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The problem for me is the rollout. I paid for the previous terms of service and now the rules are changing. If this applied to future bookings, I might grumble about it but ultimately, I'd understand. The fact that this applies to the cruise I'm sailing on in 14 days from now and that's not the terms of service I signed off on when I booked... that's extremely frustrating and infuriating.
I agree. They should have grandfathered this change in. I recently booked a cruise for next Jan. Luckily for me, the only thing that changed was the casual dining options which went from unlimited to now just two on the princess plus plan. However, I very well may just go with standard fare the next time I sail with them.
Absolutely agree. We sail in 46 days. Purchased Plus last year for our cruise. I’m am not upgrading. Still looking forward to our cruise. Just a bit disappointed in Princess. We’ll get over it. 🛳️❤️🛳️
We just did our first cruise ever. Alaskan 7 day from Whittier to Vancouver aboard the Majestic Princess. First off, we planned it only 5 days before the cruise departed, so this channel was invaluable in helping to make quick, smart decisions. Thank you for all your content!!! We chose the Premier package. Our fav drinks were $20, so we definitely used that part. The premier desserts were amazing and worth it. The photo package was great. The specialty dining at Catch by Rudy was some of the best food we have ever had anywhere. The included pizza place, Alfredo's, we ate at 4 times and it was amongst the best pizza we have had..... certainly classiest, as it is a 3 course meal, not just pizza. The room service we used while doing the scenic cruising of the glacier from our balcony room.... it was very slow... 30 - 45 minute wait and items were mildly warm upon arrival. The only items in the premier package we felt were useless for us was the reserved seating..... didn't like where those 4 rows of seats were.... bottom left, flat 4 rows of the theatre.... way better seats elsewhere and getting to any of the shows 30 minutes before there was tons of selection. The juice bar was useless as it has crazy limited hours.... one bar only on the ship and from 11 - 2 during at sea days only (not open when in port).... so we never actually were able to time it to get any of the juice bar items. Used the gym for working out, but not any of the fitness classes. The 4 device wifi..... we could connect just our phones, our other devices like our ipads we could not get connected to wifi.. Would we get premier again.... yes.... for the premier drinks, Alfredo's, the specialty dining, the premier desserts, photo package.... but not for any of the other inclusions. Our fav drinks ($18 - $20 each but included with premier) if anyone is curious..... Mermaid Mimosa, Fruity Me, Grigh Hills Merlot., Cattier Brut Icone bin 41 champagne, Gran Patron Platinum tequila.
I imagine about 50-60% of guests used room service during glacier viewing so that is why food was barely warm and took a while. Our room steward recommended we order about 30 minutes prior to the glacier viewing time and our food arrived quickly and hot!
My husband and I don't drink alcohol and always book the standard package because it saved us a lot of money even when paying wifi and tips separately. I find everything is just getting more complicated with cruising prices.
Thanks so much for your comments! I am on the same itinerary in September and I’ve upgraded to Premier, yes it’s more money but everything that’s included with the package works for us. It’s not for everyone but works for me. Alaska here we come!
@@LifeWellCruised As an Elite member, I'm not a happy camper. I think Princess has forgotten what loyalty means. $1200 or $1600 per cabin for a 10 day cruise extra is a rip off. Especially when one spouse does not drink. Meanwhile the long time cruisers with them have lost their 300 minutes of Wifi, no welcome bottle of sparkling wine or extra OBCs. The $5 delivery fee is inconsequential. Are the "regular" desserts edible? My cruise on Majestic Princess this fall may be my last with this line after 19 cruises with them. They ought to stay with the program I had when I made my final payment.
We usually choose the standard package. We’re not big drinkers and find that we’d never benefit from that. Charging for what was previously included has marred Princess’ image. Nickel and dime tactics can be very harmful to companies repartition.
@@Rumpole1000 We just got off a Royal Caribbean cruise, as an example, and we did not pay for any package, but simply purchased a few things as we went along. One was internet -- we needed it for just a day or two and we paid for that limited time, I believe it was about $20.00 per person. So I would assume Princess is going to be around that price. If you need internet the entire cruise, it's obviously going to be much more.
I’ve purchased both Standard and Plus fare on past cruises, but these minor changes will not stop me from purchasing Standard fare on future cruises. My husband doesn’t drink alcohol at all, nor do either of us drink soda. We refill our water bottles at the Horizon Court buffet tap. I drink one glass of wine at dinner but am not even fond of the wines Princess offers. I drink one or two other drinks per day but only because I paid for the Plus package. Otherwise, I wouldn’t drink liquor at all. Instead, I purchase 2 bottles of good wine to take on board at embarkation. Wi-Fi and crew appreciation packages are purchased separately. We always pick up our Princess Medallions at port, don't order food to the room nor eat at specialty restaurants. I’ve done the math and the Standard package will *always* be less expensive by hundreds of dollars. To save further, I purchase our cruises through Costco. Call us boring, but my husband and I primarily cruise for the port destination experiences and not for the onboard experiences, so that's probably why these changes won't affect us much.
Wife and I are inthe same boat. (pun intended) I'm a non-drinker and my wife mght have the odd glass of wine at dinner but thats it so the plus package would be a complete waste of money for us. We would like wifi though so I'm trying to find out how much extra we need to pay per day for wifi.
I’ve been Elite for years, 30 plus cruises…I refuse to pay now for room service or Alfredo’s. Pricing has gotten outrageous. I don’t drink alcohol so it’s not worth it to pay for these packages. Maybe they need a non alcohol kind of package. This is not fair.
For me personally, I will probably sail on standard for future Princess cruises. I have only used room service once, in all my sailings. I enjoy a glass of wine or two with dinner, but would never drink as much as would be required to make the package worth it. I've never ordered wifi on a cruise, but I know so many who pay for it and still cannot get a strong connection. So, for me, the packages are not of value. I'm not pleased with the removal of standard amenities, but I think we can still have a lovely cruise without paying $60-$80 more per person per day (realizing of course that $15 of that cost is our gratuities). Our first cruise was in 1999. Everything except alcohol was included. There was no such thing as specialty dining. You could have steak and lobster in the main dining room, and take an extra dessert back to your cabin. I understand things change, but charging more for every little thing becomes annoying.
We just did the math... with my hubs and I having 4 drinks each per day...crew appreciation fees per day, wifi, cappacinos every morning, bottled water all day long and for excursions, 18% gratuities on most everything, that works out to well over $2000 Canadian... for $300 more and change, we can get the Plus Package...
We prefer Standard pricing since we cruise to avoid working on devices and don’t drink alcohol. It’s much more affordable to purchase a coffee or Sprite as we want one. All of the extras in plus pricing don’t matter to us-extra desserts? Delivery? Yoga? No thank you. So when I did the math, standard makes much more economical sense for us. We love Princess because of the service we’ve received over the years with them. Great job explaining the differences in this rollout!
I completely agree. My husband doesn’t drink and the amount that I do would not make up for the price that they charge with plus. Also, because he usually has to work on vacation. His company pays for his Wi-Fi.
Cruising sporadically but repeatedly over the past 30 years or so, I used to always cruise standard and purchase a wine package. It worked well, and I always enjoyed myself and the feeling of luxury cruising brought to my life. With the pricing changes, and shifts in more recent years, my sister and I chose to opt for Princess Plus on our cruise this summer. We loved it! Neither of us are huge drinkers at home, but we loved the freedom to choose a mid-afternoon cocktail or an after dinner drink, mid-morning specialty coffee etc. without factoring in any additional cost. Having the beverage package, wifi, and gratuities rolled into one price worked well for us. Had things stayed as they were...we would have stuck with the Plus package for our next cruise because we really don't use the fitness classes, and flet we could easily do without the photography, extra desserts, and prizes. This shift with casual dining has changed all of that for us. We are booking Premier on our next trip because we don't want to have to be considering costs or limitations when we decide we would like to lunch at Alfredo's or sit in Vines etc. so....Princess will have more $$ from us, because of the switch in casual dining additional costs. Still...good value when compared across lines and now we are looking forward to some professional photos. :)
I do think that all cruise lines are having to make changes due to inflation/staffing challenges, but I think Princess is making a lot of changes quickly frustrating people even more. We just took out first cruise, chose a different line, but have been looking at Princess as a possibility going forward because of positive feedback and they offer some good deals. This is about the 6th change Princess has announced in the 8 months since I started researching cruise options. I think if they had either grandfathered in all that had already paid for the packages or announced/implemented the changes with enough time to allow people to change before final payment date, this would have been better received. How it was handled feels too much like a bait and switch.
The grandfathering would be the customer service appropriate thing to do, I agree! This happened to us on Princess Plus; they removed the 2 specialty dining option to the Premier, but took effect DURING our cruise; they would not honor the change because we were embarking 5 days prior to the change. It was dismaying to say the least as this is not typical Princess service.
I agree with the others who pointed out that the changes after booking a cruise are unfair. We booked our cruise to Alaska last fall, and we don't sail until September, so we've seen two big changes implemented during the wait time. Luckily we booked the Premier package just because we didn't want to worry about every little purchase during the trip. But I think Princess is making a big mistake by changing the included items for existing customers. It will definitely make me look more closely at their competitors for my next cruise. Rule #1 in business: Don't alienate the customers you already have!
We booked the the brand new Sun Princess Grand Mediterranean cruise in March, our first cruise of any kind in 17 years. Our cruise agent found us a great deal that included the Premier package. It's our anniversary, so we will definitely use the specialty dining at the Crown Grill. We also like not having to worry about what kind of tab we're running up, so more than happy to have the Premier package.
The Plus package costs less per day than the wifi plus crew gratuities plus non-alcoholic drink package (plus its gratuities), so it’s a no-brainer for me to just take it going forward as I did on my two previous Princess sailings. I’m a solo cruiser and appreciate that it’s charged per person and not per couple (looking at you, Celebrity).
I had my TA compare that also and she said the same, however we don’t really need the wifi and don’t feel we will drink enough of the specialty coffee/sodas to make it worth the package over all so I’ll be dropping it and pre-ordering the soda/water packs instead
@@LifeWellCruised, I've looked at their legal statement about these packages. They give themselves a lot of leeway on availability. Participation of both passengers in the cabin may be required. As always, there is a statement that packages may be changed or revoked.
I don't drink alcohol and most soft drinks - so the packages are really expensive. It would be nice if they had a plus/premier package that just didn't include alcohol.
I have Princess Elite status, so here is why the standard package makes sense for me (my examples are in comparison to the Plus and not Premier) I get wifi at 1/2 off, so 1 device is just a few dollars a day. I am not a big drinker and get a mini bar for free. I use the treadmill every day at the gym, so I could care less about 2 exercise classes. I would not eat 2 premium deserts a day. I sailed 72 days on Princess in the past year and never used OceanNow delivery when it was free. I only order room service for breakfast, which remains free (for now!). I do enjoy Alfredo’s, but I will not pay a cover charge for it and will not miss eating there if it costs extra. I don’t mind picking up my Ocean Medallion at the port. Just one more note - I cruise solo, so could not afford to cruise as often as I do if I paid for the Plus or Premier plan, so for me days cruising is far more important than extras I do not need or want.
As an Elite Princess Cruiser who has been brand loyal for over 15 of our 30 years of cruising, I feel the 'extras' like free room service, Ocean Now and free medallion delivery (for usa) and the free wifi should be included. For those that don't drink alcohol or need two fancy desserts or want to go to an organized exercise class, paying $60 per person per day for Plus is a bit much but maybe I need to take a moment to do the math. After cruising RCL this summer we are confident Princess is 'our line' but this is frustrating to have services cut.
Also Princess Elite as a TA, but when doing the math for most clients, if they plan to use WiFi, and get at least the soda package, then the included gratuities usually puts you at about a break even. So all the other perks tend to be a bonus. And get the full beverage package for the price of basics.
@dankoehler3157 I did the math afterwards (full sheet of paper and calculator lol) and it does make it only $15 more per day per person for what we normally use. I will go standard for our transatlantic we have booked but for 7 day cruises I'm okay with it. Still would like extras to be included for Elite though lol!
We always travel on the standard fare. We aren't big drinkers or desert eaters, so those packages wouldn'twork for us. I have found since we started crusing over a decade ago, we always got the coffee card, and when we got the platinum status, some limited internet, also boarding privileges. We also received free upgrades several times and loved them. Now we have found Princess taking all the reasons we like to use them away. We hate that they are charging for things that we used to get for free. We arenot as enamored as we used to be. If they keep up on this path of taking what we love away, we will look at others cruise options. Love your videos.
Excellent presentation. We originally booked standard but soon realized that Plus was more cost effective. Not sure that it was wise on the part of Princess to change pricing in the middle of the sailing year. Would have been more palatable to many to change at the beginning of the season. Thank you for your excellent videos.
After almost 50 cruises on multiple lines, we have never booked a package and have been perfectly content. We are not drinkers. The changes on Princess will not affect us that much. We are used to paying extra for specialty dining and Alfredo's has never been a go to place for us. Even if we order room service each day on our 16 day cruise to Hawaii and back, that is less than $100 instead of paying almost $2000 for the plus package. We choose standard unless it is on Norwegian. Their Free at Sea is definitely worth it, but we decline the drinks part of it. Love your videos! Thanks so much! God bless you!
We only sailed Princess once. We upgraded to Plus and would do so again, as we thought drinks, tips, and wifi were worth it. If you compare the drinks package alone to RCCL (our next booking), $60 per person per day with Princess is a steal. Considering the add-on costs with RCCL, I think we'll get back on Princess next time.😅
I just booked Princess standard , I will never allow them to have their way. And I think this will be my very first and last time cruising with Princess.😊
Going on our first Princess cruise in September and was looking forward to Alfredo's but not so much now at $14.95 per visit after the 2 complimentary with Princess Plus. Princess should allow those passengers who have made final payment keep the services they purchased and not be able to take them away.
Check w/ Princess. They made changes to the packages before I went in June 2023 & I was able to get what I originally paid for since I was already booked.
My wife and I sailed on Crown Princess (11 day Alaska out of Vancouver) in early July. Pre-cruise I had some difficulties with there client support phone team (our booking agent at Princess suddenly went incommunicado) but was able to resolve our issues eventually through another agent. We booked the Standard fares: Neither my wife or I would possible use 15 drinks of alcohol per day and the fee for the drink service on an 11 day cruise was impossible. Princess needs another; lower price more limited consumsion plan. One unexpected perk to recommend; The first night dining we both wanted a glass of wine with the meal, our table steward suggested ordering a bottle which they tagged with our room number and thus we had wine for 6 days at an overall cost saving ($12.00 each by glass while the $59.00 bottle rendered 8 glasses for us). So keep that in mind if you are only moderate or occasional drinkers.
Princess Premier now makes financial sense for us. With the additional WiFi devices, the specialty/casual dining, the desserts (we limit ourselves to only one per day!) and the photos will saves us money. We don't drink a lot of alcohol with the exception of a glass or two of wine at dinner and rarely use room service so those are not a big deal. We'll just factor the cost into our cruise fare.
My husband and I sailed on Princess in March. This was my husbands first trip w Princess. Imagine my glee when I won a cruise w Princess. Now I did win an inside cabin. I PAID extra for an upgrade to a balcony cabin. I PAID EXTRA for the beverage package also. On the first day of the cruise we didn’t have the beverage package nor air conditioning in our room. They couldn’t say who canceled our package. We repurchased the beverage package. They fixed the air conditioning on Tuesday. We wrote a letter to the cruise line but haven’t heard back from them. I’ve cruised w Princess multiple times before this cruise. What a horrible first impression my husband has of Princess!! I will not sail with them anymore!
We usually just get Plus package because we don’t have any need for photos or additional specialty dining. We really like that WiFi, drinks and gratuities are all included in the Plus package and make it a value for us. I’m a little disappointed that Alfredo’s is now considered an upgrade when it used to be a standard.
I am extremely disappointed and angry at the short notice. I would cancel but it's too late for my August trip since I have international flights booked.
We always book the standard cruise fare and are elite status. We booked a cruise prior to these changes and are very disappointed with all the complimentary take aways. We also miss the coffee card, complimentary wifi minutes and complimentary dining at Sabatinis. We will be booking with another cruise line in the future.
Princess Plus is a pretty good value, especially when compared to Celebrity All Included. Also, if you book either Princess or Celebrity, only pay the deposit and tell them you want to transfer the cruise to Costco Travel. Costco will give you a Shop Card worth a percentage of the cruise fare.
We usually get Princess Plus. The problem we have with this is we have a booked cruise with Plus, but it was booked before the last change. So now we don’t get our Medallions shipped free of free deliveries of food and drinks. So, we will have to pay to upgrade to the “New” plus Pkg to include things that we had already paid for. Don’t think that is fair that after we booked, they changed what we get for the extra we paid for the Pkg.
You bring up very valid points about Princess following what other similar cruise lines have already been doing. Inflation aside, my thoughts about some of these changes are also driven by staffing issues. Room service can put a strain on services and pull staff away from more populated areas. In our post-pandemic world staffing is still challenging in all industries. These new fees may deter some travelers from utilizing room service. This is our first time trying Princess Premier. We sail in 13 days, we are mostly excited for the photos, additionally Wi-Fi devices, and included speciality dining. We previously have booked Princess Plus.
I think you hit one of the nails on the head. I sailed with Princess last summer, and even though our shipped was not full, they were still short staffed. It took a lot of time to receive items through Ocean Now. Ocean Now probably requires additional staffing, and they may not be able to handle it all.
Going on my first Princess cruise on August 30th. Since my husband and I are foodies, we decided to get the Premier package for this cruise and our next cruise in February 2024 to Hawaii.
This is my first cruise with Princess. We took the standard because we rarely drink alcohol and never juice and don't care for fitness classes or premium desserts. We never used room service with other cruise lines (yay extra steps/ exercise for us) plus I've read many times OceanNow food delivery has not been reliable. If we want room service, we can use the door hanger one which will still be free delivery. I'm just bummed that Alfredo's/Gigi's is no longer free and unlimited. I will pay for it for my upcoming trip to Alaska in September though since I've heard great things about their pizza. Honestly, I will have plenty to eat from the buffet, MDR, IC, poolside pizza, and grill. Anyone booking standard can always use onboard credit if you have it to cover the extra charges. You can think about that when booking future cruises with Princess or any other cruise lines.
Ocean Now is not reliable. My recent cruise, I tried ocean now twice, one took an hour (would’ve been faster to just go to the bar) and the other I never got my drinks delivered. 😂
@@newuser7820it replaces the key card but has more functions. There are sensors around the ship that can track you via medallion so you can find your friends and family aboard (or you can hide yourself). It unlocks your room handsfree when you approach your door. At a bar, your name and pic come up when you order. No swiping cards.
Fresh off British Isles cruise with Princess Regal. First thank you for the video's, I was well prepared and packed. We made the most at each stop and they were all great. Ship was beautiful and well maintained. The tip change though seems to have destroyed the hospitality moral in the dining rooms. We made a standing reservation but it was changed by the staff, we never had the same service staff, table not ready and always sat in different places, and over all but only one waitress was exceptional. The food was sub par, the buffet was better but again, the staff seemed miserable to be there. I have a hospitality background and this is a fatal decision by Princess to pool tips. The food was lunch room material, several dishes and desserts were inedible. Additionally the coffee was absolutely terrible at the morning buffet, but if you purchased coffee it was good. The Crown Grill was excellent, food and staff, but we paid extra and tipped. Honestly I will not cruise again with them because of food/service. We chose this cruise because of the ports and they were all great. The one tour sponsored by the ship to Mont Michelle was seriously overpriced and tour bus was dirty and guide was arrogant Frenchman, unfortunately lived up to that stereotype. We booked several walking tours with Civitas and they were all excellent! The onboard entertainment was pretty good in the evening. Oh and the wifi medallion app was useless other than opening the door.
It really all depends on what a cruise means to you. The inclusions in the base fare works for us. Bring on our 12 pack of drinks that the cruise line doesn't carry anyways. The MDR and buffet options are better than what we eat most days with take out. Never been on Princess before so no idea what we are missing with the casual and specialty restaurants. Plenty of better land options to choose from before and after the cruise anyways. We are on vacation so why do we want WIFI and Fitness Classes? The Specialty Desserts are not what we thought they would be, just a sugar overload. We do splurge on a balcony cabin and a few cases of water delivered to our stateroom. Excursions are mostly overvalued but you can find a gem or two well worth the cost but we are paying for the ship experience and always plan to maximize on that.
It is all those gratuities that add up... 18% tips on everything and $16 per head per day, for Crew Appreciation... the WiFi so we can research our ports of call the night before and plan our day...
We are booked on a 15-day Panama Canal cruise in Oct 2023 on Ruby. We chose the Plus package to eliminate/reduce further costs on the ship. I don't feel these changes will have a negative impact on our cruise. We are still excited for the cruise!! Thank you for breaking down the changes and your opinion of them.
After looking at a few "explanations" of the Princess roll-outs, yours was by far the most understandable! Now here is my feeling on the subject. We just booked on Princess (10-night New Years Cruise); we took the princess plus option. We were looking for pre-paid tips, beverage package, and Wi-Fi. We don't go to specialty restaurants, and while we love Alfredo's, we went there once on a cruise, and never used room service. So, we actually gained from the changes. However, I can see where those who stayed with the Standard option are upset. But, and this is a big but, the Cruise lines need to make up for two years of NO business, so you'll see this trend more and more. I bet any cruise line that doesn't succumb to the quick revenue fix, is going to see an increase in sales.
We sailed on our first ever cruise last year and chose Plus as it seemed to be a good value and I didn’t want to worry about added costs during the cruise. For our cruise coming up in Dec we have premier but only because there was a promotion when I booked- premier for the price of plus. It seems to be an even better deal now but can completely understand frustration of others.
We always opt for the Premier Package on Princess Cruises. It's only $20 more per person per day, bringing the total difference in expense to $280. While the premium dining fee is $90 per meal ($180 for two people, two meals), the $14.95 x 2 "one-time fee" for dining experiences like Gigi's per person reduces the overall difference to $70. The Premier Package also includes a higher drink allowance of $20 per day (compared to $16 with the Plus program). This means you'd only need to have three cocktails daily at the higher price to offset the cost difference. Considering the additional perks like reserved seating for shows and priority embarkation, we find the Premier Package to be a great value. As you indicated, it is the closest to an all-inclusive cruise experience. However, if you don't plan to dine at premium restaurants, aren't interested in reserved seating, and are content with the regular package food, it might not be worth the extra cost. Break down: Cost difference per day: $20 per person Cost difference for two people for a 7-day cruise: $20/person/day * 2 people * 7 days = $280 Premium dining fee: $180 for two people, two meals Dining experience fee: $14.95/person * 2 people = $29.90 Net cost difference: $280 (package cost) - $180 (dining) - $29.90 (dining experience) = $70.10 Additional savings are gained for every cocktail ordered that costs more than the $16 cap on the Plus Package. NOTE: there will also be a slight adjustment to any fees you pay for cruise protection, if applicable, to reflect the higher cruise price.
I've never cruised with Princess, but I do like the value proposition that Plus adds. As a solo cruiser I might pay almost that much per day just for wi-fi and gratuities, so having them rolled into a package that also includes drinks seems like a really good value for me. I might now consider Princess for my next cruise.
I bought my cruise package in February and now, 6 weeks before we sail, they change things. I don't think that's right. We didn't order the special Princess packages because we don't drink alcohol or coffee/tea and are not interested in the extra desserts. Yes, we're dull. I did buy the wifi package for 1 device and the crew appreciation package. We're not cheap, we just didn't think that the $840 versus the $105 wifi + $240 crew appreciation was actually worth it if we won't use it.. We did order water bottles and some soda.
We’ve cruised over thirty times on various lines, however this is our first Princess Cruise in over fifteen years and we’re standard because only the wifi and drinks appeal to us, but neither would make it worth the increased price. This will probably impact our vacation choice in the future.
We purchased the Plus package on our last cruise and ended up paying an additional amount for premium wines. We did the math and the Premium package seemed worth it. Especially when you consider the free photos.
The cost of fuel has shot up since early 2021. I’m sure this factors into all these changes. I’m really unhappy about the surcharge to Alfredo’s/Gigi’s.
We had plus last year and felt it was a great value. Compared to other cruise lines, it is cheap for drinks, gratuities and Wi-Fi. For our cruise next year, we chose plus again, but our travel agency gifted us an upgrade to premier. I thought I would have to pay extra for the other casual eateries except Alfredo's, but now it will include sushi! Even if we had just the regular fare, $14.99 is cheaper than the $18 - $20 we would have paid without this change.
Not happy about change to Princess standard. Hubby is handicapped and legally blind and we used food delivery a lot. We don’t need Wi-Fi or anything in the higher level packages. Now instead of room service I’ll have to carry multiple dishes from the buffet to our room or pay more for something that should and has been free.
We cruise with Princess Plus - It's always been a great value. We were a little disappointed about the earlier change of removing the complimentary special dining and replacing with desserts and exercise class. But as you stated so well, change is inevitable. I'm sad to hear about Alfredo's as that is our most favorite dining on the ship, so we will get our 2 free and then perhaps use some onboard credit to still enjoy on our upcoming 12 day cruise of the British Isles! Thank you so much for the heads up and doing such a great job of explaining the changes!
Thinking about taking this cruise with my husband and two adult children. Would love for any information you would like to give. Feeling overwhelmed with choices.
I get the standard. Don't need wifi and don't drink that much. I travel solo so am already paying way too much already. I have been cruising for many years and see this as a possible end to my cruising. Elite what is that anymore. They take away the perks and start charging for them.
I cruise with ncl a lot. I got up to gold,which would get me some nice perks..they added an extra category which puts me back in the middle...not nice.....
Honestly, I kind of expected this change. Having Alfredo's/Gigi's included was great, but this move was inevitable IMO. I like the fact that Salty Dog is moved to the casual dining group. I've done Plus and Premier both before. I think Plus is worth it, if you take full advantage of all the included services. Premier wasn't really worth it, but it is nice not to have to think about any costs.
We always get the standard fare. I'm more than a little irritated with these changes. Princess isn't the cruise line it used to be. Our last two cruises on Princess were not great. The condition of the Grand class ship had been terrible. I'm tired of having to ask for a new mattress. Other than the newest ships, we always have a worn out mattress. BTW, the last one was in a Vista Suite. Unless the passenger drinks alcohol (and not just a little), anything but the standard fare doesn't make sense. Princess is just using nickel and dime tactics to squeeze money out the passengers while delivering less service. They have been our favorite cruise line and we have sailed with them a lot. Come on Princess, just raise the fares to cover the costs rather than trying to hide it with endless fees!
I already paid in full the Standatd fare for my October, 2023 Cruise with Princess. I will pay extra for the few drinks that I want, the Specialty dinnings, etc. As a Loyal Princess Cruiser, I feel deeply disappointed on how Princess management promoted the changes, that is, "additional perks" ( not for the Standard fare) and the timing for the implementation that will be an additional cost for soon to be Cruisers that had paid in full the Standard fare. I understand and accept that Princess can increase the cost of their services due to the increase in cost for doing business. But what frustrate me is the timing, why not implement it several months out for Cruisers to decide if they will pay in full for their booking or cancel it? TRUST is one of the main values for successful business. I have been a Loyal Customer that had trusted Princess a 100%. I sugest that Princess management reconsider the timing for the implementation of these changes.
Thank you for your reply. You are providing excellent advice to us. Your effort in research and explaining in good details the important subjects that we should consider for cruising is helping us to have a better vacation. You are the best! Thank you for everything that you are doing for us!
I cruise with Princess only and I never buy any of the packages. I don’t drink, I don’t want wifi, I never order room service, and I ALWAYS have an fantastic trip!!!! You can be budget savvy and still have fun! Just please don’t start charging for Afternoon Tea, Princess 😂 Thanks for the video 😊
We're cruising with Princess twice next year. I have to admit I was disappointed to see a charge for room service, but I was surprised it was free for as long as it was. We didn't use it very often, but it was nice when we did. For the convenience, I don't think $5 is too much for the service since it is per delivery...even if you have multiple orders for multiple guests in each cabin. We probably will pay the one-time fee for OceanNow delivery. That also seems a reasonable fee. I'm not sure we would even take advantage of the Casual Dining venues. On previous cruises, we ate at the MDR, the buffet and once at the Crown Grill. (I can't remember there being an Alfredo's or Gigi's on the last Princess cruises we took, so maybe our ships didn't have them.) We are not buying either the Plus or Premier because they add a huge amount to the bill for services we most likely would not use. We drink very little alcohol, we don't need the Wifi, we're not juice drinkers and we don't need specialty desserts (I've seen pictures of those and I don't think they look very appealing at all) or fitness classes (there is plenty of opportunity to be active without taking a class). The same is true for photos and prizes. Those aren't anything we need to enjoy our cruise.
I agree but found out the plus package worth it to me when I cruise w/ my husband & both have to get the same package (he gets the plus). I find by the time I pay gratuities & if I get the Wi-Fi package it isn’t much more for the plus package. I drink a lot of water & the convince just to be able to get a bottle of water anywhere on the ship made it worth it to me. (Also take the bottle water off the ship at ports, plus keep in the cabin fridge) Paying for all this separate would have put my price over the cost of the package. I’ll have to do the math w/ the new packages. A lot of factors need to be considered-# of sea days , # of ports, etc. PS-I have taken a refillable water bottle. This works but not as convenient . Every time I need to refill I need to go to the Buffett to get ice & water… Plus u have to pack a water bottle. It is all about what works for you.
I was surprised when I first heard about the increases then when I read about it I realized the standard cruisers were the ones most effected ! We are cruising on Princess for the New England Canada trip and have the Princess Plus package and realized we are getting a good deal ! Since it’s only a 7 day cruise and the premier package gets 2 specialty dinners and unlimited casual dining I wonder when they’ll use the main dining room? Also since Princess is trying to flaunt the Medallion I’m surprised they just don’t increase they’re cabin rates $15.00 so everyone will have its full use without feeling nickel and dime!
@@brucebreault6328I think the reason they didn’t simply charge the 15$ to everyone is that they are trying to cut the number of people to serve. They just can’t keep up. I personally don’t think it will work. It’s easy to opt into paying an easy 15$. Also, The people using the app the most are the ones who have the drink packages in the first place and not the ones who don’t.
Good points. As far as Ocean now service, I’ve heard that the service is very slow. So putting an extra charge on that will decrease the number of people using it, which in theory should increase the quality of experience.
Have cruised with Princess for years... always the standard fare... we don't drink specialty drinks/alcohol, nor eat at the premium restaurants...so none of the perks of the other tiers are of value to us. We enjoy not having wifi as an escape... and just simply enjoy being on the ship with the basic quality. We pay our gratuities separately.
We booked our first cruise and we're going to Alaska on Ruby Princess (assuming it doesn't hit another pier). We booked premier and it seems like it'll basically be the same experience we expected. Totally get how standard fair passengers would feel shortchanged though. I definitely would.
I booked standard last time and found it was a better value for me than standard. I would have wine with dinner and purchased lattes and occasionally a soda. Plus would have cost me more than paying as you go. I had Wifi and my husband did not.
I was very pleased with Plus package. I didn't want to worry about gratuities, service fees, calculating wether I can have one more drink or not, etc. Overal, you are getting quite a lot and I think it is worth the price and peace of mind. What is a bit annoying for me is that people always think of the package in terms of how many drinks they have to drink a day to break even, completely forgeting about all the other things that are covered in the price of package.
Please consider this a re-write of a post from yesterday. If you are a non-drinker the packages are a total waste of money. That being said everything else that was included now becomes a takeaway! On board credits used to be used for excursions and gratuities. If they are used for the takeaway things all it means is more out of pocket money. That being said if Princess wants to improve the bottom-line profit, they need to begin by raising the cruise price for everyone across the board instead of taking away things that were previously enjoyed at no charge. That way everyone is treated the same and increased costs involved become a valid reason for the rate increases. Why stir up such a huge hornet's nest. If all the cruise lines did this there would be no need for bad feelings and all of this discussion! By the way thank you Ilana for your extremely well-done RU-vid channel. Please keep up the great service you provide!
We always buy the Plus package on Princess and I still feel that's it's a good value and well worth the extra cost. We recently sailed on NCL for the first time and found their drink package to be way higher than Princess Plus and it didn't include the gratuities or wifi like Princess Plus does. We love Princess and this won't affect our future travel plans.
If only Princess had some solo rooms or just a better rate for solo travel. Either way getting the drink package is cheaper then with NCL factoring in the gratuities are included along with wifi as well.
They took Plus and added deserts and exercise classes, then jacked the price. I would say most people could not care less about paying for classes or premium deserts. I am an elite tier and I have notice the service decline as stewards and given more and more rooms. Finding a waiter on deck is hard. It is like they won't make eye contact. They used to be all over the guests. The big killer for me is the fact you can no longer combine the Military credit and the Shareholder credit. This will cost me $250 on a 14 day. These credits are also no longer refundable. Loyalty is a 2 way street.
We cruise 2 to 3 times a year so I try to keep the cost down. We're going on the Discovery Princess to Alaska in September. We usually order12 packs of water, 6 packs of soda and 375ml bottles of liquor to the room before the cruise and it delivered to the room on the 1st day. Even with the internet this saves money over Princess Plus
We are Platinum members with Princess, regular status on; Royal C, Norwegian and Viking. We always go with Princess Plus Package. It's meets our needs. Llana, love your Cruise Tips/info.
I really appreciate you doing this video, Ilana! I did an Alaska cruise on Princess in May, and I have a New England one booked for fall of '24. I cruised Plus and honestly, it included everything I wanted and needed that would have been extra. I only search Plus fares anymore, just because it has what I want. I'll be interested to hear if the reach out with the changes, but THANK YOU for the awareness!
My husband and I don’t drink very much but most of the Plus package work for us. Considering that I get comped cruises, I don’t mind paying for it. I can understand why those that pay full fair would be upset about these changes. Every industry is raising rates all around. Hopefully they don’t continue increasing.
We are booked on Regal out of Galveston fall of 2024. Basic fare is extremely good at $620 pp for balcony. We felt the upcharge for Plus or Premier are excessive and we can pay as we go, not big drinkers and really fine with MDR dining each evening.
Same situation for us. We paid $723pp for a 7 day Alaska mini suite so $800 for the plus package was a bit too much since we aren't big drinkers and will be in port 3 of the 7 days.
I have a video about the packages, where we go through the value of the inclusions. I can definitely update this given the changes (but go check that for now :)
@@LifeWellCruisedaccording to Allison on lets go travel tips if you add in the photo package at 299.00 and the 4 device wifi package on a week cruise Princess is losing money on the premier package. I question her math so I'm hoping you can clear this up for everyone! If it's correct it's clear Princess just wants everyone to have a package. Maybe they feel it makes it easier on board for the crew since it eliminates printing a bill for everything and having the customer sign it?
We were about to schedule a 31 day Northern Europe cruise with Princess. Our balcony price was good but this increase just bumps it up to not a good deal! I will just look for another cruise on another line . Thank you!
My problem is with the changes Princess has made and how it impacts my wife and I. Since neither of us drink alcohol, both of these packages would be a total waste of money for us. We have however enjoyed having room service, pool side delivery, Gigi's and Alfredo's. These have always been at no charge until now. This means that we have to think about how we are spending our money on the ship before everything we choose to do. Yes, we could use our onboard credits, but we use those for excursions and shopping on board. Bottom line, more money out of our pockets due to nickel and diming. Everyone knows things are going up and I could live with that, however being non-drinkers, we are being penalized for not purchasing a package we don't want and would not benefit from. Drink packages are fine but raise the cost of the cruises to cover other expenses that used to be included. I do understand prices going up, but do not penalize everyone by taking away things that used to be included. If Princess needs to improve the bottom-line profits, start by raising the cost of the cruise.
I’ve been considering a Princess cruise and looked at the plus and premiere packages and find that they don’t have value for me personally. Yes, you get your gratuities/crew appreciation and Wi-Fi ($16.50 and $15.00), but unless you also drink either alcohol, specialty coffees or sodas it is hard to make up the $60 fee; my wife and I, being diabetics, would likely not. We have always found the main dining room, buffet, pizza by the slice and grill to be more than satisfactory, usually the MDR has been excellent, especially when we had fixed time dining. The service at those times was excellent as the servers really got familiar with our desires and had things like our drinks ready for us without asking. And I can just imagine the parent who had premiere for their child with unlimited specialty desserts, well can you say sugar high? 😜🤣🤪
The golden age of cruising (before the pandemic) is over across all the lines. Even land based resorts have service fees and upcharges. I guess they have to recoup their money somehow, but it seems especially painful. It seems easier to me for Princess to raise their prices across the board than to do this switching around of services and perks. For example, i would gladly give up the desserts and the exercise classes for Alfredos or better food, services, or better conditions for employees. Their empyees are overworked. They need to be compensated and need more employees to share the workload. The food and services they are providing are suffering. I hope that Princess (and all the other cruiselines as well). Listen to their customers as customer satisfaction is just as important as the bottom line.
Finally, an explanation that is detailed and easy to understand. Personally, I don't mind change, however it is much more palatable when the change can be explained clearly and accurately. I have been on the phone with Princess, several times regarding this matter and unfortunately get a different answer each time. It seems s likely to me, that this is due to a rushed rollout and the telephone (frontline) staff are basically as confused as us. My trip coming up on October 18th on the Enchanted, has been booked and paid for over a year, under the old Princess Plus program, in a Club Class Mini-STE. Last week I got an email that said we don't qualify for some of the benefits of that program anymore and needed to upgrade. It's possible we had the PP50 package. After watching your video, I have decided to move up to the premier plan, which will certainly simplify decisions and reduce stress our lives. My wife and I are retired, and we spent our working life on a very tight budget so we could actually enjoy our retirement. After watching your video, simplifying Princess vacation decisions and reducing stress in our lives is now our top priority. Thank you again, Life Well Cruised
We booked and paid a year in advance for a Princess cruise in September 2023. Our Plus package apparently was the old $50 per day package. We found this out from guest services after being charged for several items we thought were included. Princess told us we should have received an email offering an upgrade to the updated Plus package for an additional $10 per day. I’m sure we got it but didn’t pay much attention as we constantly receive “deals” from Princess. The communications were frustrating and some ships decided to honor the updated Plus package for guests that booked in the gap…ours did not. We have voiced our anger to our travel agent and Princess. Now that we know our next cruise will have the current Plus package, we will be well equipped to take advantage of the benefits. Your videos are very much appreciated.
Princess has screwed me twice. I booked in June 2022 a Plus cruise for late August 2023. First last December, Princess increased the Plus category from $50 to $60. Did they grandfather in those of us who booked before this change? NO!! Now Princess takes benefits away that were included when I booked last June. So those of us who booked previously need to be very upset with Princess. SHAME ON THEM!!
I can understand your frustration. There is a change to casual dining (for you), however it may not be bad. The casual dining previously not included is now an option for you
I always cruise with the standard package. I don't drink alcohol or soda, so most of the value of the packages are lost on me. I wish more lines were like Norwegian, where you can customize your package. That allows me to get specialty dining or shore excursion credit instead of a drink package, which fits me better.
Just booked a 15 day Panama Canal from Ft Lauderdale for March 24. 2024. I understand costs are rising however for those of us who have already paid for the cruise in full, it is a slap in the face to not get what we paid for. We purchased Plus so the only real change is that we now have only 2 free casual dinings. This is not a good look for Princess, in my opinion they should have set a date for price increases for anyone booking after that date. If I order a new car with certain options and it arrives without those options I would expect the dealer to make it right. I am sure the executives at Princess would feel the same way. This is very short sighted on their part. Princess should take the high road.
I enjoyed my first cruise with Princess very recently, when I booked we went with Standard but upgraded about a week before we left to Plus. Prior to setting sail I did not think room service would be something we would make the most of, after all we weren't going on a cruise to be in our cabin very much, but we hit some bumpy seas and that room service was fantastic, I was able to order some light food for my seasick teenage daughter and my elderly mum that made such a difference. On the good days I loved being able to order a drink and/or a snack to any place on the ship, was great for a cocktail for me, coffee for my mum, whatever my daughter fancied. If i did the math, was it worth it or not? if you added up dollar for dollar may be not but the convenience when everyone was feeling unwell or on good days having a glass of sparling wine delivered to cabin while dressing for dinner was such a bonus. The real downside is that I just booked a 10 day cruise and if I upgrade to plus it is 2 casual dining meals per guest, but on the cruise we just completed it was 5 nights and 2 casual dining meals per guest, should this not increase for length of cruise?
When we started cruising Princess in 2016 on the Diamond, my husband could buy a single drinks package as I don't drink. Its cheaper for us too sail under the standard package and pay as we go.😊
We had premium package with Enchanted in May in the Mediterranean. We hardly were able to take advantage of all the options. This was the first time cruise for both of us in 20 yrs. Had no prior expectations. This was our experience: we could not book the free dinners at the specialty restaurants because we waited to book 3 days into our cruise and they were ALL booked! The juice bar shut down every day at 1pm and that was only days not in port! We never made it being late morning people! We just had breakfast. There was so many things to do , never made it to workout or to any of the evening shows!! We did have pictures taken at every opportunity. A nice souvenir! We were able to get drinks and desert any time any place and at the International Cafe, Pizza Etc. I am not complaining. We had a great time. I spent a lot of time in the spa. But next will sign up asap for the restaurant of your choice!!
Thanks for the information Ilana. We have cruised with the Premier package with Princess since they introduced the Plus and Premier options. We really like an “all inclusive” experience and that is why we choose it. My biggest concern at this point is the complexity of the new program and resulting confusion that will no doubt ensue. I don’t see Princesses’ systems and programming team getting this right for a while - maybe never. I foresee very long lines snaking around at Customer Service with passengers trying to get their account straight. This will no doubt frustrate a large portion of guests and maybe sour their relationship with Princess. Our next Princess cruise is in February of 2024 - so I hope they can get it reigned in by then. Thanks again.
We started with the Plus package when it first rolled out for $40 a day. It was just the basic internet for 1 item. gratuities and drink package. I think that came out in 2019. Then the following year or so it went to $50 a day and recently in 2022 it switched to $60 a day with extras. So, if I know business plans, they rolled out to see how receptive passengers would be to it and it must have been good because they kept tweaking and raising cost. We still think it's a good plan ~ I call it the no worries plan. Thanks for sharing!
We’ve enjoyed using the Princess Plus Package on our last 3 Princess cruises and already booked for it on our next Princess Cruise. It’s a very good package for us…has everything we need!
Our Princess Cruise Coordinator always books us Princess Plus. However on our last cruise the photos were pretty expensive and I had to pick and choose rather than just buy them all and look through them later. We also ate at specialty restaurants. So for my upcoming cruise in November I may upgrade to premium just so I don't have to hassle with anything. Being able to reserve seats in the theatre is also nice.
going on our first cruise on Princess in NOV. thanks for your info on the changes. im confused enough and your videos are very helpful. hope we can navigate the changes, old and confused.
Here is what I like….they include so much. We just sailed on Royal. The drink package alone was about $90 a day extra. We don’t drink that much so we did not get it. I do think Princess Plus is a very good deal for us.
I haven’t cruised with Princess in years. Several months ago after watching many videos we decided on Princess. Then these changes rolled out. I was already confused as cruising isn’t what it used to be (my last two cruises were DCL which I enjoyed immensely) but as I’m reading and watching new videos I definitely would have selected a different cruise line.
I am currently looking at booking my first Princess cruise and I think we'll go for the Premier package. Seems like for $80 per person per day it's essentially all inclusive. We're fine with the two upscale dinners and the other casual and free options. What is important to us is the premium liquor, the reserved seating at the shows and of course the gratuities. The medallion looks interesting as well and we may take advantage of the free room service. Now I just need to figure out how to book it!
I know they had to raise prices but now I feel like they’re a nickel and diming passengers will I still cruise princess yes well I still go to Alfredos my most favorite restaurant yes even if I have to pay for it it’s just disappointing
I normally do not buy a drink package or just buy a non alcoholic one for our son since we do not drink much alcohol during our cruise. On the specialty dining, we only do one if it’s asian like the Tepanyaki. We love the dining package at RCCL because we have three dining rooms included. On the wifi, we only buy one and share it among us. We are vacationing and not having access to be on the phone or tablet, gives us a break from technology. We do not use room service either so that does not affect us.❤
Most of my clients always to the promotional Princess Plus Fare Rate. It is slightly discounted usually, and the value alone for WiFi, Gratuities, and drinks is well worth it.
We just cruised Regal Princess 12 night British Isles cruise. We only had 2 sea days and port stops were full days without lounging by the pool, craving fruity cocktails. We had the regular package and didn’t miss WiFi or drinks. We brought before VPN service before the cruise and used WiFi in port. Our cellular company included calls for 25 cents per minute with free unlimited texting and data. We bought a few beers and wine and gelato. We were allowed to buy 1.5 liter bottles of Pepsi in ports and bring them onto the ship. We didn’t use Ocean Now or room service. We did love Alfredo’s and will have too decide if we will pay for it on a future cruise. We chose Princess because of the itinerary and because it is closest to our favorite cruise line, Celebrity, but we will sail Princess again for the right itinerary and fare.
We have princess plus for the past3 cruises and our upcoming cruise in March on Sky. We are not big drinkers but we did the math and with each of us (husband and wife) enjoying 4-5 drinks a day and included gratuity and free Wi-Fi (not so much) we found it was a money saver. No surprises at the end of the cruise with a big bar tab. Thank you for your service to the cruising public. G
I have 2 cruises booked for this fall and next summer. I didn’t purchase the plus or premium packages. I am a solo traveler and the only thing I want is the Wi-Fi which I was able to get. When I looked at what was offered in the packages, it was more cost efficient for me to not to purchase them. Have only sailed Princess these last 30 years and am looking forward to sailing on the Sun Princess next year. Appreciate the cruise info you provide to your viewers!
