Newbie To Princess……Questions

[martyap]

Not new to cruising but we have sailed extensively on RCCL, a few Celebrity. Looking at some Europe itineraries for 2025. How does Princess compare to RCCL? Am I correct that the deposits are refundable until final payment is made? Are the Plus or Premium Packages offered over Standard booking of any value? What is “crew appreciation” listed in those packages? 
 

Any other tips, comparisons would be appreciated. Happy Holidays. Thanks

[SKCruiser007]

To me, the biggest difference between Princess, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity is the vibe onboard. I call Princess "sophisticated casual." RCCL and Celebrity are edgier, which suits a lot of people fine. 

 

You can almost always book with a refundable deposit, but it will cost more. Since it has often happened that a better offer will come along, I like using the refundable fare.

 

I always get the Plus or Premium Package. With the Plus Package, if you have two or three alcoholic drinks a day you'll break even, and it IS convenient to order drinks through the package and not worry about paying $11 for a glass of wine during dinner. For short cruises (7 days,) I like the Premier Package. You get two specialty dinners, extra devices on WiFi, and you can order the premium wines without an up-charge.

 

Crew appreciation is another name for crew gratuities for your room steward, wait staff, and other non-bar staff.

 

Hoping you enjoy your Princess cruise!

[SargassoPirate]

We are D+ on Royal Caribbean and Elite on Princess.  Given a choice of similar itineraries, Princess wins over RCI with us.  As SKcruiser007 said, Princess is more "sophisticated". 

 

A big plus for Princess for us on longer cruises is the guest laundromats.

[SargassoPirate]

We've also noticed fewer "porch pirates" on Princess - those who steal SWMBO's door decorations. She gave up trying to decorate the cabin door on RCI years ago.

[JF - retired RRT]

4 hours ago, martyap said:

Not new to cruising but we have sailed extensively on RCCL, a few Celebrity. Looking at some Europe itineraries for 2025. How does Princess compare to RCCL? Am I correct that the deposits are refundable until final payment is made? Sort of. There is a cut-off date. Easy to find the info on Google.

Are the Plus or Premium Packages offered over Standard booking of any value? If you drink 3-5 alcoholic drinks a day...maybe. No benefit for us. We don't drink and are Elite (1/2 price for internet).

What is “crew appreciation” listed in those packages? Used to be called tips or gratuities.

See above.

Tips: laundry rooms on almost every deck. Minimal cost (& sometime free). Bring your own soap & fab. soft. to save $$.

If anyone is a vet, retired or active military, apply for the benefit (details easy to find online).

It's also a great time to buy Carnival stock.

Both of the above $50 to $250 OBC depending on length of cruise.

If you enjoy your time on Princess, buy Future Cruise Deposits BEFORE you get off the ship. $100 each/pp. Totally refundable, expire in 2 years and will be your entire deposit (for most cruises) and will get $25 to $150 OBC depending on cabin and length of cruise.

[KKB]

I find Princess to be very much like Celebrity (older ships, not Eclass so much).

We rank Celebrity our fav (tho they are beginning to price us out), followed closely by Princess.

RCCL, NCL & Carnival close behind. (in no particular order)

All that being said, we find all mainstream lines more alike than different.

We have sailed Princess more than any other line.

 

Princess Plus is a tremendous value even if you drink little--best value at sea, imo.

$60: $16 for daily gratuities, $15 for internet...will you drink $30 a day?

Nice coffee, soda, bottled water, wine at dinner--$30 adds up quickly!

 

For me Premier isn't worth it, but it could be for you.

For $20pp/day more you also get unlimited fitness classes, up to 4 internet devices (tho u can switch between devices with the regular plan), unlimited spcialty casual dining (value varies greatly depending on ship--best value on newer ships, basically worthless on Island), 2 specialty dinners, unlimited digital photos + 3 prints, Princess Prizes game.

 

Probably the one area Princess is a bit weak is production shows...with RCCL, NCL & Celebrity Eclass shows out there, Princess, Carnival (have only sailed Miracle) & Celebrity older ships can't compete.

 

We just did N. Europe on the Island Princess in October for 12 days & are doing 28 days TA/British Isles on the Regal in April.

Europe is a port intensive cruise, but Princess still has plenty of activities when you are on the ship.

 

Edited December 25, 2023 by KKB

[wallyj]

@JF - retired RRT, did you not get the memo, Future Cruise Deposits are only good for 1 year now as of Early April 2023. If you purchased FCD before April 2023, you still have 2 yrs. You are still able to extend, if you contact Princess before expiration date.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

3 hours ago, KKB said:

Probably the one area Princess is a bit weak is production shows...

actually, Princess introduced a whole bunch of new production shows in the last couple of years, and they are excellent and quite contemporary. We are under 50 and were so tired of the old Princess shows. We were more than pleasantly surprised by the new shows on Enchanted last fall.

[KKB]

10 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

actually, Princess introduced a whole bunch of new production shows in the last couple of years, and they are excellent and quite contemporary. We are under 50 and were so tired of the old Princess shows. We were more than pleasantly surprised by the new shows on Enchanted last fall.

Didn't get those on the Island...

Hopefully Regal will have those!

[SargassoPirate]

14 hours ago, KKB said:

Didn't get those on the Island...

Hopefully Regal will have those!

On the Regal this past fall.  Production shows were well choreographed as far as the dancers and the stagecraft was good, but they were like somebody punched a bunch of random number in a jukebox.  I couldn't discern a theme, and neither could SWMBO who loves musicals and Broadway shows.

 

One last thought, the production shows were all over-amplified to the point of sound distortion and the singers seemed to be screeching at times.  But for SWMBO being with me, I would've bailed early.  As it was, I used ear plugs.

[Sea Hag]

On 12/25/2023 at 2:19 AM, martyap said:

 Am I correct that the deposits are refundable until final payment is made?

This one is actually a yes and no. Entry level cabins in each category have a non-refundable deposit. For instance, I booked us an ocean view cabin on the Discovery for next September. A better option popped up for us, so I canceled that one. Talking directly to our wonderful CVP in doing that cancel, she told me that the deposit was non-refundable since it was an entry level cabin in that category. The other shoe hadn't dropped for me that this was the case, but when she told me that I could see that it was so since there's only one ocean view category on that ship. The deposit was only $100 each, so no big deal.

[Tonye60]

On 12/25/2023 at 2:06 PM, SargassoPirate said:

We've also noticed fewer "porch pirates" on Princess - those who steal SWMBO's door decorations. She gave up trying to decorate the cabin door on RCI years ago.

That's interesting, we just finished a cruise on the Emerald, and a neighboring cabin had all there magnets stolen. Terribly mean, I've never known it to happen before, but you say it's common on rccl

[SargassoPirate]

53 minutes ago, Tonye60 said:

That's interesting, we just finished a cruise on the Emerald, and a neighboring cabin had all there magnets stolen. Terribly mean, I've never known it to happen before, but you say it's common on rccl

Yep. Now SWMBO only "decorates" the door with something so innocuous that it's not worth stealing.  She uses the door decoration primarily to find our cabin. 

[latebuyer]

I am going to ask a question in this thread as new to princess too. In looking at booking, it looks like you are only penalized (other than deposit) about 2 months out when you pay 50% Is that correct?

[LeeW]

Refundable/Non-refundable only applies prior to the final payment date.  Once you have paid in full on that date you hit cancellation fees of 25%, 50%, 75% or 100% depending on how close to sailing you decide to cancel.  Insurance can reimburse you for that, if you bought it.

[latebuyer]

Thanks. It looks like on mine it doesn’t list 25%. Is that common?

[rbtan]

On 12/25/2023 at 9:06 AM, SargassoPirate said:

We've also noticed fewer "porch pirates" on Princess - those who steal SWMBO's door decorations. She gave up trying to decorate the cabin door on RCI years ago.

Wow! Never seen any one do that on any line. How cheesy can one get?

[EDVM96]

23 minutes ago, rbtan said:

 How cheesy can one get?

It was most likely be done by the crew - I wouldn't automatically blame fellow passengers.
Religious stuff, political incorrect stuff, etc. will be removed. And that is good.
Decoring your door from the inside is ok.

Edited December 28, 2023 by EDVM96

[packedandready]

We're D+ on RCI, and have some Celebrity and Carnival. The main thing I wish I had known was about Princess Balcony cabins (at least on the ships we've been on). The possible balcony categories are Balcony, Deluxe and Premium. Only the Premiums have any extra seating, a loveseat, the Regular balcony and Deluxe only have the hard desk chair. I had no idea that was a question I needed to ask. That might not be a big deal to some, but we need a place to sit.

[reedprincess]

3 minutes ago, packedandready said:

We're D+ on RCI, and have some Celebrity and Carnival. The main thing I wish I had known was about Princess Balcony cabins (at least on the ships we've been on). The possible balcony categories are Balcony, Deluxe and Premium. Only the Premiums have any extra seating, a loveseat, the Regular balcony and Deluxe only have the hard desk chair. I had no idea that was a question I needed to ask. That might not be a big deal to some, but we need a place to sit.

You're incorrect on your balcony cabin categories. 

 

Only Deluxe Balcony cabins have the sofa seating area, along with desk chair, coffee table.  And Deluxe Balcony cabins are only found on Royal class and newer ships (the as yet to sail Sphere class)

 

Premium Balcony cabins do not. Premium refers to location. Premium and non premium balcony cabins have no sofa or extra chairs beyond the desk chair.  

 

You can have balcony (B). Premium Balcony (still category B) - neither of which have a sofa, .or Deluxe Balcony (D), or Premier Deluxe Balcony (still D), both/either of which will have a sofa).

 

Edited December 29, 2023 by reedprincess

[packedandready]

4 minutes ago, reedprincess said:

You're incorrect on your balcony cabin categories. 

Only Deluxe Balcony cabins have the sofa seating area, along with desk chair, coffee table. 

Premium Balcony cabins do not. Premium refers to location. Premium and non premium balcony cabins have no sofa or extra chairs beyond the desk chair.  

 

You can have balcony (B). Premium Balcony (still category B)., Deluxe Balcony (D), or Premier Deluxe Balcony (still D).

 

opps, yes sorry, I switched them. I was mainly just trying to say that if seating was important, they better verify. 

[rbtan]

11 hours ago, EDVM96 said:

It was most likely be done by the crew - I wouldn't automatically blame fellow passengers.
Religious stuff, political incorrect stuff, etc. will be removed. And that is good.
Decoring your door from the inside is ok.

Never seen political or religious decor. Usually always a group or anniversary/Reunion etc.

[PATRLR]

I too am likely about to be new to Princess.  I have a lot of NCL/RCCL/CCL in my past (and others), most recently mostly NCL. We're now considering the Sky Princess for the July 13 2024 Norwegian Fjords cruise. This thread has been helpful.  

In the Princess Plus/Premier offers, can someone help me understand what the "Premium Deserts" typically are, what the "Casual Dining Meals" are and what the Ocean Now delivery is?  I assume the Specialty Dining Meals are similar to NCL and RCCL's specialty dining (better quality dining experiences).

Thanks in advance.

[skynight]

Premium Desserts. Probably something that you will not enjoy. But ask when on board. They do change.

Casual Dining. These are 3 course meals. There are a few locations on the Sky. Alfredo's will probably be the most popular. They serve individual pizzas and other menu items. Alfredo's should be open for lunch and dinner. Other casual dining locations may only be open for dinner.

Ocean Now. Order drinks and food on your smart device or on the cabin TV. It is delivered to wherever you are located. Waiters find you from the medallion location system.

Specialty dining are upcharge restaurants. The Sky has the Crown Grill, Sabatini's and Bistro Sur la Mer. 

[PATRLR]

@skynight thank you for your response.  

33 minutes ago, skynight said:

Casual Dining. These are 3 course meals. There are a few locations on the Sky. Alfredo's will probably be the most popular. They serve individual pizzas and other menu items. Alfredo's should be open for lunch and dinner. Other casual dining locations may only be open for dinner.

Sounds like there are a few venues that fall somewhere between free and Specialty Dining.  If I don't have Plus or Premier, I'd have to pay to eat there.  Right?

 

35 minutes ago, skynight said:

Premium Desserts. Probably something that you will not enjoy. But ask when on board. They do change.

Would these be something on menus in dining rooms, e.g. you can get the apple pie for free, but the super-duper hot fudge sundae is "premium" so need to pay?  Or are these in separate venues, sort of like Coco's on NCL which has milkshakes, sundaes and other premium treats for a charge?