Princess Cruises has announced a major upgrade to the Princess Premier package which now includes unlimited specialty dining.
This essentially means that those who sail Princess and opt for the Premier package will have a luxury-cruising level experience, being able to choose from all restaurants.
Princess specialty dining restaurants such as Crown Grill, Sabatini’s, Butcher’s Block and The Catch by Rudi will now be much more accessible for those who fork out for the package. Food is one of the single most valued part of sailing with Princess.
Coming on the eve of the wave season in Australia, is seems certain to spark a battle to convince cruisers of who has the best value packages.
Furthermore, the package will now have unlimited WiFi access rather with no device limit, and drinks up to $30 will be included in the beverage part of the package, which is also unlimited.
There will be a price rise, from $95 to $100 per day of your cruise. However, given that the package previously offered just two speciality dining meals per person, this represents a significant jump in value.
However, cruise passengers are sceptical for one very particular reason, will they actually be able to get reservations to their favourite restaurants?
Cruisers worry over reservation availability
While the news has had a generally positive reaction, there’s definitely an undercurrent of scepticism.
Guests have already been reporting a lack of availability when trying to arrange specialty dining reservations.
Now, there’ll be a range of passengers on each sailing with unlimited access to reservations months or years before the cruise starts, could this make it next-to-impossible to get reservations on specialty restaurants from now on? This seems to be what lots of guests are thinking.
Cruiser Michelle Isenhart has a cruise booked for later this year around Christmas time, and already sees no availability for specialty dining.
“Not surprising but with the new changes for Princess premier/unlimited specialty, the number of available time slots is really sad. Not sure how Princess will handle this.
“Recognize it’s a busy time but for a Dec 28th cruise there are zero reservations available at any time, all week for a particular restaurant (Umai Tappenyaki). Crown Grill had limited spots too (most at/after 8pm) as well.”
Other cruisers are also feeling pessimistic after the package changes.
Diane Scougall wrote: “The only issue for me is this: if folk that go for Premier get unlimited Speciality Dining, they may become very difficult to book for folk on Standard or Plus that want to pay for one night in a Speciality Restaurant.”
Bob Goldwasser writes: “I could care less if someone gets the package or not. None of my business what other people do and I respect their individual choices. However, the problem that will arise is you enjoy the specialty dinning, package or not, you will be in for a rude awakening when they are unable to reserve a table because of the overflow of reservations that the restaurants won’t be able to accommodate once this goes live.
“Some people with the new package will undoubtedly make many reservations and not keep them knowing they will not be charged for not showing up and denying others to get reservations. My hope is Princess has a plan for this. I guess we will know when it goes live.”
Kerryn Boratto said: “I’m yet to see it work in practice. I’m thinking there will be no way you can get into a specialist dining every night.”
Geoff King wrote: “It is hard enough getting into those restaurants on shorter cruises since premier came along. We love Sabatini’s and Crown Grill for soecial occasions, but not enough to have to fight over it.”
What drinks can you get?
There’s a wide array of drinks on offer for those with the now-extended Princess Premier. Guests will find themselves choosing between the following
- Top shelf spirits, reserve wines and signature cocktails by celebrity mixologist Rob Floyd
- Selection of 75+ spirits, 40+ wines by the glass, 20+ high-end, crafted cocktails
- Premier wines by the glass including Duckhorn, Stag’s Leap, and Grgich Hills
- Private Woodford Reserve Bourbon Selection created exclusively for Princess
- Personalized Jack Daniel’s Whiskey Single Barrel Select
- 25% discount on wine bottles (including rare vintages)
- 25% discount on large bottles of water
Full inclusions of Princess Premier
- NEW! Unlimited Premier Beverage Package
- NEW! Unlimited Specialty Dining
- NEW! Unlimited MedallionNet Max Wi-Fi
- Unlimited prix fixe meals at any casual dining location: Enjoy unlimited access to casual dining options onboard.
- Unlimited Delivery Service: Complimentary access to all OceanNow and Room Service orders.
- Unlimited reserved seating in the Princess Theater: Enjoy premium seating for all shows and performances.
- Unlimited premium boutique fitness classes per voyage: Stay fit with classes such as Pure Barre, YogaSix, and StretchLab.
- Unlimited premium crafted desserts: A variety of exquisite desserts crafted by Princess pastry chefs.
- Unlimited premium fresh juices: Refresh with an assortment of fresh juices.
- Unlimited photos: Capture memories with an inclusive digital photo package.
- Princess Prizes: Participate in onboard giveaways and win exciting prizes.
- Free Medallion device shipping: Enjoy the convenience of free shipping of the Medallion device to home before sailing.
When will each ship see the changes?
- Enchanted Princess: August 31
- Majestic Princess; Sky Princess: September 1
- Crown Princess: September 2
- Ruby Princess: September 3
- Grand Princess: September 4
- Emerald Princess; Discovery Princess; Sun Princess: September 7
- Caribbean Princess; Regal Princess: September 12
- Royal Princess; Sapphire Princess: September 14
- Island Princess: September 25
- Diamond Princess: September 26
- Coral Princess: October 17
For more information, click here
