Princess Cruises introduces all-inclusive Premier Package

[memoak]

48 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

But think how much goodwill Princess would generate if they had said any customer who booked the PlusPackage (with the currently named"premier beverage package") by May 24 would get an automatic upgrade to the new "premier beverage package."

 

The actual cost to Princess for this would likely be relatively small since any repricing of bookings after that date would result in a loss of this free upgrade and thus discourage repricing to get a lower cruise fare.

 

Instead, many people will be surprised (and thus upset at Princess) when they find the beverages they expected to be included in their PrincessPlus package are now extra cost.

 

Wait until early July to start seeing a thread about this by unhappy passengers..

You are making a huge assumption here. There has been no sign that drinks included now will not be in the future. There have always been liquor brands that are not included in the package. If you want them you can choose the higher package. I think this is more to accommodate wine drinkers who are unhappy with the few wines included now

[rheathslc]

35 minutes ago, wowzz said:

I'm getting confused- no surprise !

What drinks that are currently available with PP will no longer be available ? 

It's all speculation at this point. Princess has said they have no plan to increase prices of drinks for now but a lot of people think they will still somehow manage to make a lot of the drinks that are available at the $12 limit now NOT available once the new package rolls out. I think it's unlikely but time will tell. 🙂 

[beg3yrs]

1 hour ago, memoak said:

You are making a huge assumption here. There has been no sign that drinks included now will not be in the future. There have always been liquor brands that are not included in the package. If you want them you can choose the higher package. I think this is more to accommodate wine drinkers who are unhappy with the few wines included now

 

30 minutes ago, rheathslc said:

It's all speculation at this point. Princess has said they have no plan to increase prices of drinks for now but a lot of people think they will still somehow manage to make a lot of the drinks that are available at the $12 limit now NOT available once the new package rolls out. I think it's unlikely but time will tell. 🙂 

 

Yes it's speculation but, as Joseph Heller once said, "Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't after you".

 

The older and more experienced we get and the more times we've been around the block gives these posters some credibility. A student of the past would expect a high probability that there are drink price increases going to occur in the near future. Yeah, go ahead and call us curmudgeons, it doesn't mean we are wrong (yet).

[smilesonfaces]

1 hour ago, memoak said:

You are making a huge assumption here. There has been no sign that drinks included now will not be in the future. There have always been liquor brands that are not included in the package. If you want them you can choose the higher package. I think this is more to accommodate wine drinkers who are unhappy with the few wines included now

I really think the only people Princess need to accommodate are their shareholders. Anyone who purchases drinks over $12 can always buy them and pay the difference plus gratuity. I can’t see this coming to $280 for a weeks cruise. The WiFi, photos and chances for prizes wouldn’t really interest me.

[Daniel A]

51 minutes ago, beg3yrs said:

 

 

Yes it's speculation but, as Joseph Heller once said, "Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't after you".

 

The older and more experienced we get and the more times we've been around the block gives these posters some credibility. A student of the past would expect a high probability that there are drink price increases going to occur in the near future. Yeah, go ahead and call us curmudgeons, it doesn't mean we are wrong (yet).

 

36 minutes ago, ChC said:

 

That is so true. I love when a company representative saying to customers and agents: 'we have no plan to increase the price'. It is always half true. Because they never give you a time frame to make the sentence full. It is always 'we have no plan to increase the price, for now' in their mind or when wise customers start to ask tough questions, but the company will make it sounds like ' we have no plan to increase the price, [...er...good, no one asks when...phew!]'. There are always innocent people assume it is 'we have no plan to increase the price, ever!'. Experience consumers all know at some stage, possibly within 6 months to one year after product launch, things will change in the form of product package change (slimmer choices) or price increase. And why the ones who always believe 'we have no plan to increase the price...' rhetoric did not notice or did not emphasis on the Plus package is already 20% more expensive than before (and quietly)???

[Daniel A]

3 hours ago, beg3yrs said:

Ohhhh - that's like what they do with the Platinum Studio digital files. Same thing, a low-res slide show. Very misleading.

Hopefully with the new package YMMV, but it would be wise for a cruiser to check out exactly what they're getting in the digital format.

 

I'm sure there will be some threads after 6/25 that will clear a lot of this up.  Let's keep our powder dry until then.

[insidecabin]

3 minutes ago, ChC said:

 

Actually think about it, it 25% more expensive than before (and quietly)???

 

In the UK it's 30%

 

My take is they have already decided to increase the drinks prices BUT they did not want to mess with the current package so created a new one with higher limits in anticipation it will not be long.

 

They had to put frills on  to make it less obvious

 

The main competitors already have multiple packages Princess was an outlier.

 

One issue is people will spot that once you start adding the extras you get a lot closer to the next level up prices.

 

 

[voljeep]

the $12 cab that was available under PLUS will no longer be offered by Princess ... it will be replaced by a new wine with a cost of $14-15 ... watcha gonna do??  Nope, didn't raise the price ...

 

we'll pay the $2-3 extra + 18% IF required ...

 

in Vines ... yes, we have the package - yes, only the PLUS package ... so it's up to you, just pick me out a nice Cab 😉 😉

[Daniel A]

1 hour ago, ChC said:

 

Mate, with respect, your Sky is Falling emoji has nothing to do with my post. I am in no way saying anyone or anything is doomed, rather than simply point out a fallacy in logic why someone tells you 'price is not changing' is not necessarily true, because there is no time scale being defined.

 

Maybe you could point it out to me where my post fits into your narrative of 'Sky if Falling'?

 

I welcome constructive criticism and I certainly do not appreciate my post to be made fun of without respect. Thank you.  

I'm truly sorry that you couldn't laugh off a response that was clearly meant to be lighthearted in the first place.  Possibly this is why you were 'shouting' in your post by using enormous fonts with bold face underlined.  In case you aren't aware, such extreme uses are considered as 'shouting' on the web.  That was what made me think of Henny Penny.  Please take a deep breath and try to enjoy a glass of wine that costs less than $12.  🙂  I didn't mean my post to offend anybody, including you.

[DeniseAtBeach]

On 5/14/2022 at 11:34 AM, Yehootu said:

I can easily drink 15 beers in a day and still pass a sobriety test. Never was a speed drinker, but can do a marathon. What's next, Only 1 trip thru the buffet line, 15min for a poolchair, dinner time limits, 1 show per sailing? Who"s to call for others privileges be curtailed for your benefit? 

Well said! When I stated I wished Princess removed the limit, like some other cruise lines, a few ignorant judgemental comments got posted. We’ve consumed our limit over a sea day and we’re never fallen down drunkards. Cannot wait for a Mimosa with breakfast in a few days aboard Regal! Or a shot of Bailey’s in my morning coffee! Life is for living not poo-pooing 😆

[Phantom of the Seas]

If and I say if Princess decides to raise $12 limit & pay the difference, not a really big deal, but I think the bartenders could lose the $1-$2 tips

[lindaag]

1 hour ago, voljeep said:

the $12 cab that was available under PLUS will no longer be offered by Princess ... it will be replaced by a new wine with a cost of $14-15 ... watcha gonna do??  Nope, didn't raise the price ...

 

we'll pay the $2-3 extra + 18% IF required ...

 

in Vines ... yes, we have the package - yes, only the PLUS package ... so it's up to you, just pick me out a nice Cab 😉 😉

Hi

Is there actually a wine list published for the two packages?

[caribill]

4 hours ago, wowzz said:

I'm getting confused- no surprise !

What drinks that are currently available with PP will no longer be available ? 

 

We will not know until the new package starts to be usable on board.

 

However one poster pointed out that several beverages currently priced at $12 are featured as being available with the new package.

[wowzz]

I'm a cheap skate. I buy PP, and every drink I "buy" is in the $8 to $11 bracket. 

So why all this angst about a possible increase in prices?

If there is ( and that is totally speculative) a 10% increase in drink prices,  it will have absolutely no impact on me whatsoever.

And in the wider world, inflation is a significant issue. The cost of my wine, beer, vegetables,meat etc is increasing daily. Why would Princess or any other cruise line not be subject to similar price increases.

Princess (Carnival) need to make a profit. You might not like it, but prices need to increase to meet increased costs.

[caribill]

3 minutes ago, wowzz said:

And in the wider world, inflation is a significant issue. The cost of my wine, beer, vegetables,meat etc is increasing daily. Why would Princess or any other cruise line not be subject to similar price increases.

Princess (Carnival) need to make a profit. You might not like it, but prices need to increase to meet increased costs.

 

Since cruise companies purchase their alcohol beverages without any federal or state taxes being paid, the cost is amazingly low to them. The price a passenger pays for just one pour will usually more than cover the cost of an entire bottle of liquor.

[wowzz]

3 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

Since cruise companies purchase their alcohol beverages without any federal or state taxes being paid, the cost is amazingly low to them. The price a passenger pays for just one pour will usually more than cover the cost of an entire bottle of liquor.

I agree. 

But, if the price of every bottle of wine increases by 10%, how do Princess recoup that increase ?

[caribill]

2 hours ago, insidecabin said:

 

The main competitors already have multiple packages Princess was an outlier.

 

And being an outlier with one easy to understand package was an advantage to Princess.

 

Being like the competition in this and other ways does not make Princess stand out as the first cruise line for potential passengers to look at.

 

People who used to look at Princess first and say "let's see where Princess can take us" may now pick a destination and say "let's see which cruise lines go there" because the experience on the various cruise lines in the same price range is not that different anymore.

[rheathslc]

3 minutes ago, caribill said:

And being an outlier with one easy to understand package was an advantage to Princess.

 

Being like the competition in this and other ways does not make Princess stand out as the first cruise line for potential passengers to look at.

 

People who used to look at Princess first and say "let's see where Princess can take us" may now pick a destination and say "let's see which cruise lines go there" because the experience on the various cruise lines in the same price range is not that different anymore.

I realize that cruise line (and even ship) preference is incredibly subjective and for the way I cruise, this is not the case. Princess is still quite different from it's main competitors in the ways that matter to me which is why I continue to choose Princess. The ship features are what's most important to me, not the packages that may or may not be offered. So for me, this new tier is an added benefit (if I find value in it) because I was going to choose Princess anyway. But like I said, everyone has their own reasons for choosing which line to cruise on. Just my take. 🙂

[abqmommyof4]

10 hours ago, Daniel A said:

Check carefully what you get with the "unlimited" photos.  You only get 3 prints, the rest of the unlimited photos are digital.  We got the digital photos with our Renewal of Vows package and the digital photos were in a video slide show.  None of the photos could be viewed separately or copied or printed at home.

we've purchased the unlimited pictures in the past and got  digital files,  all single pictures.

 

[jwattle]

11 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

The regular all you want photos (not vow renewal) was all separate pics on the digital file.😊

8 hours ago, beg3yrs said:

 

 

Yes it's speculation but, as Joseph Heller once said, "Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't after you".

 

The older and more experienced we get and the more times we've been around the block gives these posters some credibility. A student of the past would expect a high probability that there are drink price increases going to occur in the near future. Yeah, go ahead and call us curmudgeons, it doesn't mean we are wrong (yet).

Hopefully this time the cynics are wrong, with all due respect 😉

2 hours ago, abqmommyof4 said:

we've purchased the unlimited pictures in the past and got  digital files,  all single pictures.

 

Same 😊

[caribill]

5 hours ago, abqmommyof4 said:

we've purchased the unlimited pictures in the past and got  digital files,  all single pictures.

 

 

Low resolution or high resolution?

[Yehootu]

16 hours ago, DeniseAtBeach said:

Well said! When I stated I wished Princess removed the limit, like some other cruise lines, a few ignorant judgemental comments got posted. We’ve consumed our limit over a sea day and we’re never fallen down drunkards. Cannot wait for a Mimosa with breakfast in a few days aboard Regal! Or a shot of Bailey’s in my morning coffee! Life is for living not poo-pooing 😆

I start the day with a red beer!

[cruzin4us]

HAL has 2 beverage packages to choose from, so I don't know why this is a big shock.    The difference with HAL though is if you purchase a drink over the price limit, you have to pay full price, you can't just pay the difference.   If Princess does this then I would be bummed.   But, if they only make you pay the difference, then who cares?    90% of the people who order a martini or rum and coke don't ask for "Top Shelf", they just order the drink and they get the cheap "rot gut" booze but they don't care.    However, for those of use who care, just pay the difference, it would be much cheaper than upgrading to the Premier package unless you want all the extra stuff such as photos, and the "chance to win" promotion.

[wowzz]

16 hours ago, DeniseAtBeach said:

Cannot wait for a Mimosa with breakfast in a few days

I prefer a Bucks Fizz !

[suzyed]

49 minutes ago, cruzin4us said:

HAL has 2 beverage packages to choose from, so I don't know why this is a big shock.    The difference with HAL though is if you purchase a drink over the price limit, you have to pay full price, you can't just pay the difference.   If Princess does this then I would be bummed.   But, if they only make you pay the difference, then who cares?    90% of the people who order a martini or rum and coke don't ask for "Top Shelf", they just order the drink and they get the cheap "rot gut" booze but they don't care.    However, for those of use who care, just pay the difference, it would be much cheaper than upgrading to the Premier package unless you want all the extra stuff such as photos, and the "chance to win" promotion.

Agree!  I only drink Grey Goose in my Dirty Martinis.   I don't remember it being over $12 on the Sky but even if it was...that was ok and I paid the difference....that works!  Hope it stays that way!