It's been a loooong time.......

[mafig]

I think the last Princess cruise we were on was in 2013.  That's a long time, so I need some help.  

 

Questions:  Does Princess still have formal night?  I hope not.

 

We've been booking low level suites on other lines.  Haven, MSC, Royal Caribbean, Holland America.

What cabin category should we look at to get a free beverage package, suite only restaurant (w/o having to make reservations) and a nice room.

New or newish ship sailing out of Ft. Lauderdale probably only 7 days to the Caribbean.  Maybe Jan, or Feb of 2025.

 

I'll be doing research, but I'd appreciate your pointing me in the right direction.🙂

[Oscar13]

Formal night isn't a "must" do, I've seen people dressed to the nines and I've been people in shorts and t-shirts on a formal night.

 

Cabin category - you are probably looking for a Reserve Class Mini-Suite at the minimum.  That will get you into the MDR whatever time you want.  There is a certain section in one of the MDRs dedicated to RC.

 

As for free beverage package - I don't think there is such a thing. You have a couple of choices for packages Plus and Premier.  They include beverages, Wifi, grats and some other items.

 

Hopefully someone else can chime in.

 

Karen

[LACruiser88]

You have a lot of research to do!  Princess still has Formal nights but not as "Formal" as in the past.

 

There are no free beverage packages.  Check out the Plus and Premier packages for details on what they include.

 

The Reserve Collection Dining Room is for those booked in full suites and in Reserve Collection mini-suites.  No reservations required and a higher level of service.

[cruisepest]

Mafig,

 

1) There is no "free beverage package on Princess. You pay for pluss or premium.

2 ) There is no Suite only restaurant . You book a reserve class mini suite or suite.

3) They still have formal nights. They are pretty much anything goes now.

 

Things on Princess are alot different than ten years ago.

[mafig]

thanks for the help so far.  

 

I thought I saw an included beverage package (up to $18) on one website.  Was I mistaken?

 

LA Cruiser, you're right!  I do have a lot of researching to do.  😒

[reedprincess]

The above two responses are incorrect. (LACruiser and cruisepest)

 

If you're wanting a cabin category that includes beverage package, suite only restaurant, and other extras - you'll need to book on Sun Princess in an Sanctuary Collection cabin - which can be anything from Deluxe balcony to ful suite. Full suites also have their own lounge, etc - they'll be closest to Have , Yacht Club, Retreat, etc. 

 

Sun is Princess 's newest ship, sailing out of FLL from Oct 2024 through spring 2025.  

Edited July 28 by reedprincess

[reedprincess]

1 minute ago, mafig said:

thanks for the help so far.  

 

I thought I saw an included beverage package (up to $18) on one website.  Was I mistaken?

 

LA Cruiser, you're right!  I do have a lot of researching to do.  😒

Some agencies may throw in a beverage package as a booking perk. Pays to check details..

[Rick&Jeannie]

20 minutes ago, reedprincess said:

The above two responses are incorrect. (LACruiser and cruisepest)

I fail to see what @LACruiser88 said that is incorrect....

[mafig]

21 minutes ago, reedprincess said:

The above two responses are incorrect. (LACruiser and cruisepest)

 

If you're wanting a cabin category that includes beverage package, suite only restaurant, and other extras - you'll need to book on Sun Princess in an Sanctuary Collection cabin - which can be anything from Deluxe balcony to ful suite. Full suites also have their own lounge, etc - they'll be closest to Have , Yacht Club, Retreat, etc. 

 

Sun is Princess 's newest ship, sailing out of FLL from Oct 2024 through spring 2025.  

What is Category M1 on Sun Princess like?  

[Kay S]

You will find Princess very changed, maybe some for the better, but not all.  

[mafig]

6 minutes ago, Kay S said:

You will find Princess very changed, maybe some for the better, but not all.  

Can you elaborate?

[Babyfat101]

40 minutes ago, mafig said:

 

 

I thought I saw an included beverage package (up to $18) on one website.  Was I mistaken?

 

  😒

There is a soda package that is a little under $18/day. I believe sodas & mocktails. And there’s another non alcoholic package (includes fancy coffees) for something like $35/day. 

[waltd]

There is no free beverage package.   They may say it's included but compare prices.   You pay for everything .

[MustangGT]

54 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

I fail to see what @LACruiser88 said that is incorrect....

On the Sun, the Sanctuary Collection cabins will include the Premium Package after the ship arrives in FLL this fall.

It definitely gets confusing since it will be a first for Princess to include a package in the cruise fare.  Of course, booking it means you will pay more for the cabin and get the package for “free” - so is it really “included?”  😉

Edited July 28 by MustangGT

[oregonN]

You can book the drink package only if you want.

[cruiselvr04]

Can someone give me a guess as to what the average price per day for the non upgraded beverage package?

 

Royal cruiser here and I’m having a hard time determining if I want to pay extra up front when booking or just add later. Is the plus package really a savings and what does it include?  What would I use $1800 OBC credit for? Excursions? 

[memoak]

1 hour ago, waltd said:

There is no free beverage package.   They may say it's included but compare prices.   You pay for everything .

You may have the plus package including in your booking but you are definitely paying for it. Full suites get reserve dining plus suites only breakfast dining

[Ken the cruiser]

2 hours ago, mafig said:

I think the last Princess cruise we were on was in 2013.  That's a long time, so I need some help.  

 

Questions:  Does Princess still have formal night?  I hope not.

 

We've been booking low level suites on other lines.  Haven, MSC, Royal Caribbean, Holland America.

What cabin category should we look at to get a free beverage package, suite only restaurant (w/o having to make reservations) and a nice room.

New or newish ship sailing out of Ft. Lauderdale probably only 7 days to the Caribbean.  Maybe Jan, or Feb of 2025.

 

I'll be doing research, but I'd appreciate your pointing me in the right direction.🙂

We are currently on the Sky Princess, which is a Royal Class ship that has a Concierge Lounge where you can get free alcoholic drinks between 5:30 - 7:30 pm every night plus other goodies throughout the day. We go there before dinner to get a couple of glasses of wine for me to drink at dinner. The only catch is that you have to book a full suite to get access.
 

But in a full suite you also have a mini-fridge which they will stock once per leg with 10 alcoholic drinks and 10 non-alcoholic drinks. For me, I get 10 bottles of beer while my DW gets 10 bottles of water, as that’s all she drinks. No beverage package required for us when we’re in a suite. But then I don’t drink that much.
 

You also get two free bottles of water every day delivered to your suite cabin. You, of course, also get to dine for breakfast, lunch (on sea days), and dinner in the Reserve Collection dining area as others have mentioned.

 
Here's my Live From thread to give you a feeling of what we’re experiencing on our current B2B cruise in Northern Europe.

 

 

[memoak]

7 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

We are currently on the Sky Princess, which is a Royal Class ship that has a Concierge Lounge where you can get free alcoholic drinks between 5:30 - 7:30 pm every night plus other goodies throughout the day. We go there before dinner to get a couple of glasses of wine for me to drink at dinner. The only catch is that you have to book a full suite to get access.
 

But in a full suite you also have a mini-fridge which they will stock once per leg with 10 alcoholic drinks and 10 non-alcoholic drinks. For me, I get 10 bottles of beer while my DW gets 10 bottles of water, as that’s all she drinks. No beverage package required for us when we’re in a suite. But then I don’t drink that much.
 

You also get two free bottles of water every day delivered to your suite cabin. You, of course, also get to dine for breakfast, lunch (on sea days), and dinner in the Reserve Collection dining area as others have mentioned.

 
Here's my Live From thread to give you a feeling of what we’re experiencing on our current B2B cruise in Northern Europe.

 

 

The breakfast may also be had in the exclusive suite breakfast dining room even nicer than reserve

Edited July 28 by memoak

[reedprincess]

1 hour ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

I fail to see what @LACruiser88 said that is incorrect....

LACruiser referenced Reserve dining, which is different than Signature/Sanctuary Collection dining in Sun.

Also, Sanctuary Collection cabins on Sun include Premier Cruise Package for every passenger, ie drink packages, WiFi, etc. Thus, incorrect on the no "free" packages - as it is "free" in the cost of your cabin .

Hence - incorrect.  

[Ken the cruiser]

20 minutes ago, memoak said:

The breakfast may also be had in the exclusive suite breakfast dining room even nicer than reserve

You are correct. Breakfast for suite guests is served in Sabatini’s. We didn’t eat there on this cruise, except for the first day when we were not impressed, and have been more then pleased with the food and service we’ve received since from the same servers in the RC dining area.

[skynight]

mafig. Check out The Sanctuary Collection cabins on the Sun Princess. This does include the Premier package and other items.

https://www.princess.com/en-us/news/news-releases/2024/04/princess-cruises-unveils-exclusive-new-sanctuary-collection-aboard-sun-princess-and-star-princess

[mafig]

Thanks everyone.

I'm still confused.  I do need to do more research.

 

For instance, the Sanctuary Collection cabins also include Premium Deluxe balconies, which have much larger balconies (so it appears) than the Mini Suites.  Are the Mini Suite rooms much larger/nicer?  Probably in better locations?

[reedprincess]

5 hours ago, mafig said:

Thanks everyone.

I'm still confused.  I do need to do more research.

 

For instance, the Sanctuary Collection cabins also include Premium Deluxe balconies, which have much larger balconies (so it appears) than the Mini Suites.  Are the Mini Suite rooms much larger/nicer?  Probably in better locations?

Correct - the Sanctuary Collection includes premium deluxe Balconies, mini-suites, and suites 

The Premium Deluxe Balcony cabins have extra large balconies, along with the standard deluxe balcony insides.

 

The mini-suites are larger in the cabin space (over a DB) but smaller balconies than the premium deluxe balcony... And the bathrooms are slightly larger.  There's also a curtain dividing the bed space and sofa space (unlike DB). 

 

The suites vary in sizes, anywhere from Signature Suite to Sky Suites. 

The Signature Suites are the same layout, size, etc as a mini-suite - but are full suites, which will include lounge access over the mini-suites and premium deluxe balcony cabins in the Sanctuary Collection.

 

The Sanctuary Collection cabins includes private dining areas, Sanctuary access, Premier Cruise Package, and a few other perks.   Sanctuary Collection suites also have Lounge access - with concierge, drinks, views, etc.  

 

If you're looking for something similar to YC, Haven, Retreat - Sanctuary Collection is it, as far as Princess is concerned. The older/prior ships don't have similar inclusions or additions at all.  

Edited July 29 by reedprincess

[dog]

Nothing is free- you pay for what is included.