Princess Plus/Premier Experiences

[memoak]

14 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

To us the difference is basically $20 per person per day.  😉

 

We book Plus and it's all we want or need. We don't use the fitness classes. We don't eat the fatness desserts. We don't need the better wines (although they would be nice to have!) nor do we need the liquor that is more than $15. (The $15 liquor limit includes the liquor I drink and my wife only drinks a few types of mixed drinks so we are fine with that limit.) We don't really book the Specialty Dining venues such as Crown Grill and Sabatini's, etc. as they serve waaaaaaaay more food than we can eat. (Unlike many others, we are fans of smaller portions in the main dining room.)

And if we want a glass of wine over the $15 once in awhile we can pay a couple of extra dollars no big deal. At $40 per couple more per day I cannot see it paying off especially on the 14-20 day cruises we generally take

[jagoffee]

8 hours ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

The entire change from $50 to $60 per day was just a money grab... add inclusions that 90% of cruisers don't want (exercise classes and "premium" desserts) and start charging for things that used to be free (Alfredo's/Gigi's, OceanNow, room service delivery, and medallion shipping) to increase overall demand for packages and try to justify the $10 price increase.

The change was certainly directed towards increased cash flow and profits.  As you know the cruise industry did not receive any bail out funds and are carrying a lot of debt. I do not think that describing the increase as a “money grab” is a fair characterization. 
 

I have seen massive price increases in most if not all of the items that I purchase.  Even Mc Donald’s. 

 

Compared to their competitors, $60 a day is still very competitive.  The prize money at $10 a day gives everyone an opportunity to get some of the money back.  As you say several of the items do not add much value for many of us, but it is still good that the items are available.

 

 Competitors have added room service charges which seem fair to me.  

 

 

[rowingmachine]

Our first Princess coming up too.  Promotion gave us Premier for the same price as Plus. I just can't figure out why you wouldn't opt for the more expensive fare - £47.50 x 14 comes to £1330 for the both of us and includes lots of non drinks related value and includes inescapable costs.  My problem on a cruise is that so much of the day is taken up with drinks related activities.  The obvious one is meals, but many of the places to sit are bars or places where waiters hover.  I feel uncomfortable without a drink.  My problem.  I go to a pub and have a drink, that's what happens if I'm not driving.  The Princess offering appears to kick the opposition from our experience into touch - Costa, NCL, Celebrity, MSC.  I hope I'm not disappointed.

[memoak]

5 minutes ago, rowingmachine said:

Our first Princess coming up too.  Promotion gave us Premier for the same price as Plus. I just can't figure out why you wouldn't opt for the more expensive fare - £47.50 x 14 comes to £1330 for the both of us and includes lots of non drinks related value and includes inescapable costs.  My problem on a cruise is that so much of the day is taken up with drinks related activities.  The obvious one is meals, but many of the places to sit are bars or places where waiters hover.  I feel uncomfortable without a drink.  My problem.  I go to a pub and have a drink, that's what happens if I'm not driving.  The Princess offering appears to kick the opposition from our experience into touch - Costa, NCL, Celebrity, MSC.  I hope I'm not disappointed.

The Premier package for the plus price is a good deal but it is not offered very often. We have 7 cruises booked through 2025 and that promotion was not available. The plus package gives me 98% of what I want for a lot less then the premier package 

[rideev]

On 2/29/2024 at 7:53 AM, 20165 said:

On 2/28/2024 at 4:57 PM, Thrak said:

 

Its not a matter of coming out ahead for us but rather not having to stand in the guest services line every days to get charges corrected

Not saying you didn't have to on MSC, but I have never had to get a charge corrected on any of my cruises.  And I feel I have been on enough different lines and ships to have a decent grasp.

[20165]

50 minutes ago, rideev said:

Not saying you didn't have to on MSC, but I have never had to get a charge corrected on any of my cruises.  And I feel I have been on enough different lines and ships to have a decent grasp.

They dropped about $3k in charges because they couldnt provide any documentation on what they were for.  I thought it was odd i didnt get  final bill at the end of the cruise, and then say 20+ different charges on my AMEX for misc amounts.  It was stressful dealing with that, but in the end, turned out to be a very inexpensive for me...

If you would like to read the full review here it is.

 

[MacMadame]

12 hours ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

The entire change from $50 to $60 per day was just a money grab... add inclusions that 90% of cruisers don't want (exercise classes and "premium" desserts) and start charging for things that used to be free (Alfredo's/Gigi's, OceanNow, room service delivery, and medallion shipping) to increase overall demand for packages and try to justify the $10 price increase.

I don't think your timeline is accurate. It doesn't match the image above or my experience.

 

We booked in Feb '23 and Plus was $60 pp a day. It did include 2 premium desserts a day and 2 fitness classes. Then very soon after, Princess rolled out the new casual dining and put 2 of them into Plus along with OceanNow and free room service. It made Plus a better deal for us but it didn't change how much we paid for it.