Changes to Princess Plus, room service fees, Alfredo's and others. Fee changes. Etc

[Jeter02]

51 minutes ago, JLC0912 said:

My guess is that the changes will not be enforced by the staff for the next 2-3 months.  They will likely quietly let guests get the old benefits.  That is what happened with us on our recent RC cruise.  We brought four bottles of wine with 2 cabins and three people.  The old policy was two bottles of wine per cabin. They changed it to one.  We brought the four bottles because those are the rules we booked the cruise under.  Nobody said a word to us. I was prepared to argue my case if they did.

 

The staff that is supposed to be enforcing the rules do not want to have confrontations with guests. On a case by case basis, they will make exceptions.

Unfortunately I highly doubt they will go that route as bringing wine on is personal things being brought on versus here you're buying an add-on product while you're on board with dining. This is like comparing apples to oranges.

[PrincessLuver]

1 hour ago, kywildcatfanone said:

Agree.  This has nothing to do with the pandemic or the possibility of going out of business.  That has to do with making higher profits on every passenger that boards the ship.  Make everything you can cost a bit more, see how it goes, and if the uptake is still good, do it again in 6 months, and keep doing that.  

I'm pretty shocked that these ongoing price increases, and benefit cuts are being received so well by so many.  I think it's the world we live in now.  The costs of the packages to me are wildly outrageous, as well as an 18% (will be 20% soon I'm sure) gratuity being added to a bartender handing you a bott of water.  

I get it though, they have done their research and I'm sure 80% will do what they currently do, and the other 20% will be filled by new cruisers who didn't know what the good old days were like, and the cycle will continue.

I suspect when we finish out our current bookings, we might be done and looking for new vacation types.  Cruising used to be a good value.  That has changed a lot over the last year. 

 

Agree.  There seemed to be much more upset when Princess started SAVING theater seats for certain groups.  We surprisingly found last year that our land based trips in Europe were much more bang for the buck and more fun than cruising.  Thank you Princess for your greed!!

[CruizinSusan70]

12 hours ago, JGmf said:

 

I thought the "Slice" pizza was outstanding, the best I've ever had on a cruise ship.  Under the new plan it remains free, whether you are having one slice or 15 slices....so what's everyone so upset about Alfredo's being a charge.  Just walk upstairs.

On the Discovery, the pizza in Gigi's was made in a brick pizza oven as well as the even better calzones and was really good.  Tried the stuff up on Lido at Slice once and thought it was nasty.  I will assume it was made in an old fashioned pizza oven similar to what many pizza places use. 

[jennybenny]

UGH!! Reading through this thread has been painful and eye opening. I am further saddened by what Princess is doing. I don't like the nickel and diming- AT ALL.

 

In all fairness, we usually get a drink package, but we always consider NOT getting one. As we traditionally travel with the kids, our cruises have been 10-15 days, but we will soon be going on longer cruises, and hearing this just makes me want to jump ship. The drink package for long cruises is not worth the money, to us. Since the restart of cruising all I've heard is negative comments about how the food on Princess has declined. Prior to Covid, we had experienced the food decline ourselves, so hearing that it's worse was cause for concern. For the first time ever, I cancelled cruises we had booked (with FCD's) on Princess. I finally put them all on a booking for the Sun Princess next year, but the more I hear, the more I feel like canceling that too. Loyalty doesn't matter to Princess, you don't get discounts that are worth anything, and with the way things seem to be going, I'm not sure if I should make that Sun Princess cruise our last chance for Princess or just switch over to Oceania, who we have cruised since the restart of cruising and loved it. I'd rather pay more and get more up front, as opposed to paying slightly less, and getting a subpar experience. So we take less cruises, that's OK. One family leaving Princess doesn't matter to them, and it hurts because we've been so loyal for so many years.  

[kywildcatfanone]

50 minutes ago, JLC0912 said:

Supply and demand are simple concepts and the cruise lines are going to take advantage of the situation and maximize their profits.  If they lose your business, they don't care.  I think we need to face the reality that cruising and traveling are not going to be the same as what they have been.  We are getting ready to retire in a few months and I am already trying to figure out how we can still travel and have it be a nice, pleasant experience.  I love cruising because it has been a very pleasant way of traveling and seeing new places.  But, I do not think I will find it that pleasant with all the nickel and diming.  I think there is just going to be a big money grab in the cruise industry.  Also of note is that on our RC cruise, the staff was extremely stressed out by this concerted requirement that they do everything they can do wring out the last possible dime they can from every guest.  It puts them in a bad position because they want to offer a good experience and their employer is putting them at odds with the customer.

Agree 100%.  We are in the same situation.  Currently we can cruise 2-3 times a year because we do not book higher end rooms or buy expensive packages.  We could afford it if we wanted to, but don't see the value in it at all, but that is personal preference.

If we see those booking a standard fare start being further nickel and dimed, we will look elsewhere for vacation options.

 

I mentioned this earlier, but will mention it again.  When will they start charging for a slice of pizza on the pool deck or a regular hamburger.  When will the medallion start charging $5 every time I walk into the buffet.  When will water fountains have a $1 slot for a drink?  

 

It's coming.  Look at all the changes in just the last year alone. 

[JLC0912]

18 minutes ago, Jeter02 said:

Unfortunately I highly doubt they will go that route as bringing wine on is personal things being brought on versus here you're buying an add-on product while you're on board with dining. This is like comparing apples to oranges.

 

That might be the case.  Regardless, I think they will make an effort to make this a soft landing since they do have a vested interest in their reputation.

[Neil_c]

3 hours ago, kentishfred said:

Hi Neil That is strange, on our recent Sky cruise we had Green lane and also already allocated Green lane for our Regal cruise in September. For information both times with have had the premium package. We picked up our medallion when we checked in.

Yes the same as us also booked on Regal in September. However under this new scheme does this change?
 

[Steelers36]

7 hours ago, Yowman said:

 

I understand the RS charge.  Does having a drink delivered to you at, say, poolside also incur the $5 charge?  

No - that is for RS.  In order to be able to use Ocean Now in the App which is order and deliver to your location (such as poolside), you have to pay a one-time service charge of $15 per voyage.  It will be in the App.

[Steelers36]

3 hours ago, Holidayfun141 said:

We are booked on Sky Princess in April 2024 on the Standard Fare.

will we be able to use the Ocean Ready to book early dining in the MDR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ocean Ready is the section of the Princess App used to input information for check-in registration processing purposes.  You book dining using Dine My Way (DMW) and you can still use that for N/C.

[antsp]

1 hour ago, CanadianCruiser21 said:

Yes

there has been some clarification since this first came out to the TAs

 

The $5 room service fee is only when you order from the phone. 
The $15 ocean now fee covers ordering from the app or TV to your cabin. 

So what happens if you order through the tv

[Steelers36]

3 hours ago, kentishfred said:

Hi Neil That is strange, on our recent Sky cruise we had Green lane and also already allocated Green lane for our Regal cruise in September. For information both times with have had the premium package. We picked up our medallion when we checked in.

Sure, but that is changing as PCL has announced that only guests with Medallion in hand will be Green Lane.  Whether this "sticks" is another thing.  It could be a terrible disaster of a move - we don't know yet.  Out of other side of their mouths, they said guest can be accommodated in any lane (2 weeks ago).  Change is in effect now in places and supposed to be for August 1.

[PacnGoNow]

7 hours ago, New2cruise2022 said:

By taking once complimentary items away from Standard cruise rates, it is essentially "value added" to Plus and Premier packages. If you don't drink, there is still value -- no room service fee, casual dining, "priority by default" embarkation.

Maybe for short cruises it is a small value for some.  But I have 113 days booked and that would cost an extra $13,000 to $18,000 for Plus/Premier.  
 

I already have Elite priority boarding.

 

That’s expensive for room service & casual dining.  Not a value for

some people. 

[voljeep]

2 minutes ago, PacnGoNow said:

Maybe for short cruises it is a small value for some.  But I have 113 days booked and that would cost an extra $13,000 to $18,000 for Plus/Premier.  
 

I already have Elite priority boarding.

 

That’s expensive for room service & casual dining.  Not a value for

some people. 

for us - a little 5 day cruise - little or no OBC - Plus would work, but hey, Premier works better with the PRIZES, Specialty dining, casual dining venues , PHOTOS

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, phabric said:

I will be on the Island.  It has 2 specialty restaurants.  I noticed there are no casual restaurants.  No benefit there on that ship.

Fair observation.  But I wouldn't expect a discount off the package since they didn't increase the cost - yet.  It does turn into a fairly unbalanced situation, depending on which ship one is on in terms of venue and menu choices.  One thing for sure, these changes certainly change the value proposition calculation from merely beverages to other things as well.

[Bollycats]

For those who saw the presentation, what did they say about Planks and Steamers? I noticed they are listed under the casual dining options but have not been available on the ships since before COVID. Any news of when they are opening up?

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, whitecap said:

So, after trying to understand all these post, many of which contradict each other, I continue to be very confused. 

 

I am booked on several upcoming cruises under the Standard fare.

If I order room service to my cabin, I must pay a $5.00 fee for each delivery, right?

Can I pay the $14.95, one time fee, and use the app to order room service and not have to pay the $5.00 delivery fee?

 

Highly doubtful.  

[JLC0912]

8 hours ago, New2cruise2022 said:

By taking once complimentary items away from Standard cruise rates, it is essentially "value added" to Plus and Premier packages. If you don't drink, there is still value -- no room service fee, casual dining, "priority by default" embarkation.

 

Re: new "packages" and changes to the Plus pkg

 

Am I missing something here? We are new to Princess and got the Plus pkg.  Under the old rules, we could go to Alfredo's whenever for free, as could any cruiser.  Under the new "improved" Plus pkg, Princess has grouped Alfredo's with other casual speciality dining options, so it is also not available to Plus pkg guests as well as those who do not purchase the Plus or Premier pkg.  Now, Plus pkg guests can go to Alfredo's for free only one time, as they get one voucher for specialty casual dining for each guest.  If this is how it works, this is not IMO an "improved" Plus pkg.  

 

It seems that even Plus pkg purchasers are getting something less than they used to.  For us, I could care less about the possibility for quicker boarding.  That has no value for me. Princess press release states that "These expanded enhancements demonstrate the cruise line’s focus on providing unmatched service and value for guests."  There is no benefit for Plus pkg other than quicker boarding and they took away Plus pkg purchasers ability to go to Alfredo's numerous times for free. There is NO IMPROVED VALUE to the new Plus pkg.

 

 

Edited July 28, 2023 by JLC0912

[Jeter02]

5 minutes ago, Bollycats said:

For those who saw the presentation, what did they say about Planks and Steamers? I noticed they are listed under the casual dining options but have not been available on the ships since before COVID. Any news of when they are opening up?

They did not make any mentioning of the restart of Planks and Steamers. They don't need to, because the more they have listed under casual dining (operational or not), the more enticing the package will look. It's like all the other things they're trying to do to make things look enticing but as many have said they're trying to entice you with things that have always been free.

 

 

 

 

Edited July 28, 2023 by Jeter02

[CruizinSusan70]

8 hours ago, Yowman said:

 

I understand the RS charge.  Does having a drink delivered to you at, say, poolside also incur the $5 charge?  

For those standard cruisers, there are two charges.  One is a one time 15.00 charge good for the length of your cruise to have drinks, snacks, etc delivered to wherever you are except your cabinvia your app and through your medallion.    If you wish to utilize room service and have room service items delivered to your cabin, each time you do this there will be a 5.00 charge. 

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, CanadianCruiser21 said:

Yes

there has been some clarification since this first came out to the TAs

 

The $5 room service fee is only when you order from the phone. 
The $15 ocean now fee covers ordering from the app or TV to your cabin. 

How was this clarified and by whom please?  I was presuming that the Ocean Now would not include cabin delivery as a "locate me" place because of the RS charge.

 

If it does, I guess the guest needs to decide how often they might use the Ocean Now and then divide that into the $15 fee and see what the approx cost is per usage.

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, CanadianCruiser21 said:

I do not believe that has been addressed yet. Note: im not a TA, I just saw a bunch of screenshots from the presentation Princess gave them. 

is a mini-bar change out considered a room service order?

I really really doubt that.

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, amajaa said:

So if we want to swop out some of our minibar will we now get charged?  We normally swop the whiskey for anything else and the cans of soda for diet or no sugar. 

 

Don't jump to no-basis conclusions.

[Steelers36]

49 minutes ago, voljeep said:

with the premier package on SUN P - will we be able to order anything we want at a venue like O'Malley's or is there a fixed price separate menu?

It doesn't matter what ship it is.  There are separate a la carte items and a "full meal" option which is the $15 amount.  So, answer is yes.

[kywildcatfanone]

3 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

I really really doubt that.

In the brave new world of "charge fees for everything, it wouldn't surprise me.  We are one who swaps out, and I will have to go to PS if I get charged, especially now that the benefit of getting 15 coffees is long gone.  It's really a joke what they have done to loyalty benefits.  They truly do not care about retention anymore, and it's obvious.

But as someone else said, and I commented on myself, for every elite that stops cruising there is a blue medallion to take their place, buy the packages, and spend more money, so it's good overall  for the cruise line to weed out people trying to cruise on a budget.

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, cr8tiv1 said:

22 pages and I can’t keep up with the posts (4-5 pages a day). More confused with each additional post.  So many unknowns. 

 

Maybe someone in the know can answer.

 

1.  If I use the app or tv, will Room Service be free without the package?

 

2.  Will none of these charges apply to Suites?

3.  Specialty free dining with Premier was a bust.  So were the 2 desserts a day and the exercise classes.  Will Alfredo’s etc bite the dust too?  Not all ships have these extras.  
 

****4**** When will Elite/Platinum see a % reduction on packages for our WiFi/internet perk?

 

Princess opened a Pandora’s box with this …not thought through again…news release.  22 pages and increasing and it still is not very clear.

 

 

#1 may be up for question,  My interpretation has been that Ocean Now fee doesn't cover cabin as "my location".  Could be wrong.

 

#2.  All of the discussion was centered around packages - Suites are not getting a special exemption.  I imagine if I was booking a Suite, I'd also be booking a package.

 

#3.  A bust why?  Have lots of people not been able to get into SD?

 

#4.  When pigs fly.