Share holder benefits what has gone away

[AZaTaz]

I am sorry if this is else where but I did search and did not find the answer.  Has the free 250 minutes of internet gone away?  How about free laundry?  Thank you for your time

[SLC1954]

The 250 internet minutes, laundry, ect. are not and never were shareholder benefits. The only benefit that being a shareholder has is on board credit and that the amount depends on the length of your cruise.

[Kay S]

Are you referring to Elite benefits?  In that case, the free Internet is gone and you get a whopping 50% off the new price.

[PacnGoNow]

39 minutes ago, AZaTaz said:

I am sorry if this is else where but I did search and did not find the answer.  Has the free 250 minutes of internet gone away?  How about free laundry?  Thank you for your time

If you’re Elite you still get free laundry. I assume that’s what you mean’t.

[AZaTaz]

Thank you and you are right I meant elite. Thank you for your answere

[Ombud]

I am only aware of 2 benefits (perks) that went away: (1) 250 internet minutes is now 50% off internet as they cannot track minutes (2) no loyalty OBC

[caribill]

3 hours ago, Ombud said:

I am only aware of 2 benefits (perks) that went away: (1) 250 internet minutes is now 50% off internet as they cannot track minutes (2) no loyalty OBC

 

10% off in shops can now only be used on full priced merchandise.

 

Note that for a 7 day cruise, Internet list price pre-cruise is now $70 and Platinum/Elite pay only $35, a savings of $35.

 

However, note that the value of the previous free internet minutes was about 50 cents/minute, so for seven days the value for the 150 free minutes was about $75.

 

That $75 value that used to be is now a $35 value with the current benefit. Princess wins. Loyal passengers lose.

 

[cruising.mark.uk]

1 hour ago, caribill said:

That $75 value that used to be is now a $35 value with the current benefit. Princess wins. Loyal passengers lose.

 

.... unless they use more than 220 minutes of internet in their 7 days (about 30 minutes per day), in which case 'loyal passengers' win.

[Ombud]

4 hours ago, caribill said:

... the value of the previous free internet minutes was about 50 cents/minute, so for seven days the value for the 150 free minutes was about $75.

 

That $75 value that used to be is now a $35 value with the current benefit. Princess wins. Loyal passengers lose.

IMHO the point is mute as internet usage can no longer be tracked per minute and can only be tracked per day. Would it have been preferable to grant 1 day free?? Value $10? Which day?? The disembarkation day is the only one where 150 minutes would come close to only 2.5 hrs but who would want that to be the day?

[caribill]

4 hours ago, Ombud said:

IMHO the point is mute as internet usage can no longer be tracked per minute and can only be tracked per day. Would it have been preferable to grant 1 day free?? Value $10? Which day?? The disembarkation day is the only one where 150 minutes would come close to only 2.5 hrs but who would want that to be the day?

 

My point was that Princess replaced something with a benefit value of about $75 with something with  a benefit value of $35. 

[cruising.mark.uk]

4 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

My point was that Princess replaced something with a benefit value of about $75 with something with  a benefit value of $35. 

I think that you have to adopt a real glass half empty approach to life to argue that.  Furthermore, it is only true for an elite passenger who used / uses exactly 150 minutes of internet under both the old system and the new (if that is the figure, your posts above say both 150 minutes and 250 minutes). 

 

For an elite passenger who doesn't use the internet onboard, they've replaced something with a benefit value of zero with something with a benefit value of zero.   For a passenger who uses less than 150 / 250, they've replaced something with a benefit value of their usage / 50c per minute by something with a benefit value of $35. 

 

But, for anyone who uses more than 150 / 250 minutes they've replaced something with a benefit value of $75 with something with a benefit of $35, plus 50c per minute they spend on the internet over 150 / 250.  So, any Elite passenger who isn't on one of the new Princess Plus packages where internet is thrown in who uses over 230 or 330 minutes gets more benefit under the new system than they did under the old.  And, of course, many of those who only used less than the limit under the old system will now probably get more benefit from the new system because their usage is not metered and they can use as much as they like.  

[Kay S]

8 minutes ago, cruising.mark.uk said:

I think that you have to adopt a real glass half empty approach to life to argue that.  Furthermore, it is only true for an elite passenger who used / uses exactly 150 minutes of internet under both the old system and the new (if that is the figure, your posts above say both 150 minutes and 250 minutes). 

 

For an elite passenger who doesn't use the internet onboard, they've replaced something with a benefit value of zero with something with a benefit value of zero.   For a passenger who uses less than 150 / 250, they've replaced something with a benefit value of their usage / 50c per minute by something with a benefit value of $35. 

 

But, for anyone who uses more than 150 / 250 minutes they've replaced something with a benefit value of $75 with something with a benefit of $35, plus 50c per minute they spend on the internet over 150 / 250.  So, any Elite passenger who isn't on one of the new Princess Plus packages where internet is thrown in who uses over 230 or 330 minutes gets more benefit under the new system than they did under the old.  And, of course, many of those who only used less than the limit under the old system will now probably get more benefit from the new system because their usage is not metered and they can use as much as they like.  

Trying to follow this is making my head hurt.  Is it just me or do there seem to be a few newly enrolled CC members (less than a year and post-startup) who have been cheerleading for the "new" Princess, specifically targeting Elites and their wishes?  If I were a cynic, I would think perhaps Princess is paying people to "manage expectations."  Of course, I'm not a cynic, and my very useful solution has been to ignore the newly-minted cheerleaders and their non-convincing argument that destruction of benefits is somehow good for us.

[caribill]

25 minutes ago, cruising.mark.uk said:

I think that you have to adopt a real glass half empty approach to life to argue that.  Furthermore, it is only true for an elite passenger who used / uses exactly 150 minutes of internet under both the old system and the new (if that is the figure, your posts above say both 150 minutes and 250 minutes). 

 

It was not in any of my posts that 250 minutes was mentioned.

 

25 minutes ago, cruising.mark.uk said:

So, any Elite passenger who isn't on one of the new Princess Plus packages where internet is thrown in who uses over 230 or 330 minutes gets more benefit under the new system than they did under the old.  And, of course, many of those who only used less than the limit under the old system will now probably get more benefit from the new system because their usage is not metered and they can use as much as they like.  

 

My spouse and I both would get the free Internet minutes in the past, so on a 7 day voyage, we had a total of 300 minutes.

 

However, we do not spend much time on the Internet while cruising, so 300 minutes was more than enough. On a voyage of any length, we never used up all of our free minutes.

 

Next year we are on a 33 day Princess cruise. For each one of us to have Internet access will cost $165 *2 = $330. That is $330 we would not have had to spend in the past. That is not small change.

 

Yes, I know Internet by the minute is gone forever, but going from free to $330 is to us a loss of a benefit.

 

Will we end up using more time on the Internet since we are now spending $330? Probably, just because we will not have to sign out and then sign in again later. But using more time does not mean spending more time.

 

Will we be actually spending more time on the Internet than in the past? 20 minutes/day total for both of us is what it was in the past. Probably will be the same, but now for $330. That works out to about 50 cents/minute for us. 

[antsp]

15 hours ago, Ombud said:

I am only aware of 2 benefits (perks) that went away: (1) 250 internet minutes is now 50% off internet as they cannot track minutes (2) no loyalty OBC

Loyalty benefit wasn't tied to be elite it was 21+ cruises 

[jwattle]

2 hours ago, Kay S said:

Trying to follow this is making my head hurt.  Is it just me or do there seem to be a few newly enrolled CC members (less than a year and post-startup) who have been cheerleading for the "new" Princess, specifically targeting Elites and their wishes?  If I were a cynic, I would think perhaps Princess is paying people to "manage expectations."  Of course, I'm not a cynic, and my very useful solution has been to ignore the newly-minted cheerleaders and their non-convincing argument that destruction of benefits is somehow good for us.

You might want to ignore my not-newly minted posts then as well...

What's that? 

Why yes, I have been here much longer than you...and nobody, Princess or otherwise, pays me to manage anyone's expectations...

If I were a cynic, I'd think that since you were, as you claim, just using your last Future Cruise Credits and then leaving Princess, that you were just spreading as much ill will about them on your way out as you can...if I were a cynic, that's what I would think.😁🥂

Edited October 3, 2022 by jwattle

[Kay S]

4 minutes ago, jwattle said:

You might want to ignore my not-newly minted posts then as well...

What's that? 

Why yes, I have been here much longer than you...and nobody, Princess or otherwise, pays me to manage anyone's expectations...

If I were a cynic, I'd think that since you were, as you claim, just using your last Future Cruise Credits and then leaving Princess, that you were just spreading as much ill will about them on your way out as you can...if I were a cynic, that's what I would think.😁🥂

Then I guess it's a dandy thing neither of us is a cynic.

[Ombud]

55 minutes ago, antsp said:

16 hours ago, Ombud said:

I am only aware of 2 benefits (perks) that went away: (1) 150 internet minutes is now 50% off internet as they cannot track minutes (2) no loyalty OBC

Loyalty benefit wasn't tied to be elite it was 21+ cruises 

Agreed however as someone who passed that Elite mark I lost those 2 perks. I now get to pay for wifi & have 75 less OBC. But I'm lucky. Neither affects my ability to afford a cruise and I still find them tremendously relaxing as is illustrated by my signature.

 

Almond Croissants and elite tea on my balcony in 9 weeks with no pesky pre-cruise covid test 😁 PROGRESS BACK TO NORMALCY 

[windsor26]

You also get faster check in   priority tender line and a once refrigerator fill which is still done

 

If you got the old loyalty benefit which starts at 21 cruises you would obviously be elite which comes in at 15 cruises

[NownZen]

9 minutes ago, Ombud said:

Agreed however as someone who passed that Elite mark I lost those 2 perks. I now get to pay for wifi & have 75 less OBC. But I'm lucky. Neither affects my ability to afford a cruise and I still find them tremendously relaxing as is illustrated by my signature.

 

Almond Croissants and elite tea on my balcony in 9 weeks with no pesky pre-cruise covid test 😁 PROGRESS BACK TO NORMALCY 

I was always puzzled by the offer of whatever small number of OBC and what effect it had on people signing up for a cruise. If I am on the fence about a $10000 cruise, will $25 really make that much of a difference? However, the original price of $40 for the plus package was a good benefit for all since it amounted to about two drinks per day. At $50 it is less desirable. The next stop at $60 may make a difference.

[Ombud]

1 minute ago, NownZen said:

I was always puzzled by the offer of whatever small number of OBC and what effect it had on people signing up for a cruise. If I am on the fence about a $10000 cruise, will $25 really make that much of a difference? However, the original price of $40 for the plus package was a good benefit for all since it amounted to about two drinks per day. At $50 it is less desirable. The next stop at $60 may make a difference.

Agreed but still it was nice. I like to board with enough OBC to cover gratuities, everything else gets put on my card.  Will I cruise without it? Of course

 

(Book basic fare only)

[NownZen]

14 minutes ago, Ombud said:

Agreed but still it was nice. I like to board with enough OBC to cover gratuities, everything else gets put on my card.  Will I cruise without it? Of course

 

(Book basic fare only)

I enjoyed the long discussions about how long it was taking to get the OBC refunded. I am ok with that as it is essentially free money since I have generally forgotten about it by the time it comes. I can see your point about having the OBC as being convenient and it seems in that same vein.

[Over from NZ]

On 10/4/2022 at 11:57 AM, NownZen said:

I was always puzzled by the offer of whatever small number of OBC and what effect it had on people signing up for a cruise. If I am on the fence about a $10000 cruise, will $25 really make that much of a difference? However, the original price of $40 for the plus package was a good benefit for all since it amounted to about two drinks per day. At $50 it is less desirable. The next stop at $60 may make a difference.

I think many of them are more chasing status than anything. The perks always have been blah. They make the jewellery-wrattlers feel a bit more important though.. but really, they're hardly an enticement if you do the maths sensibly. They could give out stickers saying "I'm elite" to wear on the cruise once you hit elite level - that would make most of them just as happy and cost nothing. Ditch the gimmicks I say. And yes, we would be hitting Elite with our upcoming cruises next year.

[Kay S]

9 minutes ago, Over from NZ said:

I think many of them are more chasing status than anything. The perks always have been blah. They make the jewellery-wrattlers feel a bit more important though.. but really, they're hardly an enticement if you do the maths sensibly. They could give out stickers saying "I'm elite" to wear on the cruise once you hit elite level - that would make most of them just as happy and cost nothing. Ditch the gimmicks I say. And yes, we would be hitting Elite with our upcoming cruises next year.

"Jewellery-wrattlers"?  Is that anything like a jewelry wrangler?  You know, they do give out stickers saying "I'm Elite.": the Medallions show the status (or at least it did on my last cruise.)  I suppose there are people who chase status, but as you yourself know, becoming Elite just happens if you cruise long enough.  After I'm gone from Princess, I will admit I'll miss the free laundry.

[NownZen]

16 minutes ago, Over from NZ said:

I think many of them are more chasing status than anything. The perks always have been blah. They make the jewellery-wrattlers feel a bit more important though.. but really, they're hardly an enticement if you do the maths sensibly. They could give out stickers saying "I'm elite" to wear on the cruise once you hit elite level - that would make most of them just as happy and cost nothing. Ditch the gimmicks I say. And yes, we would be hitting Elite with our upcoming cruises next year.

When they start giving out cruise discounts at elite level, then I will pay attention. Not holding my breath.

[Steelers36]

I think all the debate - yet again - on free internet minutes is a waste of thread space.  The internet is so terrible now that free minutes would be gone downloading half a dozen emails and replying to two of them.

 

(on Regal now in Mediterranean and it is brutal)