Drinking problem

[Rufford155]

10 hours ago, SSAtlantic said:

I have a question. We have cruised Celebrity with a drink package for several years. There is no drink limit on Celebrity. When ordering wine in the MDR, our glasses are topped off frequently with only 1 “charge” showing up on our account. Is this handled the same way on Princess or is each glass of wine equivalent to one “charge” at dinner?

If your wine is topped up for free, then I'd be wary it's not watered-down plonk they are serving you.

I know for a fact that is the case in some all-inclusive resort hotels.

[david63]

14 hours ago, Thrak said:

I once had a clod of a bartender put ice into Cognac

I always ask for cognac/brandy to be served in a warm glass (which I have never found to be a problem). So placing my order the waiter then asked if I wanted ice in it!!!!

[New2cruise2022]

4 hours ago, Rufford155 said:

And if I want the plus package for myself, why does Princess want her to pay for it too?

Sharing. Princess knows it is going to happen, but they can’t encourage it without losing money — well more of it anyway. Whether it is an occasional alcoholic beverage or just mocktails, sodas, specialty coffees, etc., splitting up cabins would facilitate this practice. Of course it is convenient that they capture more revenue by requiring this, but offering anything unlimited is a dance that accepts risks. By requiring both passengers to buy into the package, cruise lines (almost all of them do this) mitigate the risk of loss based on average use of the package. 

[kywildcatfanone]

4 hours ago, Rufford155 said:

 

And if I want the plus package for myself, why does Princess want her to pay for it too?

 

Revenue and profit,  and lots of it.

[lizjoemom]

On 7/29/2023 at 7:35 AM, david63 said:

Just make the cruises all inclusive and all such problems go away.

If they did that, most people would not be able to cruise at all. Look at Virgin's prices, they include all gratuities, food, wifi and what they call "essential" beverages; coffee, tea, water, juice, but have to pay extra for various levels of alcoholic drink packages. The prices are way more than Princess and other mid/better cruise lines. It's all about what people are willing to pay. My DH doesn't drink alcohol but needs wifi and we like alternative dining, so we will pay the upgrade on our 10 day on Princess, which doesn't even come close to the price of a 5 day Virgin cruise. Either way, the cruise is a business, they are in it to make money, the customers need to decide if they are willing to pay the price.

[Rufford155]

56 minutes ago, New2cruise2022 said:

Sharing. Princess knows it is going to happen, but they can’t encourage it without losing money — well more of it anyway. Whether it is an occasional alcoholic beverage or just mocktails, sodas, specialty coffees, etc., splitting up cabins would facilitate this practice. Of course it is convenient that they capture more revenue by requiring this, but offering anything unlimited is a dance that accepts risks. By requiring both passengers to buy into the package, cruise lines (almost all of them do this) mitigate the risk of loss based on average use of the package. 

I understand all that but there should be an exception for medical reasons (easily proven with a doctor's note).

In our case they are losing money because otherwise I may have bought the plus package but probably never reached the limits allowed (as i suspect most people do).

[MissP22]

1 hour ago, Rufford155 said:

I understand all that but there should be an exception for medical reasons (easily proven with a doctor's note).

In our case they are losing money because otherwise I may have bought the plus package but probably never reached the limits allowed (as i suspect most people do).

There isn't a doctor around that wouldn't provide a note for anyone not to drink excessively. 😄

[voljeep]

6 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

excessively.

🤑

[memoak]

3 hours ago, kywildcatfanone said:

Revenue and profit,  and lots of it.

Because when they first rolled out drink packages there were no limits to anything and sharing was rampant therefore the change

[tonit964]

2 hours ago, Rufford155 said:

I understand all that but there should be an exception for medical reasons (easily proven with a doctor's note).

In our case they are losing money because otherwise I may have bought the plus package but probably never reached the limits allowed (as i suspect most people do).

They’re not losing money, even with you not buying the package. If they were, they would have halted it years ago. 

[Bedruthen]

What also needs to figure in the equation is OBC. Without a drinks package, you have the option to spend your OBC on beverages. With a drinks package with all its associated benefits, where does the OBC go? In to the retail outlets, thus boosting on board spending and improving profits again. A double win for Princess.

[Guest ldtr]

5 hours ago, lizjoemom said:

If they did that, most people would not be able to cruise at all. Look at Virgin's prices, they include all gratuities, food, wifi and what they call "essential" beverages; coffee, tea, water, juice, but have to pay extra for various levels of alcoholic drink packages. The prices are way more than Princess and other mid/better cruise lines. It's all about what people are willing to pay. My DH doesn't drink alcohol but needs wifi and we like alternative dining, so we will pay the upgrade on our 10 day on Princess, which doesn't even come close to the price of a 5 day Virgin cruise. Either way, the cruise is a business, they are in it to make money, the customers need to decide if they are willing to pay the price.

Celebrity tried that for a couple of months after they went with the class system and started including packages in many fares.  That experiment failed very quickly and they went back to offering base fares as well.

 

[memoak]

1 hour ago, Bedruthen said:

What also needs to figure in the equation is OBC. Without a drinks package, you have the option to spend your OBC on beverages. With a drinks package with all its associated benefits, where does the OBC go? In to the retail outlets, thus boosting on board spending and improving profits again. A double win for Princess.

OBC goes to specialty restaurants and casino would be my bet

[Guest ldtr]

2 hours ago, tonit964 said:

They’re not losing money, even with you not buying the package. If they were, they would have halted it years ago. 

It depends upon how one looks at it.  If 35% of revenue is now coming from onboard sales (which includes packages) and even before 2019 the profit margin was only about 15% (that period was very high profit margin compared to historic norms for cruise lines).  Then if someone does not do any onboard spending then the cruise line would be losing money, if nothing else in opportunity cost.

 

The question is the same as with airlines.  Would they make more money by charging more and having some empty cabins (seats) of by charging less and having all cabins full, even tough some are not profitable.  Pretty clear that the models of the mass market lines all say better to fill ships and sell as many add on as possible.

[SargassoPirate]

Tips became gratuities, which became crew appreciation.  Why not just call it what it is now - crew salary subsidy?

 

If something sounds a little harsh or too direct, just give it a euphemism.

 

 

 

[New2cruise2022]

6 hours ago, Rufford155 said:

I understand all that but there should be an exception for medical reasons (easily proven with a doctor's note).

In our case they are losing money because otherwise I may have bought the plus package but probably never reached the limits allowed (as i suspect most people do).

I believe there are limited exceptions, included verified pregnancy. 

[Guest ldtr]

1 hour ago, SargassoPirate said:

Tips became gratuities, which became crew appreciation.  Why not just call it what it is now - crew salary subsidy?

 

If something sounds a little harsh or too direct, just give it a euphemism.

 

 

 

Isn't  that tips pretty much everywhere have always been.

[Steelers36]

7 hours ago, memoak said:

and casino would be my bet

I caught that one.

[Steelers36]

7 hours ago, SargassoPirate said:

Tips became gratuities, which became crew appreciation.  Why not just call it what it is now - crew salary subsidy?

 

If something sounds a little harsh or too direct, just give it a euphemism.

 

 

 

You left out crew incentive.