Platinum/elite internet question

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, Jersey42 said:

Pre-cruise prices on day 1 is  what we experienced a few month's ago.  I will let you know what happens on our next trip in a few days.  It is not a big deal for our short upcoming cruise, but it will make a bigger difference for a future 28 day voyage where we will have oodles of OBCs.  Unlike many of the posters on this thread, we don't get Princess Plus as it is not a good value for us.

Right - we don't book with the Plus either.  I can say I thought about it quite a bit when I had big price drops on our current voyage as I could have added it on for free or still been ahead, but I decided not to look at it that way and my value proposition is not to book with Plus.

[majortom10]

6 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

 

You probably won't agree, but I have to disagree with your assertion.  The old internet was slower (ignoring the current speed issues) in general, plus there were limited minutes and many guests had issues with losing time and had to ask for compensation, etc.  The new internet is unlimited, so I think getting 50% off unlimited internet is better than getting some free minutes.  It is not a loss and different guests may think the old few minutes were okay if they hardly used it, while other guests are going to be happy with the unlimited as they don't run out and have to buy additional.  It is not an absolute loss of a benefit at all. 

Whilst I dont disagree with you saying that the internet was slower  and issues with losing time, I dont see how the new internet policy of 50% off any internet package however fast or unlimited is to me as an Elite member of loyalty club. 

 

Currently on cruises I purchase Princess Plus which includes unlimited internet, grats and drinks package and do not get any discount being an Elite member. So would not need to buy any extra packages and get 50% off that price when I have unlimited internet with Princess Plus. So because I do not need to purchase internet and do not get 50% reduction on something it is a benefit I will never use so is a loss to me personally.

Edited June 30, 2022 by majortom10

[kml246]

When we have Plus, that gives each of us unlimited internet for one device each. The first time you log into the internet onboard, you'll be offered an upgrade to a four-device package for $5 off the $10 per day rate. You have to purchase for the whole cruise, but $70 for two weeks unlimited on four devices is worth it to me. This way we can leave our phones, laptops, and Roku connected without logging in and out and are able to use them concurrently. We're Elite, but the same works for Platinum.

 

We were on Emerald Princess for two weeks in April in the Caribbean. The internet was awful compared to Regal in Nov/Dec and Caribbean Princess in Feb, all in the Caribbean. On the Regal and CB, we could stream; on the Emerald, we could not. 

[Jersey42]

On 6/30/2022 at 9:54 AM, Steelers36 said:

As I mentioned above, Princess had been offering the pre-cruise rate on Day 1 due to difficulties in booking the internet in MC App and that it wasn't applying the discount.  I hope you will report back here and let us know the ship and if you were still offered the pre-cruise rate on embarkation day.

I'm on the  Caribbean Princess and just visited the internet Cafe. They would not honor the pre cruise pricing even though I explained the Medallion App would not take my credit card when I tried earlier in the week. They honored the 50% elite discount 

[Eaglecw]

We are currently on the Discovery and I feel the internet isn't worth the price. We have the Plus package, the internet is worse than the old days of 56k dialup. IT IS SO SLOW!!!

[SiliconCruiser]

On 6/30/2022 at 7:44 AM, JF - retired RRT said:

2 people in the cabin, both want their own internet for one device. Each can purchase internet for the one device.

They can also buy one package for 4 devices and share.

2 people buying a one device package is $100 each or $200 total at regular price.

A 4 device package is also $200 (and can be shared with others.)

[Adventures ahead]

I wonder if it's slower because more passengers buy Princess Plus (Standard works better for us) and get it for 'free'. I'd think that lots of people logged in at the same time would slow it down. Sounds like a 'be careful what you wish for' scenario (included and unlimited). Maybe if more people logged out when actually not using the internet, the speed would improve for others.

While unhappy we're losing free internet (Elite, big bummer Princess!), 1/2 price is better than no discount and it was a pain watching our minutes evaporate. Focussing on a glass half full... however, included and unlimited of 'nothing' is 'nothing'. I will buy it in hopes that I can access it at least some of the time and my husband can easily pass.

 

[Steelers36]

11 hours ago, Jersey42 said:

I'm on the  Caribbean Princess and just visited the internet Cafe. They would not honor the pre cruise pricing even though I explained the Medallion App would not take my credit card when I tried earlier in the week. They honored the 50% elite discount 

Bummer.  IDK if there is any recourse through Customer Relations.  In advising you that you would not be getting the pre-cruise price, did they mention they used to do it and that ended recently?  Did you ask?  Was your visit to the Cafe on embarkation day (Day 1)?  Thanks.

 

[caribill]

On 6/30/2022 at 9:14 AM, sidvan said:

yes - it's tied to the number of devices.

 

A single device package can be used with one device at a time, so multiple people can share one single device package, just one person at a time.

 

 

On 6/30/2022 at 9:44 AM, JF - retired RRT said:

2 people in the cabin, both want their own internet for one device. Each can purchase internet for the one device.

They can also buy one package for 4 devices and share.

 

And the cost for a 4 device package is the same as the cost for two single device packages.

[caribill]

On 6/30/2022 at 8:46 AM, Steelers36 said:

 

 The old internet was slower (ignoring the current speed issues) in general, plus there were limited minutes and many guests had issues with losing time and had to ask for compensation, etc.  The new internet is unlimited, so I think getting 50% off unlimited internet is better than getting some free minutes.

 

But the current speed issues cannot and should not be ignored.

 

Unlimited Internet is needed in order to do what used to be accomplished with limited minutes, whether they were free platinum/elite minutes of paid for minutes.

 

And having to pay $330 for unlimited $5/day/person Internet on an upcoming cruise is a significant chunk of change compared to the 1000 free minutes we would have received with the old benefit on our 33 day cruise.

[caribill]

10 hours ago, Adventures ahead said:

I wonder if it's slower because more passengers buy Princess Plus (Standard works better for us) and get it for 'free'. I'd think that lots of people logged in at the same time would slow it down.

 

 

I do not think that is the problem.

 

o Princess has said in the past that their bandwidth is sufficient for the expected use by so many people at the same time.

 

o Last year and even pre-pandemic people reported great satisfaction with the "fastest Internet at sea," even when there were more passengers on board than their are now.

[sidvan]

So far on Caribbean Princess it's been pretty good. Granted it's only the morning of day 2. So far quicker than the old days. 

[Jersey42]

8 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

Bummer.  IDK if there is any recourse through Customer Relations.  In advising you that you would not be getting the pre-cruise price, did they mention they used to do it and that ended recently?  Did you ask?  Was your visit to the Cafe on embarkation day (Day 1)?  Thanks.

 

Yes, I visited the internet Cafe soon after we boarded. It was pretty much take it or leave it. He said "you are getting a great deal at 50% off". I didn't say you did it last time, but I did explain the app wouldn't let me sign up pre cruise. Passenger services desk may help, but it is not worth the hassle to me for a one week cruise.

 

As someone else mentioned, the internet has been great so far. It was like that in February on the Sky for the first few days too. After that it was terrible.

 

The Medallion App has been awful. Hanging all the time and just not working. I deleted and reinstalled it last night. So far that has solved all of the problems.

[JF - retired RRT]

6 hours ago, caribill said:

And having to pay $330 for unlimited $5/day/person Internet on an upcoming cruise is a significant chunk of change compared to the 1000 free minutes we would have received with the old benefit on our 33 day cruise.

Absolutely!! Long cruisers get the short end of the stick.

[kml246]

On 7/3/2022 at 2:39 AM, caribill said:

 

But the current speed issues cannot and should not be ignored.

 

Unlimited Internet is needed in order to do what used to be accomplished with limited minutes, whether they were free platinum/elite minutes of paid for minutes.

 

And having to pay $330 for unlimited $5/day/person Internet on an upcoming cruise is a significant chunk of change compared to the 1000 free minutes we would have received with the old benefit on our 33 day cruise.

 

IIRC, Platinum/Elite passengers can still use their free minutes if they don't purchase the unlimited package. You may want to check that out. 

 

Kevin

[wallyj]

1 hour ago, kml246 said:

 

IIRC, Platinum/Elite passengers can still use their free minutes if they don't purchase the unlimited package. You may want to check that out. 

 

Kevin

Princess eliminated the ‘free’ minutes for Platinum and Elites when they restarted and updated the loyalty program last year. The internet benefit is 50% off the daily or voyage rate.

[Steelers36]

2 hours ago, kml246 said:

 

IIRC, Platinum/Elite passengers can still use their free minutes if they don't purchase the unlimited package. You may want to check that out. 

 

Kevin

No sir.  Minutes are retired and thing of the past.  Benefit changed to 50% off unlimited internet.  Which I think is better because I am a relatively heavy user.  Anyone who by habit is a light user of internet is not so happy.

[kml246]

Thanks for the reminder. I forgot they totally eliminated the free minutes. There was a time where you had a choice. 

 

I'm with you, I like the new benefit better, but agree light users feel they lost something, and they did.

 

Kevin

[Jersey42]

On 7/3/2022 at 8:28 AM, Jersey42 said:

As someone else mentioned, the internet has been great so far. It was like that in February on the Sky for the first few days too. After that it was terrible.

For whatever it's worth, we are past the halfway point of our Caribbean Princess cruise and the internet speed remains excellent. Not like home, but as good as I have seen on a cruise. I have take a few measurements and I have seen download speeds between 2 and 3.7 Mbps. I'm sure it has gone lower at times, but it has never been a problem. 

[Jersey42]

On 7/6/2022 at 1:50 PM, Jersey42 said:

For whatever it's worth, we are past the halfway point of our Caribbean Princess cruise and the internet speed remains excellent. Not like home, but as good as I have seen on a cruise. I have take a few measurements and I have seen download speeds between 2 and 3.7 Mbps. I'm sure it has gone lower at times, but it has never been a problem. 

For whatever it's worth, about an hour after I posted the internet slowed down dramatically and remained that way for the remainder of the week.  A few download speed measurements were under 0.1 Mbps and I don't believe I ever saw it much above 0.2 Mbps.  Pretty high latency too. I believe ping was over 1000 ms after everything slowed down.  If the numbers don't meant anything to you, I just checked my download speed at home for comparison and I am getting about 360 Mbps. Ping is 16 ms.

Edited July 9, 2022 by Jersey42

[cityguy300]

Disembarking Royal Princess right now after two weeks.  Elite, no Plus, and checked the pricing in the Internet Cafe on embarkation.  It was $7.50/day (50% off regular) even then, and prorated accordingly every day thereafter.

 

If there was a Day 1 sale pricing, it wasn't available from the Cafe terminals or Medallion app onboard.

 

[RoadTripFanatic]

On 7/3/2022 at 8:52 AM, JF - retired RRT said:

Absolutely!! Long cruisers get the short end of the stick.

I agree!  I wish we still had our free minutes vs paying for anything.  That is one reason I cruise with Princess is I get these free benefits.

 

[kml246]

5 hours ago, RoadTripFanatic said:

I agree!  I wish we still had our free minutes vs paying for anything.  That is one reason I cruise with Princess is I get these free benefits.

 

 

I liked the free minutes back when they did it but hated having to make sure I logged off. I prefer the unlimited at a 50% discount. However, the way internet worked on Emerald Princess in April, I didn't get as much use as I wanted. When it works, though, unlimited is what we prefer.

 

Kevin

[caribill]

3 hours ago, kml246 said:

 

When it works, though, unlimited is what we prefer.

 

 

 

Agree unlimited is better, but on an upcoming 33 day cruise it would have been worth the effort to sign on and off as needed.

 

With the old benefit's free minutes on that cruise (2 segments), we would have received a combined 1000 minutes of free Internet, more than enough for the Internet time we would use.

 

But at $5/day/person with the new benefit, it will cost us $330, a significant amount of $$$ compared to free. And at the latitudes the ship will be sailing, it will definitely not be high speed Internet.

[sandyoftheseas]

Where do I go to buy internet minutes pre cruise?  I went to the board services section and it is not there for my 5 night cruise.