Premium plus vs Premier

[voljeep]

14 minutes ago, smilesonfaces said:

Picked this up from Facebook from yesterday. If correct I guess the price increases have started already.

 

Is that the "exact" same wine?  kinda hard to read the small print

GIs(glass?)

[smilesonfaces]

It looks the same to me. If you pinch in to the photo you should be able to see it. It is a UK you tube vlogger who has posted it to Facebook.

Edited June 22, 2022 by smilesonfaces

[Steelers36]

5 minutes ago, voljeep said:

Is that the "exact" same wine?  kinda hard to read the small print

GIs(glass?)

You can magnify the picture in browser after clicking on it.  I did and it is the same wine.  UP $2/glass.  $59/btl.  That's a HUGE jump as I have a recent wine menu with that one at $40/btl. 

 

This may be the tip of an iceberg.

 

Edited June 22, 2022 by Steelers36

[voljeep]

13 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

You can magnify the picture in browser after clicking on it.  I did and it is the same wine.  UP $2/glass.  $59/btl.  That's a HUGE jump as I have a recent wine menu with that one at $40/btl. 

 

This may be the tip of an iceberg.

 

I guess I'm wondering when ( not if ) Princess will revert back to its' old "policy" - that if a wine is over the limit ( $12 Plus ) you will pay the whole amount +18% instead of just the difference. As it stands, the 'extra' $2 would only cost you $1.18 ($1 still covered under the old Plus) - to 'force' people to really evaluate what beverages they prefer, and what will still be covered under Plus

 

In this example - $13 + 18% = $15.34 - not the $1.18 'overage'...  a couple of drinks and that $25 pppd increase is gone

[tonit964]

They came up with the Premier package for a reason and obviously to benefit them. I think the the Plus package will be very bare bones come this Saturday and as some have already suggested, you will no longer be able to pay just the difference in drink prices. It'll be all or nothing.

[rattla]

We will know very soon I guess if there will be big changes or hopefully just storm in a teacup 😊

Im on Enchanted on Friday, and Sky will go on Saturday, so I’m sure we will get feedback if anything major has changed very quickly.

 

 

[Tedferg]

On 6/21/2022 at 7:57 AM, Texter2 said:

As we take the beverage package for the wine (NZ Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 

Interesting, DW loves the Costco Kirkland NZ Sauvignon Blanc. WEW might be getting to the point where it makes sense to bring our own wine on board, never thought that would happen.

[prmssk]

QR codes on the Caribbean Princess today started pointing to the new menus with new prices and some wines absolutely are going up. I was even surprised to see the Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc listed at $19 (up from $15) which isn’t even covered by the Premium Package although they advertised Cloudy Bay wines were included in the Premier Drink Package. 

Here are the Vines menus.

 

[evelynw2]

Are the prices for cocktails available also?

[prmssk]

1 minute ago, evelynw2 said:

Are the prices for cocktails available also?

The Good Spirits menu doesn’t have prices. I haven’t had a chance to compare Crooners yet. I have been saving screenshots of the menus of bars I visit all week in anticipation of this. 

[Texter2]

1 hour ago, Tedferg said:

Interesting, DW loves the Costco Kirkland NZ Sauvignon Blanc. WEW might be getting to the point where it makes sense to bring our own wine on board, never thought that would happen.

Thanks for that info! I have never tried the Kirkland NZ Sauvignon Blanc. I will now. I was able to get the Cloudy Bay SB on our December 2018 cruise on the only beverage plan, that included alcohol,  on offer at the time. (There was only one and I think it was called Premier.) Unfortunately, it appears that we may not be able to get it on the new Premier plan without an upcharge. 

[geoherb]

2 hours ago, prmssk said:

QR codes on the Caribbean Princess today started pointing to the new menus with new prices and some wines absolutely are going up. I was even surprised to see the Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc listed at $19 (up from $15) which isn’t even covered by the Premium Package although they advertised Cloudy Bay wines were included in the Premier Drink Package. 

 

 

And here's the menu from February for comparison:

 

[rattla]

Ok so based on above, looking at those moving from included in Princess Plus to now without I see,

Gloria Ferrer Sparkling ($12-$14)

Val Llach Emroix ($11-$14)

Domaine Falveley Montagny ($11-$13)

Whispering Angel Rose ($11-14)

 

 

[caribill]

Considering that Princess purchases all these wines with no Federal or State tax needing to be paid, selling just one or two pours will usually cover the entire cost of the bottle.

[Chrisaw4214]

The bottle prices are exorbitant, considering they are free of Tax and purchased at best wholesale prices.

Will be interested to see what the offerings are for spirits(cocktails). Just another con .

[voljeep]

Is there now not a single Cab in Vines $12 or under???

[DHP1]

My wife and I booked over a year ago and at that time is was called Premium Beverage package. With the recent changes, does our package falls under Plus or Premium?

[Steelers36]

14 minutes ago, voljeep said:

Is there now not a single Cab in Vines $12 or under???

That particular menu, being a subset of their total wine list, appears to leave out the economical bottles.

[prmssk]

13 minutes ago, voljeep said:

Is there now not a single Cab in Vines $12 or under???

The MDR menu shows the Domaine D'Aussieres Cabernet is $10.  That is the only one I'm seeing.  The only Chardonnay under Plus will be that same label.  I'm trying to upload some menus to a folder I can share but wi-fi on the ship is terrible.  I'll post when I get them uploaded. 

[Steelers36]

Just now, DHP1 said:

My wife and I booked over a year ago and at that time is was called Premium Beverage package. With the recent changes, does our package falls under Plus or Premium?

Your package was re-badged to PLUS to match to the PLUS Cruise Fare option.

[JimmyVWine]

10 minutes ago, voljeep said:

Is there now not a single Cab in Vines $12 or under???

From the photo shown, there is one: Penley Estate "Phoenix" Cabernet from South Australia.  The 2019 vintage can be found for around $15-$16 at Total Wine across the country.  The per glass price is $11 and the bottle price is $42.  These prices are certainly way out of line with what Princess' wine program used to be. 

 

I did a quick "dry run" of what I would order on a typical day under the Plus plan, and resisting the option of ordering the best of the best and instead sticking with wines that are "perfectly fine", I would spend about $12-$18 per day over and above the price of the plan.  Still lower than the cost of upgrading, but the margin is narrowing. 

[prmssk]

1 minute ago, DHP1 said:

My wife and I booked over a year ago and at that time is was called Premium Beverage package. With the recent changes, does our package falls under Plus or Premium?

You have what is now called the Plus Beverage Package.

[prmssk]

5 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

From the photo shown, there is one: Penley Estate "Phoenix" Cabernet from South Australia.  The 2019 vintage can be found for around $15-$16 at Total Wine across the country.  The per glass price is $11 and the bottle price is $42.  These prices are certainly way out of line with what Princess' wine program used to be. 

That's the old price.  That wine is no longer available by the glass and it is $63 for the bottle.

[voljeep]

12 minutes ago, prmssk said:

That's the old price.  That wine is no longer available by the glass and it is $63 for the bottle.

wow... 

[JimmyVWine]

15 minutes ago, prmssk said:

That's the old price.  That wine is no longer available by the glass and it is $63 for the bottle.

Sorry.  My mistake.  I thought I was looking at the new list.

 

But when I was doing my "dry run" I was looking at the current pricing, so my calculation there is accurate.

Edited June 23, 2022 by JimmyVWine