Earlier this month, Cruise Hive reported that Princess Cruises would be raising the cost of the daily crew gratuity and onboard WiFi; however, it seems the cruise line is now adding even more price hikes to its onboard programs.
The onboard beverage prices are increasing, which can be deduced by a price increase for the Plus Beverage Package, where the price per drink available is now a maximum of $15 instead of $12 per glass for the plus beverage package, and $20 per glass for the premium beverage package. Another price hike will be for the specialty dining options onboard, going up by $10 per person.
Cruising is Becoming More Expensive
Princess Cruises is rolling out even more price hikes following the increased crew gratuity and WiFi costs announced earlier this month. Pricing for the individual onboard beverages, as well as the beverage packages, will be increased by several dollars for all cruises sailing after February 19, 2023.
Beverage packages will also increase in price, with the cruise line now charging $64.99 per passenger per day, up from $59.99 previously for the Plus Beverage Package. The package includes all beer, spirits, wines by the glass, and cocktails for $15.00 and under, as listed on the onboard menus.
That’s not all. The premium beverage package also costs more now, going up to $84.99 instead of the $79.99 charged previously. As the beverages available under this package have gone up to a maximum of $20 per glass, Princess Cruises seems to be raising prices across the board. These prices do not reflect the actual price guests will be paying, as the 18% gratuity charge will also be added.
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Raising the prices is a push from the cruise line to get guests to purchase the beverage packages, which still cost significantly less than those available from other cruise lines.
On top of that, Princess Cruises recently made several changes to its premium packages, offering several benefits to purchasing a premium package.
Specialty Dining Price Hikes
The increases do not stop there. Pricing for specialty dining, such as the Crown Grill and Sabatini’s, will be going up by as much as 25% from February next year.
Bistro Sur La Mer, a French specialty dining restaurant present onboard Discovery Princess, Enchanted Princess, Majestic Princess, and Sky Princess, will cost guests $39 per person from February 2023 onwards. This is a $10 increase from the current price of $29.
Crown Grill, the steakhouse featured onboard most Princess cruise ships, will see the same price increase, costing $39 on all cruises from February 2023 onwards. Sabatini Trattoria will cost guests $35 per person, up from $25.
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The price increases for beverage packages and specialty dining do not come as a surprise. Over the last couple of weeks, most cruise lines worldwide have been forced to increase their pricing.
Princess Cruises increased Wifi and gratuity charges, Carnival Cruise Line implemented charges for onboard dining, and Norwegian Cruise Line implemented a gratuity hike. The savings that cruise lines are trying to make continue beyond there.
Yesterday, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings announced several changes to its senior leadership and a 9% reduction in its shoreside workforce.
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