New Unlimited Features Make Princess Cruises' Premier Package the Best Value in Cruising

[So_Tweetie]

5 minutes ago, AnyMajorCruiseDude said:

Except that many times, you cannot book before the cruise without paying, so you would have to pay to reserve and then fight with passenger services to get  it back once onboard.  Unless you are lucky and pre booking works for you without charges!  

Are we talking about as Elites? I believe you can book dining anytime regardless of payment status if you are Elite. 

[grimace95120]

From their own press release ( which apparently is not mandatory reading for the Customer "Service"? Reps )

"The enhanced Premier package is on sale today for Princess voyages departing from North America and tomorrow, August 16, for voyages departing from all other destinations, for sailings on or after August 31."

 

Wondering if it would just be easier to buy the new package outright, then cancel the old... but from what I've seen so far on the "support" lines it may be an expensive gamble 

[Sudoku]

Wow.  Not complaining just noting, the premier package costs more per day than each of our 6 upcoming cruises.  

[memoak]

52 minutes ago, So_Tweetie said:

I feel like this new update to the Premier package may have some specific benefit to Elite passengers.

 

This new package, which adds $10 to the daily Premier cost, gives you the option of dining in specialty venues EVERY NIGHT of your cruise.

 

We are given access to dining reservations well ahead of non-elites (who can access them <90 days out), so we are receiving an understated but quite significant recognition by Princess. So, we have first dibs on the tables in specialty venues!

 

If Princess knows what they are doing, they might promote this in the near future.

 

I know many, MANY cruisers are opposed to these packages and I do not want to offend anyone with this post. That said, for the first time in about five years I feel like Princess is making a move that's mutually beneficial to our group. Elites have priority access, and Princess makes $10 more per person, per day regardless of our status.

 

Are you going to upgrade?

 

First they took away our lotion, then they took away our priority boarding, but NOW they give us (pay-to-play) priority specialty dining! 

 

Is this a win? 

I think so!

😜

You are ignoring the fact that all suite guests are guaranteed specialty dining embarkation night. If they all want Crown Grill then that takes a lot of tables out of circulation. 

[trbarton]

Princess has introduced a new Premier package that is now $90 per day vs the old $80 per day. . 
 

Here’s the details. 
 

What do other people think?

 

Tom🤔
 

[AnyMajorCruiseDude]

48 minutes ago, So_Tweetie said:

Are we talking about as Elites? I believe you can book dining anytime regardless of payment status if you are Elite. 

Sure you can book it, but oftentimes it charges you, even though it's supposed to be free.  YMMV, but lots of us have been charged when trying to book in advance.  If you wait to book onboard, good chance you won't get what you want with this new program.

[cheezenip]

1 hour ago, grimace95120 said:

Wondering if it would just be easier to buy the new package outright, then cancel the old... but from what I've seen so far on the "support" lines it may be an expensive gamble 

Not worth the gamble if you value your time...I had to deal with customer support for a few days on a problem after my cruise and it was worse than going through government bureaucracy.

[So_Tweetie]

So I stand corrected- if you are Elite you still sit behind Suite passengers and those who have actually paid off their trips. *clutches pearls*

[qoap24]

With everyone talking about how difficult it is going to be to book SD, can anyone tell me if I book SD in advance and pay, will I be able to go to guest services have them remove the fee from my card and use my OBC? I really do not want to have to spend time at guest services, but I also don't want to miss out on the one night of SD. 

[dog]

When I had a package, I was charged at time of reserving and had to stand in the GS line to get it refunded to OBC. I am elite. My suite booking online precruise did not have me pay when I reserved.  It is just not consistent  or reliable.  Some are having difficulty even getting MDR reservations 60 days before cruise.  Service might suffer in Specialty & casual restaurants if they can’t handle the number of passengers reserving every night. Not for me.

[Mara4166]

5 hours ago, So_Tweetie said:

 

We are given access to dining reservations well ahead of non-elites (who can access them <90 days out), so we are receiving an understated but quite significant recognition by Princess. So, we have first dibs on the tables in specialty venues!

I am platinum and can book dining before full payment on all of my booked cruises so it is not just elites.  I thought all previous customers could book before final payment, but it could just be platinum and elite.

[MsSoCalCruiser]

16 hours ago, PacnGoNow said:

Better book your SD as soon as you can.  May be very difficult to get SD reservations.  

 

 

I already am having problems with getting reservations. 🕠

[dog]

Attracting families to the new Princess ships must not be working so well if they had to come up with this gimmick.  Really, how many use 8 devices? Fitness classes daily? Extra desserts more then once a day?

I understand some like a worry free no bill at the end of their cruise and it is nice to have a choice.

 

if Princess does away with Standard they will be losing us.

[clarky213]

I was looking at upgrading from Plus to premier before the change,  12 days  x £15 x 2 would have been £360. The difference is now £25 per night so a total of £600. 

I don't think will be upgrading now as I can make better use of that £600 and still enjoy my Plus Package.

I have already booked and paid for 2 nights in Crown Grill, that is enough for me in Speciality Restaurants as we don't really do Sabbitini's and they are the only 2 options on Emerald.

 

I did email my cruise planner on 6th August to upgrade and have not received any reply. Now I know why. Probably hoping for more commision on the upgrade at a higher cost.

Edited August 16 by clarky213

[MsSoCalCruiser]

16 hours ago, JimmyVWine said:

As the saying goes...time will tell.  For my September cruise on Sun, I can get any SD reservation I want for any night I want except for Umai Teppanyaki which appears to be fully booked every night.  Now, this new package for my cruise does not become available for sale until tomorrow, and when it does, I imagine that there may be people flooding the reservation system after upgrading.  I will check again tomorrow and see if reservations are still as easy to get and then make up my mind if I want to upgrade.  On most ships I would not do this given the limited selection of SD options.  But on Sun, this could be well worth the cost. 

Looking at October SD on the Sun there is hardly anything available. The only times that I’m finding or after 9:10 PM. We like to dine early.

[insidecabin]

 

I suspect the new unlimited will open up more on cruise tables as people will book every night on the fear of not getting a booking then decide on the ship which ones they will actually use.

 

We go talk to the restaurant if the app says no.

 

[Cruisemeister2002]

Huge error if you ask me. Speciality dining should be just that "Special" it doesn't become special if you can go at will when you feel like it and if those that go for the Premier Package decide that the fare is better than in the MDR's they will be there every night so denying anyone who want's a special evening the chance to get in. Princess have done this as they are guaranteed extra income regardless of whether a passenger uses all the facilities or not. Will those who can't get in to a Speciality dining area be reimbursed the extra they have to pay ? I doubt it.

[dog]

I expect there will be changes in the menus when this goes into effect. 
I remember my first Princess cruise and how wonderful the the service and menus were compared to now, in Sabatinis & Crown Grill.

[PacnGoNow]

2 hours ago, MsSoCalCruiser said:

I already am having problems with getting reservations. 🕠

I bet they already blocked some of the reservation capacity.  Especially, Crown Grill, The Catch and Teppanyaki.

[TAW1963]

9 hours ago, rheathslc said:

FWIW I've priced out the lowest cabin class on Viking compared to a similar cabin style (Mini-Suite) and extras on Princess and it's about the same. 

Granted that includes a lot of extras that you would have to pay for on Princess that are just included with Viking. But if you like those extras and would pay for them on Princess anyway it might be worth checking out Viking.

 

Viking inclusions that cost extra on Princess:

Excursions in every port

Beer and wine with lunch and dinner

Thermal suite access

Specialty Dining

Internet

 

There might be more. I'd have to consult the spreadsheet I created.

 

When I added that all up it was actually a tiny bit less expensive on certain Viking voyages on a per day basis.

 

That's also comparing to a mini-suite which I prefer but can't always afford. 🙂 Any cabin class lower than that, Princess is still going to be a better deal in most cases.

 

I have been looking into Viking as well.  My figures are consistent with yours.  We have been booking M6 Reserve class mini-suites on Princess (Royal class ships only), with many more booked.   For many itineraries, we can cruise on Viking in a DV cabin for considerably less than our M6 cabins on Princess, especially if you wait to find a really good promotional code for Viking.  We still plan to cruise on Princess, but will likely be adding a few Viking cruises into the mix.

[leck57]

1 hour ago, dog said:

I expect there will be changes in the menus when this goes into effect. 
I remember my first Princess cruise and how wonderful the the service and menus were compared to now, in Sabatinis & Crown Grill.

 Sabatinis is still top class in my book.

[skynight]

I don't see this as much of an loyalty benefit. Loyalty benefits are provided at normal costs, or provide a discount to normal costs, such as wifi. They are considered paid for by being a return customer.

While I do enjoy a meal in some specialty restaurants, I can't imagine dining in them every evening. Imagine the calories and bloating feeling. It's similar with the unlimited alcoholic beverages. There will be some that consume more than 15/day, but most will remain under that number. Example, fifteen 6 ounce glasses of wine equals 2.7 liters. That's more than 3 bottles/day.

Most of the benefits are just to justify the price increase, to move some from the plus to premier fares and to partially compete with some cruise lines that don't charge extra for things like specialty dining. 

[latebloomer56]

We are lucky enough to have a suite this upcoming cruise and I booked our first night in Sabitini's without being charged. Going forward we will be Elite and may pass on any package, we have plus this cruise I like no charges at the end. We will not bother upgrading just not worth it to us. We only have 2 specialty options on a 16 day cruise and 2 casual dining possibly a pop up none of interest but will go to Alfredo's. No interest in special cakes or ice cream, classes, and only use 1 tablet each for wifi. You need to look closely on which ship and what's available for the SD, do you want the same menus, would you use this every night?

[So_Tweetie]

4 hours ago, Mara4166 said:

I am platinum and can book dining before full payment on all of my booked cruises so it is not just elites.  I thought all previous customers could book before final payment, but it could just be platinum and elite.

I thought this was an Elite perk but that is awesome if it applies for Platinum as well!

[So_Tweetie]

4 hours ago, dog said:

Service might suffer in Specialty & casual restaurants if they can’t handle the number of passengers reserving every night.

This and availability are my biggest concerns.