Wi-Fi Hotspots?

[Wiseask]

I am a veteran of many Celebrity cruises but I am new to Princess. I am currently trying to decide whether purchasing a Plus package for my upcoming Transatlantic cruise on the Sun Princess is worthwhile for me. I realize that unlimited Wi-Fi is included in the Plus package and that Princess also offers separate Wi-Fi packages where the prices depend on the amount of Wi-Fi usage. I plan to explore them to determine what works best for me. 
 

But in speaking by phone with a Princess customer service representative, I was told that on board their ships there is a Wi-Fi hotspot that’s available for me to use for free. Because I don’t expect my Wi-Fi usage to be extensive, the hotspot sounded like an attractive option. 
 

Can anyone with experience sailing Princess advise me whether the customer service representative I spoke with is correct, that there is in fact a Wi-Fi hotspot on board Princess ships available to passengers to use for free? Frankly, it sounded too good to be true. 

 

Thanks. 

[akaCruiser]

Internet on Princess is unlimited by duration, e.g., per cruise or by day, and can be purchased for one device or for four devices. If you use the Princess app, you have limited Wifi services. If you are thinking reading email, surfing the internet or watching YouTube, then you need to get an internet package.

 

By getting Princess Plus, it's overall the best option as the cost of Wifi, Gratuities, and drink package is better than paying for these individually.

 

[Rick&Jeannie]

23 minutes ago, Wiseask said:

 

Can anyone with experience sailing Princess advise me whether the customer service representative I spoke with is correct, that there is in fact a Wi-Fi hotspot on board Princess ships available to passengers to use for free?

You can connect to the ship *intranet* for free. This is how many of the app's features work. But if you want to get to th*internet*, then you have to buy a package. 

[Rick&Jeannie]

It sounds as if you were "bitten" by the reps poor training and lack of understanding what the system is!

[skynight]

I never heard of free hot spots. Princess only sells unlimited packages to connect to the internet. The packages are sold for the entire cruise as part of plus or premier fares. You can also purchase an internet package separately and I believe the current cost is $25/day when purchased for the entire voyage, all days. Single day unlimited internet packages are available. Believe the current cost is $30/day.

Princess markets internet connection as wifi. Which to me is a little confusing. It's really connection to the satellite internet that you are purchasing.

On board connection to the ship's intranet and on board information is no charge.

 

[memoak]

Wi-Fi packages are not priced on usage but on the amount of devices to connect at one time. App runs off free intranet but you cannot connect to internet net for free 

[SCX22]

Long story short:

If you don't purchase an Internet plan, the only thing, data wise, that will work is the Princess App and the Princess website in your browser.

[Thrak]

1 hour ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

It sounds as if you were "bitten" by the reps poor training and lack of understanding what the system is!

 

The real problem is that people, including the Princess reps, use the term WiFi when what they actually mean is Internet Access. Everybody on the ship has "free WiFi" but, if one wants to connect to the Internet, there is a cost.

 

It makes me crazy that people don't use proper terminology as it just confuses others. It' like fingernails on a chalk board to me when I hear people refer to their phone or computer Wallpaper as their "Screen Saver". GAH!!! If people are going to use technology they should be required to learn the proper terms for things. I worked for the State of California and had users who referred to their computer as "the modem" or "the hard drive". A couple thought the monitor was the computer. One of the joys of being retired is not having to deal with that sort of thing being an almost daily occurrence.

[Rick&Jeannie]

1 hour ago, Thrak said:

 

The real problem is that people, including the Princess reps, use the term WiFi when what they actually mean is Internet Access. Everybody on the ship has "free WiFi" but, if one wants to connect to the Internet, there is a cost.

 

It makes me crazy that people don't use proper terminology as it just confuses others. It' like fingernails on a chalk board to me when I hear people refer to their phone or computer Wallpaper as their "Screen Saver". GAH!!! If people are going to use technology they should be required to learn the proper terms for things. I worked for the State of California and had users who referred to their computer as "the modem" or "the hard drive". A couple thought the monitor was the computer. One of the joys of being retired is not having to deal with that sort of thing being an almost daily occurrence.

And I'm sure you've had to point out the "any" key....right? 😀

[cr8tiv1]

1 hour ago, Thrak said:

A couple thought the monitor was the computer.

 

LOVE your rant.

 

BUT...but...but, My very old Apple iMac does have the computer built in to the monitor.  The keyboard is separate.  And I don't have a CPU (box/brain/drive).  

 

AND... some apps will work with the ship's INTRAnet:  Princess.com, What'sApp, and iMessage to other iPhone users.

 

But as a general rule, if you want to get on to the INTERrnet, you will have to purchase a plan.

[shellbeachjim]

2 hours ago, Thrak said:

One of the joys of being retired is not having to deal with that sort of thing being an almost daily occurrence.

Prior to retiring, I was a software engineer providing software support for products we marketed. The one piece of advice I was given prior to starting was that calling a customer dumb (or other other words insinuating they had no idea what they were doing), would be considered "career limiting".

[Thrak]

1 hour ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

And I'm sure you've had to point out the "any" key....right? 😀

 

I once had someone who had plugged their power strip into itself and couldn't figure out why nothing worked. I had a woman whose computer wouldn't boot no matter what she did. I talked with her for maybe 10-15 minutes and she assured me everything was plugged in and turned on but nothing at all happened when she tried to start her computer. I drove an hour and a half to help her out and all I did was walk in, glance at her setup, and push the power button on her power strip. People sometimes make me crazy. (Of course I did get paid mileage for the trip...😉)

Edited June 3 by Thrak

[Thrak]

1 minute ago, shellbeachjim said:

Prior to retiring, I was a software engineer providing software support for products we marketed. The one piece of advice I was given prior to starting was that calling a customer dumb (or other other words insinuating they had no idea what they were doing), would be considered "career limiting".

 

I knew I couldn't get away with submitting a ticket for PEBKAC or PICNIC issues but I did once succumb to temptation and submitted a ticket as a Layer 8 Network Issue. 😇

[SCX22]

1 minute ago, Thrak said:

I knew I couldn't get away with submitting a ticket for PEBKAC or PICNIC issues but I did once succumb to temptation and submitted a ticket as a Layer 8 Network Issue.

 

This is why I feel sorry for the Ocean Navigators on the ship.  Without fail, there's a long line of passengers at Ocean Front the first few days of the cruise with these types of problems.

[Rick&Jeannie]

1 minute ago, Thrak said:

 

I once had someone who had plugged their power strip into itself and couldn't figure out why nothing worked. I had a woman whose computer wouldn't boot no matter what she did. I talked with her for maybe 10-15 minutes and she assured me everything was plugged in and turned on but nothing at all happened when she tried to start her computer. I drove an hour and a half to help her out and all I did was walk in, glance at her setup, and push the power button on her power strip. People sometimes make me crazy. (Of course I did get paid mileage for the trip...😉)

Yep!  I have some stories like that.  I had a user at one of our remote offices trying to do some number programming on a fax machine.  They were on a "tie line" back to the main office, so they had to dial "9" first.  I'm not sure exactly what they were trying to do...but when the police showed up because they were dialing "911" we finally figured it out! 😄

[MacMadame]

4 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

BUT...but...but, My very old Apple iMac does have the computer built in to the monitor.  The keyboard is separate.  And I don't have a CPU (box/brain/drive).  

You do have a CPU. It's in the monitor. If you didn't have a CPU, you wouldn't have a computer as that's where the computer's "brains" are (mostly).

[cr8tiv1]

11 minutes ago, MacMadame said:

You do have a CPU. It's in the monitor. If you didn't have a CPU, you wouldn't have a computer as that's where the computer's "brains" are (mostly).

I was thinking more PCs where the CPU is a separate unit,  Yes, I do know that there are only two parts to the older iMacs…and the keyboard does not house the CPU (therefore, it’s got to be in the monitor).  
 

That’s what I meant by the “computer” is built into the monitor. 
 

BTW I have my own personal Apple computer museum dating back to the early 70s until this model.  They got too big to “carry” around.  I also have an assortment of laptops and other devices. 😂 
 

Edited June 3 by cr8tiv1

[PoppyVelvet]

8 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

I knew I couldn't get away with submitting a ticket for PEBKAC or PICNIC issues but I did once succumb to temptation and submitted a ticket as a Layer 8 Network Issue. 😇

I have heard of PEBKAC but not the other two. I did hear someone in IT support once tell them to write down this error code: ID ten T. Write it with number in numeric form: ID10T

[Wiseask]

12 hours ago, Thrak said:

The real problem is that people, including the Princess reps, use the term WiFi when what they actually mean is Internet Access. Everybody on the ship has "free WiFi" but, if one wants to connect to the Internet, there is a cost.

I can recall years ago cruising in the Caribbean that as soon as we docked at an island, the crew with permission to go ashore would rush to locations designated as “hotspots” to connect with their families. So those of us, including the Princess reps, who lack your IT sophistication, might be forgiven for making a connection, at least in our minds, between hotspots and Internet access. But I understand what you and others are saying: to receive Internet access on board the ship, one must purchase a Wi-Fi package. Thanks to all for sharing your thoughts. 

[JamieLogical]

I have heard of some people having luck with messenger apps and wifi calling when just connected to the ship's free wifi with no internet plan. It seems to vary somewhat between cruise lines, ships, phone types, and the specific apps.

[MacMadame]

3 hours ago, Wiseask said:

I can recall years ago cruising in the Caribbean that as soon as we docked at an island, the crew with permission to go ashore would rush to locations designated as “hotspots” to connect with their families. So those of us, including the Princess reps, who lack your IT sophistication, might be forgiven for making a connection, at least in our minds, between hotspots and Internet access. But I understand what you and others are saying: to receive Internet access on board the ship, one must purchase a Wi-Fi package. Thanks to all for sharing your thoughts. 

Yes, that's the key. Despite Princess' weird naming of things that is very confusing, that's what it comes down to.

 

In terms of hotspots, there are two kinds and most people refer to private hotspots (i.e., when you use your phone's cellular data to access the internet and then share the internet with others via wifi.) when they use the term. But there are public hotspots which are generally just limited access to the internet that only covers, say, the cafe providing it, and not other businesses next door. These days, most people just call that wifi.

 

And we call this wifi when wifi is the way we access the internet not the internet access itself. Which is probably why Princess also call it wifi.

 

10 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

BTW I have my own personal Apple computer museum dating back to the early 70s until this model.  They got too big to “carry” around.  I also have an assortment of laptops and other devices. 😂 
 

Nice. My first Apple product was the Mac 128k. Which I upgraded to 512k as soon as it was available. 

 

Btw, my personal pet peeve is people who refer to memory (RAM) as discs/hard drives. In the early days of personal computers, people did that *all the time*. 🤣

Edited June 3 by MacMadame

[Thrak]

7 hours ago, PoppyVelvet said:

I have heard of PEBKAC but not the other two. I did hear someone in IT support once tell them to write down this error code: ID ten T. Write it with number in numeric form: ID10T

 

Yes, ID10T is another common one.

PEBKAC: Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair

PICNIC: Problem in Chair Not In Computer

Layer 8 Network Issue: There are only 7 layers in the OSI network model

 

1 hour ago, MacMadame said:

Nice. My first Apple product was the Mac 128k. Which I upgraded to 512k as soon as it was available. 

 

Btw, my personal pet peeve is people who refer to memory (RAM) as discs/hard drives. In the early days of personal computers, people did that *all the time*. 🤣

 

People don't seem to understand the difference between Memory and Storage. Our first PC clone ran at a "blistering" 16 MHz and had a "full Megabyte" of RAM! It also had a 40 Mb HDD. Ahhhh... Loved DOS. 😁

[milogurd]

2 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

Yes, ID10T is another common one.

PEBKAC: Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair

PICNIC: Problem in Chair Not In Computer

Layer 8 Network Issue: There are only 7 layers in the OSI network model

 

 

People don't seem to understand the difference between Memory and Storage. Our first PC clone ran at a "blistering" 16 MHz and had a "full Megabyte" of RAM! It also had a 40 Mb HDD. Ahhhh... Loved DOS. 😁

• Code 18: The problem is located 18 inches away from the monitor.
• EEOC: Equipment Exceeds Operator Capabilities
• OHE: Operator Headspace Error
• C2K: "Chair to Keyboard" problem
• CBE: Carbon-Based Error
• ESO: Equipment Smarter than Operator
• BDU: Brain dead user
• SUE: Stupid User Error
• KUIDE: Keyboard and User Interface Disconnect Error
• FKA: Faulty keyboard actuator
• LNBTK: Loose nut behind the keyboard
• DKC: Defective keyboard controller

 

[BamaVol]

On 6/2/2024 at 7:33 PM, Thrak said:

 

The real problem is that people, including the Princess reps, use the term WiFi when what they actually mean is Internet Access. Everybody on the ship has "free WiFi" but, if one wants to connect to the Internet, there is a cost.

 

It makes me crazy that people don't use proper terminology as it just confuses others. It' like fingernails on a chalk board to me when I hear people refer to their phone or computer Wallpaper as their "Screen Saver". GAH!!! If people are going to use technology they should be required to learn the proper terms for things. I worked for the State of California and had users who referred to their computer as "the modem" or "the hard drive". A couple thought the monitor was the computer. One of the joys of being retired is not having to deal with that sort of thing being an almost daily occurrence.

Similar to an accountant listening to people refer to their tax REFUND as a tax RETURN. I’m retired but I still hear that every year. Definitely like fingernails on a chalkboard. 

[Muffinz]

This is apparently a true story from 15 odd years ago

A woman working in an office phoned the help desk to report an issue with her computer

 

Woman               Hello – I was typing a document then the words disappeared

Help Desk          What do you mean disappeared?

Woman               the words disappeared from in front of me

Help Desk          ok can you check that the monitor has a red or green light in the corner?

Woman               what’s a monitor?

Help Desk          it’s the screen in front of you

Woman               oh ok, there’s no light on the monitor anywhere

Help Desk          ok can check the power cord at the back and check it’s all plugged in ok?

Woman               I’ll try, but it’s very difficult to see here because it’s quite dark

Help Desk          Can you turn on a light or something?

Woman               No sorry – we’ve just had a power cut

Help Desk          Ahhhh…. I think I’ve found the issue

Woman               great

Help Desk          do you still have the boxes the computer came in?

Woman               Yes – why?

Help Desk          you need to pack up the computer and take it back to where you bought it from

Woman               oh really… What do I say when I take it back?

Help Desk          Tell them you’re too damn stupid to own a computer!