Loyalty bonus stop date?

[windsor26]

I understand that this has been stopped but have got the impression that some people think that if the cruise was booked by a certain date it would be given?  Is this the case and if so what was the cease date?   This could make quite a difference to us as we are on the $100 per person tier for every cruise   Thanks

[OzKiwiJJ]

You might be better off posting this in the main Princess forum.

[windsor26]

6 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

You might be better off posting this in the main Princess forum.

will do

[Ozwoody]

14 minutes ago, windsor26 said:

will do

If you get an answer post it here, would be appreciated.

thanks

[windsor26]

Two replies on the Princess main site both saying no chance  Princess could not keep track was the main feeling as well as the cost.  It has GONE

[cheznandy]

That's not good news.

So loyalty benefit gone, free internet gone, some in room amenities gone.

Be interested when you all cruise on Coral to see what else has disappeared for Loyal Princess cruisers.

 

[OzKiwiJJ]

14 minutes ago, cheznandy said:

That's not good news.

So loyalty benefit gone, free internet gone, some in room amenities gone.

Be interested when you all cruise on Coral to see what else has disappeared for Loyal Princess cruisers.

 

The internet minutes were good but not really enough for long cruises. It worked out at around 14 minutes a day when we did the 35 night Hawaii/Tahiti cruise, and it was fairly slow. OK for checking emails but not a lot else. 

 

As long as they continue with priority boarding that is actually priority, and ditto for tendering  I'll be happy. And the free laundry for Elites of course.

[windsor26]

21 minutes ago, cheznandy said:

That's not good news.

So loyalty benefit gone, free internet gone, some in room amenities gone.

Be interested when you all cruise on Coral to see what else has disappeared for Loyal Princess cruisers.

 

Come on rubb in the bad news  What room amenities have disappeared?

[Ozwoody]

37 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

The internet minutes were good but not really enough for long cruises. It worked out at around 14 minutes a day when we did the 35 night Hawaii/Tahiti cruise, and it was fairly slow. OK for checking emails but not a lot else. 

 

As long as they continue with priority boarding that is actually priority, and ditto for tendering  I'll be happy. And the free laundry for Elites of course.

I guess it is how you use the internet, we found the free internet was fine.

If we needed more for something we used the free internet at the ports or at places we dined while ashore.

We just pooled our minutes because we only needed to keep InTouch with family or to send off the cruse blog. Most of which we composed off line.

The new system with the medallion net will cost us several hundred onto our cruise budget. I'm not particularly happy with princess as they are continually whittling away at the benefits of being loyal.

The loyalty benefits is just another one.

What's next the free laundry?

[Aus Traveller]

We found that the free internet was enough. Using our own laptop, we down-loaded any emails and logged off before compiling replies to send later. We only used the internet to keep in touch with our family.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Our Hawaii/Tahiti cruise was soon after they changed the drinks and wines lists. There was a lot of interest from people here so I spent a fair bit of time on a couple of our shore days uploading photos of those. And good free internet wasn't easy to find at some ports.

 

Anyway the Plus package at $40 pp per day works out less than we spent on drinks on that cruise so if I look at it that way the internet is free.

 

Since MedallionNet charging works on a per day system, not minutes like their old internet, the old minutes system wouldn't work. 50% discount on an internet package for those not choosing the Plus package is a fair deal IMHO. I think it works out at $7 per day for full internet.

[Ozwoody]

For a short cruise $7/day may be meh, but for a WC, $770 is a significant expense for this little black ducks budget.

Were not big drinkers, so $10-$15/day is generally my max spend on drinks.

I know others enjoy drinking more, and the $40/days is a great deal.

But not all of us do.

[OzKiwiJJ]

12 hours ago, Ozwoody said:

For a short cruise $7/day may be meh, but for a WC, $770 is a significant expense for this little black ducks budget.

Were not big drinkers, so $10-$15/day is generally my max spend on drinks.

I know others enjoy drinking more, and the $40/days is a great deal.

But not all of us do.

Remember the drinks also include speciality coffees, speciality iced teas, soft drinks, bottled water for shore excursions, etc. They have to be added in as well. Coffee packages give you some savings though.

 

It is a lot of money on a full world cruise, I know. We're booked on the 2024 one, same as you, so I did all the number crunching.

 

After doing the Hawaii/Tahiti cruise with just the free internet minutes I would not like to do a world cruise with such a limited amount of internet . We were lucky on that cruise that there were no issues at home. On a big land trip last year we did have some issues but, of course, since we were in Australia we could discuss the problems on the phone and also had internet access. But it made me think what would have happened if we had no phone access and very limited internet on future long cruises.

[BuzzBuzzen]

4 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Remember the drinks also include speciality coffees, speciality iced teas, soft drinks, bottled water for shore excursions, etc. They have to be added in as well. Coffee packages give you some savings though.

 

It is a lot of money on a full world cruise, I know. We're booked on the 2024 one, same as you, so I did all the number crunching.

 

After doing the Hawaii/Tahiti cruise with just the free internet minutes I would not like to do a world cruise with such a limited amount of internet . We were lucky on that cruise that there were no issues at home. On a big land trip last year we did have some issues but, of course, since we were in Australia we could discuss the problems on the phone and also had internet access. But it made me think what would have happened if we had no phone access and very limited internet on future long cruises.

Hello , sorry to butt in ! Did you post a review of the Hawaii 35 night cruise ? It is on our list. Thank you, cheers, Buzz.

[NSWP]

Been Elite on Princess since 2010, so enjoyed a lot of benefits over the years, the complimentary mini bar was always a bonus. So many Elites these days, probably why Princess is tightening  the belt to save $.

[OzKiwiJJ]

1 hour ago, BuzzBuzzen said:

Hello , sorry to butt in ! Did you post a review of the Hawaii 35 night cruise ? It is on our list. Thank you, cheers, Buzz.

No, sorry, I didn't post a review. However if you have any questions I'd be happy to try to answer them but perhaps start a new thread for that if you do.

 

It was a fantastic cruise though and one we hope to do again after we've ticked off the other big cruises - Round Australia and a World Cruise.

[Ozwoody]

On 6/1/2022 at 10:22 AM, OzKiwiJJ said:

Remember the drinks also include speciality coffees, speciality iced teas, soft drinks, bottled water for shore excursions, etc. They have to be added in as well. Coffee packages give you some savings though.

 

It is a lot of money on a full world cruise, I know. We're booked on the 2024 one, same as you, so I did all the number crunching.

 

After doing the Hawaii/Tahiti cruise with just the free internet minutes I would not like to do a world cruise with such a limited amount of internet . We were lucky on that cruise that there were no issues at home. On a big land trip last year we did have some issues but, of course, since we were in Australia we could discuss the problems on the phone and also had internet access. But it made me think what would have happened if we had no phone access and very limited internet on future long cruises.

Oh I agree the internet is essential for keeping in touch with family, and the new net will be great.

And Yes the soft drinks etc are included in the plus package.

I did a comparison to see if it was worth it to us. See attached.

I included only a single internet package for both of us, and split cost between us, to equivalent the free minutes each under the old benefit.
Also estimated the costs of a bottle of wine and per cup for coffee.
As you can see for our usage, the plus package does not seem to stack up.

If you can see areas where I have gone astray, or have a better knowledge of wine/coffee prices that are more current, would appreciate input.

Thanks

 

[OzKiwiJJ]

I think your pricing is accurate. Buying one internet package will give you unlimited internet for one device so much better than the old minutes. 

 

The coffee package can be shared since it's for a set number of coffees not a daily charge, so unless you drink a lot of soft drinks you may not even need the soda package. And the coffee package covers really nice iced teas, in four different flavours, which are wonderful on a hot day after returning from an excursion. If you want bottled water for excursions take reusable bottles with you, and if you don't like the taste of the ships water (like me) take a filter jug onboard with you.

 

I did detailed tracking of our costs on the 35 night Hawaii/Tahiti cruise we did in 2019 so I knew immediately the Plus fare was the way to go for us, but it's very clear it wouldn't be for you.

 

 

[Ozwoody]

17 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

I think your pricing is accurate. Buying one internet package will give you unlimited internet for one device so much better than the old minutes. 

 

The coffee package can be shared since it's for a set number of coffees not a daily charge, so unless you drink a lot of soft drinks you may not even need the soda package. And the coffee package covers really nice iced teas, in four different flavours, which are wonderful on a hot day after returning from an excursion. If you want bottled water for excursions take reusable bottles with you, and if you don't like the taste of the ships water (like me) take a filter jug onboard with you.

 

I did detailed tracking of our costs on the 35 night Hawaii/Tahiti cruise we did in 2019 so I knew immediately the Plus fare was the way to go for us, but it's very clear it wouldn't be for you.

 

 

Thanks Julie

Yes my wife likes the teas, I'm not a coffee drinker, but do love my mocktails😬

[OzKiwiJJ]

38 minutes ago, Ozwoody said:

Thanks Julie

Yes my wife likes the teas, I'm not a coffee drinker, but do love my mocktails😬

Most of the mocktails are too sweet for me so I just have to have real cocktails like the Lemontini. Oh dear, how sad, never mind. 😁😁😁 That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!!! 🤣

[Ozwoody]

1 hour ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Most of the mocktails are too sweet for me so I just have to have real cocktails like the Lemontini. Oh dear, how sad, never mind. 😁😁😁 That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!!! 🤣

Funny enough I'm not a big fan of sweet things (wife excluded), more a savoury leaning.

BUT those dam Chococobanana's, god knows I go all swoony when I sit down for one of those, after a long day ashore.🥴