Can Princess keep giving free internet to Platinums?

[SpeakerOfMind]

I don't even want to think about this... but on a recent cruise on the Diamond I was just shocked at the high percentage of Platinum members. When I first got MY platinum card (before Elite came along) I felt like a rarity. But now, with so many loyal customers to their product... can Princess really continue to give internet access away to people who've cruised more than five times? Has anyone ever heard of a travel benefit for frequent cruisers being rescinded?

[LARGIN]

No word yet but one never knows...

[Toto2Kansas]

Heck, I figure by the time next March rolls around and we finally sail on our first cruise as Elite Members they will probably do away with the free laundry and dry cleaning........................................

Nothing like having almost 200 days with Princess before hitting that magically Elite. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

[LARGIN]

Heck, I figure by the time next March rolls around and we finally sail on our first cruise as Elite Members they will probably do away with the free laundry and dry cleaning........................................

Nothing like having almost 200 days with Princess before hitting that magically Elite. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

 

I agree.. I have the same number of days as you and finally reach Elite after my cruise next week.

[Dreamer333]

I know that what I am about to say is very GENERAL... and of course it being GENERAL means that is does NOT apply to everyone...

 

I imagine that most Elite passangers are "older"... I would imagine that most internet users are "younger"... therefore I would imagine that Princess DOES make a profit off of internet usage.

 

Of course, more and more people are becoming internet savy, and "younger" travelers DO become "older" travelers, so of course this (profit in internet cafe) can change.

[Toto2Kansas]

I know that what I am about to say is very GENERAL... and of course it being GENERAL means that is does NOT apply to everyone...

 

I imagine that most Elite passangers are "older"... I would imagine that most internet users are "younger"... therefore I would imagine that Princess DOES make a profit off of internet usage.

 

Of course, more and more people are becoming internet savy, and "younger" travelers DO become "older" travelers, so of course this (profit in internet cafe) can change.

 

LOL I resemble that remark! :D :D

[seattlekckckc]

As far as the free internet goes, aside from maintaining the hardware whih would be done anyway, the internet doesnt really cost Princess anyway. Yes, I would probably pay some to use it if I was not Elite, however, I certainly wouldnt use it nearly as much! And as for the older crowd who normally isnt as internet savvy, they may check there wmail, but they more than likely wouldnt PAY to do it! So Princess only gains a happy repeat customer for a few minutes on their computer. Unless it is like the Sun/Dawn, where monitors are limited, I am not taking away business. There are never that big of crowds there anyway.

 

Now, the Elite laundy/mini bar/flowers is another story. Those DO cost money. So...we shall see...

 

As far as there being alot of Platinums, becasue you are one, you notice it more. I found that when I turned Elite. I certainly starting seeing black cards around more and more. There are still so many new cruisers each cruise, that I see the agog at Gold cards often! "Wow! What is that for??" I think they think the gold is more special than Plat and Black becasue it is fancier looking!

 

Casey

[riekl]

Umm internet costs them almost nothing to provide :) Its not like they are loosing money.

[Dreamer333]

LOL I resemble that remark! :D :D

 

Phew, was expecting to get a flame thrown my way! :)

[calikak]

I think a lot of west-coasters get platinum status faster because we can easily hop on the short coastals. I'll have platinum status for our British Isles cruise after only 20 nights of cruising and at age 28, because we've done a one-night cruise and we're doing a 2-night cruise and a 3-night cruise before the British Isles cruise. Personally, I think it's very unfair to set up the system this way because it rewards people like myself who live on the west coast and take short cruises, instead of people who are the really loyal customers who take longer voyages. I'm a loyal fan of Princess and I'm glad to get the perks, but I don't think it's a smart way for Princess to run the program because it really makes the people who take long cruises angry. So, I think it's only a matter of time before they start awarding status (or at least elite status, since it has most of the really great perks) based on days at sea instead of number of cruises. I'll be sad for myself when that happens, but I do think it's more fair that way.

 

That being said, us wired west-coasters who are able to attain platinum so quickly do tend to use the internet a lot, so they probably are losing a lot of money by giving us free internet. But the costs of internet access will continue to decline over time as technology improves and the number of users increases. So I think it won't end up being that huge of a loss of revenue for Princess in the long run. But that's just my guess.

[Druke I]

True, those of us on the West Coast have an easier time hopping on the two and three nighters up and down the coast - but even without those, I would have Elite Status, and have several cruises that were 15 nights or longer. If I could talk my wife into it, we would take one of P&O's 90 night round the world cruises.

 

Older passengers - yes, we might not be as computer savvy as some of the younger people, but that does not mean we are incapable. (No offense was meant, nor was any taken)

[Lynda90]

One of the reasons I stay with Princess is the free Internet and Laundry/Dry Cleaning/Bar Set-up as an Elite member. To me, the free laundry service is a huge benefit; especially on those longer cruises. If they took those perks away, I might be looking around at other lines. I think Princess realizes that these perks are valuable to their loyal customers and it would not be in their best interest ($$) to remove them. Gold becomes Platinum and Platinum becomes Elite. IMHO, it would not be a good business move to eliminate these perks. I wouldn't be surprised however, to see another tier added sometime in the future.

 

Regarding younger vs older use of Internet, no matter what age the passenger is, if they are still working, chances are they are pretty computer-literate. As a matter of fact, many retired seniors are taking computer classes and are becoming far more sophisticated in using the Internet than they ever were before. This is not a flame, just an opinion.

[fllcruiser]

Not all Platinum or Elite cruisers take advantage of the free internet. I have been Platinum for some time, the last thing I want to do on a cruise is use the internet or a cell phone. One of many things I like about cruising is relaxing with out cells,phones,faxes and e-mail.

[Crowsie]

I took my 5th Princess cruise to get me to elite just so I could have free internet access for our next cruise. The cruise cost me just a few hundred bucks (had free tickets on NW that I had to use or lose).

The few hundred that the Galveston cruise cost me was less money than what we spent in the internet cafe on the Sapphire in March.

 

So..I got an extra cruise and my husband's company got free internet access while we were gone so he could work.

 

Pretty sure that me getting the extra cruise was a better deal than his company getting the free internet....but I'm sure not complaining :D

[marco]

All of the "elite" perks are fairly newly inititated. I don't think they will put the nix on them in the immediate future. By charging EVERYONE for lots of little things they never used to charge for is probably how they can give the bennies they do give. Also, if you had laundry or dry cleaning done on a ship, the prices are a bit pricy, but what it actually costs them to provide these services is probably only a fraction of what they charge. Same with the mini bar set up. Like in hotels......that coke they want $2.50 for in the mini fridge is 99 cents a 6-pack acoss the street at Walgreens.

[Murphey]

There is rumor of a new level (from our last circle hostess), but it's all done by percentages. When the Platinum level had a certain percentage of past passengers, then they instigated the Elite level. So, the Elite level has to grow pretty strong before they introduce a new level. They have indeed talked about the next level being total # of days. Therefore it could be possible to bypass Elite and be in the top tier. No idea what the # of days is though that they would be thinking about, and we were assured it is 2-3 years out. And, yes, the bennies on Princess keeps us tied to her. We had sailed on several other lines and had been happy with the other lines, but the Elite level, now has us tied to her. If they were to ever "recind" the benefits, we would definately not be as "loyal"!

[ericosmith]

I walked into the internet cafe one time on the CB last week and it was full. My observation was that there were a number of "young" people camped out there rather permanently. I had to wait to use a terminal and then there was no bandwidth available. I don't care who it's free to, but there should be some way to keep a few people from living there so the rest of us paupers get at least a fair shot at paying.

[Globaliser]

Umm internet costs them almost nothing to provide :)

And they need to have it up and running for their own company ship-to-shore communications.

 

I hate the Internet gouging that goes on on most ships, knowing just what the real economics of it are.

[Commodore Suzy]

I just wanted to add that the wired internet is free for Platinum and Elite, but did you notice that the new wireless Wi-Fi installed on all ships is clearly stated in every press release NOT free for us Captain's Circle Princess junkies? I think they're going to start reaping the benefits of the Wi-Fi for the true internet warriors. Again, a low initial cost for them and then gravy forever....;)

[allpoints]

I always thought that there was too much of a gap between Platnium (5 cruises) and Elite (15 cruises). It seemed to me that creating loyalty levels after 5, 10 & 15 cruises would have made more sense. They could have reserved the free internet for the 11+, thereby reducing the numbers. I agree, it is insane when you go to the Internet Cafe, everyone is in there for free and in no one is in a hurry to get off the computers.

[sandydownunder]

I agree with you Dreamer 333. I was on the Zuiderdam last year and the shore/shopping consultant was giving away prizes.One was free internet use on the ship. The guy who won it declined, so they pulled out another ticket. The next was a lady who also declined. Third time lucky. I was wanting to win it but it wasn't me.The two who declined were about my age. (60)

[mommykim]

Hello all,

I an also Elite with 20+ Princess cruises under my belt and though I've never bothered to count the total days I haveat sea with them I know it's well over 200. I too asked the Circle Hostess when we were on the 3/26 sailing of the Grand if she thought the benefits would continue. She said they were going to add another tier once Elite was over 10% of the total Circle. She thinks they will likely grandfather in changes to the system though. Elite would stay the same, the new level would get something else and the lower levels wouldstart to lose things. She also heard it is "possible" that they will change Platinum to 10 cruises and Elite to 20 but if you already have been given thatstatus you keep it. That way it only effects "new" cruisers which isn't really true. I am like a lot of you and chose Princess at times because of the free laundry & internet.

Kim

[AlainBob]

I agree, it is insane when you go to the Internet Cafe, everyone is in there for free and in no one is in a hurry to get off the computers.

On our last cruise (5th with Princess), I was still Gold and I had to pay for Internet use... So, I didn't stay longer than 10 to 15 minutes each time and it cost me around 30$ for the whole cruise...

 

Now, I'm Platinum and believe me, I will use it as much as I can on our next cruise (next March). But don't worry, I do not intend to stay in front of a computer all day long... I do it every day as a programmer :rolleyes: !

 

...but I just hope that Princess will keep it as it is right now: free internet for Platinum members !

 

Alain R.

[merela]

Is the internet access for Platinum/Elite members limited to the use of computer/internet in the internet cafe/library or can platinum/elite members with a notebook (with wireless potential) use the wireless option near the atrium for free?

 

Just wondering.

[LARGIN]

Only the computers in the internet cafe are free for Platinum/Elite.. Wireless cost $$ regardless of your Princess status..