princess folks' I need a hand

[maxsales]

We are pretty experienced cruisers but mostly on Celebrity and RCCL.  Our last cruise on Princess was pre-pandemic.

 

There is an attractive offer on an Emerald Princess sailing.  Here is where the help comes in there are three booking levels offered standard, plus, and premier.  I realize these are similar to the Celebrity all included basic and premium, however, I need more info.  How are the drink prices on Princess?  Do the Plus and Premier include an upscale coffee bar similar to Cafe Al Bacchio?  What are premium desserts?  What are casual dining meals?  Is Princess charging for the buffet now?  Does anyone know what Princess prizes are?

 

Thank you in advance for the help

[antsp]

If the question only relates to drinks, both packages are the same except one is drinks upto $15 the other $20

Edited March 13 by antsp

[cr8tiv1]

The premier package has a lot more offerings for $20 more a day.  Compare the two to see if you would use the upscaled items.  I wouldn’t.  
 

Yes, both packages would include specialty coffees, (water, soft drinks, mock cocktail) that would not count against the 15 alcoholic drinks daily.  

Edited March 13 by cr8tiv1

[durangokid]

Princess Prizes - when casino is open and you go in or out of your cabin you are entered in a drawing.  No need for you to do anything but enter or leave your cabin at those times as far as I know.  We won $25 OBC on the Sky Princess a year or so ago. (Haven't been on a cruise with Premier package since although we do get Plus.)  The picture package included with Premier is a real bonus - all pictures taken on board, three printed out and all pictures on a thumb drive.  Two Specialty dining meals are on the Premier and unlimited casual venues (don't know which are available on your ship). Plus program does not include specialty restaurants and only two casual meals per cruise.  Desserts are huge ice cream sundaes, but I have read you can substitute gelato or the special cakes at the International Cafe.  Both programs include specialty coffees and the International Cafe is similar to Al Bacio in that respect.   No fees (yet) for buffet or main dining rooms.  Hope this helps!

 

Mary

Edited March 13 by durangokid
spelling

[maxsales]

One more question.  If you order a drink costing more than the package allowance are you charged the difference or the entire price of the higher-priced drink?

[Gettingwarmer]

 

Just now, maxsales said:

One more question.  If you order a drink costing more than the package allowance are you charged the difference or the entire price of the higher-priced drink?

You pay the difference plus gratuity. 

[memoak]

Just now, maxsales said:

One more question.  If you order a drink costing more than the package allowance are you charged the difference or the entire price of the higher-priced drink?

You are only charged the difference plus 18% of the difference. Casual dining is things like Pizza sit down restaurants, Gastropub, Vines, Sushi etc

[Thrak]

You can get an idea regarding drink prices HERE. While this doesn't list all drinks available on the ship it will give you an idea regarding the $15 Plus limit vs the $20 Premier limit and, if you should have a favorite brand of liquor, it should assist you to tell if your brand fits in a particular package.

 

Of course, there are some liquors that won't fit within the price constraints of either package. Many wines are available only by the bottle and some of those are crazy expensive. Two liquors that I know of for sure that don't fit the limits are shown below. These prices are for a single shot.

 

  

Edited March 13 by Thrak

[JamieLogical]

If I book Princess Plus, can I upgrade to Princess Premium through the cruise planner or once onboard?

[Steelers36]

1 minute ago, JamieLogical said:

If I book Princess Plus, can I upgrade to Princess Premium through the cruise planner or once onboard?

Either.

[Thrak]

18 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

If I book Princess Plus, can I upgrade to Princess Premium through the cruise planner or once onboard?

 

If you wait until you are on the ship you can use OBC to pay for the upgrade. You can also get a crew member some "points" for selling you the upgrade if that is something you would like to do.

[JamieLogical]

3 minutes ago, Thrak said:

 

If you wait until you are on the ship you can use OBC to pay for the upgrade. You can also get a crew member some "points" for selling you the upgrade if that is something you would like to do.

 

Is the cost the same? $20/person/day if upgrading onboard?

[Thrak]

32 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

Is the cost the same? $20/person/day if upgrading onboard?

 

Yep. No different at all.

[that]

47 minutes ago, Thrak said:

 

If you wait until you are on the ship you can use OBC to pay for the upgrade. You can also get a crew member some "points" for selling you the upgrade if that is something you would like to do.

Please can you explain “points”?

[Thrak]

3 minutes ago, that said:

Please can you explain “points”?

 

I simply meant that when a crew member signs someone up for a beverage package, a wine tasting, etc. it counts toward them getting perks such as extra time off, extra days when they can go ashore, etc. It can even count toward promotions. It's the same when you take the time to fill out a "made a difference" card for an employee and drop it off at the Customer Service desk or when you give them praise in your after cruise survey.

[that]

If you upgrade at the Guest Service desk, does that employee receive “points”?

Edited March 13 by that

[Thrak]

8 minutes ago, that said:

If you upgrade at the Guest Service desk, does that employee receive “points”?

 

Not sure but doubtful. I would suspect they fall into a different category.

[wallyj]

1 hour ago, JamieLogical said:

 

Is the cost the same? $20/person/day if upgrading onboard?

As long as the standard plus and premier package rates have not changed. You also are limited to ‘buying’ or upgrading from plus to premier to day1 or day2 of your sailing.

[jean-lynd]

This shows the dining venues by type across the fleet and pictures of the Premium desserts. There is no charge for the buffet. Casual dining venues on Emerald are Planks (BBQ), The Salty Dog (pub), Steamers (seafood) and Vines (charcuterie). Steamers and Planks are pop-ups so they will occcupy part of the buffet on the nights they are open. I hope this helps!