New Unlimited Features Make Princess Cruises' Premier Package the Best Value in Cruising

[ColoradoMom!!]

2 hours ago, cheezenip said:

In theory, those of use who travel with no package will get an added bonus for "free"....less passengers in the MDR means quicker service and better prepared entrees (kitchen prep / cooking time improves since more of the workload burden will be moved to the casual / specialty dining venues). That's the hope. 😉

I hope so!  Went today to reserve dining for the Coral in late Feb 2025 - we are over 6 months out, and I can't get a private table for 4 anytime after 5pm until 8pm.  Traditional dining is only 5 pm and 7:30pm.  So I reserved for 6pm for party of 4/ willing to share.  They make it very clear that you will be sharing your table with others outside your complete party of 4.  Really?  They have that many huge tables they can't fill?  I will keep checking, or hope we can get a private table for 4 around that time.

[canadarocks]

For me, this is all about dining. We have booked the Plus Package the last few years without a 2nd thought. But the MDR menus, at least in the Caribbean, haven’t been changed in so so long. Unlimited specialty & casual options are very appealing to me. As I’ve said, make it easy to pre-reserve without charging me Princess… and we are IN! 😁

[Wishing on a star]

Yes...  with this new APP and dining system,  it seems like if you do not book early, and then also book your dining ASAP,  then, well....   deal with it.

We were able to get one Specialty at an early time...  But could not get Crown Grill earlier than 8:30.   This was months before departure.  Ridiculous...  really... not acceptable.

Reserved MDR,  not much better.  

 

I have experienced Crown Grill when the manager onboard decided to open it up and serve as many people as humanly possible.  It was like an overly busy Saturday night at your local chain steakhouse.  Seriously..  Both the food and the service were a problem.  What a waste of almost 3 hours of our time and our money.  How can you send back bad steak that you already sat there and waited forever.  

 

Princess continues to disappoint me, and really messed everything up and frustrate me until I am at the point of walking away.  The chaotic roll out of the new ship... Cutbacks after cutbacks, while trying to double the amount one will end up paying with all of their changes and packages, etc...

 

If there was another option that was not far worse (floating amusement park), or that was any better, at a reasonable price point.

Edited August 15 by Wishing on a star

[Wishing on a star]

There should be a thread where people onboard can report whether they were actually to change their arrangements and.get into the Specialty Restaurants, and the MDR at more reasonable times, once they board.

[Cruise Junky]

28 minutes ago, kywildcatfanone said:

Unlimited alcohol, even 15 drinks is just ridiculous.  No one wants to be around that.  I may have to look for a new line myself.  Doubling the price of some cruises now with packages.

It’s only the carnival corp lines that have (had) a restriction. All other lines don’t have a limit. 

[beltsbear]

On the Sapphire Princess CHURRASCARIA BRAZILIAN GRILL is in place of the steakhouse.  It does not seem to be listed as an unlimited choice for specialty, which means there is just one choice Sabatini’s??

[Hobby3333]

Sorry if I missed it but, I booked Sun Princess for Oct 26 in DO cabin that included Premier.  Price should stay the same and have the included benefits?

[dog]

1 minute ago, Hobby3333 said:

Sorry if I missed it but, I booked Sun Princess for Oct 26 in DO cabin that included Premier.  Price should stay the same and have the included benefits?

I booked a Vista suite last week for Star- premier package included.

 

Today I did a mock booking and price was $10 pp per day higher and it includes the upgrades.

 

My D0-aft for Sun does not, booked months ago.

 

i think you have to pay the extra $10’pp to get these new extras.

[cheezenip]

41 minutes ago, Wishing on a star said:

Seriously..  Both the food and the service were a problem.  What a waste of almost 3 hours of our time and our money.  How can you send back bad steak that you already sat there and waited forever.  

 

Princess continues to disappoint me, and really messed everything up and frustrate me until I am at the point of walking away.  The chaotic roll out of the new ship... Cutbacks after cutbacks, while trying to double the amount one will end up paying with all of their changes and packages, etc...

 

If there was another option that was not far worse (floating amusement park), or that was any better, at a reasonable price point.

I am empathetic to your sentiment. John Padgett (current CEO) IMHO has been largely responsible for these changes the last few years.

 

I too have been looking at alternatives. The only redeeming quality Princess has over the other options is "reasonable price point". Overall quality has abandoned this once proud company many years ago.

[memoak]

3 minutes ago, cheezenip said:

I am empathetic to your sentiment. John Padgett (current CEO) IMHO has been largely responsible for these changes the last few years.

 

I too have been looking at alternatives. The only redeeming quality Princess has over the other options is "reasonable price point". Overall quality has abandoned this once proud company many years ago.

On the Grand over the last few weeks we actually canceled one night at Crown Grill because the food and service in Reserve Dining were so good. Probably better than anything I have experienced since restart 

[cheezenip]

1 hour ago, ColoradoMom!! said:

I hope so!  Went today to reserve dining for the Coral in late Feb 2025 - we are over 6 months out, and I can't get a private table for 4 anytime after 5pm until 8pm.  Traditional dining is only 5 pm and 7:30pm.  So I reserved for 6pm for party of 4/ willing to share.  They make it very clear that you will be sharing your table with others outside your complete party of 4.  Really?  They have that many huge tables they can't fill?  I will keep checking, or hope we can get a private table for 4 around that time.

Ridiculous that paying passengers have to put up with this. It's not that difficult to implement a fair system but Princess management is only concerned about the bottom line. Good luck!!

[cheezenip]

1 minute ago, memoak said:

On the Grand over the last few weeks we actually canceled one night at Crown Grill because the food and service in Reserve Dining were so good. Probably better than anything I have experienced since restart 

Do you recall who the Executive chef was on the Grand on your sailing??

[cruise_critical]

I have a 14 night cruise booked in December on Royal.

Pre-booked it with Premier ($95 AUD/day) months back.

 

Seems it has only gone up $5 AUD (like $3 USD) after this change to $100/day now.

https://www.princess.com/en-au/cruise-deals-promotions/plus-premier-cruise-packages

At $5 per day, seems it's a no brainer as long as I can book a couple more SD.

 

BUT... According to the app/website right now, Crown Grill is fully booked out for every time slot / day of the cruise. But nearly every time slot of every day is available to book on Sabatinis. So this seems a bit odd.

 

Maybe they are doing something and blocked off from booking the Crown Grill temporarily? Would be amazing if they opened during lunches on sea day like on RCCL.

Edited August 16 by cruise_critical

[memoak]

7 minutes ago, cheezenip said:

Do you recall who the Executive chef was on the Grand on your sailing??

He was Ann Italian gentleman is all I remember  MTG lunch’s were once again awesome 

[rheathslc]

1 hour ago, Wishing on a star said:

If there was another option that was not far worse (floating amusement park), or that was any better, at a reasonable price point.

FWIW I've priced out the lowest cabin class on Viking compared to a similar cabin style (Mini-Suite) and extras on Princess and it's about the same. 

Granted that includes a lot of extras that you would have to pay for on Princess that are just included with Viking. But if you like those extras and would pay for them on Princess anyway it might be worth checking out Viking.

 

Viking inclusions that cost extra on Princess:

Excursions in every port

Beer and wine with lunch and dinner

Thermal suite access

Specialty Dining

Internet

 

There might be more. I'd have to consult the spreadsheet I created.

 

When I added that all up it was actually a tiny bit less expensive on certain Viking voyages on a per day basis.

 

That's also comparing to a mini-suite which I prefer but can't always afford. 🙂 Any cabin class lower than that, Princess is still going to be a better deal in most cases.

 

[JimmyVWine]

3 hours ago, cruisinsince75 said:

you almost need the extra benefits of the SS to get a similar level of service. IMHO

What extra benefits are you getting with an SS once you factor in unlimited Specialty Dining?  Seems like the biggest benefit SS is moving out of the MDR and not waiting for tables. Problem solved with USD (coining a new Cruise Critic acronym for Unlimited Specialty Dining.) 

[JimmyVWine]

7 hours ago, Cruiser Nonna said:

We are Elite on the Sun for September - have been trying for 6 months to make reservations and each time on the APP - not available at this time and calling into Dining weekly still not available and yesterday people said - sorry but everything is reserved - will have to do once onboard the ship? Sailed on  Sapphire in March 32 days and we had reservations before we ever left and each night watching the "crowds"line up everywhere trying to get in and very unhappy passengers" cannot even imagine the lines with the ship this size - so being Elite has not helped us

I’m wondering if there is a difference in the way one books. I just used the app and put in a date and time for a proposed reservation and selected “Specialty” and the results showed no availability. I then went to “Book Dining” and when the list of restaurants appeared, I clicked on Crown Grill. I scrolled down to the “Make New Reservation” area and put in the same date and time that earlier showed no availability and lo and behold, lots of times showed up as available. So if you previously tried the date and time method, try instead to go straight to the specific restaurant and see what happens. 

[SCX22]

This development is scary.  What happened to the "we have high bookings" schpiel?  Clearly Princess needs cash flow.  Princess will run out of amenities to add to the package fares to justify higher costs sooner rather than later.  Eventually they will have to pull amenities included in Princess Standard and start charging for them for those booked on Standard and include them for those booked on package fares like they did with Room Service and OceanNow.  Charges for evening shows coming to a Princess Theater near you.

[rheathslc]

Just now, SCX22 said:

Eventually they will have to pull amenities included in Princess Standard

I mean, they already did this when the started the whole "Ocean Now" fee and the room service fee. And the "Casual Dining" that used to be free. Up until the day before that was announced those were all over the website as big perks of sailing with Princess. That was a huge slap in the face to long-time Princess loyalists imo.

[So_Tweetie]

I feel like this new update to the Premier package may have some specific benefit to Elite passengers.

 

This new package, which adds $10 to the daily Premier cost, gives you the option of dining in specialty venues EVERY NIGHT of your cruise.

 

We are given access to dining reservations well ahead of non-elites (who can access them <90 days out), so we are receiving an understated but quite significant recognition by Princess. So, we have first dibs on the tables in specialty venues!

 

If Princess knows what they are doing, they might promote this in the near future.

 

I know many, MANY cruisers are opposed to these packages and I do not want to offend anyone with this post. That said, for the first time in about five years I feel like Princess is making a move that's mutually beneficial to our group. Elites have priority access, and Princess makes $10 more per person, per day regardless of our status.

 

Are you going to upgrade?

 

First they took away our lotion, then they took away our priority boarding, but NOW they give us (pay-to-play) priority specialty dining! 

 

Is this a win? 

I think so!

😜

[grimace95120]

Good evening all, i just want to say I've never had a harder time trying to give a corporation money LOL. I just got off the online chat with Princess, i pasted it below . It was "interesting" to say the least. 

Online Chat: 

Thank your for reaching out Princess web chat, this is X. What brings you to chat today?:

 

Hello i would like to upgrade from the current princess premier to the new unlimited premier please

 

Sure, no worries with that. As you got me on the line I'll be more than happy to assist you. Do you have a booking number to check?

Perfect! Let me check first your reservation.
As I can see here, if you want to take the new premier package, you can reach out us on August 31. That will be the schedule for the enhancement of our premier package under Enchanted Princess.
 

Are you sure ? your website says it goes on sale to day?
I understand its active on the 31st but people are buying now
 

The enhancement for the new premier package is per schedule. The Enchanted Princess will be on August 31st.
That is the only time you can upgrade your old premier package to the new one.
 

Ok, i don't agree but will try again later. You should check your website as that's not what it say. thanks
 

 I'm just providing the right information Is there anything else?
 

 From Your website

I Purchased Princess Premier® before the recent update to the package, can I still receive the new added benefits? Yes, as of August 15, 2024 we have added more benefits and perks to our Princess Premier® package. If you have purchased Princess Premier® before this date, you can upgrade your package to receive all the added benefits for an additional $10 per day.  
 

 Today is the released of our new packages, but the enhancement will be applied per schedule.
 

I think we need to end this, I’m not asking to USE the package today I’m asking to BUY the package today 

But if you don’t want to sell me the package, ill try later: have a good night:

Is there anything else?:

Well.... No:

Thank you for visiting Princess Online chat. Have a great day ahead!

 

Anyone else getting this kind of run around ?  Thanks

[Astro Flyer]

There is a new iOS app update for Apple devices that includes the New Premier package.

 

[AnyMajorCruiseDude]

8 minutes ago, So_Tweetie said:

I feel like this new update to the Premier package may have some specific benefit to Elite passengers.

 

This new package, which adds $10 to the daily Premier cost, gives you the option of dining in specialty venues EVERY NIGHT of your cruise.

 

We are given access to dining reservations well ahead of non-elites (who can access them <90 days out), so we are receiving an understated but quite significant recognition by Princess. So, we have first dibs on the tables in specialty venues!

 

If Princess knows what they are doing, they might promote this in the near future.

 

I know many, MANY cruisers are opposed to these packages and I do not want to offend anyone with this post. That said, for the first time in about five years I feel like Princess is making a move that's mutually beneficial to our group. Elites have priority access, and Princess makes $10 more per person, per day regardless of our status.

 

Are you going to upgrade?

 

First they took away our lotion, then they took away our priority boarding, but NOW they give us (pay-to-play) priority specialty dining! 

 

Is this a win? 

I think so!

😜

Except that many times, you cannot book before the cruise without paying, so you would have to pay to reserve and then fight with passenger services to get  it back once onboard.  Unless you are lucky and pre booking works for you without charges!  

[AnyMajorCruiseDude]

3 minutes ago, grimace95120 said:

Good evening all, i just want to say I've never had a harder time trying to give a corporation money LOL. I just got off the online chat with Princess, i pasted it below . It was "interesting" to say the least. 

Online Chat: 

Thank your for reaching out Princess web chat, this is X. What brings you to chat today?:

 

Hello i would like to upgrade from the current princess premier to the new unlimited premier please

 

Sure, no worries with that. As you got me on the line I'll be more than happy to assist you. Do you have a booking number to check?

Perfect! Let me check first your reservation.
As I can see here, if you want to take the new premier package, you can reach out us on August 31. That will be the schedule for the enhancement of our premier package under Enchanted Princess.
 

Are you sure ? your website says it goes on sale to day?
I understand its active on the 31st but people are buying now
 

The enhancement for the new premier package is per schedule. The Enchanted Princess will be on August 31st.
That is the only time you can upgrade your old premier package to the new one.
 

Ok, i don't agree but will try again later. You should check your website as that's not what it say. thanks
 

 I'm just providing the right information Is there anything else?
 

 From Your website

I Purchased Princess Premier® before the recent update to the package, can I still receive the new added benefits? Yes, as of August 15, 2024 we have added more benefits and perks to our Princess Premier® package. If you have purchased Princess Premier® before this date, you can upgrade your package to receive all the added benefits for an additional $10 per day.  
 

 Today is the released of our new packages, but the enhancement will be applied per schedule.
 

I think we need to end this, I’m not asking to USE the package today I’m asking to BUY the package today 

But if you don’t want to sell me the package, ill try later: have a good night:

Is there anything else?:

Well.... No:

Thank you for visiting Princess Online chat. Have a great day ahead!

 

Anyone else getting this kind of run around ?  Thanks

Yes, I got the same answer, as did my TA.  I just cancelled 6 bookings.  They don't care.  

[PandaBear62]

11 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

Agreed. That will be the only way to avoid long lines at the Specialty Dining venues.

 

I also expect a new enhancement to the Plus Package and a $10 bump in price.  Maybe they will include unlimited casual dining with Plus???

 

 

 

 

That's a logical guess.

 

 

4 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

You and @startedwithamouse are correct. You have to book a Reserve Collection mini suite or higher category to dine in the RC dining area, which we do. And since the food and service is so awesome in the RC dining area which we already pay extra for, we have no desire to dine in a specialty restaurant. 
 

However, once we made Elite, we now get 10 alcoholic drinks (or Heineken beers in my case) and 10 non-alcoholic drinks (or water in my DW’s case) in our cabin fridge plus we can order a 12-pack of water before the cruise at a super cheap rate. BTW my DW only drinks water and hot chocolate, so we have no need for a beverage package.

 

As far as the Internet goes, we prebook one 4-device package, where we each can be signed on with our iPhone and iPad for $22.50 per day, which is cheaper than each of us purchasing the 1-device package.

 

We don’t need any of the special desserts that come with the packages nor do we need any digital pictures taken by the crew on and off the ship.

 

So when we do the math, paying $120/day let alone $180/day makes no sense for us. YMMV

 

My husband and I typically book the Plus package on week or 10 day cruises and Premier on cruises of less than 5 days. But, we are sailing in September 2025 on a 29 day cruise. We booked standard. We'll be elite and get the bar set up twice (technically two back to back cruises). We'll pre-order some soda and waters. We plan to bring on wine for dinner (I didn't realize until recently you can bring more on, it's just a mandatory corkage fee even if consumed in the room). We 'll get much better wine for the cost.  Probably about 6-8 bottles each. Sadly, I could absolutely use the drink package all 20 days, I just don't think it's healthy to do it!

 

 

3 hours ago, Knickearth said:

We were on a ship years ago when the unlimited drinks package was started ( not plus or premier).  I remember by 10 am a portion of cruisers were already drunk.  I thought all these years that was why they limited it to 15 drinks.  I was obviously wrong.  All I know is if my next cruise has too many drunks at any time day or night, I will be cruising other lines.

 

I've sailed on Carnival three times in the last couple of years and never seen anyone super drunk. Not saying it doesn't happen, of course, but I've never seen it. Of course, I have never chosen a weekend "booze cruise" out of LA. I am also up earlier (by 8am) and in the room by 10, so I'm sure I have missed incidents. But people buying the premier package and significantly overindulging isn't a concern to me about the new package.  

 

 

I booked Premier for three upcoming cruises. A 2 day, 4 day and week long cruise. 15 drinks or unlimited? Doesn't matter to me? More than 2 specialty dining meals? Don't care. Two are generally enough for me. So we won't upgrade.