If you are a Princess Cruiser, this first story might be of interest to you. Princess Cruises, a subsidiary of the Carnival Corporation, has announced changes to their Princess Plus and Premier packages that become available for sailings after February 20th of 2023. Packages are adding extra goodies and offers, but the prices of the packages have also increased. Princes claims they add 60-70% savings. A statement from their president stated, “Adding more content to our much sought-after Princess Plus and Princess Premier packages with the addition of premium experiences including fitness and indulgences not only guarantees an exceptional onboard experience but also ensures our guests have maximum options and superior value when vacationing with Princess,”
Princess Premier includes the Premier Beverage Package, wifi, gratuities, photo package, premium desserts, unlimited smoothies and juices along with unlimited fitness classes and reserved seating at the Princess Theater. All this for just $80 a day. The claim is that it is worth up to $257 a day if you were to purchase everything available individually. The Princess Plus will cost you $60 a day and has similar offerings at a reduced level. As with anything else, you will need to decide which aspects of the packages you would use and figure out if purchasing the package will save you money, or at least break even.
This all inclusive packages are becoming more popular with cruise lines. I expect to see more and more lines offering something similar if they don’t already. Are you one who likes the all-inclusive experience when on a cruise? I like to consider myself a budget cruiser, booking an interior room, sticking to included meals and sailing during off-peak season, but balancing that with spa trips and a beverage package. Let me know in the comments whether you prefer a budget cruise, an all-inclusive experience or something in between.
Not to be left behind, Norwegian Cruise Lines sent out emails to anyone who has a cruise booked with them on increasing their pricing as well. I sure got mine!
At Norwegian Cruise Line, we are committed to delivering exceptional guest experiences at every step of the cruise journey, and with the dedication of our shipboard team, we are able to turn your vacation dreams into reality. As such, we make it easy for guests to show their appreciation for these vacation heroes with discretionary daily services charges, which provide gratuities to key onboard team members, including room stewards, restaurant servers and behind-the-scenes support staff.
Beginning January 1, 2023, we will be making a nominal adjustment to our daily service charges, as follows.
- $25.00 per person per day – The Haven & Suite
- $20.00 per person per day – Club Balcony Suite and below
Luckily, we already have our gratuities prepaid. If you have a cruise booked with NCL, you can get the current price and avoid the price hike if you pre-pay prior to the end of the year.
I think we will be seeing more and more of these price hikes in the next year. Cruise Lines are fighting two major issues:
- Inflation, which we all face
- Shutdown, which cost the lines, with many taking on huge loans.
Despite price increases, booking are up across the board. My advise is to book early. Book as soon as you know where, when and what ship you want to sail on. Prices have almost all been going up and if they do go down, you can ask for a price adjustment. You’re definitely better off booking in advance as much as possible.
Oceania Cruises has just announced a once-in-a-lifetime cruise experience. This Epic cruise will visit 28 ports in 33 days spanning the Mediterranean and hitting must see locations in the Holy Lands, Greece and Italy! Passengers will set sail in October of 2023 on the luxury ship, the Marina. If 33 days is too much for you, they are also offering three 12-day segments of the cruise. None of this would fit into my price range or vacation schedule, but it would sure be a dream cruise!
Our Miracle of the week is the birth of a baby on Royal Caribbean’s Jewel of the Seas. After a pregnant passenger visited the ship’s medical center due to discomfort, it was determined she was in active labor. Thankfully, the premature 2-pound baby was delivered safely onboard the ship by the senior physician who was virtually assisted by a neonatal specialist. It has been reported that the baby and mother are doing fine and were transported to a hospital when the ship reached Ocho Rios, Jamaica the next morning, then transported to a Miami hospital on December 2nd.
At two pounds, this baby is the smallest born at sea, and there is a good reason for that. Cruise lines have very specific rules around cruising while pregnant. Royal Caribbean will not let anyone sail if they are beyond 23 weeks pregnant. And this timeline is similar for most cruise lines. Ships are just not prepared for delivering babies, and that is what makes this such a miracle at sea. The medical centers aboard ship are not fully equipped like a hospital would be, let alone be prepared for a premature birth.
Cruise lines have been reporting record bookings over last weekend due to Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals. Honestly, I didn’t see any awesome deals out there. I checked out several popular lines prior to the sales being posted, then checked those same bookings on Black Friday only to find most were within $20 of what they were earlier in the week. Some were costing more with the “deal” offered. Did you grab a deal last weekend? If so, let me know in the comments what awesome deal you snagged.
ABC news did an exclusive interview with the man at the center of the Thanksgiving Miracle. He stated that he didn’t have that much to drink and that he didn’t remember anything between leaving to go use the restroom and waking up in the open ocean.
I’m not sure about you, but I call shenanigans. In the last several decades of investigations on the around 200 cases of passengers going overboard cruise ships do you know how many were accidental? ZERO! Zero! They found that most were suicide attempt, some involved people being thrown overboard, and some were due to people, mostly intoxicated individuals, making stupid choices like standing on railings or putting themselves in a dumb position for social media clout. Cruise ships are designed to make it all but impossible to accidentally go overboard without making a series of stupid decisions first.
I am so glad this guy survived, and don’t get me wrong… HOW he went overboard doesn’t take away from the harrowing experience he had spending 20 hours in the open ocean, or the absolute miracle of his survival. It may be that he just doesn’t remember the circumstances surrounding how he ended up overboard, but I suspect he had more to drink than he is letting on.
Cruising From The Ozarks 