Response from Princess to email re changes

[coo359a2]

2 minutes ago, suzyed said:

Hmmm?  I DID buy a package that had included casual meals.  Somehow I don't feel like I'm winning when they changed what was included in my Plus package and now will charge me for more than 2 Casual dining visits.  Winning? Uh, no!

My Plus 40 and 50 never mentioned any Casual Dining in the package descriptions.  Aflredo's which never had a cost  has always been just a part of being on the ship and a place to go to eat.  I'm wondering if  the Plus 60 we got back in January that includes the desserts, gym and juice bar will now include the 2 visits for Casual Dining. Will find out soon. 

[suzyed]

6 minutes ago, ldtr said:

My response was in response to some posts about room service and ordering by App.  That is the context of this comment

 

If you buy a package that has it included then you win because it costs you nothing extra and service is better due to reduced demand.  In other words the customers Princess wants win, the customers that are fare only lose, if they used it in the past.

So are we choosing which "included items" it's ok to remove and which ones are not?  I think you should get the included items you paid for...period.  

Edited August 22, 2023 by suzyed

[suzyed]

9 minutes ago, coo359a2 said:

My Plus 40 and 50 never mentioned any Casual Dining in the package descriptions.  Aflredo's which never had a cost  has always been just a part of being on the ship and a place to go to eat.  I'm wondering if  the Plus 60 we got back in January that includes the desserts, gym and juice bar will now include the 2 visits for Casual Dining. Will find out soon. 

Yes, Plus 60 will only give you 2 visits.  I booked Plus 60 in February and Alfredo's was included at that time....no cost.  Now $14.99 for prix fixe.

[Guest ldtr]

30 minutes ago, suzyed said:

So are we choosing which "included items" it's ok to remove and which ones are not?  I think you should get the included items you paid for...period.  

No I was talking about the context of the discussion at that point.

 

The posts I was replying to were talking about room service and ordering.

 

If you go back further I responded to posts about Alfredos.  If you want to talk about Alfredos in response to one of mine you might actually pick one that was talking about what you want to respond to instead of something out of context.  But in this case my post was specifically about ordering and room service as was the two or three before that I responded to and the winners/loser comment was in that context.

[Thrak]

4 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

Take liquor for example.  Does Ocean Now support ordering a double, ordering neat vs on rocks?  I cannot order a Yellowbird or other tropical concoctions I and bartenders can be aware of.

 

 

I was able to order my liquor neat when having it delivered to my cabin. I was not able to order a double but, instead, had to order two singles. Stupid.

[Steelers36]

3 hours ago, ldtr said:

Usually you design an app to handle X percentage of orders.  It varies what X is depending upon company.   Might be that they do not include a text box because they do not want to incur a lot of variation.  Biggest problem with a text box is what happens when someone orders a variation that they cannot deliver. Do they deliver what they can? do they cancel the order? do they track the person down and have a discussion?  If the goal is to minimize resources you include the options that are most popular, with the intent of hitting a percentage of demand.  Where that percentage is make vary by a number of things to balance out work load vs service level.

 

I expect that will change over time as they work through that complexity vs convenience level decisions.

 

The prices need to be in the App if it is being used by those not on a package.  Which means any option that impacts cost needs to have the price in it.  Otherwise you would need to go back to the requestor with the price and get their agreement.

 

The question is being able to process 90% of the orders acceptable?  how about 95% or does it need to be 99.999999999999999999%.

 

From what I saw the people ordering specific variations tended to be sitting in bars ordering from waiters or directly to bar tenders.  Those out and about in various venues seemed to mostly to be happy to get alcohol in their hands ordering drinks by common name.

Your points are valid.  It was an idea, but I do agree problematic when it comes to pricing the order as there is no 2-way communication to have guest verify.  There could easily be an issue if guest didn't like the amount charged.  

[TheMichael]

3 hours ago, suzyed said:

Yes, Plus 60 will only give you 2 visits.  I booked Plus 60 in February and Alfredo's was included at that time....no cost.  Now $14.99 for prix fixe.

I think they're wondering whether the new additions will be included, since they bought the $60 Plus package before the latest changes. And as someone else who paid $60 for a Plus package prior to the updates, I would expect they will, but who knows?

[suzyed]

3 hours ago, ldtr said:

No I was talking about the context of the discussion at that point.

 

The posts I was replying to were talking about room service and ordering.

 

If you go back further I responded to posts about Alfredos.  If you want to talk about Alfredos in response to one of mine you might actually pick one that was talking about what you want to respond to instead of something out of context.  But in this case my post was specifically about ordering and room service as was the two or three before that I responded to and the winners/loser comment was in that context.

ok

 

[suzyed]

7 hours ago, ldtr said:

Is a Bloody Caesar on the printed bar menu?   Clearly an app cannot provide every possible way of preparing and ordering a drink. 

Don't know but I do know you can order it from the bar...so I guess that's the only way to get it.

 

[Guest ldtr]

1 hour ago, suzyed said:

ok

 

I do agree that the the limits on limits of two visits to Alfredo's mean that is a negative for both package holders as well as those on base rate with the way the number of visits is set up.  Pretty much the same as with the specialty dining venues.  I think that casual dining should be 2 per week not 2 per cruise.

 

 

 

 

Edited August 23, 2023 by ldtr

[suzyed]

4 minutes ago, ldtr said:

I do agree that the the limits on limits of two visits to Alfredo's mean that is a negative for both package holders as well as those on base rate with the way the number of visits is set up.  Pretty much the same as with the specialty dining venues.  I think that casual dining should be 2 per week not 2 per cruise.

 

 

 

 

So do I, but Princess disagrees.  

[Guest ldtr]

11 minutes ago, suzyed said:

So do I, but Princess disagrees.  

For now.  Problem is that people buy packages they have no incentive to change.  This is a done deal, but if enough of the package buyers raise the same point about number per long cruises they might be able to influence that aspect.

 

The best thing one can do is to make those comments consistently, especially on the end of cruise surveys.

 

I suspect that if the benefit was only for Alfredos then the limit might not have been that.  Since even unlimited would not provide any additional loss of revenue compared to prior to the change.

 

I suspect that Princess is doing two things.

 

1. Bring Alfredo's into the casual category where they always wanted it to be.  Especially in preparation for the changes with the launch of the Sphere class ships.  Alfredo's has always been unique, ever since Princess backed off on making it a pay for venue back when Regal was launchec.

 

2. Add perceived value to the packages.

 

The problem is that by getting Alfredo's into the casual category where they have been charging for other venues (and there will be more in the sphere class) they constructed the benefit for all of the casual class venues.  So there was a potential loss of revenue if they made it unlimited access to casual dining and if they made Alfredo's unique and not made it apply to the other casual dining venues then they will not have brought Alfredo's into the fold so to speak.

 

It would be interesting to see the models they are running and the data that goes into that drives the 2 per cruise (was it just to be in alignment with Specialty dining, or was there an actual financial driver)

Edited August 23, 2023 by ldtr

[cr8tiv1]

Let's do a twist to Princess' "reasoning".  You are getting more for your package.  How about having a check list.  I don't want this, I don't want that.  Please remove x $$$ from my package.

 

Let's see:

 

Caribbean Princess doesn't have an Alfredo's/Gigi's, Kai Sushi, Maybe Planks and Steamers/Salty Dog Bistro.  I don't want the desserts.  I don't go to the gym classes.  Princess has me paying full price (credit) for Elite 50% off internet.  I think 25% off for being elite is a fair price.  AND OH....I'm in a suite so room service should be free.  

 

Logistical NIGHTMARE (aka Sheldon Cooper).

[SCX22]

3 hours ago, ldtr said:

It would be interesting to see the models they are running and the data that goes into that drives the 2 per cruise (was it just to be in alignment with Specialty dining, or was there an actual financial driver)

 

2 is closer to 0.  Pretty soon, there will be 0 Casual Dining included with any of the packages.

[SargassoPirate]

After following this discussion, I cannot help but be reminded of two maxims from my Economics 101 professor back in the 1970s.

 

1.  Charge what the traffic will bear.

 

2.  If you want more of something, subsidize it and if you want less of something tax (charge for) it.

 

All of our postings here are just whistling into the wind when we, as consumers, have the final say on how we choose to spend our money.  For example, if I'm looking for a hotel stay and they charge a "resort fee", I look elsewhere. However, as long as a sufficient number of people will pony up the resort fee, the hotel is charging what the traffic will bear and there is no incentive for them to change their pricing structure.  

 

The free market economy works for the benefit of the consumer as it fosters innovation and competition.  

 

There are plenty of ships that sail the seas.  I just try to be on one where I can find something to eat when I'm hungry and a wee dram in the evening.

[nnzz]

18 hours ago, startedwithamouse said:

Doubtful they're going to charge $5 for Elite afternoon tea.

 

Thank you for posting this. We have a flightseeing tour on our Alaska cruise next month and you have saved me much time standing in line looking for my 10% credit on this shore excursion since

I never read the fine print until you posted it so clearly.  

[Guest Snaxmuppet]

13 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

I was able to order my liquor neat when having it delivered to my cabin. I was not able to order a double but, instead, had to order two singles. Stupid.

I can see that as there is a drinks limit of 15 per day... that is 15 singles so they would count the drinks in singles.

[Steelers36]

27 minutes ago, Snaxmuppet said:

I can see that as there is a drinks limit of 15 per day... that is 15 singles so they would count the drinks in singles.

I am sure a double ordered at the bar gets counted as two - or it should be - or at least most of the time.  LOL.

[coo359a2]

57 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

I am sure a double ordered at the bar gets counted as two - or it should be - or at least most of the time.  LOL.

DH always gets a double but never gets close to 15 so never know officially how many get counted.  Always order at the bar or sitting in the bar lounge. Like to get to know the staff that works in the bar that we deem to be our favorite on each ship.  Can't imagine only using RS or Ocean Now and never get to know the bar staff.

[Guest ldtr]

4 hours ago, nnzz said:

Thank you for posting this. We have a flightseeing tour on our Alaska cruise next month and you have saved me much time standing in line looking for my 10% credit on this shore excursion since

I never read the fine print until you posted it so clearly.  

Just check your onboard account first day. It should already be listed.

[startedwithamouse]

3 hours ago, nnzz said:

Thank you for posting this. We have a flightseeing tour on our Alaska cruise next month and you have saved me much time standing in line looking for my 10% credit on this shore excursion since

I never read the fine print until you posted it so clearly.  

Yes, it shows up automatically on your folio. Flightseeing is on our bucket list.

[Steelers36]

23 minutes ago, coo359a2 said:

DH always gets a double but never gets close to 15 so never know officially how many get counted.  Always order at the bar or sitting in the bar lounge. Like to get to know the staff that works in the bar that we deem to be our favorite on each ship.  Can't imagine only using RS or Ocean Now and never get to know the bar staff.

Understood.  I don't get near enough drinks to get to know any bar staff.  🤪

[Nicole&Pete]

Just now, rosevew said:

Is this true that they are now going to charge for Alfredos? 
 

This is my favourite thing about Princess, that we could have a sit down complimentary meal as an alternative to the buffet or dining room at lunchtime. It set Princess apart for me from other lines who would definitely charge for this restaurant. It also made up for the fact that the service and food is not as good as other lines in my opinion.
 

I am very unlikely to cruise with Princess again if they take this complimentary dining option away.

[startedwithamouse]

2 minutes ago, Nicole&Pete said:

Is this true that they are now going to charge for Alfredos? 
 

This is my favourite thing about Princess, that we could have a sit down complimentary meal as an alternative to the buffet or dining room at lunchtime. It set Princess apart for me from other lines who would definitely charge for this restaurant. It also made up for the fact that the service and food is not as good as other lines in my opinion.
 

I am very unlikely to cruise with Princess again if they take this complimentary dining option away.

It's no longer complimentary. 

[Nicole&Pete]

Just now, startedwithamouse said:

It's no longer complimentary. 

Thanks we probably won’t be cruising Princess again then. 
 

Do you know how much it is?