A Different Way of Looking at Plus/Premier

[RNRcruisers]

Totally agree with OP. It is a fun splurge for me and worth it to have little to no balance due at the end of the cruise. Where I would probably not purchase the Plus, would be for a longer, port intensive cruise. For me, the object of the trip is different than a warm weather cruise and the "spoil myself" aspect wouldn't be the same.

[memoak]

2 hours ago, Esprit said:

I too share the OP's view.

I love the freedom the Plus package gives me for drinks, but I'm not a wine snob so the Premier package would be a waste. I'm not a foodie either, but I do like to go to Sabatini's once or twice. 

 

I will also happily pay the difference for French champagne as the "fizzy stuff" the cruise lines offer within the Plus package is pretty awful.

 

 

 

 

 

We just stick to Prosecco and it fits in the plus package rather than deal with Princess Champoo

[MissP22]

They've priced those packages to make it look appealing to most people. 

It may work out OK for you on a sea day but on port days it's almost  impossible to even break even, no matter what some say on this board.

Convenient yes, practical no way. 

[Lady Arwen]

Just now, memoak said:

Yep.  I have to make sure I have extra drinks on my 4 port days coming up. Just with pre dinner, dinner and casino drinks that will be a minimum of 8 plus a doubl Sambucca to take back to the cabin 

Don’t forget my two Manhattans you promised to have for me!  

[EclipseChaser9]

It is my first cruise, and I had read so many opinions pro and con that I was torn.

 

But I bought the Plus package and I’m very happy that I did.  I’m on vacation, and it is nice not to have to worry about how much I am charging up to pay at the end of the cruise.

 

And I can’t put a price on the convenience of having drinks and snacks delivered poolside, or while we are watching movies under the stars, or just relaxing in our room.

 

it will be interesting to compare with our two friends who are on the same cruise, and who we hang out with almost all day.  They opted NOT to do the Plus package, and the four of us are ordering nearly identical food, drinks, room service, pizzas, casual dining, etc.  

 

 

[memoak]

38 minutes ago, Lady Arwen said:

Don’t forget my two Manhattans you promised to have for me!  

That is every night not just port days. Sea days have to add a couple of morning drinks plus lunch and some afternoon wine at Vines. We are boarding the Ruby Sunday i

n Vancouver 

[Lady Arwen]

Hoping you and the Mrs. have a fabulous time cruising Hawaii!  Please report back when you get home.  Bon voyage, my friend!

[Lady Arwen]

42 minutes ago, EclipseChaser9 said:

It is my first cruise, and I had read so many opinions pro and con that I was torn.

 

But I bought the Plus package and I’m very happy that I did.  I’m on vacation, and it is nice not to have to worry about how much I am charging up to pay at the end of the cruise.

 

And I can’t put a price on the convenience of having drinks and snacks delivered poolside, or while we are watching movies under the stars, or just relaxing in our room.

 

it will be interesting to compare with our two friends who are on the same cruise, and who we hang out with almost all day.  They opted NOT to do the Plus package, and the four of us are ordering nearly identical food, drinks, room service, pizzas, casual dining, etc.  

 

 

I’m sure you’ll enjoy having the package.  Yes, it’s lovely to be free to order whatever and whenever you please.  We would be very interested hearing from you after your cruise with your opinion on how the packaged worked for you.

[memoak]

15 minutes ago, Lady Arwen said:

Hoping you and the Mrs. have a fabulous time cruising Hawaii!  Please report back when you get home.  Bon voyage, my friend!

I always keep up with the boards while on board and will you guys know if there are any unusual doings

[JimmyVWine]

On 4/11/2024 at 12:49 PM, Drew B 58 said:

When people are looking into getting the Plus or Premier package, the advice I invariably hear is to “do the math”.  If what you would otherwise spend on what is covered by the package comes out to more than $60 per day, then they say Plus is worth it.  If it comes out to more than $80 per day, then perhaps Premier would be worth it (although Plus may still be the better choice).  There is nothing wrong with this approach to the question, but I’d like to suggest another way to look at it:

 

if I were sailing on the Standard package, there is NO WAY I would spend more than $60/$80 on these things.

While you may think that you have suggested another way to look at it, in the end, you did the math.  Your entire analysis is based on what you would normally spend, what you would spend it on, all in comparison to the cost of the Packages.  

Edited April 12 by JimmyVWine

[disgirl]

I always look at the cost difference and subtract

Example  a 7 nt cruise I am looking at -  Standard vs Plus is apx $550 CAD difference

 

Gratuties are apx $180 CAD

WIFI is apx $150 CAD

Medallion deliver is apx $15 CAD

2 casual dining are apx $40 CAD

 

That leaves apx $165 /7 days = apx $23 a day for beverages.

I budget $25 for 2 (alcoholic) beverages a day.  Its a no brainer for me to get the Plus package and get more beverages, sparkling water, pop, bottled water, juice, etc.

 

 

 

[2MellowCruisers]

9 hours ago, p.pete said:

If they are fiscally conservative then it's a great idea if you can stretch to a package to be able to just switch that part of their brain off for a few days.  

I think doing the math is important but it's obscured by several big things for me:

• The prices they list are often nonsense ~$30 for a 30-minute exercise class?  some people won't ever go near them anyway - I would but - I probably wouldn't for $10, maybe for $5...  So when I look at plus with 2 free classes, yes I'll do them but what's that worth to me?  Definitely not $60!
• I like wine, and booze generally, but I don't spend that much on it.  I can buy bottles of wine that I'm perfectly happy with for < $10 for home - $25-30 if I'm out for a meal - so I'm not bothered about plus-wines having vague titles but I definitely wouldn't ordinarily indulge in many $15 glasses - they're worth half that price to me at best and I'd drink more only if I'm at home when it costs even less. 
• Casual and specialty dining have questionable value, on their own they seem 'reasonably' priced to me, but...  You can only eat so much in the day, time / money spent eating at Alfredos is food that you're not eating in the MDR, buffet or IC.  You can eat perfectly well elsewhere, so in addition to whatever charge there is for these venues you factor in that you already had that meal covered, what's the value (to you) of the meal your paying extra for as well as the meal that you're not having elsewhere?
• Duration of cruise - as often stated - will affect things for most people.  X number of drinks makes the package worth it for you, and you'll happily drink that much because you're on a cruise, but personally I might not want to keep drinking at that rate beyond a few days.  Similarly if you have lots of port days you're less likely to reach X.

 

These are factors that obscure 'the math', but it's still worth doing.

So, 8-day cruise coming up and I'll very happily get the plus package.  It's not too many days for us to fork out for (just!), I think the cost will balance just about, but I won't have to think about things which is worth a lot.  I'll try not to go with the mentality of needing to make sure that I consume enough - do things because I want to, have things because I want them, and not need to think too much about cost.

I agree with your statements.  My DH was a programmer and his mind always seems to be "on" and always analyzing things.  I really believe he wants to turn that part of the brain off for vacation! 

 

We look at all of the items you posted as well.  I call this the "fuzzy" part of the math.    We look at all the offerings and completely disregard what we will not use or have little interest in.  Then we factor based on sea/port days.  Then we add in some items we may want for that particular cruise.  My DH has found that he actually likes one of the specialty deserts so we add that in.  Just the total cost for a couple, not two per day. We generally have no use for internet but did miss an urgent text once on a trip so we add that in sometimes depending on the cruise.  It seems to vary cruise to cruise but we always seem to be right on the border, just up or down a little so the plus package usually is just a no-brainer for us. For us, the premier is a no.

 

That is what I love about the packages.  It gives everyone an option depending on how they cruise.  For some it will definitely not be worth it, for some, it is absolutely worth it and some, like us, fall in the middle.  We can all make our own choices.

 

 

[Lady Arwen]

7 minutes ago, 2MellowCruisers said:

I agree with your statements.  My DH was a programmer and his mind always seems to be "on" and always analyzing things.  I really believe he wants to turn that part of the brain off for vacation! 

 

We look at all of the items you posted as well.  I call this the "fuzzy" part of the math.    We look at all the offerings and completely disregard what we will not use or have little interest in.  Then we factor based on sea/port days.  Then we add in some items we may want for that particular cruise.  My DH has found that he actually likes one of the specialty deserts so we add that in.  Just the total cost for a couple, not two per day. We generally have no use for internet but did miss an urgent text once on a trip so we add that in sometimes depending on the cruise.  It seems to vary cruise to cruise but we always seem to be right on the border, just up or down a little so the plus package usually is just a no-brainer for us. For us, the premier is a no.

 

That is what I love about the packages.  It gives everyone an option depending on how they cruise.  For some it will definitely not be worth it, for some, it is absolutely worth it and some, like us, fall in the middle.  We can all make our own choices.

 

 

Your last sentence says it all.  Well done.

[Oscar13]

Our first Princess cruise we did without a package of any kind.  I created a spreadsheet of spending when we got home.  Doing the Math, looking at what we spent daily and what the Plus Package is, the Package wins.  We didn't drink a lot of alcoholic drinks every day but we did drink a number of Perrier and other cool drinks (Panama Canal cruise, so warm).  That added up over time.  Not sure if the Premium Package is worth it for us, maybe one day we will try it; not interested in the fitness classes or the specialty ice cream (we split one last cruise and it was still too much).  But for now we will sail with the Plus.

 

Happy cruising

karen and kevin

[EclipseChaser9]

 

27 minutes ago, disgirl said:

I always look at the cost difference and subtract

Example  a 7 nt cruise I am looking at -  Standard vs Plus is apx $550 CAD difference

 

Gratuties are apx $180 CAD

WIFI is apx $150 CAD

Medallion deliver is apx $15 CAD

2 casual dining are apx $40 CAD

 

That leaves apx $165 /7 days = apx $23 a day for beverages.

I budget $25 for 2 (alcoholic) beverages a day.  Its a no brainer for me to get the Plus package and get more beverages, sparkling water, pop, bottled water, juice, etc.

 

 

 

We visit the juice bar frequently, which I would skip if it wasn’t included in the Plus package. It’s very good, they use fresh fruit and make it in front of you.  But I wouldn’t pay $8 or $12 for fresh juice if it wasn’t included.

 

We also get bottled water and some canned sodas so we always have some available in our refrigerator. 

[Drew B 58]

2 hours ago, JimmyVWine said:

While you may think that you have suggested another way to look at it, in the end, you did the math.  Your entire analysis is based on what you would normally spend, what you would spend it on, all in comparison to the cost of the Packages.  

 

Yes, I did the math.  However, what the math tells me is that I will spend more on the package than I would have spent without it.  Conventional wisdom would then suggest that it would NOT be prudent for me to get a package.  My “new way” of looking at it is suggesting that despite the fact that I will spend more, I will [hopefully] have a better cruise as a result.

[FancyPants21]

4 hours ago, MissP22 said:

They've priced those packages to make it look appealing to most people. 

It may work out OK for you on a sea day but on port days it's almost  impossible to even break even, no matter what some say on this board.

Convenient yes, practical no way. 

That quite clearly just wrong because we don't go ashore much so for us having a near empty ship is perfect for us and we get great value from our package thank you very much.

 

Not everyone does it the way you do it 🙂 

[NavyVeteran]

2 hours ago, Drew B 58 said:

 

Yes, I did the math.  However, what the math tells me is that I will spend more on the package than I would have spent without it.  Conventional wisdom would then suggest that it would NOT be prudent for me to get a package.  My “new way” of looking at it is suggesting that despite the fact that I will spend more, I will [hopefully] have a better cruise as a result.

I agree with your approach. I think the following steps summarize the approach:

• A : How much would I spend without the Plus package?
• B : How much would I spend with the Plus package?
• C : What is the difference (B - A)?
• D : If C is negative, buy the package (no question). If C is positive, continue.
• E : What additional benefits would I have with the package (additional drinks, better drinks, etc.) that I would not have purchased without the package?
• F : Are these additional benefits (E) worth more to me than the additional cost (C)? If yes, buy the package.

 

Do the analysis for the Plus package first before considering the Premier package. If the analysis says buy the Plus package, then do a similar analysis for the difference between Plus and Premier. In my case, I would never save money with Premier over Plus - I would always spend more. But DW would drink a different cognac, I would drink a different single malt, and we would both drink different wines if we had Premier. So the question is whether or not these differences would be worth the additional cost to us.

 

Even though DW doesn't drink much, I've decided to always buy at least the Plus package. Sometimes I buy the Premier and sometimes not - it depends on the specific cruise. I'm more likely to buy Premier on a shorter cruise or one with more sea days.

 

 

Edited April 12 by NavyVeteran

[Dani24]

12 minutes ago, NavyVeteran said:

I agree with your approach. I think the following steps summarize the approach:

• A : How much would I spend without the Plus package?
• B : How much would I spend with the Plus package?
• C : What is the difference (B - A)?
• D : If C is negative, buy the package (no question). If C is positive, continue.
• E : What additional benefits would I have with the package (additional drinks, better drinks, etc.) that I would not have purchased without the package?
• F : Are these additional benefits (E) worth more to me than the additional cost (C)? If yes, buy the package.

 

Do the analysis for the Plus package first before considering the Premier package. If the analysis says buy the Plus package, then do a similar analysis for the difference between Plus and Premier. In my case, I would never save money with Premier over Plus - I would always spend more. But DW would drink a different cognac, I would drink a different single malt, and we would both drink different wines if we had Premier. So the question is whether or not these differences would be worth the additional cost to us.

 

Even though DW doesn't drink much, I've decided to always buy at least the Plus package. Sometimes I buy the Premier and sometimes not - it depends on the specific cruise. I'm more likely to buy Premier on a shorter cruise or one with more sea days.

 

 

I've been playing with a similar analysis the last couple of days, and think I've talked myself into Premier. We currently have Plus.

 

We're staying in a Suite, with our daughter as a third pasenger. She's too young for the package, but even just for the two of us it works out accordingly:

• $60/$80 x2 for 8 days = $960/$1,280
• Tips at $18/day = $288 (this, of course, doesn't include another $144 for our daughter's gratuities)
• Wifi at $45 per day (multi-device), with 50% off for being platinum = $180 (although, someone correct me if the discount doesn't apply to multi-device packages, in which case we're looking at a $200 charge instead for two single devices, plus another $100 for our daughter's device)
• OceanNow service = $15 (we'd definitely have at least one of us pay this)
• Room Service = approx $20 (at $5 per order, assuming we use it about 4 times, which feels right for us... though it could easily be more since we have a big, aft balcony and anticipate spending a lot of time on it)
• Medallion shipping - $10
• Casual Dining - $60 (we'll easily want to try at least two of them, so $15 each x4, but not including our daughter's fee, assuming they charge kids if the parents have the package)
• Specialty Dining - $78 (we get one specialty dinner on embarkation as suite guests, and we'll definitely want to do at least one more)
• Premium Dessert - my daughter will want to try at least one of these, so we'll for sure get at least one at $12
• Unlimited Photo - we always buy at least a couple pictures on our cruises, sometimes more if we really love them. I'll assume the 5 print and digital package for $89 here, but we could certainly extract more value out of this if the pics are great.
• I'm not going to calculate the value of things like fitness classes, juice, Princess prizes, medallion accessories, etc. because if we didn't have a package we would not purchase them. Although with the package I definitely see us taking advantage of several of these things.

 

So, not accounting for any drinks, that puts me at a "spend" of

• $683 against the Plus package
• $737 against the Premier package

 

If I assume an average of $12/drink for the Plus, or $15/drink for the Premier, we'd need to each drink 1.5 drinks per day for the Plus to pay off, or 2.25 drinks each a day for the Premier. Between a glass of wine with dinner, a drink by the pool, and a drink in the evening, we've covered the package. 2-3 drinks a day seem very reasonable for us on such a vacation (though we'd never hit that 15 drink cap). Then add in the value of the other things that we'll likely use, but wouldn't pay for independently, plus the value of not having to think about how much we're spending at all and feeling free to try new things without fear of wasting money, and suddenly I've convinced myself Premier is the way to go... 🙂 

[Drew B 58]

8 minutes ago, Dani24 said:

I've been playing with a similar analysis the last couple of days, and think I've talked myself into Premier. We currently have Plus.

 

We're staying in a Suite, with our daughter as a third pasenger. She's too young for the package, but even just for the two of us it works out accordingly:

• $60/$80 x2 for 8 days = $960/$1,280
• Tips at $18/day = $288 (this, of course, doesn't include another $144 for our daughter's gratuities)
• Wifi at $45 per day (multi-device), with 50% off for being platinum = $180 (although, someone correct me if the discount doesn't apply to multi-device packages, in which case we're looking at a $200 charge instead for two single devices, plus another $100 for our daughter's device)
• OceanNow service = $15 (we'd definitely have at least one of us pay this)
• Room Service = approx $20 (at $5 per order, assuming we use it about 4 times, which feels right for us... though it could easily be more since we have a big, aft balcony and anticipate spending a lot of time on it)
• Medallion shipping - $10
• Casual Dining - $60 (we'll easily want to try at least two of them, so $15 each x4, but not including our daughter's fee, assuming they charge kids if the parents have the package)
• Specialty Dining - $78 (we get one specialty dinner on embarkation as suite guests, and we'll definitely want to do at least one more)
• Premium Dessert - my daughter will want to try at least one of these, so we'll for sure get at least one at $12
• Unlimited Photo - we always buy at least a couple pictures on our cruises, sometimes more if we really love them. I'll assume the 5 print and digital package for $89 here, but we could certainly extract more value out of this if the pics are great.
• I'm not going to calculate the value of things like fitness classes, juice, Princess prizes, medallion accessories, etc. because if we didn't have a package we would not purchase them. Although with the package I definitely see us taking advantage of several of these things.

 

So, not accounting for any drinks, that puts me at a "spend" of

• $683 against the Plus package
• $737 against the Premier package

 

If I assume an average of $12/drink for the Plus, or $15/drink for the Premier, we'd need to each drink 1.5 drinks per day for the Plus to pay off, or 2.25 drinks each a day for the Premier. Between a glass of wine with dinner, a drink by the pool, and a drink in the evening, we've covered the package. 2-3 drinks a day seem very reasonable for us on such a vacation (though we'd never hit that 15 drink cap). Then add in the value of the other things that we'll likely use, but wouldn't pay for independently, plus the value of not having to think about how much we're spending at all and feeling free to try new things without fear of wasting money, and suddenly I've convinced myself Premier is the way to go... 🙂 

If you would have any specialty coffees, sodas, or bottled water, then even fewer alcoholic beverages would be needed to “break even”!

[etphonehome24]

My concern with getting Plus is that I'd be stressing during the cruise about making sure I get my money's worth. Our situation, plus the fact that half the days are in port (and will largely be off the ship), probably would not make it worth it. So, I'll just buy what I want when I want it, and not worry about whether I would have got a better deal if I had Plus. Not to say it isn't more of an obvious choice for a bigger drinker or one with lots of ship days, but I'm not going to stress about it. 

[Drew B 58]

29 minutes ago, etphonehome24 said:

My concern with getting Plus is that I'd be stressing during the cruise about making sure I get my money's worth. Our situation, plus the fact that half the days are in port (and will largely be off the ship), probably would not make it worth it. So, I'll just buy what I want when I want it, and not worry about whether I would have got a better deal if I had Plus. Not to say it isn't more of an obvious choice for a bigger drinker or one with lots of ship days, but I'm not going to stress about it. 

That’s exactly how I feel about Cheers on Carnival, which costs the same as Plus but ONLY includes the drink package.  It would be unlikely I would drink enough to break even.  However, on Princess with the tips and the WiFi included (along with other perks), it really doesn’t take too many drinks to make it worthwhile.  Generally two alcoholic beverages per day or one alcoholic beverage, a specialty coffee and two bottles of water gets you to the break-even point.

 

now if you’re someone who wouldn’t want WiFi, then it really does become more about the drinks…

Edited April 13 by Drew B 58

[PG_traveller]

I totally agree with the OP, the Plus package elevated my cruise from a nickel and dime frugal vacation to a luxury, no stress vacation. And I don't even drink alcohol. I got a couple of mocktails, Cokes, Perriers, bottled waters, and specialty coffees per day. I sampled a couple of the specialty desserts, had unlimited wifi, and of course the gratuities were included. It probably doesn't pencil for me, but I don't even care. I will most likely get the Plus package again if/when I cruise on Princess again. Life is short. Enjoy it.

 

PS: I forgot to mention that I bought the package when I got onboard as I was able to apply the $50 OBC from my travel agent, and the $25 credit for cruising out of Galveston so that brought the price down.

Edited April 13 by PG_traveller

[FancyPants21]

6 hours ago, etphonehome24 said:

My concern with getting Plus is that I'd be stressing during the cruise about making sure I get my money's worth. Our situation, plus the fact that half the days are in port (and will largely be off the ship), probably would not make it worth it. So, I'll just buy what I want when I want it, and not worry about whether I would have got a better deal if I had Plus. Not to say it isn't more of an obvious choice for a bigger drinker or one with lots of ship days, but I'm not going to stress about it. 

I don't know about most people but whether the ship is in port or at sea the bulk of my alcohol consumption is in the evening. The fact that the ship is in port during the day makes very little difference to my consumption... yes, a bit may be, but I generally drink coffees in the daytime.

[Flo71]

I completely agree with the op, prior to Princess plus we had only ever bought a soft drinks package on other lines and whilst often not meaning to kept a pretty strict eye on 'frivolous' spends. Since trying plus, whilst we could save a few £s by going standard fare, we love the all inclusiveness and being able to treat ourselves. I think on a long voyage we may rethink it though, lol.