kywildcatfanone

Princess will move all your stuff. Just pack things in suitcase, they will move Hangers and such with your clothes on them.

2 hours ago, TRLD said:

expect that as long as there is sufficient demand, Princess and other cruise lines will continue to increase ala carte purchases faster than package prices, until they reach their target passenger mix.

While I agree with your statement, this price increase will only make me bring more of my own onboard, even if I have to do it at every port.

7 hours ago, RRFan said:

Actually no. We traded our minibar for coffee for a couple of years after the coffee cards were phased out. They put 15 digital coffees on each of our cabin cards/medallion (happened with both). They’d swipe my cabin card and tell me how many coffees were left. When we did B2B’s and hadn’t used all 15 for the first week, the left overs stayed there and 25 more were added. They removed the coffee option when they slashed the other Elite loyalty benefits after Covid restart. I would think their cost on the coffee is less than their cost on the minibar. Just another poor management decision. 

Yep, this is the right answer.   They offered a digital package at one time.

I'll wrap up my comments here since this topic was about a 3x increase in price all at once on water.  While it was an inexpensive overall change in dollars, a 300+% increase in anything is alarming. 

I dare say if the packages increased by 300+% many people would complain that it impacts.

We used to either buy a case or trade mini bar for it.  Will now likely trade to get it and lug on our soft drinks.  

2 hours ago, startedwithamouse said:

Our kids drink none of those, but still get Plus. We like the all inclusive feel.

 

What makes sense for some doesn't for others. 

Princess thanks you for your donation which you have every right to make if it's what you want.  Every person has their own choices to make.

4 hours ago, startedwithamouse said:

Princess wants people who spend money to book cruises. Not penny pinchers on a standard fare. 

That's obvious with the direction they are going.

I don't consider myself steerage, but don't really care if others do.  I book a cabin category that suits what we like, and spend money on the things we want to spend money on.

The cruise lines no longer value loyalty and are focused on squeezing as much money out of you that they can. 

On 9/17/2024 at 5:38 PM, rosevew said:

Anybody know about taking water onboard at boarding? I know it says no bottles, does that just mean glass bottles or plastic bottles as well?

We always take our own water and soft drinks.  No issue.

3 hours ago, Alaska05 said:

What I'd like to see is a reduction in the price of the Plus or Premier packages for Elite members.

The 50% off WIFI for Elites is completely negated if you buy a package.

We don't drink alcohol or coffee so the only major items in the packages is WIFI and crew appreciation.  Currently that does not justify buying any of the packages.

This would mean value for loyalty, and that is the last thing cruise lines want to provide.

5 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

I was about to ask the same question regarding what is now changed as far as the wifi. Maybe I missed it in the article that @LACruiser88 posted (I really just lightly scanned it looking for WiFi references) but I didn't see a distinction. I just got off a Celebrity cruise where we had the "premium" wifi level...it was amazing. I was able to stream video as well as link back to my home Plex server to watch recorded video from my home! Have never been able to do that previously on MedallionNet.

They have starlink as well.  I sure hope Princess isn't going to limit non package wifi.  I do keep up with work and need decent internet to do that.  Princess standard internet has always been fine for that, but wonder now is the "max" internet simply going to be faster than standard or will the new standard be throttled.

On 9/1/2024 at 5:56 PM, Sea Hag said:

In my experience, it's been very good for several years. No problems at all in any of our cabins. 

Our experience too, but not sure if they are now going to tier wifi with these latest changes.

So, are they now doing tiered speeds like Celebrity?  If you don't buy a package do you get the "normal" speeds or are they now limiting it?  Standard internet was always fine for what I used, but the "surf" speed on Celebeity was awful, couldn't even load images in an email.

15 hours ago, MsK64 said:

One other thing about the cabin, and that’s the TV. I know that nobody goes on a cruise to watch TV. But – sometimes, it is nice to come back to your cabin when you need a little break or late at night and be able to watch something.

Thanks for your review.  We are no frills cruisers as well, we rarely go to shows or other shipboard events in the evening, at least not every night.  Our lives are so hectic daily that we use a cruise to just enjoy each others company and relax, so one thing we like about Princess over other lines we have sailed is the good quantity of movies/shows to watch.  

Glad you had an overall good time.

1 hour ago, 1emerald1 said:

Does anyone remember when a Princess sale was really a sale??

They never have sales anymore, just shuffling around fares to give the appearance of a sale.

Since the dawn of time for "free" obc. They get your money one way or the other.  But I guess at $10/day for a 10 day cruise, it's still $60/day.

22 hours ago, Gondaue said:

I'll go first. I bet 17% of pax now choose Premier.

Judging by the posts on here 50%

On 8/26/2024 at 6:42 PM, asctony said:

As for AI pkgs, we each have a choice & I agree with you. Again, I just got off of Celebrity.

Celebrity pkgs use to include tips, no longer. Celebrity pkgs only include drinks & Wi-Fi.

Celebrity pkgs price is much more per day than Princess Priemer.

Yep, and it really shocks me that they sell so many of  them. 

16 hours ago, cruising.mark.uk said:

So, just back from dinner on night 1.  I can confirm that the service and food in Reserve dining remain first rate.

The new options aren't in place yet.  

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.

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.

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. 

This is going to be such a mess for every passenger trying to eat anywhere. 

13 hours ago, IndyKid said:

I wish they would just put the CA, taxes, and fees all together and include it in the fare up front, that way you know your full cost, except for excursions, airfare and other extras.

They would only do that if all cruise lines do it.  It's a misrepresentation of the full cost of the cruise, but they all do it to try to make the pricing appear lower than it is.

I just paid the CA for my 2 2025 cruises.  A dollar saved is a dollar saved.

55 minutes ago, TRLD said:

You cannot swap it for something that does not exist.

Hence the comment the benefit was removed.

15 minutes ago, CruzinNoony said:

Huh??  Are you saying you couldn't swap your mini bar items for ones you prefer?

They removed the ability to swap it for coffee, which for us was a huge benefit removal.  

As far as swapping for other items, since covid that too has been hit or miss from my experience.

18 hours ago, memoak said:

I am glad because it does add up

Go read your quote on page one where you said "it shouldn't concern anyone that it is going up $1 a person/day".