Princess New Premier Plus

[rheathslc]

56 minutes ago, mafw said:

I have been emailing and calling Princess regarding a long standing CONFIRMED contract stating we had PREMIER Package.   Now I have the newly instituted Princess Plus?????I was told the Premier Package only started June 26..My booking was last year???????I could not get any satisfaction other than to say we can UPGRADE for $25/pp/perday??????How can this be….Maybe a BAIT AND SWITCH????  I get no response to my emails….We have been sailing with Princess for over 25 years…Never had this problem..I can understand if this was a new booking after their NEW BEVERAGE plan was in acted in June 2022 but this was a long standing booking?????What is the thought on Cruise Critic since I get nothing from PRINCESS CUSTOMER SERVICE OR CAPTAIN”S CLUB?????

This is really not a bait and switch. The only thing that has changed is the name of the drinks package and a addition of a new, higher priced All-Inclusive option and higher tier drinks package. If you either booked with Princess Plus or purchased the stand alone drinks package formerly know as "Premier Beverage Package" which was and is included with Princess Plus, you are still getting everything you paid for and everything that was promised to you according to the contract.

 

In case you really are just misunderstanding, several others have explained above and here is mine to add to the refrain:

 

When you (and most of the rest of us) either booked your cruise with Princess Plus or purchased the stand alone drinks package, the drinks package was NAMED Premier Beverage Package and included fountain soda, juice, small bottles of water, up to 15 alcoholic drinks per day up to $12 each, and a 25% discount on bottles of wine. Now, that drinks package is NAMED Plus Beverage Package and is what is included when you book Princess Plus. And they added a NEW tier called Princess Premier which includes several other things in addition the the new Premier Beverage Package which is what the extra $25pp per day covers. And you can also just purchase the stand alone drinks package now called Premier Beverage Package which includes everything the Plus package does but has a higher limit of $18 on the drinks. That difference is also almost $25 so it really is a better deal to just upgrade to Princess Premier if you really want the drinks package that covers the higher priced drinks.

 

If you are truly trying to get everything that's included in the new Princess Premier for free just because they changed the NAME of one part of the Princess Plus package then you're either seriously misunderstanding or you're trying to get something for free.

 

[JimmyVWine]

Stop using the name of the package and instead refer to it as the features that you got, and say it out loud and see if you think you are being cheated or "bait and switched."  It would sound something like this:

 

"I think that I am being cheated.  A year ago I bought the Package that includes all drinks $12 and under, specialty coffees, brewed coffee and water, and also included prepaid wifi and crew appreciation.  Now, when I look at my booking, I see that I have a package that includes all drinks $12 and under, specialty coffees, brewed coffee and water, and also provides prepaid wifi and crew appreciation.  How dare they!  I am trying to contact someone at Princess who can help me and no one seems to be able to do anything for me!"

 

When viewed like this, you will see that you aren't being cheated at all.  (At least, I hope that you can see this.)

 

 

Edited July 7, 2022 by JimmyVWine

[rheathslc]

4 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

Stop using the name of the package and instead refer to it as the features that you got, and say it out loud and see if you think you are being cheated or "bait and switched."  It would sound something like this:

 

"I think that I am being cheated.  A year ago I bought the Package that includes all drinks $12 and under, specialty coffees, brewed coffee and water, and also included prepaid wifi and crew appreciation.  Now, when I look at my booking, I see that I have a package that includes all drinks $12 and under, specialty coffees, brewed coffee and water, and also provides prepaid wifi and crew appreciation.  How dare they!  I am trying to contact someone at Princess who can help me and no one seems to be able to do anything for me!"

 

When viewed like this, you will see that you aren't being cheated at all.  (At least, I hope that you can see this.)

 

 

Exactly! Much more concise and clear than I was. Haha!

[omynameistaken]

7 hours ago, rheathslc said:

This is really not a bait and switch. The only thing that has changed is the name of the drinks package and a addition of a new, higher priced All-Inclusive option and higher tier drinks package. If you either booked with Princess Plus or purchased the stand alone drinks package formerly know as "Premier Beverage Package" which was and is included with Princess Plus, you are still getting everything you paid for and everything that was promised to you according to the contract.

 

In case you really are just misunderstanding, several others have explained above and here is mine to add to the refrain:

 

When you (and most of the rest of us) either booked your cruise with Princess Plus or purchased the stand alone drinks package, the drinks package was NAMED Premier Beverage Package and included fountain soda, juice, small bottles of water, up to 15 alcoholic drinks per day up to $12 each, and a 25% discount on bottles of wine. Now, that drinks package is NAMED Plus Beverage Package and is what is included when you book Princess Plus. And they added a NEW tier called Princess Premier which includes several other things in addition the the new Premier Beverage Package which is what the extra $25pp per day covers. And you can also just purchase the stand alone drinks package now called Premier Beverage Package which includes everything the Plus package does but has a higher limit of $18 on the drinks. That difference is also almost $25 so it really is a better deal to just upgrade to Princess Premier if you really want the drinks package that covers the higher priced drinks.

 

If you are truly trying to get everything that's included in the new Princess Premier for free just because they changed the NAME of one part of the Princess Plus package then you're either seriously misunderstanding or you're trying to get something for free.

 

💯 Well said! 🍾🥂

[omynameistaken]

I spotted this Princess drink list on a FB post. It seems to cover pretty much everything.

 

https://profcruise.com/princess-bar-and-drink-menus-2022/

 

[omynameistaken]

22 minutes ago, omynameistaken said:

I spotted this Princess drink list on a FB post. It seems to cover pretty much everything.

 

https://profcruise.com/princess-bar-and-drink-menus-2022/

 

On giving this a better look there are no new drinks listed on these menus, sadly

[dreaminofcruisin]

37 minutes ago, omynameistaken said:

I spotted this Princess drink list on a FB post. It seems to cover pretty much everything.

 

https://profcruise.com/princess-bar-and-drink-menus-2022/

 

 

This menu is from May 2022. The package started in June 2022, so is no longer the current menu. ☹️

[Maitaivegas]

Thank you for this. Just sailed this year on RCL Oasis of the seas and average drink is $12-14.

The martinis here for $10 is a steal and on RCL you couldn’t find a glass of Pinot Grigio for $10.00.

[Phantom of the Seas]

My wife likes her wine & myself cocktails......We have the Plus package & want to know if can upgrade to Premier just for the wife....& stay at Plus for myself....

[kluv2cruz]

Just off Royal on July 9. Left hand side of dining room wine menu “Plus selection” had generic wine references as discussed earlier: “red blend, cab suav, merlot, Pinot Grigio, sauv blanc, etc”. None that I ordered were bad (as in, some were quite good, some were good, none were icky), but yes, a bit strange not knowing what you’re getting.  Right hand side of menu “premier selection” had wines by the glass over $12 listed by name. Vines menu that we QR scanned or that we were handed was out of date both in what was available and prices.
 

Recently read “Cork Dork” and one big takeaway is to “let the sommelier serve you”. Let them suggest what to drink after you give them a price guideline and what types of wines you’ve enjoyed in the past so they have an understanding of your usual preferences. They are a “server”, let them serve you. I know the asst. waiter in the dining room is not a sommelier (!!) and often doesn’t even drink alcohol or wine, but I relaxed into this notion a bit and asked their suggestion. Enjoyed a few different wines than I would otherwise have tried, including many that weren’t on any menu. Did same in Vines and you could tell they enjoyed this - wanting me to try something different, or something that others have said was good. I had an off glass in the Vines taster menu of spicy reds (smell, colour, taste) and they quickly opened a new bottle and gave me a new glass, slightly bigger pour, with apologies. 
 

They are all confused by the changes and the computer wasn’t programmed correctly either, we had several $1.18 charges that front desk reversed with apologies. Watch your account regularly so you’re not standing in line on the last night.

[JimmyVWine]

53 minutes ago, kluv2cruz said:

Left hand side of dining room wine menu “Plus selection” had generic wine references as discussed earlier: “red blend, cab suav, merlot, Pinot Grigio, sauv blanc, etc”.

Did you ask them what they were pouring and if so, were they able to answer the question?  

[bafinegan]

2 hours ago, Phantom of the Seas said:

My wife likes her wine & myself cocktails......We have the Plus package & want to know if can upgrade to Premier just for the wife....& stay at Plus for myself....

No.  Both people i the same cabin have to have the same package

[Phantom of the Seas]

Sticking with the Plus & pay the difference......

[kluv2cruz]

2 hours ago, JimmyVWine said:

Did you ask them what they were pouring and if so, were they able to answer the question?  

I think I did once and the person had to runoff somewhere to find out so I didn’t want to tax them like this again- they were flying most nights. Don’t remember the answer. A lady at the 2 top next to us said she liked her “red blend”, so I gave it a try next night and it was good. I wouldn’t otherwise have tried it not knowing what it would be. I do remember the sauvignon blanc, at least one time was “Line 39”, and that was the server’s suggestion when I asked for a suggestion, and it was good so I ordered it several times when drinking white.

Edited July 11, 2022 by kluv2cruz

[prmssk]

20 hours ago, Phantom of the Seas said:

My wife likes her wine & myself cocktails......We have the Plus package & want to know if can upgrade to Premier just for the wife....& stay at Plus for myself....

Unfortunately, they do not allow an upgrade to just the drink package and the Plus and Premier bundled fares require both people to have the same bundled fare. 
 

Interestingly if you had booked a standard fare, you each could choose which of either (or none) drink packages you wanted and you and your wife could choose differently but that doesn’t make financial sense in most cases with the high cost of the drink packages when purchased separately. 

[Mary Ann 2]

Has anyone posted new wine menus since there has been more time pass?  I haven't checked every thread, but thought someone would know or have saved them. I saved Vines and Explorer's that was posted early on, but haven't seen a MDR or Crown Grill with actual names (something other than type of wine like "red blend").

[cr8tiv1]

I just found out....that all of my mocktails are not part of the 15 "alcoholic" drink package.  That was quite a revelation for me.  Not that I am a drinker by any means.  Might have had 10 alcoholic drinks in 25 days.  Princess won that one.  But I had a great time.  Next:  DIrty Banana.

[jeno]

8 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

I just found out....that all of my mocktails are not part of the 15 "alcoholic" drink package.  That was quite a revelation for me.  Not that I am a drinker by any means.  Might have had 10 alcoholic drinks in 25 days.  Princess won that one.  But I had a great time.  Next:  DIrty Banana.

I have to say you shocked me about the mocktails.  What’s that all about!?!?🤷🏼‍♀️

[Billish]

9 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

I just found out....that all of my mocktails are not part of the 15 "alcoholic" drink package.  That was quite a revelation for me.  Not that I am a drinker by any means.  Might have had 10 alcoholic drinks in 25 days.  Princess won that one.  But I had a great time.  Next:  DIrty Banana.

Are you talking about Princess Plus ? You can have unlimited mocktails with that package. 

[cr8tiv1]

1 hour ago, jeno said:

I have to say you shocked me about the mocktails.  What’s that all about!?!?🤷🏼‍♀️

 

1 hour ago, Billish said:

Are you talking about Princess Plus ? You can have unlimited mocktails with that package. 

 

I didn't know this before yesterday when a dear friend educated me on the perks of having Princess Plus.  I knew about the water, soda, and coffees/teas.  I thought anything that came from the bar was counted against your daily limit.  Not that I would ever come close to 15, but now it is even more remote....Thank you "experienced" friend.

[NavyVeteran]

 

11 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

I just found out....that all of my mocktails are not part of the 15 "alcoholic" drink package.  That was quite a revelation for me.  Not that I am a drinker by any means.  Might have had 10 alcoholic drinks in 25 days.  Princess won that one.  But I had a great time.  Next:  DIrty Banana.

 

1 hour ago, cr8tiv1 said:

I didn't know this before yesterday when a dear friend educated me on the perks of having Princess Plus.  I knew about the water, soda, and coffees/teas.  I thought anything that came from the bar was counted against your daily limit.  Not that I would ever come close to 15, but now it is even more remote....Thank you "experienced" friend.

Your post wasn't clear. All of your mocktails are part of the drink package. What you meant was that the mocktails are not limited by the 15-beverage limit.

[cactusrose]

Just a thought.   If you don't care about the other additional perks, I think the Plus package is still the better deal.  You can upgrade to anything on the Premier list 3.5 time per day for the difference.  I personally don't care about the photo package or the Princess prizes and on a 15 day cruise the two specialty dinners (if you can get a reservation) are worth about $3.33 per day for Sabatini's and $3.87 for Crown Grill. If you look on your cruise summary, Princess values those dinner at less than that.

 

I still don't like not knowing what wineries they are offereing on the Plus wine list.  I have never seen this in a land based restaurant and It's just plan tacky.  If they are house wines, label them so.

Edited July 29, 2022 by cactusrose
Correction

[JimmyVWine]

1 hour ago, cactusrose said:

I still don't like not knowing what wineries they are offereing on the Plus wine list.  I have never seen this in a land based restaurant and It's just plan tacky.

These are the types of places that leave you guessing.  Nice to know that Princess "Plus" has risen to this level in the Dining Rooms, bars and lounges.

 

[Suite Susie]

Currently on Enchanted with the Premier Package. We are struggling to find availability for a lot of the Premium wines listed, but they have some. Still feel we are getting value for money though. 

[HaveDogWillTravel]

13 hours ago, Suite Susie said:

Currently on Enchanted with the Premier Package. We are struggling to find availability for a lot of the Premium wines listed, but they have some. Still feel we are getting value for money though. 

Thank you reporting back with your experience on board using the premium package. I hope others will post what’s happening as they use the plus or premium package.