Unpopular Opinion: I'm excited about the changes to Plus and Premier

[PMGS247]

12 minutes ago, rosevew said:

Sky has just Alfredo's, Ocean Terrace and a Vines wine bar. OK if you like Sushi, I suppose. And there wasn't been food offered in Vines on Sky when we were on last summer. The offerings shown for Vines (that do offer food) is just one starter, one main charcuterie board and a dessert. Caribbean, Coral and Diamond don't have any, as far as I'm aware.

 

Yep Vines and Ocean Terrace. I'm with you, of all the royal class ships it's probably the biggest downgrade on the Sky but technically those are options.  I do like sushi so it's fine for me.

 

As for those ships, none of them have an Alfredo's or Gigi's, so nothing is lost in that regard. 

 

Caribbean has vines, planks, and steamers. This is actually a big win for my upcoming Halloween cruise on the CB.  DW loves vines and charcuterie boards, and we were going to pay for a meal at planks anyway.

 

Coral you're right...literally nothing.  Same on the Island.  Diamond has Kai Sushi.

 

Some ships definitely doing better or worse than others. Not surprising.

 

Edit: I believe along with this change Vines will go back to serving food everywhere.

Edited August 3, 2023 by PMGS247

[drwbrt]

30 minutes ago, getaway101 said:

We are also Premier but you do realize that the reserved seating is only for Production Shows.  Still a plus IMO

I realize this.  Honestly, we're probably on the fence even going to the production shows, but not having to go super early for decent seatings makes it more enticing.

[drwbrt]

14 minutes ago, JG&Lcruisingnewbies said:

They are deterring new & potentially new cruisers from cruising Princess again, or at all.

Plus/Premier is the reason that we are trying Princess for the first time.  I use my drink package; not just on alcohol.  Pellegrino at meals, coffees in the morning and afternoon, occasionally a soda, etc.  The drink offer and gratuity inclusion makes it worth it for me.  Having this included is the reason we are on Princess and not Carnival, NCL, or RCL.

[rosevew]

My bigest gripe has to be the 2 meal options on plus as we have a 24 night cruise coming up, rather unfair. Just like the 2 x speciality dining on premium.

[drwbrt]

21 minutes ago, getaway101 said:

Isn't the Salty Dog the burgers and hot dogs up by the pool?  Asking for a friend....🤪

The casual, sit down, venue offers a menu that is both more expanded and sophisticated than pool-side food.  I haven't tried either yet, but am excited to. Sit-down menu is different than the poolside menu.

[villauk]

1 hour ago, memoak said:

What no pizza every day ?  You can still go twice or spend your 2 casual meals at different spots that used to cost money. Unless you have an old plus fare then it is your choice to upgrade or not

 

I don’t think there is any need to be derogatory. As I have previously stated, all I want is what I am entitled to having paid my fare in full 3 months ago. Princess told me what the price was for a particular vacation and what it included. I agreed and paid my money in good faith, now to be told with less than 3 weeks to go that in fact they have changed their mind and they want more money from me. You may be okay with that, but I find it very dishonest to accept someone’s money and then tell them, at very short notice, it’s actually not what they are getting. Not only that, but they haven’t had the decency to notify or even inform me that I will be receiving a different experience to the one I paid for! Again, that may be perfectly acceptable to some pax, but common courtesy doesn’t cost anything.

[New2cruise2022]

17 minutes ago, JG&Lcruisingnewbies said:

Can I add that they are not just upsetting loyal customers. They are deterring new & potentially new cruisers from cruising Princess again, or at all. Some customers lost they won’t care. But right now, if you are looking at reviews, social media and very prominent bloggers/vloggers to see if Princess is right for you, you will be met with a whole load of discontent. Not just grumbles. It’s not encouraging. The scale of the upset now will only increase too. As unhappy cruisers who only just heard about these changes onboard go on to review the cruise.

 

So many passengers who have booked standard or old packages will step on board with no knowledge of changes until a letter is given to them as they begin their holiday. Spare a thought for the staff having to field these complaints too. And the atmosphere on board for cruisers & staff on the first voyages.

 

Because It’s not just the ££. It’s the poor implementation & communication and tbh right now it feels like they are treating passengers like numpties.
 

They are telling us that charging for things we thought we’d paid for already months ago is giving me & others in a similar boat (so to speak) more value for this cruise. 🤔 I don’t believe this is all to reduce food waste either 🙄

 

I hope time shows that these extra costs can improve offerings. Quality of food, speed of service etc. so with that said, OP I hope you get the better experience you hope you will get, & I hope you enjoy your cruise.

 

I’m sure I’ll enjoy mine too. I’ll make sure of it whatever happens 😊 

I think with any change there are growing pains. Cruisers with attitudes (open minds and positive people that seek value) like yours are the real customers they are after. Building a retaining a loyal customer base is only valuable if that base brings profits. The changes from Princess are a signal that things need to be different to be profitable and successful. If that means some customers (new or historical) are turned away or abandon the brand, then you find the new ones and the old ones that identify profitable value. If you look at all of the other cruise lines (which @drwbrt and I have just done), Princess is a category leader in value and budget. Premier is expensive but the inclusions outpace the large ships. Carnival is very compelling price point too, with great food inclusions for standard fare cruisers, but budget and value have a hard time keeping pace with all of the inclusions offered by Princess with Plus and Premier. 
 

TLDR; even with the changes, there is a pocketbook win and a packed in value beyond what most lines are currently offering. 

[drwbrt]

1 minute ago, rosevew said:

My bigest gripe has to be the 2 meal options on plus as we have a 24 night cruise coming up, rather unfair. Just like the 2 x speciality dining on premium.

The $/day vs benefit/day does seem to wane significantly beyond the 7-10 day mark. You get into some heavy sea-day itineraries and it does start to lose in value.  I agree with that.  That said, I haven't compared sailings of that length very much.

[Roberto256]

3 hours ago, Mike45LC said:

Maybe Princess needs to start charging for shows and for trivia, karaoke,  etc.  That will cut down on the crowding at those events.

From your lips to john padgett's ears.   Or, maybe hopefully not.

[drwbrt]

3 minutes ago, villauk said:

I don’t think there is any need to be derogatory. As I have previously stated, all I want is what I am entitled to having paid my fare in full 3 months ago. Princess told me what the price was for a particular vacation and what it included. I agreed and paid my money in good faith, now to be told with less than 3 weeks to go that in fact they have changed their mind and they want more money from me. You may be okay with that, but I find it very dishonest to accept someone’s money and then tell them, at very short notice, it’s actually not what they are getting. Not only that, but they haven’t had the decency to notify or even inform me that I will be receiving a different experience to the one I paid for! Again, that may be perfectly acceptable to some pax, but common courtesy doesn’t cost anything.

This is frustrating, but it's part of the Terms and Conditions.  There is no built-in hiatus when changes can be implemented.  I absolutely do feel like better communication is always in order.  This seems to be a plague within the industry.  Perhaps this is something that you could address with guest services onboard?  If put in their position, I would want to delight a current passenger with a specialty dining credit or similar for this transition period. @New2cruise2022 and I were surprised by some Free-At-Sea and gratuity changes for our NCL cruise after final payment.  It's not fun, but it's a risk we accepted at time of booking.

[New2cruise2022]

5 minutes ago, rosevew said:

My bigest gripe has to be the 2 meal options on plus as we have a 24 night cruise coming up, rather unfair. Just like the 2 x speciality dining on premium.

Packages help with forecasting and allocation of resources. Especially on long cruises, cruise ships have to put the right resources in right places — food, drink, staffing. If no one is buying the premium package, reallocate provisions and staffing to MDR and buffet. If everyone is buying Premium, divert some MDR and buffet food and resources to specialty and casual dining. 
 

Fairness has to go both ways. These packages are an invitation for passengers to demonstrate what kind of passenger they are and the resources they will require. 

[New2cruise2022]

1 minute ago, drwbrt said:

This is frustrating, but it's part of the Terms and Conditions.  There is no built-in hiatus when changes can be implemented.  I absolutely do feel like better communication is always in order.  This seems to be a plague within the industry.  Perhaps this is something that you could address with guest services onboard?  If put in their position, I would want to delight a current passenger with a specialty dining credit or similar for this transition period. @New2cruise2022 and I were surprised by some Free-At-Sea and gratuity changes for our NCL cruise after final payment.  It's not fun, but it's a risk we accepted at time of booking.

It is a risk. The risk can be mitigated by choosing a cruise line that has a track record for never changing. (Not saying if that is good or bad.) The risk can be mitigated by waiting until the last minute to book your cruise. Or the risk can be mitigated by accepting the T&C and managing your own expectations. Ports get canceled last minute. Tenders are slow and port days are shortened by hours. Hurricanes happen and entire itineraries change. Supply chains get interrupted and there isn’t lettuce at the salad bar for three days. (Yes, this happened to us). 
 

Disappointment is never fun. Communication is a companies best tool to ameliorate the discomfort that comes with change. 

[kywildcatfanone]

2 hours ago, PrincessLuver said:

I agree.  They are throwing in a couple free pizzas, two workout classes, and some DQ deserts and people are just going gaga.

Cruise lines have learned that people will empty their pockets for anything perceived as "added value", without realizing some of those things were previously free that they now are paying a higher fee to enjoy.  It's marketing.

[drwbrt]

3 minutes ago, kywildcatfanone said:

Cruise lines have learned that people will empty their pockets for anything perceived as "added value", without realizing some of those things were previously free that they now are paying a higher fee to enjoy.  It's marketing.

Coke used to be $0.05. Those guys are so good at marketing. 

[kywildcatfanone]

I will add that my hope is people will buy up all the packages they can.  If they see the value in it, I'm all for it.  I do hope also that because of that, the base cruise fares will remain relatively affordable.  That would be a win/win to me.

 

[kywildcatfanone]

24 minutes ago, villauk said:

all I want is what I am entitled to having paid my fare in full 3 months ago. Princess told me what the price was for a particular vacation and what it included. I agreed and paid my money in good faith, now to be told with less than 3 weeks to go that in fact they have changed their mind and they want more money from me. You may be okay with that, but I find it very dishonest to accept someone’s money and then tell them, at very short notice, it’s actually not what they are getting. Not only that, but they haven’t had the decency to notify or even inform me that I will be receiving a different experience to the one I paid for! Again, that may be perfectly acceptable to some pax, but common courtesy doesn’t cost anything.

I agree with you 100%.  This should have had a start date, and everyone who bought packages prior to the announcement are grandfathered into the new benefits.  None of these new things cost them that much money to provide good customer service to paid in full customers.

[New2cruise2022]

1 minute ago, kywildcatfanone said:

I will add that my hope is people will buy up all the packages they can.  If they see the value in it, I'm all for it.  I do hope also that because of that, the base cruise fares will remain relatively affordable.  That would be a win/win to me.

 

I think this very well may be the case. 

[kywildcatfanone]

31 minutes ago, New2cruise2022 said:

Building a retaining a loyal customer base is only valuable if that base brings profits. The changes from Princess are a signal that things need to be different to be profitable and successful. If that means some customers (new or historical) are turned away or abandon the brand, then you find the new ones and the old ones that identify profitable value.

I agree with this as one of those they would like to get rid of.  We take 2 cruises a year, but rarely spend more than $2500-3000 in total for both.  We book inside cabins most of the time, do not buy packages, or go to speciality dining anymore, and bring our own soft drinks and water on the ship at embarkation and ports.  And we usually have enough OBC to cover tips and wifi. 

They would love to give my black medallion up for a blue one of someone who is on a first cruise, and is paying for the convenience of everything they offer.  They would virtually double their money. 

 

They are certainly trying to push me out, and I do have one foot out the door, but I'm not gone yet.  

[Abercrombie2019]

We ate lunch at Gigi's every day on the Discovery last October.  Gigi's was always crowded and the food was amazing. 

We were on the Regal in July and only ate at Alfredo's a few times.  We noticed that the pepperoni had been switched out for something that looked like (and tasted like) bologna.  We didn't notice many crowds at Alfredo's on the Regal.

If I had to pay extra for the food that we had at Alfredo's on this last cruise, I would have been very disappointed.  

Maybe (hopefully) they will switch back to the better pepperoni now that this is a revenue generating restaurant otherwise it won't matter to me if I can eat there twice each cruise as part of a package.

Edited August 3, 2023 by Abercrombie2019
added to response

[Cruise Craig]

4 hours ago, drwbrt said:

We are booked on our first Princess cruise on Discovery early next year (traveling with my brother: @New2cruise2022).  We were originally booked on a Plus fare.  We couldn't see the value in photos, prizes, specialty dining and the small upgrade in inclusive drink costs to upgrade from Plus to Premier.  The changes at casual dining, made the switch to Premier much more compelling.  I know, it's weird to be excited to spend more money, but for us it is about value.

 

While we were still Plus we weren't over the moon about Gigi's because we think Slice will deliver good pizza without the wait.  We had little interest in paying the cover for the Salty Dog Gastropub or for paying for Ocean Terrace.  We felt like we could rely on the buffet and the pool-side offerings for anything outside MDR.  We got Plus for the drinks, WiFi, and gratuity.  Once the changes were announced for casual dining, moving to Premier was a no-brainer for us.

 

We anticipate a MUCH LESS CROWDED Gigi's.  We can enjoy Ocean Terrace and the Salty Dog without any concerns about it not being worth the cover charge.  We are crossing our fingers that OceanNow will provide included access to Ocean Terrace and Salty Dog menus.

 

Overall, we feel that upgrading to Premier will provide two things: 1) more dining options to avoid waits, crowds, and improve quality of service; and 2) an true shot at an all-inclusive feeling.  This is where we see the value.

 

We know this isn't for everyone.  A reminder/tip to others though: Premier is perhaps THE WAY to travel with teens.  The parents, passengers 1 and 2 are premier, providing WiFi options for the rest of their traveling party.  This only requires a cheaper soda package and gratuities to put a minor at the "Plus" level.  They can eat at the buffet while you get away for casual dining elsewhere.

 

I 100% agreed I also upgraded to the premier with the recent changes. I am very excited about having the Salty Dog and Ocean Terrace included. I am looking forward to Gigi's being less crowded experience will lead to better service and food.

 

I'm also hoping oceans now delivery times are improved.

 

I am not blessed enough to live close to a port and have to fly in. If I'm lucky I get to cruise once every couple of years. Ship time is precious and I have no issue paying extra for the best experience possible.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Steelers36]

4 hours ago, New2cruise2022 said:

If they aren’t getting enough revenue from loyal members, loyal members become anchors to a business that needs to move forward and it’s time to find new customers. 

A thriving business always wants to find new customers, regardless of what the legacy ones are doing.  If they are jumping ship, then there is a problem somewhere because it indicates the new ones may not stick around long.  Just a general comment and not aimed at any particular business.

[Steelers36]

2 hours ago, rosevew said:

Only the ships have those options and not all do. We are on a 24 night on Sky which only has Alfredo's and a Sushi place

Salty Dog there too.  And looks like Crab Shack, Planks, Steamers are ramping up.  I'd hold off on final judgment.

Edited August 3, 2023 by Steelers36

[Steelers36]

55 minutes ago, Abercrombie2019 said:

We ate lunch at Gigi's every day on the Discovery last October.  Gigi's was always crowded and the food was amazing. 

We were on the Regal in July and only ate at Alfredo's a few times.  We noticed that the pepperoni had been switched out for something that looked like (and tasted like) bologna.  We didn't notice many crowds at Alfredo's on the Regal.

If I had to pay extra for the food that we had at Alfredo's on this last cruise, I would have been very disappointed.  

Maybe (hopefully) they will switch back to the better pepperoni now that this is a revenue generating restaurant otherwise it won't matter to me if I can eat there twice each cruise as part of a package.

I believe that the food quality was somewhat lacking on Regal in Europe last summer/fall and hope that it is better now.  There was a noticeable difference when we switched ships to Island on Oct 31.

[memoak]

2 hours ago, rosevew said:

Not much good on the ships that have none of those options though!

Then you haven’t lost anything 

[memoak]

2 hours ago, rosevew said:

I've seldom seen a queue at Alfredo's on Sky.

On the Discovery in June there was a 1 hour wait on sea days