Princess have increased the corkage fee for wine to AU $30 per bottle.

[OzKiwiJJ]

They appear to be converting the US $20 corkage fee to AUD rounded instead of just leaving it at $20 regardless of the onboard currency as they used to do in the past. 

 

I suspect other charges will increase in a similar manner (if they haven't already) - speciality restaurants, chef's table, ultimate balcony dinner or breakfast, Sanctuary etc.

 

Excursions are already subject to this.

 

They'll soon get to the stage where it will be more cost effective to seek out good deals on the luxury lines than to cruise on Princess especially given the quality is going downhill rapidly on Princess - their wine list is pathetic for a start, especially the wines by the glass.

 

 

[Relaxing Robbies]

$30 per bottle is rather steep! For my next few cruises I will be taking along a copy of my Passage Contract I received at the time of booking those cruises which specifies that the corkage is AUD $15. They had better not try to charge me more than specified in my contract.

 

For any future cruises I book I guess I will have to reconsider my beverage choices. I agree with Julie that Princess has horrible wine choices, so I will not be paying their inflated prices for cheap cask wine.

[OzKiwiJJ]

1 hour ago, Relaxing Robbies said:

$30 per bottle is rather steep! For my next few cruises I will be taking along a copy of my Passage Contract I received at the time of booking those cruises which specifies that the corkage is AUD $15. They had better not try to charge me more than specified in my contract.

 

For any future cruises I book I guess I will have to reconsider my beverage choices. I agree with Julie that Princess has horrible wine choices, so I will not be paying their inflated prices for cheap cask wine.

I don't think you'll win that one but please let me know if you do. Somewhere in that Passage Contract fine print it probably says prices are subject to change without notice.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Keep an eye on the passage contract that comes up in the app.

 

I just checked mine for our October Japan cruise and it has a 2021 date on it. 

 

The emailed version I got when I booked the cruise is as at December 2022.

 

Both show $15. 

 

I haven't gone through the whole contract in detail though.

Edited July 12, 2023 by OzKiwiJJ

[lyndarra]

A sign of things to come? HAL already charge USD20 per bottle payable on boarding.

[OzKiwiJJ]

3 minutes ago, lyndarra said:

A sign of things to come? HAL already charge USD20 per bottle payable on boarding.

Yes. The new Passage Contract on the Princess Website, which can be found right at the bottom of the Home page, actually mentions AU $30 and US $20. 

 

I believe the USD change happened a month or so ago and at that time it didn't specify currency. Now it does and they've converted the USD to the nearest rounded AUD.🤬

[OzKiwiJJ]

If AU onboard costs are essentially US prices converted to AUD then Princess is throwing away the slight advantage they had over the cruise lines with USD onboard costs. Add this to all the other cutbacks and price increases on Princess and other options, ie Celebrity or even the luxury lines, become more vost effective.

[Jean C]

The latest passage contract sent to me for an Aussie cruise in November also says "$15" without clarification of the currency, where the board folio is AUD.  I'd also love to hear how anyone gets on challenging this discrepancy - unless we've acknowledged AUD30 somewhere in the on-line terms and conditions that pops up and won't let you advance further until you "accept". A lawyer or anyone who wants to challenge it would have a field day with the printed terms and conditions stating $15 🤔

[Jean C]

This is fun ... clause 24 of Passage Contract "Alcohol and Gambling" clearly states that corkage charge is in the operating currency on the ship.

 

Slam dunk!

[OzKiwiJJ]

This is their new wording. The test will be whether the contract from the time of booking applies or the latest version.

 

 

[Jean C]

44 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

This is their new wording. The test will be whether the contract from the time of booking applies or the latest version.

Exactly, but a contract is an agreement between two or more parties so the passage contract, showing your booking reference number at the top, is the agreement between your party and Princess at the time of your booking.  They don't, for example, hit you up for more money when the cruise you booked increases in price after you booked it.

 

Definitely arguable should they try to charge AUD30 corkage.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Yes. Hopefully that is the case. Our next cruise is in Japan so USD and anyway we won't be bothering to take wine onboard. Hopefully someone will challenge Princess on this during the next lot if cruises once Coral returns from the world cruise.

[arxcards]

I figure $15 isn't much of a deterrent to doing BYO instead of buying their awesome plus package wines by the glass. 😉 I figure the world cruise threads will be unimpressed at the double cost of coming back with wine from each port.

 

But really, how long has it been at $15, I am thinking it has been that price for 15 years.

[OzKiwiJJ]

As far as I can see, after reading through my world cruise Passage Contract, the amount of corkage specified in that contract should apply. Note I am not a lawyer but the contract is fairly clearly written.

 

1. The contract is binding once the first payment is made:

"YOUR AGREEMENT WITH US These, and Your Booking Confirmation, are the terms and conditions under which You book Your cruise holiday and travel on any Princess Cruises product We sell You. Once We have received the first payment towards Your cruise holiday, a legally binding agreement on these terms and conditions becomes effective between all guests on Your booking(s) and Us or where applicable, the Carrier. By making a payment, You represent that You accept and have authority from all guests (or their parent/ legal guardian) on Your booking(s) to accept on their behalf, Our Passage Contract. Parents/legal guardians accept these terms and conditions on behalf of their children. It is important that You and all Guests in Your booking read them carefully and understand them. If You were not aware of these terms and conditions when either You or Your Travel Agent made this contract, You ratify and accept that you are bound by these terms and conditions by the act of boarding the vessel for the cruise that You have booked."

 

2. There is no provision in the section that mentions corkage for changes in the fee:

"ALCOHOL & GAMBLING We are committed to the responsible service of alcohol. There may be times when We consider it appropriate to refuse the service of alcohol to a guest for any reason. To consume alcohol or gamble onboard, the following minimum ages and corkage charges apply: Departing from and returning to Australia/New Zealand and cruising China, Europe and Singapore, unless voyage falls into column 3 Japan All other Princess Cruise departures - including sectors of longer international relocation voyages which may otherwise fall into columns 1 or 2 Minimum age 18 years 20 years 21 years Corkage $ (per bottle)* 15 15 15 *Corkage charges apply to wines and/or champagne brought onboard and consumed in the dining room or alternative restaurants, including additional bottles irrespective of where they are intended to be consumed, as outlined in the Bringing Alcohol Onboard section below. Corkage charge is in the operating currency on the ship."

Note: the section in italics is a table in the Passage Contract but the corkage is the same for each cruise type.

 

So who is going to be the first to challenge this with Princess? 

[arxcards]

I would be surprised if you don't get an email with a link for updated terms. I will keep an eye on my inbox for November, but the only thing I will challenging is how many cocktails/martinis/XO's I can get through in 3 nights.

 

Generally, anything you have paid for already (tours, plus package, specialty dinners etc) will be held at that price, but anything else will be charged at the price of the day. You still have a choice - pay corkage or only board with a max of 2 bottles.

[cruiser3775]

If you look at the current Princess wine lists, sailing out of Australia, the whites start at $A53 bottle for the cask wine quality rubbish, and the same for reds. To get anything of better quality, you pay $A65-85 per bottle and the selection is very limited.   I can buy some good wines in the $25-$30 range, pay the $30 corkage, and I'd still be way better off, and drinking something I actually like.

[windsor26]

Nasty shock   We will not drink their awful wines at that extorionate price  (and P&O wines are the same rubbish)  so may give up wine for the cruises and justg have shandy and cider instead  This is obviously ma hard line to make people pay the Plus fare

[OzKiwiJJ]

1 hour ago, arxcards said:

I would be surprised if you don't get an email with a link for updated terms. I will keep an eye on my inbox for November, but the only thing I will challenging is how many cocktails/martinis/XO's I can get through in 3 nights.

 

Generally, anything you have paid for already (tours, plus package, specialty dinners etc) will be held at that price, but anything else will be charged at the price of the day. You still have a choice - pay corkage or only board with a max of 2 bottles.

Would that be legal?

[arxcards]

2 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Would that be legal?

lol, I am not a lawyer either.

 

We scored updated terms for one of our cruises late last year, where they wrote in something about the Captain having the right to disembark or confine ill passengers. That is a much more impactful change than the price of corkage. As far as I can tell, a passage contract applies to the current version at the date of sailing. They are mad for putting pricing into the document, as it ir really just a FYI bit that follows their alcohol policy.

[Over from NZ]

I think they're trying to push everybody into the drink packages. When they get to critical mass.. they'll just wrap the drink package into full fare for everybody. 

 

Ironically; just got off the Enchanted Princess 21-nights Med cruise. We just walked onboard at a number of ports with wine, beer and spirits - unchallenged. Drank them in our room. Bugger them. 

[OzKiwiJJ]

24 minutes ago, Over from NZ said:

I think they're trying to push everybody into the drink packages. When they get to critical mass.. they'll just wrap the drink package into full fare for everybody. 

 

Ironically; just got off the Enchanted Princess 21-nights Med cruise. We just walked onboard at a number of ports with wine, beer and spirits - unchallenged. Drank them in our room. Bugger them. 

The Plus package was exceptionally good value when they first brought it out at $40pp per day but the wines are rubbish and there are only 9 by the glass instead of the promised 25. But you get 25% off the price of wine by the bottle so that helps give a better variety of wine.

.

Even so, when it went up to $50 it was still good value.

 

At $65 it's not such good value especially as the wine prices have been hiked to ridiculous levels making it more expensive to pad out the pathetic selection of wines by the glass with bottles or Premier wines at extra cost - and the Premier wines aren't that much better. The new "extras" are ridiculous - crappy ice cream sundaes more suitable for children and fitness classes. 

 

Luckily we got the Plus fare at this price for the world cruise so will break even on the cost with just our pre- and post-dinner drinks, coffees, and bottled water. But having to pay extra for decent wine will add a few thousand dollars onto our budget. It hasn't quite reached "the straw that broke the camel's back" stage but it's getting close.

[Tripmode33]

Extremely disappointing news. Interesting to see if anyone challenges it before our next Princess cruise in November.

On a side note, one positive for some cruisers is that our travel agent has recently advised that Princess now allows only one member of a couple to take the Plus Package rather than their previous rule that both must have it.

[Over from NZ]

13 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

The Plus package was exceptionally good value when they first brought it out at $40pp per day but the wines are rubbish and there are only 9 by the glass instead of the promised 25. But you get 25% off the price of wine by the bottle so that helps give a better variety of wine.

.

Even so, when it went up to $50 it was still good value.

 

At $65 it's not such good value especially as the wine prices have been hiked to ridiculous levels making it more expensive to pad out the pathetic selection of wines by the glass with bottles or Premier wines at extra cost - and the Premier wines aren't that much better. The new "extras" are ridiculous - crappy ice cream sundaes more suitable for children and fitness classes. 

 

Luckily we got the Plus fare at this price for the world cruise so will break even on the cost with just our pre- and post-dinner drinks, coffees, and bottled water. But having to pay extra for decent wine will add a few thousand dollars onto our budget. It hasn't quite reached "the straw that broke the camel's back" stage but it's getting close.

Think it's dearer than $65 pp isn't it? We didn't bother as one doesn't drink and the other is a light weight.. but am sure it was going to cost much more than that (I'm assuming you're saying AUD$65).

 

[OzKiwiJJ]

30 minutes ago, Over from NZ said:

Think it's dearer than $65 pp isn't it? We didn't bother as one doesn't drink and the other is a light weight.. but am sure it was going to cost much more than that (I'm assuming you're saying AUD$65).

 

The Plus fare is an extra $65pp per day, which includes internet as well as drinks (and a few other things) so is actually good value even if you just drink mocktails, juices, soft drinks and coffees. The Plus drinks package on it's own might be dearer - edit: I just checked and it's AU $110 per day, that's just crazy! It's confusing having them called similar names.

 

Internet is worth about $20pp per day, or $10pp per day if you're Platinum or Elite, so the Plus fare is the way to go if you want internet and drinks.

Edited July 12, 2023 by OzKiwiJJ

[lyndarra]

12 hours ago, windsor26 said:

Nasty shock   We will not drink their awful wines at that extorionate price  (and P&O wines are the same rubbish)  so may give up wine for the cruises and justg have shandy and cider instead  This is obviously ma hard line to make people pay the Plus fare

On my recent Alaska cruise I only bought one glass of wine - I usually like to have one wine with dinner. Settled for water.

Instead I indulged in cocktails and mixed drinks during happy hour (HAL) .