Price increase- Which do you prefer?

[Kmkub]

If you look at what some passengers pile onto their plates in the buffet, not everyone shares the desire for smaller portions.

 

Agreed. They should still have that option. I still think far too much food is prepped and wasted, adding to costs. Perhaps instead of prepping WAY too much food, they could tone it down and just make too much food. :p

[LMaxwell]

Here is a question for those that want the fares to go up instead of additional for fee services?

 

Do you pay full list price or do you wait for discounts?

 

Do you continue to check the fares after you booked and take advantage of any price drops that occur?

 

Would you hold off booking based upon price if the discounts did not occur?

 

I suspect the way most here would answer those questions shows that there is price sensitivity in booking cruises.

 

I'm price sensitive, but above that I am value driven. That means getting a good all around deal, not about getting the cheapest price. Whenever I hear the phrase "You get what you pay for" I always take it as a positive, even though most people mean it as a negative. I am willing to pay a marginally increased fare for more amenities/services to remain as included and/or higher quality service or offerings.

 

Does that mean I am willing or able to pay Seabourn or Crystal pricing? No. Does it mean I would skip Princess to save $100pp going to Carnival? No. It means I'm willing to pay for comprehensive (NOT the same as all inclusive) services.

 

Cruising is a totally optional vacation. Flying often is out of necessity and flights do not last anywhere from 4 days to multiple weeks.

[RDC1]

I'm price sensitive, but above that I am value driven. That means getting a good all around deal, not about getting the cheapest price. Whenever I hear the phrase "You get what you pay for" I always take it as a positive, even though most people mean it as a negative. I am willing to pay a marginally increased fare for more amenities/services to remain as included and/or higher quality service or offerings.

 

Does that mean I am willing or able to pay Seabourn or Crystal pricing? No. Does it mean I would skip Princess to save $100pp going to Carnival? No. It means I'm willing to pay for comprehensive (NOT the same as all inclusive) services.

 

Cruising is a totally optional vacation. Flying often is out of necessity and flights do not last anywhere from 4 days to multiple weeks.

 

I feel that I am getting comprehensive service, and getting the choice if I wish to pay more for optional services, most of which I do not purchase, but ones which Princess gives me a fair amount of OBC as a shareholder and veteran if I do chose to purchase.

[lexdisic]

We solo passengers can be paying for two while we eat for one.So Princess makes up that way.:p

 

Solo passengers do have my sympathy as very few lines have a true single occupancy cabin or policy. In a nutshell the lines would rather sell to 2 people than have to discount for one, just as they rather sell a cabin for two instead of discounting for 3rd and 4th passengers. I imagine they could quite easily adjust prices to allow easier access to solo's if they wanted, but with their drive to cut the base price down, you will, unfortunately, remain a victim. I dont know if they still do it, but Marco Polo used to have so many cabins available with no supplement - met quite a few singles on our cruise (7yrs ago) -nearly 10% of PAX - no comparison to Princess though and aimed squarely at the UK market.

[SoCal Cruiser78]

I'm price sensitive, but above that I am value driven. That means getting a good all around deal, not about getting the cheapest price. Whenever I hear the phrase "You get what you pay for" I always take it as a positive, even though most people mean it as a negative. I am willing to pay a marginally increased fare for more amenities/services to remain as included and/or higher quality service or offerings.

 

Does that mean I am willing or able to pay Seabourn or Crystal pricing? No. Does it mean I would skip Princess to save $100pp going to Carnival? No. It means I'm willing to pay for comprehensive (NOT the same as all inclusive) services.

 

Cruising is a totally optional vacation. Flying often is out of necessity and flights do not last anywhere from 4 days to multiple weeks.

 

I agree completely with the above.

 

With regard to tipping and level of service, I would always leave the auto tip in place. As mentioned before, it is pooled and divided so many ways, that whoever gave less-than-expected service would not truly be affected by removing it. I always tip above-and-beyond to those individuals who give good service. So by not tipping above-and-beyond someone who gives poor service would be my way of handling the situation. YMMV.

Edited May 27, 2014 by Ryndam2002

[Ethel5]

Good point. I would love to see smaller portions available.

 

Smaller portions are available-just ask!

[Love.II.Cruise]

Smaller portions are available-just ask!

 

We did and our head waiter wouldn't listen! :confused: We asked for appetizer portions of Fettuccine Alfredo and got full portions. We asked for a half portion of the risotto and got full. He would brag about it too! "Oh, I went and had them give you the full portion!"

 

We didn't want dessert, and he actually gave us the one that he used to show to another table! We wrote some negative things to Princess about him citing several examples of him not listening to the guests (the table beside us had the same issues). We recommended that he be retrained.

Edited May 28, 2014 by Love.II.Cruise

[Ethel5]

We did and our head waiter wouldn't listen! :confused: We asked for appetizer portions of Fettuccine Alfredo and got full portions. We asked for a half portion of the risotto and got full. He would brag about it too! "Oh, I went and had them give you the full portion!"

 

We didn't want dessert, and he actually gave us the one that he used to show to another table! We wrote some negative things to Princess about him citing several examples of him not listening to the guests (the table beside us had the same issues). We recommend that he be retrained.

 

That's a shame that he treated you that way. Each time I've asked for an appetizer portion, I was given one-but they're still big!!!:)

[Kmkub]

We did and our head waiter wouldn't listen! :confused: We asked for appetizer portions of Fettuccine Alfredo and got full portions. We asked for a half portion of the risotto and got full. He would brag about it too! "Oh, I went and had them give you the full portion!"

 

We didn't want dessert, and he actually gave us the one that he used to show to another table! We wrote some negative things to Princess about him citing several examples of him not listening to the guests (the table beside us had the same issues). We recommended that he be retrained.

 

This has been our experience lately. We (family of 4) asked for no appetizers at Crown Grill and got 3, asked for no potatoes or spinach and got them anyway; where they sat untouched. Asked for 2 lobster tails to share between us and got a plate full of about 6. It's a shame to waste like that.

 

Lots of experiences like that in MDR, too.

[Cruisin' Chick]

My personal preference would be that Princess try to save costs on the food itself. It's not quality, it's quantity. There's simply too much food.

 

On our last cruise, we received food we did not order a few times in the MDR and once at Crown Grill.

 

No means no. If we don't want an appetizer, please don't bring us one or two or three of them. Now I feel obliged to eat food I didn't want and didn't order and now I'm too full to eat the food I did want and then I feel guilty, because, by nature, I loathe wasting anything.

 

I can't begin to imagine how much food gets wasted on a cruise, but I'm sure I would be horrified to actually know.

 

Waste less food = lower food costs. Everyone wins.

 

I've never had this problem. Sometimes the headwaiter may be offering a specialty item for everyone, but a nice little "no thanks" should suffice. I guess you had a waiter who didn't listen. Usually our waitstaff after a day or two (we prefer traditional) will know I'll usually get a plain salad but want lemon slices instead of dressing, I often skip courses, and I avoid pepper and shellfish. On our last cruise, the headwaiter made a major deal about preparing everyone a special pasta dish in addition to all the other food. Somehow he never got us his specialty but that was okay.

[insidecabin]

Here is a question for those that want the fares to go up instead of additional for fee services?

 

Do you pay full list price or do you wait for discounts?

 

Do you continue to check the fares after you booked and take advantage of any price drops that occur?

 

Would you hold off booking based upon price if the discounts did not occur?

 

I suspect the way most here would answer those questions shows that there is price sensitivity in booking cruises.

 

The issue for the cruise line is...

 

Before the cruise you have control of the price you want pay.

 

On the cruise the cruise line has control on what you pay for extras.

 

 

As another poster says it is a value call. the issue with the current trend is the value is going down over time with the rush to the bottom pricing to attract NEW to cruising passengers that are yet to make the value judgement.

 

I am a great believer that pricing can driven by quality/value but this is currently hard as capacity growth is driving the business.

[Mom33]

Well, after reading all the different opinions on price increases by Princess, it appears that there is a split between those that want increases to be on services, those that want rate increases on fares and those that want no increase at all. The reasons given by each cannot be faulted as they serve their individual needs.

 

The fact that Princess can raise money either way whenever they see fit, does not excuse the fact they made a huge blunder in applying a service fee for room service and a cover charge for Alfredos on the Regal's debut cruise.

Raising prices on things we already pay for, such as coffee cards, drink cards, Sabatinis and Crown Grill etc. without notice may be annoying, but would not have created the stir that adding charges to previously complimentary items has. When Princess decides to add these charges, they should be well publicized before implementation .

[bdjam]

Well, after reading all the different opinions on price increases by Princess, it appears that there is a split between those that want increases to be on services, those that want rate increases on fares and those that want no increase at all. The reasons given by each cannot be faulted as they serve their individual needs.

 

Are the people indicating they don't want any price increases the same people who complain about the lower quality of the Princess product? Because they can't expect prices not to change and get the same level of quality...the world doesn't work that way.

[Nancyquilts]

Raising prices on things we already pay for, such as coffee cards, drink cards, Sabatinis and Crown Grill etc. without notice may be annoying, but would not have created the stir that adding charges to previously complimentary items has. When Princess decides to add these charges, they should be well publicized before implementation .

 

Such as raising the price on the Ultimate Balcony Breakfast from $25 to $32 and cutting back on the champagne, which originally was Moet et Chandon.

[Ethel5]

The thing I feel badly about is that Princess chose to roll out the new fees on an Inaugural cruise. A new ship is like the birth of a baby and should be full of joy. But the poor baby Regal met with anger and hostility. They should have waited or roll them out on another ship and not darkened the luster of a new ship.

[shredie]

The thing I feel badly about is that Princess chose to roll out the new fees on an Inaugural cruise. A new ship is like the birth of a baby and should be full of joy. But the poor baby Regal met with anger and hostility. They should have waited or roll them out on another ship and not darkened the luster of a new ship.

 

You speak the truth.

[insidecabin]

careful guys threads are being closed

 

 

Princess don't like the heat.

[Astro Flyer]

careful guys threads are being closed

 

Princess don't like the heat.

 

Cruise Critic moderates the threads & not Princess. :rolleyes:

Edited May 28, 2014 by Astro Flyer

[likeadisguise]

careful guys threads are being closed

 

 

Princess don't like the heat.

 

Or maybe we just don't need seven duplicate threads on essentially the same subject?

 

(on the plus side, it did cut down on the repetitive drink package threads for a few days!)

[jagoffee]

Actually I am surprised that cruise ships offer free room service. But I know it is the "norm" on a cruise ship.

 

Some like me seldom use room service and I know from reading the some people use it multiple times a day.

 

Perhaps there should be a mandatory service charge like on non cruise room service. The service charge can be the gratuity.

 

It is probably not unreasonable for Princess to have a surcharge for Alfredo's, but I have never experienced it. I will see what I think when I cruise on the Royal Princess in August. They charge for the Crab Shack and Fondue. Celebrity has a surcharge for a couple on their casual special eateries. (Bristo on Five and Porch)

 

The bottom line for me is that since the use varies significantly it would not make sense to increase the base fare for everyone.

[hubofhockey]

On my cruise on the Oasis they were charging. May not be the norm but at that time they were.

 

On that cruise, my nephew had to get a wristband before he could use it and there was a charge. May have been something unique to that cruise.

 

Oasis/Allure does not charge for open times. Of course, those times have the longest waits.

 

If you want semi-private lessons and one hour use with regular turns, there is a charge. I suppose the answer is that flowrider is free during times when not be used to rent it out or for the semi private lessons (well worth it).

 

I agree with the room service charges being an attempt to both increase revenue and cut down employee time and cost allocated to that activity. As for Alfredo's, if it is a product worth a surcharge and a different venue on Royal Class from other ships, then they should rename it and make it a specialty restaurant. Speaking of Allure, they do charge a cover for Johnny Rockets, but only to keep the crowds flowing (teens were using it as a hangout). They said they "trialed" a charge for Alfredo's on the Regal to keep crowds down. Well, maybe a $5 charge similar to what the Allure gets for Johnny Rockets may have gone over better than $20. $20 per couple for a place that has pizza, calzones, salad, and one pasta? Seems like a bit of a money grab to me. Maybe more people want that as opposed to $20 fondue or $20 previously frozen crabs. I think they could have done better choices for upcharge dining. Royal Caribbean got a right with Izumi, Samba, and some of the others and they also have nice separate casual eateries like Park Cafe that are complimentary.

[JustinPlusLauren]

I'm joining into this discussion way late, but I'm not quite sure why I understand that there would be extra charges for Alfredos. Why would it cost any extra to serve pizza to passengers than a meal in the dining room? Isn't pizza relatively cheap to make in comparison to other things? It isn't exactly a specialty restaurant, is it?

 

Sent from my SM-N900W8 using Tapatalk

[Love.II.Cruise]

I'm joining into this discussion way late, but I'm not quite sure why I understand that there would be extra charges for Alfredos. Why would it cost any extra to serve pizza to passengers than a meal in the dining room? Isn't pizza relatively cheap to make in comparison to other things? It isn't exactly a specialty restaurant, is it?

 

Sent from my SM-N900W8 using Tapatalk

 

Why does RCCL charge to eat at Johnny Rockets? Burgers and hot dogs (and a few other items)... but better quality than what is at the pool if you ask us.

 

Now many people think Alfredo's is better that the pizza by the pool, but I really do like the pool pizza. Cruise lines are looking for extra ways to get revenue.

Edited May 28, 2014 by Love.II.Cruise

[caribill]

Why does RCCL charge to eat at Johnny Rockets? Burgers and hot dogs (and a few other items)... but better quality than what is at the pool if you ask us.

 

 

RCCL does not have a burger stand like Princess does cooking fresh burgers. Johnny Rockets is the only place to get a hamburger, or at least a decent one. The limp patties in the buffet area do not qualify as decent food.

[LMaxwell]

Why does RCCL charge to eat at Johnny Rockets? Burgers and hot dogs (and a few other items)... but better quality than what is at the pool if you ask us.

 

JR's started out as free too.