Plus Package Questions

[Luv2CtheMouse9]

Hi - 

I am hopeful that there are forum members here who have recently sailed Princess that will be able to answer these questions about the packages offered. 🙂 

We have sailed many times, this is our first aboard Princess. We are a large family going, 4 rooms, so my questions are for all of us.  I tried calling twice to get the answers, however both times the person who answered for Princess had such a thick accent, I was not able to really understand and after holding over 30 minutes each time to reach somebody, I would like to avoid calling and holding again if I can.

 

• Does the Plus Package include bottled water?
• Will they still charge an 18% gratuity each time you get a drink, coffee, dessert, etc on top of the $60 per guest per night that has already been prepaid? We read that is the standard if you order a la carte.
• Does the package cover drinks if you choose specialty dining?
• Does the package cost remain the same up until sail date or does it increase/decrease once you get closer to your sail date or after you get on board?  With other cruise lines (at least in the past) it "pays" to wait until you get on board.

 

We read Princess will allow guests to take only one 12-pack of drinks on board per stateroom (not per guest).  We are doing a 10-day cruise, so that will not be enough to cover a couple for the length-of-cruise, much less a family of 4. 

Also, I will add this - we are trying to determine if the package is a value for us or if it will be a waste of money. Most of the people going on the cruise do not drink alcohol/wine/beer, so we would need to be able to agree the amount of sodas, water, coffee and juice would make the package make sense.

 

 

Edited May 31, 2023 by Luv2CtheMouse9

[PMGS247]

58 minutes ago, Luv2CtheMouse9 said:

 

 

• Does the Plus Package include bottled water? Yes
• Will they still charge an 18% gratuity each time you get a drink, coffee, dessert, etc on top of the $60 per guest per night that has already been prepaid? We read that is the standard if you order a la carte. No, the package includes the beverage gratuities.  I forget the exact amount..I think it comes out to like $11/day...someone will correct me if I'm off, but I doubt it's significantly different from that. If I use the heck out of the package on a given day sometimes I'll throw in an extra couple bucks because I feel like my default inclusion is on the low side but you do not have to, it is 100% inclusive of gratuities. 
• Does the package cover drinks if you choose specialty dining? Yes. Although like other bars they will probably ask for your stateroom number, but because you have the package nothing will actually hit your account.
• Does the package cost remain the same up until sail date or does it increase/decrease once you get closer to your sail date or after you get on board?  With other cruise lines (at least in the past) it "pays" to wait until you get on board. Same Price

 

We read Princess will allow guests to take only one 12-pack of drinks on board per stateroom (not per guest).  We are doing a 10-day cruise, so that will not be enough to cover a couple for the length-of-cruise, much less a family of 4. This sounds right

Also, I will add this - we are trying to determine if the package is a value for us or if it will be a waste of money. Most of the people going on the cruise do not drink alcohol/wine/beer, so we would need to be able to agree the amount of sodas, water, coffee and juice would make the package make sense. It would probably take a lot to get there with just soda/water/coffee.  If you assume you'd buy wifi anyway then between that and the included crew appreciation you have to burn up like $35/day in beverages to get back to break even.  It's quite easy with alcohol but that's a lot of soda/coffee/water.

 

 

 

Answers in red.

[Thrak]

The soda limit is per person not per stateroom.

 

From the passage contract:

 

[Luv2CtheMouse9]

9 minutes ago, Thrak said:

The soda limit is per person not per stateroom.

 

From the passage contract:

 

I found that after I posted, but the edit option for my post is gone, so I could not correct my verbiage.

[travelin.sisters]

you can pre purchase bottled water for about $7 for 12 bottles...if you are not doing the package, it is a great savings over buying on board (yes, the water is fine to drink & we usually refill our water containers, but it is nice to have some for excursions etc.)

[Dreamscaper]

There are non alcohol drink packages available as well:

 

Zero Alcohol Package

Enjoy premium and specialty coffees and teas along with sodas, fresh juices and healthy smoothies (juice bar), hot chocolate, "zero-proof" mocktails, bottled water, San Pellegrino, Evian and Red Bull Energy Drinks througout your entire cruise with this zero-alcohol beverage package.

The Zero-Alcohol Drink Package is $29.99 USD* per person, per day.

 

Classic Soda Package

This package includes all sodas, fruit juices, mocktails and smoothies.

The Classic Soda Package is $14.99 USD* per person, per day

 

There is 18% gratuity on top of those, and you don't get wifi, so you have to weigh the pros and cons of each option... there's also the ala carte option.  But Plus seems kind of expensive if you don't drink alcohol.

[Thrak]

3 hours ago, Luv2CtheMouse9 said:

Does the Plus Package include bottled water?

 

The package includes the small bottles of "regular" water. It also includes the small bottles of Perrier and San Pellegrino.  Any of these can be picked up at any bar. Grab one now and then to keep in your cabin refrigerator. We always snag a small bottle when leaving the ship for excursions.

Edited May 31, 2023 by Thrak

[SuzieQ521]

We just got off the Royal last week; we had the Plus package and we thought it was worth it (and we barely drink typically).

 

Bottled waters: You can basically ask for 4 at a time and they will give it to you--we typically got ours from the bars or international cafe. It's basically unlimited with the bottled waters. They will ask for room number usually or scan medallion. Be careful not to order bigger than the 500 ml waters...there will be a charge for those! 

 

It was nice not having to worry about paying for specialty coffees (which we drink a lot of), and sodas. I probably drank 2-3 cocktails a day (up to $15 for the Plus package) and it was nice to try different fruity drinks. Gratuities are already included with your package but some people might tip a dollar or two for the bartenders.

 

It was also nice ordering drinks and coffee from the app--you can order from anywhere on the ship, including your room. We also often ordered drinks in the MDR (the drink waiter will scan your medallion while you're at the table).

 

I would do the math to determine if it's right for you. I would say a cocktail is about $10-13;  then specialty coffees can be $4-6 depending on what you get.

Edited May 31, 2023 by SuzieQ521

[skynight]

The 18% gratuity is included. No additional charges. If you order a beverage in excess of the $15 limit, example $20, then your account will be charges the difference + 18%. In the $20 example your account would be charged $5 + 90 cents gratuity = $5.90.

 

[Mike45LC]

As a non-drinker, I did NOT make money on the Plus package.  But I didn't pay for it, so it was OK.  (It was a gift.)  In the past, I always bought the soda package.  We drink a lot of Cola.

[tserface]

One benefit of having the Plus Package is you don't have to worry about running up your bill and constantly be making decisions about buying drinks based on if you think it's costing too much or not. It's a nice freedom.  I know it's funny  money, but we pay for our's months in advance so by the time the cruise comes it's already paid off.  Also, the Plus Package includes other things like WiFi, normal service charge, and the drinks.  We typically look at the cost and subtract what we would pay for service charges to get what it's really costing us extra.  For us, if it's anywhere close we opt to do the package.  It's so nice to grab a specialty coffee whenever you want, or bottle of water, or soda, or wine with lunch, or whatever you want, without having to wonder how much the drink costs, or how high your bill is climbing.  So, there are some non-monetary benefits.

[marelind]

I will be traveling with my son, daughter-in-law, and 12 yo grandson. Do all have to be Plus if one or two are?

[Luv2CtheMouse9]

5 minutes ago, marelind said:

I will be traveling with my son, daughter-in-law, and 12 yo grandson. Do all have to be Plus if one or two are?

This is from their website:
 

1. Are third and fourth guests required to purchase the same package (Princess Plus or Princess Premier)?
   Third and fourth guests are not required or defaulted to the selected package of first and second guests in a stateroom. Should your 3rd and 4th guests want to opt in to receive the items, you will need to contact Princess or your Travel Advisor to have it applied to the booking.

  

Edited May 31, 2023 by Luv2CtheMouse9

[memoak]

2 minutes ago, marelind said:

I will be traveling with my son, daughter-in-law, and 12 yo grandson. Do all have to be Plus if one or two are?

No only the first 2 in a cabin are required if the first passenger orders it

[Thrak]

If you book with the Princess Plus fare the first two in the cabin have to take that rate. If you are just booking the Princess Plus beverage package there is no requirement for anybody else in the cabin to purchase it.

 

It's incredibly stupid of Princess to name both the fare and the beverage package the same.

Edited May 31, 2023 by Thrak

[memoak]

2 minutes ago, Luv2CtheMouse9 said:

From what I understand, every person in a stateroom is not required to purchase a package, nor do they have to purchase the same package.   

If one person wants Princess Plus then the 2nd person must also   Any extra passengers are not. You can order a stand alone beverage package that does not include Wi-Fi and gratuities for only one but it is actually more expensive 

[marelind]

Thank you for the quick answers!

[travelin.sisters]

6 hours ago, Thrak said:

If you book with the Princess Plus fare the first two in the cabin have to take that rate. If you are just booking the Princess Plus beverage package there is no requirement for anybody else in the cabin to purchase it.

 

It's incredibly stupid of Princess to name both the fare and the beverage package the same.

apparently, Princess thinks someone is charging by the word as they are constantly reusing the same names for slightly related but different things...or they just have a very small vocabulary...

[Shawn5]

7 hours ago, tserface said:

One benefit of having the Plus Package is you don't have to worry about running up your bill and constantly be making decisions about buying drinks based on if you think it's costing too much or not. It's a nice freedom.

Hard to put a price on peace of mind, but it's gotta be worth at least a pretty penny.

[kywildcatfanone]

As far as bringing on water/soda, never had a problem putting some in checked baggage and carrying on what we want.  At least in FLL, they do not seem to care or check.  I thought they would at least look in my bag to make sure it wasn't beer cans or something, but they don't.

[Luv2CtheMouse9]

1 hour ago, kywildcatfanone said:

As far as bringing on water/soda, never had a problem putting some in checked baggage and carrying on what we want.  At least in FLL, they do not seem to care or check.  I thought they would at least look in my bag to make sure it wasn't beer cans or something, but they don't.

Good to know.  My husband is a Dr Pepper guy and the only have Coke products.

 

Their policy states no plastic bottles, so I guess they no longer want us bringing our own water. I do not understand why, when you consider they offer plastic bottles themselves.  Maybe people are swapping water for clear alcohol?  🤷‍♀️

[kywildcatfanone]

13 minutes ago, Luv2CtheMouse9 said:

Their policy states no plastic bottles, so I guess they no longer want us bringing our own water. I do not understand why, when you consider they offer plastic bottles themselves.  Maybe people are swapping water for clear alcohol? 

Yeah, that doesn't make sense.  I do see people bring plastic bottles of water on at ports, so I don't know if they really check.  At embarkation, I've only brought canned water like in soda cans just to be safe, but I would imagine at ports, you can do either.  

 

We like zero stuff, coke zero, sprite zero, 7up zero.  No idea why Princess doesn't offer more options than they do.

[MissP22]

On 6/1/2023 at 8:21 AM, kywildcatfanone said:

As far as bringing on water/soda, never had a problem putting some in checked baggage and carrying on what we want.  At least in FLL, they do not seem to care or check.  I thought they would at least look in my bag to make sure it wasn't beer cans or something, but they don't.

On one cruise they questioned me on the cans in my suitcase being beer. I told them to open it up & check and they just waved me through. 😁

 

 

On 6/1/2023 at 9:30 AM, Luv2CtheMouse9 said:

Good to know.  My husband is a Dr Pepper guy and the only have Coke products.

 

Their policy states no plastic bottles, so I guess they no longer want us bringing our own water. I do not understand why, when you consider they offer plastic bottles themselves.  Maybe people are swapping water for clear alcohol?  🤷‍♀️

I'm sure that swapping alcohol is their intent but in our last 4 trips we've never had anyone question out plastic bottles in our suitcase. 

Much of the Princess warning is just scare tactic.   

[kywildcatfanone]

46 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

but in our last 4 trips we've never had anyone question out plastic bottles in our suitcase. 

Plastic water bottles?  If so, I might get bottles instead of cans next time to take with me.

[MissP22]

1 hour ago, kywildcatfanone said:

Plastic water bottles?  If so, I might get bottles instead of cans next time to take with me.

They never questioned me even when I went through the scanner with only 1 suitcase filled with only 6 -1 liter bottles and no clothing during a B2B cruise. So much for their rule about cans of water. 😄 LOL