Princess Plus worth the money?

[Mike07]

4 minutes ago, Lady Arwen said:

Both Viking and Oceania are much more expensive than Princess, even with a package.  Much more.  Viking requires payment in full at time of booking, even if it’s more than one year away.

 

 

I haven't figured that part out, because I thought it was like 90 to 120 days like every other cruise. But, then the invoice comes and says it's due in like 3 days, so I just ACH over the money and forget about it. Money is the bank is effectively worthless for an investment standpoint, but that's about as political as I'll go on that one.

[roadster08]

[nursemom23]

Thank you all for taking the time to respond to my question! You’ve all been most helpful.  You’ve given me lots of good info and things to think about as I  make my decision!

[Steelers36]

3 hours ago, memoak said:

So you don’t drink wine on restaurants ?  Value is different at home and in a food venue

I will BYOB at restaurants at home.  Thing is there are very few doing it around here for a reasonable price.  So, we order by the glass or bottle.

[Steelers36]

3 hours ago, Lady Arwen said:

Viking requires payment in full at time of booking, even if it’s more than one year away.

I have seen this mentioned more than once.  I also seem to recall Viking telling me this the one time I phoned them about a cruise in China (not interested in going to China these days).  My question is, do they have a cancellation policy where you can get all or most funds back by some date prior to sail date.  (I know I could look this up and am a proponent of people self-helping, but thinking you may know it off the top of your head - thanks).

[Steelers36]

IDK why the 15 drink with alcohol limit keeps coming up in the context of value.  It seems like some folks believe you need to consume that many to get value from the package.

[Potstech]

In order to get full value for the money advertised I would think some would want the number of drinks per day they paid for. Advertised up to 15 drinks per day for $60.00 per day.  Go for it.

[Steelers36]

1 minute ago, Potstech said:

In order to get full value for the money advertised I would think some would want the number of drinks per day they paid for. Advertised up to 15 drinks per day for $60.00 per day.  Go for it.

Oh I have zero doubt about that.

[Thrak]

1 hour ago, Potstech said:

In order to get full value for the money advertised I would think some would want the number of drinks per day they paid for. Advertised up to 15 drinks per day for $60.00 per day.  Go for it.

 

Bleh. My wife tends to average between 4 and 6 per day. She does like a beer or two while lounging at the aft pool and, of course, a glass of wine before dinner and maybe one with dinner. I average far more than her but have no need to try for 15 per day. (If I did she would likely "accidentally" push me overboard.)

[CruizinSusan70]

On 8/15/2023 at 8:12 PM, nursemom23 said:

First time cruiser on Princess. Would love to hear your thoughts on whether or not Princess Plus is worth purchasing? Thanks!

Best value purchase at sea.  We personally don't care about wifi, so if you factor out the 16 per day in gratuities, it's 44 per day for the drinks package, including drinks gratuities.  Far and away the cheapest at sea.  The 60 for the package would cost 103 on Carnival.

[BlerkOne]

1 hour ago, Potstech said:

In order to get full value for the money advertised I would think some would want the number of drinks per day they paid for. Advertised up to 15 drinks per day for $60.00 per day.  Go for it.

That's Carnival material.

[MissP22]

10 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

IDK why the 15 drink with alcohol limit keeps coming up in the context of value.  It seems like some folks believe you need to consume that many to get value from the package.

Simply because it's one of the major cost items in the package.

Especially if a person doesn't utilize the Wi-Fi, exercise classes or crazy desserts.  

[SleeStack1]

14 hours ago, Mike07 said:

 

 

I haven't figured that part out, because I thought it was like 90 to 120 days like every other cruise. But, then the invoice comes and says it's due in like 3 days, so I just ACH over the money and forget about it. Money is the bank is effectively worthless for an investment standpoint, but that's about as political as I'll go on that one.

Online Savings accounts start at 4% and go up over 5% right now. Check them out.  My personal one gives me 4.94%.  Its not life changing, but that's $500 in your pocket on $10k over a year rather than the cruise line's.  That's a real cost Viking is sneaking in.

 

[roxievegas]

On 8/15/2023 at 5:53 PM, drwbrt said:

This is how we looked at it. If you plan to use WiFi it is worth it.  It includes your daily gratuities and WiFi.  That is worth $31 per day.  Let's just pause there.  That means you need $29 of value per day to break even.  That's two coffees, two sodas, and a mocktail a day (or two coffees and six waters).  You don't even have to drink alcohol to get your monies worth.  If you do drink alcohol, it's three drinks/day to break even. 

 

In addition to the above, you will also get your Medallion shipped to you for free (otherwise $10), this lets you board smoother.  Plus also allows you to use OceanNow (now this costs $14.99 per cruise).  You will be able to visit the casual dining two times (valued at $14.99 per visit).  You also get desserts (2/day), the juice bar (unlimited), and fitness classes (2/cruise), but these didn't rank as high for us. 

wifi for one device is $7.50 - don't need four devices, no soda, water delivered to room $.60 each bottle before the cruise, no mocktails, no juice bar, no desserts, no fitness classes, Oceannow, delivery of room service, no medallion delivered, no casual dining.   I don't get any of this at home, don't need to blow my budget getting it on the ship - especially when it is overpriced and unwanted.

[Oxo]

8 minutes ago, roxievegas said:

wifi for one device is $7.50 - don't need four devices, no soda, water delivered to room $.60 each bottle before the cruise, no mocktails, no juice bar, no desserts, no fitness classes, Oceannow, delivery of room service, no medallion delivered, no casual dining.   I don't get any of this at home, don't need to blow my budget getting it on the ship - especially when it is overpriced and unwanted.

Like many have said and agree with you.

It is your money and your choice. You opinion counts.

Happy Cruising! 

[PMGS247]

9 minutes ago, roxievegas said:

wifi for one device is $7.50 - don't need four devices, no soda, water delivered to room $.60 each bottle before the cruise, no mocktails, no juice bar, no desserts, no fitness classes, Oceannow, delivery of room service, no medallion delivered, no casual dining.   I don't get any of this at home, don't need to blow my budget getting it on the ship - especially when it is overpriced and unwanted.

Perfect example of how someone's individual assessment looks when the result is the package isn't worth it for them. 

 

This is someone who is platinum or elite, browses their phone, prefers the blue lane, drinks little more than the bottled water from their room that they pre-ordered, doesn't use any of the delivery services, and eats entirely from buffet/MDR/Lido.  Very meat & potatoes.  It's fine, but it's a very specific situation that is not all that common.  Fair to say most indulge a little more on at least some of the offerings.

 

Note: Wifi is $7.50 for Platinum and Elite.  While I feel like the discussion left the OP's specific situation behind a while ago, it is notable that people like OP being new to Princess would be facing the $15/day Wi-Fi cost. 

 

It's. Different. For. Everyone. 

[Oxo]

The Sanctuary cost seems reasonable to many people.

However, the new Princess Plus or Premium which gives you much more is gouging.

Example  $60 per day for the added perks compare to $40 per day for the use of an adult space on a ship.

What am I missing? 

[Steelers36]

6 minutes ago, Oxo said:

The Sanctuary cost seems reasonable to many people.

However, the new Princess Plus or Premium which gives you much more is gouging.

Example  $60 per day for the added perks compare to $40 per day for the use of an adult space on a ship.

What am I missing? 

Nothing at all.  It all goes back to what folks deem as value to them.

[Oxo]

5 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

Nothing at all.  It all goes back to what folks deem as value to them.

Totally agree with you! 

[voljeep]

15 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

Yes, I can drink 15 drinks in one day but it's not my "goal" and doing it even two days in a row is a big, "Nope. Not gonna happen." It's nice to have a Tonic & Lime in the mix from time to time and I don't really need to have a drink in my hand at all times. Since I often drink straight whiskey, double, straight up one needs to be cognizant of the amount of liquor being consumed. A double whisky isn't really all that much liquid and needs to be sipped gently. Tonic and Lime or San Pellegrino make for nice "filler drinks" and help to keep one hydrated rather than blotto. (I'm also fairly "calorie conscious" these days as I recently lost 35 lbs. and alcohol is definitely in the "empty calorie" category - and lots of empty calories to boot.)

I believe you posted that you booked a 30 day cruise without PLUS instead of a flight. If you want to answer, fine, if not, fine, but ... a few Pelligrino's, a Jameson shot in the coffee, and a couple of double Scotch neat ... that's the package when including grats ...

 

I know you'll get a mini bar setup, or so, and that can take care of the Pelligrino / beers and maybe OBC for the other?

[doghog]

On 8/15/2023 at 6:12 PM, nursemom23 said:

First time cruiser on Princess. Would love to hear your thoughts on whether or not Princess Plus is worth purchasing? Thanks!

Only can speak for myself, yes. The BP and gratuities, yes. The Wi-Fi, no. Stay disconnected the entire cruise.  

[CruizinSusan70]

8 hours ago, roxievegas said:

wifi for one device is $7.50 - don't need four devices, no soda, water delivered to room $.60 each bottle before the cruise, no mocktails, no juice bar, no desserts, no fitness classes, Oceannow, delivery of room service, no medallion delivered, no casual dining.   I don't get any of this at home, don't need to blow my budget getting it on the ship - especially when it is overpriced and unwanted.

What's overpriced to me is you paying $0.60 per bottle of water.  I'll pay 100 times as much for the Plus package and get more than 100 times the value.

[TheMichael]

Not sure what I can add here, but I'm a light alcohol drinker (a couple of drinks/day, maybe 3/4 a time or two) and a heavy espresso drinker (I find the least busy espresso spot and visit 3/4 times per day, usually with a double shot), and love a nice gelato.

 

Those three things, plus gratuities, basically pay for the package. (I use WiFi but could suffer without it.)

 

But the other bonus is not having to worry about any of that stuff. Even the much-discussed 15-drink limit, IMO, is intended as a "relax, don't worry about counting" thing (unfortunately, there are competitive alcoholics out there who take it as a challenge - not my liver, mate). 

 

The issue with Plus as I see it is that you get 2 "casual dining" credits, whether you're on the boat for a week or a month. It just seems like they're being cheap with that. (Same with only 2 specialty dining credits with Premier.)

[JGmf]

11 hours ago, TheMichael said:

The issue with Plus as I see it is that you get 2 "casual dining" credits, whether you're on the boat for a week or a month. It just seems like they're being cheap with that. (Same with only 2 specialty dining credits with Premier.)

 

This.  It's patently illogical and supremely unfair to limit casual dining to 2 meals as the Plus package is a per diem fee. 

 

If it were a one-time cost, regardless of cruise duration, then OK, but it's not.

 

When developing these revised packages, I'm sure the decision makers at Princess argued both sides of this 2 dining credit limit, but outside of not being fair on its face, I don't think the math works.  If the intent is to drive people to the Premier package just for casual dining, then it's better to just pay a la carte for those one-off instances you really want to eat at those locations.

[HMSDingy]

On 8/16/2023 at 4:14 PM, Steelers36 said:

And if do not BYOW on the cruise.

I re-calculated and Plus might just work for us. As I've stated before, we always have a bottle of wine at dinner and pre-dinner cocktails along with a drink or two in the evenings. If I'm allowed to pick up wine at all of the ports, then all I would have to pay is the corkage fee. But even at that, I'll probably pass the $2400 we would pay for a 20 day cruise. Correct me if I'm wrong, and my new calculations don't even include wi-fi and the extras, but my calculations would be:

 

CA = 32/day x 20 = $640

corkage on 20 bottles of wine = 20 x $20 = $400

drinks = ~6/day @$15 = $90 x 20 = $1800

 

Total = $2840

 

I also may not always pick up bottles ashore and that would raise the amount close to $3000.