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

[Retired-N-Happy]

1 hour ago, memoak said:

So people with the plan could book up both lunch and dinner every day if they wanted to   That is not going to help in my opinion. We will stick with our suites and get embarkation dinner in SD and Reserve dining which we totally enjoy and if we feel like another SD we will prevail on the Sabatini’s breakfast manager or suite concierge to squeeze us in after 8:00. And yes this has been offered to us many times as in “We are full tonight but we Weill find a table for you”

You're a old time cruiser that stays in a suite and you're set in your ways.  The Premier package and the new features are not for meant for you.

[memoak]

26 minutes ago, Retired-N-Happy said:

You're an old time cruiser that stays in a suite and you're set in your ways.  The Premier package and the new features are not for meant for you.

O I spent the first 20 years of cruising as a younger version of me cramming 3 people into insides just so I can cruise. As I got older and financially better off I moved up to balconies the mini suites now full suites. I don’t see why you think I am set in my ways. I use the plus package for my 10 drinks a day , CA and Wi-Fi. I get one free specialty dinner and can afford one other each cruise. We split casual meals so that gives us 4 lunches if we don’t want to go into port sometimes. We don’t take photos anymore, have our own gym routines, the desserts are way too much for even one a cruise. Why would I want to pay $60 per day extra per couple for the “new” premier when it didn’t make any sense when it it was $40 per day

[gah_cruise]

On 8/16/2024 at 1:19 AM, 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 

I understand the service may be better, but why is the food so much better? Does Reserve have its own chefs?

[memoak]

16 minutes ago, gah_cruise said:

I understand the service may be better, but why is the food so much better? Does Reserve have its own chefs?

Waiters have priority in the kitchen so food is always proper temperature, same wait crew every meal and extra entrees every meal   Meals never take too long and they will adjust timing to our preferences 

[beg3yrs]

1 hour ago, Retired-N-Happy said:

You're a old time cruiser that stays in a suite and you're set in your ways.  The Premier package and the new features are not for meant for you.

 

1 hour ago, memoak said:

O I spent the first 20 years of cruising as a younger version of me cramming 3 people into insides just so I can cruise. As I got older and financially better off I moved up to balconies the mini suites now full suites. I don’t see why you think I am set in my ways. I use the plus package for my 10 drinks a day , CA and Wi-Fi. I get one free specialty dinner and can afford one other each cruise. We split casual meals so that gives us 4 lunches if we don’t want to go into port sometimes. We don’t take photos anymore, have our own gym routines, the desserts are way too much for even one a cruise. Why would I want to pay $60 per day extra per couple for the “new” premier when it didn’t make any sense when it it was $40 per day

@memoak @Retired-N-Happy isn't wrong, just could have been a bit more diplomatic. We're like you. A quick evaluation of the way we sail and the new benefits said it wasn't worth it for our "cruise-style". We like the MDR and Reserve areas when we get them. We do like the SD venues but not every night! It's hard enough fighting the battle of the bulge in the MDR without the indulgence of SD. Also, given most ships have only two SD venues, we think it would get older than the MDR menus do after a week or so!

[greenie082756]

Hi all,

 

DH and I are discussing if changing from Plus to Premier for the 54-day cruise in 2026 would be a good thing.

 

Out of the 11 items that are offered only 6 of them really piqued our interest.

 

I figure for a cruise that long we could do specialty dining 2 -3 times in a week if we are not fond of the main dining room menu. After all it is over 7 weeks long. Not too worried about getting reservations while onboard. 

 

So, we were not interested in changing from Plus to Premier until they made the changes and now, we are seriously thinking about it. 

 

[SCX22]

28 minutes ago, greenie082756 said:

DH and I are discussing if changing from Plus to Premier for the 54-day cruise in 2026 would be a good thing.

 

To upgrade from Plus 60 to Premier 90

$30 x 54 days = $1620 x 2 passengers = $3240 total for 2 passengers

 

If it was me, I'd put the money towards another cruise.   

 

2026 is far into the future.  There could be more changes to to the packages before then.  It might be better to make the decision sooner rather than later to lock in the current prices.   On the other hand, if amenities are added and/or the prices go up, and Princess follows their current policy of not grandfathering passengers in, you will again be stuck with the decision of whether or not to upgrade to the new package plan and pay the difference.

 

[cruise_critical]

On 8/16/2024 at 11:33 PM, windsor08 said:

I too am on Royal in December, and have been struggling for two weeks to make SD reservations, including 3 calls to Ocean Ready help line. This morning I uninstalled the app on my phone, reinstalled it, went to dining reservations, and lo and behold Sabatinis was available for all days and most time slots. And it accepted my Premier package SD - allowing me to book without charge to my credit card.

 

Sadly, Crown Grill was showing as unavailable for all days and times. A few hours later I went in on the web version, and lo and behold, Crown Grill was showing as available all days and most times. Again it allowed me to use my second SD reservation from the (current) Premier package without charge to my credit card.

 

 

Oh thanks for this update. I just checked again and I can also now book the Crown Grill for all days all times and allowed me to book both reservations using the (current) Premier package dining credit with no charge to my credit card. 🙂

[Retired-N-Happy]

3 hours ago, memoak said:

O I spent the first 20 years of cruising as a younger version of me cramming 3 people into insides just so I can cruise. As I got older and financially better off I moved up to balconies the mini suites now full suites. I don’t see why you think I am set in my ways. I use the plus package for my 10 drinks a day , CA and Wi-Fi. I get one free specialty dinner and can afford one other each cruise. We split casual meals so that gives us 4 lunches if we don’t want to go into port sometimes. We don’t take photos anymore, have our own gym routines, the desserts are way too much for even one a cruise. Why would I want to pay $60 per day extra per couple for the “new” premier when it didn’t make any sense when it it was $40 per day

You don't have to use all of the aspects of the packages to get your monies worth.  The plus package is fine for us when we're not sailing on Sphere Class ships, but the expanded menu on the Sun with drinks in the 16-20 range makes the Premier attractive to us, even at 80.  The bump to 90 is a mixed bag.  The unlimited drinks won't come into play since my heavy days are 10-12.  So the unlimited specialty is the only pull for us.  

Currently have 400 in OBC to burn, but Princess's messed up policy let's you spend it on excursions before you cruise, but you can't use it on a package upgrade till you get on board.

It'll cost me an extra 280 now with the 10.00 increase, so the extra specialty meals will be worth it, assuming of course we can get in.

[memoak]

1 minute ago, Retired-N-Happy said:

You don't have to use all of the aspects of the packages to get your monies worth.  The plus package is fine for us when we're not sailing on Sphere Class ships, but the expanded menu on the Sun with drinks in the 16-20 range makes the Premier attractive to us, even at 80.  The bump to 90 is a mixed bag.  The unlimited drinks won't come into play since my heavy days are 10-12.  So the unlimited specialty is the only pull for us.  

Currently have 400 in OBC to burn, but Princess's messed up policy let's you spend it on excursions before you cruise, but you can't use it on a package upgrade till you get on board.

It'll cost me an extra 280 now with the 10.00 increase, so the extra specialty meals will be worth it, assuming of course we can get in.

We are staying as far as possible from sphere class ships after speaking with friends on our last cruise they were no thrilled at all. Our usually dinks are Buffalo Trace bourbon and Grey Goose vodka both fit in plus package. $60 more per day on our 14-21 day cruises would not work for us

[cruise_critical]

On our last 13 night Princess cruise, we had premier and the most we drank in a day was 28 alcoholic beverages between the two of us and that was stretching it to the max. Most days we averaged about 8 drinks per person. And as we have kids, not worth doing SD every night either. So we won't be upgrading to the new Premier from my current pre-paid Premier in our upcoming cruise in December.

 

For the new Premier package, it would have been nice to have more inclusive access to the menus on the casual dining venues such as special pizzas at Alfredo's, wider choices at Ocean Terrace and free choice at Gelato etc. I would have upgraded if that was the case.

 

Edited August 18 by cruise_critical

[MsSoCalCruiser]

21 hours ago, caribill said:

 

The benefit of nightly specialty dining does not mean you can dine at the restaurant you want.

 

It could be that all of the available slots for your entire cruise are only in your third choice restaurant.

I was thinking about upgrading from Plus to the new Premier for the unlimited SD but after reading your post I have decided to wait until I read some reviews. I am allergic to dairy products and it would really stink to only be able to get reservations at Sabatini‘s. 

[Retired-N-Happy]

4 hours ago, memoak said:

We are staying as far as possible from sphere class ships after speaking with friends on our last cruise they were no thrilled at all. Our usually dinks are Buffalo Trace bourbon and Grey Goose vodka both fit in plus package. $60 more per day on our 14-21 day cruises would not work for us

It seems like there is a certain percentage of long time Princess cruiser that is not thrilled with the Royal Class and wouldn't be caught dead on the Sphere Class.  

We are the exact opposite.  Couldn't tell you the last time we were on a 15 year old ship or one that was under 125 K tons.  That's why there is vanilla and chocolate.

Edited August 18 by Retired-N-Happy

[Steelers36]

On 8/15/2024 at 11:13 AM, dog said:

I booked a S4 vista suite in Sun last week with the package premier.  My booking stays the same. 
 

if I do a mock booking today it shows the New premier package for $70 pp more for a 5 day cruise.

Have I missed PCL moving to a 1.40 exchange rate on CAD bookings?  The CAD didn't stay down there for all that long before rebounding?

 

[Steelers36]

On 8/15/2024 at 11:50 AM, azbirdmom said:

And the unlimited drinks feature likely won't cost them much.

I imagine they have a good statistical database on package usage by now and know how many guests have been hitting the max 15.  A guest consuming 12/day now isn't likely to jump to 20 when the limit of 15 goes away.

[Steelers36]

On 8/15/2024 at 1:09 PM, Seafan22 said:

For my upcoming trip this would only cost $5,580, for my wife and me what a deal.

JP:  "But, but, it's only $90/pp/day no matter how long your voyage is!"

[Steelers36]

On 8/15/2024 at 12:32 PM, Lolou127 said:

I’ve just checked our booking, it says you can make dining reservations once your paid in full, is that date the same for everyone on the cruise? (First time Princess cruisers) so is everyone trying to book dining on the same day for their cruise?
 

You can "beat the system" by making Final Payment before the official FP Date and then you ought to be able to get the jump on at least some of the folks.

 

On 8/15/2024 at 12:43 PM, JimmyVWine said:

Guests with a higher Captain's Circle loyalty level (Platinum and Elite) can make reservations immediately upon having a confirmed booking irrespective of payment.  So no, not everyone on the cruise is working off of the same date. 

See note above.

[sprint180]

Even the Plus is more then what I need or am willing to pay.  If it works for you it's great that Princess is giving the package.

[dog]

2 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

Have I missed PCL moving to a 1.40 exchange rate on CAD bookings?  The CAD didn't stay down there for all that long before rebounding?

 

It should be $10 pp per day in US $.

 

I am getting all kinds of fare glitches,  some telling me I’m upgraded and getting freebies.! ha! Will find out when I board the ship.  I am not purchasing these packages.

[Steelers36]

4 hours ago, dog said:

It should be $10 pp per day in US $.

 

I am getting all kinds of fare glitches,  some telling me I’m upgraded and getting freebies.! ha! Will find out when I board the ship.  I am not purchasing these packages.

That's right, but your post indicated a rate of $14/day, so I assumed you were mentioning it in CAD for the 5-days.  I just checked a mock booking and they are still using 1.35.

[dog]

1 minute ago, Steelers36 said:

That's right, but your post indicated a rate of $14/day, so I assumed you were mentioning it in CAD for the 5-days.  I just checked a mock booking and they are still using 1.35.

Glitch

[555]

15 hours ago, memoak said:

Waiters have priority in the kitchen so food is always proper temperature, same wait crew every meal and extra entrees every meal   Meals never take too long and they will adjust timing to our preferences 

What you say is true since you're eating at a late time of the evening.

With everything winding down there is no rush for the waiters in the galley making it easier for them to make sure everything is to your liking. 

It would hold true for any of the DR's.

[Steelers36]

On 8/15/2024 at 7:38 PM, Cruise Junky said:

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

I wish they kept it.  A few big drinkers lost wouldn't mean much if ships are selling out.  PCL saves on not having to dish out extra drinks.

[Steelers36]

On 8/15/2024 at 9:18 PM, JimmyVWine said:

Problem solved with USD (coining a new Cruise Critic acronym for Unlimited Specialty Dining.) 

I suppose it works as long as context is clear since we all know what USD really means.  Perhaps UL SD?  UL MNet?  UL whatever?

Edited August 18 by Steelers36

[Steelers36]

On 8/16/2024 at 9:19 PM, MacMadame said:

There are probably people who don't break even but want the convenience too. But there can't be too many of those because the Plus is such a good deal for included stuff that most want (CA, wifi, drinks). You can break even with just one cocktail/mocktail and 1 or 2 sodas/bottled waters/fancy coffees a day even if you don't eat a single "premium" dessert or attend a fitness class. This is especially true if you want OceanNow and plan to use Room Service.

 

The people who it doesn't make sense for are the ones who don't want wifi because that's a big cost and don't drink much except water/coffee/tea and juice with breakfast.

I don't think you have captured all the scenarios.  Here's a typical one you may not be thinking of:

 

Elite level gets you 50% MedallionNet cost.  We get minibar with 10 alcohol of choice and 10 non-alcohol of choice.  Water package pre-cruise is $7.  I bring on wine and don't generally have to pay corkage for every excess bottle (even if I do, I am ahead of the game).   So, we do consume for than provided water/coffee/tea and breakfast OJ.  The net is we don't have enough extra bar drinks per day to create value with Plus cost.