Enchanted Princess: Waitstaff’s Opinion of New Premier Package With Unlimited SD

[kywildcatfanone]

4 minutes ago, cruising.mark.uk said:

Or everything is going to be fine for all passengers.

 

Both of those may well be equally valid as potential scenarios.  Truth is, it's impossible to tell and will remain so, probably for 5 or 6 months until the new arrangements have been fully implemented and tested and adjusted as appropriate.

Do you cruise Princess much?  Most changes like this are painful in how poorly planned out they are and executed.  Five or six months to work out any kinks will have many thousands of unhappy patrons. 

[Cruise Raider]

15 minutes ago, memoak said:

So what will happen when someone is told they can’t eat before 7:30 if they want to use their package ?  I have heard many say they want to eat early so they can make the 7:30 show and go to bed by 9:00. The talk about extending hours is also a hard sell who wants to eat a steak at 3:00 or 10:00 ?  Or use a $45 meal for lunch ?  There are so many ways this could all fall apart but I guess time will tell

That’s not what we see but then again, we must eat early or not at all.  
Anywhere between 1:00 PM and 3:00 PM would be perfect for us.  That is our normal dinner time range at home.  
And yes, I’d be more than willing to use $45 for lunch instead of dinner.  Again, I’m not alone! 
Not meaning any disrespect but people have already set this up to be a failure before it even started.  If I can’t get in before 7:30 PM, I’m certainly not going to starve to death on a cruise.  Heck, I’m not even going to be upset.  

 

[Stosh68]

Wow, talked to a couple servers, seems very scientific.   They must have been very busy to have enough time to have an in depth conversation where they are likely speaking in their non-native language and are trained to agree with customers.

 

I'm surely convinced.

[Arizona Wildcat]

2 hours ago, TravelGirlinDallas said:

It's been 3 years since the restart. Why are they still so understaffed?

The same reason your grocery store, bank, auto service and local restaurants are understaffed 

[cruising.mark.uk]

12 minutes ago, kywildcatfanone said:

Do you cruise Princess much?  Most changes like this are painful in how poorly planned out they are and executed.  Five or six months to work out any kinks will have many thousands of unhappy patrons. 

Regularly, thanks.  Most recently 4 weeks in May and just started another 14 nights today.

 

In my experience, the vast majority of cruisers will go with the flow.  A tiny number will be unable to adapt to / accept the change and will put their money where there mouth is and will change their preferred cruise line (this number is likely to be outweighed hugely by the number of new first time cruisers to Princess, many of them attracted by the packages, and who have no baggage or pre-conceptions).  An even smaller number (many of whom won't have experienced the changes they are berating) will wax lyrical on CC about how terrible they are and how the world is going to end.  Given that only a tiny fraction of those who cruise on Princess read or post on  CC, that will paint a grossly inaccurate picture of the 'problem' and a very skewed perspective that will likely bear little if any resemblance to that of the average Princess cruiser. But, that's the joys of social media for you.  Meanwhile, my glass will continue to be half full and I'll continue to cruise Princess and have a fantastic time on a cruise line that offers an excellent all round experience and is very good value for money. 

Edited August 29 by cruising.mark.uk
correct typo

[Sea Hag]

24 minutes ago, cruising.mark.uk said:

Or everything is going to be fine for all passengers.

 

Both of those may well be equally valid as potential scenarios. 

True. And it might vary wildly from ship to ship.

[Sea Hag]

18 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

That’s not what we see but then again, we must eat early or not at all.  
Anywhere between 1:00 PM and 3:00 PM would be perfect for us.  That is our normal dinner time range at home.   

 

That would work fine for me too. Breakfast then one meal in that timeframe. I don't think I could sell my DH on this, but it would work for me.

[memoak]

I find it very interesting that the app has not caught up to the “new” premier. When I look at any specialty venue for my cruise in one month still says premier = 2 specialty dinners

[voljeep]

8 minutes ago, memoak said:

I find it very interesting that the app has not caught up to the “new” premier. When I look at any specialty venue for my cruise in one month still says premier = 2 specialty dinners

so, you upgraded to P90?

[Lady Arwen]

36 minutes ago, Stosh68 said:

Wow, talked to a couple servers, seems very scientific.   They must have been very busy to have enough time to have an in depth conversation where they are likely speaking in their non-native language and are trained to agree with customers.

 

I'm surely convinced.

First, these young people spoke perfect English.  Secondly, you have no idea where we were when we spoke to them.  I don’t give a flying fig if you’re not convinced.  I’m just the messenger, here.  I have no reason to either disbelieve or doubt what they told us.  And, when did I say it was scientific?

 

 

[loge23]

47 minutes ago, kywildcatfanone said:

Do you cruise Princess much?  Most changes like this are painful in how poorly planned out they are and executed.  Five or six months to work out any kinks will have many thousands of unhappy patrons. 

There's generally a disconnect between Princess HQ and the fleet/staff. Often, we have found that the reps aren't aware of certain changes and the onboard staff are usually the last to know. 

It's a shame because the onboard staff work their tails off for their passengers, the least HQ could do is to fully support them.

[kywildcatfanone]

1 minute ago, loge23 said:

It's a shame because the onboard staff work their tails off for their passengers, the least HQ could do is to fully support them.

100% agree.  The decision makers, like at most companies, are insulated from the decisions they make.   It's the downstream staff that deal with the fallout.

[memoak]

10 minutes ago, voljeep said:

so, you upgraded to P90?

Heck no I stay with plus. We rarely eat more than 2-4 times on any cruise in a SD. I get one free for the suite on embarkation night and pick up one or 2 more maybe even on 16-20 day cruises. An extra $60 for a couple just is not economical. Reserve dining gets me great service and some extra entrees. Most SD portions are just 2 large to eat there very often

[kywildcatfanone]

42 minutes ago, cruising.mark.uk said:

In my experience, the vast majority of cruisers will go with the flow.

Agree, and while a good thing, also will only perpetuate problems as non stop price increases, reduction in staff, will continue until a breaking point is reached by the cruising public.   Virtually every public company, at least in the US, has been cutting staff and services since covid and before and people have been "going with the flow".  All that does is allow for more cuts and worse service.

I've noticed since covid a large reduction in staff all over the ship, with the one exception being the buffet during lunch hours.  Lines at CS are longer with less staff, meals are taking way longer to arrive, and the staff that are working have double the tables to care for than they used to.  

This newest change, while continuing to increase the profits of the cruise line is going to make all of that even worse.  We'll see how it plays out.

42 minutes ago, cruising.mark.uk said:

my glass will continue to be half full

I'm this way most of the time, but I see it in every industry I deal with now, and as a customer, it makes the experience less enjoyable.  I haven't reached my breaking point, but I'm inching closer every cruise.  I've never taken my frustrations out of the staff, but if you talk to them, any of them, you will know that they are being stretched farther and are working harder than ever, and it's taking a toll on everyone involved.

[Teechur]

2 hours ago, wallyj said:

You will find many waitstaff from the MDR also work shifts in the Buffett since the MDR is usually closed on port days for lunch.

On our recent Emerald cruise, our MDR dinner staff was working in the buffet every morning.

[Lady Arwen]

5 minutes ago, Teechur said:

On our recent Emerald cruise, our MDR dinner staff was working in the buffet every morning.

True, but much different to move from buffet up to MDR.  That’s challenging.

[reedprincess]

35 minutes ago, memoak said:

Heck no I stay with plus. We rarely eat more than 2-4 times on any cruise in a SD. I get one free for the suite on embarkation night and pick up one or 2 more maybe even on 16-20 day cruises. An extra $60 for a couple just is not economical. Reserve dining gets me great service and some extra entrees. Most SD portions are just 2 large to eat there very often

If you stick to Plus, why would you expect your app to show unlimited specialty dining or such?  

 

My app , under my package, clearly stated Premier,with unlimited drinks and unlimited specialty dining stated. And I've made my unlimited specialty reservations... 

[Kay S]

All things considered, Reserve class sounds better and better. 🙂

[voljeep]

P could have easily not gone to unlimited SD - just added 1 SD every 3 days - use it or lose it during those 3 days to spread it out

 

day 1-3 - SD

day 4-6 - SD

day 7-9 - SD 

[Mara4166]

4 hours ago, cruising.mark.uk said:

They might be 'used' to having it happen, but its not a published suite perk,  is it?  If not, why should those in suites have any priority over anyone else, unless they have also booked the new Premier package?

 

Free SD dining on embarkation night is a published suite perk.  Suite guests expect to be able to make this reservation after boarding the ship and have traditionally been able to get the venue they want and usually close to the time they want.  

 

I expect Princess will still keep quite a few spots open for suite guests on embarkation day.

[memoak]

29 minutes ago, reedprincess said:

If you stick to Plus, why would you expect your app to show unlimited specialty dining or such?  

 

My app , under my package, clearly stated Premier,with unlimited drinks and unlimited specialty dining stated. And I've made my unlimited specialty reservations... 

no when I go to reserve dining and click on say Crown Grille it shows dates and then says 2 with premier. I am sailing the Majestic in 4 weeks

 

[Mara4166]

I may be wrong, but I do not think we will see the full impact of the new premier until later next year or even into 2026. 

Many people who are booked this year will probably keep their existing package and not upgrade - the same with many cruises next year that are already fairly full.  It will be the cruises that have a lot of availability and new bookings that will see the worst impact.  There will be some people who upgrade from the old premier and other who planned on purchasing onboard, but new bookings will not have the option to purchase the old premier.  Hopefully this will allow the ships some time to adapt.  I do expect quite a few complaints from passengers who cannot book at close to their preferred time and headaches for the overworked staff.

[memoak]

9 minutes ago, memoak said:

no when I go to reserve dining and click on say Crown Grille it shows dates and then says 2 with premier. I am sailing the Majestic in 4 weeks

 

In fact my next 8 cruises all show the same 

[Teechur]

47 minutes ago, Lady Arwen said:

True, but much different to move from buffet up to MDR.  That’s challenging.

Just like any other job, employees typically have to keep learning new skills. Eventually, they will "get it' or Princess will have to pivot again. Princess must see the handwriting on the wall that their loyal fan base is aging out and they must attract new cruisers or wither away. Like other businesses, they will continue to try new things and keep the ones that work. They will also emulate the successes they see happening on other cruise lines.

[Lady Arwen]

10 minutes ago, Teechur said:

Just like any other job, employees typically have to keep learning new skills. Eventually, they will "get it' or Princess will have to pivot again. Princess must see the handwriting on the wall that their loyal fan base is aging out and they must attract new cruisers or wither away. Like other businesses, they will continue to try new things and keep the ones that work. They will also emulate the successes they see happening on other cruise lines.

💯