Casual Dining Changes

[Lilsalmon]

Perhaps I've missed this someplace else but has anyone else experienced a change post booking their princess cruise? When we booked Casual Dining Restaurants were included. Then we received a notification that Casual Dining is now a perk of the Princess Plus (at two dinners for Plus) and Premier (unlimited). We already have the Plus package as we wanted internet and the drink package but we are quite miffed that something that was included and unlimited when we paid is now limited. 

 

Has anyone noticed this and as put out as us? How can they just change what our booking includes last min? It doesn't seem legal to me. For reference we are booked on a 23 day cruise and only 2 included casual dining restaurants seems pretty limited. 

[NavyVeteran]

There have been many threads on this subject. Links to some of the threads that discuss this subject are below:

• Alfredo's a la carte menu
• Casual Dining - Fixed Price Menus and A La Carte Charges
• Another new charge complaint
• old plus package is now minus package
• Casual Dining Option Questions
• Alfredo's
• Response from Princess to email re changes

[Rick&Jeannie]

38 minutes ago, Lilsalmon said:

Perhaps I've missed this someplace else but has anyone else experienced a change post booking their princess cruise? When we booked Casual Dining Restaurants were included. Then we received a notification that Casual Dining is now a perk of the Princess Plus (at two dinners for Plus) and Premier (unlimited). We already have the Plus package as we wanted internet and the drink package but we are quite miffed that something that was included and unlimited when we paid is now limited. 

 

Has anyone noticed this and as put out as us? How can they just change what our booking includes last min? It doesn't seem legal to me. For reference we are booked on a 23 day cruise and only 2 included casual dining restaurants seems pretty limited. 

There are NO WORDS that can adequately cover the outrage that has already been posted...

[avonlady6390]

The only casual dining that didn't have a fee is Alfredos or gigis which is not on all ships the rest of them had a fee all along with the prices going down.

[memoak]

2 hours ago, Lilsalmon said:

Perhaps I've missed this someplace else but has anyone else experienced a change post booking their princess cruise? When we booked Casual Dining Restaurants were included. Then we received a notification that Casual Dining is now a perk of the Princess Plus (at two dinners for Plus) and Premier (unlimited). We already have the Plus package as we wanted internet and the drink package but we are quite miffed that something that was included and unlimited when we paid is now limited. 

 

Has anyone noticed this and as put out as us? How can they just change what our booking includes last min? It doesn't seem legal to me. For reference we are booked on a 23 day cruise and only 2 included casual dining restaurants seems pretty limited. 

The only casual venues that didn’t have a charge in the past was the pizzeria which is not on all ships. Either go with the flow or go home. Complaints wil do no good

[Steelers36]

3 hours ago, Lilsalmon said:

Perhaps I've missed this someplace else but has anyone else experienced a change post booking their princess cruise? When we booked Casual Dining Restaurants were included. Then we received a notification that Casual Dining is now a perk of the Princess Plus (at two dinners for Plus) and Premier (unlimited). We already have the Plus package as we wanted internet and the drink package but we are quite miffed that something that was included and unlimited when we paid is now limited. 

 

Has anyone noticed this and as put out as us? How can they just change what our booking includes last min? It doesn't seem legal to me. For reference we are booked on a 23 day cruise and only 2 included casual dining restaurants seems pretty limited. 

Princess can make changes any time per their terms you agreed to when booking a cruise.

 

As for nbr of visits, it unanimous among members posting here that 2 visits for a 5-night voyage and 2 visits for a 23-night voyage is not fair.  Is your cruise a combination of two B2B shorter cruises?  If you booked that way, you get 4 visits for sure.

 

I think we will eventually see a change to this, but no news yet.

 

Same issue exists with Premier pkg where you get only 2 SD credits regardless of voyage length. 

[SargassoPirate]

7 hours ago, memoak said:

The only casual venues that didn’t have a charge in the past was the pizzeria which is not on all ships. Either go with the flow or go home. Complaints wil do no good

Yep.  It's still a free market economy and we can vote with our feet and dollars.  

 

Don't harangue the working staff on board, but let the ship's officers know, especially the loyalty ambassadors or whatever they call them. 

 

 

[wallyj]

1 hour ago, SargassoPirate said:

Yep.  It's still a free market economy and we can vote with our feet and dollars.  

 

Don't harangue the working staff on board, but let the ship's officers know, especially the loyalty ambassadors or whatever they call them. 

 

 

No more Loyalty and Events Manager position at Princess. Loyalty/Captain Circle inquiries are now handled by Future cruise who are employed by third party company called  O.N.E., not Princess. 
 

The ship is only responsible for implementing changes decided by Santa Clarita headquarters which is where your outrage should be sent. IMHO.

[MissP22]

3 hours ago, SargassoPirate said:

Yep.  It's still a free market economy and we can vote with our feet and dollars.  

 

That's correct, but I'll not patronize either Alfredo's or Gigi's on our next cruise but more than make up for it by ordering double portions elsewhere. 

[skynight]

Did you have the $50 plus fare? When Princess made the switch to charging for casual dining, basically Alfredo's, they only included those who had paid the $60 plus fare. To my way of thinking this was a poor customer relations move to not grandfather in all plus fares. 

[MissP22]

57 minutes ago, skynight said:

Did you have the $50 plus fare? When Princess made the switch to charging for casual dining, basically Alfredo's, they only included those who had paid the $60 plus fare. To my way of thinking this was a poor customer relations move to not grandfather in all plus fares. 

Obviously they knew people would be upset but like everything else in the past, some folks just forget about it and move on.

I don't. 

[hop2it]

Received an e-mail about what's included with Princess Plus for our Sky Princess cruise and was happy to see two free casual-dining meals, along with a list that included Planks and Steamers. Then we discovered that apparently those places do not exist on Sky Princess. Not a huge concern, but disappointing since we'd already started looking forward to those particular meals.

[avonlady6390]

For the sky princess you will have Alfredos which is a sit down pizza, vines wine bar which is more like appetizers and ocean terrace which is sushi.  I would suggest Alfredos which is open for lunch to use your plus or Premier packages.

[satxdiver]

Looks like PCL has taken pages from NCL and started doing the nickel and dime dance with the pax.  Oh you want to eat pizza at the pizzeria which was formally free, that will be $$.  What is next?  Soft serve ice cream now is $$ or certain items on the buffet is $$ or you want to see the show, that will be $$.  I won't sail on NCL due to their notorious nickel and diming for everything and if PCL starts down that road time to consider X.  

[NavyVeteran]

5 hours ago, satxdiver said:

Looks like PCL has taken pages from NCL and started doing the nickel and dime dance with the pax.  Oh you want to eat pizza at the pizzeria which was formally free, that will be $$.  What is next?  Soft serve ice cream now is $$ or certain items on the buffet is $$ or you want to see the show, that will be $$.  I won't sail on NCL due to their notorious nickel and diming for everything and if PCL starts down that road time to consider X.  

You have a choice on Princess. You can select the lower Basic fare and some nickel and diming, or you can select the Plus or Premier fare for an all-inclusive experience.

[MissP22]

2 minutes ago, NavyVeteran said:

You have a choice on Princess. You can select the lower Basic fare and some nickel and diming, or you can select the Plus or Premier fare for an all-inclusive experience.

They seem to be doing everything they can to influence all the passengers to purchase the Plus package. So far we can still avoid their expensive add on since we have our own ways of avoiding the extras without affecting our enjoyment.

[brovol]

Cruise lines, after the totally unfair beating they took from the government during the COVID BS, have had to make pricing adjustments, just as other businesses have.  Goods and services cost twice what they did before is seems.  Either you raise prices or you eliminate some of what you provided before.  I think Princess has done a pretty decent job of giving folks options, so that you can pick your price point.

 

I too would prefer that Alfredos was unlimited, but only want to buy the Plus plan. Everything else on the Plus is perfect for my wife and me. I get that choise though, to pay just for what I want.  I really like the options Princess provides.  

 

Overall it comes down to what you get for what you pay; and in my mind Princess is way more than competitive to what other line provide and charge. 

[ExploringTheGlobe]

I'm pleased with the changes because now I don't have to pay for venues I used to pay for, such as Ocean Terrace!  It's really made it a more inclusive experience for me! 

[AtlantaCruiser72]

8 hours ago, satxdiver said:

 I won't sail on NCL due to their notorious nickel and diming for everything and if PCL starts down that road time to consider X.  

 

On Celebrity you will play upcharge roulette with any specialty dining, wifi, shore excursions, beverage packages, etc as the price for those items is in constant flux.  One guest may pay $75 to eat at Tuscan Grill and another $48, and yet a third person might pay $52, all on the same sailing and dining date, just depending on the day of the week and how the wind was blowing when they purchased.  It's a real turn-off to me.  They have a MUCH harder push for ancillary items onboard than Princess do as well.

 

While the change of Alfredo's/GiGi's is a negative, Princess is still much better about being fair and consistent with pricing of ancillary items, and with fewer upcharges, than many of their peers, and less hard sell onboard.  The grass is NOT always greener!

[Oxo]

13 minutes ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

 

On Celebrity you will play upcharge roulette with any specialty dining, wifi, shore excursions, beverage packages, etc as the price for those items is in constant flux.  One guest may pay $75 to eat at Tuscan Grill and another $48, and yet a third person might pay $52, all on the same sailing and dining date, just depending on the day of the week and how the wind was blowing when they purchased.  It's a real turn-off to me.  They have a MUCH harder push for ancillary items onboard than Princess do as well.

 

While the change of Alfredo's/GiGi's is a negative, Princess is still much better about being fair and consistent with pricing of ancillary items, and with fewer upcharges, than many of their peers, and less hard sell onboard.  The grass is NOT always greener!

You are correct in your assessment of Celebrity. Just got off of Apex. Everything is much more expensive on Celebrity.

Happy Cruising! 

 

[IndyKid]

On 9/15/2023 at 9:22 PM, Rick&Jeannie said:

There are NO WORDS that can adequately cover the outrage that has already been posted...

There's plenty of words, but they're mostly four-lettered ones and not repeatable in this polite forum...

[suzyed]

On 9/15/2023 at 8:44 PM, Lilsalmon said:

Perhaps I've missed this someplace else but has anyone else experienced a change post booking their princess cruise? When we booked Casual Dining Restaurants were included. Then we received a notification that Casual Dining is now a perk of the Princess Plus (at two dinners for Plus) and Premier (unlimited). We already have the Plus package as we wanted internet and the drink package but we are quite miffed that something that was included and unlimited when we paid is now limited. 

 

Has anyone noticed this and as put out as us? How can they just change what our booking includes last min? It doesn't seem legal to me. For reference we are booked on a 23 day cruise and only 2 included casual dining restaurants seems pretty limited. 

It is outrageous!

 

[suzyed]

On 9/15/2023 at 9:38 PM, avonlady6390 said:

The only casual dining that didn't have a fee is Alfredos or gigis which is not on all ships the rest of them had a fee all along with the prices going down.

Vines did not.  You got free tapas or sushi with a purchase of a glass of wine (on ships that had that perk...not all served food)

[suzyed]

On 9/16/2023 at 7:49 AM, MissP22 said:

Obviously they knew people would be upset but like everything else in the past, some folks just forget about it and move on.

I don't. 

I don't either.

[suzyed]

On 9/16/2023 at 7:49 AM, MissP22 said:

Obviously they knew people would be upset but like everything else in the past, some folks just forget about it and move on.

I don't. 

I don't either.
Let's just say that now Princess has not decided that the IC is no longer free....will folks forget about it and  "move on"?