To Plus or not to Plus.., our experience

[remydiva]

Just back from 14 day TA on Regal.

 

We got the basic fares only vs paying $60 US pp per day to get included tips, wifi and drinks.

 

For us, it was absolutely the right choice.

here’s why..,

 

I’m Elite; hubby is Platinum so we got one minibar set up. I customized it to suit our drinking habits. Swapped out sodas and whiskey we don’t drink ; for more beer,  gin, Pellegrino and tonic for my G& Ts.

I even got limes from bar to keep in fridge so it was very civilized!

 

I forego needing wifi as we checked our emails when in port having coffee or wine at local cafes. I did buy a ‘Till end of cruise’ wifi package to be able to check in and print boarding passes for last 3 days so as Elite it was $22.50.

 

I drink 2 glasses of wine most nites.. one at HH and one with dinner. Three nites I had a nite cap. At Captain Circle nite, drinks were ‘free’.

 

I bought a bottle of wine the first nite at Crown Grill and took rest back to the cabin to supplement the mini bar options.

 

Hubby had total of 4-5 drinks/ beer over 14 days in addition to mini bar offerings.

 

Our total bill was under $900 US to cover tips at $16 pp per day, drinks, additional Crown dinner added on board, and 3 day wifi.

vs

Plus package at $60x 2x 24= $1680.

 

absolutely the right choice for us.

your mileage may differ 🙂

 

 

Edited May 6, 2023 by remydiva
Added pic

[phoebe2m]

The Plus worked for us at $40 per day per person. About break even. $60 a day doesn't work in our situation so our next 3 cruises are basic fare. We need wi-fi for only me not my husband. And I rarely drink. My husband buys a bottle of wine for dinner that lasts 3 meals. People should do the math before deciding. 

[wowzz]

20 minutes ago, phoebe2m said:

People should do the math before deciding. 

Exactly  - when Plus reaches $100 we will stop buying it.

[remydiva]

20 minutes ago, phoebe2m said:

The Plus worked for us at $40 per day per person. About break even. $60 a day doesn't work in our situation so our next 3 cruises are basic fare. We need wi-fi for only me not my husband. And I rarely drink. My husband buys a bottle of wine for dinner that lasts 3 meals. People should do the math before deciding. 

Agree with you.. do the math. 
 

I also tipped our room steward separately.

[Buckeye10640]

17 minutes ago, phoebe2m said:

The Plus worked for us at $40 per day per person. About break even. $60 a day doesn't work in our situation so our next 3 cruises are basic fare. We need wi-fi for only me not my husband. And I rarely drink. My husband buys a bottle of wine for dinner that lasts 3 meals. People should do the math before deciding. 

I am the same. We do not drink much alcohol, but at $40 it was worth it and probably break even. Not at $60, though. I get 50% off WiFi, we buy some bottled water and used to buy a coffee package (now discontinued of course! they want to sell the expensive packages). Sailing soon at the basic fare and I have no doubt I will come out ahead. Plus/Premium fares definitely work out for many, but certainly not for everyone.

[BamaVol]

I realize everyone doesn’t attempt an estimate of their onboard charges before making the decision whether to purchase Plus or Premier. I have to assume those people who don’t run the numbers enjoy wasting money or worry about their spending onboard regardless of which choice they make.  So far, with one completed cruise and one scheduled cruise on Princess, I am confident I am making the correct decision for us to purchase Plus.

 

The drinks seem to be the biggest variable. Gratuities is a no-brainer. For us, wifi is essential because we are a lifeline for my 93 year old father-in-law back home.  We need to be able to text with him at all times.  Last cruise, we got a call in the middle of the Caribbean that my brother-in-law had died in an accident. We debated disembarking and flying north from our next port. Had that been our decision, it would have been more difficult not knowing until we reached port a day and a half later.

 

YMMV?  You’re quite correct. It differs from cruiser to cruiser, cabin to cabin.  I do worry about people who ask on CC “should I purchase Plus?”  This analysis is a fundamental life skill that should be acquired early in life.  Do these same folks go on Facebook or NextDoor and ask “Can I afford to buy a home?” or “Can I afford to start a family?”

 

Edited May 6, 2023 by BamaVol

[Lady Arwen]

Absolutely, everyone needs to calculate if it works for them.  We purchased Plus for our upcoming cruise.  We both drink specialty coffees,  cocktails, wine, bottled water to take on excursions, juice, sodas etc.  Both of us need wifi.  With gratuities included, we more than cover the cost of the Plus package.  We won’t have the fancy desserts or the fitness classes, so they’re of no value to us.

 

For us, it’s the convenience of having everything included and not having to be concerned about how much we’re spending on extras.  We booked it quite some time ago and in Canadian dollars, but I believe it was $50.00 Canadian per person per day.

[remydiva]

3 minutes ago, BamaVol said:

I realize everyone doesn’t attempt an estimate of their onboard charges before making the decision whether to purchase Plus or Premier. I have to assume those people who don’t run the numbers enjoy wasting money or worry about their spending onboard regardless of which choice they make.  So far, with one completed cruise and one scheduled cruise on Princess, I am confident I am making the correct decision for us to purchase Plus.

 

The drinks seem to be the biggest variable. Gratuities is a no-brainer. For us, wifi is essential because we are a lifeline for my 93 year old father-in-law back home.  We need to be able to text with him at all times.  Last cruise, we got a call in the middle of the Caribbean that my brother-in-law had died in an accident. We debated disembarking and flying north from our next port. Had that been our decision, it would have been more difficult not knowing until we reached port a day and a half later.

 

YMMV?  You’re quite correct. It differs from cruiser to cruiser, cabin to cabin.  I do worry about people who ask on CC “should I purchase Plus?”  This analysis is a fundamental life skill that should be acquired early in life.  Do these same folks go on Facebook or NextDoor and ask “Should I buy a home?” or “Should I start a family?”

 

“This analysis is a fundamental life skill that should be acquired early in life.  Do these same folks go on Facebook or NextDoor and ask “Should I buy a home?” or “Should I start a family”

 

Thanks for the laugh!!

[wowzz]

20 minutes ago, BamaVol said:

I am confident I am making the correct decision for us to purchase Plus.

As are we. 6 or 7 glasses of wine each per day means that we don't really have to do any calculations! 

[memoak]

It all comes down to how much you drink. On a cruise we pretty much have at least 6-8 drinks a day so yes a no brained for us we always get the plus package and use Wi-Fi daily to keep up on the news

[sirclean]

For us, it is a duel question. It is not just that it is now $60 a day, but $60 for both, and for EVERY Day on the cruise. 

We recently finished a 16 day cruise.  Drinking all that we would have to drink every day (or over the entire trip) would add a lot of calories on top of the other temptations already available.  IF we were booking a 3, 4 or 5 day trip, it may be a different question, but to 'break even' on a long trip versus a shorter trip enters the calculation (as I can drink more per day for a short time, than over a longer time!) 

We have booked a November trip, but we have not yet decided whether to add the plus.  It will be in celebration of our anniversary and a birthday, so it may be something to consider, but at $40 or even $50 a day it would be an easier calculation.

The bottom line is that each of us face a different decision calculation (based on our own tastes and preferences). The right decision for you may not be the right one for me, but the price is certainly the same!! 

[justafem]

For us, the plus package is worth it, even if one of us doesn't have alcoholic beverages.  

 

I'll drink heavily several days of a cruise, then take a day off between.  I rarely drink on the last day of the cruise, the early morning thing messes me up without a potential hangover.  

 

I can drink my weight in butter pecan lattes and grab bottles of water whenever I want.  

 

Hubs not so much, but he enjoys his nonalcoholic beverages.

 

I WANT internet, hubs can take or leave.  

 

So for us, plus makes sense. 

[cr8tiv1]

Not judging your statement.  Just asking for clarification.  DId you keep your automatic crew appreciation on the books plus tipped separately? Or did you remove automatic crew appreciation and just tipped your room steward?  What about wait staff?

 

6 hours ago, remydiva said:

Agree with you.. do the math. 
 

I also tipped our room steward separately.

 

[remydiva]

28 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Not judging your statement.  Just asking for clarification.  DId you keep your automatic crew appreciation on the books plus tipped separately? Or did you remove automatic crew appreciation and just tipped your room steward?  What about wait staff?

 

 

Kept automatic crew appreciation AND tipped steward extra.

 

I never remove some or all of the crew appreciation as I know that automatic daily added tip is how all staff ,including those behind the scenes,  gets  tips. 

Edited May 6, 2023 by remydiva

[wowzz]

20 minutes ago, remydiva said:

I never remove some or all of the crew appreciation as I know that automatic daily added tip is how all staff ,including those behind the scenes,  gets  tips. 

And the tips are shared throughout the fleet.

We always tip our steward separately,  unless the service is awful, which has never happened.

[charliedalrymple]

We are doing Plus on a 14-day Christmas cruise to New Zealand this year.  We are only interested in the drinks, and probably won't even use the wi-fi, special desserts or fitness classes.  (One of the joys of cruising for us is unplugging and detoxing from our devices.).  However, Plus is slightly cheaper than just the drink package.  (Crazy!)

 

We are moderate drinkers and voracious coffee consumers, so we expect to break even or come out ahead.  Also, we like not having to worry about how much we are spending on drinks and just have whatever we want, whenever we want.  That alone makes Plus appealing for us.  

[MissP22]

It's interesting to read the different opinions on the Plus package.

Even from people who don't drink seem to have convinced themselves that it's a great deal. 😄

It appears that inflation hasn't really affected the pocketbooks of the sailors on this board yet. 

[Expat Cruise]

We do not drink alcohol drinks. Wife does drink coffee, and we have soft drinks. But even if we did drink, the packages are nothing but a money making option for the cruise line.  If you look at all the time off the ship in port, it makes it even more to that you should not fall for purchasing the packages. 

 

[Lady Arwen]

1 hour ago, Expat Cruise said:

We do not drink alcohol drinks. Wife does drink coffee, and we have soft drinks. But even if we did drink, the packages are nothing but a money making option for the cruise line.  If you look at all the time off the ship in port, it makes it even more to that you should not fall for purchasing the packages. 

 

I think everyone can decide for themselves whether it’s an advantage or not.  We carefully calculated what we would spend with and without the package.  Plus came out way ahead.  If you enjoy alcoholic drinks and specialty coffees that alone makes a big difference.  Perhaps it’s not for you, but it does work for lots of us.  We’re not “falling for” anything.  We do the math and do what’s right for us.

[MTNest93]

I’m just happy our Plus packages are included at no additional cost as a gift from our TA.  No math required 😀

[wowzz]

1 hour ago, Expat Cruise said:

If you look at all the time off the ship in port, it makes it even more to that you should not fall for purchasing the packages. 

If we did not have the Plus package, our bar bill for a 14 night cruise would be over $2500. So, buying the Plus saves me $1000, even before taking the included autotips into account.

Explain to me exactly how I am falling for purchasing the package ?

[LACruiser88]

10 minutes ago, wowzz said:

buying the Plus saves me $1000, even before taking the included autotips into account.

Same for us, the Plus Package saves us a ton of $$$!

[Boiler Cruiser]

23 hours ago, remydiva said:

Just back from 14 day TA on Regal.

 

We got the basic fares only vs paying $60 US pp per day to get included tips, wifi and drinks.

 

For us, it was absolutely the right choice.

here’s why..,

 

I’m Elite; hubby is Platinum so we got one minibar set up. I customized it to suit our drinking habits. Swapped out sodas and whiskey we don’t drink ; for more beer,  gin, Pellegrino and tonic for my G& Ts.

I even got limes from bar to keep in fridge so it was very civilized!

 

I forego needing wifi as we checked our emails when in port having coffee or wine at local cafes. I did buy a ‘Till end of cruise’ wifi package to be able to check in and print boarding passes for last 3 days so as Elite it was $22.50.

 

I drink 2 glasses of wine most nites.. one at HH and one with dinner. Three nites I had a nite cap. At Captain Circle nite, drinks were ‘free’.

 

I bought a bottle of wine the first nite at Crown Grill and took rest back to the cabin to supplement the mini bar options.

 

Hubby had total of 4-5 drinks/ beer over 14 days in addition to mini bar offerings.

 

Our total bill was under $900 US to cover tips at $16 pp per day, drinks, additional Crown dinner added on board, and 3 day wifi.

vs

Plus package at $60x 2x 24= $1680.

 

absolutely the right choice for us.

your mileage may differ 🙂

 

 

My wife and I were recently on a 15 day cruise and opted for the Premier Package. 

 

For us it was worth it for a number of reasons:

 

1) My wife liked the availability of WiFi, as did I, so she could keep up with her emails from home and text messages, particularly at night when WiFi was more reliable.

2) We took full advantage of the 2 meals at the Crown and Sabatini's

3) The biggest advantage for us was the Beverage Package portion of the Premier Package.  Each of us drinks 4-5 cups of coffee a day.  We both drink 1 or 2 beers, often with lunch or in the afternoon each day.  We have a couple of cocktails before dinner, 1 or 2 glasses of wine with dinner, and a couple of drinks after dinner as well in Crooner's.  In addition, we both like the availability of higher end wine, bourbon and scotch selections, which we take full advantage of.

 

All told, with the $60/ day surcharge, we still saved many 100's of dollars out of pocket, on this cruise.

 

As you say, though, not everyone is like either you or us.  Everyone should do the math for themselves.

[wowzz]

1 minute ago, Boiler Cruiser said:

My wife and I were recently on a 15 day cruise and opted for the Premier Package. 

 

For us it was worth it for a number of reasons:

 

1) My wife liked the availability of WiFi, as did I, so she could keep up with her emails from home and text messages, particularly at night when WiFi was more reliable.

2) We took full advantage of the 2 meals at the Crown and Sabatini's

3) The biggest advantage for us was the Beverage Package portion of the Premier Package.  Each of us drinks 4-5 cups of coffee a day.  We both drink 1 or 2 beers, often with lunch or in the afternoon each day.  We have a couple of cocktails before dinner, 1 or 2 glasses of wine with dinner, and a couple of drinks after dinner as well in Crooner's.  In addition, we both like the availability of higher end wine, bourbon and scotch selections, which we take full advantage of.

 

All told, with the $60/ day surcharge, we still saved many 100's of dollars out of pocket, on this cruise.

 

As you say, though, not everyone is like either you or us.  Everyone should do the math for themselves.

Yet again it shows that @Expat Cruise is wrong.

[Boiler Cruiser]

2 hours ago, Expat Cruise said:

We do not drink alcohol drinks. Wife does drink coffee, and we have soft drinks. But even if we did drink, the packages are nothing but a money making option for the cruise line.  If you look at all the time off the ship in port, it makes it even more to that you should not fall for purchasing the packages. 

 

I did the math for my wife and I, knowing what we drink and also our percieved value of 24 hour WiFi.  On 2 cruises now our savings over the $60/ day price was tremendous.  Princess is not making much money on my liquor bill if I am having 4-5 coffees a day ($2.50 each), a glass of wine with dinner ($19), and 3-4 cocktails before and after dinner ($20 each), for a total of $80-$100/ day I'm not spending out of pocket on drinks alone for each of us.  That's a savings of more than $2,000 on a 10 day cruise.