Princess Plus Package

[remydiva]

1 minute ago, memoak said:

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

to clarify...i don't mean literally sharing; I mean drinking 2 x as much on my 'unlimited up to $15' to justify paying for his package.

[memoak]

1 minute ago, remydiva said:

to clarify...i don't mean literally sharing; I mean drinking 2 x as much on my 'unlimited up to $15' to justify paying for his package.

10 drinks a day or so is really easy to do without getting hammered

[remydiva]

1 minute ago, memoak said:

10 drinks a day or so is really easy to do without getting hammered

guess i'm a light weight :)...2 glasses wine my max...a cheap date as my hubby says.

[wowzz]

26 minutes ago, memoak said:

10 drinks a day or so is really easy to do without getting hammered

Avsolutely, especially as Princess wine pours are so stingy.

[Steelers36]

2 hours 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

 

1 hour ago, remydiva said:

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.

This is explained because Princess has a CAD at par promotion going on for Canada market.  The booking codes are RLW/RJW/RKW.  The numbers are not precise, but generally what they did was reduce the USD fare Americans pay by the exchange rate they are using and then factor it up again to the CAD you see on the website.

 

As an example, a 10-night cruise I looked at in FEB 2024 indicates an American would book the voyage for about $1,371/pp at Standard Fare.  Plus Fare would be $600 more as expected.

 

A Canadian would book the voyage at about $1,432/pp at Standard Fare.  Plus Fare would be about $594 more, virtually $600. 

 

This situation doesn't last forever, but a Canadian can look at it as paying only $440 USD, or $44/pp/day.  Subtracting out $23.50 for Crew Appreciation and MedallionNet (at 50% off), leaves $20.50 USD for drinking each day.  This is a whole different viewpoint I would agree (note that drinking and other things provided on the ship are not sold at par).

 

[Steelers36]

9 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?

Yes, you have justified the package for your situation.  Forget the fitness classes as they are not an every-day things and you wouldn't use them anyway on your own initiative.  It's no different than a guest who had zero interest in MedallionNet and so they should not include that cost for their valuation analysis.

 

I do have a comment on a very large amount of OBC.  I would be looking at that as my cruise fare discount (I get a cash discount off the the fare paid).  I wouldn't just go and spend it on drinking that we don't normally do.  But that is my mind - why change habits instead of keeping my cruise discount cash to offset my credit card bill?  Usually these large sums are refundable OBC, but I don't claim to know your situation.  If it wasn't, I'd be looking for a new TA and also finding other ways to extract my rebate.  My thinking is not necessarily someone else's thinking.  I imagine some folks think they would have booked the cruise at the full fare, so why not spend the agency OBC rebate?  To each their own makes the world go round.

[Torfamm]

On 2/24/2023 at 1:02 AM, 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.

That’s the easiest way to look at the Plus Package and how I always look at it. Thanks for the simple explanation.

 

For us, the Plus Package does make sense. I figure we are at a minimum of $63 a day for drinks on a port day.
 

Even the cheapest bottle of wine will be at least $35, so with gratuity about $42 at a bare minimum for wine and another $8 or so for sparkling water so we’d spend at least $50 at dinner. (More likely more)
 

The remaining money gets eaten into pretty quickly even if we just get a coffee in the morning and a bottled water each day as we head off the ship. That’s another $13 a day. 

 

Knowing what you typically would spend makes the decision making process pretty straightforward.

Edited February 25, 2023 by Torfamm

[CruizinSusan70]

On 2/23/2023 at 11:42 PM, cr8tiv1 said:

 

I'm retired.  Life should not be this complicated.  

It's not complicated for us at all.  We spent 14 days last year on the Discovery and will spend another 14 this year on the Majestic.  Got the plus package for 40 on both cruises.  Will be booking two cruises in 2024 on the Enchanted and the Sun.  Will pay 60 for the Plus package.  After factoring out gratuities, that's 45 bucks for the drink package or three a day, which will be done just after lunch.  And then wifi is gravy. 

The bottom line is that it gets complicated for teetotalers.  Any that choose to imbibe, it's a simple decision.

[wowzz]

56 minutes ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

The bottom line is that it gets complicated for teetotalers

Great way of putting it. For us drinkers there is no complicated thought process at all !

[Yowman]

8 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

It's not complicated for us at all.  We spent 14 days last year on the Discovery and will spend another 14 this year on the Majestic.  Got the plus package for 40 on both cruises.  Will be booking two cruises in 2024 on the Enchanted and the Sun.  Will pay 60 for the Plus package.  After factoring out gratuities, that's 45 bucks for the drink package or three a day, which will be done just after lunch.  And then wifi is gravy. 

The bottom line is that it gets complicated for teetotalers.  Any that choose to imbibe, it's a simple decision.

For those who don't drink alcohol and don't want wifi and don't want to pay per beverage, the beverage package ($40/day) plus gratuities add up to > $55/day.    Want wifi too?  The Plus package seems to be the way to go whether or not alcohol is consumed.

[cr8tiv1]

9 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

It's not complicated for us at all.  We spent 14 days last year on the Discovery and will spend another 14 this year on the Majestic.  Got the plus package for 40 on both cruises.  Will be booking two cruises in 2024 on the Enchanted and the Sun.  Will pay 60 for the Plus package.  After factoring out gratuities, that's 45 bucks for the drink package or three a day, which will be done just after lunch.  And then wifi is gravy. 

The bottom line is that it gets complicated for teetotalers.  Any that choose to imbibe, it's a simple decision.

 

I agree with you.  It's fine for those that drink, but not a good bargain for tea-totalers.  Break even point is 2-3 alcoholic drinks a day.  I've seen passengers with 9 wine glasses on their table for 2 people.  I can't imagine drinking that much (or a bottle) at one sitting.  

 

Guess us tea-totalers are in the minority.  But I won't sound off on how minorities are usually on the losing end.  I taught too many years where it was stressed that we needed to teach to either the lowest common denominator or the mass.  Forget that the "gifted" or high learners were going to be the ones that were going to be the leaders and changers.  

[Yowman]

13 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

I agree with you.  It's fine for those that drink, but not a good bargain for tea-totalers.  Break even point is 2-3 alcoholic drinks a day.  I've seen passengers with 9 wine glasses on their table for 2 people.  I can't imagine drinking that much (or a bottle) at one sitting.  

 

Guess us tea-totalers are in the minority.  But I won't sound off on how minorities are usually on the losing end.  I taught too many years where it was stressed that we needed to teach to either the lowest common denominator or the mass.  Forget that the "gifted" or high learners were going to be the ones that were going to be the leaders and changers.  

 

For those without a package, how much are coffees/teas/soft drinks?  I think you need to include the costs of those in your cost benefit analysis.

[cr8tiv1]

1 hour ago, Yowman said:

 

For those without a package, how much are coffees/teas/soft drinks?  I think you need to include the costs of those in your cost benefit analysis.

 

Don't need to.  I get them (lattes) free with my suite breakfasts.  Plus I get bottled water daily.  And 2 mini-bars.  Outside of breakfast, I don't drink much coffee.

 

It was a bargain at $40.  It stretched my comfort at $50 (but hit the button).  At $60 or more, it's a stretch to make it feasible.  

 

I'm glad it works out for some of you.  There is still a large pool that really have to weigh the cost to the benefits.  And just because I am in a suite, doesn't mean that I want to pay more.  It is not the ability or lack of ability.  It is a protest.

[malba2366]

2 hours ago, Yowman said:

For those who don't drink alcohol and don't want wifi and don't want to pay per beverage, the beverage package ($40/day) plus gratuities add up to > $55/day.    Want wifi too?  The Plus package seems to be the way to go whether or not alcohol is consumed.

 

Then you would be better booking the standard package, paying for your coffee beverages per drink and taking some cans of your favorite soft drink onto the ship with you.

[justafem]

2 hours ago, Yowman said:

For those who don't drink alcohol and don't want wifi and don't want to pay per beverage, the beverage package ($40/day) plus gratuities add up to > $55/day.    Want wifi too?  The Plus package seems to be the way to go whether or not alcohol is consumed.

Actually the price for the no booze beverage package is $47.xx after mandatory 18% gratuity.  Add daily grats and the price for both goes to $63.xx.  Plus is cheaper. 

[wowzz]

3 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

I can't imagine drinking that much (or a bottle) at one sitting.  

Not that difficult to imagine. My wife and I just drank two bottles of an excellent Argentinian Malbec tonight. 

[Yowman]

1 hour ago, wowzz said:

Not that difficult to imagine. My wife and I just drank two bottles of an excellent Argentinian Malbec tonight. 

 

 

Yep, a. bottle of wine per person per sitting is not un usual for my household, for better or for worse

[memoak]

4 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

I agree with you.  It's fine for those that drink, but not a good bargain for tea-totalers.  Break even point is 2-3 alcoholic drinks a day.  I've seen passengers with 9 wine glasses on their table for 2 people.  I can't imagine drinking that much (or a bottle) at one sitting.  

 

Guess us tea-totalers are in the minority.  But I won't sound off on how minorities are usually on the losing end.  I taught too many years where it was stressed that we needed to teach to either the lowest common denominator or the mass.  Forget that the "gifted" or high learners were going to be the ones that were going to be the leaders and changers.  

The packages were made for drinkers. We drink a minimum of 6-8 drinks a day plus water and coffees   For those you do not drink it is more advantageous to just pay as you go. Remember when there were no packages and we paid by the drink. ?  E use to average around $50 per person for drinks alone. That was back in the 1990’s

[konatyme]

Thanks to everyone for the help!

 

[kamelia]

According to the FAQs on Princess.com, guests may upgrade to Princess Plus or Princess Premier the first day onboard: 

 

"8. Can I purchase Princess Plus or Princess Premier when I’m on board?
Yes. Princess Plus and Princess Premier will be available to purchase on board beginning with voyages sailing 2/20/23 and beyond. You may purchase a package on the first day of your voyage."

 

Do these terms apply to the Princess Plus / Princess Premier FARE with all of the perks as listed on the website, or just the Princess Plus / Princess Premier BEVERAGE packages listed as one line item in the perks?