To Plus or not to Plus.., our experience

[gah_cruise]

8 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

Simply because it isn't like adding a cost of say $150 to the cruise total. In our case for our Dec cruise it was more like a $2,000  package. 

That's quite a bit. 

Yup....and if you don't want wifi / hardly drink alcohol/soda or good coffee and only tip those you want to tip....then $2000 is quite a bit.
For us and the way we cruise (and it seems for many others) it makes sense,
We all cruise to enjoy ourselves in our own ways.

PS...if they keep pumping the package price and the individual drink prices (rip off) we will consider other vacations.

[memoak]

33 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

I'm still amazed at the number of people who buy the package. It seems like just about everyone has it.

Since it's that popular, there's no reason why Princess wouldn't increase the price, a little at a time of course.

Lots of people buy the packages because they are on vacation and want to enjoy some drinks while on the trip. If you enjoy a beer ant glass of wine with meals, a few cocktails before dinner and a couple while in the casino or listening to music then this saves you money.

[memoak]

2 minutes ago, gah_cruise said:

Yup....and if you don't want wifi / hardly drink alcohol/soda or good coffee and only tip those you want to tip....then $2000 is quite a bit.
For us and the way we cruise (and it seems for many others) it makes sense,
We all cruise to enjoy ourselves in our own ways.

PS...if they keep pumping the package price and the individual drink prices (rip off) we will consider other vacations.

I don’t know where you live but where I live speciality’ cocktails cost $10 - $14 pretty much in line with the menu prices on Princess

[MissP22]

54 minutes ago, gah_cruise said:

Yup....and if you don't want wifi / hardly drink alcohol/soda or good coffee and only tip those you want to tip....then $2000 is quite a bit.
For us and the way we cruise (and it seems for many others) it makes sense,
We all cruise to enjoy ourselves in our own ways.

PS...if they keep pumping the package price and the individual drink prices (rip off) we will consider other vacations.

I can see by your response they've got you buffaloed into thinking you absolutely  need all those things on a vacation. 

Their advertising dept. is doing a great job. 

Save on things you're gonna do anyway. 😆😄😄

[gah_cruise]

3 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

I can see by your response they've got you buffaloed into thinking you absolutely  need all those things on a vacation. 

 

Huh...."buffaloed"...what do you mean?
Yup...we need wifi....don't question why...we do. Period.
Yup ..we will pay "staff appreciation".... any reason we should not?
Yup.. couple of glasses of decent wine and a couple of good cocktails...we like a drink.

so...for us it does make sense.

[BamaVol]

1 hour ago, MissP22 said:

Simply because it isn't like adding a cost of say $150 to the cruise total. In our case for our Dec cruise it was more like a $2,000  package. 

That's quite a bit. 

Which beats $3,000 for pay per drink.

 

They don’t allow bottles into sports stadiums here, but I’m not amazed at the long lines to pay $17 for a beer.

[kywildcatfanone]

15 minutes ago, BamaVol said:

They don’t allow bottles into sports stadiums here, but I’m not amazed at the long lines to pay $17 for a beer.

Yeah, I see it all the time at ball games.  People spending hundreds of dollars on beer.  To each his own I guess.  It's their money and not mine.  I can't personally justify it. Some of the money I see spent is enough for another cruise. 

 

I'm sure Princess and the other cruise lines are very happy with it, as they should be.  It's helping them make up for the year sitting idle. 

[Jersey42]

I chuckle at reading some of the arguments because too many people can’t understand that there are other cruisers with a different cruise style than theirs.  If you do the math (pertinent to your situation), it is probably pretty easy for the large majority of people to make the decision between Plus and Standard. The hard part is when the numbers are close.  Only you know how having the package vs not might affect how much you drink.  I have always suggested people try Plus if the numbers are close, then see how it works out and it should be an easier choice for their next cruise.

 

Here are our typical per day numbers for a seven day cruise.

Plus - $120
Staff Appreciation - $32
WiFi - $7.50 (We don’t use it a lot, so we share.  We also get the platinum/elite discount)

Non refundable onboard credit - $39.50 (Varies, but usually enough to cover Staff Appreciation and WiFi)

 

So we need to drink $120 per day just to break even with Plus over Standard.

 

• We get the elite minibar in the room.
• We drive to the port, so we usually bring one case of soda.
• We don’t drink wine.
• One of us drinks no alcohol, nor any of the sugary non-alcoholic drinks – but may order 1-2 diet cokes and one coffee and one water per day. Let’s call this $15 per day.

 

So the other person needs to drink $105 or an average of about 8** drinks every day beyond the minibar and the captain’s circle party.  Even more drinks if beer and non-alcoholic drinks are averaged in.   We will never reach that number in one day, no less average that over 7 days.  So the decision for us is simple. Now, when our son cruises with his wife and friends, they all will usually reach the 8 drink average before dinner. So the decision for them is also very simple too. 😁

 

** The drink prices have increased since our last cruise.  I guessed at $11 plus tip as an average, to get the 8 per day. YMMV   

Edited May 22, 2023 by Jersey42

[MissP22]

2 hours ago, BamaVol said:

Which beats $3,000 for pay per drink.

 

 

I'd say that there are very few people who could make out ahead with drinking 15 drinks a day, consistently. That is a huge part of the package price. 

We get free drinks at the Capt. repeater party and Capt. luncheon & for us , it's sufficient in addition to what we bring on board. We also get add'l wine at different ports to supplement what we board with.

 

What is so important about having an internet connection? I can get internet for free at almost every port in the Caribbean to check my email & download movies (99% spam & the important items can wait).

Other than the gratuities everything else is not worth it. 

 

2 hours ago, kywildcatfanone said:

Yeah, I see it all the time at ball games.  People spending hundreds of dollars on beer.  To each his own I guess.  It's their money and not mine.  I can't personally justify it. Some of the money I see spent is enough for another cruise. 

 

I'm sure Princess and the other cruise lines are very happy with it, as they should be.  It's helping them make up for the year sitting idle. 

I'm with you about taking another trip, if my waistline can handle it. 😄

[BamaVol]

4 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

I'd say that there are very few people who could make out ahead with drinking 15 drinks a day, consistently. That is a huge part of the package price. 

We get free drinks at the Capt. repeater party and Capt. luncheon & for us , it's sufficient in addition to what we bring on board. We also get add'l wine at different ports to supplement what we board with.

 

What is so important about having an internet connection? I can get internet for free at almost every port in the Caribbean to check my email & download movies (99% spam & the important items can wait).

Other than the gratuities everything else is not worth it. 

 

I'm with you about taking another trip, if my waistline can handle it. 😄

You don’t need to understand why internet is important to anyone else.  Just understand that it is.

[memoak]

10 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

I'd say that there are very few people who could make out ahead with drinking 15 drinks a day, consistently. That is a huge part of the package price. 

We get free drinks at the Capt. repeater party and Capt. luncheon & for us , it's sufficient in addition to what we bring on board. We also get add'l wine at different ports to supplement what we board with.

 

What is so important about having an internet connection? I can get internet for free at almost every port in the Caribbean to check my email & download movies (99% spam & the important items can wait).

Other than the gratuities everything else is not worth it. 

 

I'm with you about taking another trip, if my waistline can handle it. 😄

You do not need 15 drinks a day to save tons of money. Those of us who drink 6 - 10 drinks a day make out like bandits. Wi-Fi to keep up with news especially when we take 14 - 21 day cruises with tons of sea days

[Cinerama]

$420 for Princess Plus on a 7-day cruise.

 

$105 gratuity
$112 Internet
$248 two $15 drinks per day and Princess 18% gratuity 
$465 total

Just two $15 drinks per day and you save money. Also get with the package:

 

• Sparkling or still bottled water (500ml or less), fountain sodas, fresh juices and healthy smoothies (juice bar), specialty coffees and teas, Frappés at Coffee & Cones, and Red Bull energy drinks.
• Premium desserts (2 per day)
• Fitness classes (2 per cruise)

[HikaruTsuki]

We had Plus for our 11-day cruise to Alaska. We absolutely for our money's worth as we both enjoy speciality coffees, beer and cocktails. It was especially nice to order things we've never tried before, because it wasn't a big deal if we didn't like them! However we did feel a "need" to drink lots to get our money's worth. But even without that mindset, we still got great value from the package. We initially agreed not to get Plus on our next cruise except... the Canadian on Par deal also applied to Plus! So for $60 Canadian, how could we not get Plus again?! LOL 

[Steelers36]

We will never have the value in the Plus package rate even though we certainly pay our Crew Appreciation (and then some) and absolutely always have MedallionNet.  That said, I do not understand why some posters are always arguing to folks why they are going one way or the other.  If a guest has a lot of beverages each day (relative to us I suppose), I can easily see how it makes sense for them financially.  If it adds up to $1K or $2K, well that is their vacation budget and let them enjoy it.  Some of us go a different path and that is fine too.  I just don't see the constant back and forth.  You do the Math and it tells you what makes the most sense for your life.

 

[roadster08]

4 hours ago, MissP22 said:

I'd say that there are very few people who could make out ahead with drinking 15 drinks a day, consistently. That is a huge part of the package price. 

We get free drinks at the Capt. repeater party and Capt. luncheon & for us , it's sufficient in addition to what we bring on board. We also get add'l wine at different ports to supplement what we board with.

 

What is so important about having an internet connection? I can get internet for free at almost every port in the Caribbean to check my email & download movies (99% spam & the important items can wait).

Other than the gratuities everything else is not worth it. 

 

I'm with you about taking another trip, if my waistline can handle it. 😄

You don't need to empty the glass of every drink you order .

 

Some of us like to try new drinks when cruising and may not like a few. It's a good way to try new drinks professionally made and not waste single drink money on the ones we don't care for. 

 

[memoak]

4 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

We will never have the value in the Plus package rate even though we certainly pay our Crew Appreciation (and then some) and absolutely always have MedallionNet.  That said, I do not understand why some posters are always arguing to folks why they are going one way or the other.  If a guest has a lot of beverages each day (relative to us I suppose), I can easily see how it makes sense for them financially.  If it adds up to $1K or $2K, well that is their vacation budget and let them enjoy it.  Some of us go a different path and that is fine too.  I just don't see the constant back and forth.  You do the Math and it tells you what makes the most sense for your life.

 

It’s more that some posters see packages as a way for Princess to make extra money and they should not even offer them. It seems they feel that those of us who buy them or either stupid or drunks Without packages I would either pay way more or cruse less

[CruizinSusan70]

14 hours ago, MissP22 said:

Simply because it isn't like adding a cost of say $150 to the cruise total. In our case for our Dec cruise it was more like a $2,000  package. 

That's quite a bit. 

But once you factor out gratuities and wifi, it's 29.00 pp per day for drinks.  If you imbibe, it's worth it, if you don't, it's not.  It's a very simple thing.  Drinkers enjoy it and teetotalers don't.

[CruizinSusan70]

13 hours ago, MissP22 said:

I can see by your response they've got you buffaloed into thinking you absolutely  need all those things on a vacation. 

Their advertising dept. is doing a great job. 

Save on things you're gonna do anyway. 😆😄😄

Nobody is buffaloing us for anything.  Wifi doesn't matter to us, we can just as easily unplug for 14 days.  If you take 60 for the package minus the 16 for gratuities, that's 44 per person for drinks.  That's 3 $15.00 drinks, so anything above that plus coffee, soda, sparkling water, etc is all gravy. 

[CruizinSusan70]

12 hours ago, kywildcatfanone said:

Yeah, I see it all the time at ball games.  People spending hundreds of dollars on beer.  To each his own I guess.  It's their money and not mine.  I can't personally justify it. Some of the money I see spent is enough for another cruise. 

 

I'm sure Princess and the other cruise lines are very happy with it, as they should be.  It's helping them make up for the year sitting idle. 

Will we go and pay 17 for a beer at a sporting event, no.  Will we get a package that brings value to our vacation which is where we do 90% of our alcoholic consumption, yup, every day and twice on Sunday.

[MissP22]

3 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Nobody is buffaloing us for anything.  Wifi doesn't matter to us, we can just as easily unplug for 14 days.  If you take 60 for the package minus the 16 for gratuities, that's 44 per person for drinks.  That's 3 $15.00 drinks, so anything above that plus coffee, soda, sparkling water, etc is all gravy. 

As long as you feel satisfied about getting your money's worth for the package both you & Princess will will be happy. 

[MissP22]

13 hours ago, BamaVol said:

You don’t need to understand why internet is important to anyone else.  Just understand that it is.

I use to think the same way but have come to realize it's just not that urgent to be in contact every minute of the day. The maximum length of time between free internet access is 2 days in most cases. If anything is that important, they can call me. 

[justafem]

I don't try to hit 15 booze drinks in a day.  Most I've ever had charged was 13, I got drunk and sobered up 3 times that day.  

 

I don't drink when I'm not on a ship.  But when I'm on a ship, I drink.  Not every day, but well over 3/4 of the cruise.  On days I don't booze, I overload on specialty coffee, bottles of water and juice. And I'm happy with the price I pay.  

 

I also get 3-4 specialty coffees a day, booze day or not. 

 

I don't buy the drink package on carnival, for me it's not worth the price, so allotment of wine, and rum runners.  And free drinks in the casino.  

[dreaminofcruisin]

Also, remember that a lot of people are still cruising with 'old Plus'. We have cruises booked through February 2024 that we paid $50/day for Plus. At $40/day it was a no-brainer. At $50 / day, I thought a bit, but think it is still worth it. Now that it is $60/day I will be evaluating my next few cruises while using it to decide whether or not I buy it in the future. We are in that gray area where we drink some, but do we drink enough to continue to justify the package? We'll be analyzing it. Regardless, we do enjoy having it as one doesn't have to think whether they want another beverage--with or without alcohol, as it has already been paid for. 

[Buckeye10640]

1 hour ago, dreaminofcruisin said:

Also, remember that a lot of people are still cruising with 'old Plus'. We have cruises booked through February 2024 that we paid $50/day for Plus. At $40/day it was a no-brainer. At $50 / day, I thought a bit, but think it is still worth it. Now that it is $60/day I will be evaluating my next few cruises while using it to decide whether or not I buy it in the future. We are in that gray area where we drink some, but do we drink enough to continue to justify the package? We'll be analyzing it. Regardless, we do enjoy having it as one doesn't have to think whether they want another beverage--with or without alcohol, as it has already been paid for. 

My thoughts exactly, at $40  it was a given, at $50 it was a convenience although pretty sure we did not come out ahead money-wise. At $60 its a no.  I cruised last week w/o it, bought drinks when I wanted them, and came out ahead. For me personally, they have priced me out. Obviously its still of value to many others. My wish is they would have lower priced pkg with less than 15 max drinks for light drinkers. But that is likely not financially beneficial to Princess. 

Edited May 23, 2023 by Buckeye10640

[capriccio]

12 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

 You do the Math and it tells you what makes the most sense for your life.

 

And herein lies the problem for some people.  Look how many still only include alcoholic drinks - incorrectly leaving out fancy coffees, mocktails, juices, sodas, and bottled water - in their calculus.