Just got an email outlining the "NEW" offerings

[LittleFish1976]

3 hours ago, JGmf said:

On the matter of grandfathering-in older standard bookings to that they wouldn't be subject to the changes: that would be a flat-out operational nightmare for on-board staff, the IT department, and the Princess company

And yet they were very happy, and able, to differentiate between passengers having bought the old or new packages up to July 2023 when it comes to who can have desserts, fitness classes, juices etc etc. The information is embedded in the medallion and as such the system differentiates automatically - not an imposition on them at all.

 

 

Edited August 15, 2023 by LittleFish1976

[1cruiselvr]

47 minutes ago, LittleFish1976 said:

I agree about having a preferred line which seems like better value as well as what you said about grandfathering.

 

To me part of the 'cost' of a holiday is the fuss and bother the company you're booking and/or travelling with puts you to. I've got my first Princess cruise coming up in a couple of months and I doubt very much I would book with them again (I have one very expensive and long cruise booked with them for next year but I plan to now cancel that). What a fuss! They've changed the inclusions in my package twice since I booked as well as altering the basics of service.

 

My own go-to line is not more expensive and still has free room service including an extensive hot breakfast (not just cereals and pastries; imo an egg mc muffin is not a cooked breakfast!).

 

I'm disappointed as I wanted to like Princess but this level of complication, fuss and disregard for the passenger is not worth bothering with. There are better and easier options out there.

 

 

I totally agree. This will be our last Princess cruise. 

[CruizinSusan70]

1 hour ago, Veinless said:

Darn. First time sailing Princess and was looking forward to the pizza. Not going to bother paying extra for it though. Thank you for the information. 

All you need to do is purchase the plus60 package and you get 2 visits per person.  If you split the meal, you get 4.

[CruizinSusan70]

17 minutes ago, 1cruiselvr said:

I totally agree. This will be our last Princess cruise. 

From looking at your cruise history, you're going to abandon Princess over a 14.99 charge?

[Veinless]

8 minutes ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

All you need to do is purchase the plus60 package and you get 2 visits per person.  If you split the meal, you get 4.

Cheapest pizza on the seas! 

[1cruiselvr]

12 minutes ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

From looking at your cruise history, you're going to abandon Princess over a 14.99 charge?

It's not a $14.99 charge issue. Where did you get that #?

[ronjoh]

My beef is a little different from the majority here.

We are booked on a cruise next month. Our status with Princess is Elite and we have booked a suite to celebrate an anniversary. We thought loyalty was highly important to Princess as there are a few perks associated with this level.

As both my wife and myself don't drink, the beverage packages was not worth the value to us. We don't care about the extra charges for Alfredo's, room service or medallion delivery, etc., although we do find it annoying.  What I don't understand is that our boarding priority has been changed from green to blue. At our age, the slow boarding process is the most unpleasant part of the holiday. 

What has Princess gained by removing this perk from its most dedicated customers? 

These changes were made after the last day for cancellation. Also after flight and hotel bookings were finalized. When we booked the cruise we had certain expectations of service and costs and possibly would have cancelled if we had been made aware of these changes. After 30+ cruises, we know there are many other options and changes should not be made once cancellation charges kick in.

[Russ Lomas]

As someone who has not yet cruised as a passenger with Princess Cruises (first one booked for March 2024), we are still very excited to see what Princess offers in comparison to our usual cruise line of choice (RCCL).  That said, we are discouraged to see changes like this after booking and before our cruise takes place.

 

A couple of comments I would like to add.  The reason we booked the March cruise with Princess is because RCCL has been doing cutbacks and is now asking 3 times the prices that we usually pay for the same week in March.  As they lower quality and service and charges exponentially more of it, we decided to try another cruise line to compare.

 

Secondly, we booked our cruise on the Regal for 1/3 the price that RCCL wanted for the 7 days on the Harmony for the exact same dates with the exact same ports.  In addition, we purchased the PLUS add-on for the cruise and the cost of that package is $20/day less than RCCL charges for just the beverage package alone, never mind tossing in gratuities and internet (plus some other minor perks).  For us, the price we are paying is a far better deal than with RCCL at this time.  Time will tell what we feel about the food and service and other amenities.

 

Finally, it is upsetting to read cruise lines like Princess changing a "free" venue into a "pay" venue, like Alfredo's.  Maybe if the ship went into dry dock and a venue was removed or changed from a free venue into a different pay venue, that would be more acceptable (though still tough to swallow), but charging for food that was free when people booked their cruises is just not right.

[PacnGoNow]

25 minutes ago, ronjoh said:

My beef is a little different from the majority here.

We are booked on a cruise next month. Our status with Princess is Elite and we have booked a suite to celebrate an anniversary. We thought loyalty was highly important to Princess as there are a few perks associated with this level.

As both my wife and myself don't drink, the beverage packages was not worth the value to us. We don't care about the extra charges for Alfredo's, room service or medallion delivery, etc., although we do find it annoying.  What I don't understand is that our boarding priority has been changed from green to blue. At our age, the slow boarding process is the most unpleasant part of the holiday. 

What has Princess gained by removing this perk from its most dedicated customers? 

These changes were made after the last day for cancellation. Also after flight and hotel bookings were finalized. When we booked the cruise we had certain expectations of service and costs and possibly would have cancelled if we had been made aware of these changes. After 30+ cruises, we know there are many other options and changes should not be made once cancellation charges kick in.

I would not worry about blue vs green.  I watched the last 2 years how little difference it made in the lanes. Maybe 2-5 min difference.  

We’ve used many different ports for embarkation.  Still do your checkin online or on the App and forget about the color.  

 

We elites still have priority boarding.  So, once you checkin you’ll still go to the elite lounge and have priority boarding.  
 

What port do you usually use, that you say is a slow boarding process, if I may ask?

 

 

 

[PacnGoNow]

1 minute ago, Russ Lomas said:

As someone who has not yet cruised as a passenger with Princess Cruises (first one booked for March 2024), we are still very excited to see what Princess offers in comparison to our usual cruise line of choice (RCCL).  That said, we are discouraged to see changes like this after booking and before our cruise takes place.

 

A couple of comments I would like to add.  The reason we booked the March cruise with Princess is because RCCL has been doing cutbacks and is now asking 3 times the prices that we usually pay for the same week in March.  As they lower quality and service and charges exponentially more of it, we decided to try another cruise line to compare.

 

Secondly, we booked our cruise on the Regal for 1/3 the price that RCCL wanted for the 7 days on the Harmony for the exact same dates with the exact same ports.  In addition, we purchased the PLUS add-on for the cruise and the cost of that package is $20/day less than RCCL charges for just the beverage package alone, never mind tossing in gratuities and internet (plus some other minor perks).  For us, the price we are paying is a far better deal than with RCCL at this time.  Time will tell what we feel about the food and service and other amenities.

 

Finally, it is upsetting to read cruise lines like Princess changing a "free" venue into a "pay" venue, like Alfredo's.  Maybe if the ship went into dry dock and a venue was removed or changed from a free venue into a different pay venue, that would be more acceptable (though still tough to swallow), but charging for food that was free when people booked their cruises is just not right.

That’s why we moved away from RCCL too.  Crazy prices and big amusement parks.

 

Look, I see everyone complaining about all of the cruise line’s changes and increases.  They are all trying to survive.  I get it.  Princess is still

the best value out there. IMO.

 

We book cruises 2 years out sometimes and I can’t expect there won’t be changes.  We just have to adjust or move on.

 

I’m not a cheerleader, but we do enjoy Princess cruises.  My objection is just be clear about changes and transparent. 

 

 

[ronjoh]

23 minutes ago, PacnGoNow said:

I would not worry about blue vs green.  I watched the last 2 years how little difference it made in the lanes. Maybe 2-5 min difference.  

We’ve used many different ports for embarkation.  Still do your checkin online or on the App and forget about the color.  

 

We elites still have priority boarding.  So, once you checkin you’ll still go to the elite lounge and have priority boarding.  
 

What port do you usually use, that you say is a slow boarding process, if I may ask?

 

 

 

We are using Vancouver. In the past there were no green vs blue. You were allowed to pick an arrival time. We pick the first group (11:30 to 12:30) and when we arrived the line was about 80 yards long and after 20 minutes (before we moved up) the line had snaked out the doors. There was no priority line for Elite until customs and security had been cleared and then we were sent to the priority area. This took about 45 minutes to one hour from the time we arrived (probably due to customs clearance). This was in Vancouver.

On this (Vancouver) cruise we completed all the required information and were assigned a green priority. When we were able to chose an arrival time (about 60 days pre cruise), we choose 11:30 - 12:30 and the app showed Group A. This information remained on our app until yesterday when I received the Princess email advising me of the changes. My green was changes to blue with no information about groups or times. My understanding now is that green goes first (two lines) (regardless of status). 

We have cruised out of LA numerous times and yes, there were no long lines. 

[suzyed]

1 hour ago, ronjoh said:

My beef is a little different from the majority here.

We are booked on a cruise next month. Our status with Princess is Elite and we have booked a suite to celebrate an anniversary. We thought loyalty was highly important to Princess as there are a few perks associated with this level.

As both my wife and myself don't drink, the beverage packages was not worth the value to us. We don't care about the extra charges for Alfredo's, room service or medallion delivery, etc., although we do find it annoying.  What I don't understand is that our boarding priority has been changed from green to blue. At our age, the slow boarding process is the most unpleasant part of the holiday. 

What has Princess gained by removing this perk from its most dedicated customers? 

These changes were made after the last day for cancellation. Also after flight and hotel bookings were finalized. When we booked the cruise we had certain expectations of service and costs and possibly would have cancelled if we had been made aware of these changes. After 30+ cruises, we know there are many other options and changes should not be made once cancellation charges kick in.

If you just have the standard/no package....you are most likely picking up your Medallions at the port which probably explains the move from Green to Blue.  It may not change your priority boarding..

 

[suzyed]

On 8/14/2023 at 7:34 PM, PacnGoNow said:

You could always wait till OB if you want to UG. Use obc and save the extra insurance cost.

 

 

 

That would use up all $1000 of our OBC! Hard pass!

[suzyed]

On 8/14/2023 at 7:34 PM, PacnGoNow said:

You could always wait till OB if you want to UG. Use obc and save the extra insurance cost.

 

 

 

That would use up all $1000 of our OBC! Hard pass!

[suzyed]

On 8/14/2023 at 7:34 PM, PacnGoNow said:

You could always wait till OB if you want to UG. Use obc and save the extra insurance cost.

 

 

 

That would use up all $1000 of our OBC! Hard pass!

[suzyed]

On 8/14/2023 at 7:34 PM, PacnGoNow said:

You could always wait till OB if you want to UG. Use obc and save the extra insurance cost.

 

 

 

That would use up all $1000 of our OBC! Hard pass!

[suzyed]

On 8/14/2023 at 7:34 PM, PacnGoNow said:

You could always wait till OB if you want to UG. Use obc and save the extra insurance cost.

 

 

 

That would use up all $1000 of our OBC! Hard pass!

[suzyed]

On 8/14/2023 at 7:34 PM, PacnGoNow said:

You could always wait till OB if you want to UG. Use obc and save the extra insurance cost.

 

 

 

That would use up all $1000 of our OBC! Hard pass!

[Steelers36]

28 minutes ago, ronjoh said:

We are using Vancouver. In the past there were no green vs blue. You were allowed to pick an arrival time. We pick the first group (11:30 to 12:30) and when we arrived the line was about 80 yards long and after 20 minutes (before we moved up) the line had snaked out the doors. There was no priority line for Elite until customs and security had been cleared and then we were sent to the priority area. This took about 45 minutes to one hour from the time we arrived (probably due to customs clearance). This was in Vancouver.

On this (Vancouver) cruise we completed all the required information and were assigned a green priority. When we were able to chose an arrival time (about 60 days pre cruise), we choose 11:30 - 12:30 and the app showed Group A. This information remained on our app until yesterday when I received the Princess email advising me of the changes. My green was changes to blue with no information about groups or times. My understanding now is that green goes first (two lines) (regardless of status). 

We have cruised out of LA numerous times and yes, there were no long lines. 

Where do you live (your location is not showing with your profile icon)?  Are you concerned because Standard Fare guests have been recently blocked from ordering Medallions mailed?  I am not sure if anyone has inquired of Princess if this was something deliberate or just another one of those bugs.  Speculation has been partly wondering if it had to do with them trying to fix the App from charging guests for shipping who have Plus or Premier. 

 

Anyway, whatever you did before was meaningless.  You could have showed up for check-in anytime.  Especially as an Elite level guest.  You would know this if following this Forum over the past couple of years.  Princess has now officially got rid of the Arrival Groups and guest can show up anytime for check-in up to the latest time shown in the Travel Summary.

 

Priority boarding is only meaningful (and ever was this way) if the guest has shown up prior to start of general boarding.  In this case, you are seated in a special room or area and given a group card (not sure if they still do that part).  The Elites and Suites are called first when boarding opens.  Once the waiting passengers have cleared the terminal waiting areas - which doesn't take long - then all guests arriving later for check-in just proceed right onto the ship.

 

So, show up early in Vancouver - or anywhere else - if you want to be among the first onto the ship.

 

Now, I have never sailed from Vancouver, but I understand it can be a big pain - and that isn't going to change.  I believe I have read that everyone sailing on a day - and there could be another ship or two - passes through the same customs and security area.  This is unique for any port I have read about or been to myself.  You aren't going to get any special cruise line handling until you reach your cruise line check-in area of the terminal.  No doubt whatever PCL has said about changing the check-in process is going to end up being fine tuned.

 

Several folks on here have reported arriving at terminals and Blue lane line is shorter due to so many having Medallions.  Also, the VP Sales said guest can be serviced in any lane, so just pick the short line.  Or look and see if they still have some agents dedicated to priority guests.

 

I think you are worrying about nothing much here and there are ways to get around it.  But Vancouver can be a mess and nothing Princess can do about it based on the setup and process.

 

 

ETA:  If you or anyone else used to show up at 11:30am per Arrival Group A, I should think you would find lots of people there ahead of you, already checked in and general boarding already started.  Sorry, but those groups were a joke almost from Day 1.

 

Also, you still get priority boarding, regardless of the lane on your new Boarding Pass.  But you have to be there early enough for it to mean anything - and that has not changed at all.

 

Edited August 16, 2023 by Steelers36

[Steelers36]

9 minutes ago, suzyed said:

That would use up all $1000 of our OBC! Hard pass!

 

8 minutes ago, suzyed said:

That would use up all $1000 of our OBC! Hard pass!

 

7 minutes ago, suzyed said:

That would use up all $1000 of our OBC! Hard pass!

 

7 minutes ago, suzyed said:

That would use up all $1000 of our OBC! Hard pass!

 

6 minutes ago, suzyed said:

That would use up all $1000 of our OBC! Hard pass!

 

4 minutes ago, suzyed said:

That would use up all $1000 of our OBC! Hard pass!

LOL - was your Enter key stuck?

[PacnGoNow]

23 minutes ago, ronjoh said:

We are using Vancouver. In the past there were no green vs blue. You were allowed to pick an arrival time. We pick the first group (11:30 to 12:30) and when we arrived the line was about 80 yards long and after 20 minutes (before we moved up) the line had snaked out the doors. There was no priority line for Elite until customs and security had been cleared and then we were sent to the priority area. This took about 45 minutes to one hour from the time we arrived (probably due to customs clearance). This was in Vancouver.

On this (Vancouver) cruise we completed all the required information and were assigned a green priority. When we were able to chose an arrival time (about 60 days pre cruise), we choose 11:30 - 12:30 and the app showed Group A. This information remained on our app until yesterday when I received the Princess email advising me of the changes. My green was changes to blue with no information about groups or times. My understanding now is that green goes first (two lines) (regardless of status). 

We have cruised out of LA numerous times and yes, there were no long lines. 

I’ve heard Vancouver can have long lines.  So, you always pick up your medallion’s in Vancouver. 
You still wait in the line.

 

I do not believe they removed the Elite lounge and elite boarding priority, once you are through customs, you should go to the lounge.  Have you heard that from someone who has cruised recently 

 

You can go anytime that is good for you, no more arrival times.

 

Some ports have just one line for everyone.  You get inside, blue and green lanes.  These lines I have not seen a big difference.  

Then, you would go to the elite lounge and have priority boarding, like always.

 

If they have done away with the elite lounge and priority boarding then there would be a thread that would explode on CC.

[dlh015]

2 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

 

 

 

 

 

LOL - was your Enter key stuck?

I suspect he encountered what I have a few times.  You quote a post, and add your reply to it. You click on Submit and nothing (seemingly) happens...so you click it again...and so on. But each time, it actually does post. 

 

I have had to exit the CC page (not log out mind you) and come back and lo and behold...

 

 

[suzyed]

9 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

 

 

 

 

 

LOL - was your Enter key stuck?

no....it kept saying I had to wait 26 seconds to post so I did and then it said 19 seconds so I waited before I entered and then is said 12 seconds.....sheesh!
LOL!

 

Edited August 16, 2023 by suzyed

[PacnGoNow]

8 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

 

 

 

 

 

LOL - was your Enter key stuck?

Susan’s finger got stuck.  Okay, Susan…save that obc!😂

[PacnGoNow]

2 minutes ago, suzyed said:

no....it kept saying I had to wait 26 seconds to post so I did and then it said 19 seconds so I waited before I entered and then is said 12 seconds.....sheesh!

 

Can’t make that many posts close together! 😉  Just kidding you.

BTW, I did get your reply. 🤣