Cheap,cheap,cheap

[Loonbeam]

As a note, I point to the following thread, which to my mind shows exactly why Princess need to look at other revenue and cost options:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=36461403&posted=1#post36461403

[janacin]

OP wrote:

 

"I agree that Princess has definitely changed. Many of my friends (including myself) are looking elsewhere."

 

 

 

 

Keep looking. I'm sure you'll find the every cruise line has "definitely changed" in one way or another.

[compozer]

 

Moreover, I know of suite passengers who let their friends come into their suite and use their internet. I have also heard of suite passengers who submit laundry and dry cleaning for their friends. I really wish they would not jeopardize these perks.

.

 

And elite people don't send laundry down for some of their friends? Bring them into priority boarding, etc.. Sure it happens.

 

How many suite passengers do you know that have friends use their internet? I have asked many fellow suite passengers and the only ones that said they do were ones that got their first upgrade to one. They said, they wanted to take advantage of it since they never could afford to book one.

 

I am paying $4200 pp for 7 days in a suite on the new Royal. Come on Princess - for that amount of money, you could give me 200 - 300 free minutes!!! Yes, I do get some free minutes with my status but I think laundry really costs them more.

[jagoffee]

And elite people don't send laundry down for some of their friends? Bring them into priority boarding, etc.. Sure it happens.

 

How many suite passengers do you know that have friends use their internet? I have asked many fellow suite passengers and the only ones that said they do were ones that got their first upgrade to one. They said, they wanted to take advantage of it since they never could afford to book one.

 

I am paying $4200 pp for 7 days in a suite on the new Royal. Come on Princess - for that amount of money, you could give me 200 - 300 free minutes!!! Yes, I do get some free minutes with my status but I think laundry really costs them more.

 

I agree. It seems rather harsh to go from unlimited Internet in a suite to 0 minutes. (Or a free embarkation day speciality restaurant fee that is worth $25). On the other hand I am not sure that the competition offers any free Internet as a Suite benefit. IMO the Princess suite benefits are still significantly better than the suite benefits on RCCL and Celebrity. The bottom line is value and the competition.

[caribill]

First - I do not believe that that there are corporate people focused on cost reduction. My suspicion is that they are focused on improving the value equation for everyone, including shareowners, customers, and profits.

 

In my working life there were always people from corporate who focused in perceived cost reduction, no matter how much it cost them to do it.

 

Second - My belief is that no corporation will 'remove' anything from their customers without understanding the total impact of that change.

 

Think Netflix which unbundled mail and wifi subscriptions and increased pricing at the same time.

Think Coke Cola which brought out "New Coke" to replace the formula they had had for decades.

Think Facebook every time they change their privacy policies.

Many corporations make many changes without realizing the consequences.

 

 

 

See above in red

[caribill]

Also the priority booking for speciality restaurants is gone.

 

I rarely pass a specialty restaurant in the evening and find it even half full.

 

And the times we have eaten in one on Princess there were less than five other tables in use.

[thinfool]

The other thing that is rarely mentioned here is the fuel surcharge, which, tho cited in all bookings, has never been levied by Princess.

 

I believe it is potentially $9./day. The math works out to almost $10 million/yr for each ship. Fuel has been above the threshold for several years and Princess/Carnival has been paying it.

 

If they levied it, we would not likely have as many cutbacks, but they have chosen to keep cruise pricing rather low and make up the $10 million in other ways.

 

So we have a choice....will everyone ready to pony up $9./day extra for fuel please raise your hand...and write a letter to Micky Arinson of CarnivalCorp.

 

Or we can go with what is happening now...not only on Princess, but all of the other lines as well.

[swedish weave]

The other thing that is rarely mentioned here is the fuel surcharge, which, tho cited in all bookings, has never been levied by Princess.

 

I believe it is potentially $9./day. The math works out to almost $10 million/yr for each ship. Fuel has been above the threshold for several years and Princess/Carnival has been paying it.

 

If they levied it, we would not likely have as many cutbacks, but they have chosen to keep cruise pricing rather low and make up the $10 million in other ways.

 

So we have a choice....will everyone ready to pony up $9./day extra for fuel please raise your hand...and write a letter to Micky Arinson of CarnivalCorp.

 

Or we can go with what is happening now...not only on Princess, but all of the other lines as well.

 

I will vote with you !!!!

[Once Upon A Time]

Princess really is not that much different from other lines, when everything is considered. We cruised multiple times this year on Princess, Celebrity and NCL. Princess is still my favorite. Even though some cuts of meat are cheaper.. same applies to other lines. Internet service is slow on every line, but cost on Princess has been better for us (we've never run out after using our Elite perks) Laundry perk is better on Princess.. If I want a Specialty Resturant evening, Crown Grill is my favorite.. The glass of champagne that any cruise line offers to passengers is just "OK" and I wouldn't miss it, since we usually bring along a nice bottle of our own.. We'll stick with Princess!

[Wehwalt]

The other thing that is rarely mentioned here is the fuel surcharge, which, tho cited in all bookings, has never been levied by Princess.

 

I believe it is potentially $9./day. The math works out to almost $10 million/yr for each ship. Fuel has been above the threshold for several years and Princess/Carnival has been paying it.

 

If they levied it, we would not likely have as many cutbacks, but they have chosen to keep cruise pricing rather low and make up the $10 million in other ways.

 

So we have a choice....will everyone ready to pony up $9./day extra for fuel please raise your hand...and write a letter to Micky Arinson of CarnivalCorp.

 

Or we can go with what is happening now...not only on Princess, but all of the other lines as well.

 

It's not that simple. Princess cannot easily use the fuel supplement. They'd pay a price. I shall explain:

 

First, it is up to $9 per person per day, so for two people (most common party), it'd be $18 per day tops.

 

Now, they can certainly capture those who are locked in, the next three months or so, but unless the case for it is very clear(say, war with Iran and oil at $350 a barrel), there's going to a lot of pushback by passengers, since I should think they would have to collect it onboard on your account. It might be true that they would lose as much revenue other ways from items not bought by unhappy passengers than they would gain. It certainly wouldn't produce the atmosphere they want onboard.

 

For everyone who has not made final payment, it becomes part of the equation, how much that cruise costs. While Princess does break down how much is paid in taxes and port fees, the ultimate figure is "How much will it cost me to take this cruise?" The fuel surcharge would be no different than the port fees, just a component of the net price. Cruises are like most commodities, if you raise the price, you take a hit in sales. Especially if Princess's competitors (not all owned by Carnival) don't go along. It's like the airlines jockeying on prices. An increase doesn't stick unless enough of the industry goes along that the customer has to pay if he's going to go.

 

So yeah, Princess not charging us the fuel surcharge is neither forbearance nor virtue, but because they've run the numbers in ways I can only guess at and decided it wouldn't pay, either because they would not make a profit on it, or because what they would make would not be worth the angry customers.

[Coral]

The other thing that is rarely mentioned here is the fuel surcharge, which, tho cited in all bookings, has never been levied by Princess.

 

 

Actually, I have paid it. It has been several years but there were 2 cruises where this was added to my cruise. Most cruise lines seem to have added (additional) fuel charges back then.

 

I looked it up and it appeared to be on cruises in 2008 time frame.

[Pam in CA]

The other thing that is rarely mentioned here is the fuel surcharge, which, tho cited in all bookings, has never been levied by Princess.

Wrong. It was levied by Princess and every other cruise line that I'm aware of several years ago. A few things happened: a lawsuit, fuel prices went down and the economy tanked. Even though fuel prices have gone up, cruise lines have been reluctant to re-instate the fuel surcharge mostly because the economy has not rebounded sufficiently. So, the cruise lines are having to pay more for fuel. To make up the difference, more "for fee" amenities have been added and amenity prices have gone up.

[ChevyCruiser]

Economics 101 - "charge what the traffic will bear"

 

If Princess thought they could tack on a fuel surcharge without losing cruisers or receiving loads of complaints, you can bet they would in a New York minute.

 

It's still a tough economy and cruising, for most people anyway, is not a necessity.

 

At present, the tactic seems to be to get you on the ship for whatever price it takes, and then shake you down for ups and extras at every turn.

[Nebr.cruiser]

I agree with all of this but it would surprise most cruisers that the biggest source of revenue on board most ships is the selling of beverages. Not all cruisers buy souvenirs and pictures but cruising and drinking whether it's colas or martinis go hand in hand.

 

It wouldn't surprise me! I am stunned by the bar bills others tell me they have. As almost-nondrinkers (have a little wine once in a while, but not on cruise ships), I'm sure we are a loss for the cruise lines. We are platinum and don't spend much extra on board, mostly because we really don't want or need the extras. I guess we are not holding our end up!

[PunkiC]

I suspect there will come a time when we will look back on these as the "good old days" so I am going to enjoy every single moment of cruising that I can squeeze into my life.

 

Except when Princess fails to provide decent dance music on a given cruise, I have no complaints.

[TheBestIsYetToCome]

I rarely pass a specialty restaurant in the evening and find it even half full.

 

And the times we have eaten in one on Princess there were less than five other tables in use.

 

Same here. Both Sabatini's and Crown Grill provide great meals, but I don't think I've ever seen more than a handful tables in use. I can't figure out how they can justify the space. :confused:

[Loonbeam]

It seems to really vary. In AK, they were full every night. In the Canal, some nights full, others dead empty...

 

Same here. Both Sabatini's and Crown Grill provide great meals, but I don't think I've ever seen more than a handful tables in use. I can't figure out how they can justify the space. :confused:

[Nebr.cruiser]

Same here. Both Sabatini's and Crown Grill provide great meals, but I don't think I've ever seen more than a handful tables in use. I can't figure out how they can justify the space. :confused:

 

I've noticed very few people in the specialty restaurants on different cruise lines. We've never eaten in one, so maybe I am just walking by at the wrong time.

[Sunviking]

"Moreover, I know of suite passengers who let their friends come into their suite and use their internet. I have also heard of suite passengers who submit laundry and dry cleaning for their friends. I really wish they would not jeopardize these perks."

 

It's really tiresome reading comments like this. We have sailed in suites for the last many years and have friends who have done the same. Neither we nor our friends have let others use our internet or send out laundry. I see posts on here like the one I've quoted, but I would venture to guess that it is just repetition of hearsay here on CC. We have actually seen someone allow others to use her free internet back when platinums and above had free unlimited internet and she was not in a suite. How many elites send out laundry for non-elite friends on the ship with them? I haven't seen or heard of any but there are far more of them than suite passengers. How about if we stop repeating speculative stuff here on CC?

 

[abqmommyof4]

We just got off the Sapphire and it was full on Christmas eve. food was wonderful and we thourghly enjoyed it,

[PunkiC]

"Moreover, I know of suite passengers who let their friends come into their suite and use their internet. I have also heard of suite passengers who submit laundry and dry cleaning for their friends. I really wish they would not jeopardize these perks."

 

It's really tiresome reading comments like this. We have sailed in suites for the last many years and have friends who have done the same. Neither we nor our friends have let others use our internet or send out laundry. I see posts on here like the one I've quoted, but I would venture to guess that it is just repetition of hearsay here on CC. We have actually seen someone allow others to use her free internet back when platinums and above had free unlimited internet and she was not in a suite. How many elites send out laundry for non-elite friends on the ship with them? I haven't seen or heard of any but there are far more of them than suite passengers. How about if we stop repeating speculative stuff here on CC?

 

 

Since you are quoting me, I will respond. My statement is based on my own first-hand experience (offers made to me by suite passengers) or information provided to me by close friends, i.e., "Oh we aren't elite yet, but our friends send our out laundry from their cabin".

 

When I say "I know" that means I know. When I say "I suspect" that means I am speculating. ;)

 

We were once sitting in the departure lounge and were offered use of a suite passenger's free internet on our phone, and we didn't know him from Adam. Actually we needed the connectivity and were very grateful for his kindness. At that point in time I didn't feel badly about using it as there were very few people left on the ship and I don't think we interfered with the band width all that much, just checking reservations.

[Shogun]

Hi There

 

Have been on cruises like my last one were Crown Grill was very quite only a few tables in use ever night, while on others was not able to get a table before 9,00pm and then only a few nights to pick from,

 

like wise the Santuary empty or a que of folks at silly o clock waiting to get in,

 

 

same with IC so many folk lining up that things got a bit heated, complaints about folks jumping a head of others,

then folk moaning about length of time to get a coffee etc,

 

on another cruise no waiting,

 

yours Shogun

[BruceMuzz]

I rarely pass a specialty restaurant in the evening and find it even half full.

 

And the times we have eaten in one on Princess there were less than five other tables in use.

 

This is just another cost cutting ploy that the public has not figured out as yet.

Princess loses money every time you buy entrance to the Crown Grill or Sabatinis.

The fewer meals they sell, the less money they lose.

[antsp]

This is just another cost cutting ploy that the public has not figured out as yet.

Princess loses money every time you buy entrance to the Crown Grill or Sabatinis.

The fewer meals they sell, the less money they lose.

 

What do they do with the 25 dollars you give them, throw it overboard

[foodcruiser]

I suspect there will come a time when we will look back on these as the "good old days" .

 

There was a time when there was no internet (or cell service) on Princess and you actually had to tell your employer that you could not be contacted.