Changes to Princess Plus, room service fees, Alfredo's and others. Fee changes. Etc

[gah_cruise]

5 minutes ago, memoak said:

I made a reservation at my favorite local restaurant a month ago for a special occasion I have coming up next week. When I get to the restaurant and find that price of items has been increased should I throw a tantrum and insist on last months prices ?

did you prepay and then get a supplementary charge?

[Tedferg]

14 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

It is 2 visits per person with Plus.

We share a pizza at Alfredos, so does that mean we are each charged a visit?

[memoak]

32 minutes ago, kathy49 said:

Also on many ships it seems that a very high % are first time Princess cruisers...so their marketing is working with that group. Some have described the Elite lounges as almost empty. I predict more loyalty perks going by the wayside as this approach continues.

On the other hand it is now taking at least 400 days to make the cut for most traveled. I can remember when 250 put you near the top of the list. I don’t go to elite lounges br aide a few  snacks is no big deal for me. All it would do is ruin my appetite for dinner

[antsp]

42 minutes ago, cruising.mark.uk said:

Interestingly, Celebrity tried that not so long ago.  They only offered all inclusive.  They had to reverse that policy pretty quickly.  I'd be surprised if Princess went down the route.  It is clear from these boards and, no doubt, from passenger surveys and other forms of feedback that all inclusive will not be a value proposition for all cruisers.

Princess did trial this last summer, some of the shorter Enchanted cruise ex Southampton were only available with the plus package. Close to the sailing, the cruises still had lots of cabins and they pulled the plus package being included   

[caribill]

On 7/27/2023 at 4:10 PM, Ombud said:

The gratuities go to corporate to be dispersed fleet wide as compensation and bonuses. They don't stay with any particular ship staff according to Princess. I choose to believe Princess 

 

 

 

Which means your real daily contribution to your own cabin steward is about one cent a day.

 

And why are we now tipping Guest Services and Entertainment people?

 

Since Princess says that 75% of passengers will have the Plus/Premier package, that means only 25% of passengers have the option of adjusting their daily "crew appreciation" amount.

[villauk]

48 minutes ago, memoak said:

When the price of eggs goes up 20% do you stop making omelets ?

 

I’d expect there to be half a dozen still in the box when I got home though. With Princess, I feel like I paid for 6 and when I opened the box only 4 was still in it.

[kathy49]

18 minutes ago, memoak said:

I made a reservation at my favorite local restaurant a month ago for a special occasion I have coming up next week. When I get to the restaurant and find that price of items has been increased should I throw a tantrum and insist on last months prices ?

No but if you prepaid months in some cases a year or more in advance you might think differently?

[villauk]

18 minutes ago, memoak said:

I made a reservation at my favorite local restaurant a month ago for a special occasion I have coming up next week. When I get to the restaurant and find that price of items has been increased should I throw a tantrum and insist on last months prices ?

 

If you’d already paid for the fixed menu, then yes!

[LEOSO]

I always remove tips and don’t drink alcohol so I find the entire package discussion moot. 

[PacnGoNow]

20 minutes ago, coo359a2 said:

But sure a lot of posts when we still have to wait to see how it will work. We dont sail till 26 September so should have some factual posts by then

Same here. 

[kathy49]

12 minutes ago, Tedferg said:

We share a pizza at Alfredos, so does that mean we are each charged a visit?

i would say yes

[Tedferg]

2 minutes ago, kathy49 said:

i would say yes

So what if one of us goes in and orders a pizza, then the other one joins them. Does the second person ordering nothing get charged for a visit? Just curious, not trying to game the system, though if a shared pizza was one visit we could go four times 🙂

 

[kathy49]

I honestly did not realize that the tips were not per voyage and distributed however they do.  I find  this then just paying the wages that Princess as a company should be paying. My guess is doing it this way gives them some tax and corporate advantages. I am therefore not that offended if people are opting out of that and tipping as they wish on the voyage.

[PacnGoNow]

15 minutes ago, Tedferg said:

We share a pizza at Alfredos, so does that mean we are each charged a visit?

If you are buying one pizza, then no.  You can order a la carte, $12 a pizza.

 (I believe the new price)
Or, the 3 course for $14.99 for one meal. 
 

 

[kathy49]

3 minutes ago, Tedferg said:

So what if one of us goes in and orders a pizza, then the other one joins them. Does the second person ordering nothing get charged for a visit? Just curious, not trying to game the system, though if a shared pizza was one visit we could go four times 🙂

 

 

Edited July 30, 2023 by kathy49
wrong info

[emeraldlake]

5 minutes ago, kathy49 said:

i would say yes

It is not very clear.  Menu calls it a cover charge of $14.99 to cover appetizer, pasta or pizza, and dessert.  However,  you can also order a la carte and not pay $14.99.  So I would think if you have Plus, one could get 3 course meal for free and other can order appetizer and pay for it.

[PacnGoNow]

1 minute ago, Tedferg said:

So what if one of us goes in and orders a pizza, then the other one joins them. Does the second person ordering nothing get charged for a visit? Just curious, not trying to game the system, though if a shared pizza was one visit we could go four times 🙂

 

So, you have the plus beverage package?

I would think only 1 visit, if you only order one meal.

We share a pizza too.  I would tell them only 1 of us wants to order a meal.

 

Isn’t it 2 visits per guest?  This will be interesting.

[caribill]

On 7/27/2023 at 5:13 PM, Astro Flyer said:

 

Why would anyone buy the more expensive drink package versions & not the cheaper complete package which includes the drink package…what am I missing?

 

 

 

 

They wouldn't anymore.  The high beverage package only price is good for showing how much you save by getting Plus/Premier package.

 

Especially misleading is advertising that says gratuities and beverage package are free "with certain fares." They are not free at all.

[Tiredandgrumpy]

Im kind of going through mixed emotions about this, on one hand its a bit of a first world problem on the other hand we now have to pay an extra $200 per person to receive the same thing we had already received. I tried contacting PC yesterday but the lass on the live chat had no idea of the changes 🤣 and went off to check. Eventually came back with some sketchy info that didn't make much sense. I managed to get through via phone and again the call handler knew limited info and was very unwilling to give me information about how much i had to pay to upgrade and kept on diverting back to the travel agent who “knew all about it” This was another joke as when i phoned them yesterday the agent knew diddly squat and are contacting PC on my behalf and ringing me back tomorrow. 

Im rather appalled at how they've handled this, unless an email is about to drop on Monday morning then as yet I've not read of one person who has been contacted. For reference I'm due to sail in a a few weeks and I suspect i would have found out first day or when sitting down at Alfredos that evening. TBH i wouldn't want to be on the service desk as those poor guys are going to get some serious flack. 

For us, we booked in October 22 with a deposit and paid in full in May this year, we of course have the old premier package and don't qualify for the new “perks” Perks of course which are being dressed up as perks but what we were already receiving. 

The whole things stinks of just money grabbing for loyal customers who booked early. Anyone who though that they'd book late and likely saved a bit with a late booking will ultimately gain all these added perks for free or at least built in with a package they choose. 

Can they do it?…yes probably, should they have done it?…absolutely not, its clealry going to create so much bad feeling and vast amounts of hassle for their service guys who have to deal with the backlash 

Edited July 30, 2023 by Tiredandgrumpy
Spelling

[Steelers36]

26 minutes ago, Tedferg said:

We share a pizza at Alfredo's, so does that mean we are each charged a visit?

So do we and I don't think we know the answer yet.  A couple of days ago, I wondered if anyone who has been to another casual dining location such as Salty Dog and ordered something to share has had to pay extra?  I guess it has to be one of them with the a la carte options as the first incarnations had a set cover charge of $18, IIRC.  Now, it seems the prix fixe is going to be $15.  Not sure if there is another good example we can go by prior to getting clarity from Princess.

[c-boy]

10 minutes ago, memoak said:

I made a reservation at my favorite local restaurant a month ago for a special occasion I have coming up next week. When I get to the restaurant and find that price of items has been increased should I throw a tantrum and insist on last months prices ?

Touching on that subject. I/we are partnered in a half dozen dinning establishments. All of which have increased menu prices due to increased expense. Food costs have gone through the roof, and the likelihood of reversing those price increases if or when food cost go down (something you cannot rely on in the food service industry) will no transpire. Initially cover numbers went down, but over the months have returned to previous numbers. For the most part regular patrons understood the reasons for increasing pricing. Last quarter, eggs went down in cost, pork went up (California go figure). The increase cost of pork product cancelled the reduction of poultry costs.  I imagine in the cruise industry, the problems of inventory, food costs and preparation are ten to thirty times what  I have experienced. 

[caribill]

On the Island Princess (which does not have an Alfredos) recently they had a couple of times at lunch "Alfredos at Sabatini's" where they served free Alfredo menu pizzas. It was well attended.

 

I  wonder now if they will either:

a) start charging for this Pizza at lunch event    or

b) just discontinue having it.

[kywildcatfanone]

40 minutes ago, memoak said:

made a reservation at my favorite local restaurant a month ago for a special occasion I have coming up next week. When I get to the restaurant and find that price of items has been increased should I throw a tantrum and insist on last months prices ?

Did you pay in full a month ago?

[caribill]

2 minutes ago, c-boy said:

Touching on that subject. I/we are partnered in a half dozen dinning establishments. All of which have increased menu prices due to increased expense. Food costs have gone through the roof, and the likelihood of reversing those price increases if or when food cost go down (something you cannot rely on in the food service industry) will no transpire.

 

So all the cruise lines have to do is raise the basic pricing for a cruise to cover these extra costs.

 

The major cruise lines are reporting to their stockholders that bookings are at record levels at significantly higher pricing.

 

So cruise pricing is up and now, at Princess, will also include less than before.

[getaway101]

1 hour ago, kywildcatfanone said:

If you follow the conversation, the answer is they are not concerned about loyalty.  They have determined they do not have to be and that is their choice.

Customers can continue to buy their product and that is their choice.

 

While I do not like the changes, it's pretty clear that they don't care and instead are more interested in new cruisers who have no history of being able to cruise without packages and cruising being a value vacation.

 

It is what it is.

Name me one cruise line who is concerned about loyalty.  I still feel Princess has the best loyalty program.  We are also Elite on Celebrity and Diamond+ on Royal.  We always take longer cruises and IMO the perks on Princess are way better for longer cruises.  Do they really care that we are Elite?  No!  But neither does any other cruise line.  It's a business.  Royal and Celebrity were the first to do away with the Shareholder benefit IF you have any other type of discount or OBC.  Personally I think all cruise lines should just go all inclusive and do away with the nickle and diming.