Which "NEW" Cruise Fare Package Do You Prefer?

[caribill]

11 hours ago, 2 cruises a year said:

Tipping is obviously the "culture" on Princess ships.  It has always been encouraged and expected. 

 

And on the cruise lines that are the main competitors of Princess: RCI, Carnival, Celebrity, HAL.

[caribill]

12 hours ago, Tedferg said:

Agree with your points, I am sure you know that cruise tipping used to be specific to crew member with envelopes. Disingenuous for cruise line to say, 'we are going to set the amount and charge everyone automatically FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE'.

 

History: Originally the main dining rooms were only traditional dining. You had the same waitstaff throughout the cruise as, of course, as the same cabin steward. At that time, cash in envelopes was the method of tipping.

 

Then Anytime dining was introduced. those doing Anytime no longer had the same waitstaff every evening. That is when the daily service charge was added to shipboard accounts, so that dining room staff could be properly rewarded.

 

With the current policy of sharing the gratuities with crew across the fleet, each passenger's contribution to their dining room staff and cabin steward could be just about a peney a person per day. You are no longer directly rewarding those who give you great service.

 

Now that dining room staff and cabin stewards can keep any cash given directly to them, that is the only way to directly reward those who gave you great service in those areas. Otherwise, you have given them less than a dime for a 7 day cruise. (Of course you are also rewarding those on other ships with that less than a dime per crew member with the crew appreciation charge.)

[Jeter02]

2 hours ago, caribill said:

 

History: Originally the main dining rooms were only traditional dining. You had the same waitstaff throughout the cruise as, of course, as the same cabin steward. At that time, cash in envelopes was the method of tipping.

 

Then Anytime dining was introduced. those doing Anytime no longer had the same waitstaff every evening. That is when the daily service charge was added to shipboard accounts, so that dining room staff could be properly rewarded.

 

With the current policy of sharing the gratuities with crew across the fleet, each passenger's contribution to their dining room staff and cabin steward could be just about a peney a person per day. You are no longer directly rewarding those who give you great service.

 

Now that dining room staff and cabin stewards can keep any cash given directly to them, that is the only way to directly reward those who gave you great service in those areas. Otherwise, you have given them less than a dime for a 7 day cruise. (Of course you are also rewarding those on other ships with that less than a dime per crew member with the crew appreciation charge.)

This is why in the dining room I make it a purpose to request the same table every night at the cruise which is easy for me to do since I'm a 5 p.m. diner every single night and always first in line so it's not an issue. It's for the two reasons of one that they get tipped properly because I know they work so hard beyond words for their lower than minimum wage pay. But also I love that personalized feeling and getting to know them and create this bond between them asking each day how their day was and just sharing things with them. 

 

People also need to realize the importance of those crew appreciation / gratuity fees. Keep in mind people that work behind the scenes let's say laundry for example they don't get tips and they never have been able to get tips because they're behind the scenes. So this really does help them in the area of making sure everyone is getting some tips and extra pay along the way on top of their minimum wage. Most people tend to forget about these people and they should not be forgotten because they are who help make our trip magical.

 

On an end note on this a vacation is what you make it to be but always think about those who help make that vacation memorable and a success.

[MissP22]

We also request the same table every night at 5PM after we find a good waiter. (which most are)

Later in the evening it becomes difficult to place people at the same table since with open seating you can't hold the same table open for long periods of time. 

If the hostess at the door isn't willing to give us the same spot we just talk to the head waiter for that section & it solves our problem. 

[roxievegas]

The cost of doing anything has changed so much, just not in the past couple of years, but over time we have had to change vacations (trips/traveling) based on our financial situation.  Years ago we would fly somewhere, stay a week, eat out everyday, fly home.  Then the cost of airfare, hotel, food went out of wack.  We have been cruising every year since 2016, mostly because my husband retired and we could go longer and go as many times as we wanted.  Now we have to watch which cruises to go on, how long, how much, etc.  

Back in the old days (1990's) we flew 2 adults, 4 teenage boys, got two rooms, went to Turtle Bay Hawaii (flight, hotel, food) and the whole thing cost us less than $3,000.  Just looked this morning for us to take our kids and grandkids (4 adults, 2 grandkids, 2 rooms) and the cost was $3,000 per person, so $18,000 - not going.

If things get out of wack, we will look in a new direction.  

[Coral]

18 hours ago, 2 cruises a year said:

Tipping is obviously the "culture" on Princess ships.  It has always been encouraged and expected. 

It is the culture of most cruise lines that are foreign flagged.

[kamelia]

On 12/2/2022 at 6:41 AM, chabad said:

Why isn't John Padget holding focus groups or take surveys from their loyal passengers, before they roll out these idiotic plans? We the loyal passengers should have our voices heard and accounted for, before the higher ups roll out these plans before consulting us. 

I was part of the Princess focus group - pre-Padgett - that was specifically tasked with how to improve the loyalty benefits, with an eye especially toward cruisers who are considerably above the 15 cruises/150 days Elite level.  There were many well-thought-out suggestions and responses put forth within the group and, at the time, I felt our time and effort would help result in meaningful loyalty recognition.  It was a double blow when the updated loyalty program was rolled out, and not only were none of the suggestions included, but the benefits from the original program were also watered down, and some even removed completely!  Loyalty schmoyalty. 🙁

Edited December 4, 2022 by kamelia

[Jeter02]

2 hours ago, kamelia said:

I was part of the Princess focus group - pre-Padgett - that was specifically tasked with how to improve the loyalty benefits, with an eye especially toward cruisers who are considerably above the 15 cruises/150 days Elite level.  There were many well-thought-out suggestions and responses put forth within the group and, at the time, I felt our time and effort would help result in meaningful loyalty recognition.  It was a double blow when the updated loyalty program was rolled out, and not only were none of the suggestions included, but the benefits from the original program were also watered down, and some even removed completely!  Loyalty schmoyalty. 🙁

That's so sad 😪. I would love to be a part of a focus group of theirs. I have over 600 days of at sea with Princess solely and never been asked. You're experience sounds like anything and everything like the school board. Why bother asking educators when they have zero experience running a school district and yet they still don't listen to us who have actual experience in a classroom 

[2 cruises a year]

11 hours ago, caribill said:

 

History: Originally the main dining rooms were only traditional dining. You had the same waitstaff throughout the cruise as, of course, as the same cabin steward. At that time, cash in envelopes was the method of tipping.

 

Then Anytime dining was introduced. those doing Anytime no longer had the same waitstaff every evening. That is when the daily service charge was added to shipboard accounts, so that dining room staff could be properly rewarded.

 

With the current policy of sharing the gratuities with crew across the fleet, each passenger's contribution to their dining room staff and cabin steward could be just about a peney a person per day. You are no longer directly rewarding those who give you great service.

 

Now that dining room staff and cabin stewards can keep any cash given directly to them, that is the only way to directly reward those who gave you great service in those areas. Otherwise, you have given them less than a dime for a 7 day cruise. (Of course you are also rewarding those on other ships with that less than a dime per crew member with the crew appreciation charge.)

What you left out is that all of the passengers on other ships are also rewarding the crew on your ship almost a dime each.  So taken as a whole, it is a wash.  Everyone gets their full share.  But of course a little extra cash still gives you a little more personal expression of your appreciation.

[Travlin grrl]

I would like to trade the desserts and/or exercise class for something like a facial, massage or mani/pedi. I think that would be more appealing. Even for guys! I can't tell you how many guys are at the nail salon getting pedicures.  Lol.

[Jeter02]

13 minutes ago, Travlin grrl said:

I would like to trade the desserts and/or exercise class for something like a facial, massage or mani/pedi. I think that would be more appealing. Even for guys! I can't tell you how many guys are at the nail salon getting pedicures.  Lol.

Ooooooh! I love that idea a lot! 💆‍♀️💅 However I don't think they can do promotions with the spa because the spa is owned by Steiner which is a third-party company hired by the cruise line.

Edited December 4, 2022 by Jeter02

[Guest ldtr]

12 hours ago, caribill said:

 

History: Originally the main dining rooms were only traditional dining. You had the same waitstaff throughout the cruise as, of course, as the same cabin steward. At that time, cash in envelopes was the method of tipping.

 

Then Anytime dining was introduced. those doing Anytime no longer had the same waitstaff every evening. That is when the daily service charge was added to shipboard accounts, so that dining room staff could be properly rewarded.

 

With the current policy of sharing the gratuities with crew across the fleet, each passenger's contribution to their dining room staff and cabin steward could be just about a peney a person per day. You are no longer directly rewarding those who give you great service.

 

Now that dining room staff and cabin stewards can keep any cash given directly to them, that is the only way to directly reward those who gave you great service in those areas. Otherwise, you have given them less than a dime for a 7 day cruise. (Of course you are also rewarding those on other ships with that less than a dime per crew member with the crew appreciation charge.)

Of course they also get that same amount from every other Princess passenger paying gratuities.  So in effect they get the same amount and are protected to some degree from passengers that choose not to tip, even with excellent service.

 

Since when did Princess change the rules and allow tips to be kept, if the money comes from people that have removed the gratuity amount?  My understanding, even from my last cruise in August, that tips received in addition to the normal gratuity amount, they got to keep.  Gratuities received from someone that had removed them had to be turned into the pool.  At least my cabin steward alluded to that when I handed them a tip at the end of the cruise and they seemed a bit neutral, until I mentioned that the normal gratuities were still in place and this was extra, so this was extra.  

 

While the cruise lines are incorporated outside of the US, they are all listed on US stock exchanges and have to meet US accounting rules.  If order for them to process gratuities outside of the accounting system (they are not considered to be revenue or expenses as far as the cruise line accounting systems) they must meet certain rules.  The two main ones are that 1. any and all money received must be fully distributed to the employees, and 2. the amounts must be optional (can be removed).  So as long as the cruise lines allow removal, one can be pretty sure that the money is in fact going to the employees.

 

One of the main reasons Princess and the other cruise lines went to fleet wide tip pools was because of the disparity that occurred  between ships sailing in different parts of the world and the make up of the passengers on a particular cruise.  As such the pool was set up to distribute the money equally across the fleet instead of a ship getting penalized because it was sailing in an area where the culture did not include tipping.  I remember back from before the change and some crew would get very unhappy getting assigned to sips in some areas because they knew that the tip levels would be substantially lower.

[Tedferg]

19 hours ago, sirclean said:

I upgraded (and paid) to get to Princess Plus for an April Cruise.  On the webpage, it indicated that my insurance cost would also go up, so it looks like the answer is Yes. 

 

16 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

Yes, when I hit that tell me more button, the cost was more than $50 x number of days (old pricing).  There was an addition $42 that I could not account for ($3.50 per day more).  I decided that it wasn't worth my analysis as to why.  Accepted and purchased.

Thank you, the original quote from my TA had $96 increase in insurance for Plus package. I had not thought of that as an extra cost for Plus package.

[Tedferg]

Thanks to Caribil and ldter for clarification of gratuities. Now I don't feel as bad about them being shared fleetwide.

[caribill]

11 minutes ago, ldtr said:

Since when did Princess change the rules and allow tips to be kept, if the money comes from people that have removed the gratuity amount?  My understanding, even from my last cruise in August, that tips received in addition to the normal gratuity amount, they got to keep.  Gratuities received from someone that had removed them had to be turned into the pool.  At least my cabin steward alluded to that when I handed them a tip at the end of the cruise and they seemed a bit neutral, until I mentioned that the normal gratuities were still in place and this was extra, so this was extra. 

 

 

It was first reported on Cruise Critic earlier this year.

 

With 75% or more passengers having the Plus/Premier packages which include gratuities, that left less than 25% of passengers who had the daily crew appreciation fee on their accounts. And since Australians on Australia based cruises have the gratuity built into their cruise fare, that left even less passengers who had the daily charge.

 

My theory is that with relatively few passengers who had the option of adjusting tips downward and would actually do so, Princess did not think it was worth all the time and effort to verify that every cash tip given to dining room staff and cabin stewards met the rules to keep these tips.

[Jeter02]

23 hours ago, caribill said:

 

It was first reported on Cruise Critic earlier this year.

 

With 75% or more passengers having the Plus/Premier packages which include gratuities, that left less than 25% of passengers who had the daily crew appreciation fee on their accounts. And since Australians on Australia based cruises have the gratuity built into their cruise fare, that left even less passengers who had the daily charge.

 

My theory is that with relatively few passengers who had the option of adjusting tips downward and would actually do so, Princess did not think it was worth all the time and effort to verify that every cash tip given to dining room staff and cabin stewards met the rules to keep these tips.

Interesting fun facts. Thanks for sharing the rough percentage of passengers to have packages versus those who have standard onboard.

[Cruise Raider]

I truly believe that Princess has added the extras to the plus package at the same time of raising the price to make customers feel as though it isn't a takeaway.  However, they could have just raised the price by $10 per day per person for the Plus Package and by $5 a day per person for the Premier Package and the result would be the same.  Everyone would still be up in arms about the pricing going up.  Instead, they are complaining about not seeing any value in the extras.  

I have to believe that the inflation we are experiencing here at home in our everyday lives, this was bound to happen onboard as well.  Included in those new package prices are the raised gratuities and the raised price on WiFi.  The Premier Package, which I've gotten twice is really the best bargain and going up by only $5 a day instead of $10 actually has me considering it again.  I just wish they'd allow one person from each double occupancy cabin to upgrade.  My DH is perfectly happy with the Plus Package while I mostly like the wines on the Premier Package.  Plus, he hates to have his photo taken whereas I feel like photos are memories of our trips.  But, the packages still are a great value to us.  

Well, either way, we will continue to purchase the Plus Package unless on a shorter sailing where the Premier Package makes more sense, even though we probably will never order a special dessert or go to any of the fitness classes that are offered.  

 

[Cruise a holic]

We always prefer the best package that is all inclusive.  Easier to use and no "surprises" at the end of the cruise.  We sail mostly on Celebrity and take the all included options.

[geoherb]

I booked Plus on my February cruise when it was $40 a day. I did not book Plus on my 16-day cruise in August. I did the math. Princess also wanted to charge me more than the $50 per day. Back then, the price varied when booking last-minute cruises. I ended up spending less than $80 on drinks. I had my minibar beers (after trading in all the liquors) and two bottles of wine and a few free drinks (Captains Circle party, champagne waterfall, and martini demo).

 

I had booked Plus at $50 a day for the Caribbean's 10-day cruise after Thanksgiving to the Panama Canal. I had to cancel that cruise, though.

 

I doubt I will book it at $60 a day unless I get a great fare on a 7-day cruise. I find it disturbing that the price has increased 50% in less than a year.

[SargassoPirate]

I generally look at the Plus package with my pencil in hand.  To me, the question is if it's whether I want to fly coach or pay the extra for first class?  I'm flying anyway, so how much extra is it to sit up front and is it worth it?  Factor in fewer crying babies and kids kicking the back of my seat, in first class and it's worth the better  experience.

 

Same thing on a cruise.  How much extra is the Plus over ala-cart if I don't drink much?  A couple of wee drams in the evening is about it.  I don't do bottled water.  Specialty dining isn't all that special anymore.  Mainline beverages work for me. 

 

It's a personal choice and if it produces a good revenue stream for Princess, they will count it a success and move on to other ways to impose "shrinkflation" on the customer in order to keep their bottom line healthy.

 

Fortunately, there are lots of choices for cruising and WE hold the purse strings.

 

 

 

[Tedferg]

4 hours ago, geoherb said:

I booked Plus on my February cruise when it was $40 a day. I did not book Plus on my 16-day cruise in August. I did the math. Princess also wanted to charge me more than the $50 per day. Back then, the price varied when booking last-minute cruises. I ended up spending less than $80 on drinks. I had my minibar beers (after trading in all the liquors) and two bottles of wine and a few free drinks (Captains Circle party, champagne waterfall, and martini demo).

 

I had booked Plus at $50 a day for the Caribbean's 10-day cruise after Thanksgiving to the Panama Canal. I had to cancel that cruise, though.

 

I doubt I will book it at $60 a day unless I get a great fare on a 7-day cruise. I find it disturbing that the price has increased 50% in less than a year.

I agree with you, I thought $40pppd and forcing both passengers to take the package was a clever idea. Anyone who drinks even a little would like the convenience. At $50 I thought Hmm and got the pencil out. At $60 it is a bit too far. Next June will be our first cruise with no package - we'll see what happens.

[MissP22]

53 minutes ago, Tedferg said:

I agree with you, I thought $40pppd and forcing both passengers to take the package was a clever idea. Anyone who drinks even a little would like the convenience. At $50 I thought Hmm and got the pencil out. At $60 it is a bit too far. Next June will be our first cruise with no package - we'll see what happens.

They've gotten to the point where I don't even try to calculate if it's worth it to me. They continue to take away the few benefits I've earned over the years & now try to force feed me that expensive package trying to make me think I absolutely need it. 

Next cruise in 2023 will be bare bones without any extras.

No drink package, no internet, no tours, no soda package, no specialty restaurants and no purchases in their shops.

[jennybenny]

7 hours ago, Cruise a holic said:

We always prefer the best package that is all inclusive.  Easier to use and no "surprises" at the end of the cruise.  We sail mostly on Celebrity and take the all included options.

Yes, us too, but even with the premier there can be upcharges. So, I'm starting to think that the Plus is all we need. I don't care about photos or internet or extra desserts, BUT certainly not about fitness classes. Just drinks 🙂 

[SargassoPirate]

4 hours ago, MissP22 said:

They've gotten to the point where I don't even try to calculate if it's worth it to me. They continue to take away the few benefits I've earned over the years & now try to force feed me that expensive package trying to make me think I absolutely need it. 

Next cruise in 2023 will be bare bones without any extras.

No drink package, no internet, no tours, no soda package, no specialty restaurants and no purchases in their shops.

Works for me. A bare bones cruise with ala-cart drinks in the evening suits me just fine.  I generally push back on up charges, nickel-and- diming, extra charges "for my convenience". That being said, I have used Plus when it suits my needs, but with the price going up and perks going down I'll need to rethink it.