Princess Cruises introduces all-inclusive Premier Package

[memoak]

10 hours ago, rheathslc said:

My travel summary for a Sept cruise still shows "Premier Beverage Package" though. 🙂

 

That is the same verbiage they have used in the past no change 

[vjmatty]

1 hour ago, insidecabin said:

There are non alcohol packages available.

 

On my UK booking they are including grats

 

£16.98pppd  

£8.49pppd

£26.34   (15 coffee/tea)

 

Get Your Caffeine Fix

Enjoy premium and specialty coffees and teas along with fountain sodas, fruit juices, hot chocolate and “zero-proof” mocktails throughout your entire cruise with this beverage package.

The Coffee & Soda Package is $19.99 USD* per person, per day

 

The Best Drinks Don’t Need Alcohol

This package includes all fountain sodas, fruit juices, mocktails and smoothies.

The Classic Soda Package is $9.99 USD* per person, per day

 

Coffee (or Tea) Lovers, Rejoice!

Sip your favorite espresso-based beverage or tea with the pre-purchase of a specified number of specialty coffees (numbers vary by itinerary) during the voyage of purchase, as well as complimentary brewed coffee and hot chocolate.

New Grounds Coffee Package  (number of drinks)

 

So the caffeine package includes everything non-alcohol? I don't see bottled (or is it cartoned now) water listed.

[rheathslc]

43 minutes ago, tonit964 said:

I checked my Summary yesterday for my September cruise and it shows the same thing, Premier Drinks with Service Charge but at the Plus price so I'm confused which one it'll actually be.

It will be the original package with the $12 limit unless you are sailing on or after June 25th and choose to pay $25pp/day to upgrade. It's just going to take a while for Princess to change all the text that exists everywhere for what has been called "Premier" and will now be called "Plus". The name isn't what's really important. It's the price.

[Daniel A]

I find it interesting to read how many people want to get a free upgrade to their drink package.  When you purchased the plan, did it include drinks over $12?  Of course not.  Why do people think they are now entitled to get drinks up to $18 when they didn't pay for the new higher tier beverage package?  I understand that some people are claiming to be confused because of the rebranding of the product they purchased.  It's very easy to clear up the confusion...when you purchased your beverage package, what terms were being offered at that time?  That will most likely be what you will get.  🙄

[tonit964]

3 minutes ago, Daniel A said:

I find it interesting to read how many people want to get a free upgrade to their drink package.  When you purchased the plan, did it include drinks over $12?  Of course not.  Why do people think they are now entitled to get drinks up to $18 when they didn't pay for the new higher tier beverage package?  I understand that some people are claiming to be confused because of the rebranding of the product they purchased.  It's very easy to clear up the confusion...when you purchased your beverage package, what terms were being offered at that time?  That will most likely be what you will get.  🙄

When I booked my September cruise in February, I knew exactly what I was getting with the Plus Pkg but now with this new addition to the plan, and Princess more than likely raising the prices of the drinks, I will not be getting what I booked. Unless of course they stick to their word about not raising prices, then all is fine.

[welshgirl58]

10 minutes ago, Daniel A said:

I find it interesting to read how many people want to get a free upgrade to their drink package.  When you purchased the plan, did it include drinks over $12?  Of course not.  Why do people think they are now entitled to get drinks up to $18 when they didn't pay for the new higher tier beverage package?  I understand that some people are claiming to be confused because of the rebranding of the product they purchased.  It's very easy to clear up the confusion...when you purchased your beverage package, what terms were being offered at that time?  That will most likely be what you will get.  🙄

7D

Edited May 13, 2022 by welshgirl58
Didn’t want to put op message on.

[suzyed]

On 5/11/2022 at 1:49 PM, voljeep said:

Premier is a definite NO-GO for us ... Plus is prolly still a go, for now

 

hopefully P+ retains that you just pay any additional +18% over the $12 limit

That's my thinking too....was just about to say that we just paid the difference if it went over the $12 limit.

[prmssk]

5 minutes ago, Daniel A said:

I find it interesting to read how many people want to get a free upgrade to their drink package.  When you purchased the plan, did it include drinks over $12?  Of course not.  Why do people think they are now entitled to get drinks up to $18 when they didn't pay for the new higher tier beverage package?  I understand that some people are claiming to be confused because of the rebranding of the product they purchased.  It's very easy to clear up the confusion...when you purchased your beverage package, what terms were being offered at that time?  That will most likely be what you will get.  🙄

Personally, I will be quite content with my current plus package IF Princess truly doesn’t raise prices. But if my favorite Good Spirit Drinks or glasses of wine go from $12 to $15 (or whatever increase), I am not going to be pleased. I booked plus because it covered what I planned to drink. I’m not sure I would have booked plus if it didn’t cover those drinks but now that I’m past final payment date, I doubt I can change that decision. 

[welshgirl58]

I totally agree with you. You don’t get anything for nothing in this life. Will be happy to enjoy “old” Princess package without any further cost. Can’t see the need for us to upgrade.

[t&atravel]

I don’t think they will raise prices of the “drinks” per se but instead they will move the higher end liquor to the premier.  For example if I want a gin and tonic with Bombay Sapphire it will be under the $12 limit.  If I want it made with Hendricks then it will be higher priced.  Right now hendricks is under the $12 limit which was awesome but I never could understand that because where I live choosing hendricks always ups the price of the drink.  Just my opinion of where they may be headed of course.   

[rheathslc]

8 minutes ago, Daniel A said:

I find it interesting to read how many people want to get a free upgrade to their drink package.  When you purchased the plan, did it include drinks over $12?  Of course not.  Why do people think they are now entitled to get drinks up to $18 when they didn't pay for the new higher tier beverage package?  I understand that some people are claiming to be confused because of the rebranding of the product they purchased.  It's very easy to clear up the confusion...when you purchased your beverage package, what terms were being offered at that time?  That will most likely be what you will get.  🙄

I also find it interesting how many people are complaining that the new package isn't a value to them. Then don't buy it. Simple solution. But I also think a lot of the frustration is coming from people who are assuming that Princess will use this opportunity to raise prices and make the original package less valuable thereby making people feel like they have to upgrade to get the same value. I really don't think that's their intention and they said as much in the webinar for TAs. But we'll just have to wait and see I guess. Personally, I'm not going to spend energy being mad about a hypothetical situation. 🙂 

[rheathslc]

1 hour ago, memoak said:

That is the same verbiage they have used in the past no change 

Right. I'm aware of that. This was an expansion of my previous post with screenshots showing that my cruise personalizer AND new bookings on the website are showing the new "Plus" wording but that my travel summary for a September cruise is still showing the old. I'm not confused about which package I'm getting. A lot of people seem to be. I also plan on upgrading to Premier when it becomes available for our two 5-day B2Bs because I think the math makes sense for a shorter cruise. I think Premier becomes considerably less attractive at anything over 6 days or so unless someone plans on drinking a TON of $18 drinks.

[Tedferg]

14 hours ago, Torfamm said:

Not sure what you saw but Princess.com says they are included in the Plus package 

Sorry for the confusion regarding coffee etc. A person posted charts from NCL to show how they differentiated between drink packages. The point was that PCL could bring a differentiation between Plus and Premier without specifically raising prices. NCL does not include coffee in their lower priced drink package, that is what I was referring to. Sorry.

[suzyed]

On 5/11/2022 at 2:43 PM, Daniel A said:

Well... Reading the US newspapers, it appears that the price of everything is going up.  It's called inflation and shrinkflation.  Princess is not immune to the costs of their purchases going up and that is on top of the payments on loans Carnival Corp had to take out during the forced shutdown. ☹️

We can either stay in the game or go home. 

 

I'm sure the Home Office would love to hear alternatives that wouldn't off-put some customers.

Somehow I doubt that...they have a hard time solving our "normal" issues with our bookings, etc, let alone want to listen to our opinions on alternatives.

[cruisequeen4ever]

I don’t see this as positive. I see this as a way to charge more. I really hope they don’t raise the prices of drinks to be above the regular drinks package. 

[vjmatty]

1 hour ago, Daniel A said:

I find it interesting to read how many people want to get a free upgrade to their drink package.  When you purchased the plan, did it include drinks over $12?  Of course not.  Why do people think they are now entitled to get drinks up to $18 when they didn't pay for the new higher tier beverage package?  I understand that some people are claiming to be confused because of the rebranding of the product they purchased.  It's very easy to clear up the confusion...when you purchased your beverage package, what terms were being offered at that time?  That will most likely be what you will get.  🙄

 

That's not exactly what the complaint is.... they're asking to be grandfathered in if the majority of the "under $12" Plus drinks all of a sudden become "up to $18" Premier drinks.  If Princess is going to move the goalposts midstream I can understand the logic.

[broadwaycam]

Will you be able to purchase the Princess Prizes option without upgrading to premier?

[pms4104]

11 minutes ago, broadwaycam said:

Will you be able to purchase the Princess Prizes option without upgrading to premier?

Yep ... $20 per day per cabin.

[caribill]

Some points from the Princess webinar yesterday.

 

o The Princess Plus package at $40/day/person has been extremely popular. That is how we know it will be popular at $50/person/day.

 

o The unlimited digital photos is "in the MedallionClass App." No mention made of how to get this benefit if you do not have a device that is supported by the app.

 

o For the door portal promotion, the winnings are available in the MedallionClass App. No mention made of how to access your winnings (one in 5 spins wins) if you do not have a device that is supported by the app.

 

o The current "Princess Savers" fare will be renamed "Princess Standard." (My guess is that having the word "savers" encourages people to not book the higher fares that include a package. The word "standard" may evoke an impression of not as good a product as it could be and thus encourage booking with a package.)

 

o PrincessPlus name remains the same, but the tag line will change from "Best. Value. Ever." to "Our 'Better' Value."

 

o The Plus beverage package name does change to "Plus Beverage Package," but it is a name change only. What is included does not change.

 

o TAs who set up groups with PrincessPlus by May 24 can sell their bookings in that group with the Plus Package cost of $40/day/person past the May 25th date when the regular price changes to $50/day/person.

 

o Anyone who has the Plus package at $40/day/person needs to know that that price is not protected if the booking is refared after May 24th.

 

o At $75/day/person, for a seven day cruise the cost is $525/person but has a "value" of $1092.

 

o One who has booked a cruise can later upgrade to either Plus or Premier packages. This can be done either via a TA or by the customer using the App (and the upcharge will be commissionable even if done via the App).

 

o The current "Princess Savers" fare will be renamed "Princess Standard." (My guess is that having the word "savers" encourages people to not book the higher fares that include a package. The word "standard" may evoke an impression of not as good a product as it could be and thus encourage booking with a package.)

 

o PrincessPlus name remains the same, but the tag line will change from "Best. Value. Ever." to "Our 'Better' Value."

 

o The Plus beverage package name does change to "Plus Beverage Package," but it is a name change only. What is included does not change.

 

o TAs who set up groups with PrincessPlus by May 24 can sell their bookings in that group with the Plus Package cost of $40/day/person past the May 25th date when the price changes to $50/day/person.

 

o Anyone who has the Plus package at $40/day/person needs to know that that price is not protected if the booking is refared after May 24th.

 

o At $75/day/person, for a seven day cruise the cost is $525/person but has a "value" of $1092.

 

o One can book a cruise later upgrade to either Plus or Premier packages. This can be done either via aTA or by the customer using the App (and the upcharge will be commissionable even if done via the App).

 

o Package upgrades can be done for all passengers in a cabin, the first two passengers, or the 3rd and 4th passengers.

 

o To reward for their loyalty to Princess about 100 TAs who recently booked a cruise at TA rates and had included the current Plus package, Princess will upgrade that package to the Premier Package at no additional cost. (No such reward for loyalty for regular Princess passengers.)

 

 

[suekel]

I wonder what they will offer on the free casino cruises.  They've always offered the Plus package.  

[Phantom of the Seas]

So....in my Cruise Personalizer show for 10 day cruise Premier Beverage Pkg $685.10 x 2....WiFi $99.70 x 2...plus crew appreciation included...I’m assuming it is Princess Plus....almost seems like in between the New Premier and Plus????

[caribill]

12 minutes ago, Phantom of the Seas said:

So....in my Cruise Personalizer show for 10 day cruise Premier Beverage Pkg $685.10 x 2....WiFi $99.70 x 2...plus crew appreciation included...I’m assuming it is Princess Plus....almost seems like in between the New Premier and Plus????

 

That is exactly the definition of Princess Plus package. For 2 people have 2 current beverage packages, 2 WIFI and 2 gratuities.

[rheathslc]

2 minutes ago, Phantom of the Seas said:

So....in my Cruise Personalizer show for 10 day cruise Premier Beverage Pkg $685.10 x 2....WiFi $99.70 x 2...plus crew appreciation included...I’m assuming it is Princess Plus....almost seems like in between the New Premier and Plus????

Yeah, I noticed that discrepancy too. I have a 5 day cruise booked with Princess Plus and it shows the included "Premier Drink with Service Charge" which will have the name Plus Drinks going forward has a price of $342.55 which is only $68.51 per person per day, not the $70.79 per person per day that shows when you go to book the stand-alone drinks package. Maybe Princess gives a different value to the package in Princess Plus than it does in the stand-alone package for some reason. I mean, it's only $2.28 difference. But still strange. I seem to remember that the drinks package was a slightly different price a few years ago when I first booked it but I can't remember for sure. Maybe they just didn't make that change in the internal pricing. Unless someone else can shed light on this.

That all means that you did in fact book Princess Plus though. 🙂

[rheathslc]

1 hour ago, caribill said:

o Anyone who has the Plus package at $40/day/person needs to know that that price is not protected if the booking is refared after May 24th.

This is important to know! I'm currently booked solo and paying the double occupancy fare for a 5-day in September. If I add someone after the 24th I wonder that will also bump my per day cost for Plus to $50? I'm already trying to confirm if my friend can join me before the 25th but this adds new urgency. 

[isosika]

We have 3 cruises booked, a 28-day and 2 months later, B2B 10-day cruises.  We booked at the Princess Plus rate but did so knowing that I would probably break even at $40/day and my wife, as a non-drinker, would not.  We booked this rate more out of convenience than need for a bargain.  The $12 limit on the Plus package works since I only drink beer, and not much of that since I have gout.  

 

However, knowing that we are already losing money at the $40 rate, going to $50 will cause us to book future cruises at the "standard" rate, then pay-as-you-go.  I calculated that we can probably pay for both of us at $50/day so doubling that with no additional benefit is senseless.

 

We are Elite so I can swap the liquor in the mini-bar setup for beer and we can get wi-fi for $5/day/person.