Couple of questions

[Trixie21]

We are from the UK and trying to work out if the plus package is of value to us. We are about to book a 2 week cruise on sky princess (will be our first time on princess). Maybe someone could answer the questions below to help us decide. We also have $300 OBC with the booking which I will factor in.

 

1 - How much would a 1 device wifi package  cost for a 14 night cruise if booked separately? I'm assuming a 1 device package can be shared between 2 people by logging in and out of different devices ? Is there a price difference if booked in advance or booked onboard ?

 

2 - how much are current gratuities pp for a deluxe balcony? Are they optional (ie if we don't pay them in advance can we get them removed when we board ?) We normally do pay gratuities and extra tip as well but this is quite an expensive cruise and I have a budget to work to.

 

3 - how much is a soda onboard? And how much is a standard glass of wine / cocktail / baileys ?

 

My wife does not drink alcohol and only has one or 2 sodas per day. She eats very little so no value to her in meal packages etc associated with plus package . Fitness classes / premium  desserts no value to us either and we don't normally use room service and I can do very well without oceannow delivery (I have read the multiple posts about the new dining arrangements associated with standard/plus/Premier. Makes no difference to us as first timers on princess.

 

Edited July 28, 2023 by Trixie21

[david63]

48 minutes ago, Trixie21 said:

how much are current gratuities pp for a deluxe balcony?

Currently $16 pppd (https://www.princess.com/html/global/disclaimers/crew-appreciation/)

48 minutes ago, Trixie21 said:

Are they optional (ie if we don't pay them in advance can we get them removed when we board ?)

Yes

50 minutes ago, Trixie21 said:

how much is a soda onboard?

From memory around $6

50 minutes ago, Trixie21 said:

And how much is a standard glass of wine

Depends on the wine but from $10 to $20

51 minutes ago, Trixie21 said:

cocktail

$10 - $20+

 

A lot will depend on how much is being charged for the Plus package as sometimes the deal makes it a "no brainer". Also remember that included in the package you get coffees and water (if you drink those)

[sandancer]

Your obc works out at less than $22 a day so that won’t go far. We take the plus package every time. 

[Trixie21]

8 minutes ago, david63 said:

Currently $16 pppd (https://www.princess.com/html/global/disclaimers/crew-appreciation/)

Yes

From memory around $6

Depends on the wine but from $10 to $20

$10 - $20+

 

A lot will depend on how much is being charged for the Plus package as sometimes the deal makes it a "no brainer". Also remember that included in the package you get coffees and water (if you drink those)

Thanks

I've googled all these things and I suspected in a lot of cases the info was out of date .

Best info in my experience is from these boards !

I do drink coffees - like 2 or 3 premium coffees per day and we would get through 2 or 3 bottles of water per day also.

The plus package is costing £50 pppd on our cruise , so £1400 for the duration of the cruise. I can deduct the OBC from that , but I could also use that for excursions etc as we will book at least 1 or 2 through Princess themselves.

I don't like not paying gratuities as the staff on cruise ships are so hard working and literally give the best service you will find anywhere.

 

[Trixie21]

3 minutes ago, sandancer said:

Your obc works out at less than $22 a day so that won’t go far. We take the plus package every time. 

I've more or less just said that in a reply above lol.

Plus package it is and I will make use of as many aspects of it as possible (except the fitness classes lol🤣🤣🤣)

[Honolulu Blue]

1 hour ago, Trixie21 said:

We are from the UK and trying to work out if the plus package is of value to us. We are about to book a 2 week cruise on sky princess (will be our first time on princess). Maybe someone could answer the questions below to help us decide. We also have $300 OBC with the booking which I will factor in.

 

1 - How much would a 1 device wifi package  cost for a 14 night cruise if booked separately? I'm assuming a 1 device package can be shared between 2 people by logging in and out of different devices ? Is there a price difference if booked in advance or booked onboard ?

Unless I missed a price increase in there, Internet for 1 device costs $15 per day for those without status and without a package.  I'm Platinum and it costs $7.50/day for me. 😁

 

Yes, you can share a one device package with as many people as you care to share the login code with.  AFAIK, there's no difference in cost between booking onboard or booking in advance - but the total price will go down based on the number of days that have gone by.  For example, if you can wait a week to buy the package, it will still be available at $15/day, but you'll only have to pay for 7 days rather than a fortnight.

[sandancer]

Just like us. I have to assume that the fitness classes are a new thing. We didn’t get them on our Enchanted Princess cruise last November. We are way past fitness classes haha. I don’t remember anything about premium desserts either. 
We love our fancy coffees and visited the International Cafe at least twice a day. A couple of glasses of wine each with dinner, maybe a cocktail before and we have pretty well broken even. 

[SargassoPirate]

1 hour ago, Trixie21 said:

I've more or less just said that in a reply above lol.

Plus package it is and I will make use of as many aspects of it as possible (except the fitness classes lol🤣🤣🤣)

You gotta put the pencil to it and figure out if it really pays when you factor in your cruising style.  I can never seem to get the numbers to work for the plus package so I go a la carte. In fact, on my two most recent cruises, the OBC from my TA more than covered my tips and bar tab.

[skynight]

I think you should review the brand new, announced yesterday, additional benefits with the plus fares and the additional costs of those with the standard fares. These new benefits and costs begin very soon on the Sky Princess. 

[Rick&Jeannie]

5 hours ago, Trixie21 said:

3 - how much is a soda onboard? And how much is a standard glass of wine / cocktail / baileys ?

 

Soda is about $2.50-3.00 US.  There is a slight difference whether you get a can or from a fountain gun. (Fountain being the cheaper)

[Steelers36]

4 hours ago, Trixie21 said:

I don't like not paying gratuities as the staff on cruise ships are so hard working and literally give the best service you will find anywhere.

Please don't even think about not paying CA.  I see you decided on a Plus package, so CA is included and not removable.

[Trixie21]

6 hours ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

Soda is about $2.50-3.00 US.  There is a slight difference whether you get a can or from a fountain gun. (Fountain being the cheaper)

Thank you.

Are both cans and fountain included in the plus package?

Is there a daily drink limit with the plus package - not that I would get anywhere near it anyway , but I'm just curious .

[memoak]

4 minutes ago, Trixie21 said:

Thank you.

Are both cans and fountain included in the plus package?

Is there a daily drink limit with the plus package - not that I would get anywhere near it anyway , but I'm just curious .

Rules say fountain only no limit on soft drinks. Some say they have gotten cans but that has not been my experience 

[Trixie21]

9 hours ago, skynight said:

I think you should review the brand new, announced yesterday, additional benefits with the plus fares and the additional costs of those with the standard fares. These new benefits and costs begin very soon on the Sky Princess. 

Yes , I've had a look at the new inclusions with plus,  and what that means for standard.

At a quick glance I would probably more or less break even with plus and the OBC I will use towards excursions. 

The ease of knowing everything is paid for in advance is a big plus for me also .

How much is a photo taken by the onboard photographers?

We usually get one for each cruise we do and recently they have been free as diamond level on Royal.

[skynight]

35 minutes ago, Trixie21 said:

Thank you.

Are both cans and fountain included in the plus package?

Is there a daily drink limit with the plus package - not that I would get anywhere near it anyway , but I'm just curious .

 

29 minutes ago, Trixie21 said:

Yes , I've had a look at the new inclusions with plus,  and what that means for standard.

At a quick glance I would probably more or less break even with plus and the OBC I will use towards excursions. 

The ease of knowing everything is paid for in advance is a big plus for me also .

How much is a photo taken by the onboard photographers?

We usually get one for each cruise we do and recently they have been free as diamond level on Royal.

The alcoholic drink limit is 15 per person per day with each 24 hour period beginning at 6am. There is no limit on non-alcoholic beverages.

I don't know anything regarding photos.

[Bedruthen]

You know that both people in the cabin have to buy the package? Not so good if one of you doesn’t drink !

[Rick&Jeannie]

1 hour ago, Trixie21 said:

Thank you.

Are both cans and fountain included in the plus package?

Is there a daily drink limit with the plus package - not that I would get anywhere near it anyway , but I'm just curious .

Technically, only fountain drinks(sodas) are included...but often I have had the waiter give me a can if it was inconvenient to go to where a fountain gun can supply the drink...and *maybe* just whether or not they wanted to do so.

[Trixie21]

6 hours ago, Bedruthen said:

You know that both people in the cabin have to buy the package? Not so good if one of you doesn’t drink !

Yes I'm aware thanks.

My wife would take a couple of sodas each day and bottled water also . She likes her own WiFi also  - factoring that in in top of what I will use myself we will more or less break even.

[KreinKrunker]

On 7/28/2023 at 5:53 PM, memoak said:

Rules say fountain only no limit on soft drinks. Some say they have gotten cans but that has not been my experience 

My experience has been that if you ask for say, a Sprite Zero, which they do not have on the gun, most times they will give you a can.

[Trixie21]

Another question occurred to me - can I book princess standard and afterwards if I decide , upgrade to Princess plus by paying just the cost of the plus package itself. Or would this constitute an entirely new booking and you would then pay the prevailing current fare? Remembering i am referring to UK booking rules.

[sandancer]

I think I read on another thread that you can upgrade during the first 2 days of the cruise. 

[MountainEER74]

If you buy the internet wifi package, take advantage of the Casual Dining meals, pay your gratuity, Ocean Now delivery and Medallion shipping, you only need to drink 2 drinks a day to break even.  A coffee in IC and a couple of sodas would probably do it.

 

[reedprincess]

39 minutes ago, Trixie21 said:

Another question occurred to me - can I book princess standard and afterwards if I decide , upgrade to Princess plus by paying just the cost of the plus package itself. Or would this constitute an entirely new booking and you would then pay the prevailing current fare? Remembering i am referring to UK booking rules.

Yes, you can add the Plus or Premier Cruise Packages at any time prior to sailing, or once aboard in embarkation day.  (or the next day but I'm not positive about being able to buy it day 2).

Detailed out in the Cruise Package FAQs on the website.

$60/80 per night either way. Buying in advance would mean free medallion shipping (to US addresses) which adds to the "value" of the package if you took advantage of such (it's $10 per order otherwise for advance medallion shipping), but may affect your bottom line if you have Princess insurance...

 

[david63]

54 minutes ago, reedprincess said:

Buying in advance would mean free medallion shipping (to US addresses) which adds to the "value" of the package if you took advantage of such (it's $10 per order otherwise for advance medallion shipping), but may affect your bottom line if you have Princess insurance...

The OP is from the UK so that is not an issue.

[Crystaltipps67]

23 hours ago, Trixie21 said:

Another question occurred to me - can I book princess standard and afterwards if I decide , upgrade to Princess plus by paying just the cost of the plus package itself. Or would this constitute an entirely new booking and you would then pay the prevailing current fare? Remembering i am referring to UK booking rules.

I'm from the UK and booked the standard fare through a travel agent. I later decided that the maths was in our favour to upgrade to Plus. The travel agent was happy to add it, but wanted to charge us a £25 per person 'amendment fee'. Princess wouldn't add it directly as I'd booked through an agent. So I waited until we got on board, went straight to guest services and they added it for me instantly, and the charge was then in $ which was actually a better rate than the £ charge for the UK. You have to do it within the first 24 hours on board and the risk of waiting is that the price of the Plus package increases between you booking and getting on board.