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

[mtt]

1 minute ago, Jeter02 said:

WOW! Well there goes my theory about the original post coming from the crown stating that maybe it was the ships that didn't have Alfredo's or Gigi's. I feel like back on my March sailing on the Regal they still were at a cost. Hmmm. It makes sense for them to really to be free considering it's complementary will at least as of now when you sit down at Alfredo's or Gigi's. I always found it awfully silly that they would charge you for that same exact pizza just to have it delivered to you.

This is the pizza we ordered on the app, it was not like the ones from Alfredos, we ate there on our last day

[mtt]

This was the pizza from Alfredos on the regal on the 6th of July, this was larger than the room service pizza.

Edited July 29, 2023 by mtt

[PacnGoNow]

7 hours ago, spunks said:

we were about to book a 27 day Casino comped Cruise with VIP thrown in, That meant unlimited free drinks( of any kind) as long as we were gambling.We read about the new policy changes today and quickly took that cruise off the table.....It is pretty bad when you decide to quit on a free cruise with free drinks in the Casino.....As to the person that asked if we got the Princess Plus included with free cruise offers.....we have not gotten that in about a year. I think they switched to this new VIP thing instead.

 

Doug

I don’t understand if you had a free cruise and drinks, why you would complain about paying $15 for a one time fee to use the App, IF you are even charged on your free drink package?

 

The $5 room service fee, IF you are charged on your drink package is still a steal IMO.  
 

I think a free cruise and drinks would be great, those new fees would be minor.

 

Maybe I’m missing something. IDK

[SteveTrafford]

1 hour ago, Bedruthen said:

According to Princess, tips are distributed fleet wide so removing them on your one cruise will actually have very little impact. However removing them and distributing cash to your room steward and waiters directly, can benefit the individual staff. I don’t know how it works on Princess but the one time it was explained to me by a room steward on another line, they are guaranteed a minimum wage, made up of basic salary and an amount for expected tips. If the tips don’t materialise the employee still gets paid as if tips were received. So if you remove the automatic gratuity and then tip them directly it’s a win win. Buts that’s for another discussion!

We were told by a former Princess Maitre D that the room steward (or whoever) are expected to hand cash tips in to go into the central pot, and they prefer in these circumstances for guests to give an Amazon card or voucher which they are not expected to hand in. 

[MissP22]

10 hours ago, dsukid said:

I'm not buying Plus or Premier till I have an option that doesn't include alcohol. I have zero desire to subsidize others intoxication. 

They don't like to mention drinks spifically but keep talking about how great a deal it is to have the package, when the main cost of the package is in fact the alcohol. We felt almost as if it was a waste since we don't normally drink that much. 

 

 

2 hours ago, Jeter02 said:

That's really sad. Nothing for nothing though, those captain circle events are not what they used to be. I remember years and years ago when I would attend, a lot of times they would talk about not just about thanking you for your loyalty, but also about the new ships that were to come out amongst other things. I went to the first few in my early cruising days. Up to this point, I haven't been to one in years.

 

It could be that the attendance has diminshed due to most people having the packages, which include alcohol. Why bother with a meaningless talk if you don't require another drink?

[vjmatty]

6 hours ago, startedwithamouse said:

Two seats are being used each time. I'm talking people taking up tables (going 4 times instead of the alloted 2). Announced yesterday and people are already trying to work the system. 

I guess the outcome is they’ll be there half the time since they’re eating half as much food? 🤷🏻‍♀️

[annlee]

I only order pizza at Alfredo's. I have Princess Plus. Will I be paying extra for this privilege come November?

(I do not care about the 2 free 3-course meals, although I supposed I could order pizza twice if it turns out they'll start charging for a pizza pie).

[duckey.l]

7 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Back to NCL?

I already have one NCL booked for 2024- just haven’t added it to my signature yet. They do seem to have the best loyalty program IMHO. May also use this as as an opportunity to try something new!

[kywildcatfanone]

2 hours ago, dsukid said:

Ah you see. I'm not exactly to that extreme the issue. I have a pretty firm idea of what the costs of the alcohol "everyone" is downing to excess to get their monies worth and the ship is still making a profit on it. All these other perks have very little incremental costs associated with them. Thus if one who doesn't really drink but fiends caffeine takes plus they are providing a huge margin of profit for the line. 

Agree.  That's he reasons packages are being pushed so hard, and increasing in price.  The cost to the cruise line is minimal and the profits are 10x on every pour.

[kywildcatfanone]

9 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

No, you could spend 15.00 if you wish to get an app, entree, dessert combination.  You're entirely able to purchase any a la carte items which would of course be less than the 15.00.  For example, a pizza could be 8 bucks.  Since menus and prices have not been disclosed, it's purely speculative, but it could cost you less than 15.

My point was, it was previously free, and now a charge.  And yes, up to $15 might be a better way to say it, but that wasn't the point I was making.

[dickinson]

Apparently only 2 times during your cruise.

[Grego]

11 minutes ago, annlee said:

I only order pizza at Alfredo's. I have Princess Plus. Will I be paying extra for this privilege come November?

(I do not care about the 2 free 3-course meals, although I supposed I could order pizza twice if it turns out they'll start charging for a pizza pie).

Great question which points to a bigger issue for Princess.  Our understanding is that with Plus and Premier you can go to those listed in the plan twice...total not twice for each one. If that is true, my concern is that the business at Alfredo's will dry up because those with the Standard package might not want to spend the up-charge to go there and those with the Plus and Premier packages might not go there that often because they might use their chit at the other venues.

If all that is possibly true, the bigger question is what the heck were they thinking?  Can we do a clock rewind and go back to before Padgett era?

[skynight]

Let's say you plan to have dinner at Alfredo's or another casual location. You have already paid for a dinner as part of your fare in the MDR or the buffet. Now there is a charge for the casual meal. So the passenger is paying twice for the evening dinner. It is the definition of ripping off customers, paying twice for one meal. I can't imagine that the cost for any of the casual meals is greater than the cost for a DR or buffet meal, no matter how poor the quality of the DR/buffet meals would be. 

[charliedalrymple]

Wait, what?  I thought Alfredo's was available at no cost to all cruisers throughout the cruise.  We've eaten there three or four times on some cruises.  Has something changed that I don't know about?

[dides]

21 minutes ago, charliedalrymple said:

Wait, what?  I thought Alfredo's was available at no cost to all cruisers throughout the cruise.  We've eaten there three or four times on some cruises.  Has something changed that I don't know about?

Yes, press release on Thursday by Princess discussed in this thread. The only guests who can eat at Alfredo's for free from next month are those on the Premier package. Those on the Plus package booked after December 14th will have two free meals at Alfredo's (or other casual dining venue) per voyage. Any other visits will be charged a la carte or $14.99 for a fixed price meal. Those on the Standard  package (or Plus package booked before December 14th) will need to pay each visit. Or pay to upgrade. 

 

 

Edited July 29, 2023 by dides

[chamima]

12 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

Stop looking at the upgrade thing and look at the personalizer under the Onboard Services tab. That show what you actually have.

 

 

I'm not sure how helpful it is to look there.

In my personalizer under Onboard Services it shows this (plus gratuities and fitness classes, etc.)

 

No mention of 50 or 60 (but, since the desserts and juice bar ARE mentioned I think it's the 60)

 

Package Type	Quantity	Price	Package Purchased By	Cancel
Plus Bev Pkg + Juice Bar	1
Premium Desserts (2 Per Day)	1
Plus Bev Pkg + Juice Bar	1
Premium Desserts (2 Per Day)	1

 

[chamima]

2 hours ago, SteveTrafford said:

We were told by a former Princess Maitre D that the room steward (or whoever) are expected to hand cash tips in to go into the central pot, and they prefer in these circumstances for guests to give an Amazon card or voucher which they are not expected to hand in. 

 

 

And we've always been told that if you leave the automatic gratuities on your account the steward or waiter, etc. get to keep the cash.

It's only when they've been removed from your account that the crew member has to turn the money into the general pot.

[Leko6x9]

10 hours ago, Lyndonn said:

Will recent bookings made under the original Plus Package be grandfathered to the New Plus Package? 
TIA 

In my experience no

[Yowman]

6 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Maybe I'm mistaken, but I could have sworn I read that if standard fare cruisers pay the 15 for Ocean now as long as they order room service without using their cabin phone it's free.  Doesn't apply to us either way since we never use room service and used Ocean Now once to get club sandwiches at 1030 at Good Spirits on the Discovery.  EDIT...Yup, last sentence of the posting in 989 confirms that the 15 covers room service charges if ordered through the app.

 

You're not mistaken.  I've read in this thread, however, that the RS menu on the app differs (is a subset of) from the RS menu available via the phone.  If this is not the case, and the menu on the app is the same as the menu on the phone, then the cost to fully restore what I previously had previously paid for is only $30 ($15 x 2 for Ocean Now).

[chamima]

31 minutes ago, chamima said:

 

 

I'm not sure how helpful it is to look there.

In my personalizer under Onboard Services it shows this (plus gratuities and fitness classes, etc.)

 

No mention of 50 or 60 (but, since the desserts and juice bar ARE mentioned I think it's the 60)

 

Package Type	Quantity	Price	Package Purchased By	Cancel
Plus Bev Pkg + Juice Bar	1
Premium Desserts (2 Per Day)	1
Plus Bev Pkg + Juice Bar	1
Premium Desserts (2 Per Day)	1

 

 

 

Who else wishes we could exchange those two premium desserts per day to one meal at Alfredos.

[Yehootu]

10 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

While this explains ordering on app, it likely will be the same on the TV when paying the $14.99 OceanNow delivery fee good for the entire cruise.

 

 

 

9 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

You are going to have no service fees and two visits to for-fee casual dining on first voyage and don't get them on the second, unless you pay $10/pp/day to upgrade.

We"ve used the Oceans Now app on TV to order 8 beers at a time and snacks for in room  movie days. The 2nd leg is a TA so we'll pay 1 charge of $14.99 and tip the room steward for our beers. My wife loves the Capriacosa pizzas but would only get them from the app. The upgrade cost would be $150x2 so $300. We are out $14.99 so we have $285 left to spend on $12 pizzas. They used to be free, but oh well. We have 91 days booked, but have now directed our TA to start looking at other cruise lines to replace ones we've booked and also going forward. The pushout of this program is what disturbs me and I don't want to sit back and wait for the other shoe to fall. The fact that there is no grandfathering for what you've already booked is what bothers me. We always book the Plus program but I'm sure that will just continue to climb in costs once they have a new passenger demographic who's accepted this. Just started retirement and have planned on 2 or more 30day+ cruises each year. We'll build loyalty on another cruise line.

[chrysalis]

1 minute ago, chamima said:

 

 

Who else wishes we could exchange those two premium desserts per day to one meal at Alfredos.

Absolutely,....especially since you and us are on a 32 day "single" voyage, and according to the new system, will only be allowed 2 Alfredos meals during that entire time, yet we are paying the same amount per day as someone on a 7 day cruise and they will be allowed the same 2 Alfredos meals. Someone didn't think that on through very well at PCL.

 

...or exchange the fitness classes.....

[Yehootu]

7 minutes ago, Yowman said:

 

You're not mistaken.  I've read in this thread, however, that the RS menu on the app differs (is a subset of) from the RS menu available via the phone.  If this is not the case, and the menu on the app is the same as the menu on the phone, then the cost to fully restore what I previously had previously paid for is only $30 ($15 x 2 for Ocean Now).

Why x2, I plan on just paying on one app, and using for both. Not the same as sharing a drink package, just paying one service charge.

[Yehootu]

10 hours ago, skynight said:

Correct me if I'm wrong. My understanding is that if you paid $60/day then yes. If you paid $50/day or a lower price then you will be able to upgrade by paying the difference.

Worst case senario:

4 $14.99 "meals"

2 $ 14.99 Oceans Now activation

_________________________

$98.94   so you'll have to be on a 5 day cruise or less for an upgrade of $10x2 or $20 a day to make the upgrade work

[cruzrbachoua]

9 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Nevermind 

Saw your original question..we don't normally get a suite and saved to get this one for a special occasion we normally do inside or possibly a balcony this suite was for a special occasion and was budgeted for and now there are more added fees to get the experience we were first sold.