POLL: How Will You Sail Now, With All of the Upcoming Package Changes?

[cruising.mark.uk]

4 minutes ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

I am pretty sure Princess did their due diligence and knows that this program is going to fly for a vast majority of their clients. 

Exactly.  The 99% versus the fraction of 1% who regularly post on here and seem to me - broadly speaking - to only represent the views of people who are not happy unless they are not happy.

Edited July 29, 2023 by cruising.mark.uk

[voljeep]

50-50 split on the 'poll' - i'd 'guess' 90-10 split on posters who do not drink and are 'not happy'

[Jeter02]

2 hours ago, no1racefan1 said:

$5 to $15 'here and there' eventually adds up....

 

I booked a cruise vacation that included room service...except now it doesn't. I'm not going to cancel our trip over it, since we will have been planning it for over a year by the time we sail, but it certainly will drive me towards other vacation plans in the future. I just want to get the vacation that I paid for.

 

No plans to pay for OceanNow--half the reviews I've seen, people order drinks and never receive them, or receive them 2 hours later. Can't imagine PAYING for that service!

I feel like in this case if an order is delayed, canceled, magically disappears, or marked as delivered whenever it was, then I would go down to get services and demand a refund. And then ask for them to try to redeliver that drink free of cost for the inconvenience. If it was your first time using the app and you had to pay the $14.99 I would also ask them to reverse that  charge and say I don't even want to try This app again as clearly it's not an adequate service.

[Jeter02]

29 minutes ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

Before you take your results too seriously please remember who your sample is. The sample does not represent the population of Princess cruisers so the results can not be extrapolated.  The results represent cruise critic members. I am pretty sure Princess did their due diligence and knows that this program is going to fly for a vast majority of their clients. 

It was simply just an aloud observation in my thought process. That's all.

Edited July 29, 2023 by Jeter02

[HaveDogWillTravel]

7 minutes ago, Jeter02 said:

It was simply just an aloud observation in my thought process. That's all.

Yes they are interesting.  Don’t get me wrong I love surveys and I answered yours. I’m not a fan of the changes. I really think they should have been announced & rolled out at a later date that allowed folks to cancel without penalty.  And I think they should have waived all cancellation fees if the changes are the reason for cancelling. But I don’t run the world 🤬. 

[Jeter02]

3 minutes ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

Yes they are interesting.  Don’t get me wrong I love surveys and I answered yours. I’m not a fan of the changes. I really think they should have been announced & rolled out at a later date that allowed folks to cancel without penalty.  And I think they should have waived all cancellation fees if the changes are the reason for cancelling. But I don’t run the world 🤬. 

Really the best way it should have been handled is to have honored all of those passengers with the current system prior to this upcoming change. And for those who have yet to pay their final payment they would be the ones unfortunately who would incur the new changes and direction the company is going towards. At least he gives people that time to cancel if they feel the need to so. This will provide them time to decide whether or not those products and amenities are really going to affect their trip and or if they financially want to be bothered with now the new extra add-ons or cost of things that day may now want included on their cruise that they originally thought they were getting when they booked the trip.

[northwestbear]

As a couple who do not drink alcohol, I feel like these changes only take things away that were previously included. We really enjoy having lunch or sometimes even dinner at Alfredo's - which it seems will now become a pay restaurant unless you have a package. We have rarely used room service, but it was always nice to have the option. We usually dine in a specialty restaurant a few times each cruise. We used to buy coffee packages (another sad change) but now just pay for our drinks individually.  We have an anniversary cruise coming up in September and we splurged for a very expensive cabin, but now it feels like Princess wants even more out of me. I priced it out and the Ala carte pricing is still a better option than either package by hundreds of dollars. It will definitely cost us more to cruise than in the past. We'll just have to see - We had a really nice cruise on Celebrity this past winter and our next cruise after our September trip is on Holland America. We're Elite on Princess, but maybe it's time to branch out. 

[Faeanna]

I would still pick Plus, but I’m frustrated that I booked Plus in advance of my upcoming sailing and now the terms of the package have changed without grandfathering those that booked ahead in. I couldn’t have picked this new Plus package because it didn’t exist. I don’t plan to upgrade for this sailing.

[trvlwrld]

I’m elite and a stock holder…I’m also done with Princess!  They are small changes, but they continue to add up…it’s now the straw that broke the camel’s back…too many changes too quickly with NO REMORSE…good bye stock and Princess-sorry to go but enough is enough!

[rideev]

3 hours ago, traveldayz said:

16 hours ago, rideev said:

Expand  

It has already come to pass that you can no longer claim the veteran AND the shareholder OBC - 1 only.

They are both still showing on my cruise thingy on the website.

[Bobster17]

Not impressed! Just booked last weekend for our first cruise with princess, we usually cruise with HAL. I feel like this is false advertising, there should have been a fine print on these changes for new bookings. We are carnival shareholders and this is not a good first impression.

[Steelers36]

52 minutes ago, voljeep said:

50-50 split on the 'poll' - i'd 'guess' 90-10 split on posters who do not drink and are 'not happy'

We are not non-drinkers, but the pricing in the packages that represents the alcohol portion (I ignore the OTT ice cream sundaes) doesn't work for us.  It's been quite clear since late last year at least that PCL is finding ways to hike prices and extract revenue where there was none before.  Considering the bits I read about other lines on here, I am not surprised they are turning Alfredo's into a for-fee dining location.  With our relatively infrequent usage of it, I can live with a few extra dollars cost on a voyage.  I don't find ordering via the App useful for infrequent bar orders.  So, probably said it before here or the other thread, but this light drinker (I do Bring My Own Wine though) isn't exactly unhappy.  Now, take away Standard fare and Elite Minibar and you might see steam coming out of my ears.

[ldubs]

1 hour ago, cruising.mark.uk said:

Exactly.  The 99% versus the fraction of 1% who regularly post on here and seem to me - broadly speaking - to only represent the views of people who are not happy unless they are not happy.

 

I think that may be more like 0.001%.  😃

[Jeter02]

5 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

We are not non-drinkers, but the pricing in the packages that represents the alcohol portion (I ignore the OTT ice cream sundaes) doesn't work for us.  It's been quite clear since late last year at least that PCL is finding ways to hike prices and extract revenue where there was none before.  Considering the bits I read about other lines on here, I am not surprised they are turning Alfredo's into a for-fee dining location.  With our relatively infrequent usage of it, I can live with a few extra dollars cost on a voyage.  I don't find ordering via the App useful for infrequent bar orders.  So, probably said it before here or the other thread, but this light drinker (I do Bring My Own Wine though) isn't exactly unhappy.  Now, take away Standard fare and Elite Minibar and you might see steam coming out of my ears.

The biggest thing I'll be most upset about is that thing that starts with the letter "L" and I do not want to say it out loud. That's my most favorite perk as an elite guest. I would be really upset if that ever got dismissed.

[2+2]

I look at all the changes going clear back to the 90's and wish we could turn back the clock on all the extra cost.  I am looking at the bright side of this change. We only cruise around once every two years, so we try to live it up. We will get the premium package and know what it is like to be able to order top shelf drinks, go to specialty dinning, and now Alfredo's and others . Feeling first class for this factory worker is few and far between. And maybe the lines will be shorter and not so many obnoxious drinkers like other cruise lines with free perk drink packages. 

      Oh, and now I don't have to walk past the gelato. It doesn't take much to make ma a happy cruiser.

[Jeter02]

2 minutes ago, 2+2 said:

I look at all the changes going clear back to the 90's and wish we could turn back the clock on all the extra cost.  I am looking at the bright side of this change. We only cruise around once every two years, so we try to live it up. We will get the premium package and know what it is like to be able to order top shelf drinks, go to specialty dinning, and now Alfredo's and others . Feeling first class for this factory worker is few and far between. And maybe the lines will be shorter and not so many obnoxious drinkers like other cruise lines with free perk drink packages. 

      Oh, and now I don't have to walk past the gelato. It doesn't take much to make ma a happy cruiser.

As I always say.... Treat yourself! Glad to see you enjoying life to the fullest 😊

[gullgeorge]

Interesting wording on internet service in the press release:

• NEW! Unlimited MedallionNet 2.0 with Fleetwide Starlink and 5G for single device

Since this is listed as a new benefit for princess plus/premier (this was already a benefit), does that mean:

1. Only Princess Plus/Premier guests receive the new internet service, since this is listed as "New"?

2. That there will two levels of internet service like some other cruise lines.

3. Princess has not updated the rest of the posted information on their web site and application to show this change and everybody receives this "New" internet service (when purchased).

[Jeter02]

18 minutes ago, gullgeorge said:

Interesting wording on internet service in the press release:

• NEW! Unlimited MedallionNet 2.0 with Fleetwide Starlink and 5G for single device

Since this is listed as a new benefit for princess plus/premier (this was already a benefit), does that mean:

1. Only Princess Plus/Premier guests receive the new internet service, since this is listed as "New"?

2. That there will two levels of internet service like some other cruise lines.

3. Princess has not updated the rest of the posted information on their web site and application to show this change and everybody receives this "New" internet service (when purchased).

Honestly I totally did a double take on that the other day when I saw that I'm like wait a second am I being jipped on another thing. And then I reread it, In realized we're all good. 🤣

[muffydawg]

We booked our April 2024 voyage on Enchanted under "standard". After doing the math hubby and I will upgrade to Plus.

Edited July 29, 2023 by muffydawg

[BlerkOne]

2 hours ago, northwestbear said:

 We had a really nice cruise on Celebrity this past winter and our next cruise after our September trip is on Holland America. We're Elite on Princess, but maybe it's time to branch out. 

 

Celebrity now charges for room service.

[Guest ldtr]

2 hours ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

Yes they are interesting.  Don’t get me wrong I love surveys and I answered yours. I’m not a fan of the changes. I really think they should have been announced & rolled out at a later date that allowed folks to cancel without penalty.  And I think they should have waived all cancellation fees if the changes are the reason for cancelling. But I don’t run the world 🤬. 

One can always call and try to cancel for full refund due to changes in onboard experience.  Have not seen any sign of anyone trying and getting turned down or even trying.  In the past on a couple of occasions when there were short term notice of changes  they have allowed people to cancel.  Cannot say if they would or would not waive the normal cancellation fees, but if someone really wants to they should give it a try.

[Jimmys Chippy]

6 hours ago, Jeter02 said:

Initially I was a little worried about having to pick up the medallions at the port. My last cruise just a short few weeks ago just proved that it truly was no big deal as it was maybe an extra 10 seconds to wait for them to go grab it. That was at a port in London where a good majority of The passengers were picking up at the pour it as medallions are strictly only sent out to US residents. They truly do a very good job at the ports and regards to this.

We’ve picked our medallions up in both the US and U.K., it didn’t really hamper our boarding experience at all, in fact our cruise on the Sky last month was the easiest ever as we decided to board at about 2pm for a 4pm sailing, no queues at pick up, security and actual boarding. We’ll never board in the first group again.

[Steelers36]

29 minutes ago, ldtr said:

One can always call and try to cancel for full refund due to changes in onboard experience.  Have not seen any sign of anyone trying and getting turned down or even trying.  In the past on a couple of occasions when there were short term notice of changes  they have allowed people to cancel.  Cannot say if they would or would not waive the normal cancellation fees, but if someone really wants to they should give it a try.

Makes me wonder if people cruising in the next few weeks appealed to PCL, looking to cancel, if PCL wouldn't offer something back like some OBC or a package upgrade in order to retain the business.  If so, the guest might be good still after the cruise and book again.  If they let them go, they probably aren't returning.  Tough call, but if I were PCL, I'd at least listen to their pitch and try and assess if this is a customer I can retain with some goodwill or if they just want to b***h and dump me.

Edited July 29, 2023 by Steelers36

[JGmf]

25 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

If they let them go, they probably aren't returning.  Tough call, but if I were PCL, I'd at least listen to their pitch and try and assess if this is a customer I can retain with some goodwill or if they just want to b***h and dump me.

 

I'm assuming letting them go would be best for Princess.  People really are going to leave Princess for these marginal fees price changes, c'mon!

[Steelers36]

11 minutes ago, JGmf said:

 

I'm assuming letting them go would be best for Princess.  People really are going to leave Princess for these marginal fees price changes, c'mon!

I know and apparently grass isn't greener on other lines as far as money goes.  Closer prices get, folks will look at the overall experience and itinerary.  I know I am open to select other options, but not dumping PCL.