What Exactly Are Upgraded Amenities On Princess?...Answered!

[jimmymed3]

Hey Everyone! Being Elite status can be a pretty cool thing and can come with many cool perks (I mean, free laundry service? Woo!). One of the perks we receive as Elite members are upgraded amenities. We found out that these are the same amenities that the folks in the suites receive sailing on the Crown Princess this past December.

It was so hard trying to find what exactly upgraded amenities were before we sailed, so we thought we would make a little to show you all.

We have to say that after finally seeing just what they were, we were kind of disappointed. If you want to see more of our trip. Check out our vlogs on YouTube channel: Chubby and Away.

 

[Mike45LC]

Like many things on Princess, the "upgraded amenities" are not consistent.  You will find that they can vary slightly from cruise to cruise.  What I have always found is that there is nothing to get excited about.

[Thrak]

We have only cruised as Elite one time so far. We didn't get all of that. We would have appreciated the emery board but didn't get it. We did get a gel mask which my wife didn't want and left behind. We can't use any of the Lotus Spa lotions, etc. as they are highly scented and I am highly allergic to scented stuff. Our bag was on the sparse side and pretty much of no value to us. I think we did use the Q-Tips but didn't really need them as we already had some with us.

[Astro Flyer]

On 1/19/2020 at 11:14 AM, jimmymed3 said:

One of the perks we receive as Elite members are upgraded amenities.

 

To reduce single use plastics, Princess is replacing many of those items with larger pump bottles:  shower gel and shampoo & conditioner in the shower;  lotion & liquid soap by the sink (bars are being eliminated).

 

Our upgraded toiletries on the Sky were only lip balm, nail file, linen mist.

[Cruiser_1977]

@Astro Flyer What is linen mist? A Febreze type freshener?

[jennybenny]

2 minutes ago, JennyB1977 said:

@Astro Flyer What is linen mist? A Febreze type freshener?

Some hotels will spray linen spray on your sheets.  Princess provides it to do yourself. 🤣

I guess it can be like fabreeze.  I usually bring my own bottle of Fabreeze 2X Heavy duty. It works better

[Astro Flyer]

11 minutes ago, JennyB1977 said:

@Astro Flyer What is linen mist? A Febreze type freshener?

 

That’s how we use it...it’s a small pump bottle although on long cruises we bring our own air freshener.

 

Edited January 20, 2020 by Astro Flyer

[hllwdcruiser]

We have been loyal to Princess and are slowly working our way up to Elite but we certainly are not loyal because of the status or added amenities. I've always thought they are pretty pathetic especially since the intro of unlimited internet minutes.

We don't care for the change of drinks offered in the P&E lounge and care even less for the increase in price. DH always enjoyed the Chairman of the Board and I love a good Cosmo. I just wish they would allow us to order any drink we want at a reduced price. Free would be even better!

The free laundry would not be an incentive because I like to do my own (I don't even let DH near the washer!) and although we would like (love)the free mini bar set up, it's still wouldn't incentivize us to stick with Princess. Priority tender, embarkation and disembarkation is fine except we have never really had any issues waiting so I'm not sure how important that benefit would be to us.

We stick with Princess because we really like the product. The itineraries, food, ambiance and demographics are what keeps us coming back.

 

[tennisobo]

Thanks for the informative video and the info from others.  I will be elite after my cruise that leaves next Sunday on the Regal.  I forgot that after I'm elite we will get the free minibar setup.  We don't drink alcohol but trading out for some other stuff will be nice.  I want to check out the IC offerings next week to see if I would like to trade for the coffee card.  I don't drink coffee but I do like a good chai tea latte.  I will try some while we are onboard next week.  I'm SO ready to leave this cold, snowy Midwest weather for a lovely warm Caribbean cruise.  

[neverbeenhere]

1 hour ago, hllwdcruiser said:

We have been loyal to Princess and are slowly working our way up to Elite but we certainly are not loyal because of the status or added amenities. I've always thought they are pretty pathetic especially since the intro of unlimited internet minutes.

We don't care for the change of drinks offered in the P&E lounge and care even less for the increase in price. DH always enjoyed the Chairman of the Board and I love a good Cosmo. I just wish they would allow us to order any drink we want at a reduced price. Free would be even better!

The free laundry would not be an incentive because I like to do my own (I don't even let DH near the washer!) and although we would like (love)the free mini bar set up, it's still wouldn't incentivize us to stick with Princess. Priority tender, embarkation and disembarkation is fine except we have never really had any issues waiting so I'm not sure how important that benefit would be to us.

We stick with Princess because we really like the product. The itineraries, food, ambiance and demographics are what keeps us coming back.

 

How do you know that you might not like other brands better, if you are loyal to Princess?  Comparison is very hard without experience?  

[hllwdcruiser]

19 minutes ago, neverbeenhere said:

How do you know that you might not like other brands better, if you are loyal to Princess?  Comparison is very hard without experience?  

I never said I wouldn't like any other brands better. We've been on RCCL and NCL in the past and would definitely sail again with the grandkids but that type of ship isn't our cup of tea. We want to try Celebrity and most likely will sometime in the near future but like I said, we like the Princess product - thus we have been loyal. 

We would love to sail on the luxury brands and river cruises one day but because we maintain a summer home in the Adirondack mountains as well as taking land vacations, the fares are above our price range. 

[OCruisers]

3 hours ago, Mike45LC said:

Like many things on Princess, the "upgraded amenities" are not consistent.  You will find that they can vary slightly from cruise to cruise.  What I have always found is that there is nothing to get excited about.

 

Agree with the above on the "upgraded amenities".

We've been Elite for a long time.  What is included changes from sailing to sailing.  

Sometimes the "upgraded amenities" are better than others  ... but never bad.  :)

[kywildcatfanone]

They rarely give those out anymore has been our experience, and 50 cents of stuff it's what I would consider upgraded amenities. 

[CruisinCouple2010]

When we sailed on the Sky Princess in December we received a nail file and a shower cap which were slid inside a folded washcloth. That was it. 

 

[geoherb]

Last month on the Caribbean Princess, I received the sisal mitt, conditioner, shampoo, body wash, shower cap, linen spray, emery board, lip balm, linen mist, and cotton swabs and cotton balls in the gold mesh bag. On the Crown Princess in September, they were just on the counter in our bathroom, not in the gold mesh bag, and consisted of conditioner, shower cap, emery board, bag with cotton balls and swabs, and lip balm. There were nearly 1,000 Elites on that cruise.

[MsSoCalCruiser]

This is what I received on my September and my October cruise...

 

 

 

Edited January 21, 2020 by MsSoCalCruiser

[MsSoCalCruiser]

My next cruise is coming up soon.  I’m wondering what will be there.

Edited January 21, 2020 by MsSoCalCruiser

[rj42]

The blue/green goo they pass off as shampoo and body wash is one of the weak points of Princess (down there with Carnival), after I've been spoiled by the Elemis products on HAL. Even Norwegian has green goo that at least has a lime scent. It's a disappointment, along with the shower curtains that always leave the floor wet, and it detracts from the experience of having such comfortable beds. 

 

The minibar (or coffee card) setup is nice, especially for those like me who go solo on mostly 3-5 day cruises, as is having a dedicated boarding lounge if you show up early. Another nice perk is having a dedicated line at ship services, so once when I had an unexpected refundable credit the final morning I was able to go ahead of all the agitated people with shipboard account complaints and get my cash. 

 

As a solo cruiser, I also appreciate that they offer loyalty status based on number of cruises (with double credit given to solo cruisers), rather than just cruise days, as everyone else does. Now if they'd only put some studio cabins on their ship and offer more cruises at less than 200% single supplement, they'd really get my loyalty. 

[Maui Girl]

On 1/20/2020 at 2:24 PM, Astro Flyer said:

 

To reduce single use plastics, Princess is replacing many of those items with larger pump bottles:  shower gel and shampoo & conditioner in the shower;  lotion & liquid soap by the sink (bars are being eliminated).

 

Our upgraded toiletries on the Sky were only lip balm, nail file, linen mist.

I can understand cutting down on single use plastics for sure!  But what does that have to do with eliminating bar soap??    I might have to bring my own bar, I hate shower gel 😉

[Astro Flyer]

1 minute ago, Maui Girl said:

I can understand cutting down on single use plastics for sure!  But what does that have to do with eliminating bar soap??    I might have to bring my own bar, I hate shower gel 😉

 

I agree with you & bought a bar of soap from a shoreside store when discovering they were eliminated & will bring my own bar in the future.

 

In previous discussions it’s been speculated that in the long run liquid soap is a savings over bars of soap.  We’ll never know the actually reason why bars were eliminated but it wouldn’t surprise me if it was to save money.

[Maui Girl]

Well yes, the bottom line is always money.  I’m sure there are lots of people that do like shower gel also, or you wouldn’t see so much of it in the stores these days. 

[jimmymed3]

Wow! We had no idea there were so many variables when it comes to the upgraded amenities. Even though the amenities are not anything to write home about, it looks like some of you barely got anything at all. 

We would have liked to sample the linen mist. If those beds were not as comfy already, that would have enhanced the sleep experience even more!

[OCruisers]

On 1/21/2020 at 12:59 AM, MsSoCalCruiser said:

This is what I received on my September and my October cruise...

 

 

 

 

That's what we got on our last cruise too.  

[dog]

On 1/20/2020 at 8:09 PM, CruisinCouple2010 said:

When we sailed on the Sky Princess in December we received a nail file and a shower cap which were slid inside a folded washcloth. That was it. 

 

In another forum, people on the Sky right now are saying they got nothing.

[Shelly97060]

On Royal a couple of weeks ago the amenity bag contained a tube of lotion (same as on bathroom counter), tube of shower gel (same as what’s in the shower), cotton swabs,  cotton balls, lip balm and shower cap.