Princess is going to announce next week that they are changing their pricing structure so that passengers have the option to include drinks, WiFi, and gratuities in the fare (the Best.Sale.Ever was so popular that they decided to make it a permanent fixture).
So this got me to thinking “is it worth it to pay for your own amenities”?
First a bit of background.
When you go on a cruise there are three main elements of your price: the actual fare, the taxes and port fees, and the goodies. The goodies are things like beverage packages, shore excursions, or pretty much anything else you pay for either as an addition to the fare ahead of time, or charged to your ship board account.
The cruise lines differentiate themselves on how these things are included (or not). If you sail on many of the mass-market ships to the Caribbean, normally nothing is included. The good news is you’re getting on board for cheap. The bad news is your onboard charges will often exceed the cruise fare you paid in the first place.
At the other end of the spectrum are lines like Regent Seven Seas. The fare on Regent includes everything: your drinks, gratuities, shore excursions, and just about every thing else. This works great for the person who is going to use all those amenities. However, if you don’t drink, for example, you end up paying for something you’re not going to use.
Other lines, like Celebrity and Oceania, have two pricing structures: a lower “cruise only” fare, and secondary fare structure that give you a choice of extra goodies. It appears as though Princess is going this way as well (although we’ll have to wait to see their announcement next week).
The criticism of such pricing structures is that you end up paying for your own benefits. However, I think it is great to have the choice.
We don’t yet know the difference between the Princess Saver Fares (cruise only) and the Princess Plus Fares (includes drinks, wifi, gratuities), but a tiny bit of math will make it clear very quickly which one is best for you.
The gratuities are $13 per day, and if you buy an all-inclusive beverage package it will be about $60 per day. However, the beverage package is really only worth what you think you would consume. So you’ll need to guess how many beer (@ $6), mixed drinks (@ $8) and/or wine (@ $10) you’ll drink every day. That is the value of the beverage package.
WiFi is also something that will have a different value for different guests. For me WiFi is worth $0. On most cruise ships it is painfully slow, and I end up using my cell phone when I’m in port, and paying the roaming charges to connect my computer. However others will place some value on WiFi, and if we’re talking specifically about Princess, then their upgraded WiFi might be worth it.
So if you’ve been waiting your entire life for that one situation to use the skills your 6th Grade math teacher tried to impart to you through word problems, now’s your big chance.
It is quite possible that paying for your own amenities could be great value for you. Conversely, you might be better off buying a cruise-only fare, and paying as you go for certain amenities.
You gotta do the math.
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Sue Bradley
Sue Bradley
