Unpopular Opinion: I'm excited about the changes to Plus and Premier

[azbirdmom]

58 minutes ago, Abercrombie2019 said:

We were on the Regal in July and only ate at Alfredo's a few times.  We noticed that the pepperoni had been switched out for something that looked like (and tasted like) bologna.  We didn't notice many crowds at Alfredo's on the Regal.

 

We noticed the weird "salami" on the pizza on the Regal too last month.  I don't think this is a fleetwide thing, probably more a function of what they are provisioning for the ship in that region.

[memoak]

2 hours ago, getaway101 said:

Isn't the Salty Dog the burgers and hot dogs up by the pool?  Asking for a friend....🤪

They are still free we are only talking 

about sit down restaurants 

[Steelers36]

1 minute ago, memoak said:

They are still free we are only talking 

about sit down restaurants 

Ahhh .. there is a difference there.  But I was thinking they would be adding the for-fee items to the menu along with the free items.  So, it may be confusing if PCL uses the same venue name and one has the elevated menu and one does not.  May not be obvious to the less-experienced shopper.

[Abercrombie2019]

1 minute ago, Steelers36 said:

I believe that the food quality was somewhat lacking on Regal in Europe last summer/fall and hope that it is better now.  There was a noticeable difference when we switched ships to Island on Oct 31.

I just got off the Regal on Monday (July 31st).  Food in main dining room was pretty good.  We didn't find the buffet to be all that great, but many sections were often closed and it was fully shut down each night by 10pm.  We enjoyed Crown Grill and Sabatini's.  The pizza was the biggest disappointment for us after enjoying it on Discovery.

[desertdwellingsailor]

2 hours ago, PMGS247 said:

 

As others have asked I'm really curious what drives this big change.

 

Gigi's/Alfredo's now being covered by the 2x per cruise casual dining rather than free & unlimited is the only notable downside I can see. Even that's kind of offset by the fact that the 2x casual dining now opens up other places like o'malley's, salty dog, planks, steamers options for included meals as well.

I haven't followed all these threads but that is kind of interesting. I've been wanting a burger at Salty Dog but haven't paid for it because it seemed expensive. On the two 7 day cruises I have been on we only ate at Gigi's once each cruise so maybe on my next one I'll get a SD burger for my second casual dining meal. We have so far paid for plus and we were upgraded to premium one time due to a promotion but we didn't use our fancy meals at Salty Dog. Heading to Mexico March 2nd on Discovery Princess. Maybe a SD burger is in my future. I feel sympathy for everyone who is affected in a negative way by these changes. We all want to have an enjoyable cruise and who wants to pay for something and have what you paid for change? My previous two cruises were also on Discovery so I am curious how the meal situation will change.

[Steelers36]

This thread reminds me of several not-so-old threads where there were extensive debates about which package (including Standard) was the way to go and some folks trying to convince others that there was a "right way". 

 

The thing is, to me, Princess offers a range of options and one can book Standard and "pay-as-you-play", or you can consider one of the two semi-AI or AI packages.  For some, the add-on cost of Plus or Premier is more than they would otherwise consume or spend while, for others, one or both packages represent fabulous value.  It all depends on your style of cruising and vacationing. 

 

For us, Standard and paying for the few other things we would typically want is the way to go.  And I don't see that has changed with the conversion of previously-free Alfredo's/Gigi's locations to for-fee casual dining.  And the new Ocean Now user fee.  Am I surprised these locales now cost something?  Not really. 

 

Having the opportunity for a bundled package suits many guests - and that is fine too.

 

Many posters on here and other threads openly admit that PCL represents good value when compared to what the competition charges for similar experience.

 

As long as they have the great crew and service and "the feel" of being on a Princess cruise, we will still consider it as a prime provider when we decide to cruise again.

 

I do think they have executed this change very poorly - and this is not the first time - in that there are outstanding questions and somewhat ambiguous benefits and terms.  Clearly they have never been right (in consumer's eye) about limiting dining experiences by voyage and not by length of.  OTOH, they may be concerned about capacity limitations in the venues and being able to provide guests their benefits.  Also, they are allowed to make changes anytime they want, but they could have gone a long way to better guest relations by phasing the changes in and managing to provide something to guests who were booked and fully-paid prior to the change date.

 

Edited August 3, 2023 by Steelers36

[memoak]

2 hours ago, drwbrt said:

I realize this.  Honestly, we're probably on the fence even going to the production shows, but not having to go super early for decent seatings makes it more enticing.

If we go we just stand in the back so we can leave if we don’t like 

[memoak]

2 hours ago, drwbrt said:

The casual, sit down, venue offers a menu that is both more expanded and sophisticated than pool-side food.  I haven't tried either yet, but am excited to. Sit-down menu is different than the poolside menu.

Yeah but the last few cruises I have not liked the quality of Salty Dog sit down

[memoak]

1 hour ago, kywildcatfanone said:

I agree with you 100%.  This should have had a start date, and everyone who bought packages prior to the announcement are grandfathered into the new benefits.  None of these new things cost them that much money to provide good customer service to paid in full customers.

They are not going to grandfather people who paid $20 less per day. It might be nice but will not happen

[memoak]

2 hours ago, drwbrt said:

The $/day vs benefit/day does seem to wane significantly beyond the 7-10 day mark. You get into some heavy sea-day itineraries and it does start to lose in value.  I agree with that.  That said, I haven't compared sailings of that length very much.

I think it increases in value when I am on board all day eating in the MDR and using my 10+ drinks per day

[rosevew]

30 minutes ago, memoak said:

Then you haven’t lost anything 

I was referring to the listed venues which give alternatives when they are available. However, ships that only have Alfredo's don't have alternatives and aren't having the opportunity to use venues that previously paid, for free.

[memoak]

25 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

Ahhh .. there is a difference there.  But I was thinking they would be adding the for-fee items to the menu along with the free items.  So, it may be confusing if PCL uses the same venue name and one has the elevated menu and one does not.  May not be obvious to the less-experienced shopper.

On the Lido Salty Dig grill there has always been an extra pay option for fancy burger 

[memoak]

25 minutes ago, Abercrombie2019 said:

I just got off the Regal on Monday (July 31st).  Food in main dining room was pretty good.  We didn't find the buffet to be all that great, but many sections were often closed and it was fully shut down each night by 10pm.  We enjoyed Crown Grill and Sabatini's.  The pizza was the biggest disappointment for us after enjoying it on Discovery.

If buffet is closed you can always get food at IC

[gah_cruise]

3 hours ago, memoak said:

What no pizza every day ?  You can still go twice or spend your 2 casual meals at different spots that used to cost money. Unless you have an old plus fare then it is your choice to upgrade or not

So when you get on your 2025 cruise @memoak and find that the $60/day Plus package you purchased in 2023 no longer provides you with 15 alcoholic beverages a day (up to $15) but you must now either upgrade to the new Plus++ package (upgrade for only cost $30/pp/pd) or you are limited to a maximum of 8 alcoholic drinks................are you going to roll over and upgrade?

Edited August 3, 2023 by gah_cruise

[memoak]

2 minutes ago, gah_cruise said:

So when you get on your 2025 cruise @memoak and find that the $60/day Plus package you purchased in 2023 no longer provides you with 15 alcoholic beverages a day (up to $15) but you must now either upgrade to the new Plus++ package (upgrade for only cost $30/pp/pd) or you are limited to a maximum of 8 alcoholic drinks................are you going to roll over and upgrade?

You do know you are making things up that don’t exist

[cruzsnooze]

6 hours ago, drwbrt said:

I'm surprised at some of these comments.  My cruise I've booked on Princess, with Premier, is CHEAPER than what I could get on NCL, CCL, or RCL with a drink package, gratuities and wifi. The value is there.  

There in lies the issue. For those that don't drink for reasons of health, abuse of alcohol, liver disease or anything else the package doesn't work and previous resources are removed. 

[kywildcatfanone]

Just now, cruzsnooze said:

There in lies the issue. For those that don't drink for reasons of health, abuse of alcohol, liver disease or anything else the package doesn't work and previous resources are removed. 

As expensive as the Princess packages are, they are less than the ones offered on Celebrity.  Amazing to me, but I guess people are buying them.  So good for the cruise line.

[seeyouinthesun]

6 hours ago, drwbrt said:

We are booked on our first Princess cruise on Discovery early next year (traveling with my brother: @New2cruise2022).  We were originally booked on a Plus fare.  We couldn't see the value in photos, prizes, specialty dining and the small upgrade in inclusive drink costs to upgrade from Plus to Premier.  The changes at casual dining, made the switch to Premier much more compelling.  I know, it's weird to be excited to spend more money, but for us it is about value.

 

While we were still Plus we weren't over the moon about Gigi's because we think Slice will deliver good pizza without the wait.  We had little interest in paying the cover for the Salty Dog Gastropub or for paying for Ocean Terrace.  We felt like we could rely on the buffet and the pool-side offerings for anything outside MDR.  We got Plus for the drinks, WiFi, and gratuity.  Once the changes were announced for casual dining, moving to Premier was a no-brainer for us.

 

We anticipate a MUCH LESS CROWDED Gigi's.  We can enjoy Ocean Terrace and the Salty Dog without any concerns about it not being worth the cover charge.  We are crossing our fingers that OceanNow will provide included access to Ocean Terrace and Salty Dog menus.

 

Overall, we feel that upgrading to Premier will provide two things: 1) more dining options to avoid waits, crowds, and improve quality of service; and 2) an true shot at an all-inclusive feeling.  This is where we see the value.

 

We know this isn't for everyone.  A reminder/tip to others though: Premier is perhaps THE WAY to travel with teens.  The parents, passengers 1 and 2 are premier, providing WiFi options for the rest of their traveling party.  This only requires a cheaper soda package and gratuities to put a minor at "Plus" level.  They can eat at the buffet while you get away for casual dining elsewhere.

I’m with you. I love the value I received from the Premiere Package. 

[dreaminofcruisin]

I 'get' that changes are going to happen. Most of the changes are not that big a deal to me.

However, it really irks me that because I booked early (as Princess always encourages) and booked the Plus-50 package, I now have to upgrade and pay more (which isn't logical for a 14 day cruise) to receive the benefits that existed at the time I booked....and this all happens within a month of my cruise.

Had Princess done the logical rational consumer-friendly thing and grandfathered in the old Plus packages, I wouldn't be so annoyed.

[drwbrt]

1 hour ago, Steelers36 said:

Ahhh .. there is a difference there.  But I was thinking they would be adding the for-fee items to the menu along with the free items.  So, it may be confusing if PCL uses the same venue name and one has the elevated menu and one does not.  May not be obvious to the less-experienced shopper.

Having the same name makes it very difficult to keep straight.  This is a misstep by Princess.

[drwbrt]

1 hour ago, desertdwellingsailor said:

I haven't followed all these threads but that is kind of interesting. I've been wanting a burger at Salty Dog but haven't paid for it because it seemed expensive. On the two 7 day cruises I have been on we only ate at Gigi's once each cruise so maybe on my next one I'll get a SD burger for my second casual dining meal. We have so far paid for plus and we were upgraded to premium one time due to a promotion but we didn't use our fancy meals at Salty Dog. Heading to Mexico March 2nd on Discovery Princess. Maybe a SD burger is in my future. I feel sympathy for everyone who is affected in a negative way by these changes. We all want to have an enjoyable cruise and who wants to pay for something and have what you paid for change? My previous two cruises were also on Discovery so I am curious how the meal situation will change.

You're on the sailing right after us.  High five on the gangway. If you have been Plus in the past, and plan to in the future, then I think you are not going to be disappointed.  I would consider Premier still.

[kywildcatfanone]

6 minutes ago, dreaminofcruisin said:

I 'get' that changes are going to happen. Most of the changes are not that big a deal to me.

However, it really irks me that because I booked early (as Princess always encourages) and booked the Plus-50 package, I now have to upgrade and pay more (which isn't logical for a 14 day cruise) to receive the benefits that existed at the time I booked....and this all happens within a month of my cruise.

Had Princess done the logical rational consumer-friendly thing and grandfathered in the old Plus packages, I wouldn't be so annoyed.

I think this is e everyone's complaint, and rightly so.  It's poor customer service. Especially when they have your money to earn interest off of while raising your price should you want to eat at casual restaurants onboard.

Edited August 3, 2023 by kywildcatfanone

[BlerkOne]

58 minutes ago, cruzsnooze said:

There in lies the issue. For those that don't drink for reasons of health, abuse of alcohol, liver disease or anything else the package doesn't work and previous resources are removed. 

Surely they drink water or other fluids? The drink packages include more than alcoholic beverages.

[drwbrt]

1 hour ago, cruzsnooze said:

There in lies the issue. For those that don't drink for reasons of health, abuse of alcohol, liver disease or anything else the package doesn't work and previous resources are removed. 

You're right.  That's where the other comment came from that we're talking about a fee for OceanNow (something no other line offers), a fee for room service (that all lines are charging a higher rate for), and a pizzeria.  That's not an indictment.  But even still, the drink package is worth much more than just booze.  Between the gratuity, Wi-Fi, and non-alcoholic beverages I can still break even on Plus, add in the dining and I'm there on Premier.

[drwbrt]

36 minutes ago, dreaminofcruisin said:

I 'get' that changes are going to happen. Most of the changes are not that big a deal to me.

However, it really irks me that because I booked early (as Princess always encourages) and booked the Plus-50 package, I now have to upgrade and pay more (which isn't logical for a 14 day cruise) to receive the benefits that existed at the time I booked....and this all happens within a month of my cruise.

Had Princess done the logical rational consumer-friendly thing and grandfathered in the old Plus packages, I wouldn't be so annoyed.

I think that's a good thing to bring up at guest services.