Free Internet eliminated from all suites

[fun_one]

I didn't have time to read the entire thread (sorry) but the title of it got my attention. My husband and I just returned from a week (6/30/12 - 7/7/12) in Alaska on the Golden Princess and were upgraded at the last minute to a PH on the Sky deck which was FABULOUS! We got all the perks including the internet which we really enjoyed. We were not on that long at any given time but it was great to check email occassionally, etc. I do want to let you know that the breakfast in Sabatini's every morning was the best! We took advantage of that a lot and avoided the crowds and lines in the buffet. We didn't realize about the free cover at the Specialty restaurants the first night until the 2nd night so didn't get to take advantage of that but we did enjoy dinner at the Crown Grill one night. Personally, I think the dry cleaning and laundry is a great perk - how nice to come home with almost all clean clothes!

 

Barbara

[compozer]

An alternative view on the issue of internet usage at sea here:

 

Part of the magic of cruising for me is escaping from the "real world" and being completely "off the grid" for several days. Here at home I am on call 24/7 and must carry 2 smartphones (on and completely charged at all times). There is a large segment of cruisers, I imagine, who are exactly like me and who could care less about the internet while on a cruise.

 

 

BUt for many of us retired folks, we like the internet and want to keep in touch with friends and family. Everyone has a different reason for cruising.

[highheel girl]

I didn't have time to read the entire thread (sorry) but the title of it got my attention. My husband and I just returned from a week (6/30/12 - 7/7/12) in Alaska on the Golden Princess and were upgraded at the last minute to a PH on the Sky deck which was FABULOUS! We got all the perks including the internet which we really enjoyed. We were not on that long at any given time but it was great to check email occassionally, etc. I do want to let you know that the breakfast in Sabatini's every morning was the best! We took advantage of that a lot and avoided the crowds and lines in the buffet. We didn't realize about the free cover at the Specialty restaurants the first night until the 2nd night so didn't get to take advantage of that but we did enjoy dinner at the Crown Grill one night. Personally, I think the dry cleaning and laundry is a great perk - how nice to come home with almost all clean clothes!

 

Barbara

 

 

Was this your first Princess cruise?

[highheel girl]

Yes, that was one of the first benefits they took from full suites.

 

Mike:(

 

Minis had them for awhile too! :eek:

[pablo222]

No, Princess has not caught up with technology yet.

 

I half-believe that it's intentional. You want your customers

to spend money. If it is too easy to check how much they have

spent, they will be more aware, and potentially limit their

spending.

[Pam in CA]

And when you do, you will be sharing that dedicated line at the pursers desk with the 300 Elites onboard who are not in suites. :D

Several ships now have a monitor, printer and card swipe at the PSD where you can swipe your card and it'll print out your folio. Little or no line.

[sdcruiser]

Fyi!

 

i sent a "concerned" email to princess customer relations yesterday and received the following reply today:

 

For those passengers who have a suite booking made prior to july 15, 2012, we will honor the offer of complimentary internet for that voyage. Please see the passenger services desk during your cruise and they will waive any internet charges.

 

We look forward to welcoming you onboard.

 

Sincerely,

 

princess cruises

customer relations specialist

customerrelations@princesscruises.com

[dtb55]

An alternative view on the issue of internet usage at sea here:

 

Part of the magic of cruising for me is escaping from the "real world" and being completely "off the grid" for several days. Here at home I am on call 24/7 and must carry 2 smartphones (on and completely charged at all times). There is a large segment of cruisers, I imagine, who are exactly like me and who could care less about the internet while on a cruise.

 

At the end I f the day, I enjoy sitting and checking email, FB, whatever. I'm traveling with my three sons and their wives and girlfriends and plan to have dinner with them on the first night aboard. I have no interest in the specialty restaurants the first night. To each his own, I guess.

 

 

 

Denise

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Cruisin Sal]

Thanks for the info on the suite free internet. I e-mailed Princess today and they said they would honor the complimentary internet. We'll see!

[Sunviking]

We're currently on the Crown and have free wi-fi. I received the e-mail others did after I boarded the ship in Venice saying we were grandfathered in. The internet manager is a delightful lady named Amy who told me before I read the e-mail. Connections are slow, but we have them. Billing is different from previous cruises where we bought a package and it was credited back to you account. Now when we log on it asks us to purchase minutes. When we click on that a page comes up saying "Complimentary suite internet access" or some such for $.00 for 0 ,minutes. You click on that and away you go - v-e-ry- s-l-ow-l-y!

 

Anyway, we're happy Princess took care of the issue.

[fishin' musician]

We're currently on the Crown and have free wi-fi. I received the e-mail others did after I boarded the ship in Venice saying we were grandfathered in. The internet manager is a delightful lady named Amy who told me before I read the e-mail. Connections are slow, but we have them. Billing is different from previous cruises where we bought a package and it was credited back to you account. Now when we log on it asks us to purchase minutes. When we click on that a page comes up saying "Complimentary suite internet access" or some such for $.00 for 0 ,minutes. You click on that and away you go - v-e-ry- s-l-ow-l-y!

 

Anyway, we're happy Princess took care of the issue.

 

Poor Amy, the first day of our cruise she was inundated with a crowd around her, shouting in multiple languages, most were older and had enough trouble just using their devices, let alone trying to connect to the ship's internet. She has the patience of a saint. I had a few laughs with her, she said she wanted to throw all the wireless devices in the sea. We kidded about her being employee of the month, she said she suspected they gave her that so she wouldn't quit.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

We're currently on the Crown and have free wi-fi. I received the e-mail others did after I boarded the ship in Venice saying we were grandfathered in. The internet manager is a delightful lady named Amy who told me before I read the e-mail. Connections are slow, but we have them. Billing is different from previous cruises where we bought a package and it was credited back to you account. Now when we log on it asks us to purchase minutes. When we click on that a page comes up saying "Complimentary suite internet access" or some such for $.00 for 0 ,minutes. You click on that and away you go - v-e-ry- s-l-ow-l-y!

 

Anyway, we're happy Princess took care of the issue.

 

Thanks for the information!

 

I wonder if the "free" suite internet is somehow able to be throttled back... hmmm (or is it always SUPER slow like you describe)?

 

Tom

[caribill]

Now when we log on it asks us to purchase minutes. When we click on that a page comes up saying "Complimentary suite internet access" or some such for $.00 for 0 ,minutes. You click on that and away you go - v-e-ry- s-l-ow-l-y!

 

Anyway, we're happy Princess took care of the issue.

 

In the past opnce accounting has closed out Internet access for thsoe without unused minutes on a package, some suite passengers found they also could not access the Internet because even $.00 minutes could not be purchased at that time.

 

Verify with Amy that you will still have that access after accounts are closed out that last evening of the cruise.

[azbirdmom]

Poor Amy' date=' the first day of our cruise she was inundated with a crowd around her, shouting in multiple languages, most were older and had enough trouble just using their devices, let alone trying to connect to the ship's internet. She has the patience of a saint. I had a few laughs with her, she said she wanted to throw all the wireless devices in the sea. We kidded about her being employee of the month, she said she suspected they gave her that so she wouldn't quit.[/quote']

 

I would imagine that they didn't give much of a heads-up to their internet managers either, and they probably bore the brunt of angry passengers. I'm very glad that Princess decided to rethink their stance!

[IECalCruiser]

Everyone's experience varies. We have not done a TA or been to Europe. But even sailing 'Round the Horn or to Hawaii we have not had significant issues with speed when using our PC. We mostly check e-mail. We use Outlook and read and write e-mails off line. We typically use between 2-4 minutes to upload/download. Now using the ships PC at the Internet Cafe is a different matter as they are excruciatingly slow. Forgot my PC on an Alaska cruise two year ago and attempted to check my e-mail in the Coral's Internet Cafe on a Sea Day and burned up more than 20 minutes of our Platinum time before I gave up with no success. Fortunately our iPhones worked just fine with the ship's WiFi for the rest of the cruise.

[Woobstr112G]

We're currently on the Crown and have free wi-fi. I received the e-mail others did after I boarded the ship in Venice saying we were grandfathered in. The internet manager is a delightful lady named Amy who told me before I read the e-mail. Connections are slow, but we have them. Billing is different from previous cruises where we bought a package and it was credited back to you account. Now when we log on it asks us to purchase minutes. When we click on that a page comes up saying "Complimentary suite internet access" or some such for $.00 for 0 ,minutes. You click on that and away you go - v-e-ry- s-l-ow-l-y!

 

Anyway, we're happy Princess took care of the issue.

 

Ann;

Thanks for the real time update. Hope you two are having a great cruise.....:):):)

Bob

[rdsqrl]

BUt for many of us retired folks, we like the internet and want to keep in touch with friends and family. Everyone has a different reason for cruising.

I cruise to give my friends and family a break from keeping in touch with me. They seem to have no complaints . . .

[Iamcruzin]

It looks like they need to update the video. Listen to the complementary amenities of a full suite. Fast forward to staterooms

 

http://www.princess.com/video/dvd/PrincessExperienceCE09.html

[TheBestIsYetToCome]

It looks like they need to update the video. Listen to the complementary amenities of a full suite. Fast forward to staterooms

 

http://www.princess.com/video/dvd/PrincessExperienceCE09.html

 

Probably why they're letting this ride until the 15th -- to get some of these materials deleted or updated.

[Balloon Man]

So, if you want free internet in a PH, and today being Friday the 13th of July, you have two days to book.

[Matcodixon]

So, if you want free internet in a PH, and today being Friday the 13th of July, you have two days to book.

Correctimundo!

 

If you are a Platinum or Elite, you will still get your free minutes package.

 

If not, you will have to suffer with all the other perks and purchase internet packages like the rest of us. Fortunately they are not that expensive especially when purchased in advance.