Casual Dining - Fixed Price Menus and A La Carte Charges

[rosevew]

2 minutes ago, New2cruise2022 said:

You weren’t sold that. If they said they were closing a restaurant on a ship for good, without warning, you would have no recourse. They didn’t close that restaurant, they repurposed it. You have no recourse. Read the terms and conditions. They are delivering on everything they said they are providing. You can no more rely on a meal in Alfredo’s or GiGi’s being free than you can rely on a specific meal or menu item being provided in the MDR. When people buy a specialty dining package, the terms and conditions do not enumerate specific restaurants — because the restaurant can be overbooked or otherwise unavailable. When you buy a drinks package, it doesn’t specifically state what wines, or beers, or brands of whiskey you will get. You are given examples of what MAY be available. Cruise lines and their agents represent examples of what is currently available … subject to change. 

Their advertising quite clearly said that Alfredo's was free, as was room service. Hence they are not providing what was offered. Where do you draw the line? Next they might charge for the buffet or the MDR. I am not arguing about a specific product in Alfredo's but the whole venue. They can change the pizza toppings but not free access to the venue.

[rosevew]

I would question whether you are on the payroll or planted to try to appease those who are dissatisfied. However, you will never convince me that it is acceptable or ethical. You may roll over but I will not 

[New2cruise2022]

6 minutes ago, rosevew said:

Their advertising quite clearly said that Alfredo's was free, as was room service. Hence they are not providing what was offered. Where do you draw the line? Next they might charge for the buffet or the MDR. I am not arguing about a specific product in Alfredo's but the whole venue. They can change the pizza toppings but not free access to the venue.

 

13 minutes ago, rosevew said:

Their advertising quite clearly said that Alfredo's was free, as was room service. Hence they are not providing what was offered. Where do you draw the line? Next they might charge for the buffet or the MDR. I am not arguing about a specific product in Alfredo's but the whole venue. They can change the pizza toppings but not free access to the venue.

Advertising about food, if you look on the pages and on the language “Dining Venues vary by ship and are subject to change.”

 

Do you have a travel document or receipt from Princess that says something different? If you do, you should definitely show that to customer service. 

[rosevew]

3 minutes ago, New2cruise2022 said:

 

Advertising about food, if you look on the pages and on the language “Dining Venues vary by ship and are subject to change.”

 

Do you have a travel document or receipt from Princess that says something different? If you do, you should definitely show that to customer service. 

Funnily enough, I don't screenshot websites when booking a holiday. Maybe I need to start doing so

[JGmf]

7 hours ago, irishgirl said:

Personally, I feel they could eliminate the 2 premium desserts per day and the fitness classes to offset the cost of casual dining.

 

Virtually no one eats those desserts and the fitness classes aren't crowded one bit.  It's not a one-to-one offset.

[JGmf]

On 8/4/2023 at 12:48 PM, Cruise Starter said:

From what I am hearing there are passengers cancelling their cruises or declining to book on Princess because of these changes.  There is some anger about the changes being made to cruises that were booked under previous conditions.  
 

Charging extra for previously included items after booking and selling these items as now included as a new “benefit” of the Plus and Premium packages does not go down well.

 

Not a personal fan of the changes, but with regard to people bailing on Princess b/c of these changes -- for a cost of $5 to $15 here or there -- then if that amount pushes them out, then "mission accomplished" for Princess.

 

Those are very passengers that can be supplanted with more profitable ones..

[New2cruise2022]

12 minutes ago, rosevew said:

I would question whether you are on the payroll or planted to try to appease those who are dissatisfied. However, you will never convince me that it is acceptable or ethical. You may roll over but I will not 

We are consumers. We aren’t on payroll. That is the point. We don’t have power to control these decisions. We purchase and our expectations (realistic and otherwise) build until we sail. The cruise offerings and customer service are judged by you and me. You may conclude that it isn’t fair or ethical and might never cruise with them. I am just promoting a notion that there isn’t a necessarily nefarious, underhanded, dishonest, illegal, or unethical motivation behind these changes. I agree that there is often disappointment when things don’t go the way we anticipate. As consumers it is easy to fixate on details that may not be guaranteed. 

[New2cruise2022]

11 minutes ago, JGmf said:

 

Not a personal fan of the changes, but with regard to people bailing on Princess b/c of these changes -- for a cost of $5 to $15 here or there -- then if that amount pushes them out, then "mission accomplished" for Princess.

 

Those are very passengers that can be supplanted with more profitable ones..

This. Times 1000. 

[New2cruise2022]

25 minutes ago, rosevew said:

Funnily enough, I don't screenshot websites when booking a holiday. Maybe I need to start doing so

Princess would never have made this change if it wasn’t ironclad legally. That means the language was clear enough (or ambiguous enough) so as not to guarantee specific restaurant offerings. 

[Westsail32]

2 hours ago, memoak said:

You will then be paying $20 per day for a $15 meal unless you intend to eat all lunch and dinner meals in casual eateries and never go to the MDR

I figure $140 to upgrade.  Looking at my usual expenses on a seven day cruise:

 

2 Steakhouse Meals ($60)

1 Other Specialty Meal (like Sabatinis) ($30)

Upgrade Wi-Fi as I have multiple devices ($45)

Better Wine (1 per day x6 dinners) ($120)

3-4 Casual Dining Meals ($60)

Total - $300+

 

I usually buy one or two pictures each cruise.  I think they’re $20 each?  I’m not sure what they are charging for prints right now.  It gives three free prints and unlimited digital which is nice.  At least on this cruise I will visit Salty Dog several times.  

 

I usually have a few hundred in onboard credit but a lot of it is refundable.  

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 6, 2023 by Westsail32

[memoak]

3 minutes ago, Westsail32 said:

I figure $140 to upgrade.  Looking at my usual expenses on a seven day cruise:

 

2 Steakhouse Meals ($60)

1 Other Specialty Meal (like Sabatinis) ($30)

Upgrade Wi-Fi as I have multiple devices ($45)

Better Wine (1 per day x6 dinners) ($120)

3-4 Casual Dining Meals ($60)

Total - $300+

 

I usually buy one or two pictures each cruise.  I think they’re $20 each?  I’m not sure what they are charging for prints right now.  It gives three free prints and unlimited digital which is nice.  At least on this cruise I will visit Salty Dog several times.  

 

I usually have a few hundred in onboard credit but a lot of it is refundable.  

 

 

 

 

 

With plus I only pay the extra over $15 for glasses of wine and get 2 casual meals. I also thought the specialty dinners were 2 per cruise. You may want to check your math

[startedwithamouse]

25 minutes ago, JGmf said:

 

Not a personal fan of the changes, but with regard to people bailing on Princess b/c of these changes -- for a cost of $5 to $15 here or there -- then if that amount pushes them out, then "mission accomplished" for Princess.

 

Those are very passengers that can be supplanted with more profitable ones..

Bingo!  

 

Just off a cruise with over a thousand first time blue medallion Princess cruisers.  Not sure what the capacity of the Caribbean, but quite certain a good percentage of guests in that category. 

[Westsail32]

6 minutes ago, memoak said:

With plus I only pay the extra over $15 for glasses of wine and get 2 casual meals. I also thought the specialty dinners were 2 per cruise. You may want to check your math

With a Salty Dog on Discovery I’ll probably do a casual dining lunch daily.   I usually hit Alfredo’s at least four times a cruise.  I’m not a buffet person and the MDR lunches are hit and miss.  Forgot about the drink difference so I’ll adjust that.  With a Bistro Sur La Mer on Discovery I can see adding a couple dinners there too.  
 

2 Steakhouse Meals ($60)

1 Other Specialty Meal (like Sabatinis) ($30)

Upgrade Wi-Fi as I have multiple devices ($45)

Better Wine (1 per day x6 dinners) ($30)

3-4 Casual Dining Meals ($60)

Total - $225

 

Update:  I did just read that Princess made changes to the onboard military and shareholder credits.  They used to allow you to have both and they were refundable.  Now you can’t combine them and they’re not refundable.  Suddenly instead of having $200 in onboard credit I have $100.  In the past I’d usually get at least $100 back every cruise.  Now that’s gone.  

 

https://www.cruisehive.com/princess-cruises-makes-a-policy-change-on-benefits/104399#:~:text=It's also important to note,carried over to future cruises.

 

On a positive note the Carnival shares I bought have doubled in value.  May look at selling.  Either way not cruising a year has taught me something.  I need to read cruise news at least once a month so I know what’s going on.  

[Wanderers2]

7 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

Bayou Cafe on Island/Coral.  Approximately a CG type menu, but with different items.

Yes sorry I did miss those. At the moment while cruising out of Australia the Coral has a slightly different menu in Bayou Cafe than the Island. 

[memoak]

3 hours ago, voljeep said:

3 glasses of $18 cab will also cut into the 20

You have to back pout the $15 you are credited for with Plus

[voljeep]

3 minutes ago, memoak said:

You have to back pout the $15 you are credited for with Plus

uh, yeah - $9 + 18% "cuts into the $20"   not just meals

[memoak]

36 minutes ago, Westsail32 said:

With a Salty Dog on Discovery I’ll probably do a casual dining lunch daily.   I usually hit Alfredo’s at least four times a cruise.  I’m not a buffet person and the MDR lunches are hit and miss.  Forgot about the drink difference so I’ll adjust that.  With a Bistro Sur La Mer on Discovery I can see adding a couple dinners there too.  
 

 

2 Steakhouse Meals ($60)

1 Other Specialty Meal (like Sabatinis) ($30)

Upgrade Wi-Fi as I have multiple devices ($45)

Better Wine (1 per day x6 dinners) ($30)

3-4 Casual Dining Meals ($60)

Total - $225

 

Update:  I did just read that Princess made changes to the onboard military and shareholder credits.  They used to allow you to have both and they were refundable.  Now you can’t combine them and they’re not refundable.  Suddenly instead of having $200 in onboard credit I have $100.  In the past I’d usually get at least $100 back every cruise.  Now that’s gone.  

 

https://www.cruisehive.com/princess-cruises-makes-a-policy-change-on-benefits/104399#:~:text=It's also important to note,carried over to future cruises.

 

On a positive note the Carnival shares I bought have doubled in value.  May look at selling.  Either way not cruising a year has taught me something.  I need to read cruise news at least once a month so I know what’s going on.  

You are assuming it will be open for lunch. I was there in June and it was only dinner

[memoak]

Every cruise you have ever taken has the words “Subject to change “ all over the items that you signed off on. The could close down Alfredo’s at any time or any other venue   They could turn Salty Dog gastropub into a library. Somebody recently posted the mini suite perks and said see it shows free room service. But didn’t mention the subject to change note at the bottom. 

[Torfamm]

On 7/31/2023 at 11:47 PM, Thrak said:

Now... Has anybody seen the new Casual Dining added onto their Travel Summary? I'm not seeing any mention of it on the cruises I have booked with Plus 60.

It shows in the app but doesn’t appear on the Travel Summary yet 

Edited August 7, 2023 by Torfamm

[memoak]

4 hours ago, voljeep said:

uh, yeah - $9 + 18% "cuts into the $20"   not just meals

If the wine is $18 then it is $3 plus tip no big deal. Were did you ever get the  $9 from ?

[rosevew]

12 hours ago, Westsail32 said:

I figure $140 to upgrade.  Looking at my usual expenses on a seven day cruise:

 

2 Steakhouse Meals ($60)

1 Other Specialty Meal (like Sabatinis) ($30)

Upgrade Wi-Fi as I have multiple devices ($45)

Better Wine (1 per day x6 dinners) ($120)

3-4 Casual Dining Meals ($60)

Total - $300+

 

I usually buy one or two pictures each cruise.  I think they’re $20 each?  I’m not sure what they are charging for prints right now.  It gives three free prints and unlimited digital which is nice.  At least on this cruise I will visit Salty Dog several times.  

 

I usually have a few hundred in onboard credit but a lot of it is refundable.  

 

 

 

 

 

Upgrading may make sense on a 7 day cruise but it's less so on a longer cruise.

[voljeep]

8 hours ago, memoak said:

If the wine is $18 then it is $3 plus tip no big deal. Were did you ever get the  $9 from ?

In my original post to this 

[Gibsongirl]

We are elite on Princess, have 4 cruises booked with Princess this summer and will not be booking very often with them in the future.  We have noted the erosion of benefits and it is our feeling that Princess no longer values repeat customers.  We particularly miss the free 200 internet minutes.  We don't want to surf on a cruise, just check emails occasionally.  The latest for everyone is the charging for Alfredo's.  The free laundry is nice for underwear but we are tired of having special clothing ruined by the laundry and don't send anything else down anymore.  We are Diamond on Celebrity and RCCL and will be cruising more often with them.  If you enjoy Princess we wish you happy cruising, but they have lost us as loyal, repeat cruisers.

[Oxo]

1 hour ago, Gibsongirl said:

We are elite on Princess, have 4 cruises booked with Princess this summer and will not be booking very often with them in the future.  We have noted the erosion of benefits and it is our feeling that Princess no longer values repeat customers.  We particularly miss the free 200 internet minutes.  We don't want to surf on a cruise, just check emails occasionally.  The latest for everyone is the charging for Alfredo's.  The free laundry is nice for underwear but we are tired of having special clothing ruined by the laundry and don't send anything else down anymore.  We are Diamond on Celebrity and RCCL and will be cruising more often with them.  If you enjoy Princess we wish you happy cruising, but they have lost us as loyal, repeat cruisers.

I understand your disappointment in Princess and all the costly changes.

 

We are Elite on Princess, Elite Plus on Celebrity, Diamond Plus on RCI, Diamond on MSC, Sapphire on NCL, etc. We have cruised those lines last year and this year.

 

Why do I mention this? It is too let you know we are seeing the same changes on all the cruise lines! Regardless of line, they are all cutting back, charging more and it is no different. 

 

My personal opinion: 

Celebrity is the most expensive in the way of drinks, Specialty Restaurants, etc.

MSC is the least expensive.

Princess is reasonable in drinks, Specialty Restaurants.

Your money, your choice.

 

We are not cheerleaders for any cruise line. Happy Cruising on your line of choice! 

 

[no1racefan1]

On 8/5/2023 at 8:58 PM, New2cruise2022 said:

If you are one of many, what other response could they give? If you give them the benefit of the doubt, the leadership team will meet and reevaluate the changes and the response from people like you. Regardless, that is giving some sort of a damn. 

I got the same response. I appreciated at least getting a response.