Princess Plus Package

[latebloomer56]

22 hours ago, konatyme said:

I tried searching to get an answer for this because I'm pretty sure it's been answered, but had no luck: I'm assuming this answer by wowzz means that both adults in a stateroom have to purchase the Plus pkg even if only one person can drink. (We have friends planning a cruise and one person can't drink alcohol for medical reasons.) Is that correct?

The last two booking for us were told both were required to book the plus in our case. Hubby doesn't drink I drink but no where near the break even cost of alcohol. I do however drink specialty coffees etc., water, and hubby drinks soda and virgin drinks plus specialty teas. So it's worth the package in the end.

The other plus is service charge (tips) are paid, we stated doing this up front before covid anyway. The WIFI we would use to check on family last trip in Oct. lots of sea days and hubby loved the in cabin access to his news. Sapphire was great with our connection, but have heard mixed reviews on this.

Thank you for this post will have 700.00 OBC in Aug. may see about upgrading to premium package just because it won't cost me any cash if they use OBC. If not happy with plus plan.

[billco]

10 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

Yes, it is possible to go dizzy with numbers.  It is pretty simple for us. 

 

We always book cabins that have the $16/pp Crew Appreciation (CA).  We always get Medallion Net and that is going to now cost $7.50 with our 50% discount.  $16 x 2  +  $7.50 x 2 = $47.  Plus x 2 = $120.  No way, do we drink anything close to $73/day ($120 - $47).  And I don't even have to think about the days off the ship when the potential to spend and drink doesn't even exist for most of the day.

I'm lousy at math. Still complicated for me to figure out best way to go. Glass of Canyon Road Cabernet Sauvignon $9.00 + glass of Canyon Road Pinot Grigio $10.00 = $19.00 + 18% tip = $22.42. $120 - $47 = $73 / $22.42 = 3.25 glasses / day. We tend to drink more than 3.25 glasses of wine per day, so it seems the plus package would work for us. I am not factoring in that servers often prefer making it a double and we often have specialty coffees in the morning. And I would use the 2 fitness classes if included, but not if I was paying for them. $30/class plus gratuity.

 

OTOH, we have 2 B2B 7 day cruises coming up where we will have enough OBC ($1900 assuming we don't spend it on other things) to buy 2 plus packages ($1680), but it would cost most of our refundable military credit ($400). Which way do we go?

[caribill]

1 hour ago, latebloomer56 said:

Thank you for this post will have 700.00 OBC in Aug. may see about upgrading to premium package just because it won't cost me any cash if they use OBC. If not happy with plus plan.

 

You will need to decide if you are happy with the plus plan quickly after boarding as changing to the premier plan probably can only be done on embarkation day.

[caribill]

1 hour ago, kilili said:

 But this is how I do my math (all prices per day, per person).  Plus package  includes one device WIFI, Plus drinks package, Crew Appreciation.  WIFI is 15.00 a day, and Crew Appreciation is 14.50 a day (the category I chose), which comes to 29.50 a day, leaving the remaining 30.50 for the drinks, and the two desserts.  

 

$16.00 a day now if you had not purchased a package or pre-paid gratuities before the price increase went into effect in December for sailings starting Feb.20 this year.

[kilili]

11 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

$16.00 a day now if you had not purchased a package or pre-paid gratuities before the price increase went into effect in December for sailings starting Feb.20 this year.

Thank you @caribill.  I stand corrected.  So the difference is even less, 29.00.

[Tedferg]

8 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Order of operations at work!  Thank you from a math teacher.  
 

For all others ….  ($16 x 2)  +  ($7.50 x 2) = $47

 

💰❤️💰❤️💰❤️💰❤️💰❤️

I was just about to correct Steelers when I thought about that, good one!

[Tedferg]

11 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Or chock it up to convenience.  For me, the breakeven point was 2 alcoholic drinks a day and convenience to order soft drinks and water whenever.  But this was under the old plan ($40 or $50).

 

Your summary fits us to a T. Convenience was always the tie breaker for us at $40, and we usually did not have enough OBC for a la carte. On our upcoming cruise we have $610 OBC and if we can apply that we drop back below $40 pd.

[Yowman]

2 hours ago, kilili said:

@konatymekeep in mind I have yet so sail Princess (first time this summer).  But this is how I do my math (all prices per day, per person).  Plus package  includes one device WIFI, Plus drinks package, Crew Appreciation.  WIFI is 15.00 a day, and Crew Appreciation is 14.50 a day (the category I chose), which comes to 29.50 a day, leaving the remaining 30.50 for the drinks, and the two desserts.  This is less expensive than both the "Zero Alcohol Package" and the Plus Beverage Package".  So if you were considering either of these packages then Plus would be the way to go.  Now how much would you have to drink to make that limit.  If you drink alcohol, the lowest priced drinks (last menus I saw before any of the anticipated price jumps) is ~7.50-8.00, with gratuities this would be ~8.85 - 9.44,  So for the lower end drinks or beer, you would need around four drinks a day, if you went to the limit of 15.00 for the drinks, then you would break even with two.  This is IF you did not drink anything else, like sodas, coffee or bottled water. Once you start to add those, then you break even with fewer alcoholic drinks.

 

Hope this helps.

 

This is how I do it too

 

And for us Canadians when doing the math it must be noted we pay $60/day CAD for Plus.  When calculating the break even point for Plus/no Plus this equates to approx $44 USD given that charges incurred on board are in USD. 

 

So for a Mini Suite:

Gratuities 17

Internet 15

 

Then, $44 - $17 - $15 = $12 which makes my break even point 1-2 alcoholic drinks per day assuming no specialty coffees and the like.

 

[caribill]

8 hours ago, caribill said:

 

I would contact Princess with this question.

 

2 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

 

PCL's published T&C's on the Plus and Premier Fare options state that the under-age guest will receive the zero-alcohol package.  There is no mention of a lower price, so it would seem that the guest must pay $60 for that as well.

 

 

That is the answer I did not know and why I suggested calling Princess.

 

Thanks for providing the answer.

[memoak]

8 hours ago, caribill said:

 

I would contact Princess with this question.

On a US based cruise they would be given the non alcoholic drink plan. 

[memoak]

8 hours ago, wowzz said:

There is a huge difference. On land, the tip is discretionary.  On board it is compulsory. As you have no option but to pay the 18% service charge, it should be included in the advertised price.

In many restaurants there is a mandatory tip for large parties 

[caribill]

42 minutes ago, kilili said:

 So the difference is even less, 29.00.

 

In our case, a single device Internet package is all we need, so for us the math is slightly different since we would not need the Internet that is included in the second package.

[memoak]

8 hours ago, wowzz said:

OK. Simple question.

Princess include gratuities in the prices of the Speciality Restaurants. Why, because with your logic the gratuities should not be included ?

Because you have already paid a dining tip for the MDR which you didn’t use

[wowzz]

4 minutes ago, memoak said:

Because you have already paid a dining tip for the MDR which you didn’t use

Fair point.

[voljeep]

we value wifi/internet at $-0-.  Didn't buy it prior to Platinum - hardly used it after we got 'minutes'.

 

ala carte, we 'might' buy a single device 'package' at $7.50 per day - wouldn't need one each.

 

so for us, we HAVE to drink more beverages to justify.  Guess we will just have to do that. $40 each per person per day for beverages is very doable for us - basically 3 alcohol - then water, coffees, etc.

 

stay hydrated 

[latebloomer56]

2 hours ago, caribill said:

 

You will need to decide if you are happy with the plus plan quickly after boarding as changing to the premier plan probably can only be done on embarkation day.

Will also check the price increase, we booked this last year before the increase in everything. Plus not sure what time we are boarding, on a land tour for that day in Rome.

Thanks as always caribill.

[Steelers36]

4 hours ago, caribill said:

 

You will need to decide if you are happy with the plus plan quickly after boarding as changing to the premier plan probably can only be done on embarkation day.

Or, if done on Day 2, they won't deduct the day lost from the total owed.

[Steelers36]

3 hours ago, Yowman said:

 

This is how I do it too

 

And for us Canadians when doing the math it must be noted we pay $60/day CAD for Plus.  When calculating the break even point for Plus/no Plus this equates to approx $44 USD given that charges incurred on board are in USD. 

 

So for a Mini Suite:

Gratuities 17

Internet 15

 

Then, $44 - $17 - $15 = $12 which makes my break even point 1-2 alcoholic drinks per day assuming no specialty coffees and the like.

 

It has been a while since you could pay only $60 CAD equivalent for Plus - unless you are getting a CAD At Par deal.  The price for Plus is $60 USD for a little while now.  It appears you don't get the MedallionNet discount, so your drinks portion is $60 - $32 = $28 USD.

[Steelers36]

4 hours ago, billco said:

I'm lousy at math. Still complicated for me to figure out best way to go. Glass of Canyon Road Cabernet Sauvignon $9.00 + glass of Canyon Road Pinot Grigio $10.00 = $19.00 + 18% tip = $22.42. $120 - $47 = $73 / $22.42 = 3.25 glasses / day. We tend to drink more than 3.25 glasses of wine per day, so it seems the plus package would work for us. I am not factoring in that servers often prefer making it a double and we often have specialty coffees in the morning. And I would use the 2 fitness classes if included, but not if I was paying for them. $30/class plus gratuity.

 

OTOH, we have 2 B2B 7 day cruises coming up where we will have enough OBC ($1900 assuming we don't spend it on other things) to buy 2 plus packages ($1680), but it would cost most of our refundable military credit ($400). Which way do we go?

Forget the fitness which isn't daily.  You have justified the Plus to yourself based on average daily consumption.

 

My only comment is that if I had that much OBC, for me it would be a discount off the cruise fare and deciding to spend it on drinking I don't normally do wouldn't make sense to me.  I am never tempted that way as we get a cash discount off the fare and, sure, we have OBC, but I always just look at the package portion for drinks and how much do we drink per day over the cruise.  That's just my thinking and doesn't need to be anyone else's.  I always bring on wine and we have mini-bar (exchange it out for custom beverages) and I get a water pkg.  

[voljeep]

33 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

Forget the fitness which isn't daily.  You have justified the Plus to yourself based on average daily consumption.

 

My only comment is that if I had that much OBC, for me it would be a discount off the cruise fare and deciding to spend it on drinking I don't normally do wouldn't make sense to me.  I am never tempted that way as we get a cash discount off the fare and, sure, we have OBC, but I always just look at the package portion for drinks and how much do we drink per day over the cruise.  That's just my thinking and doesn't need to be anyone else's.  I always bring on wine and we have mini-bar (exchange it out for custom beverages) and I get a water pkg.  

would you buy a package that included wifi (one device) 'CA' (crew appreciation) 5 alcoholic drinks and 5 non-alcoholic drinks per day?  for the old PLUS cost of $40 per person per day?

 

or pay the current price of $60 for 15 alcoholic drinks and unlimited non-alcoholic drinks?

 

now, I know you are an exception to this question since you bring on your own wine - but what about when that option is eliminated?

 

others?

[Yowman]

1 hour ago, Steelers36 said:

It has been a while since you could pay only $60 CAD equivalent for Plus - unless you are getting a CAD At Par deal.  The price for Plus is $60 USD for a little while now.  It appears you don't get the MedallionNet discount, so your drinks portion is $60 - $32 = $28 USD.

 

I just looked at a new dummy booking for my cruise (Med in Sep/Oct) and the price for Plus is indeed $60 CAD per day per person (Mini Suite)

 

When I booked my cruise last year (August) the cost of Plus was $50 CAD per day as far as I remember

Edited February 24, 2023 by Yowman

[remydiva]

5 hours ago, caribill said:

 

In our case, a single device Internet package is all we need, so for us the math is slightly different since we would not need the Internet that is included in the second package.

Same with us plus hubby doesn't drink yet both parties in the cabin need to be on the same PLUS catagory.

[remydiva]

50 minutes ago, Yowman said:

 

I just looked at a new dummy booking for my cruise (Med in Sep/Oct) and the price for Plus is indeed $60 CAD per day per person (Mini Suite)

 

When I booked my cruise last year (August) the cost of Plus was $50 CAD per day as far as I remember

Canadian here as well $60 CAD diff per day per person for same catergory.

Tips are $16 /day after end of Feb

          Wifi $10/day when 50% 'discount' applied

total $26 /day

Means I'd have to drink $34 per day EVERY day.

 

Hubby would share my one device yet still have to pay the Wifi, so would only use the tip portion.

and doesn't drink so I'd have to drink HIS $34 every day = $68 per day??? talk about shipwrecked!

 Think we will just stay with the STD and do ala carte. The mini bar gives us a few freebie drinks.

Edited February 24, 2023 by remydiva

[memoak]

1 hour ago, voljeep said:

would you buy a package that included wifi (one device) 'CA' (crew appreciation) 5 alcoholic drinks and 5 non-alcoholic drinks per day?  for the old PLUS cost of $40 per person per day?

 

or pay the current price of $60 for 15 alcoholic drinks and unlimited non-alcoholic drinks?

 

now, I know you are an exception to this question since you bring on your own wine - but what about when that option is eliminated?

 

others?

5 drinks wouldn’t get me through dinner much less post dinner show casino etc.  In fact it probably wouldn’t even get me to dinner. They are not going to offer 10 different plans for people with different wishes

[memoak]

Just now, remydiva said:

Canadian here as well $60 CAD diff per day per person for same catergory.

Tips are $14.50/day 

          Wifi $10/day when 50% 'discount' applied

total $24.50 /day

Means I'd have to drink $35.50 per day EVERY day.

 

Hubby would share my one device yet still have to pay the Wifi, so would only use the tip portion.

and doesn't drink so I'd have to drink HIS $35.50 every day = $71 per day??? talk about shipwrecked!

 Think we will just stay with the STD and do ala carte. The mini bar gives us a few freebie drinks.

Actually if you drank your drinks and his you would probably lose the package since you can’t share