Platinum Guests Buying Wi Fi

[Reina del Mar]

We have not booked a Plus or Premium Package this time,  so need to purchase internet . I understood that as Platinum passengers we could buy internet for one device at a reduction of 50%. When trying to do this on line, I could only find the full price of $15 per day. When I phoned Princess UK, I was told that the 50% would be applied as non refundable OBC.

 

Has anyone found a way around this?? Maybe purchasing using existing OBC on the first day ??

 

Many thanks.

 

 

Edited February 7, 2023 by Reina del Mar

[Mary loves to travel]

ok I'm in the US, but in my Medallion app, it shows  both the 1 device and the 4 device plans, plus a note that says as Platinum, either package will be 50% off.    So, I get charged at the 50% off price, no fooling around with refundable or non-refundable OBC.

 

Mary

 

Edited February 7, 2023 by Mary loves to travel

[cr8tiv1]

Another inconsistency. 

 

When purchasing internet at the beginning of post covid travel, I had to do it by calling Princess and adding it to my portfolio.  It WAS....supposed to be returned as refundable OBC.  Much to my surprise, it was listed as non-refundable on my folio.  There was a lot of back and forth and no one on the ship really knew what the correct answer was.  Fortunately, I was able to spend all of my OBC.

 

Others on different ship (I was on the Grand) were reporting that it was showing up as refundable OBC.  Was I surprised?  Not a bit.

 

Now you should be able to purchase internet directly via the app for 50% off AND that would not involve refundable/non-refundable OBC.  Several have mentioned that they are still unable to do this.  You used to be able to do it on your personalizer.  I don't see it there anymore.  

 

From my understanding, the "new" price is now $15 a day for one device and $40 a day for 4 devices.  It used to be a bargain at $10 a day and $20.....with 50% off.

 

I don't know if you can purchase it onboard the first day for $15 AND at half price, giving you the opportunity to use up OBC.

[Rick&Jeannie]

Of course...getting the 50% off via the app is solely dependent upon the app recognizing the correct Captain's Circle tier.... Many have posted that it was not.  They had to call Princess to get that resolved.

[Bizzie07]

I'm in UK and i can see it on the app.  For one device it is £39.90 for seven nights (50% reduction).

[Reina del Mar]

Thank you..I have called Princess, only to be told that the 50% would be applied as non refundable OBC !!!!

 

Of course, this is in UK where T&Cs may be different..but not what is advertised since the free Wi Fi was discontinued. !!

[Reina del Mar]

Just now, Bizzie07 said:

I'm in UK and i can see it on the app.  For one device it is £39.90 for seven nights (50% reduction).

 Thanks for that ..my app is showing £194.40 for one device and £518.40 for four devices. This is for 18 nights and is in Pounds !!! 

[Rick&Jeannie]

5 hours ago, Reina del Mar said:

 Thanks for that ..my app is showing £194.40 for one device and £518.40 for four devices. This is for 18 nights and is in Pounds !!! 

We never got a response from you as to whether the app is showing you at the correct tier level.  ???

[Steelers36]

6 hours ago, Reina del Mar said:

Thank you..I have called Princess, only to be told that the 50% would be applied as non refundable OBC !!!!

 

Of course, this is in UK where T&Cs may be different..but not what is advertised since the free Wi Fi was discontinued. !!

BS - It is Refundable OBC.  Think about it a minute - you need to be treated the same as a guest for whom the 50% discount works or for the guest who purchases on board at the net cost of 50%.

 

Just wait and buy it on board.  Multiple times I (and some others have repeated my info) have posted that the new prices are the same both pre-cruise and on board so no need to advance purchase to save dollars.

[cr8tiv1]

@Steelers36...I sure hope you are correct about the same prices as pre-pay or onboard the first day.  I was just about to hit the pre-pay an let Princess have my money MONTHs in advance instead of waiting to buy it onboard with OBC.  

 

There was an advantage to buying it before the prices went up.  I will wait and cross my fingers.  It is a local run so won't be missing out much if Princess changes their policy, again.

[Reina del Mar]

5 hours ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

We never got a response from you as to whether the app is showing you at the correct tier level.  ???

Sorry..the app isn’t showing any tier…lady I spoke to at Princess knew we will be Elite during this cruise, but still wasn’t able to help…according to her !! Maybe I’ll try phoning again and speaking to a different agent..otherwise I have taken a screenshot of what they are offering now and will show when we are onboard.

[Jadn13]

2 hours ago, Reina del Mar said:

Sorry..the app isn’t showing any tier…lady I spoke to at Princess knew we will be Elite during this cruise, but still wasn’t able to help…according to her !! Maybe I’ll try phoning again and speaking to a different agent..otherwise I have taken a screenshot of what they are offering now and will show when we are onboard.

Your loyalty level shows on your profile picture, it’s the color of the Sea Witch.

I‘m back to blue, even tho elite. It’s a problem that keeps happening.

[Reina del Mar]

Thank you. Have just spoken to Princess again. They have directed me to go to Internet cafe on boarding..maybe it’s a UK thing..or maybe they just want everyone to book Plus or Premium!! (My sceptical thoughts)

[Steelers36]

7 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

@Steelers36...I sure hope you are correct about the same prices as pre-pay or onboard the first day.  I was just about to hit the pre-pay an let Princess have my money MONTHs in advance instead of waiting to buy it onboard with OBC.  

 

There was an advantage to buying it before the prices went up.  I will wait and cross my fingers.  It is a local run so won't be missing out much if Princess changes their policy, again.

I got it from the horse's mouth to coin an old phrase.  I am not sure if the new pricing is in effect on board ships now, or if it is later this month.  I guess keep an eye out for live ship reports and ask the OP.  Perhaps a member here will report from a ship to confirm, but this is my understanding of the situation.  If your cruise is months away, you will still have time to pre-purchase after confirming the on board pricing via other guest reports.

[pompeii]

Unfortunately, the app doesn't have a place that actually states your loyalty level like the website does, but as @Jadn13 says, you can tell by the color of the seawitch logo by your profile photo.  I've been elite for a while but my app showed me as blue so I couldn't get the discounted wifi.  Calling Princess just got me the same answer as the OP, purchase full price and get the discount back in obc.  

 

Unfortunately, it isn't as quick as just calling Princess to get the app to show your correct level.  I tried that for a year, each time they said they were logging the problem and escalating it to the app support team.  And each time, nothing changed....

 

I finally emailed someone last month and voila, it's fixed and I'm back to black.  For now anyway.  

[Honolulu Blue]

8 minutes ago, pompeii said:

I finally emailed someone last month and voila, it's fixed and I'm back to black.  For now anyway.  

Am I a bad person to think of AC/DC when I saw this? 😈

[Rick&Jeannie]

34 minutes ago, pompeii said:

I finally emailed someone last month and voila, it's fixed and I'm back to black. 

Sounds like an AC/DC song.... 😄

[Mary loves to travel]

Loyalty Level and the app is kind of a funny thing.

We had 2 cruises booked, then turned Platinum, and booked a 3rd cruise.

Only the most recently booked cruise showed us as being Platinum in the app.

I assumed it would eventually work itself out... but it didn't.    We were unable to book dining times before final payment for 2 of the 3 cruises:   those still showed us as Ruby.

 

It seems the app pulls loyalty level from the Confirmation.    I asked our PVP to update the 2 earliest reservations to show our current loyalty level; she did and we got new Confirmation emails.

Then, the app showed us as Platinum for each of the 3 upcoming cruises.

 

Mary

[chubbypiggy]

1 hour ago, pompeii said:

I finally emailed someone last month and voila, it's fixed and I'm back to black.  For now anyway.  

Did it take a month for them to correct your problem?  A month ago, I sent an email regarding the problem that I am showing blue and my status should be black.  Two days later I received a reply from them asking for lots of questions (app version, phone type, etc).  I replied with the info.  After waiting for another 2 weeks and no reply from them, 2 weeks ago, I emailed/replied them again asking for the status, and as of now, still no reply. 

[san diego sue]

35 minutes ago, chubbypiggy said:

Did it take a month for them to correct your problem?  A month ago, I sent an email regarding the problem that I am showing blue and my status should be black.  Two days later I received a reply from them asking for lots of questions (app version, phone type, etc).  I replied with the info.  After waiting for another 2 weeks and no reply from them, 2 weeks ago, I emailed/replied them again asking for the status, and as of now, still no reply. 

I got no reply after complaining for the who knows how many times that I am still showing Blue instead of black. So I had thought one more time to try and ask. Got no reply from my email. This was in early January.

[Jadn13]

7 minutes ago, san diego sue said:

I got no reply after complaining for the who knows how many times that I am still showing Blue instead of black. So I had thought one more time to try and ask. Got no reply from my email. This was in early January.

Same!

This is the second time and last time I had to call after trying the chat and being told they couldn’t help. Took 2 weeks to get it fixed and a month later I  am blue  again 

[pompeii]

58 minutes ago, chubbypiggy said:

Did it take a month for them to correct your problem?  A month ago, I sent an email regarding the problem that I am showing blue and my status should be black.  Two days later I received a reply from them asking for lots of questions (app version, phone type, etc).  I replied with the info.  After waiting for another 2 weeks and no reply from them, 2 weeks ago, I emailed/replied them again asking for the status, and as of now, still no reply. 

Over the course of about two weeks,  I got an initial reply saying thanks for contacting us, then another one saying they had forwarded it on to the support team, then a final one asking for a little more information.  A couple of days later, I checked the app and it was fixed.  The email address I used was A360ad7@carnival.com.  

[JeffM1]

Just a suggestion:  We are Platinum.  I looked at my Princess app and it did not show any discount on wifi.  I looked at my wife's app and it did show the 50% discount.  So I completely deleted the app from my phone and reinstalled it.  Logged back in (it had all my previously entered information) and then I checked the wifi and the 50% discount WAS there!  P.S.  I have used this trick when other non wifi info was incorrect and it magically was fixed after the reinstall.  Wife and I were both green lane (all needed info entered into the app).  Her app showed a boarding QR code, mine did not.  Uninstalled, reinstalled, and the QR code appeared.

[chubbypiggy]

6 hours ago, pompeii said:

Over the course of about two weeks,  I got an initial reply saying thanks for contacting us, then another one saying they had forwarded it on to the support team, then a final one asking for a little more information.  A couple of days later, I checked the app and it was fixed.  The email address I used was A360ad7@carnival.com.  

I sent my original email and replied to their questions using the same email address.  I used the email given by several others on CC; askoceanmedallion@carnival.com.

[Shelly97060]

18 hours ago, Reina del Mar said:

Sorry..the app isn’t showing any tier…lady I spoke to at Princess knew we will be Elite during this cruise, but still wasn’t able to help…according to her !! Maybe I’ll try phoning again and speaking to a different agent..

You can try emailing askoceanmedallion@carnival.com  they can ensure your loyalty level is correct and if you have already loaded a credit card into your Medallion App they can make the purchase for you at the discounted price ( they have done it for me).  I am not certain if different rules apply to UK so your mileage may vary! 
 

when you email them they will need your name, booking number, DOB, any type of device you are using. They will also want to know which operating system you are using if you have that information.