Booked Basic Fare -will test "pay as you go"

[Thrak]

9 hours ago, Sentebale said:

Also bought 100 shares of CCL for the $250 OBC, sent paperwork to Princess, sold the shares next day (@$25 gain👍).

 

Wow. I can't imagine doing something like that. It amazes me that you would publicly admit to such a lack of ethics.

Edited February 11, 2022 by Thrak

[AnyMajorCruiseDude]

You are making the smart move!

[AnyMajorCruiseDude]

7 minutes ago, Thrak said:

 

Wow. I can't imagine doing something like that. It amazes me that you would publicly admit to such a lack of ethics.

Agreed 100%

[venussuz]

If one person in a cabin gets the alcoholic drink package, doesn't the other person, by default have to? I know one (of six) people on our upcoming cruise doesn't drink but his roommate will make good use of the drinks package. We're hoping the guy who doesn't drink can get enough coffee drinks as well as milkshakes and mocktails to make it worthwhile. 

[wowzz]

16 minutes ago, catfluff said:

I like the way you cruise!

Us Brits like a drink !

[wowzz]

14 minutes ago, Thrak said:

 

Wow. I can't imagine doing something like that. It amazes me that you would publicly admit to such a lack of ethics.

He wouldn't have admitted it if the share price had dropped !  

[Steelers36]

9 hours ago, Sentebale said:

Also bought 100 shares of CCL for the $250 OBC, sent paperwork to Princess, sold the shares next day (@$25 gain👍).

I would give that a thumbs down.  Way over abuse of the benefit.

[Steelers36]

4 hours ago, sirclean said:

Also consider if you need 4 devices.  I have not sailed since this plan changed from timed minutes, but from what I have read, as long as you log off one and then log into the other, you can use the 4 devices, just not at the same time.  So Will you be using 4 devices concurrently?  Perhaps there is some added savings there?

If both people in a cabin are getting the MedallionNet, you may as well have ONE person order the 4-device plan since the cost is the same as TWO single-device plans.  That way, each cabinmate can be on two devices at once, rather than the single-device each.  This is exactly what we do.

[Buckeye10640]

56 minutes ago, Thrak said:

 

Wow. I can't imagine doing something like that. It amazes me that you would publicly admit to such a lack of ethics.

As I read thru this thread I was waiting for someone to have picked up on that. I agree it does stretch the boundaries and abuse of this puts us all at risk of losing the benefit.

[Ombud]

15 minutes ago, Buckeye10640 said:

As I read thru this thread I was waiting for someone to have picked up on that. I agree it does stretch the boundaries and abuse of this puts us all at risk of losing the benefit.

If Princess was on the ball it would be easy to ask for it to be reconfirmed ... or held for at least ×days. 

[travelin.sisters]

29 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

If both people in a cabin are getting the MedallionNet, you may as well have ONE person order the 4-device plan since the cost is the same as TWO single-device plans.  That way, each cabinmate can be on two devices at once, rather than the single-device each.  This is exactly what we do.

and you can share with travel companions in other cabins 

[sirclean]

2 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

Wow. I can't imagine doing something like that. It amazes me that you would publicly admit to such a lack of ethics.

  

 

While I agree that buying the stock so that it is in the account only to get the benefit is probably not what was intended, It DOES comply with the rules set up by Carnival (not even Princess!) .  Why criticize someone for playing by the rules that were set up by the company?  

IF the company wants to set a minimum holding period, that is for THEM to do!

 

 

While this made sense to do THIS time (with a minor benefit of the cabin credit and a $25 gain), the stock is volatile enough that it may cost thousands of dollars more to try to do this a second time, especially if we are coming to an end of Covid restrictions and we are soon back to full ship sailing (and corporate profitability!)  I suspect that IF this person cruises more frequently, that they will regret churning the stock! 

[Thrak]

12 minutes ago, sirclean said:

While this made sense to do THIS time (with a minor benefit of the cabin credit and a $25 gain),

 

The "minor benefit" you mention is $250...

[envy4u]

Stock will only go up in the future as things continue to improve.  

 

Some people just live to play the system and ruin it for others. Princess do read these boards 😉 

[sirclean]

40 minutes ago, Thrak said:

The "minor benefit" you mention is $250...

Yes,  a $250 cabin credit. Obtained by FOLLOWING THE RULES created by Carnival (not Princess!).   Is this an Ethical Breach?  (to follow the rules set by the company?)  It is not an ethical breach to follow the rules set by the company.  

 

250 over the price of the cruise? Not a significant percentage in the scheme of things.  Fortunately for them that it worked out.  They could easily have lost that much given the volatility of the stock lately and the time it takes to get this done.  In my opinion, they got lucky.  Further, I think that IF they decide to cruise more often then they will regret selling the stock

 

 

[geoherb]

I've gone without the Princess Plus for my previous cruises. My cruise that ends tomorrow is the first time I've ever had it. It's also the first cruise where it was offered to me at $40 a day. It has been double that price sometimes due to my booking last-minute solo fares.

 

For the ones I did not have the drinks included, I was able to make do with bringing on a bottle of wine, trading my minibar alcohols for all beer, and trying to take advantage of free drinks at the champagne waterfall (pre-Covid), Captain's Circle party, winning bottles of champagne, and wine tasting. On my cruise in August, I bought two drinks and the Winemaker's Dinner. On my December cruise, I did not buy any alcoholic beverages.

 

On this cruise, I have met several people who reached their 15-alcoholic-drink limit. One was seriously inebriated and probably should have been cut off sooner. A couple of other ones looked fine. I think they spaced out their drinks on our last sea day. I could see a couple of mimosas at breakfast, a drink by the pool in the morning, a couple of glasses of wine or beers at lunch, a couple more by the pool, a couple of evening cocktails before dinner, three glasses of wine at dinner, a coffee with a shot at dinner, and then two nightcaps to get someone to 15 drinks in a day and still functioning.

 

But I have not made it past seven alcoholic drinks in a day. The fewest was three. I have had a lot of Perrier and the premium teas.

[fpsphil]

28 minutes ago, geoherb said:

I've gone without the Princess Plus for my previous cruises. My cruise that ends tomorrow is the first time I've ever had it. It's also the first cruise where it was offered to me at $40 a day. It has been double that price sometimes due to my booking last-minute solo fares.

 

For the ones I did not have the drinks included, I was able to make do with bringing on a bottle of wine, trading my minibar alcohols for all beer, and trying to take advantage of free drinks at the champagne waterfall (pre-Covid), Captain's Circle party, winning bottles of champagne, and wine tasting. On my cruise in August, I bought two drinks and the Winemaker's Dinner. On my December cruise, I did not buy any alcoholic beverages.

 

On this cruise, I have met several people who reached their 15-alcoholic-drink limit. One was seriously inebriated and probably should have been cut off sooner. A couple of other ones looked fine. I think they spaced out their drinks on our last sea day. I could see a couple of mimosas at breakfast, a drink by the pool in the morning, a couple of glasses of wine or beers at lunch, a couple more by the pool, a couple of evening cocktails before dinner, three glasses of wine at dinner, a coffee with a shot at dinner, and then two nightcaps to get someone to 15 drinks in a day and still functioning.

 

But I have not made it past seven alcoholic drinks in a day. The fewest was three. I have had a lot of Perrier and the premium teas.

On the majestic last month I never felt fully drunk and I definitely touched my 15 drink a day limit (the bartenders weren’t exactly ringing everything up). Between spacing and the drinks being on the weaker side didn’t feel much

[rj59]

Non-Plus works for me, since I get shareholder and military OBC, and now the Elite minibar, as well as half-off wifi plans. On Mexico cruises I also buy a 2L of Coke Zero in port and have drinks on land, especially if I can find a craft beer place. I also have a low tolerance to alcohol, and I know I'd be too tempted to sample as many cocktails as possible in order to maximize the value of Plus, which wouldn't make me feel good in the end, especially since I want to enjoy the high quality of Princess food without feeling drunk or ill. I also found that not buying wifi for the entire cruise helps break internet addiction, since I find myself surfing too much with a beautiful ocean or sunset in front of me, or surfing on a phone during meals, or sitting in my room and surfing. So on my last Mexican cruise I suffered for a few days, used free data in port towns, and then paid for a few days of wifi on the way home. 

[Sentebale]

Just to clarify - I wasn't trying to game the system with my stock purchase and next day sell. I'm sorry if I came across as cocky, that was not my intention. 

I'm an 100% index fund investor (spread the risk) but figured I'd buy CCL as my first stock purchase. I immediately regretted it. I probably checked the stock price 10 times in 7 hours. I was making myself crazy. The moment the market opened next day, I sold. Sure I'm happy I didn't lose money, but I'm most happy to know I'm not cut out to own individual stocks, even one that comes with an obc perk.

[Buckeye10640]

6 hours ago, rj59 said:

Non-Plus works for me, since I get shareholder and military OBC, and now the Elite minibar, as well as half-off wifi plans. On Mexico cruises I also buy a 2L of Coke Zero in port and have drinks on land, especially if I can find a craft beer place. I also have a low tolerance to alcohol, and I know I'd be too tempted to sample as many cocktails as possible in order to maximize the value of Plus, which wouldn't make me feel good in the end, especially since I want to enjoy the high quality of Princess food without feeling drunk or ill. I also found that not buying wifi for the entire cruise helps break internet addiction, since I find myself surfing too much with a beautiful ocean or sunset in front of me, or surfing on a phone during meals, or sitting in my room and surfing. So on my last Mexican cruise I suffered for a few days, used free data in port towns, and then paid for a few days of wifi on the way home. 

Plus is not for everyone,  to be sure. But you had  no problem with bringing 2-liters on board? Never tried it as I thought only cans are permitted, no plastic. Even with PrincessPlus we bring a 12pk of soft drinks on board due to Princess  lack of providng a zero sugar caffeine free soft drink option. 

[justafem]

Hubs and I just got off the Ruby and utilized princess plus.  We've never had the premium drink package before, so it was an experiment for us.

 

I mathed it out.  We always buy coffee cards, so that would have been $80 or $4 per person per day.  Gratuities, rounded to $15 per person per day.  WIFI rounded to $10 per person per day.  Hubs needs his soda, so $12 per day (only for him, not a soda drinker). 

 

So hubs cost per day is $41 without the premium package, while my cost is $29 per day. 

 

Hubs rarely drinks alcohol, but I'll have a couple a day while on the ship (rarely on land, so very rarely, maybe 3-5 a year).  

 

We over-utilized the specialty coffee part.  Like 5+ a day per person, I don't think either of us ordered regular coffee the entire trip.  Average price is $4.  We also ordered specialty coffees through room service at any time day or night.  Even though the plus package says booze and specialty coffees are not included in room service, they were included, with the charges being taken off.  Multiple "charged" beverages were allowed on a single room service order.

 

We would normally order glasses of water, but we just picked up bottles whenever we were thirsty.  At least 5 each a day.  $2 each, without the package.  I know, bad for the environment... yell at me. 

 

I had at least 2 alcoholic drinks per day, while hubs had 2 drinks for the entire cruise.  The first day, I had 8 alcoholic drinks, I got drunk and sobered up 3 times the first day.  Didn't repeat that!

 

So, for us, the plus package at $40 per day was definitely a winner.  Our final bill was $10.  And I turned the $300 in casino cash into $279 in my pocket.  Good trip!

[cjpj]

18 hours ago, fpsphil said:

Depends on the rate tho. On the Majestic last month the princess plus came out to only a ~300 per person difference so it made sense. Depends on the sale and if the base fare is discounted when I look at it

True.  It's always $700 per person Canadian difference. Never seen it different. But I will watch more closely now and see if I can find d one with a smaller gap.

[Lady Arwen]

11 minutes ago, cjpj said:

True.  It's always $700 per person Canadian difference. Never seen it different. But I will watch more closely now and see if I can find d one with a smaller gap.

For our upcoming 12 night cruise the difference is $600.00 (Canadian) per person or $50.00 per person per day.  

[cjpj]

15 minutes ago, Lady Arwen said:

For our upcoming 12 night cruise the difference is $600.00 (Canadian) per person or $50.00 per person per day.  

Yes... our cruise is 14 days, so spot on.

[mpdog42]

23 hours ago, fpsphil said:

Depends on the rate tho. On the Majestic last month the princess plus came out to only a ~300 per person difference so it made sense. Depends on the sale and if the base fare is discounted when I look at it

Same for my upcoming cruise!!