Princess Plus

[kywildcatfanone]

2 hours ago, Expat Cruise said:

We do not book the packages, do not see the value in them. If others do see value, that is great book them.

It's only a benefit is you drink alcohol, other than that, it's quite expensive, and even expensive then if you consider the drink costs themselves.  But that is up to each individual.   Cruise lines have learned that marketing of "packages" works, and it's a huge profit provider for them.

1 hour ago, antsp said:

Nothing is going down with cruise pricing, only up.

I actually think that because of the drink package pricing and usage, that is keeping basic cruise fares lower, at least on Princess.  Which is great to me because we go packageless and ultimately save around $400 per cruise at a minimum over what we would pay.

[Expat Cruise]

1 hour ago, antsp said:

Some cruises are really cheap at the moment, completely disagree with you 

The basic cruise fares are a lost leader to hook you in. It is all the extras that make cruising much more costly now.

 

[MissP22]

9 minutes ago, Expat Cruise said:

The basic cruise fares are a lost leader to hook you in. It is all the extras that make cruising much more costly now.

 

With the way they're pushing their packages, it's obvious to see that it's a hugh money maker for them.

There are very few people who can actually enjoy numerous numbers of drinks daily, not to speak of their silly desserts or exercise classes that most people don't even want. 😉 

[Ken the cruiser]

5 hours ago, CaptainPedantic said:

+1 for this

@Ken the cruiser in case you don't use VPN, here's a copy-paste of the offer

 

Up to 50% off Princess Plus Packages^†

Book a 2024 cruise by 3 July 2023.

A Princess cruise is amazing value, and we want to share the love and save you money. For the first time ever, enjoy up to 50% off a Princess Plus all-inclusive package. You’ll pay from £25pp per day, instead of £50pp per day for Princess Plus when you book a 2024 cruise. A Plus Beverage Package comprising cocktails, wine, speciality coffees and more, Wi-Fi, crew appreciation, premium desserts, fitness classes are all included, saving up to £90pp per day. Offer ends on 3 July 2023.

Thanks! Just one follow-up question if I might. What are the fine print conditions noted by "†" in the offer headline?

 

[memoak]

1 hour ago, MissP22 said:

With the way they're pushing their packages, it's obvious to see that it's a hugh money maker for them.

There are very few people who can actually enjoy numerous numbers of drinks daily, not to speak of their silly desserts or exercise classes that most people don't even want. 😉 

Speak for yourself everyone I know profits from the Plus package. 

[gah_cruise]

7 minutes ago, memoak said:

Speak for yourself everyone I know profits from the Plus package. 

so what are these profits in monetary terms per passenger ?

 

[Ken the cruiser]

26 minutes ago, gah_cruise said:

so what are these profits in monetary terms per passenger ?

 

For unlimited internet and the daily gratuity charge, it ranges between $22 and $31.50 per person per day.

 

    $14.50 - $16.50 per person per day for gratuities, depending on cabin category

    $7.50 - $15 per person per day for unlimited internet, depending on CC loyalty status

 

That leaves somewhere between $28.50 to $38 to pay for the unlimited (15 drinks max per day) Plus beverage package. So depending how much each of you will consume on average each day of the following will determine if it's a good deal. BTW if you just bought the same beverage package separately, it would be $68.49 per person per day.

 

• Cocktails, wine by the glass, beer, specialty coffees, fountain sodas, bottled water, fresh juices and healthy smoothies (juice bar), new juice bar, mocktails and crafted cocktails by Mixologist Rob Floyd
• 50 spirits, 25 wines by the glass, 25 beers, all specialty coffees & non- alcoholic drinks
• 25% discount on wine bottles (including rare vintages)
• 25% discount on large bottles of water and cans of soda

 

Edited June 1, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[Ken the cruiser]

Deleted by me.

Edited June 1, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[gah_cruise]

23 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

For unlimited internet and the daily gratuity charge, it ranges between $22 and $31.50 per person per day, depending on Loyalty status.

 

    $14.50 - $16.50 per person per day for gratuities, depending on cabin category

    $7.50 - $15 per person per day for unlimited internet, depending on CC loyalty status

 

So that leaves somewhere between $28.50 to $38 to pay for the unlimited (15 drinks max per day) beverage package. So depending how much each of you will consume on average each day of the following will determine if it's a good deal.

 

• Cocktails, wine by the glass, beer, specialty coffees, fountain sodas, bottled water, fresh juices and healthy smoothies (juice bar), new juice bar, mocktails and crafted cocktails by Mixologist Rob Floyd
• 50 spirits, 25 wines by the glass, 25 beers, all specialty coffees & non- alcoholic drinks
• 25% discount on wine bottles (including rare vintages)
• 25% discount on large bottles of water and cans of soda

 

Those figures are charges to the passenger, they are not profit to Princess.
Who knows if the crew appreciation charges all go to the crew, or does Princess cream some off?
The charges earnt from the internet packages per day minus the cost per day of providing said package is the profit to Princess.
Likewise....with all beverages Princess has to purchase it before reselling....at a markup.

So hopefully @memoak can enlighten us with what the profits are

Edited June 1, 2023 by gah_cruise

[MissP22]

47 minutes ago, memoak said:

Speak for yourself everyone I know profits from the Plus package. 

I'm sure you think so. 😁LOL

[MissP22]

12 minutes ago, gah_cruise said:

Those figures are charges to the passenger, they are not profit to Princess.
Who knows if the crew appreciation charges all go to the crew, or does Princess cream some off?
The charges earnt from the internet packages per day minus the cost per day of providing said package is the profit to Princess.
Likewise....with all beverages Princess has to purchase it before reselling....at a markup.

So hopefully @memoak can enlighten us.

I'd like to know what happens to the gratuities for drinks not purchased under the plan? Is it kept by the cruise line or does it go into the pool to be distributed to all the crew?

[memoak]

43 minutes ago, gah_cruise said:

so what are these profits in monetary terms per passenger ?

 

Well prior to packages being offered we would budget $50 per person per day for drinks and that was back when drinks cost $6 - $8. No we take the plus package at $40 - $60 per day depending on when we ordered it. So the savings are at least $40 + per person per day and we cruise 40 - 50 days per year so quite a bit of savings

[Ken the cruiser]

10 minutes ago, gah_cruise said:

Those figures are charges to the passenger, they are not profit to Princess.
Who knows if the crew appreciation charges all go to the crew, or does Princess cream some off?
The charges earnt from the internet packages per day minus the cost per day of providing said package is the profit to Princess.
Likewise....with all beverages Princess has to purchase it before reselling....at a markup.

So hopefully @memoak can enlighten us.

Actually, if a person purchases the complete Princess Plus package for $60 per person per day (or $120 for both, if the cabin has double occupancy) rather than paying the $68.49 per person for just the Plus Beverage Package (or $136.98 if the cabin has double occupancy), wouldn't that be a cost "avoidance" of $8.49 per person per day as well as the daily gratuities charge of $14.50 - $16.50 per person per day, depending on cabin category, plus both getting unlimited internet included for free? 

 

True, the passengers didn't really "profit in $$$" from the deal but rather saved a significant amount by purchasing the complete Princess Plus package?

 

[PMGS247]

9 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

I'm sure you think so. 😁LOL

 

It's crazy how dumb you assume the rest of the world is.  It's really not hard to do the math on whether it's profitable to get a package or not...and it doesn't take anywhere near the 15 beverages in a day you implied was necessary to get there.

 

The math.....$60/day.  Let's say you don't use anything in the package except the included crew appreciation....no desserts, no classes, etc.  Crew appreciation in the cheapest cabin category is $16/day.  That leaves $44/day you need to cover just in alcohol. Let's ignore the fact that your bottled waters/soda/coffee would also count, and let's assume you're only drinking the cheapest beer on the ship.  Coors light, nothing else, $6.25.  Even doing that math, you need to drink 7.04 beers per day to break even.

 

That example is the most extreme scenario I can come up with trying to make the package look as bad as possible in terms of how much you need to drink to break even.  When you factor in the included wifi, soda/water/coffee, and the fact that most people are not just drinking the cheapest beer, the number of drinks required to get a positive return gets really small really quick.

 

The math varies a little bit for each person since some don't use wifi, some don't consume much water/premium coffee, and the cost/drink varies heavily based on your preferences, but mathematically no one could possibly be worse than needing 7 cheap beers in a day...and that's an objectively unrealistic situation.  For most that's more like 2-3 drinks/day...and it's not hard to figure out.

[c-boy]

4 hours ago, MissP22 said:

Not everybody, especially here on CC, but still quite a few I'm sure.

We all don't need 15 drinks a day to make the trip enjoyable. 

being as the package includes more than alcohol, I can meet and sometimes exceed that number. Put me down for two smoothies, six bottles of sparkling H2O, three specialty coffees a day, that's before cocktail hour... 🤭

[kywildcatfanone]

2 hours ago, Expat Cruise said:

The basic cruise fares are a lost leader to hook you in. It is all the extras that make cruising much more costly now.

Yep, this is 100% true. The money is in the packages, the wifi, drinks and other onboard charges.  The cruise fare is still a money maker, but the real profit is the add ons.

[CaptainPedantic]

2 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Thanks! Just one follow-up question if I might. What are the fine print conditions noted by "†" in the offer headline?

 

Sure @Ken the cruiser

 

†Up to 50% off Princess Plus Package is applicable to all passengers, available on all grades. Purchase the Princess Plus package at up to 50% saving ( from £25pp per day) Discount subject to change and on selected voyages within this campaign only.

Up to 50% off Princess Plus Package is available from 3rd May 2023 - 3rd July 2023, and applies to voyages in this campaign only.

[Ken the cruiser]

5 minutes ago, CaptainPedantic said:

Sure @Ken the cruiser

 

†Up to 50% off Princess Plus Package is applicable to all passengers, available on all grades. Purchase the Princess Plus package at up to 50% saving ( from £25pp per day) Discount subject to change and on selected voyages within this campaign only.

Up to 50% off Princess Plus Package is available from 3rd May 2023 - 3rd July 2023, and applies to voyages in this campaign only.

Thanks! Here's the "catch" phrase,

 

"Discount subject to change and on selected voyages within this campaign only."

 

Makes sense, especially if they have some "select voyages" they're having a hard time filling.

[MissP22]

1 hour ago, PMGS247 said:

 

It's crazy how dumb you assume the rest of the world is.  It's really not hard to do the math on whether it's profitable to get a package or not...and it doesn't take anywhere near the 15 beverages in a day you implied was necessary to get there.

 

The math.....$60/day.  Let's say you don't use anything in the package except the included crew appreciation....no desserts, no classes, etc.  Crew appreciation in the cheapest cabin category is $16/day.  That leaves $44/day you need to cover just in alcohol. Let's ignore the fact that your bottled waters/soda/coffee would also count, and let's assume you're only drinking the cheapest beer on the ship.  Coors light, nothing else, $6.25.  Even doing that math, you need to drink 7.04 beers per day to break even.

 

That example is the most extreme scenario I can come up with trying to make the package look as bad as possible in terms of how much you need to drink to break even.  When you factor in the included wifi, soda/water/coffee, and the fact that most people are not just drinking the cheapest beer, the number of drinks required to get a positive return gets really small really quick.

 

The math varies a little bit for each person since some don't use wifi, some don't consume much water/premium coffee, and the cost/drink varies heavily based on your preferences, but mathematically no one could possibly be worse than needing 7 cheap beers in a day...and that's an objectively unrealistic situation.  For most that's more like 2-3 drinks/day...and it's not hard to figure out.

Looks like you another believer. 🙄

[justafem]

4 hours ago, MissP22 said:

With the way they're pushing their packages, it's obvious to see that it's a hugh money maker for them.

There are very few people who can actually enjoy numerous numbers of drinks daily, not to speak of their silly desserts or exercise classes that most people don't even want. 😉 

Count me as one of the 'few' too. 

 

[PMGS247]

34 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

Looks like you another believer. 🙄

 

 

Math doesn't lie.  Guess if I were smarter I'd pay $100/day for the stuff I like to have on vacation rather than take my option to pay $60/day. That'll show 'em. Can't trick me.

 

[Steelers36]

4 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Thanks! Just one follow-up question if I might. What are the fine print conditions noted by "†" in the offer headline?

 

If we catch you VPN'ing in from North America, your booking will be cancelled and deposit forfeited. 

😁

[Thrak]

2 hours ago, MissP22 said:

Looks like you another believer. 🙄

 

Do you also remove the gratuities? (Those of us who book with Princess Plus obviously pay them.)

[jwattle]

8 hours ago, c-boy said:

being as the package includes more than alcohol, I can meet and sometimes exceed that number. Put me down for two smoothies, six bottles of sparkling H2O, three specialty coffees a day, that's before cocktail hour... 🤭

I started trying to figure out what our bill would be without the package...I lost track by noon 😂😂😂 

(For those worried about our livers or saying we need to seek out Friends of Bill W, that was a wee dram of "HUMOR"- IYKYK)

[Expat Cruise]

3 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

Do you also remove the gratuities? (Those of us who book with Princess Plus obviously pay them.)

There is no gratuity, within the packages. This is another one of the games Princess and other cruise lines play. They call it a gratuity for accounting and tax reasons, but it is a service fee. They will not make it mandatory, because that changes the accounting and how it would be taxed.

 

So they play this con game saying it is a gratuity. A gratuity by definition is optional and freely given to one person to another for services provided.  Therefore, it is not a gratuity.

 

This is why it is only a suggested amount in the terms of use, it is not a real require fee. It has not more meaning than just being a suggestion. It really is not a savings, that should be factored into this, because should not be part of any cruise line package.

 

Maybe I'm just old school and some would say behind the times. But I still believe a gratuity is between the guest and the crew member they want to reward. It should not involve the cruise line in any way.