Is Princess PLUS worth it for me personally?

[Nemanoxer]

Hi there.

 

My first ever Princess cruise is coming up on Sun Princess on 19th October 2024. It´s a 7 days cruise in CA category (Cabana Mini Suite).

 

I hardly ever drink alcolhol. I don´t want personal WiFi. I never hit the Spa nor the Gym. Usually no room service needed for me. OceanNow seems kind of irrelevant for me personally.

 

I do drink one or two Virgin Coladas per day and the same amount of Lavazza specialty coffees. I want my Pellegrino water, usually a bottle per dinner in MDR. I like Sodas from the can, two or three during the day. Juices happen next to never. I might fall for a premium dessert every one or two days. 

Usually, I stay away from specialty restaurants and what Princess call Casual Dining Meals and am happy with poolside Pizza and poolside Burgers (if good). Don´t care about photos or casino. Production show reservations would be sweet, however that would be PREMIER and too expensive anyway.

 

So...

 

If you were me, would you still book PLUS?

 

 

[reedprincess]

Nope.

Or should I say, maybe?

 

$17usd per night for crew appreciation.

Soda runs $2.50+18% gratuity 

Lavazza is the brand of included coffee, and specialty coffees - so if you're doing cappuccino or espresso or latte, average approximately $3-5 + 18% gratuity 

Mocktail - $10+18% gratuity 

Premium Dessert - $12 per item.

Liter San Pellegrino: $6 or so, +18%>

 

You'd have to do your math .

 

Figure 3 sodas ($9), 1 mocktail ($12) , 2 coffees ($10) bottle San Pellegrino (7)  (all prices approx) - you're at approximately $38-40 a day, give or take, in drinks alone. Throw in a dessert and your over $50.  $17 per day for crew appreciation. That's already over $60 - without any of the other items.. of course, drink less, less costs. Drink more a few days - lowers the average.  Have room service or ON delivery - lowers how many drinks "break even", etc.  And so forth.  

 

The answer is - maybe.  Maybe not. You'd have to do the math, and be realistic on what you'd consume - or whether you'd try room service or casual dining or whatnot... Maybe 

Edited July 29 by reedprincess

[WisCruiser2]

It really depends on doing the math and deciding if it's worth it to you! Do you have a lot of OBC? That will go toward gratuities and drinks, etc. My husband and I did a 20-day B2B this past year on the Standard fare - we are not big drinkers, have our morning coffee from the International Cafe, and only purchased one internet package (we do get it half off due to Loyalty level). We had a total of $400 in OBC for both legs, with some added due to missing Princess Cays each time, and ended up owing around $365. So for us, the Plus Plan would not have been worth it. YMMV...

[JGmf]

Given the plausible @reedprincess example above, it appears like a coin-flip on value on a pure math basis. 

 

That said, it's your vacation.  Buy it.  Then you don't have to worry about getting one extra of X or another can of Y.  Moreover, you may like the casual dining options and may want to partake.  They are quite good.

[DCThunder]

If it's your first Princess cruise, then spring for the Plus package.  You can then determine if what you get is worth it to you based on your actual consumption of the items you mentioned.

 

But as is also mentioned upthread, OBC can cover a lot of those incidental expenses, depending on how much OBC you might have.

[JimmyVWine]

With the one exception being the first time you step on a scale after returning from a cruise, in all other instances, people rarely say "I wish I had [done/experienced/ordered/tried] less while on my cruise."  But very often, people will say: "I wish I had [done/experienced/ordered/tried] more while on my cruise."  If the math puts you even close to the break-even point, then get Plus and don't look back. It saves you from having to count on your fingers and toes while you are trying to go on vacation, struggling to do the math to determine if you should grab a brass ring that is right in front of you.  Just grab it.  It is almost impossible to come out $15-$20 behind when you have Plus unless you really drink nothing but water all cruise long.  And even if you come out $15 a day behind, what's that?  $105?  Not a lot to pay for trying out the Package to see how it works for you. 

[walkingsoon]

You're close. How port intensive is this cruise?

 

The reason I ask is that you might be consuming fewer drinks if you're ashore most days.

 

Choose one, choose the other. Don't sweat it.

 

Have a fun cruise!

 

Walkingsoon

[ccqueenanne]

Of course you can also buy Plus onboard using OBC. You can also add it at any time before the cruise with a credit card. Personally, I'd not purchase it along with my cruise fare - that just increases any insurance cost. If you stay active on these boards, you should likely hear in advance if there is going to be a price increase for Plus. That would prompt me to pull the trigger to buy ahead with credit card vs waiting until boarding to use OBC.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

 

6 hours ago, reedprincess said:

Mocktail - $10+18% gratuity 

I do believe mocktails are around $5.50+grats. There were quite a few alcoholic drinks for $10.

 

In my opinion, if you don't need internet and you don't drink alcohol, you may not need Plus.

 

[JordanF]

We are pretty much like you but with fewer non alcohol drinks.  We don't think it's worth it, but we promise ourselves that we will buy any drinks we want and not worry about the money.  Kind of the opposite of buying plus and then not worrying about how much you drink.  The key is, make a choice and don't look back, either way.  It's not worth cluttering up your mind over it while on the cruise.

[BlerkOne]

If you get you, you won't have to worry about if you are above or below your daily budget. Unless, of course, that is something you enjoy doing. If you want to try something new, but don't know if you'll like it.

[qoap24]

1 hour ago, BlerkOne said:

If you want to try something new, but don't know if you'll like it.

This is why I usually get the drink package. I am not a big drinker, but when I am on a cruise, I like to try different drinks. The one time I didn't have a package, I got a few drinks I didn't like and I felt like I couldn't go order a different drink because I had just bought one and wasted my money. 

[Leo37]

If you're questioning the value, it's also possible to bring cans of soft drinks / sodas on board. On our last cruise, we took 12 sodas on board and put them in the mini fridge. Might change the balance for you. But generally agree with advice of others, if you think it's 50:50, I'd lean towards getting the package as you're on vacation.

[paddingtonbear]

There is also a zero alcohol package: The package includes all specialty or premium coffees and teas, hot chocolate, fountain sodas, cans of soda, fresh juices and healthy smoothies (from the juice bar), 0.5 ltr bottled water, Frappes at Coffee & Cones, mocktails, and smoothies as per the menu, Red Bull , 330 ml or 0.500 ml sparkling bottles of water, Energy Drink and Milk Shakes.

 

Don't know how much it is in USD.  Sorry. 

 

Someone should know the current prices of mocktails. Profcruise.com said they were closer to $7 + 18% gratuities in 2023.  

 

Edited July 30 by paddingtonbear

[Treasure Hunter]

Wee never get the package but then we stay in a suite and are Elite so we get a nice set up that we trade in for sodas and waters. They give us two free waters a day. I get free drinks in the casino. We use OBC for the gratuities and get half off for the WIFI. If you go 20 minutes early to the theater you will get a seat and nobody needs extra desserts. 

[wcflats]

We usually get the plus.   We like not having to worry about the tips, drinks etc.   it’s all taken care of with the plus package.  If you really are having an issue with the cost you can always just remove the package and pay as you go.   Then see what works the best for you.

We always tip extra if we feel like it.   
We just like the convenience with the package.   Might cost a little more but we don’t worry about that.

[barriedavis]

Here's a rule.  If the Plus package was better for you than Princess, why do they push it all the time, including a gang of people who hijack you when you embark?  I have seen people packing back the alcohol just to get the value of that.  Premium desserts?  I have seen many discarded, hardly eaten.  If you really want an ice cream with a chocolate/biscuit tube and decorations, go for it. Tips can be withdrawn anyway.  Never bought Plus.  Never missed anything it included.

[Torfamm]

18 hours ago, DCThunder said:

If it's your first Princess cruise, then spring for the Plus package.  You can then determine if what you get is worth it to you based on your actual consumption of the items you mentioned.

 

But as is also mentioned upthread, OBC can cover a lot of those incidental expenses, depending on how much OBC you might have.

OBC can also cover the cost of the Plus package if you add it onboard.

[HotRoot]

1 hour ago, Treasure Hunter said:

Wee never get the package but then we stay in a suite and are Elite so we get a nice set up that we trade in for sodas and waters. They give us two free waters a day. I get free drinks in the casino. We use OBC for the gratuities and get half off for the WIFI. If you go 20 minutes early to the theater you will get a seat and nobody needs extra desserts. 

On our last two cruises we tried to get into production shows 15 minutes prior; than 30 minutes prior; then 45 minutes prior.  No two seats together.  We gave up.  The line for the last minute premier seats was longer than the number of seats before any premier people showed up.  Next cruise we upgraded to premier mainly for the reserved seats.  We will use the two specialty dinners and casual dinners.  We will drink the better wine.  We drink about 10 bottles of water a day.  The numbers do add up for us.

 

We never stay in a suite.  We are not Elite.  We do not get free drinks in the casino.  We do not have enough OBC to pay the gratuities.  And I already used what we have for shore excursions.  As stated many times, everybody has to do their own math.  You are lucky you get so much free that you do not need a package.    

[voljeep]

Having a choice is a beautiful thing ... ❣️🥂

[JimmyVWine]

44 minutes ago, barriedavis said:

If the Plus package was better for you than Princess, why do they push it all the time, including a gang of people who hijack you when you embark?

There are many reasons.  Too many to address here.  But perhaps the biggest is that Princess knows that its packages are the best value packages at sea.  By a wide margin.  And if they can get people accustomed to enjoying Princess cruises with fairly priced packages, they will attract new business and retain old business,  Princess is going to make money on drinks and WiFi either way.  The overhead is pennies, and it doesn't matter if they sell 3 drinks a day at $12 each or provide 3 drinks per day to a person who has prepaid for them.  The revenue derived from the $36 drinks is irrelevant.  What they want is the $1,800 that the person paid for the cruise, and the next $1,800 that they intend to spend on the cruise that follows.  The packages aren't "loss leaders" in the truest sense because Princess is not "losing" money by selling them.  But they are "profit suppressors" in that they aren't getting as much profit from people who buy the packages on the things that the packages provide.  But they more than make up for that by getting people to continue to book Princess which offers a $60 per day package compared to many other mid-market cruise lines that charge $80 or more and provide less.    

[Treasure Hunter]

You are right. I can see that packages do work for some people. We hardly get off the ship in the Caribbean. We do our own thing in New England and Bermuda. So no more excursions. We like the iced tea in the dining room. We probably won’t go back to Europe but might to Hawaii. I’m sorry you haven’t gotten into shows. We’ve never had a problem ( just go early). If I have two or three Virgin PinaColadas or Espressos a cruise it’s a lot. May every cruise you take be wonderful. For us, the cost of the packages go towards the bigger cabin with Reserve seating. 

[MsTabbyKats]

We got it on our last cruise.  Because we had it...we got stuff we could have done without.  DH had one glass of wine/day and a couple of cappuccinos.  I had fresh squeezed OJ and coke.  Between us...maybe a dozen bottles of water per day.

 

Bottom line....if I were concerned about the cost (I think it's $20/day above wifi and tips), for my purposes, unnecessary.  But I want DH to enjoy....and I know he would not get these things if they were a la carte.

 

In OP's case....probably not worth it.

[BlerkOne]

1 hour ago, barriedavis said:

 Tips can be withdrawn anyway.

Not with a package. That is one of the reasons they are included.

[BlerkOne]

Many people scrimp and save just to be on a cruise. Once there, let it all hang out.