To Plus or not to Plus.., our experience

[CruizinSusan70]

2 hours ago, Lady Arwen said:

 3 bottles of Perrier,

Perrier?  No where to be found over the past 12 days on the Majestic.  San Pellegrino was only found in the MDR during last week's cruise.  Not a single bar on board had either over the last 5 days.  Good Spirits ran out of cranberry juice yesterday.  Many bars out of Coors Light and Woodford Reserve Bourbon as well.

[memoak]

1 hour ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Perrier?  No where to be found over the past 12 days on the Majestic.  San Pellegrino was only found in the MDR during last week's cruise.  Not a single bar on board had either over the last 5 days.  Good Spirits ran out of cranberry juice yesterday.  Many bars out of Coors Light and Woodford Reserve Bourbon as well.

Come on over to the Discovery My mini bar had several Perrier bottles. And I have been drink Woodford Reserve all week

[Teechur]

Fortunately for us this wasn't a difficult choice. Four of us each got $600 in OBC as part of a sale when we booked our 14-day Iceland cruise. The single supplement dropped to 6% so we each got our own balcony cabins. Then, we bought 100 shares of CCL for an additional $250 in OBC.

The stock has since risen about $300 and we each have $850 in OBC to spend on drinks and shore excursions. None of us are heavy drinkers and we will probably bring extra wine on board and pay corkage if necessary. No need for Plus or Premier.

I have one question though. Can we pay the "wine table corkage fee" with OBC after stops at various ports? Thanks!🙃

[CruizinSusan70]

3 hours ago, memoak said:

Come on over to the Discovery My mini bar had several Perrier bottles. And I have been drink Woodford Reserve all week

The alcohol choices at Good Spirits have kept us busy for 13 nights.  No San Pellegrino this week has been a bummer.

[Ombud]

If buying it for ice cream then compare it to what it is on the Emerald Princess today:

[CruizinSusan70]

47 minutes ago, Ombud said:

If buying it for ice cream then compare it to what it is on the Emerald Princess today:

Certainly better than the crap on the Majestic.  No gelato stand and the included sundaes were terrible with a capital T.  I believe the Enchanted has a gelato stand and I know the Sun will.

[Steelers36]

6 hours ago, Teechur said:

I have one question though. Can we pay the "wine table corkage fee" with OBC after stops at various ports? Thanks!🙃

Corkage fee is a charge on the ship and therefore it goes to your on board account.  Anything on the on board account is "paid" for by consuming your OBC before charging any remaining balance due to your credit card on file at the end of the voyage.

[JimmyVWine]

56 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

Corkage fee is a charge on the ship and therefore it goes to your on board account.

Correct.  IF there is a collection table in the boarding terminal (and I have only seen one in PE), you provide your cabin number and the charge goes straight on to your on board account.  No cash or credit card transactions take place at that table. 

[MissP22]

17 hours ago, PMGS247 said:

Right..which is fine. No one’s trying to convince you otherwise. But people don’t need to drink all 15 to save money on a package as is commonly implied….not by a long shot. 

And conversely just drinking 3 or 4 drinks out of the allotted 15 drinks isn't the best deal. 

[PMGS247]

23 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

And conversely just drinking 3 or 4 drinks out of the allotted 15 drinks isn't the best deal. 

 

I mean we can start the discussion all over again over how some people 3-4 is enough because they realize benefit from the other inclusions of the package, but yes, for someone in your situation, where the only thing applicable to the $60/day is drinks, then 3-4 falls just short. 

[CruizinSusan70]

6 hours ago, MissP22 said:

And conversely just drinking 3 or 4 drinks out of the allotted 15 drinks isn't the best deal. 

But if someone drinks 4 $11.00 drinks that's 44.00, plus 16 for gratuities and the 60.00 is covered for plus.  Then all coffees, sodas, waters and WiFi usage is all gravy and costs you zero.  Of course it's a much better deal when you consume more drinks, but once again, you can break even with only a few consumed.

[JimmyVWine]

4 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

But if someone drinks 4 $11.00 drinks that's 44.00,

It’s actually $51.92 after adding in the 18% gratuity. Four drinks plus daily crew appreciation and one is way ahead with Plus. 

[Happiest when cruising]

On 6/7/2023 at 3:26 PM, memoak said:

That is one drink. How is that a different story ?

50 CAD to 60 USD is more than $10.  The exchange rate adds about 35 % onto the 60. So…about $81.00 per day. 

[CruizinSusan70]

1 hour ago, JimmyVWine said:

It’s actually $51.92 after adding in the 18% gratuity. Four drinks plus daily crew appreciation and one is way ahead with Plus. 

That's true...but even though you can lead some to the bar for a drink of water....

[Steelers36]

3 hours ago, Happiest when cruising said:

50 CAD to 60 USD is more than $10.  The exchange rate adds about 35 % onto the 60. So…about $81.00 per day. 

IMO, the exchange rate argument is irrelevant.  If a guest is going to consume onboard Medallion Net and sufficient beverages (presuming they pay Crew Appreciation as well), those expenses are all in USD and the Cruise Fare option is $60 USD.  It always comes down to what the guests are going to consume and spend a la carte versus the package add-on.

[Buckeye10640]

On 6/9/2023 at 12:51 AM, Teechur said:

Fortunately for us this wasn't a difficult choice. Four of us each got $600 in OBC as part of a sale when we booked our 14-day Iceland cruise. The single supplement dropped to 6% so we each got our own balcony cabins. Then, we bought 100 shares of CCL for an additional $250 in OBC.

The stock has since risen about $300 and we each have $850 in OBC to spend on drinks and shore excursions. None of us are heavy drinkers and we will probably bring extra wine on board and pay corkage if necessary. No need for Plus or Premier.

I have one question though. Can we pay the "wine table corkage fee" with OBC after stops at various ports? Thanks!🙃

So tired of the discussion about  'is Plus/Premier  a good deal'.    I just want your cruise deal!!  $600 OBC and 6% single supplement (I already own the stock). How did you find this???

[Happiest when cruising]

10 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

IMO, the exchange rate argument is irrelevant.  If a guest is going to consume onboard Medallion Net and sufficient beverages (presuming they pay Crew Appreciation as well), those expenses are all in USD and the Cruise Fare option is $60 USD.  It always comes down to what the guests are going to consume and spend a la carte versus the package add-on.

Would you consider it if it was 81.00 USD per day, per person? 

We make our money in CAD, and we spend in CAD. If a base price cruise is 6 K USD, then that 8100 for us. So, we need to plan for that. 
162 per day is high… I’ll just pay the gratuities and half price wifi cost, at about 55.00 CAD for both of us per day.
 I only need one device for the wifi as my hubby locks his phone in the safe, the moment we get into our cabin. 
I won’t get into the drink piece of it, as it isn’t something we are very interested in. I also think…would we spend over 100 per day on drinks/ coffees, if we were at home? I don’t really understand the “I’m on vacation mentality of it” either.  There are options for everyone on a cruise and that’s why we like it. 

 

[Teechur]

5 hours ago, Buckeye10640 said:

So tired of the discussion about  'is Plus/Premier  a good deal'.    I just want your cruise deal!!  $600 OBC and 6% single supplement (I already own the stock). How did you find this???

Several months ago, Princess offered $600 per cabin in OBC, fleetwide, during a sale. We always wanted to visit Iceland and chose this cruise. I reserved with 2 people per cabin. Later that day, the single supplement dropped from 100% to 6%. I rebooked knowing that with our own cabins, we would each get $600 in OBC.

I also checked the prior and following cruise since many are doing B2B2B on this ship. Only the Iceland segment offers the reduced single supplement and many singles have joined our roll call recently.

 

I never bothered to buy CCL stock since my previous cruises would have only scored $100 in OBC. (Glad I didn't in retrospect.) Now, with a 14-day cruise, it is a great deal. $250 pp in OBC plus the stock price is rising. 🤑

[memoak]

14 minutes ago, Happiest when cruising said:

Would you consider it if it was 81.00 USD per day, per person? 

We make our money in CAD, and we spend in CAD. If a base price cruise is 6 K USD, then that 8100 for us. So, we need to plan for that. 
162 per day is high… I’ll just pay the gratuities and half price wifi cost, at about 55.00 CAD for both of us per day.
 I only need one device for the wifi as my hubby locks his phone in the safe, the moment we get into our cabin. 
I won’t get into the drink piece of it, as it isn’t something we are very interested in. I also think…would we spend over 100 per day on drinks/ coffees, if we were at home? I don’t really understand the “I’m on vacation mentality of it” either.  There are options for everyone on a cruise and that’s why we like it. 

 

Yes it would still be a good deal for us at $81. We both average at least 6 to 10 drinks a day plus waters and coffees 

[Lady Arwen]

On 6/9/2023 at 10:56 AM, MissP22 said:

And conversely just drinking 3 or 4 drinks out of the allotted 15 drinks isn't the best deal. 

Actually, yes it is.  Believe what you want.  We know you don’t want or need the package and that’s fine.  The best deal is the one that suits each individual according to their own needs.

[MissP22]

6 minutes ago, memoak said:

Yes it would still be a good deal for us at $81. We both average at least 6 to 10 drinks a day plus waters and coffees 

$81 US per day !!

Holy XXX. You've got to be kidding. 

Princess needs more customers like yourself. 

[Steelers36]

13 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

$81 US per day !!

Holy XXX. You've got to be kidding. 

Princess needs more customers like yourself. 

That figure was supposed to be the CAD equivalent of $60 USD.  It is using PCL's current exchange rate of 1.35m but folks can do a little better these days if they have their own source of USD and a USD credit card.   I believe the poster was confused in some way.

 

That said, I have no doubt at all that a subset of cruisers on Princess who pay $60 now for Plus would find value if they had to pay $80.

Edited June 10, 2023 by Steelers36

[Steelers36]

36 minutes ago, Happiest when cruising said:

Would you consider it if it was 81.00 USD per day, per person? 

We make our money in CAD, and we spend in CAD. If a base price cruise is 6 K USD, then that 8100 for us. So, we need to plan for that. 
162 per day is high… I’ll just pay the gratuities and half price wifi cost, at about 55.00 CAD for both of us per day.
 I only need one device for the wifi as my hubby locks his phone in the safe, the moment we get into our cabin. 
I won’t get into the drink piece of it, as it isn’t something we are very interested in. I also think…would we spend over 100 per day on drinks/ coffees, if we were at home? I don’t really understand the “I’m on vacation mentality of it” either.  There are options for everyone on a cruise and that’s why we like it. 

 

You are missing my point, I believe.  The Plus package is not financially viable for us either - in either currency.  That is not the point as it is truly an individual analysis and decision.

 

My point was that on board spending is in USD (outside of Australia) and any evaluation of whether to purchase the cruise package on top of Standard ought to be done in ship's currency of USD. 

 

Booked in CAD is irrelevant - unless you happened to score a booking when PCL had CAD pricing at par to USD.  In that case, folks were paying $44 - $45 USD for the Plus and, after substracting out $16 + $7.50, it leaves a little over $20 US that someone could a lot more easily meet the economic sense threshold to purchase.

 

If you want to work in CAD, it is more work as you have to look at whatever beverages you might consume on board and convert them all to CAD.

 

 

PS - Where did you get the $81 USD from?

PS - I always have to laugh when someone posts about locking their phone in the safe like it is a ritual.  Sometimes I imagine the guest rushing to their cabin to get the phone locked up while other guests rush to book Sanctuary or Chef's Table.

Edited June 10, 2023 by Steelers36

[MissP22]

22 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

That said, I have no doubt at all that a subset of cruisers on Princess who pay $60 now for Plus would find value if they had to pay $80.

I'm sure they could come up with some calculations to justify the expense. 😁 LOL

[Lady Arwen]

20 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

I'm sure they could come up with some calculations to justify the expense. 😁 LOL

No one has to justify to anyone why and how they spend their money.