Princess Plus or Princess Premier for a wine drinker?

[memoak]

2 minutes ago, cruisinsince75 said:

We went with Premier package, since my DW usually drinks Champagne and that is covered with Premier.  I also like some of the reds that are on both packages, so I figured I can try some different wines from different regions than what I normally drink.  I like more of a full body wine.  I also loathe signing chits.

I haven’t signed a chit in ages. When I have a wine over $15 they just bill me for the difference plus 18%. Nothing to sign

[deadzone1003]

1 hour ago, cbfb said:

Yes! My plan too. Do you typically get a discount on bottles if you have the plus plan. 

Yes you will receive a discount, 20-25%, but it is a bit of a rip-off.  The only reason I bought bottles was because I really didn't like many of selections that were offered.  The bottles that I bought were ones I really like from a wine tasting on the Emerald Princess.  I would only buy bottles unless I discover the wines by the glass that were offered on the ship were ones you would normally would not drink.

[edspec]

I didn’t care for the wines available on the Plus package. If both are wine drinkers I’d definitely upgrade. DH is a rum and coke guy so we stick with Plus, it averages out. I’m too lazy to bring a bottle on board, And I like to try new things on vacation.

[Wonders By Wallis]

8 hours ago, daveo6313 said:

Can I get a glass and take it with me to the casino or any of the entertainment venues?

Absolutely.

[Wonders By Wallis]

3 hours ago, Snaxmuppet said:

Just a reminder... You are allowed to take only 1 bottle of wine on board per person in hand baggage without paying the corkage fee. 🙂 

This brings up a question I've been wondering about. If you pay the $20 corkage on embarkation, do you pay it a second time if you drink it in a restaurant? 

[ggprincess2004]

3 minutes ago, Wonders By Wallis said:

This brings up a question I've been wondering about. If you pay the $20 corkage on embarkation, do you pay it a second time if you drink it in a restaurant? 

No, they give you a sticker for the bottle so that when you take it to the dining room it indicates corkage has already been paid.

[LO-LO]

Here is a copy of the red wines from the Regal

IMG_2057.heic

[Wonders By Wallis]

On 2/27/2024 at 4:44 PM, ggprincess2004 said:

No, they give you a sticker for the bottle so that when you take it to the dining room it indicates corkage has already been paid.

Thank you very much.

[Cruise Raider]

On 2/27/2024 at 1:01 PM, memoak said:

If you are going to bring in more than 1 bottle per adult at embarkation that would be above the allowed amount   You will have to pay corkage on all additional bottles or smuggle them on board. If caught you could lose the bottles

It’s doubtful they will take any bottles of wine away from you but rather, just have you pay the corkage.  Our last few cruises, there hasn’t even been a wine table set up near security to even charge the corkage, in which case, you would pay when taking them to the dining room.  
One ship we were on had such horrible wine selections that my friend bought me 2 bottles while in port and they had no problem with her bringing it back onboard.   Less her heart!  
 

[Cruise Raider]

They oftentimes have some nice choices for red but whites, especially their Chardonnay is really hit or miss.  We’ve had everything from excellent whites, such as Rombauer, which is no longer sold by the glass to absolute swill, ie: Canyon Road.  On our last couple cruises, I had such great choices that were just a couple dollars over the plus package,  however we had already pre-purchased the premier package.  It includes so much more than just better wines.  We mainly get it for the unlimited dining options, photos, etc.  We probably didn’t get our money’s worth on this last trip, as the Crown/Grand class ships really don’t have many options for casual dining.  But, we are known to never even go to the MDR while on Royal class ships.  
 

[c-boy]

9 hours ago, Wonders By Wallis said:

Thank you very much.

Looks like this 

[memoak]

3 hours ago, Cruise Raider said:

They oftentimes have some nice choices for red but whites, especially their Chardonnay is really hit or miss.  We’ve had everything from excellent whites, such as Rombauer, which is no longer sold by the glass to absolute swill, ie: Canyon Road.  On our last couple cruises, I had such great choices that were just a couple dollars over the plus package,  however we had already pre-purchased the premier package.  It includes so much more than just better wines.  We mainly get it for the unlimited dining options, photos, etc.  We probably didn’t get our money’s worth on this last trip, as the Crown/Grand class ships really don’t have many options for casual dining.  But, we are known to never even go to the MDR while on Royal class ships.  
 

We almost always cruise Grand class ships so premier plan really doesn’t work. We really do not like the Salty Dog food and may have one or two glasses at Vines. They have a Zin I like at the olus plan limit and a few others just 2 dollars or so over. Royal class ships are too big and too loud. Plus I really missed Wheelhouse on those ships

[Cruise Raider]

Just now, memoak said:

We almost always cruise Grand class ships so premier plan really doesn’t work. We really do not like the Salty Dog food and may have one or two glasses at Vines. They have a Zin I like at the olus plan limit and a few others just 2 dollars or so over. Royal class ships are too big and too loud. Plus I really missed Wheelhouse on those ships

I agree on your one point .. the premier package doesn’t hold as much value on the Grand class ships.   On our last cruise, the wait at the Gastropub was just too long that we never made it in there.  I did get one charcuterie board at vines but I don’t eat red meat so it was just cheese and vegetables for me.  It certainly wasn’t what I would call a meal.  
 

On your other point and I am glad we don’t all like the same things.  We absolutely love the Royal Class ships.  The only thing I like more is no air travel to get to the ship and since the Crown is home ported just across the bridge, the Crown it will be for this cruise season.  We got so spoiled with the Royal being here in 2022 .. so sad to have seen her go.  
 

 

[lahlah57]

On 2/27/2024 at 8:58 AM, cbfb said:

First time on Princess. We have the Plus and I plan to just pay the difference. I’m a white wine drinker. How were the selections for the premier package? 

My husband and I were on premier package and always asked for the best red wine in regards to merlot, cab,pinot or whatever. We can tell by seeing the bottle once they pour.

[memoak]

3 minutes ago, lahlah57 said:

My husband and I were on premier package and always asked for the best red wine in regards to merlot, cab,pinot or whatever. We can tell by seeing the bottle once they pour.

The word best is very subjective. Many people have different tastes

[lahlah57]

10 minutes ago, memoak said:

The word best is very subjective. Many people have different tastes

So true but then again we know by wine menu which one works best for our taste and meal pairing.

Its nice to ask them for what they think is the best and sample. Love or hate it then try something else. Premier offers us that luxury.

[memoak]

10 minutes ago, lahlah57 said:

So true but then again we know by wine menu which one works best for our taste and meal pairing.

Its nice to ask them for what they think is the best and sample. Love or hate it then try something else. Premier offers us that luxury.

On a 20 day cruise that $40 a day really adds up to more than I would get out of it

[lahlah57]

1 minute ago, memoak said:

On a 20 day cruise that $40 a day really adds up to more than I would get out of it

You do have a point. We're 7 day cruisers. Works well for us! 

[memoak]

49 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

I agree on your one point .. the premier package doesn’t hold as much value on the Grand class ships.   On our last cruise, the wait at the Gastropub was just too long that we never made it in there.  I did get one charcuterie board at vines but I don’t eat red meat so it was just cheese and vegetables for me.  It certainly wasn’t what I would call a meal.  
 

On your other point and I am glad we don’t all like the same things.  We absolutely love the Royal Class ships.  The only thing I like more is no air travel to get to the ship and since the Crown is home ported just across the bridge, the Crown it will be for this cruise season.  We got so spoiled with the Royal being here in 2022 .. so sad to have seen her go.  
 

 

We used to live in the east bay as well but moved out when it was time to retire. Money goes a lot further in Oregon than California. We have sailed many times out of SF including this year and the crowds are just so early that we don’t even try to board before 1:00. 

[Cruise Raider]

3 minutes ago, memoak said:

We used to live in the east bay as well but moved out when it was time to retire. Money goes a lot further in Oregon than California. We have sailed many times out of SF including this year and the crowds are just so early that we don’t even try to board before 1:00. 

Yea, I think most places are cheaper than living in the Bay Area.  But, it’s my home and I love being so close to a cruise port.  You are right about the crowds  .. it was so simple right after the restart!  Now, they are really filling the ships!  We’ve only gone early recently to try to beat the rain .. we weren’t so lucky last time.  Oh well, once onboard, I forget all about it!  

[DallasGuy75219]

Vines has some wines in the Plus price range that are at least better than the Canyon Road you get in most other bars (and the MDR) ordering just the varietal off the Plus menu.

 

I usually stop at Vines for a double pour on the way to dinner in the MDR.

[Hlitner]

We tried Premier on our December Sky Princess cruise and it turned out to be a great decision.  The reason?  On our particular cruise they had some decent wines and excellent booze that fit within the package..and there were a couple of other wines where we had no issue paying a few dollars over the Premier limit.  

 

Unless one can get a good deal that saves them some money, it might be wise to buy the lesser package and only upgrade to Premier once aboard.  Why?  Having a list (pre cruise) of wines and booze may not be helpful.  The onboard inventory can often vary, big time, from the expected products.  If you are buying the upgrade primarily for wines, you might want to first find out what wines are aboard (and available by the glass) before you commit the extra money for Premium.  Many of the other Premium perks were not of major interest, to us, but finding items like Remy Martin XO (priced at the $20 Premium limit) quickly sold me on the package.

 

Hank

[memoak]

26 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

We tried Premier on our December Sky Princess cruise and it turned out to be a great decision.  The reason?  On our particular cruise they had some decent wines and excellent booze that fit within the package..and there were a couple of other wines where we had no issue paying a few dollars over the Premier limit.  

 

Unless one can get a good deal that saves them some money, it might be wise to buy the lesser package and only upgrade to Premier once aboard.  Why?  Having a list (pre cruise) of wines and booze may not be helpful.  The onboard inventory can often vary, big time, from the expected products.  If you are buying the upgrade primarily for wines, you might want to first find out what wines are aboard (and available by the glass) before you commit the extra money for Premium.  Many of the other Premium perks were not of major interest, to us, but finding items like Remy Martin XO (priced at the $20 Premium limit) quickly sold me on the package.

 

Hank

The Crown has a really nice Zin for $15. Our hard liquor tastes run to Woodford bourbon, Grey Goose vodka and Sambucca all of which fit in plus

[XBGuy]

3 hours ago, c-boy said:

 

'74 Martha's.  VERY impressive.

 

I notice that there is no sticker on that one.  Did you drink it in your cabin?  That would be excellent with the UBD.  Alternatively, it would turn a Roast Beef Sandwich from Room Service into a special meal.  😁

 

 

[lahlah57]

2 hours ago, memoak said:

We used to live in the east bay as well but moved out when it was time to retire. Money goes a lot further in Oregon than California. We have sailed many times out of SF including this year and the crowds are just so early that we don’t even try to board before 1:00. 

Yup....we sailed Discovery this past fall  out of San Pedro and got there about 9:45am. We left early to hurry up and wait. 😅