No more free internet for platinum & elite

[nocl]

3 hours ago, Musky Ike said:

Could they have converted the minute limit to a GB limit ? That is what land based providers do.

except their new system is not limited by GB or minutes. Limiting either would require a different management system and increase complexity. With unlmited all you manage is the the account and number of simultaneous devices.

[2 cruises a year]

3 hours ago, Musky Ike said:

Could they have converted the minute limit to a GB limit ? That is what land based providers do.

 

1 hour ago, mtnesterz said:

WDITOT! On the face of it, sounds like a great solution. 

KISS  😁

[caribill]

6 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

The main reason to choose a cruise line should be for itinerary, price,  and service in whatever order that is important to you. 

 

Itinerary is the number 1 factor in our selecting a cruise. But with Princess getting rid of ships including the small ones, they have less varied itineraries to offer.

 

As pointed out on another thread, people would like a summer itinerary out of Los Angeles, but Princess does not have a spare ship anymore to home there at that time of year.

 

 

6 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

  I will say that the one thing I like about the  RCL program is that the benefits can be shared among the lines in their group. 

 

There are already many complaints on these boards about how there are too many Platinum and Elite passengers on a cruise, sometimes they are 2/3rds of the passengers.

 

If Princess honored status with other CCL brands, the number of Platinum and Elites might approach 100%.

[caribill]

6 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

Hah!  For once, the 20% gets something good!!  I love the 50% off.

 

Princess could have offered a choice, either have your free minutes or upgrade at 50% off.

 

They basically did this before, as you could choose to sign up for unlimited at a 25% discount from list price if you gave up your minutes.

 

They certainly could have continued to do this, but at 50% off instead of 25%.

[caribill]

4 hours ago, nocl said:

except their new system is not limited by GB or minutes. Limiting either would require a different management system and increase complexity. With unlmited all you manage is the the account and number of simultaneous devices.

 

They have always monitored GB usage and reported the amount to you when you signed off, just not limited it. Not that difficult to program a usage limit since they already are measuring GB usage by each user name.

[Iamcruzin]

15 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

Itinerary is the number 1 factor in our selecting a cruise. But with Princess getting rid of ships including the small ones, they have less varied itineraries to offer.  I couldn't agree more.

As pointed out on another thread, people would like a summer itinerary out of Los Angeles, but Princess does not have a spare ship anymore to home there at that time of year.  No more sailings out of New York other than Canada/ New England which sent me to Celebrity and Royal Caribbean.

There are already many complaints on these boards about how there are too many Platinum and Elite passengers on a cruise, sometimes they are 2/3rds of the passengers.

 

If Princess honored status with other CCL brands, the number of Platinum and Elites might approach 100%.

Since Princess is either eliminating  or watering down the loyalty program benefits it doesn't matter how many are Platinum or Elite anymore.  

Edited July 6, 2021 by Iamcruzin

[casofilia]

I received a response from Sydney (Aus) to my email to them about the Free WiFi.

 

Thank you for your feedback!!!!!!!

 

Then a copy of the new "perks" document with all the pleasantries.

 

As the saying goes "Don't call us and we won't call you; now .... Off"

[gazpam]

3 hours ago, casofilia said:

I received a response from Sydney (Aus) to my email to them about the Free WiFi.

 

Thank you for your feedback!!!!!!!

 

Then a copy of the new "perks" document with all the pleasantries.

 

As the saying goes "Don't call us and we won't call you; now .... Off"

Same.

[Glaciers]

We just booked an August 8 trip to Alaska.  We are disappointed that as Platinum we no longer get internet minutes. In speaking with the Princess rep we ended up purchasing the Princess Plus package.

https://www.princess.com/cruise-deals-promotions/princess-plus/

 

Although very confusing, it ended up being $25/day per passenger so a total of $350 for Princess Plus for the week. This includes gratuities.

[Steelers36]

13 minutes ago, Glaciers said:

We just booked an August 8 trip to Alaska.  We are disappointed that as Platinum we no longer get internet minutes. In speaking with the Princess rep we ended up purchasing the Princess Plus package.

https://www.princess.com/cruise-deals-promotions/princess-plus/

 

 

Although very confusing, it ended up being $25/day per passenger so a total of $350 for Princess Plus for the week. This includes gratuities.

Wow.  How did you get PLUS for only $25/pp/day extra?  It is normally $40.  Are they giving it away on the summer 2021 cruises?

 

ETA - I just ran a mock booking price check on that voyage and I see $280 more for same cabin with PLUS over the SAVER.

Edited July 13, 2021 by Steelers36

[RRFan]

2 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

Wow.  How did you get PLUS for only $25/pp/day extra?  It is normally $40.  Are they giving it away on the summer 2021 cruises?

Good question!  All of them I have seen are $40 per day per person. Always a $280 pp per cruise difference. Maybe they booked a large number of cabins or something?  

[cr8tiv1]

I just tried to look up several categories from my next cruise.  First thing that popped up is they reversed basic and plus positions.  That threw me for a loop (plus is now listed first).  Then I calculated the difference divided by number of days and came out with $40.  

 

$25/per day/pp would be a bargain.  How do I get this rate?

 

 

[Glaciers]

1 hour ago, Steelers36 said:

Wow.  How did you get PLUS for only $25/pp/day extra?  It is normally $40.  Are they giving it away on the summer 2021 cruises?

It appears our TA was able to get this rate for us. I jumped the gun by posting as I thought everyone could get it. My bad.

[007colocruz]

1 hour ago, Glaciers said:

It appears our TA was able to get this rate for us. I jumped the gun by posting as I thought everyone could get it. My bad.

Your TA might be giving you a group rate. I have had this happen and I was not part of a group. 

[PaperSniper4]

On 6/30/2021 at 1:46 PM, Steelers36 said:

Most people posting are unhappy, but we have appreciated the unlimited internet packages.  I did feel before, the way they calculated the discount, that 25% wasn't all that much of a benefit.  50% is a much fairer replacement for the old free minutes. 

 

Different strokes folks.  Some like other benefits/perks that don't mean as much to us.

So what would would be the cost of the unlimited package for Platinum members, which we are? Is it 50% off the published internet price? Last time we cruised I planned on using just the perk 250 minutes, but I saw a sale offered for unlimited the first or second day of our 10 day cruise. It was $60 so I bought it so I'd not have to do the log on/download/log off thing. Carnival charges over $10 a day for unlimited email checking plus a few other places on the internet. I need to be able to check on/verify airline and hotel reservations, check email, and do some surfing for info on our ports of call. I don't use "social media" at all, so any package limited me to that is worthless.

 

Sorry if this is covered in the Princess email, but I have not seen it, nor have I logged onto Princess.com today.....it's happy hour downstairs and I am late.........😳

 

Doug

Edited July 13, 2021 by PaperSniper4

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, PaperSniper4 said:

So what would would be the cost of the unlimited package for Platinum members, which we are? Is it 50% off the published internet price? Last time we cruised I planned on using just the perk 250 minutes, but I saw a sale offered for unlimited the first or second day of our 10 day cruise. It was $60 so I bought it so I'd not have to do the log on/download/log off thing. Carnival charges over $10 a day for unlimited email checking plus a few other places on the internet. I need to be able to check on/verify airline and hotel reservations, check email, and do some surfing for info on our ports of call. I don't use "social media" at all, so any package limited me to that is worthless.

 

Sorry if this is covered in the Princess email, but I have not seen it, nor have I logged onto Princess.com today.....it's happy hour downstairs and I am late.........😳

 

Doug

All we know is reports of the $10/day flat rate.  No information if there will be lower pricing for longer voyages.  Yes, they used to have a "Day 1" package price for the full voyage and it was generally less than $10/day right through the range.  If they are indeed switching to a flat $10/day, it is going to mean quite an increase for longer voyages.  But we don't know for sure.  Pricing used to be different pre-cruise in the Personalizer versus "Day 1" (if you didn't qualify for a discount on board).  Again, we don't know for sure.  No one has posted a package price offer from Cruise Personalizer for the 2021 voyages that are about to get going. 

 

Have to wait and see.  So far, we can figure on $5/day (50% off $10/day).  The discount will be an on board non-refundable OBC.  You may need to pre-order to get that rate.  Again, stay tuned.

 

 

[icat2000]

Doesn't really bother me. It was so slow at times. 

[Drews_Cruise]

Loyalty perks on princess no longer influence my choice of vacation in any way. They never should have anyway but they certainly may have.  It’s not right though that they sell you what’s coming for years and then cancel it when you get there.  After reluctantly doing Celebrity last year I was shocked at how wonderful it was.  NCL up next with a stay in The Haven may just make me never look back. It’s been fun though!

[PaperSniper4]

12 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

All we know is reports of the $10/day flat rate.  No information if there will be lower pricing for longer voyages.  Yes, they used to have a "Day 1" package price for the full voyage and it was generally less than $10/day right through the range.  If they are indeed switching to a flat $10/day, it is going to mean quite an increase for longer voyages.  But we don't know for sure.  Pricing used to be different pre-cruise in the Personalizer versus "Day 1" (if you didn't qualify for a discount on board).  Again, we don't know for sure.  No one has posted a package price offer from Cruise Personalizer for the 2021 voyages that are about to get going. 

 

Have to wait and see.  So far, we can figure on $5/day (50% off $10/day).  The discount will be an on board non-refundable OBC.  You may need to pre-order to get that rate.  Again, stay tuned.

 

 

Thanks, I will be staying tuned!  Our first Princess cruise is February 2022, so we have time for the dust to settle and details to emerge.

 

Doug

[shipsealand]

Hopefully Princess is reading these posts.  For me and many others the free limited internet minutes was the best perk.  And the number of minutes was always more than enough. After all most folks are on a cruise to vacation, not to be on the computer, laptop, or cell phone.

[getting older slowly]

Free Minutes was nice to check emails..... But on a 13 nighter     $5 per day would be the max i would pay....... tell them i give them $50 and that is it ....lol

[caribill]

6 hours ago, shipsealand said:

Hopefully Princess is reading these posts.

 

Well, RCI reads (and reacts to) their users' posts.

 

 

Royal Caribbean reverses decision to get rid of popular customer loyalty perk after fan backlash.

 

Hours after Royal Caribbean announced it was making changes to its customer loyalty program, one change has been rolled back.

 

In a webinar on Wednesday, Royal Caribbean told travel agents one of the benefits for their top tier members was going away.

 

Crystal blocks are given to Diamond Plus guests periodically after they accrue enough points, but evidently many of these heavy blocks were being left behind on the ship.

 

Royal Caribbean said over 60% of guests that received a crystal block left it on the ship for one reason or another, leading the cruise line to announce they would distribute whatever stock they have left and then end the amenity.

 

That decision did not sit well with many cruise fans, who told Royal Caribbean exactly how they feel about that change.

 

While there may have been some guests that did not care for them, many others felt strongly about getting them.

 

Clearly Royal Caribbean heard the feedback loudly, and decided to continue the crystal block program.

[PaperSniper4]

9 hours ago, getting older slowly said:

Free Minutes was nice to check emails..... But on a 13 nighter     $5 per day would be the max i would pay....... tell them i give them $50 and that is it ....lol

Wonder if that daily rate could be purchased for only a few days. I want internet 90% so I can check on airline and hotel connections. I've been burned once and had to wit on the floor at the FLL airport for 14 hours once because an airline canceled our flight! Now I always try to get some internet access, even if just for 2-3 days near the last days of the cruise.

 

I do think Princess has made a mistake yanking that internet benefit from Platinum and Elite members. Not much we can do though. I hope it will be a topic for the post cruise survey. I like to tell myself someone actually reads those......🤔

 

Doug

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, PaperSniper4 said:

Wonder if that daily rate could be purchased for only a few days. I want internet 90% so I can check on airline and hotel connections. I've been burned once and had to wit on the floor at the FLL airport for 14 hours once because an airline canceled our flight! Now I always try to get some internet access, even if just for 2-3 days near the last days of the cruise.

 

I do think Princess has made a mistake yanking that internet benefit from Platinum and Elite members. Not much we can do though. I hope it will be a topic for the post cruise survey. I like to tell myself someone actually reads those......🤔

 

Doug

You could purchase by the day before.  It was a higher price than full voyage package.  There is no clarity on pricing going forward, but you can likely still purchase individual days.

[RRFan]

“Wonder if that daily rate could be purchased for only a few days. I want internet 90% so I can check on airline and hotel connections.”

 

No, the WiFi is now unlimited for the entire voyage or nothing. The $5/day rate is based on 50% of what they were charging per-covid.(as a new Plat/Elite “benefit”)  Until they set sail on 7/25, we won’t know the actual cost.  For us, the number of free Elite minutes were plenty. Unhappy to lose that benefit (as well as the OBC based on number of days cruised). ☹️