Is there any need to buy Plus or Premium package before boarding?

[Mississippian]

I have an upcoming cruise in July. As of now, I haven't booked either the Plus or Premier package. When the time comes, I am likely to book the Premier package, just so I can have unlimited 3,000 calorie desserts, because I want to star on My 600-pound life. Anyway, is there any reason I should book these now rather than wait to book them on ship? I think waiting would save me on insurance costs. The only downside is that I might not be able to order a drink as soon as I board.

[memoak]

You can buy a package within 10 minutes of boarding and it will be billed to your cruise account 

[reedprincess]

Buying in advance allows for "free" medallion shipping, and "free" specialty restaurant booking.

Onboard purchase - refund $10 for medallion shipping, and left with available times, if any, for specialty dining.  

Your choice. Same price either way.

[Globaler]

A couple of comments - you can book speciality dining regardless and if you have OBC then you can use it when getting on board.

[cr8tiv1]

Buy it now or buy it later…

 

If you trust Princess not to raise the price between now and then.

[FancyPants21]

If you book the cruise through a TA then sometimes you can get offers from the TA if you book in advance but it really is a swings and roundabouts kind of thing. Do it whichever way you prefer.

[Aggie83]

I add it at time of booking 

with the TA. That way the gift card value from the TA reflects the package cost and adds to the annual membership rebate. Not so if I were to purchase on board.

[PMGS247]

Can use OBC if you wait to board. The biggest risk is price going up between now and your cruise. It's no more expensive on board than it is pre-cruise but at some point the package will increase across the board so the longer you wait the more likely that is to happen. 

 

On the flip side, if you're purchasing insurance with your cruise, your insurance premium is slightly higher if you pre-purchase since it's considered part of your insured cruise fare.  If you purchase on board it would have no impact on insurance.

 

As for specialty dining & medallion shipping, as long as you're willing to float the cost you can still pay for these things in advance and then when you purchase the package on board they will refund your original purchase to your on board account.  If I were able to snag a good dining reservation time (a big IF) I'd float the cost and take the refund on board.  I just did this a couple weeks ago on the Enchanted after I upgraded to Premier from plus on board.  I had to go to Guest Services to get them to apply the OBC, not sure if it ever would have happened without my requesting it, but it took a matter of moments when I requested it.

[Jnsplace1]

I prefer to buy ahead so that I can book specialty restaurants ahead of time.   Those at sea days tend to book up.

 

If you care for that sort of thing.....

[FancyPants21]

33 minutes ago, Jnsplace1 said:

I prefer to buy ahead so that I can book specialty restaurants ahead of time.   Those at sea days tend to book up.

 

If you care for that sort of thing.....

You can still book them in advance. Just pay for them and get a OBC credit when on board after you have purchased the package. 🙂 

[flhokie]

We're sailing in June and someone in our online group reported that they went to add on Plus the other day and were not able to. They were told that it was sold out (the website does say that the packages are limited and subject to availability). 

[sherryf]

5 hours ago, flhokie said:

We're sailing in June and someone in our online group reported that they went to add on Plus the other day and were not able to. They were told that it was sold out (the website does say that the packages are limited and subject to availability). 

 I've seen some posts saying that this "might" happen, but this is the first one I've seen that says that it actually DID happen.  Has anyone else experienced this?  We have been planning to wait to buy Plus when we board, but we'd hate for it to be "sold out" when we get there.

[2 cruises a year]

Personally, I book ahead. It is one less thing to worry about.

[phuac]

If you know you are going to get Plus/Premier, then book it early if some of these conditions exist for you:

 

1) You are getting a discount for Plus/Premier.  Some fares can have a discount on these packages, if so, just book it in advance.  Would be some of the lucky few that are getting a discounted rate.  I don't know if you would get the discounted rate if you book it onboard, never tried that before.

2) If it adds to a rebate or on board credit you will get since you are increasing the total fare

3) You aren't going to us on board credit to pay for this

4) If you don't have to factor in Travel Insurance costs

5) If for some remote reason it is sold out 

I usually do it for #1 if I'm lucky and got a booking with some discount for the packages that I add on later.  Does not happen alot.
 

[memoak]

On 4/23/2024 at 9:20 PM, reedprincess said:

Buying in advance allows for "free" medallion shipping, and "free" specialty restaurant booking.

Onboard purchase - refund $10 for medallion shipping, and left with available times, if any, for specialty dining.  

Your choice. Same price either way.

I have never ever had any issue booking specialty dinners on board even on the same day or walkup. Just off the Ruby and Crown Grille was way empty every night. Wait staff was bored and you could have shot a cannon through it. We called in the morning and ate at 7:30 that same night. We also walked up to Sabatini’s around 7:30 and were seated maybe 1/3 empty

[suzyed]

The crazy big desserts are included with the Plus package too....two per day per person!