Princess Cruises introduces all-inclusive Premier Package

[dides]

Just received this !  Note this is the UK press release so prices are in £s.

 

New Princess Premier add-on includes unlimited Wi-Fi, top-shelf drinks, speciality dining, photos and more

 

Princess Cruises today announced Princess Premier, a new premium add-on package that offers guests unlimited Wi-Fi for up to four devices, premium/top-shelf beverages, photos, speciality dining, and crew gratuities/appreciation. For just £60 per person per day, the inclusive package builds off the popular Princess Plus add-on to offer a more comprehensive bundle and savings of more than 50 percent when the amenities of Princess Premier are purchased separately. Princess Premier also includes ‘Princess Prizes’, where guests have a chance to win a cruise for two every year for a decade and up to $100,000 in cash prizes.

 

“Guests have overwhelmingly embraced the convenience and value offered in Princess Plus, so we are adding Princess Premier to take our inclusivity options to the next level,” said John Padgett, Princess Cruises president. “Princess Premier is our most inclusive package, offering guests sought-after onboard amenities at an incredible value. Whether a guest prefers a standalone cruise purchase or a fully inclusive vacation, Princess has hassle-free options for everyone. Every option is intended to provide great value.”

 

Princess Premier goes on sale June 1, for voyages starting June 25 and beyond. The package is available for £60 per person, per day, and includes:

• Unlimited MedallionNet Wi-Fi for up to four-devices
• New Premier Beverage Package – top-shelf spirits and cocktails up to $18 with bar service charge included, new selection of wines by the glass, 25 percent off bottles of wine, speciality coffees, smoothies, and bottled water
• Two speciality dining meals per person in popular restaurants including Crown Grill and Sabatini’s Italian Trattoria
• Digital downloads of all photos taken by professional staff onboard, plus three prints of any size up to 8 x 10
• Entry into new ‘Princess Prizes’ onboard promotion
• Daily crew appreciation

 

Princess Premier also includes entry into Princess Prizes, a new experience that transforms guests’ stateroom entry into an exciting experience for chances to win cruise holidays, cash, exclusive onboard experiences and more. The new game is a first-of-its-kind stateroom gaming experience exclusively with MedallionClass capabilities.

 

Every time an adult guest accesses their stateroom with their Medallion*, they will have the chance to win grand prizes that include $100,000 in cash and a cruise for two every year for the next decade, along with prizes won on every voyage that range from a cruise for two in a balcony stateroom, onboard cruise credits from $25 up to $250, wine tastings, and chef’s table dinners. Guests can also win entries for an end-of-cruise drawing in which someone will win at least $5,000 every voyage.

 

The addition of Princess Premier gives guests three package options when booking a Princess cruise holiday:

• Princess Standard cruise package, including the standard cruise fare
• Princess Plus (£30 per person, per day until June 1; £40 per person, per day starting June 1) – including unlimited WiFi for a single device; Plus Beverage package (covering drinks up to $12, 25 percent off bottles of wine, speciality coffees, smoothies and bottled water); and daily crew appreciation
• NEW! Princess Premier (£60 per person, per day), on sale beginning June 1

 

Guests on voyages departing June 25 and beyond who previously purchased Princess Plus can upgrade to Princess Premier for an additional £20 per person, per day.

 

More information on Princess Premier, Princes Plus and Princess Select can be found here: princess.com/cruisepackages

 

* when ship is in international waters

Edited May 11, 2022 by dides

[muchofamuchness]

Nice way to hide a considerable increase in the Princess Plus fare (probably enough of an increase to make it not worth it for us, to be honest). Who can foresee a lot of drinks magically drifting above the $12 threshold?

[cruzin4us]

I don't know how they'll ever get this right if they can't keep their ships running, the dining rooms open and enough staff to work...

[miagirl]

on the US website:

 

The addition of Princess Premier gives guests three package options when booking a Princess cruise vacation:

• Princess Standard cruise package, including the standard cruise fare
• Princess Plus ($40 per person, per day until May 25; $50 per person, per day starting May 25) – including unlimited WiFi for a single device; Plus Beverage package (covering drinks up to $12, 25 percent off bottles of wine, specialty coffees, smoothies and bottled water); and daily crew appreciation
• NEW! Princess Premier ($75 per person, per day), on sale beginning May 25

Guests on voyages departing June 25 and beyond who previously purchased Princess Plus can upgrade to Princess Premier for an additional $25 per person, per day.

[voljeep]

$10 pp pd increase in P+ to $50 per person per day - back out grats - $15 and that gets you to $35 pp per day (neglecting)the mostly now worthless wifi - for drinks up to $12, and yeah, watch those 10-11-12 dollar drinks become 13-14-15

[dreaminofcruisin]

• Princess Plus ($40 per person, per day until May 25; $50 per person, per day starting May 25) – including unlimited WiFi for a single device; Plus Beverage package (covering drinks up to $12, 25 percent off bottles of wine, specialty coffees, smoothies and bottled water); and daily crew appreciation

The highlighted phrase is a little disturbing. Sooooo...does this mean that bottled water, smoothies and specialty coffees are NOT included? Just a 25% discount?

☹️

[cruzin4us]

4 minutes ago, dreaminofcruisin said:

• Princess Plus ($40 per person, per day until May 25; $50 per person, per day starting May 25) – including unlimited WiFi for a single device; Plus Beverage package (covering drinks up to $12, 25 percent off bottles of wine, specialty coffees, smoothies and bottled water); and daily crew appreciation

The highlighted phrase is a little disturbing. Sooooo...does this mean that bottled water, smoothies and specialty coffees are NOT included? Just a 25% discount?

☹️

that would be my take......oh, but such a bargin!

[Coffeeluvr05]

Well, they both include (mostly) the same stuff, just different limits.  I am not loving it that I probably won't be able to get my favorite drinks covered anymore.  Looks like I will be re-thinking my beverage choices on cruises.  I'm NOT spending more so I can drink what I want.  Cruising has already become more expensive.  

 

Edited May 11, 2022 by Coffeeluvr05

[AtlantaCruiser72]

The press release is poorly worded. Looking at Princess.com specialty coffee and small bottles of water still included. I do expect bar menu prices to go up so that a number of spirits and wines currently included in Princess plus to now fall under premier 

 

[ebeluga]

Good move from a shareholder's perspective. Lol.

[voljeep]

Premier is a definite NO-GO for us ... Plus is prolly still a go, for now

 

hopefully P+ retains that you just pay any additional +18% over the $12 limit

[Eglesbrech]

I was impressed by the range available on Princess plus. I hope that they don’t just move all the decent wines, beers etc up by a bit to push them into the next level.

 

Push the prices up too high and bookings (with cheap deposits) will just get cancelled. It’s a competitive market for cruises and Princess were doing well. Let’s hope they retain a decent selection in the plus and leave the new level for truely premium brands. 
 

Time will tell and I’m sure people will report back here pretty quickly if things change.

 

 

[Coffeeluvr05]

29 minutes ago, ebeluga said:

Good move from a shareholder's perspective. Lol.

I am a shareholder, but I am also a consumer.  

[Kabuki12]

1 hour ago, muchofamuchness said:

Nice way to hide a considerable increase in the Princess Plus fare (probably enough of an increase to make it not worth it for us, to be honest). Who can foresee a lot of drinks magically drifting above the $12 threshold?

I'm presently booking 3 cruises and am choosing the plus package on all 3.   These cruises sail September and October.   

 

Princess obviously needs to jack up drink prices to make the Premier Package more attractive. Otherwise nobody is going  to buy it as most drinks are under 12 dollars.   I think the most popular drinks such as the Dirty Banana will increase in price and the Plus selections under $12.00 will become very paltry and include the drinks that are not very popular with cruisers.    I'm thinking basic  rum and Cokes, Vodka and soda ect.  

 

Giving those of us that already bought the Plus Package before May 25th a grace period would be nice but I doubt they will do that.  

 

One could argue that it's just a couple of more bucks a drink but I already shelled out a lot of money and a few more bucks here and there adds up.

Edited May 11, 2022 by Kabuki12

[voljeep]

1 hour ago, miagirl said:

Guests on voyages departing June 25 and beyond who previously purchased Princess Plus can upgrade to Princess Premier for an additional $25 per person, per day.

little 5 day cruise ... 25 x 5 x 2 = $ 250

 

photos - nah

4 device wifi - worthless to us - one worthless device is enough

Specialty dining - if you can book it when you want 29 x 2 x 2 = $ 116

 

not for us, at this time

[prmssk]

I will be hopefully starting the second leg of a B2B on June 25.  I will be disappointed if the fully covered drinks I enjoyed the first leg are no longer covered by the Princess Plus drink package the second week but I expect prices will have to go up or there will be no incentive to buy the Premier drink package.  On my February cruise, it was hard to find drinks not covered by Princess Plus (aside from some higher end wines) but there were plenty I enjoyed right at the limit.  All the drinks at my favorite bar, the Good Spirits Bar were $12.

[CineGraphic]

6 minutes ago, prmssk said:

I will be hopefully starting the second leg of a B2B on June 25.  I will be disappointed if the fully covered drinks I enjoyed the first leg are no longer covered by the Princess Plus drink package the second week but I expect prices will have to go up or there will be no incentive to buy the Premier drink package.

 

If they are smart, and follow one of the golden rules of hospitality, they'll grandfather/honor your package.

[vjmatty]

2 minutes ago, CineGraphic said:

 

If they are smart, and follow one of the golden rules of hospitality, they'll grandfather/honor your package.

 

With Princess I'd say there is a 50-50 chance of goodwill winning out over greed.  If it were Royal Caribbean I'd estimate 5%.

[GonzoWCS]

Following...

[voljeep]

16 minutes ago, prmssk said:

All the drinks at my favorite bar, the Good Spirits Bar were $12

"were"🤑

[OccasionalSanta]

2 hours ago, dides said:

Two speciality dining meals per person in popular restaurants including Crown Grill and Sabatini’s Italian Trattoria

is this 2 specialty dinners per person  per cruise? Seems odd that this wouldn't be flexible based on the length of the cruise since the cost of premier is per day.

[Daniel A]

Well... Reading the US newspapers, it appears that the price of everything is going up.  It's called inflation and shrinkflation.  Princess is not immune to the costs of their purchases going up and that is on top of the payments on loans Carnival Corp had to take out during the forced shutdown. ☹️

We can either stay in the game or go home. 

 

I'm sure the Home Office would love to hear alternatives that wouldn't off-put some customers.

[Mud_Shark]

Yes, the cost of everything is up.  Gas, food, utilities.  I don't think it will come as a surprise if, by the end of the summer, drink prices are increased, daily gratuities (whatever they are called now) will go up (my prediction is $1 per day), specialty dining will go up (predict $5), and wifi will go up (Single $12 per day, 4 device $22-24).  Cruise lines must still be bleeding bad from the lost business and now the increased cost of fuel and supplies.

 

If my predictions are anywhere close, the $10 increase in Princess Plus makes sense.

 

Don

[Musky Ike]

1 hour ago, voljeep said:

$10 pp pd increase in P+ to $50 per person per day - back out grats - $15 and that gets you to $35 pp per day (neglecting)the mostly now worthless wifi - for drinks up to $12, and yeah, watch those 10-11-12 dollar drinks become 13-14-15

 Would not be surprised if "crew incentives" see another raise soon also, to make the packages look better.

[Ombud]

20 minutes ago, Daniel A said:

I'm sure the Home Office would love to hear alternatives that wouldn't off-put some customers.

I've already suggested that they cut the 15 per day drinks to 10. Tired of drunken fools onboard. The way I see it: 2 lattes, unlimited drip coffee or tea, 3 sodas or waters, still leaves 5 booze. Maybe that adjustment is next?? Then a few will pay $$$

11 minutes ago, Musky Ike said:

 Would not be surprised if "crew incentives" see another raise soon also, to make the packages look better.

Especially since Carnival Cruises just announced it's increase. That was $1 per day across the board.