Free Internet eliminated from all suites

[IECalCruiser]

Someone sailing solo in a suite can make elite after just five cruises.

I am sure you meant after 8 cruises in a suite.:)

 

Mike

If you sail solo in a suite you get three credits for the cruise. One credit for you, one additional credit for being in a suite and one additional credit for the single supplement so you will have 15 credits and be

Elite after five cruises but you will be spending a lot for those cabins.

[bhopal21]

If you sail solo in a suite you get three credits for the cruise. One credit for you, one additional credit for being in a suite and one additional credit for the single supplement so you will have 15 credits and be

Elite after five cruises but you will be spending a lot for those cabins.

 

Sorry, I was under the impression that it was capped at double credit.

 

Mike

[JimmyVWine]

I hope that fleshing out above helps.

 

It does, if only to highlight the repeated inconsistencies created by Princess' various and varied means of communication.

 

No one has ever accused Princess of being consistent... period. :)

 

This pretty much sums it up. Seems as if you can find any answer you want from Princess publications, announcements, letters, communiques and booking representatives. Taken together, they cover all bases from all angles.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

If you sail solo in a suite you get three credits for the cruise. One credit for you, one additional credit for being in a suite and one additional credit for the single supplement so you will have 15 credits and be

Elite after five cruises but you will be spending a lot for those cabins.

 

Does Princess offer any 3 day sailings? :D:D:D

 

We were able to hit Elite with Celebrity after 5 sailings. Elite with them requires 10 cruise credits, and they give double for suites. Two were 4 night sailings, then we had two 7 night cruises and one 10 nighter. I will add though that two of those cruises (one of the 7's and the 10 night) were comped cabins thanks to their casino (Blue Chip Club) department, so that's sweeter still! :cool:

 

Tom

[jmcross]

Okay, I am the OP of this thread and I have a tiny bit of news.

 

I just heard from my TA and he said that this policy change is currently under review from Princess management. He said that they are trying to come up with a decision that is uniform for everyone.

 

He will get back to me when he hears more.

 

I am hopeful that those of us in suites will at least get some minutes.

 

Joanne

[Iamcruzin]

Okay, I am the OP of this thread and I have a tiny bit of news.

 

I just heard from my TA and he said that this policy change is currently under review from Princess management. He said that they are trying to come up with a decision that is uniform for everyone.

 

He will get back to me when he hears more.

 

I am hopeful that those of us in suites will at least get some minutes.

 

Joanne

 

That's good news. Maybe they have been reading all of the negative threads. I know when they were changing the deck furniture after reading all of the complaints they reevaluated their decision.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

Okay, I am the OP of this thread and I have a tiny bit of news.

 

I just heard from my TA and he said that this policy change is currently under review from Princess management. He said that they are trying to come up with a decision that is uniform for everyone.

 

He will get back to me when he hears more.

 

I am hopeful that those of us in suites will at least get some minutes.

 

Joanne

 

So... there's hope. :)

 

Let us hope that sensible heads will prevail, and that a reasonable time frame will be implemented -- or at least grandfather in those already booked.

 

Thanks,

 

Tom

[mringenoldus]

Hopefully, they will either discard such an unpopular decision - or make one that is fair and equitable to those who booked when the perk was in effect.

[Kimmer727]

Several times I have heard people say (in a large group of friends) "we have free internet, so let me know when you want to use it." same with laundry. They are so thrilled to be upgraded that they offer the perks to their friends.

Look at how many upgraded people ask here about brings friends to different functions, etc.

 

 

I agree 100% on this - it's people like this that abuse it that ruins it for all of us. I always book a suite- and expect the special perks such as free internet. I pay extra for the "extras"! I've traveled before with friends and have never offered to let them use my "free" internet - nor would they be so rude to ask!

Princess- shame on you! :mad:

[caribill]

I am sure you meant after 8 cruises in a suite.:)

 

Mike

 

No, I meant five sailing solo in a suite.

 

Each cruise would give you one credit for the cruise, one credit for being in a suite, and one credit for being solo.

[fishin' musician]

Several times I have heard people say (in a large group of friends) "we have free internet, so let me know when you want to use it." same with laundry. They are so thrilled to be upgraded that they offer the perks to their friends.

Look at how many upgraded people ask here about brings friends to different functions, etc.

 

 

I agree 100% on this - it's people like this that abuse it that ruins it for all of us. I always book a suite- and expect the special perks such as free internet. I pay extra for the "extras"! I've traveled before with friends and have never offered to let them use my "free" internet - nor would they be so rude to ask!

Princess- shame on you! :mad:

 

No, that shame belongs to the abusers. Shame on Princess for not grandfathering in those who were booked when the change went into place.

[ROSE99]

I agree 100% on this - it's people like this that abuse it that ruins it for all of us. I always book a suite- and expect the special perks such as free internet. I pay extra for the "extras"! I've traveled before with friends and have never offered to let them use my "free" internet - nor would they be so rude to ask!

Princess- shame on you! :mad:

 

No' date=' that shame belongs to the abusers. Shame on Princess for not grandfathering in those who were booked when the change went into place.[/quote']

 

Sometimes I have experienced not being able to login and later attempt gone sucessfully. I suspect the number of users logged in simultaneously are limited to certain numbers because of the limited resources.

If a suite passenger think that because it is free, what a heck I do not need to log off and just stay log on even during meal time or I can up-load or down-load a file of any size, to me, this person is a real abuser.

[love2cruise42]

I personally think this may not be a good tradeoff for those who fly across the country/world and arrive on embarkation day. Too worn out by jet lag to want to go to the CG or Sabatinis. Just my two cents.....

 

Bob

 

Exactly... First night a lot of passengers are too tired and won't use it..I think princess is thinking the same thing.. It's a joke...

[Woobstr112G]

Okay, I am the OP of this thread and I have a tiny bit of news.

 

I just heard from my TA and he said that this policy change is currently under review from Princess management. He said that they are trying to come up with a decision that is uniform for everyone.

 

He will get back to me when he hears more.

 

I am hopeful that those of us in suites will at least get some minutes.

 

Joanne

 

Joanne;

 

Thanks for the update:) I called Princess myself and was told the same thing. I really hope they honor the stated amenities for those of us, like myself, who booked a suite and have totally paid off the cruise. I will also advise if I hear anything from Princess.

Bob

[spyro1952]

Joanne & Bob, thanks for keeping on top of this and I'm anxious to know when you hear anything.

I did book a suite for the CB crossing in April (Fort Lauderdale to Southampton) thinking the free internet would be the best perk in my particular situation on this trip.

Marcia

[mringenoldus]

This is the response I have just received following my email to Alan Buckelew:

 

Dear Mrs. Ringenoldus,

 

We apologize for any disappointment. We do periodically review our programs and determined that the benefit was not sustainable given the limited bandwidth available on the ship. Over the past few years we have increased suite benefits to offer new and innovative favorites such as the Sabatini's Suite Breakfast and dedicated line at the Passenger Services Desk. While we never want to remove benefits, we did recognize that the internet benefit could not continue and made this change at the end of June 2012. We have recently introduced new benefits, such as complimentary cover charges for a Speciality Dining Restaurant on embarkation day. We hope these suite benefits are enjoyed by our passengers booking the top accommodations.

 

We will shortly be in touch with passengers who booked a suite prior to the change and plan to use the internet onboard.

 

Regards,

 

Princess Cruises

Customer Relations Specialist

[ccrain]

That's good news. Maybe they have been reading all of the negative threads. I know when they were changing the deck furniture after reading all of the complaints they reevaluated their decision.

 

Jeff Smisek (CEO of the new United) went from zone boarding, in which Elites and people who paid for economy plus seating got Zone 0, or 1, back to the continental window, middle, aisle, back to front row boarding.

 

It lasted about 2 weeks until the outcry caused United to switch back to Zones. Now we have 8 zones instead of 4 or 5, depending on how you count.

 

So yes, these companies do listen.

[ccrain]

My point about the 1st night specialty "free" dinner as opposed to $100's of dollars of free internet was simple from Princess's view:

 

Take away something that costs $100's and give them something that costs $50, but less than half will use since they are all tired the first night, thus saving even more money!

 

Right out of the accountant's 'how to save money' 101...wonder if anyone got a bonus for that brainstorm?

[trojangirl90066]

"Princess Cruises We apologize for any disappointment caused by the removal of unlimited Internet access for our suite passengers effective the end of June. While we don't wish to take away existing benefits, the limitations on shipboard bandwidth prompted our decision. We do hope that the other suite amenities we've added, like the Sabatini's suite breakfast, dedicated line at the Passenger Services Desk and complimentary specialty restaurant dining on embarkation day, are enjoyed by our passengers booking the top accommodations. We will shortly be in touch with passengers who booked a suite prior to the change and plan to use the internet onboard."

20 minutes ago ·

[highheel girl]

Blah Blah Blah Blah. :mad:

 

Typical Princess response....

 

Read some of the moronic responses on FB.

[mringenoldus]

In actuality, the internet use "costs" Princess almost nothing, but providing it free to suite passengers is a loss of additional revenue. I certainly hope that it will not be the next platinum and elite casualty.

 

I would equate it to airline baggage fees. They used to take the bags for free, it costs them almost nothing to send the bags with the passenger, but now there is additional revenue to be gleaned.

[DubbyLee]

Okay, I am the OP of this thread and I have a tiny bit of news.

 

I just heard from my TA and he said that this policy change is currently under review from Princess management. He said that they are trying to come up with a decision that is uniform for everyone.

 

He will get back to me when he hears more.

 

I am hopeful that those of us in suites will at least get some minutes.

 

Joanne

 

On the Princess FB page under some of the comments the official Princess poster said they would be in contact with those who have booked suites before the end of June. I booked mine June 21st. The poster also said something about bandwidth limitations. Hmm. Is that like "operational reasons" for dropping a port this summer?

[caribill]

 

The "dedicated line" was shared with 503 elite passengers on my most recent Princess cruise.

[Iamcruzin]

In actuality, the internet use "costs" Princess almost nothing, but providing it free to suite passengers is a loss of additional revenue. I certainly hope that it will not be the next platinum and elite casualty.

 

I would equate it to airline baggage fees. They used to take the bags for free, it costs them almost nothing to send the bags with the passenger, but now there is additional revenue to be gleaned.

The only thing worth any value in the loyalty program are the free internet minutes. I think the next thing to go will be combining OBC. Other cruise lines don't allow this now. I have read threads where passengers have so many OBCs because of combining the FCC OBC, TA OBC, Share holder OBC, Military OBC, Princess Visa Reward OBC, and the Elite OBC. Did I leave anything out? Some even post that they come home with money. The cruise line makes most of its money through on board purchases. I bet some passenger who book interior rooms spend more on board than some suite passengers. If I was in a suite I would never leave the room.

[Cliftoncruz]

This is the response I received from an e-mail to customer service.

 

Dear Mr. XXXXX,

 

We apologize for any disappointment. We do periodically review our programs and determined that the benefit was not sustainable given the limited bandwidth available on the ship. Over the past few years we have increased suite benefits to offer new and innovative favorites such as the Sabatini's Suite Breakfast and dedicated line at the Passenger Services Desk. While we never want to remove benefits, we did recognize that the internet benefit could not continue and made this change at the end of June 2012. We have recently introduced new benefits, such as complimentary cover charges for a Speciality Dining Restaurant on embarkation day. We hope these suite benefits are enjoyed by our passengers booking the top accommodations.

We will shortly be in touch with passengers who booked a suite prior to the change and plan to use the internet onboard.

 

Regards,

Princess Cruises

Customer Relations Specialist

customerrelations@princesscruises.com

 

The most interesting thing about the e-mail they completely misspelled my last name.

 

So I guess the computer in Grand Suite is for show, plus a perk.