No more free internet for platinum & elite

[Ombud]

No. The idea was to embark on an overnight cruise that never left the bay just to be onboard.  A cruise to nowhere.  Could just as easy be to the Farallons

 

Did the ferry but there's something about an overnighter with entertainment 

 

 

Edited October 16, 2021 by Ombud

[Astro Flyer]

On 10/15/2021 at 12:58 PM, Steelers36 said:

Since the post you quoted, things have changed and been clarified.  You will receive the 50% benefit as REFUNDABLE OBC.  In fact, they are supposed to have the MC App purchase recognized loyalty and only charge you the net 50%, but that doesn't appear to be implemented at this time.

We sail Majestic in a week & unfortunately that change hasn’t been implemented yet.

 

[caribill]

On 10/15/2021 at 2:19 PM, CruzDayz said:

They added it to the app so it only takes a minute to purchase.

 

But the app cannot be added to any of the digital devices we own (cell phone, tablets).

[KeepCalmBearOn]

On 10/16/2021 at 1:01 PM, brisalta said:

You can swim to Angel Island from the Marin shore. No need to cruise there. I know a woman who did that when she was young and foolish.

 

I've never swam TO Angel Island, but I used to swim FROM there to Tiburon every year despite the fact that I know what "tiburon" means.

[bigdaddy930]

Does the princess internet package for one device means it can log in to one device at a time? So if I have an iphone and an ipad I can interchange but only log in to one device at a time correct?  

[CruzDayz]

24 minutes ago, bigdaddy930 said:

Does the princess internet package for one device means it can log in to one device at a time? So if I have an iphone and an ipad I can interchange but only log in to one device at a time correct?  

That is correct.

[Hlitner]

On 10/15/2021 at 3:32 PM, brisalta said:

 

No need to answer if you do not want to but how did you get so much OBC per cruise?

Thought we might jump in on the OBC topic.  We have an upcoming 20 day Enchanted cruise and will have $1400 of OBC.  How do we get it?  No big secret and truly nothing special.  We get $300 ($150 per person) because we used a Future Cruise Deposit (we always have 1 or 2 of these on our account and replenish whenever we cruise).  We get $250 Shareholder Credit (you must own 100 shares of CCL stock).  Another $250 for my Veterans Credit (Vets need to apply one time and it stays on your Princess account).  And finally our cruise agency (we always book through discount cruise agencies that we know well) is giving us $600 OBC.    What is interesting is that of the $1400 we think that $850 is refundable (the $600 from our cruise agency and the $250 Veterans credit).  If we did not use that it would be refunded to us by Princess (in the past we have received a check a few weeks after the cruise).

 

I would also call attention to the Shareholder Credit for those who own 100 shares of CCL stock.  This is a great benefit for investors.  Consider that many years ago we bought 100 shares for about $2000.  Since that time we have collected over $10,000 (we lost track of the actual total) in OBCs which is a nice return on our investment.  That does not even include the stock dividends.  The stock value is currently down and a good time to buy.   RCI and NCLH also offer similar stockholder credits.

 

Hank

[bigdaddy930]

Is there any difference in paying the medallionNet internet plan now vs on board? My wife and I have OBC so I want to use it first before they charge on my cc. If I buy the internet plan now (before on board) I assume Princess will charge to my cc right away. If I buy this package while on ship will the charge will be deducting from my OBC?

Another Q is about platinum member internet 50% discount? How will Princess charge my internet plan? Will they charge in full first or give me 50% OBC or they charge me just 50% upfront?

[Ombud]

On 10/18/2021 at 5:10 PM, scottca075 said:

On 10/16/2021 at 1:01 PM, brisalta said:

You can swim to Angel Island from the Marin shore. No need to cruise there. I know a woman who did that when she was young and foolish.

 

I've never swam TO Angel Island, but I used to swim FROM there to Tiburon every year despite the fact that I know what "tiburon" means

I'm not that strong of a swimmer. Only able to do to & from Fannette Island in Emerald Bay (Tahoe). Minimal currents to contend with and warmer water. 

[Ombud]

2 hours ago, bigdaddy930 said:

Is there any difference in paying the medallionNet internet plan now vs on board?

I get more OBC than I can use, so for me, no really difference. HOWEVER the price goes up onboard. Precruise 1 device: $10 per day with $5 returned as OBC. Onboard it's $15 with $7.50 returned. 

 

[Steelers36]

4 hours ago, bigdaddy930 said:

Will they charge in full first or give me 50% OBC or they charge me just 50% upfront?

You are charged the net cost if buying on board.  As of today, when you order ahead of time, you are charged full price and get 50% back as Refundable OBC on board.  They are working on an enhancement so that our status is recognized in the MC App and we will only be billed 50% net cost.  On Embarkation Day, in the meantime, the pre-cruise rate is available.

[Knickearth]

When we saw the changes to elite benefits, we felt very disrespected by princess.  I would prefer they remove the stupid 10% discounts on stuff.

so now we are back into looking at HAL.  We haven’t sailed with them since 2006, but are hearing good things.

 

we can only thank Princess for this opportunity.  If treated appropriately we would still solely book with them.  We have 1 cruise with Princess for Aug. 2022 but it looks like we will cancel prior to final payment.  Then we can also return to Celebrity.

 

Never thought I would be back on those cruise lines.  HAL is part of Carnival family but Celebrity is not, so Celebrity it will be.

[cruisingram1]

On 11/28/2021 at 6:21 AM, bigdaddy930 said:

Is there any difference in paying the medallionNet internet plan now vs on board? My wife and I have OBC so I want to use it first before they charge on my cc. If I buy the internet plan now (before on board) I assume Princess will charge to my cc right away. If I buy this package while on ship will the charge will be deducting from my OBC?

Another Q is about platinum member internet 50% discount? How will Princess charge my internet plan? Will they charge in full first or give me 50% OBC or they charge me just 50% upfront?

I was hoping someone would jump into this thread with the answer to your questions. So many pages to read and don't see the answer. If I click the option for Medallionnet on MC it says $69 for a week. I am platinum. If I pre-purchase internet I assume I will get back a credit of $35 in refundable OBC and the charge is to my cc, not my OBC account. If I want to use my OBC I must wait til I board and will be charged 50% of the $69. Unless Princess changes things around. Did I get that right? This should not be so complicated. See the price, click buy and that's it.

[Thrak]

From what I've read here in this thread this is how it works:

 

Advance purchase 1 device: $10 per day with $5 returned as OBC.

 

Onboard it's $15 with $7.50 returned. 

[RAJO]

Due to Covid and the different vaccine requirements I haven cruised in two years. After booking my current cruse I was surprised to see the internet loyalty perk was removed. For my current one i paid for 1 device as the Hawaii cruise is ten days at sea. It wasn’t outrageous with the discount. 
Yesterday booked a 32 day cruse with Princess and after doing so saw the cost for internet is $640. For up to 4 devices and $240.00 for one device if you book in advance that is at the half price rate which is outrageous. If I had not paid $100 per person Non refundable deposit I would consider cancelling. They have you at their mercy especially on long haul cruises. This one has almost two third days at sea in foreign  territory. I am not sure if a Apple Watch is considered a device. The person at customer service had no clue . 

Time to look at other cruise lines. 

[KeepCalmBearOn]

4 hours ago, RAJO said:

and after doing so saw the cost for internet is $640. For up to 4 devices and $240.00 for one device if you book in advance that is at the half price rate which is outrageous. If I had not paid $100 per person Non refundable deposit I would consider cancelling. They have you at their mercy especially on long haul cruises.

 

I know it is hard to believe, but there was a time when ships didn't have any Internet at all and we managed to get on and enjoy ourselves anyway.

 

4 hours ago, RAJO said:

This one has almost two third days at sea in foreign  territory. I am not sure if a Apple Watch is considered a device. The person at customer service had no clue . Time to look at other cruise lines. 

 

Good luck finding better perks, especially Internet, in other loyalty clubs.

[caribill]

5 hours ago, RAJO said:

 This one has almost two third days at sea in foreign  territory. I am not sure if a Apple Watch is considered a device. The person at customer service had no clue . 

 

 

Any device that accesses the Internet is considered a device in this case.

 

So if your watch actually communicates with the Internet, it would be a device.

 

If you have a single device package, you can use one device at a time and the watch could be one that you use.

[Ombud]

10 hours ago, RAJO said:

.....  internet loyalty perk was removed. ..... Time to look at other cruise lines. 

So I did a quick search for 1 device on other lines:

Princess - $15 (before 50% discount)

Royal Caribbean - $16 a day unless you want surf & stream then it's $20 a day. 

Celebrity - $20 a day unless you want access to email, then its $35 a day

Norwegian- $25 per day

 

 

Edited February 9, 2023 by Ombud

[caribill]

3 hours ago, Ombud said:

Celebrity - $20 a day unless you want access to email, then its $35 a day

 

 

 

E-mail is included with the $20/day rate.

 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/things-to-do-onboard/onboard-packages/internet-and-phone-packages/compare-wifi-packages

 

Depending on Celebrity/RCI loyalty status, there is a discount of 10% to 35% to the Celebrity rates.

[Ombud]

45 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

E-mail is included with the $20/day rate.

 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/things-to-do-onboard/onboard-packages/internet-and-phone-packages/compare-wifi-packages

 

Depending on Celebrity/RCI loyalty status, there is a discount of 10% to 35% to the Celebrity rates.

So it's 20 vs 15. Discount of 10-35% vs 50%. 

[hobbyfarmer2]

4 hours ago, Ombud said:

So I did a quick search for 1 device on other lines:

Princess - $15 (before 50% discount)

Royal Caribbean - $16 a day unless you want surf & stream then it's $20 a day. 

Celebrity - $20 a day unless you want access to email, then its $35 a day

Norwegian- $25 per day

 

 

I have read some recent posts and there are a lot of unhappy people but it seems like Princess has the best internet offering from your post.  Doesn't really affect DW and I as we book Princess Plus.  Many say that if you purchase before cruise it is $10/day with $5/day refundable OBC after you board.  My only concern is that we found the network a bit slow last November and I wondered if Princess was back on the old "slower" and cheaper satellites instead of the newer faster ones.  I also have this suspicion that the trend to real-time streaming by so many is putting a serious strain on ship/sat capabilities.  I can always stream movies at home - onboard we like to close the bars and save the internet for email, checking in flights and other minor stuff.

[caribill]

1 minute ago, hobbyfarmer2 said:

I have read some recent posts and there are a lot of unhappy people but it seems like Princess has the best internet offering from your post. 

 

Maybe by price, but not by performance.

 

1 minute ago, hobbyfarmer2 said:

Many say that if you purchase before cruise it is $10/day with $5/day refundable OBC after you board. 

 

That was the old pricing before the date in December they raised the single device price from $10/day to $15/day.

[Ombud]

Agreed. Ppl get upset when anything is changed which is why temporarily allowing switching minibar for Princess Plus discount is a bad idea. However 1 great idea IMHO /JMHO is switching current internet provider for Starlink even though it means pricing goes from $10-$15 a day before discount. Its the same one used by other lines in above comparison so I am comparing apples to apples

 

Edited February 9, 2023 by Ombud

[hobbyfarmer2]

6 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

Maybe by price, but not by performance.

 

 

That was the old pricing before the date in December they raised the single device price from $10/day to $15/day.

Thanks for the price update.  We don't need performance as we don't stream.  The rebate brings it down to $7.50/day once onboard.  I guess our glass is half full.

Edited February 9, 2023 by hobbyfarmer2
spelling

[logan25]

24 minutes ago, hobbyfarmer2 said:

Thanks for the price update.  We don't need performance as we don't stream.  The rebate brings it down to $7.50/day once onboard.  I guess our glass is half full.

You should have the option to add internet package through app prior to sailing, at the discounted rate.  That is true for our cruise yet to sail in September.