Cruise Raider

Nothing here yet!

It was actually most appreciated!!

I truly believe that Princess has added the extras to the plus package at the same time of raising the price to make customers feel as though it isn't a takeaway. However, they could have just raised the price by $10 per day per person for the Plus Package and by $5 a day per person for the Premier Package and the result would be the same. Everyone would still be up in arms about the pricing going up. Instead, they are complaining about not seeing any value in the extras. I have to believe that the inflation we are experiencing here at home in our everyday lives, this was bound to happen onboard as well. Included in those new package prices are the raised gratuities and the raised price on WiFi. The Premier Package, which I've gotten twice is really the best bargain and going up by only $5 a day instead of $10 actually has me considering it again. I just wish they'd allow one person from each double occupancy cabin to upgrade. My DH is perfectly happy with the Plus Package while I mostly like the wines on the Premier Package. Plus, he hates to have his photo taken whereas I feel like photos are memories of our trips. But, the packages still are a great value to us. Well, either way, we will continue to purchase the Plus Package unless on a shorter sailing where the Premier Package makes more sense, even though we probably will never order a special dessert or go to any of the fitness classes that are offered.

Here it the voyage list. The column to the far right shows the % of discount off the standard cruise fare. If you add the plus or premier packages, those will not be discounted.

It's 25% to 40% depending on the cruise you pick. I believe the file is posted earlier in this thread.

Sorry to hear about the disorganization onboard but sounds like you made the best of it. I did hear that the Sapphire has had several cases on CoVid onboard in the last month or so. It only takes one passenger to bring it on and refuse to go get tested to spread it all over the ship. We now actually take tests with us to test every few days, just to be on the safe side. Thanks for your honest review.

It used to be that you could just log in and see the discounted rates but nothing as of yet. I sure hope they haven't reconsidered ..

I'm glad you mentioned that. Our neighbors haven't gotten theirs yet either. She's been waiting for it.

We were there as well and Suman made the tapas. Yummmm I agree that Edwin and Abraham are both awesome!

Yes I did. thanks for the correction.

Thank you for your reply! But, I am a little sad about no Vines. I guess the bidet will make up for it. haha!!

We were invited to some sailaway parties in that cabin while in Mexico! Most days, it was absolute wonderful up there … there were definitely spots on the balcony that were windier than others while at sea. Just investigate and you should be able to find that sweet spot with less wind. Enjoy!

We will be onboard next year .. thanks for all the tips! I assume there is a Vines onboard. If so, do they serve tapas there?

The regular coffee on the Ruby has improved immensely.. I think they may have changed it to brewed. Everyone at the Cruise Critic meeting seemed to be commenting on it during our cruise over Thanksgiving. The Royal class ships used to only serve brewed coffee. Hopefully, that hasn’t changed and the other ships have also caught on that nobody likes that concentrate syrup coffee.

Some of the Vines bars do serve tapas. There has been no charge if you purchase a drink there. Not all Vines offer this.

Yes, that does sound like a city tax but we’ve never seen that charge when we have had the package.

You can certainly order a double, in fact, in Crooners, my DH was always asked if he wanted a double when he ordered a cocktail. BTW, there was never an extra charge for this on our bill, however, they will charge for two drinks against the package limit.

I believe you can order two at a time from your app. So, maybe you can each do the same on each app, not really sure, though. They really just want you sharing with others. Just make sure they don’t open them all … I know you can’t do that from the app. Maybe it would be easier to go to a bar and get some ahead of time to store in your fridge.

You can now order drinks to be delivered to your room that are covered under the package. We do it on almost all of our cruises now.

We absolutely loved the fully covered balcony. We still got plenty of sunshine on the balcony, depending on the position of the sun. But, for the most part, it was just so incredibly pleasant out there. I thought the beam might bother me a bit but, ends up, it never did. I loved there was so much room and such a great view of everything from the balcony.

You are correct. Even with no solo supplement, if you bid on an upgrade, you will pay double for the bid.

So, if you like white noise (which we do) you will love the cabin. You may have to turn up the TV to hear it but I don't think we turned it on once during the cruise. There was a bit of a vibration, but we also didn't mind that as the seas were very calm.

I can say that whatever they need to do to survive makes me ok with any perceived or real cutbacks .. and that’s coming from someone that would soon be at the $100 mark if they had continued the loyalty perk. Human nature dictates that whenever we have something taken away, we are probably going to be more upset than never having gotten it in the first place. I look at it as something that was replaced with other benefits vs something that was taken away. Those benefits may or may not have value to you or others but, I’m still grateful for any perks that are offered. We are always treated well and choose gratitude over feeling slighted.

I am with you. I am not disappointed at all with the product that Princess offers and still feel as though our loyalty (even though we also cruise with other lines) has been valued. We are just so pleased about everything onboard, especially since the restart .. at the risk of sounding like a Pollyanna. Great food and drink. Great service. Great entertainment. Great cabin. I could not want for more.

They are premium cabins on the Ruby. The Royal class are the only ships that have the deluxe balcony cabins, as well as premium deluxe balconies, indicating there is a small sofa in the cabin. I am typing this from an aft facing premium balcony on the Ruby at this very moment … no couch but the most fantastic balcony!