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

[kirtihk]

Does anyone know when Princess will release their Winter 2027 itineraries?

[grimace95120]

"I think that the person you spoke with was wrong.  Shocking!! "

 

Lets just say the gentleman i was speaking to did not instill a lot of confidence in me re his level of knowledge 

[Wishing on a star]

Vol,  yes, we will keep that option in mind as well.

 

[Wishing on a star]

4 minutes ago, gailisacruzin said:

Not so sure sure about New Premier has reserved seating for all shows or just production shows cause there is conflicting wording in several places

Good question.  I wonder what people who have recently been onboard could report about that.

Not all 'shows' in the Arena are the production shows.

 

That question, and the question about the future itineraries should be posted as a separate thread !

[beg3yrs]

We have four upcoming cruises booked with Premier which vary in length from 12 to 54 days.

 

We've never reached our fifteen drink limit and don't think we ever will so the addition of unlimited drinks means nothing to us.

 

Our ships are the Island Princess (54 day), Emerald Princess (12 and 29 day) the Regal Princess (12 day). Not a huge choice in various SD venues on these ships. Since we already get two SD meals each, for us it doesn't seem to be worth it to upgrade.

 

Possibly with the Sun Princess which has a lot more SD choices we'd go for it on a longer cruise.

[beg3yrs]

8 minutes ago, gailisacruzin said:

Not so sure sure about New Premier has reserved seating for all shows or just production shows cause there is conflicting wording in several places

On the Sun Princess in June it was just for production shows.

[kpauley]

I can see an increase in Plus to cover an additional "Crew Appreciation" charge. NCL is $20, Holland at $17, and Royal's has been $18 for several months. Not saying it's going to happen, but won't be surprised.

[voljeep]

15 minutes ago, LACruiser88 said:

I'll bet $$$ that it will be unlimited casual dining.  That has been one of the biggest complaints on Plus.  No matter how long the cruise, it was only 2 casual dining. 

P went big on the specialty dining change in Premier - from 2 no matter the length of the cruise to unlimited.  

 

So , I completely agree about the PLUS change to unlimited casual dinings

[Mara4166]

1 hour ago, 555 said:

Then why purchase Premier if your only going to eat in SD 2 times? Unless you're planning on doing some heavy drinking? 

 

We have been purchasing premier on all cruises under 10 days.  With 2 SD per cruise and more expensive wines the value has been worth it.  Now with additional SD it is worth more on longer cruises.  I would expect to be able to book an SD venue at least 2 times per week now that it is unlimited and would hope for compensation if it is not available at least that amount.  

[JGmf]

My own 2 cents:

 

Given very plausible SD capacity issues, it seems odd they'd provide unlimited SD with Premier to accompany the price hike.  The cost/benefit of passengers being shut-out of dining venues (and ticked-off), fleet-wide, versus the $10/day increase doesn't seem smart.  Maybe it will incentivize more people to buy it?  I'm assuming they know better than us.

 

Shoot, they could've increased Premier by $10/day without offering anything new and none of us would've been shocked. 

Edited August 15 by JGmf

[rheathslc]

40 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

But...but...but...PRIZES!!!

I like Prizes. 😁

 

But I absolutely would not pay separately to sign up. It's just a fun extra when I get Premier. 

[Mara4166]

56 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

 So if an increase is coming, so too must a change. What do you suppose it will be?  2 included SD visits?  

 

I would expect Plus to include unlimited Casual dining with an increase in price.  My main issue with the old premier package was you only received 2 SD meals regardless of the length of the cruise.  The same applies to Casual dining with Plus.  Moving plus to unlimited Casual would increase the value for a lot of people.

[jshli]

On Aug. 7th, Princess announced Medallion net max wifi which will be included in the plus and premier packages, (both new and existing).

In the announcement today, Princess announced that the enhanced Premier package will include unlimited medallion net max Wifi. I am assuming that since I have the original Premier package, I will be upgraded to the medallion net max wifi for 4 devices instead of unlimited devices in the new enhanced max wifi package and I will  be able to order up to 15 alcoholic drinks per day instead of unlimited alcoholic drinks under the enhanced  package.  I do not plan on upgrading as the original premier plan more than meets my needs. 
I am glad I have prebooked 2 specialty restaurants (at no charge), as I agree with others that it may become more difficult to book reservations in these restaurants, especially if they don’t allow you to book until onboard. I am also concerned that the casual restaurants will be a lot more crowded. 
I hope with more people having the max wifi package it won’t slow everything down to the wifi speed before the enhancements. This is my first Princess cruise (previously sailing only on Celebrity) and I feel as though I need a scorecard to keep up with all their changes. 

[555]

21 minutes ago, Mara4166 said:

I would expect to be able to book an SD venue at least 2 times per week now that it is unlimited and would hope for compensation if it is not available at least that amount.  

Good luck. 

[Mara4166]

1 minute ago, 555 said:

Good luck. 

Probably as much chance of getting compensation for no SD availability as getting free room service for desserts with no package purchased.

[JimmyVWine]

21 minutes ago, Mara4166 said:

 

I would expect Plus to include unlimited Casual dining with an increase in price.  My main issue with the old premier package was you only received 2 SD meals regardless of the length of the cruise.  The same applies to Casual dining with Plus.  Moving plus to unlimited Casual would increase the value for a lot of people.

I agree.  I have a 14 day cruise planned and only get 2SD included with Premier. Now I can get unlimited SD dinners...for the low, one-time only payment of... $140.  (Or $128.80 if I can use an AARP Gift Card). I have to consult with the travel companions to see if they want to go this route.  

Edited August 15 by JimmyVWine

[DCThunder]

All this additional revenue from this new Premier package price increase must be well received by the investor community, since CCL stock is up 6.71% today. 🍸

[FLAlaska]

1 hour ago, Wishing on a star said:

Jimmy,  more specifically, the question is, why are some people booking SD and it is not being charged if they have a package...  But some people who also have a package, the system is having them pre-pay for it.

I just chalk that up to 'Princess'...  

Yep.. Princess IT...

[whitecap]

2 minutes ago, DCThunder said:

All this additional revenue from this new Premier package price increase must be well received by the investor community, since CCL stock is up 6.71% today. 🍸

Speaking on behalf of myself, who is heavily invested, a big THANK YOU to all who continue to purchase the beverage packages!! 😁

[Mara4166]

2 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

I agree.  I have a 14 day cruise planned and only get 2SD included with Premier. Now I can get unlimited SD dinners...for the low, one-time only payment of... $140.  I have to consult with the travel companions to see if they want to go this route.  

 

It is a hard decision.  We have a 17 day TA booked for 2026.  I did splurge and booked it as premier which is unusual for us with a long cruise. 

 

The problem is we do like the MDR and do not want SD every night.  So do we want to eat at a SD restaurant every 3 days to make it worth upgrading to the new plan on that cruise?  It is on the Sky with only 3 SD, and we really do not like Sabatini's (except for the suite breakfast).  We are on the Sky in November for a Med cruise this year so will be trying Rudi's for the first time.  That will probably help us decide if we upgrade for 2026.

[Mara4166]

1 hour ago, Wishing on a star said:

Jimmy,  more specifically, the question is, why are some people booking SD and it is not being charged if they have a package...  But some people who also have a package, the system is having them pre-pay for it.

I just chalk that up to 'Princess'...  

 

Could it be an App versus website issue?  I always book via the website and have never been charged.  Maybe people who book via the App are charged and people who book via website are not????

 

it would be typical for Princess IT

[CruisinChandlers]

8 minutes ago, Mara4166 said:

Could it be an App versus website issue?  I always book via the website and have never been charged.

 

Maybe. I just looked and the website says to make dining reservations via the Princess App. Where on the website do you make dining reservations?

[TRLD]

21 minutes ago, Mara4166 said:

Probably as much chance of getting compensation for no SD availability as getting free room service for desserts with no package purchased.

Based upon the language that they have had in the past saying that SD availability on some cruises may be limited, probably not.  Will be interesting when they update the terms and conditions  for the premier changes.

[Mara4166]

1 minute ago, CruisinChandler said:

 

Maybe. I just looked and the website says to make dining reservations via the Princess App. Where on the website do you make dining reservations?

 

In cruise personalizer when you use the web version of the App.  I do not think it has all of the feature of the full App, but I find it easier to use with a full monitor, keyboard and mouse

[Retired-N-Happy]

6 hours ago, whitecap said:

"Also Carnival".

Sorry Jon, Carnival still has a 15 drink limit.