Is Princess Plus Really Worth It?

[EDH75]

Wife and I are sailing on the Regal Princess TransAtlantic cruise in April.  We have sailed about 12 times and never have purchased their drink packages before. We usually cruise with another couple, but this time it us just the 2 of us.   But on a 14 day cruise with only 4 ports, that means lots of sea days just lounging around and relaxing and drinking (even though we normally are not big drinkers)

 

For $70 per day including tax ( Total of $1960 for both), here is what the Princess Plus provides.

• Princess® dining, accommodations and entertainment
• MedallionClass® experience
• Plus Beverage Package
  (drinks up to $15 each)
• Wi-Fi (1 device per guest)
• Crew appreciation
• NEW Premium desserts (2 per day)
• NEW Fitness classes (2 per cruise)
• NEW Unlimited juice bar
•  

Wifi is normally $10 per day each and crew appreciation is $224 each so that comes out total of $728.  So the question is can we drink a total of $1200 in 14 days?  That divides out to basically $44 per day each for alcohol / juice?  So basically we need drink 3 or 4 cocktails each per day.

 

Just looking for replies / comments/ thoughts for members that have purchased drink packages in the past!  Was it worth it to them?  Thanks

[reedprincess]

Princess Plus should only be costing you $60usd a day, per person. Not sure where you're getting $70pp from?

 

That said, only you know your habits and whether it's worth it for you. With your numbers, 3.5 cocktails a day basically covers the beverage package portion. Throw in one latte or frappucino or 2 or 3 bottles of water and the alcohol "requirement" goes down a lot.

And it's just averages. If one day you drink 7 or 8 and the next day none, you've still averaged out.  

On TAs, Caribbean cruises, things like that, beverage packages are no brainers for us.. others wouldn't dream of paying for them. 

And there is an intangible value in knowing it's already paid for, instead of budgeting each and every drink.  That has some worth also... 

Worth is entirely in the eye of the beholder. 

YMMV.. 

 

Edited March 13, 2023 by reedprincess

[jaycruising]

Also, if you are not elite, internet is $15 per day for one device… so for about $30 per day is the other stuff worth it to you… since I always get wifi and gratuity… it works for me… I loved having the freedom to get water or pretty much anything else I wanted and left the ship with $0 owing

Edited March 13, 2023 by jaycruising

[BamaVol]

We just got off the Caribbean.  Paid $60 each per day for Plus.  Averaged $10 each daily in bottled water alone - we drink a lot of water.  A couple espressos or Americanos in the morning was another $5.  We don’t drink much soda but there were a couple diet cokes in 10 days. Of course we used the internet daily, so $15 there. And the $16 gratuities. Normally, I’m two beers a night.  That’s only $15.  But the Plus package does encourage over- drinking and my drinks ran from 3-6 daily.  Usually a beer, a couple wines and 2-3 manhattans a night. At ships’ prices, that was $40-70 (including tips).  So, worth it? Yes.  Now, I just have to cut back to 2 beers, cut out dessert and increase my steps to 20,000 a day for the next month to lose those 5 pounds I put on.

Edited March 13, 2023 by BamaVol

[Thrak]

It totally depends on YOU. For us, it's worth it even at the new $60 price point. (I certainly hope Princess is finally happy with the price. Having it go from $40 to $50 and now to $60 is plenty of price hikes for us.)

[DCwom]

Everyone has to make their own calculation, but fundamentally what do you want? For me I don't need WiFi, don't drink much alcohol or caffeinated drinks, so I'd have to "work" to break even. I even did a spreadsheet to see what I'd have to consume.

[sirclean]

3 to 4 drinks a day.  IT sounds like a lot, and IT IS !  But it is not like you are drinking all day long, or that they are large drinks! 

You can sample something and if you like it, order another (they are not necessarily big).

I can say that when we went on Discovery over Thanksgiving, it worked out for us.  My Bride discovered that there was a hot chocolate desert drink in the Main Dining Room.  She would then sample some drink at another bar, and maybe a drink after the Big Show of the day.

 

Could we keep up such a pace for 2 weeks?  I dont know! 

 

Still, a Dirty Banana, for a day or 2, a Toasted Almond, a Lemon Drop Martini, maybe a Baileys Irish Cream,  St. Germain Cocktail or Frangelica a time or two over the trip..... Maybe there is a beer that you would not otherwise get or try? 

 

But I do understand, when you add up the cost and write it down to be $1960!!!   It can make you think twice.

IF the break point is down to 3 drinks a day, that is at least $30 a day (times 2 for both of you)?  Then maybe it is cheaper to pass on it and save some money.  But it is a bit of a vacation, and it is possible to get carried away and end up not saving anything!  Remember, if you buy a drink outside the drink package, they add an 18% tip.  (At least I think that is the case). 

 

Bottom line is that it IS a lot of money.  There may be a cheaper way to go, but if this is a rare splurge, then you may enjoy it!  You may not fully enjoy all of the aspects of the trip and opportunity if you say 'no' to the package.  IF there are things you may want to try, this may be a great opportunity.  

 

Anyway, IF It were one week, I d say it is probably worth it!!  Can you keep up even 3 drinks a day for 2 weeks?  It is not a challenge (though some think that the challenge is not 3 but 15 drinks a day!!)

 

Let us know what you decide, and then come back after the trip and let us know if you regret either decision?

[memoak]

Even on 14-21 day cruises we average 8-12 drinks a day. Absolutely need Plus

[JimmyVWine]

The very simple math is, and this varies by cabin class and Captain Circle Status Level:

 

Gratuity = $17ish per day

Wifi = $15ish per day. 
If you use no other feature, you have $28ish per day leftover for drinks. That is 2 glasses of decent wine per day at current prices. Or perhaps one glass of decent wine and two cocktails, or a little less alcohol than that plus some coffee drinks. So if you are in the “two adult drinks per day, maybe three if I am on vacay, and one or two prepared coffee drinks per day” then it is easy to break even. I really can’t imagine anyone who consumes alcohol “losing” money on the deal. The only dealbreaker would be if you travel with oodles of OBC and would be using that to pay the majority of your expenses. But even then, you could book the basic package and upgrade on day one of the journey and use the OBC to pay for the upgrade. 

[AZjohn]

I think everyone is saying the same thing, figure out your life style and see if the right choice.

 

We purchased it for 2 cruises when it was $40.

 

We are in the minority who gave up alcohol a long time ago so it was espresso drinks (too many😂), water, and maybe virgin drink occasionally 

 

We do enjoy our own internet in the evening (we try to share one cruise and didn’t really work for us) and of course the daily service gratuity. 
 

At $40 we likely paid just little more than we would a la carte but, it was worth it just to not think about prices and simply get what we wanted.

 

Now at $60 I can’t justify the all inclusive cost anymore and will just get the things we want a la carte.
 

 

[Mike45LC]

On my last cruise, I averaged 0.2 drinks a day, more or less.  That was high for me, it is usually zero.  But I did enjoy a Virgin Mojito almost every evening.  And a Coke or two at lunch. I'm trying to cut down on Coca-Cola products and substituting tea and lemonade instead.  For me, the package is, no brainer, NOT worth it.  

 

Do the math and decide.  And recognize that the decision you make will not end the world -- you will have a great cruise whichever way you decide!!

[Guardsy]

I only factor in two costs; drinks per day and gratuities.  The internet really doesn't even work, so no gain there.  The other "normal" part of PP are not important to us.

 

If we are in warm weather, yes, we will easily do 8-15 drinks between us, more for me than her.  Add in the waters for free and the coffees, and those #'s go up.  Then I figure in the gratuities.  Easy decision.

 

Going to Alaska or colder weather areas, neither of us drinks as much, even the coffee drinks.  

 

So, really have to deliberate on the beverage package in the farther northern hemisphere.  In warm waters, no argument.  Drink package all the way.

[latebloomer56]

4 hours ago, EDH75 said:

Wife and I are sailing on the Regal Princess TransAtlantic cruise in April.  We have sailed about 12 times and never have purchased their drink packages before. We usually cruise with another couple, but this time it us just the 2 of us.   But on a 14 day cruise with only 4 ports, that means lots of sea days just lounging around and relaxing and drinking (even though we normally are not big drinkers)

 

For $70 per day including tax ( Total of $1960 for both), here is what the Princess Plus provides.

• Princess® dining, accommodations and entertainment
• MedallionClass® experience
• Plus Beverage Package
  (drinks up to $15 each)
• Wi-Fi (1 device per guest)
• Crew appreciation
• NEW Premium desserts (2 per day)
• NEW Fitness classes (2 per cruise)
• NEW Unlimited juice bar
•  

Wifi is normally $10 per day each and crew appreciation is $224 each so that comes out total of $728.  So the question is can we drink a total of $1200 in 14 days?  That divides out to basically $44 per day each for alcohol / juice?  So basically we need drink 3 or 4 cocktails each per day.

 

Just looking for replies / comments/ thoughts for members that have purchased drink packages in the past!  Was it worth it to them?  Thanks

It was for us last Oct. but it was cheaper and didn't have the three new items which don't interest us in the least. We would normally have a soda package for hubby and a coffee for me with maybe a drink or two a day. With the crew appreciation (pre pay anyway) and WiFi (which was very good on the Sapphire to Hawaii for us) it was worth it. We also have two waters per day as well each.

It's not just alcohol you need to think specialty coffees and teas, juice, and water are also part of drink package.

[WAvoyager]

We don’t really drink at home.  We have gotten Plus comped the last couple of cruises.  We both use the internet every day.  But lots of bottled water and soda’s don’t really make up the extra $28/day.

 

But on every cruise with Plus, my wife now ends up having 2-3 cocktails per day.  And I have a whole new category of drinks to choose from throughout the day.  Plus, I have a wife who is much more relaxed and happy throughout the trip.

 

Financially, it’s pretty close for us, but comparing a cruise with and without Plus.  It’s worth every $ we’d have to spend adding it on.

 

And now, I know my daughter will enjoy a few desserts on the cruise.  Heck, me too!

[FrankieJayIII]

Can someone tell me about bottled water with the PLUS?   Do we have them delivered to the stateroom?  Pick them up somewhere?  How does that work?  

 

Are you saying we do not need to order water bottles before the cruise for in the stateroom?

 

Thank you in advance. 

[wowzz]

2 hours ago, FrankieJayIII said:

Can someone tell me about bottled water with the PLUS?   Do we have them delivered to the stateroom?  Pick them up somewhere?  How does that work?  

 

Are you saying we do not need to order water bottles before the cruise for in the stateroom?

 

Thank you in advance. 

If you have Plus, the small bottles of water are included in the package. You can either pick one or two up at any bar, or have them delivered to your cabin foc. No need to order water before your cruise.

We tend to amass a few bottles during the first few days of the cruise, to store in the cabin fridge, so as to always have a supply available, and then keep our stock replenished thereafter. 

[nini]

And what about espresso drinks or decent coffee at the International Cafe??? Hubby gets hot cocoa each morning and night, so there you go. And I love my Caramel Macchiato s each morning.

[MissP22]

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[wowzz]

8 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

.

A message for us all.

[MissP22]

2 hours ago, wowzz said:

A message for us all.

It's what the new plus package is worth to us which is not much.

 

It only forces us to drink more than we normally would, gaining gaining weight in the process on empty calories.

Sitting there getting frustrated trying to use their lousy internet only to view news that I don't care to here anyway and checking email that I just delete most times because most of it is spam.

What is really humorous that they've convinced lots of the people that they actually need the package. Great marketing by Princess. 😄 LOL

[wowzz]

21 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

It only forces us to drink more than we normally would,

Different horses for different courses !

If we did not have the package we would have to drastically reduce our drinking - what's the fun in that on holiday ?

[PMGS247]

1 hour ago, MissP22 said:

It only forces us to drink more than we normally would, gaining gaining weight in the process on empty calories.

 

The package is not for you. Sometimes the numbers are a slam dunk, other times value is in the eye of the beholder.  Many people report drinking more as a result of having the package.  This is probably the first account of which I've read someone feeling forced into an undesirable situation due to the calories involved, vs the more common "I'm on vacation" attitude of those who appreciate being able to drink freely and not worry about the bill. It's a totally valid opinion, just unusual...if you're counting calories the package is definitely not for you.

 

Just goes to show, your mileage may vary...everyone has to decide for themselves, but you have to be an informed consumer.  Princess itself is hardly the only provider of goods and services that is happy to oversell to an uninformed consumer.

[MissP22]

2 minutes ago, PMGS247 said:

 

The package is not for you. Sometimes the numbers are a slam dunk, other times value is in the eye of the beholder.  Many people report drinking more as a result of having the package.  This is probably the first account of which I've read someone feeling forced into an undesirable situation due to the calories involved, vs the more common "I'm on vacation" attitude of those who appreciate being able to drink freely and not worry about the bill. It's a totally valid opinion, just unusual...if you're counting calories the package is definitely not for you.

 

Just goes to show, your mileage may vary...everyone has to decide for themselves, but you have to be an informed consumer.  Princess itself is hardly the only provider of goods and services that is happy to oversell to an uninformed consumer.

We don't "count" calories when on vacation but they sure do add up quickly especially when having 3 or 4 dirty bananas each day. 

That's +1000 calories which is almost half of a normal diet. Add in all the food you don't normally consume & you're why over the top. Seeing that we cruise multiple times a year we would look like ( I'm not going to say it) but just take a look at some of the people sailing these days. 

 

[PMGS247]

1 minute ago, MissP22 said:

We don't "count" calories when on vacation but they sure do add up quickly especially when having 3 or 4 dirty bananas each day. 

That's +1000 calories which is almost half of a normal diet. Add in all the food you don't normally consume & you're why over the top. Seeing that we cruise multiple times a year we would look like ( I'm not going to say it) but just take a look at some of the people sailing these days. 

 

 

I guess I have a wider definition of counting calories. If you're doing calorie math you're definitely on the calorie counting spectrum.  Your logic is fine but it's yours.  Most leave this type of thought behind when setting sail.  I'm not judging either way, just an observation....different strokes. Package isn't for you.

[Esprit]

Always works for me and getting fresh orange juices at breakfast is a bonus.

I'm not a foodie so tend not to eat much on a cruise as it interferes with my available drinking time!