Princess New Premier Plus

[prmssk]

3 minutes ago, Phantom of the Seas said:

2 different menus....one for Plus & one for Premier....what if you have Plus & order a drink on the Premier menu.....do you pay full price or difference?

The menu (as well as the beverage package terms and conditions on the website) clearly state you only pay the difference plus 18% gratuity on that difference.

[Phantom of the Seas]

So why 2 menus?

[beg3yrs]

19 minutes ago, Phantom of the Seas said:

So why 2 menus?

Two menus sure made it easy to determine if I want to upgrade to the Premier package. It also makes it simple for someone on the "Plus Budget" to scan what's available for no extra charge. The little Premier icons next to the cocktails are helpful too.

[DHP1]

34 minutes ago, socmft said:

Thank you so much for this - it should answer a LOT of questions!

Yes thank you

[smilesonfaces]

Thank you for going to the trouble of posting. Very helpful for everyone. 

[voljeep]

Silverado Cab - $17 = $5.90 'upcharge' per glass from Plus...

 

was there a menu of wines covered by Plus in detail? - maybe I missed that

[DunmowCruiser]

Any idea why no price on the menu for cloudy bay is it really available

 

thanks for taking the time to post by the way great information 

[JimmyVWine]

Thanks for posting the menu.
 

Absolutely unacceptable that the “Plus” wine list does not describe the producer or bottling but the “Premier” menu does. I’m never going to order a “Pinot Noir” without knowing anything about it. I hope the this isn’t a ship wide issue and is unique to Explorers Lounge. 
 

 

[t&atravel]

12 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

Thanks for posting the menu.
 

Absolutely unacceptable that the “Plus” wine list does not describe the producer or bottling but the “Premier” menu does. I’m never going to order a “Pinot Noir” without knowing anything about it. I hope the this isn’t a ship wide issue and is unique to Explorers Lounge. 
 

 

This menu is just one of those small flip menus that they have in the individual bars so I’m thinking that putting the full wine list is not conducive to that venue and are reserved for the MDR and Vines.  They may change the “plus” wines too often in the bars to list the wine producer.  They list the “premier” wines because they aren’t that many choices?  I’m sure if you ask they will tell you what choices they’re serving.  Just my thoughts. 

Edited June 26, 2022 by t&atravel

[startedwithamouse]

25 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

Thanks for posting the menu.
 

Absolutely unacceptable that the “Plus” wine list does not describe the producer or bottling but the “Premier” menu does. I’m never going to order a “Pinot Noir” without knowing anything about it. I hope the this isn’t a ship wide issue and is unique to Explorers Lounge. 
 

 

Why would it be absolutely unacceptable? Remember, this is 2022, you must have heard of supply chain issues? Why would they brand things they can't deliver all the time?  These are 'house wines", similar to a restaurant on land. Was branding promised in the terms and conditions of the previous Plus package? If it's unacceptable to you, choose the Premier package, problem solved.  The menus clearly stating what is included in which package, are are most welcome to people who are trying to beat the system, blaming their server saying they didn't know it wasn't included, and demanding the charge be removed at guest services. 

[startedwithamouse]

Our hope is these are sorted on the app by package - easy to scroll the list of cocktails without needed to look at pricing.  

[JimmyVWine]

25 minutes ago, startedwithamouse said:

Why would it be absolutely unacceptable? Remember, this is 2022, you must have heard of supply chain issues? Why would they brand things they can't deliver all the time?  These are 'house wines", similar to a restaurant on land. Was branding promised in the terms and conditions of the previous Plus package? If it's unacceptable to you, choose the Premier package, problem solved.  The menus clearly stating what is included in which package, are are most welcome to people who are trying to beat the system, blaming their server saying they didn't know it wasn't included, and demanding the charge be removed at guest services. 

Nonsense. The $10 per glass wines were not “house wines” for the past 20 years. What changed?  Supply chain issues on a ship are not an excuse. Ships don’t onload a case of this and a case of that. The take on 50 cases of this and 50 cases of that. Sure, they might run out of a wine here and there. But on balance, the beverage department knows what is in stock. And more to the point, it is almost a sure thing that they have a larger inventory of the $10-$12 per glass wines than they have of the higher quality $13-$17 wines. Yet they have no difficulty listing the latter with specificity. 

Edited June 26, 2022 by JimmyVWine

[JimmyVWine]

54 minutes ago, t&atravel said:

They list the “premier” wines because they aren’t that many choices?  I’m sure if you ask they will tell you what choices they’re serving.  Just my thoughts. 

Typically the number of choices in the lower price range isn’t any greater in a venue like Explorers. Unlike a Dining Room, a lounge is likely to have one, maybe two choices at most in the Plus range. It is a terrible inconvenience to the server to make them memorize the list or keep running back and forth to the bar to find out what they are pouring. Or…they could carry around a written list to read from. And if so, just print that out and leave a copy at each table. Not that hard. 
 

Ultimately, when you put in the effort to list the upper tier wines with specificity but not the lower priced wines, (and let’s be clear, $10-$12 glasses of wine are not cheap), you are saying: “We don’t take these offerings seriously and neither should you.”  That’s a horrible message to send when you are trying to get people to purchase a $50 per day package. 

Edited June 26, 2022 by JimmyVWine

[bronzey214]

4 hours ago, prmssk said:

The menu (as well as the beverage package terms and conditions on the website) clearly state you only pay the difference plus 18% gratuity on that difference.

This makes "splurging" on a fancier drink a lot more palatable.

[memoak]

Looks to me that the plus package is still the best deal for me

[startedwithamouse]

2 hours ago, JimmyVWine said:

Nonsense. The $10 per glass wines were not “house wines” for the past 20 years. What changed?  Supply chain issues on a ship are not an excuse. Ships don’t onload a case of this and a case of that. The take on 50 cases of this and 50 cases of that. Sure, they might run out of a wine here and there. But on balance, the beverage department knows what is in stock. And more to the point, it is almost a sure thing that they have a larger inventory of the $10-$12 per glass wines than they have of the higher quality $13-$17 wines. Yet they have no difficulty listing the latter with specificity. 

But they can easily change out what is readily available for the non-specific wine category for Plus.  Agreed that there's a larger inventory of the less expensive wines, and they are easily changed out.  Maybe they're giant wine bags?  Princess doesn't have to let us know as it's house wine.  Again, if it's super important to you, you have a choice in packages. What has changed in the last 20 years you ask? Everything has.  It's the new normal. Inflation. Supply Chain. The fuel prices to bring the wine and supplies to the port have doubled. Princess has very good value, drinks are still cheaper on a ship than a restaurant on land. 

[HaveDogWillTravel]

8 hours ago, prmssk said:

I'm sitting in Explorers Lounge now on the Caribbean Princess and a server just set down a paper menu that clearly marks what is covered by Plus and Premier.  It appears to be a completely different menu from last week.  A few drinks are the same but a lot have been eliminated and others added.  There are a number of new drinks that fall in the Premier Beverage package.

 

Explorers Lounge New June 25, 2022.pdf 6.63 MB · 145 downloads

 

I did not get a chance to stop by Good Spirits yesterday.  I was up super early to watch us come into Fort Lauderdale, long before the sunrise and so it was an early night.  This week we actually have a Good Spirits bar tender on board and the Good Spirits shows are actually on the menu.  The shows did not happen last week and Good Spirits drinks last week were not as good as I remember them being on the Emerald in February so hopefully this week will be better.  I also hope they are serving the drinks earlier.  Last week, you couldn't even get those drinks until after 6:00 p.m.

Thank you so much for taking the time out of your holiday to share this news with us. If it’s not too much of a bother would you mind terribly asking exactly what the Plus Wines are for the Sauvignon blanc, Rose and Pinot Grigio?  I understand these will probably change from cruise to cruise and from ship to ship but it would give an idea of the basic quality of wine they are serving in plus now. 
 

 

Edited June 26, 2022 by HaveDogWillTravel

[Phantom of the Seas]

4 hours ago, startedwithamouse said:

Why would it be absolutely unacceptable? Remember, this is 2022, you must have heard of supply chain issues? Why would they brand things they can't deliver all the time?  These are 'house wines", similar to a restaurant on land. Was branding promised in the terms and conditions of the previous Plus package? If it's unacceptable to you, choose the Premier package, problem solved.  The menus clearly stating what is included in which package, are are most welcome to people who are trying to beat the system, blaming their server saying they didn't know it wasn't included, and demanding the charge be removed at guest services. 

 

[Phantom of the Seas]

Trying to beat the system....how did you come up with that.....don’t understand your reasoning for this topic....

[PacnGoNow]

38 minutes ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

Thank you so much for taking the time out of your holiday to share this news with us. If it’s not too much of a bother would you mind terribly asking exactly what the Plus Wines are for the Sauvignon blanc, Rose and Pinot Grigio?  I understand these will probably change from cruise to cruise and from ship to ship but it would give an idea of the basic quality of wine they are serving in plus now. 
 

 

I saw this on another posting. Don’t know if this helps.

https://drive.google.com/drive/mobile/folders/12whWAkXXP7K8Al6zWXT09134H-8PwZdr
 

[prmssk]

44 minutes ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

Thank you so much for taking the time out of your holiday to share this news with us. If it’s not too much of a bother would you mind terribly asking exactly what the Plus Wines are for the Sauvignon blanc, Rose and Pinot Grigio?  I understand these will probably change from cruise to cruise and from ship to ship but it would give an idea of the basic quality of wine they are serving in plus now. 
 

 

I don't think they have a clue what is covered and not.  The QR codes for the MDR initially had the specifics (and didn't separate them out by package) and then today menus appeared that just listed the Plus wines by grape.  The QR code for Vines that showed a new menu two days ago with new prices no longer works and the bartenders at Vines told me today they have no menus and have no clue what is in each package.  I wasn't charged anything additional (at least yet) for ordering Conundrum in the MDR yesterday (which I thought had gone up to $14).  As of Friday, Guest Services didn't even know (or wouldn't admit) that bar prices were going to go up.

 

I feel like every time I find a menu that gives me answers, I find another the next day that is different and the menus displayed from using the QR codes don't match the hard copy menus that are available in the few bars that have them (like Explorers and Crooners).  

[JimmyVWine]

2 hours ago, startedwithamouse said:

Maybe they're giant wine bags?  Princess doesn't have to let us know as it's house wine. 

But Princess has NEVER sold $10-$12 wines as generic house wines or “giant bag wines.” You are conflating $6-$7 wines with $10-$12 wines. And let’s not overlook that Princess is charging $50 per day for a “Plus” experience. What about generic bag wines screams “Plus”?  Others will report in about other venues as the new program rolls out, but I’ll bet that other venues such as Vines and MDRs won’t be selling $10-$12 wines blindly. 

[Thrak]

Eventually prices will go up on everything and the Plus wines will all bear the Charles Shaw label.

 

Edit: Interesting trivia. The original Charles Shaw wine was a Gamay that won gold medals and was served at 3 White House dinners. At that time in California nobody knew much about wine and Cabernet was pretty much all they knew. The award winning Gamay was a financial failure.

Edited June 27, 2022 by Thrak

[gvre]

Do you know how much the 007 grey Goose Martini is?

[startedwithamouse]

2 hours ago, JimmyVWine said:

But Princess has NEVER sold $10-$12 wines as generic house wines or “giant bag wines.” You are conflating $6-$7 wines with $10-$12 wines. And let’s not overlook that Princess is charging $50 per day for a “Plus” experience. What about generic bag wines screams “Plus”?  Others will report in about other venues as the new program rolls out, but I’ll bet that other venues such as Vines and MDRs won’t be selling $10-$12 wines blindly. 

Plus is just a package, and beverages up to $12 are included.  Vines may become premier priced wines only, or bottles.  WE don't know the future.  Whatever Princess has done in the past, is in the past.  Princess has also NEVER been through a 1.5 year pause, right?  They still aren't cruising the Asian market and have yet to start sailing all ships.  They need to make all the $ they can.  The new menus shown are just that: GENERIC - characteristic of or relating to a class or group of things; not a specific brand. Bagged wine allows a large volume with less packaging costs and shipping costs, as glass weighs a lot.  It also keeps longer than an open bottle of wine, as it can't 'turn'.   You also have less behind the scenes manpower in opening and keeping track of bottles.