Pre-cruise reservations, casino and wifi questions...

[TN-Mountains]

It has been a minute since I last cruised and I have a few questions.  If it is pertinent to any of my questions, I’ll be on the Sky Princess 14-day Iceland & Norway Cruise in June 2023. 

 

PRE-CRUISE RESERVATIONS:  It appears I can only use my OBC to reserve excursions and NOT spa services.  Is that the policy or is there something wrong with the Princess website?  My cruise isn’t until June.  I don’t really want to pre-pay 100% this far in advance unless it is with OBC. 

 

THERMAL SUITE:  How busy is the Thermal Suite on Sky Princess?  It looks like I can only purchase a 14-day cruise pass.  Do you get a reserved time each day or is it first come first serve?   It looks so relaxing, but if you have to run downstairs first thing in the morning to get inside….I’ll pass!    

 

CASINO:  When is the casino open?  I know they close while in port, but I seem to recall they weren’t open all the time while at sea either.  I’m hoping to schedule any spa appointments during times there isn’t much else to do. 

 

WIFI:  I know WIFI is included with Princess Plus/Premier packages or $210 for 1-device if I purchase it separately.  I don’t see any option to purchase for a single day or a block of minutes.  Do they offer something like that once onboard?  I don’t need daily wifi and I rarely drink alcohol, so I can save a lot of money if I skip the package.  My husband travels to Europe frequently, so we have cell service while in port and we will be keeping in touch with the kids while on land. However, we will be at sea on my son’s 12th birthday, and I’ll need to call him.   I’d hate to spend $210 for one phone call!  Do I have other options?   If I must purchase wifi for the entire 14-days, this would sway me towards the Plus package instead.  

[Rick&Jeannie]

We will be doing the same itinerary as you...but in May!  

 

Not sure why you are having an issue with spa services.  They should show up in your Cruise Personalizer.  I just checked one of my upcoming bookings and they are there.

Can't help with the Thermal Suite...have never done that.

Casino will open once they are in international waters...either 11 or 12 miles out.

 

People have stated that they have been able to purchase a single day (or more than one) once on board.

[FraudBroad]

It has been a minute since I last cruised and I have a few questions.  If it is pertinent to any of my questions, I’ll be on the Sky Princess 14-day Iceland & Norway Cruise in June 2023. 

 

PRE-CRUISE RESERVATIONS:  It appears I can only use my OBC to reserve excursions and NOT spa services.  That is the policy...I know, I agree, it doesn't make me happy either....

 

THERMAL SUITE:  How busy is the Thermal Suite on Sky Princess?  It looks like I can only purchase a 14-day cruise pass.  Yes, you can only pre-purchase as a full cruise pass. I haven't used it before, so I cannot comment on whether or not it is busy.

 

CASINO:  When is the casino open?  Closed in port and generally opens an hour or so after leaving port. Depends on the port how far out you have to be to open

 

WIFI:  It's only available in a full cruise package, no packages for days or minutes.

 

Hope this helps!

[TN-Mountains]

11 hours ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

We will be doing the same itinerary as you...but in May!  

 

Not sure why you are having an issue with spa services.  They should show up in your Cruise Personalizer.  I just checked one of my upcoming bookings and they are there.

Can't help with the Thermal Suite...have never done that.

Casino will open once they are in international waters...either 11 or 12 miles out.

 

People have stated that they have been able to purchase a single day (or more than one) once on board.

I thought I had read somewhere about single day purchases of wifi, but I don't know where I saw it...or it could have been when I was searching NCL, too.  Last time I cruised internet speeds were crazy slow and definitely not worth purchasing a package.  I'm sure they're faster now, but that could put them at a snail's pace instead of at a sloth's pace.

 

I hope you'll give us updates after your cruise!  Besides looking forward to cruising again, I'm really excited about this itinerary.  My husband travels for work and visits a lot of places before I get to.  Norway & Iceland are new to both of us and way cooler than Disney, Orlando & SC beaches, which with young kids have been our vacations for the last 13 years.  

[TN-Mountains]

25 minutes ago, FraudBroad said:

It has been a minute since I last cruised and I have a few questions.  If it is pertinent to any of my questions, I’ll be on the Sky Princess 14-day Iceland & Norway Cruise in June 2023. 

 

PRE-CRUISE RESERVATIONS:  It appears I can only use my OBC to reserve excursions and NOT spa services.  That is the policy...I know, I agree, it doesn't make me happy either....

 

THERMAL SUITE:  How busy is the Thermal Suite on Sky Princess?  It looks like I can only purchase a 14-day cruise pass.  Yes, you can only pre-purchase as a full cruise pass. I haven't used it before, so I cannot comment on whether or not it is busy.

 

CASINO:  When is the casino open?  Closed in port and generally opens an hour or so after leaving port. Depends on the port how far out you have to be to open

 

WIFI:  It's only available in a full cruise package, no packages for days or minutes.

 

Hope this helps!

Thank you!  Very helpful!

[voljeep]

no minutes - but can purchase a single day, unlimited wifi for like $20 - at least you could before.

[CapnCrews]

For me they didn't show any ala cart options for Medallionnet for a few weeks because they were really pushing for me to upgrade to Princess Plus.  But with patience, eventually the One-Device and smaller package breakdowns came available via the app.
 

[TN-Mountains]

11 minutes ago, CapnCrews said:

For me they didn't show any ala cart options for Medallionnet for a few weeks because they were really pushing for me to upgrade to Princess Plus.  But with patience, eventually the One-Device and smaller package breakdowns came available via the app.
 

Good to know!  Was that once you were onboard or leading up to departure?  

[Rick&Jeannie]

14 minutes ago, CapnCrews said:

For me they didn't show any ala cart options for Medallionnet for a few weeks because they were really pushing for me to upgrade to Princess Plus.  But with patience, eventually the One-Device and smaller package breakdowns came available via the app.
 

Welcome to Cruise Critic! 

 

For a while the app was having issues with the whole Medallion Net purchase routine, mainly centered around it not recognizing the user's Captain's Circle loyalty level.

[CapnCrews]

34 minutes ago, TN-Mountains said:

Good to know!  Was that once you were onboard or leading up to departure?  

It was from the date I put the deposit down, which was just about the day the cruise became available and for about 2 or 3 months. 

[TN-Mountains]

12 hours ago, CapnCrews said:

It was from the date I put the deposit down, which was just about the day the cruise became available and for about 2 or 3 months. 

Interesting.  I originally booked back in November and the only option showing in the Princess App was for the Entire Voyage Plan.  I cancelled and rebooked (new booking #) almost 4 weeks ago and still my only option with the new booking number is for the Entire Voyage Plan.  I wonder if they changed the policy with the rollout of the new Princess Plus/Premier?  I still have a few months before the cruise...hopefully they'll be other options pop up during that time.

[caribill]

On 2/12/2023 at 9:26 PM, TN-Mountains said:

 

PRE-CRUISE RESERVATIONS:  It appears I can only use my OBC to reserve excursions and NOT spa services.  Is that the policy or is there something wrong with the Princess website?  My cruise isn’t until June.  I don’t really want to pre-pay 100% this far in advance unless it is with OBC. 

 

That is and has been the policy. And the only reason that OBC can be used for pre-cruise booking of shore excursions is that Princess used to allow pre-cruise reservations with no payment until on board.

 

On 2/12/2023 at 9:26 PM, TN-Mountains said:

WIFI:  I know WIFI is included with Princess Plus/Premier packages or $210 for 1-device if I purchase it separately.  I don’t see any option to purchase for a single day or a block of minutes.  Do they offer something like that once onboard? 

 

Yes, you can buy a day's worth of Internet on board. It cannot be done pre-cruise.

[CapnCrews]

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply they offered wifi one day at a time, I'm not sure if such a thing ever existed on any cruise line.  I just meant, at first, my only option was to upgrade to Princess Plus to get any wifi package at all.  Then after a couple of months, the breakdown of one device, or 2+ devices appeared at considerably reduced reduced rates.   And lest you misunderstand what I mean by "reduced rates" I'll explain myself with that as well.

Princess Plus mandates that you pay for 5 or 6 addon packages like excursions, booze packages, sodas, coffee, wifi, etc and the price for that package is enormous.

If you're someone who just wants wifi and never asked for a booze package then it makes sense not to buy the Princess Plus package and just get the addons you want ala cart.

Edited February 14, 2023 by CapnCrews

[Rick&Jeannie]

1 hour ago, CapnCrews said:

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply they offered wifi one day at a time, I'm not sure if such a thing ever existed on any cruise line. 

You CAN do one (or several) days at a time...but it must be done when you are on board.  Go see the Internet Manager.  Partial packages have never been offered via the app or even pre-app.

[TN-Mountains]

On 2/14/2023 at 5:04 AM, caribill said:

 

That is and has been the policy. And the only reason that OBC can be used for pre-cruise booking of shore excursions is that Princess used to allow pre-cruise reservations with no payment until on board.

 

 

Yes, you can buy a day's worth of Internet on board. It cannot be done pre-cruise.

Thank you!  Any idea how much it costs?  I'm still debating on upgrading to Princess Plus...I don't really want to, but I need to run the numbers to see if any savings will be worth the hassle of having to track my daily spending.

[Rick&Jeannie]

1 hour ago, TN-Mountains said:

Thank you!  Any idea how much it costs?  I'm still debating on upgrading to Princess Plus...I don't really want to, but I need to run the numbers to see if any savings will be worth the hassle of having to track my daily spending.

I do not have first-hand experience doing this...but others have posted before that it was about $20/day/device.

[EDDY0827]

$15 per day, 1 device. If Platinum or Elite, $7.50 per day, 1 device.

[MsSoCalCruiser]

On 2/13/2023 at 8:49 AM, Rick&Jeannie said:

For a while the app was having issues with the whole Medallion Net purchase routine, mainly centered around it not recognizing the user's Captain's Circle loyalty level.

My loyalty level is still incorrect in the app. I am elite and it has me as a new cruiser. This happens every single time! I have reported it many times and they never correct it. 

[Rick&Jeannie]

43 minutes ago, MsSoCalCruiser said:

My loyalty level is still incorrect in the app. I am elite and it has me as a new cruiser. This happens every single time! I have reported it many times and they never correct it. 

I'm sure you don't want to hear it...but this is the root cause of your problems with trying to purchase Medallion Net at your proper level of discount. 

[MsSoCalCruiser]

2 hours ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

I'm sure you don't want to hear it...but this is the root cause of your problems with trying to purchase Medallion Net at your proper level of discount. 

Oh I know it is and it drives me nuts.  I have Princess Plus on my next cruise so I won’t have to worry about it but you would think they would fix it. It is been like this for the last few cruises. It’s also difficult when you want to go sit in the lounge because they think you’re not platinum or elite.  

[MinnCruzer]

Is anyone aware if I can use Princess eGift cards to pay for pre-cruise excursion bookings? If so, how do I do this?

[Rick&Jeannie]

31 minutes ago, MinnCruzer said:

Is anyone aware if I can use Princess eGift cards to pay for pre-cruise excursion bookings? If so, how do I do this?

Yes, you can.  When you get to the payment section there should be a button marked "gift card".  Just follow the onscreen prompts.

[MinnCruzer]

When attempting to pay for my pre-cruise excursion, my only option appears to be either a credit card or PayPal. I don't see a "gift card" option???

[Rick&Jeannie]

Interesting!  I just went through a mock excursion booking and I see the same as you describe.  I think maybe you could accomplish this by calling in...maybe.

 

 

Edited February 15, 2023 by Rick&Jeannie

[caribill]

6 hours ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

I do not have first-hand experience doing this...but others have posted before that it was about $20/day/device.

As posted above, it is $15/day for a single device at a time use, previously $10/day.

 

The $20 price was the old price for 4 devices at a time.

 

These prices are before any Platinum/Elite discount is applied.