Princess Tinkering with packages again

[arxcards]

Just over a year since the last package tweak that created old & new plus/premier packages, Princess is making changes to their premier package again. The news was out a few days ago, so maybe this isn't creating the stir that Princess is hoping for. Among the package tweaks, the 15 drinks becomes unlimited, and the 2 x specialty restaurants per cruise is becoming unlimited. The internet is also supposed to be faster. The Aussie price will jumps by $5 to $100.

 

On the shorter Aussie cruises, it has already become near to impossible to get a table at Crown Grill since Premier was launched. Now that it becomes the gluttony package, 7 to 10 nighters are likely to have capacity tested. As for those on the short relocation or Eden cruises, specialty restaurants will be sold out before you board. Imagine 110 nights of consecutive dining at Sabatini's and Crown Grill - those fitness classes might come in handy after all.

 

As for ambience, I think we will give them a miss and revert to Ultimate Balcony dining for special occasions. Although the package has been dumbed down over the years and getting more expensive by the year, is not much more than 2 x specialty meals and it comes with a personal touch.

 

No FOMO from me on this one. If I already had a premier package, I would be unlikely to even pay the $5 per day to upgrade to the extra extras. The Princess systems currently have dead pages all over the place and aren't currently showing an Aussie premier option during the booking process. There is a standalone Aussie link that is showing this - note, for bookings after 31st August.

 

 

[resordanis]

Well said Geoff. We also have the Ultimate Balcony Dinner at times, which we really enjoy. We have reverted to just getting the standard fare on our next few cruises. I think we will be ahead as we certainly didn’t use the package to the fullest on our Sydney to Yokohama cruise. As the next few are Australian cruises we will not need the internet as much. If it was an overseas cruise well we would definitely consider a package, but never the premium.

 

[Ozwoody]

What's the difference between "casual dining meals" and "speciality dining meals".

Their both charged extra for?

[arxcards]

3 minutes ago, Ozwoody said:

What's the difference between "casual dining meals" and "speciality dining meals".

Their both charged extra for?

Casual dining meals are for Salty Dog, Alfredo's and the like. These were inclusive to everyone, but last August they changed them to a cover charge - I think $19.90pp rings a bell. 

- For plus, they include 2 per cruise.

- For premier, you can eat there every day for N/C, the way it used to be for everyone.

 

Specialty are the typical top dining and are now upward of $60pp - Crown Grill, Sabatini's etc. 

- Inclusive for suites on night one

- Inclusive for premier, currently two per cruise, becoming unlimited with the $5 price rise on 1st September.

[Ozwoody]

54 minutes ago, arxcards said:

Casual dining meals are for Salty Dog, Alfredo's and the like. These were inclusive to everyone, but last August they changed them to a cover charge - I think $19.90pp rings a bell. 

- For plus, they include 2 per cruise.

- For premier, you can eat there every day for N/C, the way it used to be for everyone.

 

Specialty are the typical top dining and are now upward of $60pp - Crown Grill, Sabatini's etc. 

- Inclusive for suites on night one

- Inclusive for premier, currently two per cruise, becoming unlimited with the $5 price rise on 1st September.

Seems like Princess is going the politicians ways,

"Promise you everything, give you nothing,

and before you get it, take it off you".

Edited August 20 by Ozwoody

[MicCanberra]

Just noted that we checked our Feb 2025 booking, and the system doesn't come through as unlimited specialty dining for the cruise.

[arxcards]

32 minutes ago, Ozwoody said:

Seems like Princess is going the politicians ways,

"Promise you everything, give you nothing,

and before you get it, take it off you".

They deliver better than most on their packages, but for those without a package there are a few detractions. One is the specialty restaurants being full-on busy and lacking the ambience that used to be part of the attraction.

 

Making Alfredo's a paid venue all happened a year ago, and Salty Dog already attracted a charge on most ships. Also adding a delivery fee for medallion delivery also added a one-off fee, but that allows for room service of just about everything for the length of the cruise.

Edited August 20 by arxcards

[arxcards]

3 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

Just noted that we checked our Feb 2025 booking, and the system doesn't come through as unlimited specialty dining for the cruise.

It won't, unless you upgrade to the $100pp version.

[SinbadThePorter]

As a non-drinker I'd like to thank all the purchasers of plus and premium for subsidising my cruises.

 

Seriously though, there is not a single item in the new premium package that I feel the slightest interest in paying for, apart from the internet which I can get for half price anyway.

 

I'm expecting Princess to start a teetotallers tariff to make up for the shortfall. 🤑

[Relaxing Robbies]

1 hour ago, SinbadThePorter said:

As a non-drinker I'd like to thank all the purchasers of plus and premium for subsidising my cruises.

 

Seriously though, there is not a single item in the new premium package that I feel the slightest interest in paying for, apart from the internet which I can get for half price anyway.

 

I'm expecting Princess to start a teetotallers tariff to make up for the shortfall. 🤑

Even the discounted internet is more than I want to pay just to check a few emails. For cruises where we will be in port every 2nd day we do not even bother now,we just check our emails and do any necessary banking etc when we are in port with mobile data. If we have a long stretch at sea we can always buy a single day if required.

[JLC0912]

We usually do not do the speciality dining anyway.  If we want really good food, we can do that at home or go to some really nice restaurants at the cities we go to pre and post cruise.  We got the Plus package, mainly for the internet because we like to stay connected. The drinks are nice, but we could go without. IMO, cruising vacations are a nice way to relax, enjoy the ocean view, and see some new places without the bother of having to unpack all the time.Plus, I enjoy not having to plan meals or cook for a number of days.  We care much more about the itinerary than speciality restaurants.

[JLC0912]

@Relaxing Robbies.  How much is a single day?

Edited August 20 by JLC0912

[Jean C]

You'll be able to tell who is and isn't on the new premier package - those on the package will be pigging out on the unlimited premium desserts [yuk] and then desperately trying to lose the extra lard at the unlimited gym sessions, or worse still, lining up at the medical centre for stronger cholesterol reducing pills!

[arxcards]

4 minutes ago, JLC0912 said:

@Relaxing Robbies.  How much is a single day?

I believe the current US Pricing is $25 per day, or $12.50 for Captain's Circle elite.

 

AU pricing is $38 per day, or $19 for Captain's Circle elite.

[Relaxing Robbies]

11 minutes ago, JLC0912 said:

@Relaxing Robbies.  How much is a single day?

I am not sure of the current price, but might pay for one day on our next cruise in November.

[arxcards]

3 minutes ago, Jean C said:

You'll be able to tell who is and isn't on the new premier package - those on the package will be pigging out on the unlimited premium desserts [yuk] and then desperately trying to lose the extra lard at the unlimited gym sessions, or worse still, lining up at the medical centre for stronger cholesterol reducing pills!

We have done a couple of short cruises on premier. Those desserts were unlimited last year too, but we have yet to bother with one of those diabetic laced concoctions. Everyone is different, but we saw the value in a couple of nights of specialty dining coupled with top shelf liquor, a session with a good ship photographer and a chance of winning something on Princess prizes.

 

The prizes disappeared late last year (without any announcement), and the specialty dining isn't as special when the restaurant is jam packed, and your waiter is run off their feet. I think am happy to stick to plus, where I could still get gorged on two of those desserts each day but choose not to. Specialty dining is hardly special if it is daily dining.

[SinbadThePorter]

42 minutes ago, arxcards said:

Specialty dining is hardly special if it is daily dining.

 

The thing about specialty dining is that the Princess MDR is quite good. It's not like P&O Oz, where there is a definite incentive to dine elsewhere.

 

If I were to put a number on it, I'd say that the Princess MDR experience is 95% as good as any of the specialty restaurants. I really don't feel that paying extra for that 5% is worth it.

 

Of course, your mileage may vary. 🍽️

[Jean C]

19 minutes ago, SinbadThePorter said:

 

The thing about specialty dining is that the Princess MDR is quite good. It's not like P&O Oz, where there is a definite incentive to dine elsewhere.

 

If I were to put a number on it, I'd say that the Princess MDR experience is 95% as good as any of the specialty restaurants. I really don't feel that paying extra for that 5% is worth it.

 

Of course, your mileage may vary. 🍽️

I totally agree about the MDR, we've always had a good experience there, aside from the main meals which I've never found cause to complain about, the desserts are a veritable work of art.

[aussielozzie18]

Still happy to stick with the standard fare.  We all survived in Alaska without internet, fancy desserts and no specialty dining.  More than happy with our meals in the MDR on the Grand for those 8 nights.

[CDaze71]

Can some please explain to me the extra costs now if I was to book standard vs old old Plus. Forget Premier, I'd never get that. I'm Elite and get those perks, so keep that in mind. 

When cruising first resumed I did Coral, and booked Plus, and it included Ocean Now, Alfredo's etc. 

So if I was to do just Standard now,  what is the cost to add delivery everywhere like we had when it was in Plus? Thanks. 

[arxcards]

52 minutes ago, CDaze71 said:

Can some please explain to me the extra costs now if I was to book standard vs old old Plus. Forget Premier, I'd never get that. I'm Elite and get those perks, so keep that in mind. 

When cruising first resumed I did Coral, and booked Plus, and it included Ocean Now, Alfredo's etc. 

So if I was to do just Standard now,  what is the cost to add delivery everywhere like we had when it was in Plus? Thanks. 

If you do standard now:

Alfredo's/GiGi's has a cover charge of $23pp. So does Salty Dog for those ships coming with it aboard, but these mostly had a cover charge anyway.

- Ocean Now delivery is a one-off $23 charge for all things ordered via the app. You can do it one charge per cabin if you only use a single account to do all of the ordering.

- Doorknob breakfast menu is still N/C and not connected to Ocean now.

- Other room service (in cabin menu) is $7.50 per delivery

 

You will pay $65 less per day though, so that is a fair saving on two sittings at Alfredo's and $23 per cruise for your delivery. As long as your coffee, water, sangria, internet balances out, standard is still the way to go for many. The main benefit to plus is still as a drink package, regardless of how they cloud the package with all these other bits.

 

PS: ships with Alfredo's/GiGi's pizzeria also have N/C pizza by the slice on the pool deck. You can order just individual courses at Alfredo's for an ala carte price instead of the 3 course $23 option. I don't have prices on me.

Edited August 20 by arxcards
PS

[Belmont Babe]

51 minutes ago, CDaze71 said:

 

So if I was to do just Standard now,  what is the cost to add delivery everywhere like we had when it was in Plus? Thanks. 

$15.00 per person for the whole cruise no matter what length. That could be US$.

[arxcards]

1 hour ago, SinbadThePorter said:

 

The thing about specialty dining is that the Princess MDR is quite good. It's not like P&O Oz, where there is a definite incentive to dine elsewhere.

 

If I were to put a number on it, I'd say that the Princess MDR experience is 95% as good as any of the specialty restaurants. I really don't feel that paying extra for that 5% is worth it.

 

Of course, your mileage may vary. 🍽️

I would put MDR at 80% of Crown Grill at its best, but that is only when the grill waiters have time to serve you properly. Even then, I have often requested an MDR crème Brule for dessert while in Crown Grill. Since they did away with their tasting plate, it is all a bit plain after enjoying the beef overload of the main course. 

 

But yes, unlike P&O, we could happily dine MDR every night on Princess.

[OzKiwiJJ]

3 hours ago, SinbadThePorter said:

"

The thing about specialty dining is that the Princess MDR is quite good. It's not like P&O Oz, where there is a definite incentive to dine elsewhere.

 

If I were to put a number on it, I'd say that the Princess MDR experience is 95% as good as any of the specialty restaurants. I really don't feel that paying extra for that 5% is worth it.

 

Of course, your mileage may vary. 🍽️

In the last couple of weeks of the world cruise I was starting to get a bit tired of the MDR selections although, apart from the odd exception, the quality was still very high. There seemed to be less variety than I recall from the 2019 Hawaii/Tahiti cruise and not some many luxury items on formal nights. 

 

We did go to Sabatinis three times - once was a wine matching dinner, the other times had the regular Sabatinis menu. 

 

Personally I thoughts the pizza by the slice from the pizza bar on the Lido deck was better than we'd had in Alfredo's in 2022. 

 

We had the original $40 Plus package. We didn't bother upgrading it as we didn't want the silly speciality desserts etc. We just wanted the internet, bottled water, cocktails, and coffees. Since the wines by the glass aren't to our taste the money we saved on not upgrading it went on buying bottled wines at the 25% discount. I think we've come out well under budget on those! 😊

[JLC0912]

We were planning on doing 1-2 specialty restaurants on our next cruise, but now we will not be doing any.  No way would I be willing to pay extra for a restaurant that is overbooked.  I am sure the food and service will be taking a hit since workers will be overworked.