Princess Cruises introduces all-inclusive Premier Package

[MommyOTwins]

13 minutes ago, isosika said:

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.

That’s a good point.  We booked it despite having kids in our group because at $40 the savings for the adults would roughly offset the overcharge for the kids and it seemed nice to have the freedom to order whatever we want. At $50 that is definitely not the case any more.  I’m afraid princess shot themselves in the foot because close cases like us will just leave off the plus package next time, and if I am paying a la carte for everything, somehow it just seems harder to justify paying for a fancy coffee or another poolside drink and my sales will likely be lower than what they got from me with the plus package.

[HaveDogWillTravel]

1 hour ago, rheathslc said:

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. 

Adding or deleting someone from the booking does not trigger a refare.  I do it all the time.   

[rheathslc]

3 minutes ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

Adding or deleting someone from the booking does not trigger a refare.  I do it all the time.   

TY!

[rheathslc]

22 minutes ago, MommyOTwins said:

That’s a good point.  We booked it despite having kids in our group because at $40 the savings for the adults would roughly offset the overcharge for the kids and it seemed nice to have the freedom to order whatever we want. At $50 that is definitely not the case any more.  I’m afraid princess shot themselves in the foot because close cases like us will just leave off the plus package next time, and if I am paying a la carte for everything, somehow it just seems harder to justify paying for a fancy coffee or another poolside drink and my sales will likely be lower than what they got from me with the plus package.

I think they make these decisions without really considering the folks who cruise with kids. I love Princess and I don't have kids but if I ever decide to take my nieces and nephews on a cruise it for sure wouldn't be with Princess.

[Daniel A]

1 minute ago, rheathslc said:

I think they make these decisions without really considering the folks who cruise with kids. I love Princess and I don't have kids but if I ever decide to take my nieces and nephews on a cruise it for sure wouldn't be with Princess.

When I was younger (under 30 YOA) a Princess cruise would have been very boring for me.  Kids don't appreciate good food or the shows, they're looking for excitement at that age, not relaxing sea days with excursions to learn about faraway lands.  At this point in my life, Princess fits like well-worn slippers and if I want excitement, there would be other vacations I would choose.

[Steelers36]

7 hours 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.

Obviously the PLUS.  You just have to wait until they realize all the System changes that aren't done.

 

I notice logging in  today that the duplicate "Premier" (actually the new PLUS) drink package is not doubly listed like yesterday when there was a second listing with the AUD pricing, but in USD and with the N.A. terms.  I think we just need to wait and see how they manage things by the MAY 25 official launch date. 

[Steelers36]

6 hours ago, tonit964 said:

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.

PCL can raise prices at ANYTIME on any of their services, regardless of when you book, and bar prices could have been raised even without the addition of a higher tier drink package.  They could raise SD prices tomorrow.  But they might be nice and let those of us with SD credits use them on our booked voyages without the up-charge.  Similar, they can increase the Crew Incentive anytime - albeit in the past, they did not pass the up-charge along to booked voyages and made up the difference themselves.  Last time they increased, we paid the additional $1/pp/day voluntarily. 

[rheathslc]

11 minutes ago, Daniel A said:

When I was younger (under 30 YOA) a Princess cruise would have been very boring for me.  Kids don't appreciate good food or the shows, they're looking for excitement at that age, not relaxing sea days with excursions to learn about faraway lands.  At this point in my life, Princess fits like well-worn slippers and if I want excitement, there would be other vacations I would choose.

Well I first fell in love with cruising on Princess at 25 but I've always preferred way less partying and excitement than my peers. When I was a kid I planned at home read-a-thons on the weekends because I loved them so much at school. So yeah. I'm kinda lame. Haha! Princess has exactly what I want. Although it does include things I would rather NOT have, like kiddos (nothing against them, but would rather vacation without a lot of kids around) and a casino and smoking. But I can't quite afford Viking yet. 🙂

[Steelers36]

3 hours ago, caribill said:

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.

<I am thinking somewhat popular.>

 

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.)

<Makes sense from marketing viewpoint.>

 

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

<Makes sense from marketing viewpoint.  However, calling the new package BEST value is a stretch.  It is most definitely only BEST value to selected Guests and I believe in Guests' minds the PLUS will continue to be viewed as the BEST value.  But, I understand they have to puff it up to make sales.>

 

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.

<This has been out of alignment since the get-go of PLUS and this makes a lot of sense to align the fare option and the package offered in Personalizer (although I still do not understand why anyone would buy the package since you can do two PLUS fare options for not much more than the package cost).>

 

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.

<Nice for sales in the near term.>

 

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 seems fair, so guests just need to make sure the price drop is better than $10/pp/day to make the re-fare worthwhile.  I don't normally bother with a re-fare unless significant.>

 

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

<ROFL at the bloated "value" - it certainly is nothing near such a value to me.>

 

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).

<Nice for the TA involved.  But, OMG, here's another opportunity for the MC App to fail when it is still buggy.>

 

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.)

<Again, makes sense from a marketing standpoint.  As long as they keep it around I am happy camper since it is OUR Best Value - on the basis I am bringing on my own wine and we get free mini-bar perk.>

 

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

<repeated from above.>

 

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.

<repeated from above.>

 

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.

<repeated from above.>

 

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.

<repeated from above.>

 

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

<LOL again.>

 

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).

<repeated from above.>

 

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.)

<HA HA - I figure they are getting slammed for clogged phone lines and newbie reps who don't know enough.>

 

See my comments above within your EXCELLENT & INFORMATIVE Post.  Comments not direct at you of course.

[ceilidh1]

45 minutes ago, Daniel A said:

When I was younger (under 30 YOA) a Princess cruise would have been very boring for me.  Kids don't appreciate good food or the shows, they're looking for excitement at that age, not relaxing sea days with excursions to learn about faraway lands.  At this point in my life, Princess fits like well-worn slippers and if I want excitement, there would be other vacations I would choose.

I'm not sure my kids would agree with you on this...lol. They have been cruising since they were 6 months (now 15 and 10) and Princess was always our go-to line. They both love Princess over any of the other lines. They HATED the one cruise we took on Disney, were bored on HAL, found RC "meh", thought Carnival was a little too much "fun" and really enjoy NCL. Whenever we are planning a cruise, their first choice is always Princess (I'm the one that has outgrown this line now...)

[caribill]

23 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

See my comments above within your EXCELLENT & INFORMATIVE Post.

 

Sorry for the repeat parts. I did too much copy/paste obviously.

[smilesonfaces]

7 hours ago, tonit964 said:

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.

You will be getting exactly what you booked ie all drinks priced up to $12. It doesn’t specify which drinks are included only that they are up to $12.  I’m not a gambler but I would stake money that Princess  will be increasing their drinks prices on 25/6. 

[tonit964]

1 hour ago, Steelers36 said:

PCL can raise prices at ANYTIME on any of their services, regardless of when you book, and bar prices could have been raised even without the addition of a higher tier drink package.  They could raise SD prices tomorrow.  But they might be nice and let those of us with SD credits use them on our booked voyages without the up-charge.  Similar, they can increase the Crew Incentive anytime - albeit in the past, they did not pass the up-charge along to booked voyages and made up the difference themselves.  Last time they increased, we paid the additional $1/pp/day voluntarily. 

 

5 minutes ago, smilesonfaces said:

You will be getting exactly what you booked ie all drinks priced up to $12. It doesn’t specify which drinks are included only that they are up to $12.  I’m not a gambler but I would stake money that Princess  will be increasing their drinks prices on 25/6. 

 Those points are very true. I know that most of the drinks fall under the $12 price. I just hope they leave the Beverly Hills Iced Tea where it currently is. 😊 We'll have to see how it goes.

[memoak]

17 minutes ago, smilesonfaces said:

You will be getting exactly what you booked ie all drinks priced up to $12. It doesn’t specify which drinks are included only that they are up to $12.  I’m not a gambler but I would stake money that Princess  will be increasing their drinks prices on 25/6. 

Per my PVP today no raise in drink prices is contemplated at this time. The bigger package is mostly in response to those who want top shelf liquor, higher priced wines by the glass and photos. We are fine with what we drink now and she assured us that unless you refare you will not pay the extra $10 per day on the 5 cruises we have booked through the next 2 years

[1emerald1]

Instead of gimmicky giveaways that only benefit some, I wish that instead that they'd bring back the loyalty OBC.

[wowzz]

5 minutes ago, 1emerald1 said:

Instead of gimmicky giveaways that only benefit some, I wish that instead that they'd bring back the loyalty OBC.

But that does not generate new customers,  which is far more important in the mid to long term. And, younger cruisers,  spend more on board than "old timers" like us !

[wowzz]

35 minutes ago, smilesonfaces said:

I’m not a gambler but I would stake money that Princess  will be increasing their drinks prices on 25/6. 

I'll happily take that bet.  

There are so many drinks well under the $12 level, that even a 10% increase would have no impact. 

And if a drink previously costing $12 went to $12.50, the vist to you would be exactly 59c!

Whilst drink prices are likely to increase in due course, along with everything else,  I do think you are being over Machiavellian in your thinking.

[memoak]

34 minutes ago, memoak said:

Per my PVP today no raise in drink prices is contemplated at this time. The bigger package is mostly in response to those who want top shelf liquor, higher priced wines by the glass and photos. We are fine with what we drink now and she assured us that unless you refare you will not pay the extra $10 per day on the 5 cruises we have booked through the next 2 years

 

34 minutes ago, memoak said:

Per my PVP today no raise in drink prices is contemplated at this time. The bigger package is mostly in response to those who want top shelf liquor, higher priced wines by the glass and photos. We are fine with what we drink now and she assured us that unless you refare you will not pay the extra $10 per day on the 5 cruises we have booked through the next 2 years

I forgot to add the 4 device WiFi for those who don’t want to log off and on between devices or share their WiFi with others 

[Steelers36]

43 minutes ago, memoak said:

The bigger package is mostly in response to those who want top shelf liquor, higher priced wines by the glass and photos.

FWIW, I for one am not convinced that those folks who want higher-shelf liquors and more higher price WBTG choices coincide with the folks who want lots of expensive Princess photos.

Edited May 13, 2022 by Steelers36

[Tedferg]

3 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

FWIW, I for one am not convinced that those folks who want higher-shelf liquors and more higher price WBTG choices coincide with the folks who want lots of expensive Princess photos.

Took me a while to get WBTG. Also, with Top Shelf drinks, couldn't you just ask barman to move the bottle to a lower shelf!

[jwattle]

We like all of the things in the premier package, but we're odd like that😁

[cruzin4us]

1 hour ago, 1emerald1 said:

Instead of gimmicky giveaways that only benefit some, I wish that instead that they'd bring back the loyalty OBC.

 

I wish they'd just get enough staff to open all the restaurants, fix the plumbing, fix the generators, fix the App, fix the hot tubs, fix the elevators, fix the wait time on the phone, fix the safes, fix the AC, fix the TV's, fix the dining room fiascos, bring back TD.    Did I miss anything?

[Steelers36]

4 hours ago, cruzin4us said:

 

I wish they'd just get enough staff to open all the restaurants, fix the plumbing, fix the generators, fix the App, fix the hot tubs, fix the elevators, fix the wait time on the phone, fix the safes, fix the AC, fix the TV's, fix the dining room fiascos, bring back TD.    Did I miss anything?

You can those again!

[smilesonfaces]

6 hours ago, wowzz said:

I'll happily take that bet.  

There are so many drinks well under the $12 level, that even a 10% increase would have no impact. 

And if a drink previously costing $12 went to $12.50, the vist to you would be exactly 59c!

Whilst drink prices are likely to increase in due course, along with everything else,  I do think you are being over Machiavellian in your thinking.

Hopefully you are right and the cocktails won’t go over the $12 mark. We went on P & O last year and only fairly basic cocktails were included in the package.All you get with over the  package priced drinks with them is a 20% reduction. I just hope Princess aren’t going down the same way.  I have not seen anything official about still allowing customers to pay just the difference plus tax but hopefully this is the case.

 

I have been through drinks menus looking at prices and there just seems so few drinks priced between $12 and $18 that I can’t see people buying the new package unless it is a short cruise or many drinks go over $12? The cynic in me I guess ! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[caribill]

39 minutes ago, smilesonfaces said:

 

 

I have been through drinks menus looking at prices and there just seems so few drinks priced between $12 and $18 that I can’t see people buying the new package unless it is a short cruise or many drinks go over $12? The cynic in me I guess ! 

 

 

 

The webinar said there were over 60 drinks (spirits, wines, new cocktails) unique to the Premier package. This is many more drinks than what currently cost over $12.