Princess Plus - Pre Purchase or Wait?

[lotusflow3r]

Hi all! 

 

I tried to look for information regarding the pricing difference of pre purchasing the Princess Plus Fare (full package that includes bev, Wifi, etc)  or waiting until the day we embark to upgrade. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any. I read that cruises after feb 2023 allow you to upgrade on the day of. For context, going on the Island Princess for a 12 night Northern Europe itinerary. 
 

I’m asking because we have onboard credit of $500 that we’d like to put towards it. We can’t apply the credit in advance but I did see that it can be applied once on board. 
 

Before making a decision, I’d like to see if pre purchasing or waiting would give us the best value. I can’t see spending $500 otherwise…maybe in excursions but that’s still quite a bit. 
 

Thanks in advance if anyone has any information or guidance. 

If this has already been asked, please kindly share the link. I tried looking but wasn’t able to find a great answer. 

Edited June 3, 2023 by lotusflow3r
Added details

[Rick&Jeannie]

Let's make sure that we're on the same page here...are you talking about the Plus *FARE* or the Plus *DRINK PKG*?  Princess has really created a TON of confusion with their naming of these two items.  I assume you know the difference between the two... (?) I was under the impression that you had to select the *FARE* when you book...which gives you all of its given perks (drink pkg, wifi, gratuities, etc.)  If it's the Plus drink package then yes, you should be able to use your OBC once on board to add it.

[lotusflow3r]

1 minute ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

Let's make sure that we're on the same page here...are you talking about the Plus *FARE* or the Plus *DRINK PKG*?  Princess has really created a TON of confusion with their naming of these two items.  I assume you know the difference between the two... (?) I was under the impression that you had to select the *FARE* when you book...which gives you all of its given perks (drink pkg, wifi, gratuities, etc.)  If it's the Plus drink package then yes, you should be able to use your OBC once on board to add it.

Thank you for asking!  I’ve clarified the above.
 

Yes, I’m talking about the Fare. They recently changed it so you can add the Fare the first day of embarkation. This is new for this year (https://www.princess.com/cruise-deals-promotions/plus-premier-cruise-packages/ under FAQ, number 8.) I just learned this today and trying to do the math. If it’s extra once I get on board and it’s not the $60 per day, then I’ll re-evaluate. 

[Rick&Jeannie]

Hah!  Did not know that.  That's one reason I like CruiseCritic so much...very easy to pick up new pearls of wisdom!

[lotusflow3r]

1 minute ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

Hah!  Did not know that.  That's one reason I like CruiseCritic so much...very easy to pick up new pearls of wisdom!

I love cruise critic for the very same reason! Always learning. 

[Coral]

So on May 12th - on the ship I purchased Princess Plus for $60 per person per day for $660 for an 11 night cruise. For some reason, I got a $10 discount on my bill right after which I have no clue why but I was not going to ask questions.

 

I had $600 OBC so most of it was paid for by OBC. I used the app to purchase it.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Edited June 3, 2023 by Coral

[lotusflow3r]

2 minutes ago, Coral said:

So on May 8th - on the ship I purchased Princess Plus for $60 per person per day for $660 for an 11 night cruise. For some reason, I got a $10 discount on my bill right after which I have no clue why but I was not going to ask questions.

 

I had $600 OBC so most of it was paid for by OBC. I used the app to purchase it.

 

I hope this helps.

Precisely what I was looking for! Thank you so much! You’ve definitely helped me make my decision. 
 

To confirm, you used the Medallion App to upgrade on the day of embarkation and not through someone at the ship? Was it through the cruise personalizer? 
 

 

Edited June 3, 2023 by lotusflow3r
Added question

[Coral]

Just now, lotusflow3r said:

Precisely what I was looking for! Thank you so much! You’ve definitely helped me make my decision. 
 

 

Sorry - I had the date wrong. I flew out May 8th but boarded the ship on May 12th. I corrected the date.

[Coral]

1 minute ago, lotusflow3r said:

Precisely what I was looking for! Thank you so much! You’ve definitely helped me make my decision. 

I think you could have bought it from someone (and maybe they would have gotten credit) but I was going to the dining room and wanted lunch and wanted a drink with it. So I bought it once I got to my cabin with the app.

[lotusflow3r]

1 minute ago, Coral said:

I think you could have bought it from someone (and maybe they would have gotten credit) but I was going to the dining room and wanted lunch and wanted a drink with it. So I bought it once I got to my cabin with the app.

Was it easy to find on the app? I’ve had some trouble navigating the app before and don’t want to miss out. Thanks again! 

[JimmyVWine]

There aren’t a lot of first hand reports, but I think it is safe to say that you won’t pay MORE once you are on board unless Princess is required to charge sales tax. When you add the package ahead of time it is $60 per day, flat rate. It appears that some have paid this same flat rate on the first day of their cruise as well. But it would not shock me to read a report here from someone saying that they paid $60 plus tax. Still, if you have a lot of OBC, additional tax if any is still worth it. 

[lotusflow3r]

2 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

There aren’t a lot of first hand reports, but I think it is safe to say that you won’t pay MORE once you are on board unless Princess is required to charge sales tax. When you add the package ahead of time it is $60 per day, flat rate. It appears that some have paid this same flat rate on the first day of their cruise as well. But it would not shock me to read a report here from someone saying that they paid $60 plus tax. Still, if you have a lot of OBC, additional tax if any is still worth it. 

Yes, I agree. Even if tax is added, still worth it since I’m able to apply the OBC. Thanks for your info and insights! 

[Coral]

26 minutes ago, lotusflow3r said:

Was it easy to find on the app? I’ve had some trouble navigating the app before and don’t want to miss out. Thanks again! 

Yes. I don't have a current booking but it maybe in the same place as it is now. I want to say onboard services and drink packages or something like that. I am sure you could ask anyone and they can help or even sell it to you with out the app.

 

I didn't buy it before the cruise as it would have increased my insurance and I couldn't use OBC.

Edited June 3, 2023 by Coral

[Coral]

Someone else posted this before my cruise:

 

[CruisingSandgroper]

We purchased the premium package the day we embarked on a 7 night Pacific Coastal cruise. It was the same price as what it was if we had added it when booking the cruise. We had OBC towards the purchase and also by adding it once on the ship we did not have to pay the additional Princess vacation insurance that would have been payable had we purchased it when booking the cruise.

 

We also received the $10 credit which I thought was probably related to the shipping of medallions had we paid for them to be shipped, which we hadn't as I ordered them before they started charging for shipping on no frills fares.

[lotusflow3r]

Thank you @Coral and @CruisingSandgroper!

 

Exactly the info I needed. I just read somewhere they limited how many Plus and Premier they sell onboard. That was news to me so I’ll make sure I’m right on time and board when I need to. 

Edited June 3, 2023 by lotusflow3r
Clarity

[Coral]

11 minutes ago, lotusflow3r said:

Thank you @Coral and @CruisingSandgroper!

 

Exactly the info I needed. I just read somewhere they limited how many Plus and Premier they sell onboard. That was news to me so I’ll make sure I’m right on time and board when I need to. 

I read that too and seriously doubt that.

[lotusflow3r]

1 minute ago, Coral said:

I read that too and seriously doubt that.

I found it odd tbh. I bet you’re right. I doubt they’d want to lose out on all of that revenue. 

[Coral]

33 minutes ago, CruisingSandgroper said:

We purchased the premium package the day we embarked on a 7 night Pacific Coastal cruise. It was the same price as what it was if we had added it when booking the cruise. We had OBC towards the purchase and also by adding it once on the ship we did not have to pay the additional Princess vacation insurance that would have been payable had we purchased it when booking the cruise.

 

We also received the $10 credit which I thought was probably related to the shipping of medallions had we paid for them to be shipped, which we hadn't as I ordered them before they started charging for shipping on no frills fares.

If you had Princess insurance - the Plus package would have cost more before the cruise because they increase the cost of insurance. If you didn't buy Princess insurance - then it would not have. The difference on mine was something like $660 on the ship vs $714 before.

 

Interesting about the $10 credit you received also. I didn't have my medallion shipped and picked it up the day of. I didn't think that could have been it. Again, I was afraid to ask as I didn't want it taken away!

Edited June 3, 2023 by Coral

[rjack22]

The is always the possibility that the cost off the Plus Cruise Fare will go up before you sail.   That is why I buy mine when I book.  Since I booked just under two years out that is very possible.  This way I am locked in in case it goes up in that time period.   But then I don't have any OBC to use so that makes a difference too.

[Coral]

7 minutes ago, rjack22 said:

The is always the possibility that the cost off the Plus Cruise Fare will go up before you sail.   That is why I buy mine when I book.  Since I booked just under two years out that is very possible.  This way I am locked in in case it goes up in that time period.   But then I don't have any OBC to use so that makes a difference too.

Yes that is a possibility. I booked my cruise in December (for a May cruise) and it had already gone up 2x that year. I was not sure if I was going to Plus or Plus so I waited until I was onboard as I had a ton of OBC. If I didn't have the OBC, I would not have purchased it.