Just got an email outlining the "NEW" offerings

[startedwithamouse]

7 hours ago, suzyed said:

exactly

August 14th is the first Caribbean Princess voyage where the new packages go into effect.

Edited August 16, 2023 by startedwithamouse

[startedwithamouse]

We're browsing the Princess website tonight, and clicked on "What's Included" (see image)

 

 

[startedwithamouse]

3 hours 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.

 

Have you ever split a meal in the Crown Grill?

[startedwithamouse]

4 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

 

We have never sailed on Majestic Princess. Can anybody here tell me what The Bistro section is in the buffet?

 

Are those the old deck plans for the Chinese market?  Same ones which list the Karaoke rooms?

[Thrak]

6 minutes ago, startedwithamouse said:

 

Have you ever split a meal in the Crown Grill?

 

Crown Grill isn't included in that "casual dining" category so it's irrelevant. We will visit Alfredo's and purchase one pizza to share. No need to bill us both. No,we won't do the "pre-fixe" meal. A pizza is plenty to feed both of us.

[Thrak]

2 minutes ago, startedwithamouse said:

Are those the old deck plans for the Chinese market?  Same ones which list the Karaoke rooms?

 

That is the deck plan I see today.

[memoak]

5 minutes ago, Thrak said:

 

Crown Grill isn't included in that "casual dining" category so it's irrelevant. We will visit Alfredo's and purchase one pizza to share. No need to bill us both. No,we won't do the "pre-fixe" meal. A pizza is plenty to feed both of us.

Yes but I believe you travel with plus so you can go 4 times and have 4 pizzas right without paying ?  Just don’t have the other stuff

[startedwithamouse]

1 minute ago, Thrak said:

 

Crown Grill isn't included in that "casual dining" category so it's irrelevant. We will visit Alfredo's and purchase one pizza to share. No need to bill us both. No,we won't do the "pre-fixe" meal. A pizza is plenty to feed both of us.

 

Scenario only:

You have 100 guests with casual dining options. They are each parties of two, so table for two. Each table only uses one of their casual dining options.  The next day, they all come back to use another credit, in the same manner.  This would shut out a whole new "batch" of guests  This would be a problem, especially on short voyages. 

A little extreme, but it seems no one at Princess has thought about this. Maybe they won't seat two if only one credit will be used? 

[startedwithamouse]

9 minutes ago, Thrak said:

 

That is the deck plan I see today.

Ahhh, now I see. That's the afternoon snack area with sandwiches and such.  

 

Edit: Also has a nachos/taco bar too in the afternoons. 

Edited August 16, 2023 by startedwithamouse

[startedwithamouse]

16 minutes ago, Thrak said:

 

That is the deck plan I see today.

Are you headed down under too?

[CruizinSusan70]

4 hours ago, Veinless said:

Cheapest pizza on the seas! 

No, but just the best (at Alfredo's)

[CruizinSusan70]

4 hours ago, 1cruiselvr said:

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

That's how much it costs to activate your app.  What part of the anti Princess mountain are you planting your flag that makes you so disgruntled as to no longer cruise on Princess? Otherwise known as which change are you most upset about?  I chose the 14.99 since the $5.00 room service charge is eliminated if you pay the 14.99.  Or did you visit Alfredo's every day and now since it's become a casual pay location instead of complimentary, that is where you'll fly your flag? 

[CruizinSusan70]

4 hours 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.

From what I understood, the green or blue means nothing to suites and Elites regarding embarkation, only check in.  After the initial check in process, you still go to the suites/Elites waiting area and you still embark onto the ship prior to the general public.   If John Q public checks in @ 10:00 and embarks onto the ship @ 11:15, while the suites and Elites because they may be blue check in @ 10:40 and embark @ 11:00, who is getting on the ship first?

[Wanderers2]

Just now, startedwithamouse said:

 

Scenario only:

You have 100 guests with casual dining options. They are each parties of two, so table for two. Each table only uses one of their casual dining options.  The next day, they all come back to use another credit, in the same manner.  This would shut out a whole new "batch" of guests  This would be a problem, especially on short voyages. 

A little extreme, but it seems no one at Princess has thought about this. Maybe they won't seat two if only one credit will be used? 

That is the question I am hoping to have answered. Can we share a Pizza & a salad & use just one of our casual dining options?

That is what we use to have when dining at Alfredo's

[SCX22]

6 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

 

We have never sailed on Majestic Princess. Can anybody here tell me what The Bistro section is in the buffet?

 

 

On all Royal Class ships, the World Fresh Marketplace (Horizon Court) is divided into 3 areas.  The area by the Lido entrance is a quick serve options are and post-pandemic only open during breakfast/lunch; in your screenshot "The Bistro" labeled area.  "The Bakery" is were the pastries are located during breakfast and desserts are located during lunch/dinner.  The area by the aft entrances is the main buffet area where the theme area, carving stations, and a wider selection of hot/cold dishes are.

 

One quirk of the Majestic is that there is no port side Lido pizza outlet.  It's a noodle bar serving Asian noodle dishes.  Pizza is a staple in the buffet because of this and I'm pretty sure that it's made Alfredo's.

Edited August 16, 2023 by SCX22

[CruizinSusan70]

3 hours ago, Russ Lomas said:

 

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.

RCI wishes that they had a venue for free that had the quality of food that is at Alfredo's.   I've spent 4 weeks on Princess within the past 15 months and 7 weeks on RCI over the 30 years.  The pizza at Sorrento's is a joke and is the worst pizza between Princess, Celebrity, NCL, MSC and Carnival.  You have purchased the Plus package, so you will be able to visit Alfredo's for free twice and possibly 4 times if you wish to share the 3 course meal for lunch.  And I assume you have read that RCI sent a letter out inquiring if their loyal cruisers would pay for the garbage they serve at Sorrento's.

[CruizinSusan70]

1 hour ago, startedwithamouse said:

 

Have you ever split a meal in the Crown Grill?

No, because the Crown Grill is a prix fix only per person charge with no a la carte pricing.  Whereas Alfredo's will be offering a la carte pricing and the one menu I saw posted on another thread did not have any fine print that disallowed sharing.  So, if sharing is indeed allowed, then two people could split the 14.99 meal for lunch.   If they insist on two people paying, then the second person can order a 3.00 dessert and the first two courses could be shared.

[caribill]

13 hours ago, Guindalf said:

We sail on the discovery on Sept 3rd and I got the email yesterday. We are in a Penthouse Suite and have the Plus package, supplied by our TA.

 

 

No, the Plus package was no supplied by your TA no matter what you see on the Princess web site.

 

Whether you have the $50 or $60 Plus package, you paid the $50 or $60 per person per day for it as part of your cruise fare.

 

 

[Guest ldtr]

3 hours 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. 

We have seen Green and blue lines at San Pedro as well for the past 6 months.

 

Basically the biggest change is if you have your medallion you go to green if you are picking up your medallion you go the blue.

 

Sailed out of Vancouver a few weeks ago.  

 

Keep in mind that in Vancouver you have to clear security, and US immigration, as well as Princess check in.  Security and Immigration is single line, just as security is single line in most ports. 

 

Only Princess check in is two lines (Blue and Green).  They process in parallel.  Once through then if the ship has not started boarding then Elites go to the Elite seating area.  If the ship has started boarding then you go straight to boarding.  No real delay for either line when checking in.

 

The only real difference from San Pedro is immigration.  Even in San Pedro there are often lines, prior to security opening.  then everyone goes through the same security lines, and the lines split when you get to Princess check in.  The only real difference is immigration which is where the delay can build.

 

We got to the terminal in Vancouver at 10.  No long line.  Was on board by 10:45.

Edited August 16, 2023 by ldtr

[CruizinSusan70]

1 hour ago, startedwithamouse said:

 

Scenario only:

You have 100 guests with casual dining options. They are each parties of two, so table for two. Each table only uses one of their casual dining options.  The next day, they all come back to use another credit, in the same manner.  This would shut out a whole new "batch" of guests  This would be a problem, especially on short voyages. 

A little extreme, but it seems no one at Princess has thought about this. Maybe they won't seat two if only one credit will be used? 

Right now it's totally free with hour long waits at lunchtime on a sea day.  In the future the majority of those cruising with the standard package will no longer visit so that eliminates a good percentage of possible visitors.  Also, some package people may want to use their prix fix meal at a different casual option on board such as Salty Dog or O'Malleys.  Besides, since they have a la carte options on the menu and if the manager makes an arbitrary rule that everyone that gets a seat must make a purchase, then the second person gets a 3.00 dessert and the first person uses their prix fix option.

[Thrak]

1 hour ago, startedwithamouse said:

Are you headed down under too?

 

Yep. September 26 - November 29.

[Thrak]

7 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

No, the Plus package was no supplied by your TA no matter what you see on the Princess web site.

 

Whether you have the $50 or $60 Plus package, you paid the $50 or $60 per person per day for it as part of your cruise fare.

 

 

 

This is a pet peeve of mine. All of the perks I paid for show up in the personalizer as  as "compliments of" my TA. People see the listing and are fooled into believing their TA "gifted" the perks to them.

[Guest ldtr]

21 minutes ago, SCX22 said:

 

On all Royal Class ships, the World Fresh Marketplace (Horizon Court) is divided into 3 areas.  The area by the Lido entrance is a quick serve options are and post-pandemic only open during breakfast/lunch; in your screenshot "The Bistro" labeled area.  "The Bakery" is were the pastries are located during breakfast and desserts are located during lunch/dinner.  The area by the aft entrances is the main buffet area where the theme area, carving stations, and a wider selection of hot/cold dishes are.

 

One quirk of the Majestic is that there is no port side Lido pizza outlet.  It's a noodle bar serving Asian noodle dishes.  Pizza is a staple in the buffet because of this and I'm pretty sure that it's made Alfredo's.

Was just on the majestic a few weeks ago.  The pizza in the buffet is definitely NOT Alfredo's.  It is thin crust similar to what is served at Slice on ships that have them, not the thicker crust like seared at Alfredos.  

[caribill]

8 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....a mess that would drag-out deep into next year.

 

Does not seem to me to be more complicated than what they can already do: know if you have the benefits of Plus-$50 or Plus-$60 or Premier $75 or Premier $80.

[mcship]

9 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

Does not seem to me to be more complicated than what they can already do: know if you have the benefits of Plus-$50 or Plus-$60 or Premier $75 or Premier $80.

It would not be complicated.  They could have 1000 different programs.  Buy X, your medallion is run, it charges correctly.  This is elementary level system design.

Now, from a customer service perspective, the person at the desk, trying to explain to Bob why his package is different than John - over and over and over.  That could be a real issue.