[neilrr]

We were just in port with an NCL ship & from the looks of the types of passengers I know why we stick to Princess.

 

I don't love the NCL product, but I would never judge their passengers by their looks. Not a nice comment.

 

Hi all...We are avid cruisers #35 qnd #36 coming up and I am looking forward to our first time as "Elite" on Princess. We are excited about the mini-bar and free laundry...(it's the little things that make me happy :D) We have been Elite on Celebrity for several years and both lines do a great job and treat us very well. Princess is just not as formal as Celebrity, but certainly improved over the years.

 

As for the NCL comments by floridalover and Arwen - We agree to a point.

We went on NCL one time and never again. We do not even discuss or consider that cruise line in our home. The food in the MDR was the worst we ever had and service was marginal at best. NCL tries to force you into the additional surcharge restaurants for a decent meal. They served the same dishes on the lunch buffet 3 days in a row. As for the crowd, I would not usually generalize, but when we came down dressed in tuxes for Captain's night, half of the people looked like they just came off the beach in Coney Island. I recently heard NCL is allowing shorts and tank tops to dinner in the MDR, as well. If that is the atmosphere people want - go for it -- not for us.

Happy Thanksgiving and Cruising to all...:D

[GUT2407]

I just was elevated to Ruby on my last cruise.

Obviously many cruises to go before being Elite.

 

Does your Elite status keep you sailing Princess?

Short answer no.

 

Still only platinum. Cruise Princess because I like the product but I also like Celebrity and Cunard (only a few cruises with them, but like their product), if Princess keep declining I won’t hesitate to jump.

[GUT2407]

Short answer no.

 

Still only platinum. Cruise Princess because I like the product but I also like Celebrity and Cunard (only a few cruises with them, but like their product), if Princess keep declining I won’t hesitate to jump.

 

 

Platinum perks are nothing to write home about, the only thing that Elite will give ME is some cans of Diet Coke in the fridge (saving me a few trips to the bar) or a couple of coffee cards for Mrs Gut.

[lives to cruise]

Bless your heart.

 

Don't you just love our Southern ways. ;)

[The-Inside-Cabin]

A few years ago, HAL decided to eliminate its Medallion program which gives frequent cruisers near worthless large Medallions (you can wear them on a ribbon around your neck) to those who had a lot of cruise days. The HAL fans went crazy! "How dare you stop giving out those worthless Medallions." "I have worked hard to get my Medallion." etc etc. Its the same with the Pins. DW used to toss all of our cruise related stuff (medallions, certificates, pins, etc.) into a bottom drawer. But when we needed the drawer for other stuff, all that cruise stuff went into the trash. However, we have now noticed that some enterprising cruisers try to sell some of that garbage on e-bay! Anyone want a HAL Gold Medallion? How about some old Princess cruise cards (Elite of course)?

 

 

 

Hank

 

 

HAL still gives out medallions. Many people, not all, still enjoy getting them.

 

I like to hang my medallion on my Christmas Tree as it brings back fond memories of my many cruises. I don't consider them worthless or garbage.

[Go-Bucks!]

Perhaps its more about an individual's ego and urge to be recognized.

 

I don't think this is the most common reason why cruisers enjoy moving up the loyalty ladder. Many of them are probably like me - not wealthy, middle-class, but enjoy traveling. I am very frugal and save my money so I can take cruises. Having the tangible perks from loyalty status keeps my expenses as low as possible so I can enjoy my traveling experience.

 

 

For us, its near meaningless except for the few real benefits that we get from loyalty status. Unlike some others we have met, we never book a cruise because of "loyalty" or loyalty benefits. As a result, after forty years of extensive cruising we find ourselves in high categories of most cruise lines. So what!

 

Well, it would appear that you might not have any financial worries connected to traveling and so the loyalty perks are of little importance to you. That's fine, but please don't assume that the typical traveler has the same financial means as you. Just because loyalty perks help me to afford a nice vacation doesn't mean that I have a big ego or "need to be recognized."

 

 

One irony is that now that we have achieved higher status levels, we usually do not bother going to any of the status related functions. On our past 3 Princess cruises we have not gone to any of the Elite cocktail parties, Captain;s parties, wine tastings, etc.

 

I don't go to them either - because they're of no interest to me and I don't drink alcohol.

 

We will admit that the free internet is our favorite perk. Consider that on long Princess cruises DW and I get a combined 1000 free minutes. On some cruise lines this is worth over $500, and its a great Elite benefit. Our mini bars are usually exchanged for coffee cards which is another nice perk. But none of that would be a reason for us to book a future Princess cruise.

But for some people those benefits enable them to book a cruise because they make a cruise more affordable.

 

 

But we have learned that to some folks, all this status stuff really matters. Some of would be laughable...if not true.

Again, you're judging the motive for cruising based soley on your reasons for cruising and, likely, your financial status. I never tell anyone my loyalty status nor do others tell me theirs. None of us cares. But the loyalty benefits help many of us middle-class folks afford a lovely and relaxing time away from work or home.

[voljeep]

then why do you have your loyalty status at the bottom of your postings?

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Again, you're judging the motive for cruising based soley on your reasons for cruising and, likely, your financial status. I never tell anyone my loyalty status nor do others tell me theirs. None of us cares. But the loyalty benefits help many of us middle-class folks afford a lovely and relaxing time away from work or home.

 

 

 

Beat Michigan !!!!

[OCruisers]

We do not cruise on Princess because we are Elite.

We are Elite because Princess is the best fit for us so we most often cruise Princess. :)

Does being Elite keep us from cruising on other cruise lines?

Certainly not and we do "sleep around" on other lines from time to time. :D

[Griller]

Sounds like you should be on Cunard with comments like that.

 

There certainly are a lot of ten bob snobs on Cunard with their heads up their nether regions.........................I did about 20 plus cruises on Cunard before I realized I didn't fit in

I would still do a $399 7 day transatlantic on Cunard though occasionally when its on offer, saw one advertised today and considered it, you can ignore the snobs for that long

[Go-Bucks!]

then why do you have your loyalty status at the bottom of your postings?

I'm not the one who was saying that people who enjoy their loyalty perks are wrong for enjoying them - the other poster was. They're earned and should be used without having to feel ashamed of them. :cool:

[Go-Bucks!]

Beat Michigan !!!!

 

O - H..................I - O! :hearteyes:

[Coolmama_1]

For a myriad of reasons, I seemed to be down at passenger services almost every day. Nothing big but needed to deal with. ( i.e getting change). It was nice not to have to stand in line.:)

[OzKiwiJJ]

Platinum perks are nothing to write home about, the only thing that Elite will give ME is some cans of Diet Coke in the fridge (saving me a few trips to the bar) or a couple of coffee cards for Mrs Gut.

 

I'm going to disagree with you for once, Gut. I enjoy the Platinum perks. The priority boarding is great, especially when we were in Barcelona a couple of months ago as there was a separate lounge for Platinum/Elites in the terminal with complimentary tea, coffee and snacks. It was very pleasant waiting there for boarding to commence.

 

I also like the free internet and find it's perfect for quickly catching up with email etc. In fact I didn't even use all my minutes on the Med cruise.

 

I am looking forward to reaching Elite, mainly for the free laundry and the priority tendering. I suspect we'll still do underwear and tshirts in the laundrette but we do send anything that needs pressing after washing to the laundry. It will be nice to get that free and that will mean I'll be able to take more of my lovely linen tshirts on cruises. Priority tendering would have come in very useful on a couple of cruises.

 

If we manage to do all the cruises we have booked we should reach Elite by the end of 2019. We do cruise other lines occasionally but we keep coming back to Princess. It's a good fit for us and has interesting itineraries that depart and/or return to Australia thus keeping other travel costs to a minimum.

[rbt001]

OMG! What a total "Steel Magnolias" response. I freaking love it!! :hearteyes:

 

Yes! It a Southern thing: think of the most vile four letter words you would utter to someone who has said something that's offended you, that can't be printed here. That's what a Southerner is thinking as they smile and say: "Bless your heart!"

[Coolmama_1]

Yes! It a Southern thing: think of the most vile four letter words you would utter to someone who has said something that's offended you, that can't be printed here. That's what a Southerner is thinking as they smile and say: "Bless your heart!"

Yes Ma'am!:D

[ggprincess2004]

If Princess didn't offer a cruising experience we enjoy, we would not be elite with them. If they didn't offer extremely varied itineraries around the world, we would have found cruise lines that took us where we wanted to go. And if the ships didn't feel like a second home to us, we wouldn't be leaving home so often to relax onboard.

The Elite benefits are IMHO, great. They provide comps for things we would spend money on when we travel, so they have some meaning to us. We need to stay in touch with home when we travel, so the free internet minutes are meaningful. I admire people who can unplug completely, but we have elderly parents, young adult kids, and our beloved cat nanny who cares for our spoiled master of the house, the Himalayan kitty.

Laundry - so nice. Most of DH's items go to the ship's laundry, and some of mine go as well. Love the free laundry but I have to add their is another laundry benefit that Princess offers that quite a number of lines do not - the passenger laundry rooms. Necessary on longer cruises, as there are things that I want to wash in cold water on a gentle cycle and not put in the dryer, or things that benefit from a touch up pressing. No - I hate the thought of washing things out in the sink in the cabin. Doesn't appeal to me.

Mini-bar - restocked on each cruise "leg". And we love the flexibility of exchanging the contents, or trading in for coffee cards (playing with a full deck at this point, kids). We use the coffee cards for specialty coffees, we have lattes at home every day, several times a day, so why not on the ship? And it is nice to relax with a drink on balcony....we appreciate the drinks that are on the house.

Priority embarkation - nice, very nice. Civilized, and easier on the system. We love starting our cruise with lunch in the dining room.

Disembarkation lounge and ability to request a particular time - priceless sometimes, as when we suddenly needed to cut a day from our drive home and getting off the ship first, rather than among the last made all the difference in beating a weather system north, and being able to fly out to a teaching gig in time. And generally a relaxing place to wait when you aren't in a hurry to get home....

Wine tasting - mostly we don't go, but having the option is very nice. If they change the wines offered for tasting, we do manage to make the time to attend.

Canapes - not any more, miss the chocolate covered strawberry option.

Afternoon tea in stateroom - now this is a great benefit when used thoughtfully. Such as when the shore excursion is going to bring you back about 3or 4 ish, so the lunch in the dining room is over, lunch in the buffet is "gone", and you know all you want to do is rest, get cleaned up and recharge before the evening festivities. This is perfection on such occasions and we had a few on our last cruises on the Diamond.

Priority tendering - not always needed, but on the few occasions when you do, priceless.

OBC as you move on to more and more cruises - so the $25 OBC doesn't seem like a whole lot, but it is nice. The $100 OBC is more meaningful and quite nice.

Discount in boutiques - we aren't big shoppers, but it is a nice thing to have, especially if you forget to pack something like studs and cufflinks, "need" another addition to the jewelry inventory, or the Xmas ornament for ship you are on. And then there is Stanley the Stowaway Bear and his wardrobe demands. lol.

Elite lounge - we were big fans until they changed the drink menu and raised the prices, but I know we will be spending more time there this coming cruise than we did on the Diamond.

And finally, the MTP's. They changed it to most travelled guests, (but things die hard, like FCC, now Future Cruise Deposit)...those parties be they luncheons or cocktail parties are very nice most of the time, and something we hope for and look forward to attending.

 

But, if Princess wasn't offering a cruise experience we truly enjoy, we wouldn't be sailing with them, Elite benefits make it much harder to want to cruise a different line (also known as sleeping around on Princess).