Response from Princess to email re changes

[ceilidh1]

3 hours ago, Thrak said:

I find the TA comments on the side of the webinar fascinating. (If you watch full screen you don't see the comments.) The TA comments are mostly negative about how unhappy their clients are and how clients are cancelling cruises with Princess and also about how they no longer feel they can recommend Princess. Lots of TA comments regarding how rotten it is for Princess to fail to grandfather these changes for people who have paid in full. Not a happy bunch of folks. Princess made their jobs much more difficult and they don't like being the ones who have to take the flak.

As a TA who books mainly Princess, I concur...I have unhappy clients, a few high end suite bookings that cancelled, and I'm doing all the legwork for no extra commission. This is NOT about the cost - it's about the way it was handled.

[ceilidh1]

• One aspect that has been overlooked IMO is people who travel with kids. My kiddos have been sailing since they were 6 months old, both elite on Princess by the time they were 8. They much prefer to order room service or have dinner at Alfredos than sit in the dining room. They know how how to behave if/when they are in the dining room. Many kiddos do not. Now, instead of having those other options included, they are a charge (even with the packages - if 3rd and 4th are kids, they don't get this free) so, instead of having a quiet dining experience, other guests need to deal with those kids in the dining room. 

[Cruise Raider]

11 hours ago, startedwithamouse said:

@Cruise Raider reported there's no sharing of packages. Both of you would have to order from the a la carte menu or the have the casual dining credits.

Just to clarify, we are currently on the Ruby and asked about sharing of the price fixed menu at the GastroPub.  The answer there was no.  I really can’t speak to what would be the rules at Alfredo’s because they don’t have one onboard.  

[Guest Snaxmuppet]

14 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

Just to clarify, we are currently on the Ruby and asked about sharing of the price fixed menu at the GastroPub.  The answer there was no.  I really can’t speak to what would be the rules at Alfredo’s because they don’t have one onboard.  

You can't share package benefits with others... whether drinks or food. I expect that the crew have a beady eye open for this all the time.

[Crystaltipps67]

9 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

Just to clarify, we are currently on the Ruby and asked about sharing of the price fixed menu at the GastroPub.  The answer there was no.  I really can’t speak to what would be the rules at Alfredo’s because they don’t have one onboard.  

I don't plan to ask if we can share. We will just order one meal and two drinks. I really don't see how they can enforce no sharing as it's not a cover charge. But let's see. They certainly won't solve the wastage issue by effectively forcing people to order more than they can eat if they have a package and don't want to pay for something that's already included just to get a smaller amount of food that they can then share. Utterly bonkers.

[BlerkOne]

5 hours ago, Thrak said:

I find the TA comments on the side of the webinar fascinating. (If you watch full screen you don't see the comments.) The TA comments are mostly negative about how unhappy their clients are and how clients are cancelling cruises with Princess and also about how they no longer feel they can recommend Princess. Lots of TA comments regarding how rotten it is for Princess to fail to grandfather these changes for people who have paid in full. Not a happy bunch of folks. Princess made their jobs much more difficult and they don't like being the ones who have to take the flak.

I'm sure there were many upset customers when Carnival Corp bought Princess, yet Princess survives.

 

I'm pretty sure this too will pass.

[Cruise Raider]

8 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

Totally agree. We were quite pleased when Princess removed those huge platters from the buffet. We always saw people pile them up with vast amounts of food and then we would see the half-full (or more) platters sitting at the empty table after the people left. It was disgusting. As for the pizza... my wife and I always split a pizza at Alfredo's as that is pretty much the perfect amount for the two of us. Often we end up sharing the last piece as neither of us "needs" the entire slice. It's no wonder people say the portions in MDR seem to be smaller these days. It's perfectly understandable and they are still throwing out a ton of food.

I am also in full agreement on food waste.  We just saw a passenger go to the IC and order 15 desserts .. took a bit of each one and had a pile of waste left on the table when she got up and left.  Just disgusting behavior.  We’ve been taught to finish all the food we take on our plate and still live up to that expectation decades later.  We never order more or fill our plate with more than we can finish … never more than we should finish!  
Even when we’ve ordered pizza from the OceanNow menu, we would take the pizza that we didn’t eat back to our cabin and finish it the next morning for breakfast.  
I just hate wasting food and love the smaller portions in the dining room.  

 

[Cruise Raider]

11 minutes ago, Snaxmuppet said:

You can't share package benefits with others... whether drinks or food. I expect that the crew have a beady eye open for this all the time.

I wasn’t referring to sharing the packages .. 

My original and only statement was that two or more people can’t share the $14.99 price fixed menu option in the GatroPub.  Thus, if you don’t have a casual dining option coming to you, or if you do, you would not be able to share the two small plates and the dessert option between two people and only pay the $14.99.  You can, however, share the a la carte menu options.  

[Cruise Raider]

20 minutes ago, Crystaltipps67 said:

I don't plan to ask if we can share. We will just order one meal and two drinks. I really don't see how they can enforce no sharing as it's not a cover charge. But let's see. They certainly won't solve the wastage issue by effectively forcing people to order more than they can eat if they have a package and don't want to pay for something that's already included just to get a smaller amount of food that they can then share. Utterly bonkers.

So, the reason I asked was for the sake of explaining to others what can and can’t be done since the new rules for the packages and menus now in place.  This is the answer I received .. again, I just asked so I could explain it to those that had questions since we are now onboard.  
The GastroPub used to have a cover charge of $18 pp.  The price fixed menu of $14.99, which is pretty much the same exact option as before with the pp cover charge, can’t be shared.  You would just order off the a la carte menu instead.  How you handle things to save a few dollars is really not any of my concern.  
Personally, I find it hard to finish 2 small plates as well as a dessert.  We’ve never even made it to the dessert.  So, the price fixed menu just doesn’t work for me.  I would rather just order one small plate at either $6 or $12 and the same goes for my DH.  So, the two of us would probably end up with a $18 or maybe even a $24 bill.  This is not only cheaper than the $36 cover charge we used to pay but we don’t leave stuffed and don’t waste food.  
 

[Crystaltipps67]

8 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

So, the reason I asked was for the sake of explaining to others what can and can’t be done since the new rules for the packages and menus now in place.  This is the answer I received .. again, I just asked so I could explain it to those that had questions since we are now onboard.  
The GastroPub used to have a cover charge of $18 pp.  The price fixed menu of $14.99, which is pretty much the same exact option as before with the pp cover charge, can’t be shared.  You would just order off the a la carte menu instead.  How you handle things to save a few dollars is really not any of my concern.  
Personally, I find it hard to finish 2 small plates as well as a dessert.  We’ve never even made it to the dessert.  So, the price fixed menu just doesn’t work for me.  I would rather just order one small plate at either $6 or $12 and the same goes for my DH.  So, the two of us would probably end up with a $18 or maybe even a $24 bill.  This is not only cheaper than the $36 cover charge we used to pay but we don’t leave stuffed and don’t waste food.  
 

Sorry - I really didn't mean to upset you. I wasn't disagreeing with what you were saying and I'm really grateful for the update on what it actually happening on board now that the changes are in place. 

[german_navy]

Will I have to pay for an "A La Carte" pizza at Alfredo`s if I have Premier?

I do not think that I care for the prixe fixe menu because I neither need a starter nor a dessert.

[Guest Snaxmuppet]

2 hours ago, german_navy said:

Will I have to pay for an "A La Carte" pizza at Alfredo`s if I have Premier?

I do not think that I care for the prixe fixe menu because I neither need a starter nor a dessert.

I would expect not. If you can have a 3 courses for free then you could consider that having a standalone pizza is nothing more than a 14.99  3-course meal with out the other 2 courses... of which you can have as many as you want on Premier!

 

If this is not so then I will then know that Princess has gone stark raving mad!

 

Of course, if they do charge for a a la carte pizza then just order the 3 courses and leave the other two 🙂 

[german_navy]

44 minutes ago, Snaxmuppet said:

I would expect not. If you can have a 3 courses for free then you could consider that having a standalone pizza is nothing more than a 14.99  3-course meal with out the other 2 courses... of which you can have as many as you want on Premier!

 

If this is not so then I will then know that Princess has gone stark raving mad!

 

Of course, if they do charge for a a la carte pizza then just order the 3 courses and leave the other two 🙂 

 

Due to a food intolerance I used to order individually made Pizza at Alfredo`s and it has never been a problem. I hope that this will remain unchanged with Premier. 

[Guest ldtr]

5 hours ago, Crystaltipps67 said:

I don't plan to ask if we can share. We will just order one meal and two drinks. I really don't see how they can enforce no sharing as it's not a cover charge. But let's see. They certainly won't solve the wastage issue by effectively forcing people to order more than they can eat if they have a package and don't want to pay for something that's already included just to get a smaller amount of food that they can then share. Utterly bonkers.

Can they stop you from sharing - no. Can they charge both of you, in dollars or credit - yes.

[rickays]

On 8/23/2023 at 3:08 AM, ldtr said:

As I asked before and you did not reply what specific drink item did you try to order on the app and could not get it without going to the bar?

 

 

I had the experience of wanting a drink "lemon, lime and bitters" not on the app to order and when we found a waiter, he couldn't find it either, after asking lots of questions off he went to get our drinks from the bar.  We didn't expect him to return but after about 15 minutes he found us and explained that he was new and didn't know this drink we were asking for but he went to the barman and found out all about it.  He wanted to try it one day.  That waiter got a special tip from us for his enthusiasm in learning things he did not know. 

[coo359a2]

7 hours ago, ceilidh1 said:

• One aspect that has been overlooked IMO is people who travel with kids. My kiddos have been sailing since they were 6 months old, both elite on Princess by the time they were 8. They much prefer to order room service or have dinner at Alfredos than sit in the dining room. They know how how to behave if/when they are in the dining room. Many kiddos do not. Now, instead of having those other options included, they are a charge (even with the packages - if 3rd and 4th are kids, they don't get this free) so, instead of having a quiet dining experience, other guests need to deal with those kids in the dining room. 

Parents need to rethink where their kids eat if others have to "deal with those kids".  When our special needs grandson started cruising at 5years (now elite) , we ate in the MDR.  If he got tired or stressed (not often) with the longer dining times, someone walked him out of the MDR so no one had to "deal with him".  We could take him to the buffet, IC or the options on Lido deck if needed. 

[Steelers36]

6 hours ago, Crystaltipps67 said:

I don't plan to ask if we can share. We will just order one meal and two drinks. I really don't see how they can enforce no sharing as it's not a cover charge. But let's see. They certainly won't solve the wastage issue by effectively forcing people to order more than they can eat if they have a package and don't want to pay for something that's already included just to get a smaller amount of food that they can then share. Utterly bonkers.

If you have a package you can order just a main if you want, and your choice as to whether to pay a la carte or accept one visit count.

[suzyed]

13 hours ago, Thrak said:

I find the TA comments on the side of the webinar fascinating. (If you watch full screen you don't see the comments.) The TA comments are mostly negative about how unhappy their clients are and how clients are cancelling cruises with Princess and also about how they no longer feel they can recommend Princess. Lots of TA comments regarding how rotten it is for Princess to fail to grandfather these changes for people who have paid in full. Not a happy bunch of folks. Princess made their jobs much more difficult and they don't like being the ones who have to take the flak.

As I mentioned above many people have brought this to the attention of corporate but I think many MORE should do so.  The more they hear from may help them change their response

[startedwithamouse]

7 hours ago, Cruise Raider said:

Just to clarify, we are currently on the Ruby and asked about sharing of the price fixed menu at the GastroPub.  The answer there was no.  I really can’t speak to what would be the rules at Alfredo’s because they don’t have one onboard.  

Thank you.  I guess we'll see what happens in the future with the other venues on other ships. Packages, such as beverage, don't allow for sharing, so maybe they are in line with that.

[kevinyork]

We booked our cruise June 22 for this Oct 23’, 12 night ex Southampton.  We booked it a couple of weeks after returning from our second Princess cruise as we were pleased with the cruise and the inclusions. 
 

We paid our final balance 10 days before the changes to the packages started being discussed (although still no official notification). Main thing for us is a chargeable Alfredo’s and the Ocean Now activation fee.  Both are not huge amounts however it’s the principal.  We emailed the CEO in the U.K. and a customer service supervisor responded in a fairly dismissive way and even spun the changes as positives. They should have grandfathered these in. We booked understanding what our cruise included and indeed paid the final balance on the same basis. 
 

Our booking in our online account shows we have purchased the Plus package and lists all of the current inclusions, see attached. How do you think we will stand if we present this onboard as “proof” of what we expected to receive?

[Steelers36]

8 minutes ago, kevinyork said:

How do you think we will stand if we present this onboard as “proof” of what we expected to receive?

On shaky ground.

[suzyed]

17 minutes ago, kevinyork said:

We booked our cruise June 22 for this Oct 23’, 12 night ex Southampton.  We booked it a couple of weeks after returning from our second Princess cruise as we were pleased with the cruise and the inclusions. 
 

We paid our final balance 10 days before the changes to the packages started being discussed (although still no official notification). Main thing for us is a chargeable Alfredo’s and the Ocean Now activation fee.  Both are not huge amounts however it’s the principal.  We emailed the CEO in the U.K. and a customer service supervisor responded in a fairly dismissive way and even spun the changes as positives. They should have grandfathered these in. We booked understanding what our cruise included and indeed paid the final balance on the same basis. 
 

Our booking in our online account shows we have purchased the Plus package and lists all of the current inclusions, see attached. How do you think we will stand if we present this onboard as “proof” of what we expected to receive?

No idea. But we are with you....we made final payment in June for the package that was included at the time....which included unlimited Alfredo's and Vines sushi/tapas.  Wish I had a copy of that.  Who would imagine they would change that after final payment?
All we have now is a screen shot from our Princess app showing the current Plus 60 package but it is not as comprehensive as our booked and paid for Plus 60 package. 
One thing I am not understanding in your post...."New room service delivery" has not changed...there was never a $14.99 fee for that with Plus.  Maybe I am misunderstanding you?

Edited August 24, 2023 by suzyed

[kywildcatfanone]

14 minutes ago, kevinyork said:

How do you think we will stand if we present this onboard as “proof” of what we expected to receive?

All you can do is ask, and let them know that it's unfair to exclude items from a package you purchased previoulsy, but is not part of that package.  In my experience, if you complain, onboard, they will accommodate you, but I don't know with the new way of slapping customers in the face with changes.

[Tedferg]

9 hours ago, Crystaltipps67 said:

 I really don't see how they can enforce no sharing as it's not a cover charge. 

Do you mean the free visit for a Plus package should be charged as one visit? I agree with you but Princess could simply log both passengers medallion as a visit. I am hoping they don't because DW and always share a pizza.

It just occurs to me, what would they do if one person has Plus and orders a pizza and the other person doesn't have Plus. 

ETA that would be like the Plus passenger sharing a drink.

Edited August 24, 2023 by Tedferg

[kevinyork]

1 hour ago, suzyed said:

No idea. But we are with you....we made final payment in June for the package that was included at the time....which included unlimited Alfredo's and Vines sushi/tapas.  Wish I had a copy of that.  Who would imagine they would change that after final payment?
All we have now is a screen shot from our Princess app showing the current Plus 60 package but it is not as comprehensive as our booked and paid for Plus 60 package. 
One thing I am not understanding in your post...."New room service delivery" has not changed...there was never a $14.99 fee for that with Plus.  Maybe I am misunderstanding you?

I understand there is now a $14.99 one off activation fee for using the OceanNow service or a $5 per order charge for tv/telephone room service orders. Both free on the new Plus and Premium packages m