Yet Another Elite Perk Fades Away…

[beg3yrs]

I thought when you have a longer cruise, over 17 days or more, the internet minutes go to 500 each person.So then it wouldn't matter that not treated as two 10 day cruises.this was true in the past for our longer cruises.

 

 

The threshold for the 500 minute package is 21+ days. Therefore two 10 day cruises versus a 20 does matter.

 

We're booked on the 64-day last voyage of the Ocean Princess. It is not being broken into segments (yet). Boo hoo. Going to have to s-t-r-e-t-c-h those complimentary minutes.

[PrincessMelody]

They have changed their policy on crediting cruise credits to be automatic some time late last year.

Their allotment of minutes still varies depending which ship you're on. Some bridge unused minutes on B2B and some don't.

 

We always do B2Bs, and recently on both the Royal and the Regal, we were told that unused internet minutes would not carry over to the next segment. :(

[RDC1]

When you book a cruise as a 20 day instead of two 10 days, it makes sense that Princess should treat it as one 20 day when it comes to benefits. If you were both a veteran and a shareholder you would get $100 additional obc by booking it as a 20 day instead of two 10's. I booked mine to get that benefit over the additional internet minutes. In most longer cruises the advantage is usually with booking two b2b, instead of one longer cruise. With two 10 day cruises there is not any clear advantage.

 

They currently give us the ability to look at the options and determine how we want to book the cruise. We can look at the pro's and con's concerning benefits, pricing, etc. and make our own decision based upon which benefits us the most.

 

They are still giving two cruise credits, even if you book one 20 day, instead of two 10s.

[caribill]

It's generally cheaper to book a B2B as one cruise instead of separate. On my upcoming B2B I was told by my TA that if I booked as one cruise I would only get one cruise credit, so I booked it as two. On the second leg we will become Elite which is why I booked it that way.

 

And your TA was incorrect as you would get one cruise credit for each segment no matter how you booked it.

 

This has been true for several years, and if you did not get past credit for multiple segments booked as one cruise you can still get it for cruises back to December 2009 by calling Princess.

[fishywood]

It actually is essential to distinguish between the elite benefits that carry up from platinum and earlier statuses and those which are unique to elite. Most of the latter come in the form of full suite benefits passed down to elites no matter which cabin category they book. And the OP indicated he received all those benefits throughout both legs of their cruise. We know internet falls under the first category--in fact full suite passengers with fewer than five prior Princess cruises get no such benefit at all. Perhaps it would be fairer if like other lines Princess gave an increased internet benefit to elites, whether more free minutes or a significant discount on purchasing additional. But while discussing other lines, many that offer a large number of segmented bookings are 100% strict about "one booking number, one bucket of benefits" while Princess has only made a single change to eliminate what some (and I don't necessarily mean myself) view as double-dipping. Yes, I know we all have different deal-breaker benefits for which the principle is more important than the cost. The OP wants his free internet; me, I'll just settle for a cruiseline that has not in the past few years arbitrarily changed the qualifications for moving up levels and still offers a fair and equitable package to those of us still working toward reaching the top. (I think that describes Princess perfectly, don't you?)

[caribill]

When booking B2B cruises as a single cruise we have always received a full allotment of free internet minutes at the beginning of each cruise segment. This no longer is the case…at least onboard the Royal Princess. We cruised on the Royal for 20 days embarking January 28th.

 

We were very disappointed to learn that those who booked the two 10-day cruises as one 20-day cruise receive only one allotment of free internet minutes while those who booked the same two cruises as individual cruises received two allotments. We have sailed two 10-day cruises at the same time of year three times previous to this year’s cruise, booked as individual 10-day cruises and as a 20-day cruise and have always received a full allotment of free internet minutes at the beginning of each segment.

 

We and others who booked two 10-day cruises as a 20-day cruise were very disappointed with the obvious inconsistency with which free internet minutes were being credited. I received a telephone call from them this week. The CR representative understood my pain, but confirmed this is Princess policy on free internet minutes.

 

Think how the person who books a 111 day World Cruise as a single cruise feels when learning that he/she only gets one allotment of 500 minutes for the entire voyage. That is about 4.5 minutes a day.

[Lovetocruiseprincess]

And your TA was incorrect as you would get one cruise credit for each segment no matter how you booked it.

 

This has been true for several years, and if you did not get past credit for multiple segments booked as one cruise you can still get it for cruises back to December 2009 by calling Princess.

Yes, but the TA was doing them a favor by booking them as 2 cruises so they would be Elite on the 2nd leg.

 

We always do B2Bs, and recently on both the Royal and the Regal, we were told that unused internet minutes would not carry over to the next segment. :(

 

When we were on the Royal last Nov the minutes carried over & was told that it was a fluke in their program but that he wouldn't remove them. It looks like they've corrected it. :( We didn't get a carry over on the CB in Feb either.

 

[UpcountryTravelers]

Really? You're calling me out on that?

 

Are you saying free internet minutes are not part of the Elite Benefits Package? Come on...

 

Lew

 

He is correct. They are part of the Platinum benefits package, not Elite. Which you earned at 5 cruises. You did not have to wait until 15 cruises to get the internet package. The Elite package consists of bar setup, laundry, etc., not internet.

[beg3yrs]

He is correct. They are part of the Platinum benefits package, not Elite. Which you earned at 5 cruises. You did not have to wait until 15 cruises to get the internet package. The Elite package consists of bar setup, laundry, etc., not internet.

 

Sorry to tell you he is not correct. The very first part of the Elite package description says: "All Platinum Member benefits plus:"

 

[shepp]

I think he's saying that plat benefits are eroding as well if this policy holds.

 

Precisely. But that sound less dramatic as a subject line, I guess.

[UpcountryTravelers]

Sorry to tell you he is not correct. The very first part of the Elite package description says: "All Platinum Member benefits plus:"

 

 

He is correct. Internet benefits are Platinum, not Elite. Of COURSE you do not lose your 5-cruise benefits when you reach 15, but you gain NO internet benefits at Elite. There are no Elite internet benefits.

[pablo222]

There are no Elite internet benefits.

 

Huh?

[cruiselvr1]

When booking B2B cruises as a single cruise we have always received a full allotment of free internet minutes at the beginning of each cruise segment. This no longer is the case…at least onboard the Royal Princess. We cruised on the Royal for 20 days embarking January 28th.

 

We were very disappointed to learn that those who booked the two 10-day cruises as one 20-day cruise receive only one allotment of free internet minutes while those who booked the same two cruises as individual cruises received two allotments. We have sailed two 10-day cruises at the same time of year three times previous to this year’s cruise, booked as individual 10-day cruises and as a 20-day cruise and have always received a full allotment of free internet minutes at the beginning of each segment.

 

The above is especially troubling since in every other way our 20-day booking was treated as if we had booked two 10-day cruises:

 

• We received a mini-bar setup at the beginning of each cruise.
  
• We received a free wine tasting invitation for each cruise.
  
• As suite cruisers we received a complementary Crown Grill meal on each cruise.
  
• As suite cruisers we received a complementary flower corsage and boutonniere on the first formal night of each cruise.
  
• We received credit for each of the two cruises in our Captain’s Circle Cruise History.
  
• There were separate folios for each 10-day segment
  

We and others who booked two 10-day cruises as a 20-day cruise were very disappointed with the obvious inconsistency with which free internet minutes were being credited. I notified Princess Customer Relations via email ( CustomerRelations@PrincessCruises.com ) and received a telephone call from them this week. The CR representative understood my pain, but confirmed this is Princess policy on free internet minutes. She did state that Princess listens to its customers and if enough people were to express their disapproval of this policy, there is a very good chance Princess would reconsider its position.

 

If you feel as I do about this arbitrary policy, please contact Princess to express your disapproval. Thanks…

 

Lew

Princess should not be scre.... around with their bread and butter(elites). My DW is a platinum and I am a ruby, I can see messing with our benefits, not elites. If you do a cruise lets say 28 days, and you separate it as three different cruises instead of one, and you are able to get the same cabin, will you be able to be the benefits of a b2b2b.

[beg3yrs]

There are no Elite internet benefits.

 

If there are no Elite Internet benefits, why do Elite members get Internet Benefits?

[CruisenOne]

I was always under the belief that the Internet Café was run by an Independent Contractor; not by Princess.

 

Could it be that the Contractor changed their Policy:confused:

[shredie]

If there are no Elite Internet benefits, why do Elite members get Internet Benefits?

 

 

This has turned into the silliest argument. Elite members get internet benefits because they already had them as platinum. Minibar is a totally elite benefit since the platinum didn't have it. Why are we even talking about this? LOL

[beg3yrs]

This has turned into the silliest argument. Elite members get internet benefits because they already had them as platinum. Minibar is a totally elite benefit since the platinum didn't have it. Why are we even talking about this? LOL

 

Yes, it is silly! We're guilty of arguing how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.

 

Hmm ... does that make us pinheads?

 

No need to answer that ...

[dstables]

When booking B2B cruises as a single cruise we have always received a full allotment of free internet minutes at the beginning of each cruise segment. This no longer is the case…at least onboard the Royal Princess. We cruised on the Royal for 20 days embarking January 28th.

 

We were very disappointed to learn that those who booked the two 10-day cruises as one 20-day cruise receive only one allotment of free internet minutes while those who booked the same two cruises as individual cruises received two allotments. We have sailed two 10-day cruises at the same time of year three times previous to this year’s cruise, booked as individual 10-day cruises and as a 20-day cruise and have always received a full allotment of free internet minutes at the beginning of each segment.

 

The above is especially troubling since in every other way our 20-day booking was treated as if we had booked two 10-day cruises:

 

• We received a mini-bar setup at the beginning of each cruise.
  
• We received a free wine tasting invitation for each cruise.
  
• As suite cruisers we received a complementary Crown Grill meal on each cruise.
  
• As suite cruisers we received a complementary flower corsage and boutonniere on the first formal night of each cruise.
  
• We received credit for each of the two cruises in our Captain’s Circle Cruise History.
  
• There were separate folios for each 10-day segment
  

We and others who booked two 10-day cruises as a 20-day cruise were very disappointed with the obvious inconsistency with which free internet minutes were being credited. I notified Princess Customer Relations via email ( CustomerRelations@PrincessCruises.com ) and received a telephone call from them this week. The CR representative understood my pain, but confirmed this is Princess policy on free internet minutes. She did state that Princess listens to its customers and if enough people were to express their disapproval of this policy, there is a very good chance Princess would reconsider its position.

 

If you feel as I do about this arbitrary policy, please contact Princess to express your disapproval. Thanks…

 

Lew

 

Our experience in the last 4 years with booking the 20 day Caribbean cruise, the first 3 years on the Emerald and this year on the Royal is that if we booked as a 20 day cruise with only one booking number then we only ever got 250 minutes of Internet for the 20 days. I had asked Princess as why I was not getting 250 minutes for every 10 segment that made up the 20 day cruise and was advised that I would have had to book it as 2 - 10 day cruises each with different booking numbers. What Princess said simply is that one booking number then one Internet package on the 20 day cruise. 2 booking numbers for 2 - 10 day cruises b2b you would get 2 - 250 minute Internet packages. So I don't think this is something new this year on the Royal. Now I am not elite so I can explain why you would still get 2 mini bar set ups when you booked a 20 day cruise with one booking number.

[caribill]

Yes, it is silly! We're guilty of arguing how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.

 

Hmm ... does that make us pinheads?

 

 

Only if we are angels.

[caribill]

Yes, but the TA was doing them a favor by booking them as 2 cruises so they would be Elite on the 2nd leg.

 

He would still have been elite for the second segment if booked as a single cruise. If it did not happen automatically, a quick meeting with the CC host would make it happen.

 

 

 

When we were on the Royal last Nov the minutes carried over & was told that it was a fluke in their program but that he wouldn't remove them. It looks like they've corrected it. :( We didn't get a carry over on the CB in Feb either.

 

I have been told in the past that "free" minutes would not carry over but any paid minutes would. There have been posts by others indicating the "free" minutes were carried over sometimes and not carried over other times. It seemed to vary by who the Internet manager was. It also seemed to happen easier if the second segment was in the same cabin as the first.

 

 

see above in red

[Lovetocruiseprincess]

see above in red

 

Had he booked the cruise as 1-20 day trip, yes he would have of course been granted the Elite status but not till the end of the cruise. Doing it as two segments allowed him to enjoy the benefits at the end of the first leg and not have to wait 10 additional days. Unless they've made some changes I haven't heard about, doing it as 2 segments is better as long as the price is OK.

[flamomo]

Possibly dumb question, but here goes anyway ..... what is meant by "booking logically"?

[Roses2]

As several have posted, there has been no erosion of benefits.

 

If you book one cruise of 20 days, you receive one package of benefits.

 

If you book two cruises of 10 days each, you receive two benefits packages,

 

As we all know from experience, each ship has latitude in how it provides services and some may be more liberal than others in how they provide benefits packages.

[-Lew-]

 

As several have posted, there has been no erosion of benefits.

 

If you book one cruise of 20 days, you receive one package of benefits.

 

If you book two cruises of 10 days each, you receive two benefits packages,

I reiterate that we have always received full Elite benefits on each leg of B2Bs, including internet minutes, when booked as a single cruise...except our most recent Royal cruise? We received all of the following on each segment of our Royal cruise...but only one allotment of internet minutes:

 

• We received a mini-bar setup at the beginning of each cruise.
  
• We received a free wine tasting invitation for each cruise.
  
• We received Captain's Circle credit for each of the two segments.
  

Lew

[caribill]

Had he booked the cruise as 1-20 day trip, yes he would have of course been granted the Elite status but not till the end of the cruise. Doing it as two segments allowed him to enjoy the benefits at the end of the first leg and not have to wait 10 additional days. Unless they've made some changes I haven't heard about, doing it as 2 segments is better as long as the price is OK.

 

Honest. It has changed.

 

It was in 2007 that we made a change in status between segments on a B2B booked as a single cruise.