Coral Princess Internet

[Daniel A]

3 hours ago, jwattle said:

It may be my rose colored glasses, but I wouldn't consider it "scamming". I'd consider it an additional benefit and drink a toast to it on my balcony later. Different attitudes. 

Of course, we get on a ship, and my attitude is look for the good, and enjoy, not looking to see if they're bending me over or scamming me out of a conceived benefit.

 

21 minutes ago, Ep010835 said:

 

 

Let's say I go to my cruise personalizer today and purchase one logon for this 15 day cruise and spend $129.99 to do so. (Which BTW, I've already done.) Then on embarkation day do I go to the internet manager and get a platinum/elite discount of 25%/12.5% off or the $129.99 I spent today, these many months prior to the cruise?

 

Or do I abandon my platinum/elite minutes?

 

Or do I use the platinum/elite minutes until they are all gone then purchase at a daily rate? If so, what daily rate?

 

 

jwattle- Scamming was too strong of a word - sorry.  I don't like being told I'm getting a 25% discount when it's only a 12.5% discount.  If a car dealership did this to me, I would walk out of the dealership if I couldn't resolve the difference.  All that aside, I'm not unhappy with the new Wi-Fi.  I think the price is reasonable and it is definitely much faster.  But I didn't 'conceive' the benefit, I was promised it by Princess.

 

EP010835 - The answers your questions are way too complex for me to answer.  They have so many different packages for only a few days versus the entire cruise and the prices change depending how many days you buy and how many devices you want to connect at the same time and when you purchase the package.  For example, the platinum and elite discount is only valid on the first 2 days of the cruise, but the 50% discount will apply for a longer time period. 

 

But again, MedallionNet is a huge leap forward and not priced out of reach.

[Daniel A]

On ‎4‎/‎1‎/‎2019 at 2:56 AM, bemis12 said:

It still had not shown up with a medallion.net package, so i ended up calling in.  My rep seemed surprised that the medallion net package was not showing.

 

At any rate, I did get the medallion net package thru the rep.  $59.99

Based on a sheet I got today from the Internet Café, the $59.99 price is for one device for a 4 day cruise or four devices on a 3 day cruise at the 50% discount.  If you are elite or platinum, the 25% would come off that discounted price (I was told you need to wait until you are on board to make the decision about the free minutes or the 25% discount.)  It's very confusing.

Edited April 7, 2019 by Daniel A

[Michelle1234]

Those with free platinum and elite minutes may want to try going that way if you are just an emailer and not much of a browser. We both just finished the 19 day cruise with MedallianNet on the Coral. We both had about 130 min. left (out of 250 each) at the end so about 260 total and did not feel deprived at all. In fact did some unnecessary browsing just for the heck of it. The trick is to get on, let your email download, browse the internet pages you want to see in tabs and then get off. Some apps like NextDoor downloaded everything so if you opened them they downloaded and then you could browse around, see replies and new posts off line.

 

The new internet is so fast that you can get all you want and then peruse it at your leisure. Texting without logging in was hit and miss. The trick is to text someone while you are logged in and then most of the time they could text you back with out your logging in. You could also respond with out logging in. When that stopped I just logged on, initiated a new text and then logged off and was able to continue to text multiple people. Probably a loop hole that won't last but while it is there.... I was also able to make a call once through wifi but they closed that hole pretty quick. My husband found a bunch of his trickle update services trickled through continuously without logging in, things like stock updates and baseball scores.

[bemis12]

6 hours ago, Daniel A said:

Based on a sheet I got today from the Internet Café, the $59.99 price is for one device for a 4 day cruise or four devices on a 3 day cruise at the 50% discount.  If you are elite or platinum, the 25% would come off that discounted price (I was told you need to wait until you are on board to make the decision about the free minutes or the 25% discount.)  It's very confusing.

 

$59.99 was my price for a 7 day cruise.  No discount.

[Ronnieslady]

15 hours ago, Michelle1234 said:

Those with free platinum and elite minutes may want to try going that way if you are just an emailer and not much of a browser. We both just finished the 19 day cruise with MedallianNet on the Coral. We both had about 130 min. left (out of 250 each) at the end so about 260 total and did not feel deprived at all. In fact did some unnecessary browsing just for the heck of it. The trick is to get on, let your email download, browse the internet pages you want to see in tabs and then get off. Some apps like NextDoor downloaded everything so if you opened them they downloaded and then you could browse around, see replies and new posts off line.

 

The new internet is so fast that you can get all you want and then peruse it at your leisure. Texting without logging in was hit and miss. The trick is to text someone while you are logged in and then most of the time they could text you back with out your logging in. You could also respond with out logging in. When that stopped I just logged on, initiated a new text and then logged off and was able to continue to text multiple people. Probably a loop hole that won't last but while it is there.... I was also able to make a call once through wifi but they closed that hole pretty quick. My husband found a bunch of his trickle update services trickled through continuously without logging in, things like stock updates and baseball scores.

Our router was out in the hallway nearest our Suite on this same 19 day cruise on the Coral.  They tried to fix it several times, with no luck ,after several calls by us.  Just like the old system we had to leave our door completely open to get a signal.  It was very annoying, at 1st because we would lose the signal & we were unable to clock out.  We couldn’t understand why it was happening.  Not sure but the routers might still be the same or the bugs are not worked out yet 

It was  suite D703 .  But as stated above the system was nice and fast, when we could get a signal 

[Michelle1234]

17 minutes ago, Ronnieslady said:

Our router was out in the hallway nearest our Suite on this same 19 day cruise on the Coral.  They tried to fix it several times, with no luck ,after several calls by us.  Just like the old system we had to leave our door completely open to get a signal.  It was very annoying, at 1st because we would lose the signal & we were unable to clock out.  We couldn’t understand why it was happening.  Not sure but the routers might still be the same or the bugs are not worked out yet 

It was  suite D703 .  But as stated above the system was nice and fast, when we could get a signal 

Sorry to hear about your problems. I wonder if others had issues also. We were the first cruise with it on the Coral so I guess there were bound to be problems. We had great connectivity in our room and on the balcony. A324.

[Ep010835]

9 hours ago, bemis12 said:

 

$59.99 was my price for a 7 day cruise.  No discount.

 

Sounds like you purchased your MN at the pre-cruise rate. Is this correct? This is what we've always done.

 

Did you inquire about a platinum/elite discount with the internet manager? 

[Ronnieslady]

4 minutes ago, Michelle1234 said:

Sorry to hear about your problems. I wonder if others had issues also. We were the first cruise with it on the Coral so I guess there were bound to be problems. We had great connectivity in our room and on the balcony. A324.

We never could get anything on our balcony. So glad we just used our free 250 minutes each , instead of getting the unlimited use plan (they were really pushing) since our connection was so bad.  

But I have to say, I see why the Coral is such a popular ship. It has been awhile since we were on the Coral.  We absolutely thought it was the best.  Those elevators were so nice and fast & way less people.  The size of the ship.  Having that back theatre Universal Lounge, with the great On The Bayou show.   It made us sick about what they did to the Island.  My husband is really sold on the Coral. He said just booked anything on the Coral. He doesn’t care where.

[bemis12]

43 minutes ago, Ep010835 said:

 

Sounds like you purchased your MN at the pre-cruise rate. Is this correct? This is what we've always done.

 

Did you inquire about a platinum/elite discount with the internet manager? 

 

Not being platinum or elite, I'm afraid I didn't have the curiosity to ask about their discounts.

Edited April 7, 2019 by bemis12

[Michelle1234]

3 hours ago, Ronnieslady said:

We never could get anything on our balcony. So glad we just used our free 250 minutes each , instead of getting the unlimited use plan (they were really pushing) since our connection was so bad.  

But I have to say, I see why the Coral is such a popular ship. It has been awhile since we were on the Coral.  We absolutely thought it was the best.  Those elevators were so nice and fast & way less people.  The size of the ship.  Having that back theatre Universal Lounge, with the great On The Bayou show.   It made us sick about what they did to the Island.  My husband is really sold on the Coral. He said just booked anything on the Coral. He doesn’t care where.

You have very nicely summarized the Coral. We agree with all the pluses you listed. We absolutely loved the cruise and so much about the ship. Coral lives up to it's reputation.

[Ronnieslady]

4 minutes ago, Michelle1234 said:

You have very nicely summarized the Coral. We agree with all the pluses you listed. We absolutely loved the cruise and so much about the ship. Coral lives up to it's reputation.

Yes, we had been on the same itinerary about a year and a half ago, but on the Island & this cruise was way better because of the ship (Coral)

[caribill]

21 hours ago, bemis12 said:

 

$59.99 was my price for a 7 day cruise.  No discount.

 

DId you purchase that pre-cruise or once on board?

[bemis12]

2 hours ago, caribill said:

 

DId you purchase that pre-cruise or once on board?

 

Pre-cruise- but I did have to call Princess to get it because only the 3 levels of their other package show up in the personalizer.

Edited April 8, 2019 by bemis12

[math227]

22 minutes ago, bemis12 said:

 

Pre-cruise- but I did have to call Princess to get it because only the 3 levels of their other package show up in the personalizer.

I paid the same price pre-cruise. There was an "ad" showing in my personalizer. I would call or keep checking! 

[rockdoctor]

 Remember dial up internet. That’s what it’s like. Don’t waste your money.

[jtdlmc]

18 minutes ago, rockdoctor said:

 Remember dial up internet. That’s what it’s like. Don’t waste your money.

Reports I have seen referring to MedallionNet all say it is super fast.  

[rockdoctor]

Glad to hear about the improvement, but I’m from Missouri.

[bemis12]

24 minutes ago, rockdoctor said:

Glad to hear about the improvement, but I’m from Missouri.

 

Do people from Missouri get stuck in the past?

[rockdoctor]

Is the Civil War over?

[bobbismith]

Alaska internet experience- can anyone share your thought? Do I need to purchase internet or will I have enough service while in port?  I will want to check on things at home briefly and maybe transfer money or pay a bill.  Not surf or watch movies. Just quick things. Thanks, Bobbi

[Daniel A]

19 hours ago, rockdoctor said:

 Remember dial up internet. That’s what it’s like. Don’t waste your money.

 

19 hours ago, jtdlmc said:

Reports I have seen referring to MedallionNet all say it is super fast.  

I am still on the Coral in its first week of MedallionNet.  At first, I was impressed with the speed although I wouldn't describe it as 'superfast.'  I am starting to notice that the speed seems to bog down at times when it is probably likely that there are a lot of PAX using it at the same time.  I have uploaded a few videos to YouTube and one short video took about five hours to upload and on another day a video which was twice as long fully uploaded in about 20 minutes.  Also, don't plan to look up your lottery numbers - gambling sites are blocked.  I don't know what else is blocked content.

 

The differences in speed may also be a function of satellite location too.  It certainly isn't because of overcast - the weather has been beautiful.

 

Overall, it's a significant improvement over Connect, but I still have another week to see if the speed varies and when.

[Ep010835]

25 minutes ago, Daniel A said:

 

I am still on the Coral in its first week of MedallionNet.  At first, I was impressed with the speed although I wouldn't describe it as 'superfast.'  I am starting to notice that the speed seems to bog down at times when it is probably likely that there are a lot of PAX using it at the same time.  I have uploaded a few videos to YouTube and one short video took about five hours to upload and on another day a video which was twice as long fully uploaded in about 20 minutes.  Also, don't plan to look up your lottery numbers - gambling sites are blocked.  I don't know what else is blocked content.

 

The differences in speed may also be a function of satellite location too.  It certainly isn't because of overcast - the weather has been beautiful.

 

Overall, it's a significant improvement over Connect, but I still have another week to see if the speed varies and when.

 

What’s the position of the ship?

What latitudes are you sailing through?

[Daniel A]

15 minutes ago, Ep010835 said:

 

What’s the position of the ship?

What latitudes are you sailing through?

I don't know the latitudes or longitudes.  Coral doesn't have the map on the TV with the ship's position.  We sailed from Los Angeles.  We are off the coast of Guatemala right now and we stopped in Puerto Vallarta and Huatulco, Mexico.  I only know where we are because I've been using the internet to access Marinetraffic dot com.  (PS: That web page opens slowly.)

[Ep010835]

2 hours ago, Daniel A said:

I don't know the latitudes or longitudes.  Coral doesn't have the map on the TV with the ship's position.  We sailed from Los Angeles.  We are off the coast of Guatemala right now and we stopped in Puerto Vallarta and Huatulco, Mexico.  I only know where we are because I've been using the internet to access Marinetraffic dot com.  (PS: That web page opens slowly.)

 

The slow part is discouraging to hear. You are well within what has been reported to be the optimal coverage area for MedallionNet. 

Given the 200+ download speeds I’ve gotten on the CB, I’d hoped for better after MN’s introduction on the Coral. 

 

Is there anyone on board who is able to measure down/up speeds and report back to the group?

[Daniel A]

38 minutes ago, Ep010835 said:

 

The slow part is discouraging to hear. You are well within what has been reported to be the optimal coverage area for MedallionNet. 

Given the 200+ download speeds I’ve gotten on the CB, I’d hoped for better after MN’s introduction on the Coral. 

 

Is there anyone on board who is able to measure down/up speeds and report back to the group?

It's still better by far than before, it just appears to be inconsistent.  If I had to hazard a guess, I would say there's a problem when everybody is using it at the same time.  Has anyone experienced this on any Medallion Class ships?  Almost twice as many PAX...