Cost of Cruising in Australia vs USA & UK

[SinbadThePorter]

13 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Sinbad, try clearing your cache and see what happens then.

 

Cleared cache, but no change. I use Firefox, so I tried Edge and then I see what you guys see. So it's obviously something peculiar about my Firefox. Maybe something to do with the Ad blocker I use. I'll have to experiment a bit more.

[LittleFish1976]

20 hours ago, SinbadThePorter said:

 

Is that on the Search Results screen? This is what I see.

 

 

 

I'm seeing what you're seeing. Different prices only show up once I select cabin type and number of passengers. I'm also using Firefox.

Edited August 24, 2022 by LittleFish1976

[Aus Traveller]

47 minutes ago, LittleFish1976 said:

 

I'm seeing what you're seeing. Different prices only show up once I select cabin type and number of passengers. I'm also using Firefox.

It isn't the browser that's making the difference. I'm also using Firefox and I get the option of 'standard' or 'Plus' directly where it shows the individual cruises.

[LittleFish1976]

1 hour ago, Aus Traveller said:

It isn't the browser that's making the difference. I'm also using Firefox and I get the option of 'standard' or 'Plus' directly where it shows the individual cruises.

Just a suggestion. 🙂

Edited August 24, 2022 by LittleFish1976

[Aus Traveller]

11 minutes ago, LittleFish1976 said:

Just a suggestion. 🙂

I posted my comment because both you and Sinbad used Firefox but couldn't see the option of 'standard' or 'plus' on the opening screen. It is a puzzle because I'm also using Firefox and do see this option.

[shireboi]

On 8/23/2022 at 2:52 PM, arxcards said:

Those prices include the plus package:

  Plus Beverage Package (drinks Up To $12 Each)

  Wi-fi (1 Device Per Guest)

  $50 onboard spending credit per person

For the base price of your Majestic one, you can drop $50 per day down to $168pp for a twin inside. Balconies start at $222pp. Inclusive packages on Princess were only ever a limited promotional thing on selected cruises prior to covid.

 

Now with the added cost to fuel and other supplies, base pricing is on the way up. On the flip side though, if you are flexible it is a good time to sit and wait for deals to come along. Not going to happen for the lap around Oz cruises though.

 

 

Drinks up to $16 on Princess

 

$222 per person is HELL of a lot to be asking for a room, a few meals (if you want to do buffets or dining room)  - would you pay $450+ for a hotel room per night ? 

 

P&O must be crazy thinking that people are going to pay for :  the comedy and pride cruises are great comparisons.  A balcony on the later, 3 night cruise, is $266 per person - and that's WITHOUT DRINKS.

 

Their 'standard inclusions' are a joke :  entry to bars !!??!!

 

These short breaks are where they prices have gone up significantly - mainly because the current destinations in the South Pacific are limited.  

 

Having just come off the Coral Princess on a 3 night deal (drinks - to which I didn't indulge ) - I would seriously not bother with any of the other cruise lines and the 'up to $800 per stateroom credit' scams = I have no desire for another cruise at the moment - and will wait til the market has a few more ships departing.  

 

You just need to be savvy on any deals - and take into consideration the propaganda deals that seem GREAT but really arent

 

 

 

 

[arxcards]

2 minutes ago, shireboi said:

 

 

Drinks up to $16 on Princess

 

$222 per person is HELL of a lot to be asking for a room, a few meals (if you want to do buffets or dining room)  - would you pay $450+ for a hotel room per night ? 

 

P&O must be crazy thinking that people are going to pay for :  the comedy and pride cruises are great comparisons.  A balcony on the later, 3 night cruise, is $266 per person - and that's WITHOUT DRINKS.

 

Their 'standard inclusions' are a joke :  entry to bars !!??!!

 

These short breaks are where they prices have gone up significantly - mainly because the current destinations in the South Pacific are limited.  

 

Having just come off the Coral Princess on a 3 night deal (drinks - to which I didn't indulge ) - I would seriously not bother with any of the other cruise lines and the 'up to $800 per stateroom credit' scams = I have no desire for another cruise at the moment - and will wait til the market has a few more ships departing.  

 

You just need to be savvy on any deals - and take into consideration the propaganda deals that seem GREAT but really arent

 

 

 

 

Yeah, I am aware it is $16, my bad with the inconsistency of the Princess site. Even though everything is in Aussie dollars on the Aussie version of the page, when you go to do a dummy booking it currently shows the US $12 version. At the time I thought they had changed it, as people on that cruise were telling me they were cutting the value of the plus package. I capped this just now:

 

I was shopping around this morning looking for a getaway for Feb/March next year. I hoped to see some great prices for Luminosa, and also looked at Ovation, Quantum, Coral & Majestic. The price of a mini was cheaper on Majestic AND that includes the plus package. And yes, I agree. I didn't even bother to look at any P&O cruises. After Coral Princess last weekend, it would need to be a very different itinerary to get us back on P&O anytime soon.

 

[OzKiwiJJ]

50 minutes ago, shireboi said:

 

 

Drinks up to $16 on Princess

 

$222 per person is HELL of a lot to be asking for a room, a few meals (if you want to do buffets or dining room)  - would you pay $450+ for a hotel room per night ? 

 

 

If the hotel room included a full breakfast for two, a three course lunch for two, a good four course dinner for two, quality entertainment in multiple venues to suit most tastes, and all the other amenities of a cruise ship then yes. But most hotels don't which is why we enjoy cruising, which has one extra advantage over a hotel - the scenery changes daily.

[shireboi]

1 hour ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

If the hotel room included a full breakfast for two, a three course lunch for two, a good four course dinner for two, quality entertainment in multiple venues to suit most tastes, and all the other amenities of a cruise ship then yes. But most hotels don't which is why we enjoy cruising, which has one extra advantage over a hotel - the scenery changes daily.

i couldn’t and would be able to stomach that amount of food each day…..

 

given my mum barely ate anything I won’t be doing another with her again.

 

next trip is to Bangkok in November..club room breakfast, afternoon tea, club drinks and bites for $180 a room

[OzKiwiJJ]

28 minutes ago, shireboi said:

i couldn’t and would be able to stomach that amount of food each day…..

 

The portions are quite small which is one reason I go to the MDR not the buffet. They have better portion control than I do. I enjoy variety so small portions of several dishes is my favourite way of dining if I'm not cooking.

[MicCanberra]

Cruising caters for a lot of people but it is not to everyone's taste nor is it for everyone regardless of cost.

[Aussieflyer]

Can I just clarify - the Plus package I had on Coral last week included drinks up to $16 but when looking at some new cruises it is saying up to $12 (and when looking at my Crooners menu on the phone there is basically nothing in this range). Is this an error on the Princess site and they have quoted the $US or have the 'up to' prices declined? I am assuming the former.

Edited August 26, 2022 by Aussieflyer

[Aus Traveller]

9 minutes ago, Aussieflyer said:

Can I just clarify - the Plus package I had on Coral last week included drinks up to $16 but when looking at some new cruises it is saying up to $12 (and when looking at my Crooners menu on the phone there is basically nothing in this range). Is this an error on the Princess site and they have quoted the $US or have the 'up to' prices declined? I am assuming the former.

Someone else clarified that the $12 is the US price. The Australian price limit remains at $16.

[OzKiwiJJ]

11 minutes ago, Aussieflyer said:

Can I just clarify - the Plus package I had on Coral last week included drinks up to $16 but when looking at some new cruises it is saying up to $12 (and when looking at my Crooners menu on the phone there is basically nothing in this range). Is this an error on the Princess site and they have quoted the $US or have the 'up to' prices declined? I am assuming the former.

Yes, the former but if the drinks price was showing as $12 you might find the cruise fares are also showing in USD. This has happened a few times on the Princess website in the last few months. I think logging into Princess shows the correct fares/prices.

[Aussieflyer]

2 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Yes, the former but if the drinks price was showing as $12 you might find the cruise fares are also showing in USD. This has happened a few times on the Princess website in the last few months. I think logging into Princess shows the correct fares/prices.

Thanks both Aus Traveller and OzKiwiJJ - I had a lingering thought that I had read the drink 'up to' amount had been reduced but pleased it is still $16. The cruise fare was showing in $A just not this bit - weird but then the Princess website can be a beast unto itself at times.

[OzKiwiJJ]

4 minutes ago, Aussieflyer said:

Thanks both Aus Traveller and OzKiwiJJ - I had a lingering thought that I had read the drink 'up to' amount had been reduced but pleased it is still $16. The cruise fare was showing in $A just not this bit - weird but then the Princess website can be a beast unto itself at times.

Put it this way, if they have reduced the value then they will experience me throwing the biggest hissy fit they've ever seen. I threw a big enough one in June when I discovered the pathetic Plus wine list but if the values have been reduced it will be an earthquake level hissy fit!!!! 🤣🤣🤣 But I'm 99.9% certain it's still $16.

[arxcards]

8 hours ago, Aussieflyer said:

Thanks both Aus Traveller and OzKiwiJJ - I had a lingering thought that I had read the drink 'up to' amount had been reduced but pleased it is still $16. The cruise fare was showing in $A just not this bit - weird but then the Princess website can be a beast unto itself at times.

Yes, we made another booking for Majestic this week, and it confuses to no end. Also having some passengers remonstrating about it last weekend, it is something they need to tidy up on their site.

[arxcards]

10 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Yes, the former but if the drinks price was showing as $12 you might find the cruise fares are also showing in USD. This has happened a few times on the Princess website in the last few months. I think logging into Princess shows the correct fares/prices.

It shows the $12 amount during the package selection when you are going through the booking process, even when logged in to My Princess. Has done this since they started the Premier package.

 

Site error confirmed though, it is indeed AU$16.