Wifi - big difference in price

[Steelers36]

9 hours ago, alirat153 said:

Might be a bit of a gamble. The Princess rep said  daily packages weren't available but he had to ask so ...?  The OBC is in US$ not AUD so that might be a clue.  Still have 90 days to decide. There is a discount on the minutes if I purchase pre sail.  But its not too big a discount 600 minutes gets an extra 80 minutes, so your suggestion sounds feasible. Hopefully others can confirm its a regular practice. 

Back in the bad old days of minutes on Princess, they offered the bonus minutes on Day 1.  I sure hope there is some reasonable package pricing on Pacific by Fall 2021.

[vampiress]

interesting, i'm on the golden in may with the BSE, so i wonder what the wifi will be, will it be unlimited or just a set of minutes?  i already know wifi in alaska will not be super great so i'm not too bothered either way, the wifi was bonus after the grats and drinks.

[voljeep]

wifi is unlimited one device at a time per person

[BeantownLady]

I am on the Golden for a 14 day Alaska cruise in May.  I upgraded to BSE because I needed the unlimited wifi.. My previous package only included 240 internet minutes.  My PVP told me that the BVE would be for about 5000 minutes per person - the value on my travel summery is $139.00 per person - but it does not state the number of minutes included,

However, my personalizer does not show this package at all under the internet packages available for purchase, so I think Princess has some packages that are not advertised.  And I'm hoping my PVP is correct!!

[Thrak]

I can't imagine paying that for Internet access on a Princess ship. The Internet access usually varies from bad to horrible with a dash of not-available thrown in for good measure. Paying for service that is pathetic isn't my idea of a good use of cash.

[alirat153]

1 hour ago, Thrak said:

I can't imagine paying that for Internet access on a Princess ship. The Internet access usually varies from bad to horrible with a dash of not-available thrown in for good measure. Paying for service that is pathetic isn't my idea of a good use of cash.

I totally agree with you Thrak, but I have a very elderly mother and I need to be able to keep in touch.  I could pay forthe absolute minimum and get my carrier data while on shore.  Still waiting for ExPat to report in as he is on board the Golden as we speak (er type). Maybe he can't get any wifi signal....

[leck57]

2 hours ago, BeantownLady said:

I am on the Golden for a 14 day Alaska cruise in May.  I upgraded to BSE because I needed the unlimited wifi.. My previous package only included 240 internet minutes.  My PVP told me that the BVE would be for about 5000 minutes per person - the value on my travel summery is $139.00 per person - but it does not state the number of minutes included,

However, my personalizer does not show this package at all under the internet packages available for purchase, so I think Princess has some packages that are not advertised.  And I'm hoping my PVP is correct!!

 

In the fine print for this sale (at least in Australia) it states for those ships without Medallion Net the package includes 5000 minutes - essentially unlimited. 

[polmcs]

20 minutes ago, leck57 said:

 

In the fine print for this sale (at least in Australia) it states for those ships without Medallion Net the package includes 5000 minutes - essentially unlimited. 

5000 minutes is 83.3 hours, or 3.47 days. The Alaskan Cruise is 14 days, so the BSE WiFi package would run out pretty quickly if you were to leave a phone logged in to use WiFi calling. 

[alirat153]

2 minutes ago, polmcs said:

5000 minutes is 83.3 hours, or 3.47 days. The Alaskan Cruise is 14 days, so the BSE WiFi package would run out pretty quickly if you were to leave a phone logged in to use WiFi calling. 

Is that the package with included wifi (which I dont have?)  Whereabouts can I find the fine print. Princess sees me as an Australian even though I'm a New Zealander.

[Steelers36]

2 minutes ago, alirat153 said:

Princess sees me as an Australian even though I'm a New Zealander.

Same market - like USA and Canada.

[leck57]

1 hour ago, alirat153 said:

Is that the package with included wifi (which I dont have?)  Whereabouts can I find the fine print. Princess sees me as an Australian even though I'm a New Zealander.

 

Yes, if you have the Oceans of Offers deal (same as the Best Ever Sale but without the option to have grats paid) it is included with that. We had an insert in the paper for this sale as well as received a mailout and it was in the details on the back page.

Here you are - scroll down to the fine print.

https://www.princess.com/cruise-deals-promotions/au/oceans-of-offers/

[alirat153]

18 hours ago, leck57 said:

 

Yes, if you have the Oceans of Offers deal (same as the Best Ever Sale but without the option to have grats paid) it is included with that. We had an insert in the paper for this sale as well as received a mailout and it was in the details on the back page.

Here you are - scroll down to the fine print.

https://www.princess.com/cruise-deals-promotions/au/oceans-of-offers/

Yes that is for the Best Value deal - I took the Best Price deal which had no extras as i am travelling solo the difference in price was significant due to the supplement, so instead of an extra $900 which given the drinks package and wifi is reasonable, I would have ended up paying an extra $1800 - which as I am not a drinker seems excessive to me.  Given the poor quality of the wifi and the steep price for a very limited amount of minutes I will opt for living without it for the most part, just logging on once a day to check emails.

Edited January 20, 2020 by alirat153
word

[vampiress]

23 hours ago, BeantownLady said:

I am on the Golden for a 14 day Alaska cruise in May.  I upgraded to BSE because I needed the unlimited wifi.. My previous package only included 240 internet minutes.  My PVP told me that the BVE would be for about 5000 minutes per person - the value on my travel summery is $139.00 per person - but it does not state the number of minutes included,

However, my personalizer does not show this package at all under the internet packages available for purchase, so I think Princess has some packages that are not advertised.  And I'm hoping my PVP is correct!!

i am also on the golden for the may 16th 14 day alaska rt.  i also see the $139.58 charge for wifi.  i looked at the booking confirmation from my ta, which is on princess letter head and it says

*WI-FI is unlimited for all guests in the cabin, one device per guest.

 

i posted above also concerned since i didn't see an unlimited option available for purchase. i will have my documents with me onboard just in case, but i do not see any fineprint saying it is only for medallion net ships.

[alirat153]

Yes @vampiress that is definately the case for those who bought that Deal. I, however, did not. My beef is the penalty for not buying that deal is too high.

[vampiress]

sorry, i was replying to a different user.  i totally sympathize that solo travel and this package is not compatible to most wallets. 

[alirat153]

15 minutes ago, vampiress said:

sorry, i was replying to a different user.  i totally sympathize that solo travel and this package is not compatible to most wallets. 

No need for apologies!  I totally understand.

[voljeep]

1 hour ago, alirat153 said:

Yes that is for the Best Value deal - I took the Best Price deal which had no extras as i am travelling solo the difference in price was significant due to the supplement, so instead of an extra $900 which given the drinks package and wifi is reasonable, I would have ended up paying an extra $1800 - which as I am not a drinker seems excessive to me.  Given the poor quality of the wifi and the steep price for a very limited amount of minutes I will opt for living without it for the most part, just logging on once a day to check emails.

under the Oceans of Offers - are you able to add 'just' the wifi and grats ?  and if so - only pay that as a solo with the nonexistent of the double occupancy? - have you escalated this to a Princess supervisor ?

[alirat153]

5 minutes ago, voljeep said:

under the Oceans of Offers - are you able to add 'just' the wifi and grats ?  and if so - only pay that as a solo with the nonexistent of the double occupancy? - have you escalated this to a Princess supervisor ?

No I haven't escalated to a supervisor - I didn't know you could. The chap I was talking to went away and consulted with someone else during our conversation. Should I give that a try?  As I said it would be worth it to pay an extra $900 - we don't get offered the included grats in NZ but I do drink a lot of coffee....

[voljeep]

1 minute ago, alirat153 said:

No I haven't escalated to a supervisor - I didn't know you could. The chap I was talking to went away and consulted with someone else during our conversation. Should I give that a try?  As I said it would be worth it to pay an extra $900 - we don't get offered the included grats in NZ but I do drink a lot of coffee....

it's a phone call … you may get a different answer as we often do here in the U.S.

 

forgot about the no grats for y'all 😀

[Steelers36]

15 minutes ago, voljeep said:

forgot about the no grats for y'all 😀

Baked into the cruise fare.

[voljeep]

6 minutes ago, steelers36 said:

Baked into the cruise fare.

as it is here when an add-on via BSE … 

[alirat153]

36 minutes ago, steelers36 said:

Baked into the cruise fare.

Nope - we have to pay grats.  It may sail from Australia but doesn't return there so the folio currency is USD which means we Kiwis and Aussies do have to pay gratuities.  

[Steelers36]

2 minutes ago, alirat153 said:

Nope - we have to pay grats.  It may sail from Australia but doesn't return there so the folio currency is USD which means we Kiwis and Aussies do have to pay gratuities.  

Never said you didn't.  Depending on the itinerary, they are either separately charged as in the rest of the world, or baked into the cruise fare.  Similarly the 18% beverages gratuity is baked into those prices on local Aussie/Kiwi voyages.

[alirat153]

Sorry I am a bit dim today!  Not following things properly.  Sincerest apologies for any and all misunderstandings on my part. I need a cruise!

 

[leck57]

2 hours ago, alirat153 said:

Sorry I am a bit dim today!  Not following things properly.  Sincerest apologies for any and all misunderstandings on my part. I need a cruise!

 

 

I'm not sure where we are up to with your issue as we have all been replying to you and others about similar issues. However, and I apologise if this has been said already, have you tried to add the Oceans of Offers deals to your fare. Now, I recall you said that you are not a drinker but I added the beverage package and internet for $31 per day, well after I had booked my cruise. Even disregarding the drinks aspect (although you get coffees and you said you have a few of them) does the $31 make the internet access more affordable than your other options?

Again, I apologise if you have already covered this option. Of course, you can also remove the grats if you wish that would offset some of the cost. (And to others, please don't reply with your objections to removing grats and thus taking this thread off course. For the record I always pay the grats but I'm just giving options).

Edited January 20, 2020 by leck57