2/20: Changes, Price Increases, etc. MEGATHREAD

[asingl]

Just boarded the Discovery Princess today, February 20th. I waited to purchase the Princess Plus when I got onboard. For our 5 night Cabo cruise, I had $250 OBC and was able to apply it to purchasing the $300 Princess Plus package. The big problem was the internet. When buying the Princess Plus package on board, I dont think the Medallion Net login registered, so had to go to the Cafe and have a crew member make sure my account had internet.

 

Pre-cruise, the Medallion Net price was $100 for 5 nights four devices (Elite member). Once I got on board, the internet was only $62.75 for four devices. It might be a happy accident. After I signed up for Princess Plus, I only had to pay $25 more to upgrade the included 1-device internet to the 4-device internet. I'm not sure why internet was so much more expensive pre-cruise.

 

I think most of the staff are confused. I tried ordering a Espresso Martini and staff told me that I would have to pay the difference even though it states that the Princess Plus covers $15 from today onwards. The difference hasn't shown up in my account, so that's a win! Better drink as many Espresso Martinis before the price gets hiked.

 

The gelato man is equally confused. He didn't know if the special Amaretto dessert with Disarono liquer counted towards the two special desserts. He said he would have to charge $7.50. He thought the plans would be updated 2/25, so I think the crew is equally confused and there comes some delays. The special gelato sundae with alcohol also has not shown up in my folio yet, so I believe it has been counted in the Princess Plus package.

 

One last thing with the crew being confused, ordering through the app for a mango margarita in the Piazza took forever. After 1.5 hours of waiting, we decided to leave the Piazza; maybe they had lost our order. While in the MDR a staff came two hours after we placed our order with the Mango Margarita. Big big delays on board. Haven't signed up for a fitness class yet. Will have to look into it tomorrow!

[CruisnDeb]

16 minutes ago, asingl said:

Just boarded the Discovery Princess today, February 20th. I waited to purchase the Princess Plus when I got onboard. For our 5 night Cabo cruise, I had $250 OBC and was able to apply it to purchasing the $300 Princess Plus package. The big problem was the internet. When buying the Princess Plus package on board, I dont think the Medallion Net login registered, so had to go to the Cafe and have a crew member make sure my account had internet.

 

Pre-cruise, the Medallion Net price was $100 for 5 nights four devices (Elite member). Once I got on board, the internet was only $62.75 for four devices. It might be a happy accident. After I signed up for Princess Plus, I only had to pay $25 more to upgrade the included 1-device internet to the 4-device internet. I'm not sure why internet was so much more expensive pre-cruise.

 

I think most of the staff are confused. I tried ordering a Espresso Martini and staff told me that I would have to pay the difference even though it states that the Princess Plus covers $15 from today onwards. The difference hasn't shown up in my account, so that's a win! Better drink as many Espresso Martinis before the price gets hiked.

 

The gelato man is equally confused. He didn't know if the special Amaretto dessert with Disarono liquer counted towards the two special desserts. He said he would have to charge $7.50. He thought the plans would be updated 2/25, so I think the crew is equally confused and there comes some delays. The special gelato sundae with alcohol also has not shown up in my folio yet, so I believe it has been counted in the Princess Plus package.

 

One last thing with the crew being confused, ordering through the app for a mango margarita in the Piazza took forever. After 1.5 hours of waiting, we decided to leave the Piazza; maybe they had lost our order. While in the MDR a staff came two hours after we placed our order with the Mango Margarita. Big big delays on board. Haven't signed up for a fitness class yet. Will have to look into it tomorrow!

Thanks for the real life experience about the new plus package. Hopefully they will have all the kinks worked out by the time I board next month. 

[negn]

8 hours ago, JimmyVWine said:

That DEFINITELY is the case. People who booked under the “old” Plus Package get treated the same as people who booked under the new package EXCEPT for the items listed as “New” in the promotional materials which are the special desserts, the fitness classes and the juice bar. You won’t get those unless you upgrade to New Plus. But you get everything else including the $15 drink allowance. This has been well documented. 

I booked old Plus package for cruise 2/27.   Was looking at my summary and desserts, juice bar and fitness classes are included. 

[Coral]

7 hours ago, asingl said:

Just boarded the Discovery Princess today, February 20th. I waited to purchase the Princess Plus when I got onboard. For our 5 night Cabo cruise, I had $250 OBC and was able to apply it to purchasing the $300 Princess Plus package. The big problem was the internet. When buying the Princess Plus package on board, I dont think the Medallion Net login registered, so had to go to the Cafe and have a crew member make sure my account had internet.

 

Great news! Thank you!

[PacnGoNow]

8 hours ago, asingl said:

Just boarded the Discovery Princess today, February 20th. I waited to purchase the Princess Plus when I got onboard. For our 5 night Cabo cruise, I had $250 OBC and was able to apply it to purchasing the $300 Princess Plus package. The big problem was the internet. When buying the Princess Plus package on board, I dont think the Medallion Net login registered, so had to go to the Cafe and have a crew member make sure my account had internet.

 

Pre-cruise, the Medallion Net price was $100 for 5 nights four devices (Elite member). Once I got on board, the internet was only $62.75 for four devices. It might be a happy accident. After I signed up for Princess Plus, I only had to pay $25 more to upgrade the included 1-device internet to the 4-device internet. I'm not sure why internet was so much more expensive pre-cruise.

 

I think most of the staff are confused. I tried ordering a Espresso Martini and staff told me that I would have to pay the difference even though it states that the Princess Plus covers $15 from today onwards. The difference hasn't shown up in my account, so that's a win! Better drink as many Espresso Martinis before the price gets hiked.

 

The gelato man is equally confused. He didn't know if the special Amaretto dessert with Disarono liquer counted towards the two special desserts. He said he would have to charge $7.50. He thought the plans would be updated 2/25, so I think the crew is equally confused and there comes some delays. The special gelato sundae with alcohol also has not shown up in my folio yet, so I believe it has been counted in the Princess Plus package.

 

One last thing with the crew being confused, ordering through the app for a mango margarita in the Piazza took forever. After 1.5 hours of waiting, we decided to leave the Piazza; maybe they had lost our order. While in the MDR a staff came two hours after we placed our order with the Mango Margarita. Big big delays on board. Haven't signed up for a fitness class yet. Will have to look into it tomorrow!

If you get a chance, could you ask the IC baristas if they are selling the New Grounds coffee package?  It’s the package that has 15 specialty coffees/teas, if so what is the current price?  It’s not showing on the website.

TIA

[jtplusjms]

We were on Sky in May '22 with the Plus Beverage Package.  Had no problem ordering wines by the glass.  Enjoyed the selection.  Just got off Sky on Saturday, we sailed 2/11 - 2/18/23.  They have increased all the prices of wines by the glass.  I drink Chardonnay, in May Decoy ($15-$18 bottle at your grocery store) was the standard in the package, now it is Canyon Road ($7-$9 bottle at your grocery store).  The $12 package didn't offer any other selections.  The upgraded wines were now $17 a glass, Beringer Reserve or Rombauer.  I had to pay $5.90 a glass for a decent glass of wine with my package.  Then on 2/15, all my extra charges for the upgraded wine switched to $7.08 a glass.  I'm not sure what is going to "Change" on Feb. 19th because it already had while we were on board. 

[PacnGoNow]

2 minutes ago, jtplusjms said:

We were on Sky in May '22 with the Plus Beverage Package.  Had no problem ordering wines by the glass.  Enjoyed the selection.  Just got off Sky on Saturday, we sailed 2/11 - 2/18/23.  They have increased all the prices of wines by the glass.  I drink Chardonnay, in May Decoy ($15-$18 bottle at your grocery store) was the standard in the package, now it is Canyon Road ($7-$9 bottle at your grocery store).  The $12 package didn't offer any other selections.  The upgraded wines were now $17 a glass, Beringer Reserve or Rombauer.  I had to pay $5.90 a glass for a decent glass of wine with my package.  Then on 2/15, all my extra charges for the upgraded wine switched to $7.08 a glass.  I'm not sure what is going to "Change" on Feb. 19th because it already had while we were on board. 

Sounds like a rush to the price increases to me. 😟

[llarsen]

13 hours ago, Bobbiegentry said:

We have the Princess Plus beverage package for our upcoming cruise this Saturday. 

My husband always adds a shot and flavored syrup to his iced coffee. Does anyone know if the "extras" are covered in the beverage package or will they be additional charges? Thanks

[JimmyVWine]

4 hours ago, negn said:

I booked old Plus package for cruise 2/27.   Was looking at my summary and desserts, juice bar and fitness classes are included. 

It is entirely possible that the people who booked under the old Plus Package will receive ALL of the benefits of the new Plus Package, as that would certainly be easier on the crew and the Point of Sale systems and coders.  The proof will be in the pudding.  But one thing is certain.  There isn't going to be two levels of drink caps.  That would truly be a nightmare.  That said, there will no doubt be crew members who are confused and will insist that the $12 limit still applies.  Best to check your onboard account daily until this gets straightened out.  And also, print out and bring with you a screenshot from the Princess website that shows that the price allowance has increased to $15, even for people who bought the old package.  And finally, all of this may be mooted by the price increases and there may not be ANY glasses of wine sold for $12 or less so staying under that amount may become impossible. 

Edited February 21, 2023 by JimmyVWine

[JimmyVWine]

4 hours ago, negn said:

I booked old Plus package for cruise 2/27.   Was looking at my summary and desserts, juice bar and fitness classes are included. 

By the way.  Where are you seeing this?  This is what I see in my Personalizer.  Look closely at the bottom line printed in red:

 

PRINCESS PLUS

• Princess® dining, accommodations and entertainment
• MedallionClass® experience
• Plus Beverage Package
  (drinks up to $15 each)
• Wi-Fi (1 device per guest)
• Crew appreciation
• NEW Premium desserts (2 per day)
• NEW Fitness classes (2 per cruise)
• NEW Unlimited juice bar

---

Overall Savings of 54%!

---

Savings are based on a 7-day cruise

---

Your Cost: $60 USD
per day per guest

Purchased

"New" items are not included in your current package. Please contact us or your travel agent to make changes to your package.

[wowzz]

13 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

By the way.  Where are you seeing this?  This is what I see in my Personalizer.  Look closely at the bottom line printed in red:

 

PRINCESS PLUS

• Princess® dining, accommodations and entertainment
• MedallionClass® experience
• Plus Beverage Package
  (drinks up to $15 each)
• Wi-Fi (1 device per guest)
• Crew appreciation
• NEW Premium desserts (2 per day)
• NEW Fitness classes (2 per cruise)
• NEW Unlimited juice bar

---

Overall Savings of 54%!

---

Savings are based on a 7-day cruise

---

Your Cost: $60 USD
per day per guest

Purchased

"New" items are not included in your current package. Please contact us or your travel agent to make changes to your package.

That is what I am seeing in the UK as well.

In all honesty, I can't see the point about worrying about some diabetes inducing desserts and a couple of hours of exercise. As long as I get my $15 drinks I will be fine.

[voljeep]

same for us - booked PLUS at $50 pp pd - see no need at all to 'upgrade' to the $60 pp pd - and it would cost us $300 - ($30 x 2 x 5 days) to go to PREMIER at $80 pp pd - somewhat offset by 2 specialty dinners each, and the door game...

[Steelers36]

10 hours ago, asingl said:

Just boarded the Discovery Princess today, February 20th. I waited to purchase the Princess Plus when I got onboard. For our 5 night Cabo cruise, I had $250 OBC and was able to apply it to purchasing the $300 Princess Plus package. The big problem was the internet. When buying the Princess Plus package on board, I dont think the Medallion Net login registered, so had to go to the Cafe and have a crew member make sure my account had internet.

 

Pre-cruise, the Medallion Net price was $100 for 5 nights four devices (Elite member). Once I got on board, the internet was only $62.75 for four devices. It might be a happy accident. After I signed up for Princess Plus, I only had to pay $25 more to upgrade the included 1-device internet to the 4-device internet. I'm not sure why internet was so much more expensive pre-cruise.

 

I think most of the staff are confused. I tried ordering a Espresso Martini and staff told me that I would have to pay the difference even though it states that the Princess Plus covers $15 from today onwards. The difference hasn't shown up in my account, so that's a win! Better drink as many Espresso Martinis before the price gets hiked.

 

The gelato man is equally confused. He didn't know if the special Amaretto dessert with Disarono liquer counted towards the two special desserts. He said he would have to charge $7.50. He thought the plans would be updated 2/25, so I think the crew is equally confused and there comes some delays. The special gelato sundae with alcohol also has not shown up in my folio yet, so I believe it has been counted in the Princess Plus package.

 

One last thing with the crew being confused, ordering through the app for a mango margarita in the Piazza took forever. After 1.5 hours of waiting, we decided to leave the Piazza; maybe they had lost our order. While in the MDR a staff came two hours after we placed our order with the Mango Margarita. Big big delays on board. Haven't signed up for a fitness class yet. Will have to look into it tomorrow!

First, thanks for your detailed report.

 

As an explanation for some of the numbers in the MedallionNet plan, I think there is a gap in pricing changes and hence a bug that is at least temporarily favoring the guest.

 

The old pricing for MedallionNet was:

                                  PRE-CRUISE                          ON-BOARD

1-Device                           $10                                          $20

4-Devices                         $15                                          $25

 

As you can see, the price difference to 4-devices was only $10/day until recently.  That means $5/day for Elites.  That would come to $25 for a 5-night voyage.  It seems to me that the Upgrade logic from the provided 1-device package with Plus Fare is still calculating the upcharge based on the OLD price difference and not the new.

 

New pricing for MedallionNet is $15/day single device and $40/day for 4-devices - a $25/day difference.  Whether they pushed it too far or not is an argument perhaps, but I can certainly see justification to have >$10/day price difference to quadruple the number of devices.  You mentioned a pre-cruise price of $100 for 4-devices.  Using the new announced pricing scheme, the cost for 5-night voyage is $200 total and you would get 50% off.  So that is explained.  What is not explained (yet) is why the ship seems to have the old pricing scheme.

 

Supposedly, the new pricing scheme is the same on-board as pre-cruise.  If you have a chance to quiz the Internet Cafe Mgr/Rep about the on-board pricing amounts, that would be great to know for certain.  If they are truly charging only $125 for 4-devices on your voyage ($25/day), that is definitely the old price and of course, whatever the price, you would get 50% off ($62.75).  But you didin't need to purchase the full plan.  Perhaps there is some kind of delay in applying the new pricing scheme for MedallionNet, or the rep told you old prices??

 

I can also see another system bug as you mentioned applying the package on-board did not auto-register you as having the single-device MedallionNet plan.  Although you didn't mention it, it will be interesting to find out if your daily Crew Incentive automatically doesn't appear - or appears and is credited back without you intervening.

 

 

[negn]

50 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

By the way.  Where are you seeing this?  This is what I see in my Personalizer.  Look closely at the bottom line printed in red:

 

PRINCESS PLUS

• Princess® dining, accommodations and entertainment
• MedallionClass® experience
• Plus Beverage Package
  (drinks up to $15 each)
• Wi-Fi (1 device per guest)
• Crew appreciation
• NEW Premium desserts (2 per day)
• NEW Fitness classes (2 per cruise)
• NEW Unlimited juice bar

---

Overall Savings of 54%!

---

Savings are based on a 7-day cruise

---

Your Cost: $60 USD
per day per guest

Purchased

"New" items are not included in your current package. Please contact us or your travel agent to make changes to your package.

When I log in and go to my summary ,it specifically has the new benefits added

[Tedferg]

11 hours ago, asingl said:

Just boarded the Discovery Princess today, February 20th. I waited to purchase the Princess Plus when I got onboard. For our 5 night Cabo cruise, I had $250 OBC and was able to apply it to purchasing the $300 Princess Plus package.

Who did you see to add the Plus package?

[startedwithamouse]

1 hour ago, llarsen said:

We have the Princess Plus beverage package for our upcoming cruise this Saturday. 

My husband always adds a shot and flavored syrup to his iced coffee. Does anyone know if the "extras" are covered in the beverage package or will they be additional charges? Thanks

Extras are always covered in the package. We are almond milk, extra shots, sugar free syrup, etc, half caf, people. 

[JimmyVWine]

1 hour ago, negn said:

When I log in and go to my summary ,it specifically has the new benefits added

Would love to see a screenshot of what you are seeing. (Not because I doubt you, but because I'd like to try to reverse engineer it to see if I am missing something.

[malba2366]

4 hours ago, JimmyVWine said:

It is entirely possible that the people who booked under the old Plus Package will receive ALL of the benefits of the new Plus Package, as that would certainly be easier on the crew and the Point of Sale systems and coders.  The proof will be in the pudding.  But one thing is certain.  There isn't going to be two levels of drink caps.  That would truly be a nightmare.  That said, there will no doubt be crew members who are confused and will insist that the $12 limit still applies.  Best to check your onboard account daily until this gets straightened out.  And also, print out and bring with you a screenshot from the Princess website that shows that the price allowance has increased to $15, even for people who bought the old package.  And finally, all of this may be mooted by the price increases and there may not be ANY glasses of wine sold for $12 or less so staying under that amount may become impossible. 

It seems like a complete cluster the way Princess is handling this.  It shouldn't matter what the crew member thinks, the crew member should just ring in whatever drink the customer orders and when the medallion is scanned, Princess's POS systems should determine whether or not the drink is included in the package and whether or not there is an up charge.

[asingl]

2 hours ago, Tedferg said:

Who did you see to add the Plus package?

I just did it on the phone! Very easy! 

[JimmyVWine]

1 minute ago, malba2366 said:

It shouldn't matter what the crew member thinks, the crew member should just ring in whatever drink the customer orders and when the medallion is scanned, Princess's POS systems should determine whether or not the drink is included in the package and whether or not there is an up charge.

Agree.  But there are some loaded words in there. 😲

[asingl]

6 hours ago, PacnGoNow said:

If you get a chance, could you ask the IC baristas if they are selling the New Grounds coffee package?  It’s the package that has 15 specialty coffees/teas, if so what is the current price?  It’s not showing on the website.

TIA

I am waiting for my Iced Chai tea as I type. The barista said the coffee plan is the same as before and the price is around $36!

Edited February 21, 2023 by asingl

[PacnGoNow]

36 minutes ago, asingl said:

I am waiting for my Iced Chai tea as I type. The barista said the coffee plan is the same as before and the price is around $36!

Thank you! Appreciate it.

[Guest ldtr]

4 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

First, thanks for your detailed report.

 

As an explanation for some of the numbers in the MedallionNet plan, I think there is a gap in pricing changes and hence a bug that is at least temporarily favoring the guest.

 

The old pricing for MedallionNet was:

                                  PRE-CRUISE                          ON-BOARD

1-Device                           $10                                          $20

4-Devices                         $15                                          $25

 

As you can see, the price difference to 4-devices was only $10/day until recently.  That means $5/day for Elites.  That would come to $25 for a 5-night voyage.  It seems to me that the Upgrade logic from the provided 1-device package with Plus Fare is still calculating the upcharge based on the OLD price difference and not the new.

 

New pricing for MedallionNet is $15/day single device and $40/day for 4-devices - a $25/day difference.  Whether they pushed it too far or not is an argument perhaps, but I can certainly see justification to have >$10/day price difference to quadruple the number of devices.  You mentioned a pre-cruise price of $100 for 4-devices.  Using the new announced pricing scheme, the cost for 5-night voyage is $200 total and you would get 50% off.  So that is explained.  What is not explained (yet) is why the ship seems to have the old pricing scheme.

 

Supposedly, the new pricing scheme is the same on-board as pre-cruise.  If you have a chance to quiz the Internet Cafe Mgr/Rep about the on-board pricing amounts, that would be great to know for certain.  If they are truly charging only $125 for 4-devices on your voyage ($25/day), that is definitely the old price and of course, whatever the price, you would get 50% off ($62.75).  But you didin't need to purchase the full plan.  Perhaps there is some kind of delay in applying the new pricing scheme for MedallionNet, or the rep told you old prices??

 

I can also see another system bug as you mentioned applying the package on-board did not auto-register you as having the single-device MedallionNet plan.  Although you didn't mention it, it will be interesting to find out if your daily Crew Incentive automatically doesn't appear - or appears and is credited back without you intervening.

 

 

Except those numbers do not seem to be correct.

 

The old pricing was $10 for single device and $20 for 4 device plan, the new pricing is supposed to $15 for single and $40 for 4 device, according to what was stated when the price increase was announced.

 

As Elite under the old plan we paid 10 per day after discount purchased in advance since restart. We gave purchased it for our future cruises prior to the price increase.

[that]

On 2/20/2023 at 8:50 AM, manunia said:

would it be possible to check available option for mini bar set up exchange after 2/20/23?

thank you in advance

Varies by ship and dates

[Ombud]

32 minutes ago, that said:

On 2/20/2023 at 8:50 AM, manunia said:

would it be possible to check available option for mini bar set up exchange after 2/20/23?

thank you in advance

Varies by ship and dates

But there should be a commonality  .... maybe the wine selection varies, but can still be traded for wine ... maybe it's 2 coffee cards loaded 1 by 1 but it is still there ... and so forth