Response from Princess to email re changes

[Tedferg]

18 minutes ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Works for us.  My DH will get the 3 course four times, and I'll get the basic 8.00 pizza.  Of course things could change in the next 11.5 months, but if they don't our solution is what I stated above.

Assuming the system does not log both pax as a visit each time, regardless of what is ordered. i.e. You both sit down in Alfredo's and both of you get flagged with a visit. I hope your idea works.

 

ETA. I guess you are on Plus and counting the 2 visits each. If so you would need to order 3 course on two visits and give to DH ---- would that be sharing ???

Edited August 26, 2023 by Tedferg

[suzyed]

On 8/25/2023 at 4:40 PM, Steelers36 said:

But you seem to suggest in several posts that there (at least) could be a charge for Elite Afternoon Tea if guest doesn't have a package that covers RS $5 fees.  There is no delivery charge for Elite benefits no matter what package guest has.

Good, as it should be.

[suzyed]

11 hours ago, kywildcatfanone said:

How exactly do they enforce one of you ordering a pizza and both eating it?

If they see you sharing they will probably charge the $14.99 fee for both of you?

[cr8tiv1]

12 minutes ago, suzyed said:

If they see you sharing they will probably charge the $14.99 fee for both of you?

 

My guess: 

 

If one passenger has package and one does not, they will not allow sharing and proceed to charge no package guest.

 

If both passengers don't have a package, I would guess that they would allow sharing since it is being bought and paid for.

 

Still think Princess opened a can of worms (Pandora's Box) with their changes.  Unhappy passengers, more complaints to Customer Service, not good PR, etc.

Edited August 26, 2023 by cr8tiv1

[Cruise Raider]

On 8/24/2023 at 8:44 PM, suzyed said:

So looking at it another way, Princess is peeving customers off for $42 per person....is that really worth all the ill will?
I don't intend to sue anyone...although I could, having 2 lawyers in my family. I guess you just don't understand why folks are upset...it's not price increases, it is the fact that they are  not delivering the product that people have already paid for.

So, looking at it another way, is it really worth it to be so peeved over $42?  Is that really worth it when everything else in the world has quadrupled their increases?  

[louden]

1 hour ago, startedwithamouse said:

yes, it's still a benefit.

Thank you for responding.  We think our cruising days might be starting to come to an end with all the lines changing policies so would like to indulge once with afternoon tea.  We actually have cancelled one 14 day Princess upcoming cruise and are doing an all inclusive resort instead.

 

Best wishes to all whatever your choice

 

Louden.

[AnyMajorCruiseDude]

21 minutes ago, louden said:

Thank you for responding.  We think our cruising days might be starting to come to an end with all the lines changing policies so would like to indulge once with afternoon tea.  We actually have cancelled one 14 day Princess upcoming cruise and are doing an all inclusive resort instead.

 

Best wishes to all whatever your choice

 

Louden.

Good luck and enjoy!

[suzyed]

41 minutes ago, louden said:

Thank you for responding.  We think our cruising days might be starting to come to an end with all the lines changing policies so would like to indulge once with afternoon tea.  We actually have cancelled one 14 day Princess upcoming cruise and are doing an all inclusive resort instead.

 

Best wishes to all whatever your choice

 

Louden.

Totally understand.  I still want to cruise and we are actively looking at other lines along with Princess.

[HaveDogWillTravel]

I ate at Salty Dog pub on Emerald tonight. I asked the supervisor about sharing and he double checked with the bar manager before telling me sharing would be allowed. This ship has no Alfredo’s. I am going to go to Planks and will ask about sharing there too. 
 

I sail on Sapphire in Dec  for 34 days. That ship has Alfredo’s. I definitely can not eat a whole pie and will want to share. My thought is once I have paid for food it belongs to me fair and square and I should be able to do whatever I want to with it. 
 

The gentle and polite conversation will start with the restaurant manager and move up the chain of command from there. 
 

I really can not believe (figuratively speaking of course …..I think everyone is telling the truth) people are being told they can’t share a pizza they either paid for a la carte or that they paid for in a package. 
 

 

[rosevew]

10 hours ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

I ate at Salty Dog pub on Emerald tonight. I asked the supervisor about sharing and he double checked with the bar manager before telling me sharing would be allowed. This ship has no Alfredo’s. I am going to go to Planks and will ask about sharing there too. 
 

I sail on Sapphire in Dec  for 34 days. That ship has Alfredo’s. I definitely can not eat a whole pie and will want to share. My thought is once I have paid for food it belongs to me fair and square and I should be able to do whatever I want to with it. 
 

The gentle and polite conversation will start with the restaurant manager and move up the chain of command from there. 
 

I really can not believe (figuratively speaking of course …..I think everyone is telling the truth) people are being told they can’t share a pizza they either paid for a la carte or that they paid for in a package. 
 

 

MAybe people will have to ask for a doggy bag and head elsewhere to eat it!

[Aulanis]

I have read a lot of this thread ( Must get a life)

Bottom line is the bottom line  only a few have mentioned it but I suspect the change has
been rushed through without adequate notice as Carnival are being hit hard by increased interest
rates on debts. I doubt if fixed rates are applicable.

Carnival long term debt for the quarter ending May 31, 2023 was $31.921B, a 9.08% increase year-over-year. Carnival long term debt for 2022 was $31.953B, a 12.08% increase from 2021. Carnival long term debt for 2021 was $28.509B, a 28.83% increase from 2020.

So say $30B  debt   

Fed rates March 2022 were .25%   and now are 5.5% 

Just using those rates  Annual Interest charge pre March 22 would have been  $75,000.000  

but due to rate rise is now  $1,650,000,000  ( if I got the math right)

Even ignoring the lenders margins thats a helluvalot of Pizzas !!

Next up  charge for entry to the shows??    Trivia  $2  swipe medallion on entry to venue
Prize  1 Pizza per team

As for oldies v newbies  if the oldies are like us, this year we will have cruised 90 days
and last year we did 72 days   all but 13 days were with Carnival group. Are there many
younger cruisers out there that will be managing to fit that in?   Its ok trying to change the 
demographics  but that will take years (even more years if retirement age continues to rise)
and if they force the oldies out and not replaced by newbies  they will have half empty ships?
or will have gone bust!!
 

[Coral]

14 hours ago, louden said:

Thank you for responding.  We think our cruising days might be starting to come to an end with all the lines changing policies so would like to indulge once with afternoon tea.  We actually have cancelled one 14 day Princess upcoming cruise and are doing an all inclusive resort instead.

 

Best wishes to all whatever your choice

 

Louden.

I actually booked a land trip for October which I am really looking forward to (about 2 hours from a cruise port). I looked at this as opposed to a cruise. While looking at hotels close to the airport/cruise port for the last night, I couldn't figure out why they were so expensive. Well - there is a repo cruise that day. So, under normal circumstances, I would probably jump on the ship to extend my vacation with a cruise (I do like to combine land and cruise trips) and I am now somewhat hesitant. Usually it would be a no brainer. Part of it is "do I want to double the cost of the trip" - the other part is "do I like what Princess is doing?"...... Since I am using FF miles - I can easily switch. I am actually sort of surprised that I haven't made a decision on this as in the past, it would be a no brainer. I am irritated I have to spend $400 more to add Plus. That definitely factors into the decision also.

[cruising.mark.uk]

44 minutes ago, Aulanis said:

As for oldies v newbies  if the oldies are like us, this year we will have cruised 90 days
and last year we did 72 days   all but 13 days were with Carnival group. Are there many
younger cruisers out there that will be managing to fit that in?   Its ok trying to change the 
demographics  but that will take years (even more years if retirement age continues to rise)
and if they force the oldies out and not replaced by newbies  they will have half empty ships?
or will have gone bust!!
 

This is not quite how I see the 'oldies' vs 'newbies' debate.  I don't think it's about the number of days an individual cruiser in either of those categories sails.  Rather, it's about the revenue per day that is being generated.

 

The sense I get from these boards is that many of the 'oldies' sail in the lower grade cabins, don't purchase a package, don't buy internet or excursions, meals in specialist restaurants, spa treatments etc etc.  So, the revenue CCL gets for their perhaps 75 days per year, might be $300 to $400 a night, or $22500 to $30K per year. And, on average, these oldies might have 10 years of cruising left.

 

What PCL (and all lines) would rather have for those 75 days per year is people who cruise in more expensive cabins, perhaps those who bring children or teenagers with them, who purchase the drinks packages, eat at the up charge restaurants, go on cruise line excursions, have a flutter in the casino, treat themselves to the spa etc etc.  That might add up to perhaps $700 to $1000 per cabin per day for those 75 days, i.e. $52500 to $75000.  And, those passengers might have perhaps 30 or 40 years of cruising left (and their children even longer).

 

This, I think, is why the 'newbies' demographic is being targeted so hard by PCL and other lines. In reality, of course, the passenger load across the year will be a mix of both categories. But, I don't think it's difficult to work out which the companies prefer from a business perspective.  And they won't mind losing some of the 'oldies' so long as they are attracting 'newbies' to replace them.  It's hard economics that matters to them, i.e. current and projected revenue, not cruise history, loyalty or emotional ties to cruising 'as it used to be'.  

[startedwithamouse]

15 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Works for us.  My DH will get the 3 course four times, and I'll get the basic 8.00 pizza.  Of course things could change in the next 11.5 months, but if they don't our solution is what I stated above.

Don't you each have two dining credits? How does he have four and you have none?

[kiwimum]

4 minutes ago, startedwithamouse said:

Don't you each have two dining credits? How does he have four and you have none?

Sounds like she is hoping to share her credits.

[JGmf]

13 hours ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

My thought is once I have paid for food it belongs to me fair and square and I should be able to do whatever I want to with it. 

 

Amen to that. 

[Steelers36]

43 minutes ago, startedwithamouse said:

Don't you each have two dining credits? How does he have four and you have none?

 

38 minutes ago, kiwimum said:

Sounds like she is hoping to share her credits.

She orders the prix fixe 2X, but he eats it and she just has a pizza.

[mike&elena]

16 hours ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

I ate at Salty Dog pub on Emerald tonight. I asked the supervisor about sharing and he double checked with the bar manager before telling me sharing would be allowed. This ship has no Alfredo’s. I am going to go to Planks and will ask about sharing there too. 
 

I sail on Sapphire in Dec  for 34 days. That ship has Alfredo’s. I definitely can not eat a whole pie and will want to share. My thought is once I have paid for food it belongs to me fair and square and I should be able to do whatever I want to with it. 
 

The gentle and polite conversation will start with the restaurant manager and move up the chain of command from there. 
 

I really can not believe (figuratively speaking of course …..I think everyone is telling the truth) people are being told they can’t share a pizza they either paid for a la carte or that they paid for in a package. 
 

 

HaveDog---

Glad you're on the case to stop this no-sharing nonsense!  The next task will be to get an equitable number of casual meals based on cruise length.  We have 2 upcoming cruises booked with Princess for 22 days and 4 days, respectively.  It is ridiculous that we will receive 2 casual dining credits with the Plus package for each cruise.  Last week, Carmen Roig, VP of Sales, commented on her webinar that Princess has received so many complaints about the 2 credit per cruise policy that they are reviewing it and will be making adjustments.  We can only hope that they do this soon.

Enjoy your cruises!

Mike and Elena 🌴👨👩🌴

 

[Tedferg]

2 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

 

She orders the prix fixe 2X, but he eats it and she just has a pizza.

Initially I thought this would be classed as 'Sharing' similar to giving a drink to someone else, however, since they both have Plus, then Sharing is a non issue.

[memoak]

1 hour ago, mike&elena said:

HaveDog---

Glad you're on the case to stop this no-sharing nonsense!  The next task will be to get an equitable number of casual meals based on cruise length.  We have 2 upcoming cruises booked with Princess for 22 days and 4 days, respectively.  It is ridiculous that we will receive 2 casual dining credits with the Plus package for each cruise.  Last week, Carmen Roig, VP of Sales, commented on her webinar that Princess has received so many complaints about the 2 credit per cruise policy that they are reviewing it and will be making adjustments.  We can only hope that they do this soon.

Enjoy your cruises!

Mike and Elena 🌴👨👩🌴

 

Where were all the complaints when premier plan passengers were limited to 2 specialty dinners per cruise. Sounds like people only get upset when something affects you personally 
 

[damiross]

1 hour ago, mike&elena said:

Last week, Carmen Roig, VP of Sales, commented on her webinar that Princess has received so many complaints about the 2 credit per cruise policy that they are reviewing it and will be making adjustments. 

Mike and Elena 🌴👨👩🌴

 

They need to review it?  Gimmie a break!  Roig must be a complete idiot if she thought people wouldn't complain about this.  Does she really think people are so stupid that they wouldn't notice a person on a 28-day cruise gets the same number of credits as a person on a cruise 1/4 that long?

 

Corporate America is getting greedier with each passing day.  Consumers aren't blameless, either.  They have the ability to vote with their wallets but they don't.

 

In my case, I got a good deal on the premier package and have lots of OBC.  Otherwise, I would have cancelled my cruise in January. 

 

It's about time Princess changed its name to "We Ain't the Love Boat Anymore Because We Don't Give a Damn About Our Passengers Cruise Line."

[CruizinSusan70]

6 hours ago, startedwithamouse said:

Don't you each have two dining credits? How does he have four and you have none?

Yes, we each have two credits.  Princess will be getting an extra 8.50 plus 18% from us for the agnolotti I will eat.  The servers are not going to be hovering over us to see who eats what.  We are entitled to 4 prix fix meals and on top of this we will pay for 4 entrees.  Princess will be getting extra money from us with each visit.  I am not expecting any problems with this at all.

Besides, post 634 stated that sharing was allowed on board.

[dides]

On 8/26/2023 at 10:38 AM, kiwimum said:

We are in Alfredo’s last night and it was relatively busy.  There are two price points for alacarte pizza, $8.00 for your basics and $12.50 for specialty.   Shared pizza and salad, $17.50.   Server reinforced there is no sharing of the fixed price items.

I have included photos of the menus, sorry not the greatest quality.

 

Thanks for posting these. It's been very hard to find examples of the real-life menu's post-rollout! You don't show the dessert costs - were they still $3 each?

[Cruise Raider]

53 minutes ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Yes, we each have two credits.  Princess will be getting an extra 8.50 plus 18% from us for the agnolotti I will eat.  The servers are not going to be hovering over us to see who eats what.  We are entitled to 4 prix fix meals and on top of this we will pay for 4 entrees.  Princess will be getting extra money from us with each visit.  I am not expecting any problems with this at all.

Besides, post 634 stated that sharing was allowed on board.

Just to articulate another side to this .. we were just on the Ruby and were told that sharing of the price fixed meals at the Salty Dog would not be allowed.  There is no Alfredo’s so can’t speak to that. However, no sharing of the perks in the packages has been allowed except for the WiFi and premier seating.  
At the Salty Dog, we simply shared a small plate because that’s all we wanted.  But if we wanted to share two small plates and a dessert, it would be either $6 or $10 and $3 for dessert, so either $9 or $13, which is less than their previous $18 cover charge, regardless of what you ordered.  Really all this seems like such a fuss over a few dollars.  
You may get away with saving that few dollars or you may not.  Just don’t be surprised if you can’t share you package perks under the current rules.  Expect to hear and experience different policies to this until everything is settled.  Some ships will allow you buy 5 glasses of wines with your package, but some will charge you for the whole bottle with the 25% discount.  You may have to just see what policies are in effect when you board your specific cruise.

Think of it this way, if you got to a land based buffet, which is essentially a price fixed meal, if you eat anything, no matter if it is just a small plate of food, you will essentially have to pay for the same meal that someone that loads up several plates full of food.  What is different on a cruise is that there is also some a la carte pricing at these places.  
I am actually a little stunned at the number of very vocal people on here that are ‘outraged’ at a few dollars difference here and there.  It ll equals out in the long run!  And, the casual dining spots other than Alfredo’s and Gigi’s have never been complementary .. so, it’s actually a better deal for you all now if you try one of those places.  
They will get it sorted out, just give it some time! 

 

[kiwimum]

58 minutes ago, dides said:

Thanks for posting these. It's been very hard to find examples of the real-life menu's post-rollout! You don't show the dessert costs - were they still $3 each?

Will check tomorrow but I think they are.   The apple pie thingy and tiramisu.  We had left

over truffles from the vines charcuterie plate so did not pay attention.