Rare fun_one Posted July 12, 2012 #501 Share Posted July 12, 2012 I didn't have time to read the entire thread (sorry) but the title of it got my attention. My husband and I just returned from a week (6/30/12 - 7/7/12) in Alaska on the Golden Princess and were upgraded at the last minute to a PH on the Sky deck which was FABULOUS! We got all the perks including the internet which we really enjoyed. We were not on that long at any given time but it was great to check email occassionally, etc. I do want to let you know that the breakfast in Sabatini's every morning was the best! We took advantage of that a lot and avoided the crowds and lines in the buffet. We didn't realize about the free cover at the Specialty restaurants the first night until the 2nd night so didn't get to take advantage of that but we did enjoy dinner at the Crown Grill one night. Personally, I think the dry cleaning and laundry is a great perk - how nice to come home with almost all clean clothes! Barbara Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
compozer Posted July 12, 2012 #502 Share Posted July 12, 2012 An alternative view on the issue of internet usage at sea here: Part of the magic of cruising for me is escaping from the "real world" and being completely "off the grid" for several days. Here at home I am on call 24/7 and must carry 2 smartphones (on and completely charged at all times). There is a large segment of cruisers, I imagine, who are exactly like me and who could care less about the internet while on a cruise. BUt for many of us retired folks, we like the internet and want to keep in touch with friends and family. Everyone has a different reason for cruising. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highheel girl Posted July 12, 2012 #503 Share Posted July 12, 2012 I didn't have time to read the entire thread (sorry) but the title of it got my attention. My husband and I just returned from a week (6/30/12 - 7/7/12) in Alaska on the Golden Princess and were upgraded at the last minute to a PH on the Sky deck which was FABULOUS! We got all the perks including the internet which we really enjoyed. We were not on that long at any given time but it was great to check email occassionally, etc. I do want to let you know that the breakfast in Sabatini's every morning was the best! We took advantage of that a lot and avoided the crowds and lines in the buffet. We didn't realize about the free cover at the Specialty restaurants the first night until the 2nd night so didn't get to take advantage of that but we did enjoy dinner at the Crown Grill one night. Personally, I think the dry cleaning and laundry is a great perk - how nice to come home with almost all clean clothes! Barbara Was this your first Princess cruise? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highheel girl Posted July 12, 2012 #504 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Yes, that was one of the first benefits they took from full suites. Mike:( Minis had them for awhile too! :eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pablo222 Posted July 12, 2012 #505 Share Posted July 12, 2012 No, Princess has not caught up with technology yet. I half-believe that it's intentional. You want your customers to spend money. If it is too easy to check how much they have spent, they will be more aware, and potentially limit their spending. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam in CA Posted July 12, 2012 #506 Share Posted July 12, 2012 And when you do, you will be sharing that dedicated line at the pursers desk with the 300 Elites onboard who are not in suites. :DSeveral ships now have a monitor, printer and card swipe at the PSD where you can swipe your card and it'll print out your folio. Little or no line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdcruiser Posted July 12, 2012 #507 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Fyi! i sent a "concerned" email to princess customer relations yesterday and received the following reply today: For those passengers who have a suite booking made prior to july 15, 2012, we will honor the offer of complimentary internet for that voyage. Please see the passenger services desk during your cruise and they will waive any internet charges. We look forward to welcoming you onboard. Sincerely, princess cruises customer relations specialist customerrelations@princesscruises.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtb55 Posted July 12, 2012 #508 Share Posted July 12, 2012 An alternative view on the issue of internet usage at sea here: Part of the magic of cruising for me is escaping from the "real world" and being completely "off the grid" for several days. Here at home I am on call 24/7 and must carry 2 smartphones (on and completely charged at all times). There is a large segment of cruisers, I imagine, who are exactly like me and who could care less about the internet while on a cruise. At the end I f the day, I enjoy sitting and checking email, FB, whatever. I'm traveling with my three sons and their wives and girlfriends and plan to have dinner with them on the first night aboard. I have no interest in the specialty restaurants the first night. To each his own, I guess. Denise Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruisin Sal Posted July 12, 2012 #509 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Thanks for the info on the suite free internet. I e-mailed Princess today and they said they would honor the complimentary internet. We'll see! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunviking Posted July 12, 2012 #510 Share Posted July 12, 2012 We're currently on the Crown and have free wi-fi. I received the e-mail others did after I boarded the ship in Venice saying we were grandfathered in. The internet manager is a delightful lady named Amy who told me before I read the e-mail. Connections are slow, but we have them. Billing is different from previous cruises where we bought a package and it was credited back to you account. Now when we log on it asks us to purchase minutes. When we click on that a page comes up saying "Complimentary suite internet access" or some such for $.00 for 0 ,minutes. You click on that and away you go - v-e-ry- s-l-ow-l-y! Anyway, we're happy Princess took care of the issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishin' musician Posted July 12, 2012 #511 Share Posted July 12, 2012 We're currently on the Crown and have free wi-fi. I received the e-mail others did after I boarded the ship in Venice saying we were grandfathered in. The internet manager is a delightful lady named Amy who told me before I read the e-mail. Connections are slow, but we have them. Billing is different from previous cruises where we bought a package and it was credited back to you account. Now when we log on it asks us to purchase minutes. When we click on that a page comes up saying "Complimentary suite internet access" or some such for $.00 for 0 ,minutes. You click on that and away you go - v-e-ry- s-l-ow-l-y! Anyway, we're happy Princess took care of the issue. Poor Amy, the first day of our cruise she was inundated with a crowd around her, shouting in multiple languages, most were older and had enough trouble just using their devices, let alone trying to connect to the ship's internet. She has the patience of a saint. I had a few laughs with her, she said she wanted to throw all the wireless devices in the sea. We kidded about her being employee of the month, she said she suspected they gave her that so she wouldn't quit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Tom-n-Cheryl Posted July 12, 2012 #512 Share Posted July 12, 2012 We're currently on the Crown and have free wi-fi. I received the e-mail others did after I boarded the ship in Venice saying we were grandfathered in. The internet manager is a delightful lady named Amy who told me before I read the e-mail. Connections are slow, but we have them. Billing is different from previous cruises where we bought a package and it was credited back to you account. Now when we log on it asks us to purchase minutes. When we click on that a page comes up saying "Complimentary suite internet access" or some such for $.00 for 0 ,minutes. You click on that and away you go - v-e-ry- s-l-ow-l-y! Anyway, we're happy Princess took care of the issue. Thanks for the information! I wonder if the "free" suite internet is somehow able to be throttled back... hmmm (or is it always SUPER slow like you describe)? Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caribill Posted July 12, 2012 #513 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Now when we log on it asks us to purchase minutes. When we click on that a page comes up saying "Complimentary suite internet access" or some such for $.00 for 0 ,minutes. You click on that and away you go - v-e-ry- s-l-ow-l-y! Anyway, we're happy Princess took care of the issue. In the past opnce accounting has closed out Internet access for thsoe without unused minutes on a package, some suite passengers found they also could not access the Internet because even $.00 minutes could not be purchased at that time. Verify with Amy that you will still have that access after accounts are closed out that last evening of the cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare azbirdmom Posted July 12, 2012 #514 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Poor Amy' date=' the first day of our cruise she was inundated with a crowd around her, shouting in multiple languages, most were older and had enough trouble just using their devices, let alone trying to connect to the ship's internet. She has the patience of a saint. I had a few laughs with her, she said she wanted to throw all the wireless devices in the sea. We kidded about her being employee of the month, she said she suspected they gave her that so she wouldn't quit.[/quote'] I would imagine that they didn't give much of a heads-up to their internet managers either, and they probably bore the brunt of angry passengers. I'm very glad that Princess decided to rethink their stance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IECalCruiser Posted July 12, 2012 #515 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Everyone's experience varies. We have not done a TA or been to Europe. But even sailing 'Round the Horn or to Hawaii we have not had significant issues with speed when using our PC. We mostly check e-mail. We use Outlook and read and write e-mails off line. We typically use between 2-4 minutes to upload/download. Now using the ships PC at the Internet Cafe is a different matter as they are excruciatingly slow. Forgot my PC on an Alaska cruise two year ago and attempted to check my e-mail in the Coral's Internet Cafe on a Sea Day and burned up more than 20 minutes of our Platinum time before I gave up with no success. Fortunately our iPhones worked just fine with the ship's WiFi for the rest of the cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Woobstr112G Posted July 13, 2012 #516 Share Posted July 13, 2012 We're currently on the Crown and have free wi-fi. I received the e-mail others did after I boarded the ship in Venice saying we were grandfathered in. The internet manager is a delightful lady named Amy who told me before I read the e-mail. Connections are slow, but we have them. Billing is different from previous cruises where we bought a package and it was credited back to you account. Now when we log on it asks us to purchase minutes. When we click on that a page comes up saying "Complimentary suite internet access" or some such for $.00 for 0 ,minutes. You click on that and away you go - v-e-ry- s-l-ow-l-y! Anyway, we're happy Princess took care of the issue. Ann; Thanks for the real time update. Hope you two are having a great cruise.....:):):) Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdsqrl Posted July 13, 2012 #517 Share Posted July 13, 2012 BUt for many of us retired folks, we like the internet and want to keep in touch with friends and family. Everyone has a different reason for cruising. I cruise to give my friends and family a break from keeping in touch with me. They seem to have no complaints . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iamcruzin Posted July 13, 2012 #518 Share Posted July 13, 2012 It looks like they need to update the video. Listen to the complementary amenities of a full suite. Fast forward to staterooms http://www.princess.com/video/dvd/PrincessExperienceCE09.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBestIsYetToCome Posted July 13, 2012 #519 Share Posted July 13, 2012 It looks like they need to update the video. Listen to the complementary amenities of a full suite. Fast forward to staterooms http://www.princess.com/video/dvd/PrincessExperienceCE09.html Probably why they're letting this ride until the 15th -- to get some of these materials deleted or updated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balloon Man Posted July 13, 2012 #520 Share Posted July 13, 2012 So, if you want free internet in a PH, and today being Friday the 13th of July, you have two days to book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matcodixon Posted July 13, 2012 #521 Share Posted July 13, 2012 So, if you want free internet in a PH, and today being Friday the 13th of July, you have two days to book. Correctimundo! If you are a Platinum or Elite, you will still get your free minutes package. If not, you will have to suffer with all the other perks and purchase internet packages like the rest of us. Fortunately they are not that expensive especially when purchased in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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