Price Increase on Specialty Dining

[voljeep]

6 minutes ago, 555 said:

I keep forgetting that you always eat late & sail in a suite.

It makes a big difference I suppose. 

60+ cruises and upgraded to suites from casino offers also ... if that also makes a difference🙄

[Astro Flyer]

2 hours ago, Boku said:

On my recent cruise I paid in advance to dine at Crown Grill and The Catch and didn’t have a gratuity added to my onboard account, I guess I was the lucky recipient of a mistake.

 

2 hours ago, PacnGoNow said:

Yes you were lucky.  They may have missed it.  It used to be included in the price and we always left a tip.  

On Discovery in April, I was half lucky. ☺️

 

The 18% tip cover charge was added to our prepaid Sabatini’s dinner however not to our prepaid The Catch dinner…an accounting mistake that benefited us. 🤑

 

[PacnGoNow]

10 minutes ago, Astro Flyer said:

 

On Discovery in April, I was half lucky. ☺️

 

The 18% tip cover charge was added to our prepaid Sabatini’s dinner however not to our prepaid The Catch dinner…an accounting mistake that benefited us. 🤑

 

Consistency, is the name of the game, at PCL. 😆

[Kay S]

My personal solution is to avoid all the SDs and book Reserve dining (might even save me money at this rate.🙂)

[Steelers36]

On 8/24/2024 at 10:52 AM, voljeep said:

18% 90 = $16.20 ... we would have tipped around $20 anyway in cash ... now it will go thru the folio - too bad for them

The same percentage tip was already baked in with the previous pricing scheme.  PCL has whacked us with two recent price increases.  First, upped the price with grat still included, and then kept the new price sans grat and adding it on top.  I suppose it lets them advertise a lower entry price, but not the final price you pay.  So, it becomes misleading to the uninformed until seeing the small print on the menu.  SD locales like CG now almost double the pre-pandemic rate.  Inflation hurts.

[Steelers36]

On 8/24/2024 at 12:09 PM, LACruiser88 said:

I chatted with four different DRO's this week and they are pulling their hair out figuring how to accommodate the SD requests that will be coming with this new Premier upgrade.

 

As usual, corporate management did not discuss this upgrade with them prior to the decision to offer it.  

Same as with DMW.  If PCL HQ ever launched anything correctly, I'd fall over in dead faint.

[Steelers36]

On 8/24/2024 at 12:16 PM, Abercrombie2019 said:

The menus on Princess.com all show this line (this one is from The Catch).

 

 

but FAQs for Crew Appreciation shows this -

 

It's kind of like shooting fish in a barrel to find conflicting or out-of-date info on Princess.com.

[PacnGoNow]

On 8/24/2024 at 11:19 AM, h20skibum said:

Ah, got it.   That should have been an indication where prices for the rest of the fleet were headed.

 

Now I wonder how the app will differentiate between the old Premier and the New Premier.  It shows two SD eligible under current premier.  Maybe they will rename the new premier to something else.

Probably “New Premier “ 😂 

or

Premier90, most likely…🙄

[memoak]

14 minutes ago, Kay S said:

My personal solution is to avoid all the SDs and book Reserve dining (might even save me money at this rate.🙂)

You do realize you cannot “book” reserve  dining. Only full suites and reserve mini suites can eat there 

[Steelers36]

IDK about the changes for SD locales.  The competition for a table may rival getting a Sanctuary lounger in the winter on a Caribbean voyage.  Perhaps if I want a better steak, I will just order it in the MDR (hopefully, they will keep that option available).  Lot less hassle and so what if I miss the CG dessert choices?  

[Astro Flyer]

2 hours ago, PacnGoNow said:

Consistency, is the name of the game, at PCL. 😆

You forgot the 2nd word to describe Princess too often…consistently inconsistent. 😆

 

[ColoradoMom!!]

1 hour ago, Steelers36 said:

IDK about the changes for SD locales.  The competition for a table may rival getting a Sanctuary lounger in the winter on a Caribbean voyage.  Perhaps if I want a better steak, I will just order it in the MDR (hopefully, they will keep that option available).  Lot less hassle and so what if I miss the CG dessert choices?  

I was thinking about this as well.  What are the reviews on the upcharge steaks ?? I am trying to talk my husband out of SD 😆. We don't cruise with any package as we total about 3 beverages we pay for per week total (share 1 wi-fi and we do pay CA in full).

[echoshipmate]

5 hours ago, cruisinsince75 said:

Not true!  Another case of someone being misinformed.  I upgraded to Unlimited Premier just this week and was able to book all 7 nights Crown Grill and Sabatini's on the app without a charge.  

Me too.

[PacnGoNow]

1 hour ago, Astro Flyer said:

You forgot the 2nd word to describe Princess too often…consistently inconsistent. 😆

 

LOL 😂 I didn’t want to be too consistent!

[reedprincess]

4 hours ago, voljeep said:

how much of my cruise fare did I pay for that night in the mdr that I am not using?

$5 or so, if reports of how much of your fare goes to included food are accurate.

Most reports from recent years say, on average, $13-16 or so of the fare goes to food, per day. So, maybe $5 for that MDR meal - if that?   Granted, times that by 3000 and it's a huge food budget for all the included venues, but you're definitely not getting top shelf quality for that $$$.  The specialty dining is a step up in quality, with the added pricing...

[kywildcatfanone]

5 hours ago, voljeep said:

how much of my cruise fare did I pay for that night in the mdr that I am not using?

Only you can assign the value to the cruise options you partake in are worth, whether it be food, entertainment, room services, etc.

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, ColoradoMom!! said:

I was thinking about this as well.  What are the reviews on the upcharge steaks ?? I am trying to talk my husband out of SD 😆. We don't cruise with any package as we total about 3 beverages we pay for per week total (share 1 wi-fi and we do pay CA in full).

Same as served in CG.  Plate comes from there.

[startedwithamouse]

On 8/24/2024 at 9:09 AM, LACruiser88 said:

I chatted with four different DRO's this week and they are pulling their hair out figuring how to accommodate the SD requests that will be coming with this new Premier upgrade.

 

As usual, corporate management did not discuss this upgrade with them prior to the decision to offer it.  

Being sarcastic here. Since when did anyone at corporate ever get feedback before implementing anything?

[startedwithamouse]

3 hours ago, Kay S said:

My personal solution is to avoid all the SDs and book Reserve dining (might even save me money at this rate.🙂)

Probably what Princess wants to hear - more funds spent with guests booking Reserve Collection cabins. Same idea with sanctuary suites. 

[canadarocks]

To reference the OP's post.... Just booked our unlimited specialty dining for our February cruise and every restaurant is indeed showing as $45 per person. 

[Kay S]

7 hours ago, memoak said:

You do realize you cannot “book” reserve  dining. Only full suites and reserve mini suites can eat there 

Yes, I know that.  By book, I meant get an appropriate cabin.

[555]

15 hours ago, memoak said:

Even at home our dinner time is 7:30 on normal evenings. Never eat lunch before 1:00 either. Just our style   I know many people who cruise want to eat as early as possible I even see them lineup outside the deck 5 MDR as early as 4:30 which frees things up for us. We rarely go to any show in the theater but enjoy the music pre dinner in the Wheelhouse or other venues

Glad to free things us for you....That would be us at the head of the line waiting to get in. 😁

[dog]

14 hours ago, memoak said:

You do realize you cannot “book” reserve  dining. Only full suites and reserve mini suites can eat there 

Interesting. Months ago I booked Signature dining for 5:30 for 4 days of my October cruise as I am in a Sanctuary balcony.  My reservations showed on the app. UNTIL this morning- everything has disappeared even the 3 Specialty dinners I paid for by credit card.

 

[555]

2 hours ago, dog said:

Interesting. Months ago I booked Signature dining for 5:30 for 4 days of my October cruise as I am in a Sanctuary balcony.  My reservations showed on the app. UNTIL this morning- everything has disappeared even the 3 Specialty dinners I paid for by credit card.

 

I called Princess yesterday & they said that would happen. 

[budfred09]

We have made reservations for a upcoming cruise at the old price will they honor that price are can i expect them to charge the new price when I get on board. thanks