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Wi-fi -- to get, or not to get? That is the question :)


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Would love your feedback on whether to purchase wi-fi while on board. On one side, I would love our family to unplug. Plus, it seems to be expensive. On the other side, it would be a great way for us all to communicate while separated on board, and we can keep on top of the news, enjoy surfing, reading, etc.

 

Would love your thoughts!

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I need it to stay in touch with work in the event of emergencies. Also use it to check on my animals via cameras in my house. It all depends on what your needs are. It helps that my employer reimburses me for it, but I'd probably still pay out of pocket if I had to.

 

 

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Would love your feedback on whether to purchase wi-fi while on board. On one side, I would love our family to unplug. Plus, it seems to be expensive. On the other side, it would be a great way for us all to communicate while separated on board, and we can keep on top of the news, enjoy surfing, reading, etc.

 

Would love your thoughts!

Try going without for a few days, then buy it if you can't live without it.

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I like being able to get messages from family watching pets or in case they have house questions, but it is too expensive for us to justify it. We do buy it on other lines that have affordable "social" only daily packages for like $6/day. It is really up to you to determine if it is worth it to you however. Have a great trip.

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I like being able to get messages from family watching pets or in case they have house questions, but it is too expensive for us to justify it. We do buy it on other lines that have affordable "social" only daily packages for like $6/day. It is really up to you to determine if it is worth it to you however. Have a great trip.

An alternative is to use "Cellular at Sea" to get messages without purchasing the ship's internet package. For an AT&T user, a text would cost $0.50 per text sent and $0.05 per text received.

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It is hard for anyone to do anything other than opinions and everyone has a different situation. I have pets and they all have webcams, as well as smart devices at home.

We watch Netflix as well as shows from our DVR. So for me I pick a cruise based on the availability of high speed internet and don't even look at the price to tell the truth. I will skip going to dining that costs money, fancy coffee etc.. but not internet.

 

So for me I want to relax on a cruise but still be connected. Don't care about visiting a lot of places on vacation i want to relax.

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An alternative is to use "Cellular at Sea" to get messages without purchasing the ship's internet package. For an AT&T user, a text would cost $0.50 per text sent and $0.05 per text received.

Received texts on ATT are no charge, that is Verizon that charges $0.05.

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As others have mentioned, your preference and connectivity desires will be the biggest factors in this decision. In our case on Allure a few week ago, we priced out the full trip on-board WiFi, options from our cellular provider (AT&T), and the likelihood of prices later in the cruise based on information provided from our TA and here are CC, and opted to wait for the Surf N Stream that was available on the final three days of our sailing.

 

I'd have to go look up the price, but it was the best use of our money when it came to our needs: Checking in for our flight home, wanting an update on our year-old golden retriever who was with family, checking in with work, and doing some leisure surfing.

 

Conversely, our 2017 Anthem sailing, we did the full trip package as my dad was sick and I wanted to check in daily with him, and the onboard price was better than what AT&T offered for what I wanted to have access to.

 

Long and short, though, in my opinion: You have to figure out your needs, the number of devices you need active, and your budget while factoring in likely on-board pricing compared to cell phone provider options to make a decision.

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One other note I'll make: You can log-off of your WiFi at anytime and log back on with ease. Some other cruisers on Allure had mentioned this as their workaround for wanting to be disconnected whenever possible while still having the WiFi package for whatever their needs were.

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Would love your feedback on whether to purchase wi-fi while on board. On one side, I would love our family to unplug. Plus, it seems to be expensive. On the other side, it would be a great way for us all to communicate while separated on board, and we can keep on top of the news, enjoy surfing, reading, etc.

 

 

 

Would love your thoughts!

 

 

 

Unplug. It’s the best. And it makes you realize how much time you waste in the rest of your life online.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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An alternative is to use "Cellular at Sea" to get messages without purchasing the ship's internet package. For an AT&T user, a text would cost $0.50 per text sent and $0.05 per text received.

 

 

 

Perhaps things have changed, but some years ago I was charged for anything and everything by using Cellular at Sea. Phone rings and you don't answer, you're still charged $1+ for a call. Voicemail received, that's another charge. Someone sends you a text with a photo, that's a multimedia text charge, again $1+ just to receive it.

 

I had my phone off and basically just by turning it on, I received a bunch of messages waiting in my que and was charged for each one. Not to mention data for all of the emails and what not that the phone will download.

 

Since then, I've stuck with wi-fi.

 

I've yet to use it but ATT does have a cruise ship cell package that's a flat rate for the cruise and includes so many minutes, texts, mb of data, etc. I think it's around $60 for a 7 day sailing, depending on the ship. So that's cheaper than the ships wifi and may be sufficient for some, depending on their usage needs.

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Perhaps things have changed, but some years ago I was charged for anything and everything by using Cellular at Sea. Phone rings and you don't answer, you're still charged $1+ for a call. Voicemail received, that's another charge. Someone sends you a text with a photo, that's a multimedia text charge, again $1+ just to receive it.

 

I had my phone off and basically just by turning it on, I received a bunch of messages waiting in my que and was charged for each one. Not to mention data for all of the emails and what not that the phone will download.

 

Since then, I've stuck with wi-fi.

 

I've yet to use it but ATT does have a cruise ship cell package that's a flat rate for the cruise and includes so many minutes, texts, mb of data, etc. I think it's around $60 for a 7 day sailing, depending on the ship. So that's cheaper than the ships wifi and may be sufficient for some, depending on their usage needs.

I agree, you've got to be careful with Cellular at Sea. When I use it, I turn off cellular data and also set voice calls to go immediately to voicemail.

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Received texts on ATT are no charge, that is Verizon that charges $0.05.

 

 

Yup. The ship and Cellular at Sea has nothing to do with what you are charged.

 

You are charged by your personal cellular carrier. AT&T charges you exactly the same thing on the ship as they do when you are roaming internationally on land without some sort of package.

 

People need to understand the implications of roaming anywhere. And buy the additional coverage they need. Some think that once they get to land, and see a cell tower, that it is back to “normal” and start racking up charges at the same rate they would have on the ship.

 

 

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Would love your feedback on whether to purchase wi-fi while on board. On one side, I would love our family to unplug. Plus, it seems to be expensive. On the other side, it would be a great way for us all to communicate while separated on board, and we can keep on top of the news, enjoy surfing, reading, etc.

 

Would love your thoughts!

 

 

Unplug! Forget about the reset of the world and you will still see your family. don't be the person I have to step around because you are Facebook live-ing everything. Or going to your phone on trivia contests.

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Of course everyone is different and there is no one right response.

 

For us we love being unplugged. If the pet/house sitter runs into a problem she can handle it and if my house burns down what can I do about it from St Thomas other than worry? We spend the time thoroughly enjoying being away from it all, relaxing, enjoying each other's company, seeing beautiful sights etc. We do not watch news while on vacation either (well I don't watch "news" period. I don't need some talking head to validate my opinions, husband watches at home but not on a cruise). Photos get shared when we get home.

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