Am I the only one in this day and age that feels that WIFI should be free to everyone

[bigboffs]

As long as people are willing to pay for WiFi , others will charge for its use.

[waterbug123]

I don't think we are paying for it at any of these "free" places. The store is paying for it and not passing the cost on to us.

 

I said they ARE paying for it and writing it off....I said the customer isn't paying for it.

 

 

Is the business also "writing off" the cost of electricity? Payroll? Insurance? Advertising? All of those things and the cost of "free" wi-fi are business expenses. Ultimately prices need to be set at a point that covers all of those business expenses and still leaves something left over for profit. So like it or not, you ARE paying for that free wi-fi at Starbucks.

[mommabean]

Is the business also "writing off" the cost of electricity? Payroll? Insurance? Advertising? All of those things and the cost of "free" wi-fi are business expenses. Ultimately prices need to be set at a point that covers all of those business expenses and still leaves something left over for profit. So like it or not, you ARE paying for that free wi-fi at Starbucks.

 

Whatever. I can tell you that latte costs a whole lot more in Sydney without the free wifi. Someone has to pay that minimum wage and it's the customer.

 

And most places in the states aren't going to have many customers if they aren't offering free wifi. The customers go where they get what they want and that seems to be wifi. It gets back to competition. Free wifi means a lot more of the product gets sold, be it coffee or whatever. And most businesses are using the wifi for themselves so it's there. A little more bandwidth is a drop in the bucket.

 

People keep trying to turn this into something else. If competition ever forces RCI to supple free wifi, they will. As technology advances, this will be come easier to do. Some people just don't see into the future as well as others. ;)

 

Of course people don't miss the pens in the rooms and flowers in the MDR on RCI so they eliminated them. They sure didn't cut rates when WE stopped paying for those things in our cruise fares.

 

And yes, they write off all those things mentioned. Even trips for business calls are written off. Others may call those vacations.

 

Gina

Edited September 26, 2014 by mommabean

[time4u2go]

Read what you highlighted.

 

I said they ARE paying for it and writing it off. Having had a business for over 3 decades, yes, I know what it means. :rolleyes: The business pays for it AND writes it off. Easy concept.

 

I said the customer isn't paying for it.

 

Gina

 

The business is paying for it but the customers are not? :confused: That makes no sense. Where do you think the business gets the money to pay for it?

Edited September 26, 2014 by time4u2go

[whitshel]

I understand the difference /today/. I understand that RCI isn't going to start offering free wifi to its customers starting with the next ship out of port. But my point is that at some point in the not-to-distant future (I would say in the next 20-30 years, max) free wifi will be a fact of cruising, because they'll have to offer it to keep people signing up. There's no doubt in my mind that the tech will become more pervasive and the costs will come down precipitously.

 

Just like how 30+ years ago when I was programming computers, we coded on punch cards and had rooms with big cabinets full of platters storing less data than I currently have on a flash drive that fits on my key chain and that sales people give me for free as a promo item.

 

Do you really think there is going to be "Wifi" in 30 years? Tech changes way to fast, in 30 years there will be something bigger and better....:D

[thegima]

I honestly hope they start charging more for it. This past cruise I saw so many people walking around with their faces buried in their phones it was sad. You're on a beautiful ship in different countries, take a look around!

 

Obviously business owners have needs, emergencies, checking on kids, and whatever else but the main reason I enjoy cruising so much is because the phone gets shut off and locked in the safe!

 

Everyone is different though ;)

[AustinCruise]

Do you really think there is going to be "Wifi" in 30 years? Tech changes way to fast, in 30 years there will be something bigger and better....:D

 

 

Yup, I think there will be free wifi on ships in 30 years. I also think there will be a new thread here asking about free "whatever the new even better land based thingy is"... :)

[tanzer22pilot]

I honestly hope they start charging more for it. This past cruise I saw so many people walking around with their faces buried in their phones it was sad. You're on a beautiful ship in different countries, take a look around!

 

Obviously business owners have needs, emergencies, checking on kids, and whatever else but the main reason I enjoy cruising so much is because the phone gets shut off and locked in the safe!

 

Everyone is different though ;)

 

As I said to the helicopter Mom, hang up and live. If you kid gets in trouble while you are in the middle of the ocean there is very little you can do except worry. Maybe give some guidance and call a neighbor to help. But if they are too young to do that on their own, maybe they should have been left with grandma. As far as the business person goes, ok there might be some emergency question or something. Are the people "left behind" so incompetent that they can not deal with the day to day activities? No, it is the false sense of "I am such a special snowflake" that I need to control and micro-manage my family or workers 24-7.

 

Or, the need to rub in the fact that you are on a cruise ship and they are not.

 

I just foresee a Quantum cruise where everyone in yelling into their Skype call, texting during dinner, and passing around a cat video during a show.

[LetsGetWet!]

Whatever. I can tell you that latte costs a whole lot more in Sydney without the free wifi. Someone has to pay that minimum wage and it's the customer.

So the customer has to pay for the cost of payroll, but not for the cost of WiFi? You're really not making much sense.

Some people just don't see into the future as well as others. ;)

And some people just don't understand basic business concepts as well as others. ;)

[Celandine]

I would not want cruise fare to go up to include internet (as I saw someone earlier suggest)

 

It's something that is available if someone would like to purchase it. I have no desire to purchase internet while on a cruise, therefore no need to pay for it.

 

I personally enjoy going offline while cruising (or most other vacations to be honest).

 

I get that some people can't (work etc.) or just won't (that's their choice)

 

Not sure how wifi could just be 'free' for everyone.... someone somewhere has to pay for the service and for it to be maintained....

[setsail]

I would not want cruise fare to go up to include internet (as I saw someone earlier suggest)

 

It's something that is available if someone would like to purchase it. I have no desire to purchase internet while on a cruise, therefore no need to pay for it.

 

I personally enjoy going offline while cruising (or most other vacations to be honest).

 

I get that some people can't (work etc.) or just won't (that's their choice)

 

Not sure how wifi could just be 'free' for everyone.... someone somewhere has to pay for the service and for it to be maintained....

 

Too late, you are already paying for the service to be there, its built into the cruise price, if you use the service, you pay an upcharge

 

There is nothing on a cruise ship that is free, maybe the air you breath. Its just like the "free" drinks in the cl/dl, they are not free, the cost of the booze is built into the price of the cruise, that everyone pays. The distributers don't deliver booze to cruise ships for free

[love4monsters]

I love unplugging for the week! My kids however, not so much.

 

Angela

[BamaGuy44]

I understand the difference /today/. I understand that RCI isn't going to start offering free wifi to its customers starting with the next ship out of port. But my point is that at some point in the not-to-distant future (I would say in the next 20-30 years, max) free wifi will be a fact of cruising, because they'll have to offer it to keep people signing up. There's no doubt in my mind that the tech will become more pervasive and the costs will come down precipitously.

 

Just like how 30+ years ago when I was programming computers, we coded on punch cards and had rooms with big cabinets full of platters storing less data than I currently have on a flash drive that fits on my key chain and that sales people give me for free as a promo item.

 

LOL I didn't realize we were talking about 20 or 30 years that's a whole other discussion. In 20 years there will be technologies on ships we haven't even heard of, wifi won't even be a thing by then it will be something else. They may be beaming the Internet directly into our brains by then. The ships may not even float, they might hover above the water or just teleport to the ports through wormholes ;)

[AZAficionado]

They could just raise the fare a tiny bit and apply it towards WIFi and everyone would be happy.

Not everyone. I'd pay RCI extra to block WIFI on a cruise. If people were more responsible when using their mobile electronic devices, maybe I'd feel differently.

 

So, I'll make you a deal. I'll support raising fares for WIFI to be included, as soon as you get everyone to be responsible and courteous while on their mobile devices. Sound fair?

[AlexanderBeetle]

The ships may not even float, they might hover above the water or just teleport to the ports through wormholes ;)

 

Well, the Quantum of the Seas kinda is hovering above the water with the whole micro-bubble thing. Maybe not quite what you're thinking but not so far off either :)

[ahecht]

Again, may be all wet, but wouldn't you then be transiting from one satellite to another in the constellation, and wouldn't this increase data transmission time? Also, I bet the reason that the maritime transmission speed is so much lower as stated by LGW, is that you now have a moving satellite, and a moving earth station?

 

Each ship will have two steerable antennas, so when one satellite is getting close setting over the horizon the other antenna locks on to another satellite that is just rising and is sending a duplicate data stream, allowing a seamless handoff. The ship constantly sends its GPS coordinates to the satellites so that the steerable antennas on the satellite can track the ship as it moves.

 

Also, my previous $25 million estimate per satellite was way off. O3b just filed a $350 million insurance claim to cover 4 satellites with flaky power supplies that might fail in 2-3 years instead of 10, so the total cost of each satellite is probably closer to $100 million including launch costs.

[MichaelCMTX]

As I said to the helicopter Mom, hang up and live. If you kid gets in trouble while you are in the middle of the ocean there is very little you can do except worry.

 

My folks started going on cruises basically annually since the late 1970s and I turned out pretty much OK without a single call from the ship, let alone Internet.

 

As I said before, for the necessary evil of work I'll buy the access, log in and do what I have to do - it's why they put up no argument when I ask off. For the other stuff, I can live without that for a week.

 

But I still disagree with "free to everyone", there's just not enough available bandwith aboard to accommodate constant status updates and photo uploads "because it was, like, free ya know."

[Sitzmark]

Not everyone. I'd pay RCI extra to block WIFI on a cruise. If people were more responsible when using their mobile electronic devices, maybe I'd feel differently.

 

So, I'll make you a deal. I'll support raising fares for WIFI to be included, as soon as you get everyone to be responsible and courteous while on their mobile devices. Sound fair?

 

 

Whether I purchase an internet access package or the cruise line includes it in the fare, I invite you to keep your opinions about my responsibility to yourself. I don't even know what you mean by your statement.

 

Responsible use of mobile electronic devices? Has there been a rash of people viewing obscene material on them in public where others can view it?

[John&LaLa]

Whether I purchase an internet access package or the cruise line includes it in the fare, I invite you to keep your opinions about my responsibility to yourself. I don't even know what you mean by your statement.

 

Responsible use of mobile electronic devices? Has there been a rash of people viewing obscene material on them in public where others can view it?

 

Irresponsible would be the lady playing candy crush while riding escalator that stepped off at the bottom and then stopped walking, forgetting people were behind her. It might also be folks texting or surfing during shows.

 

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Forums mobile app

[Sitzmark]

Irresponsible would be the lady playing candy crush while riding escalator that stepped off at the bottom and then stopped walking, forgetting people were behind her. It might also be folks texting or surfing during shows.

 

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Forums mobile app

 

A lot of escalators on cruise ships for sure.

 

It seems that just like in a movie theater that an announcement to turn off cell phones could be made and then it's up to ushers to handle any violators. The shows I've been to here locally haven't had any problems and we have very good mobile coverage.

 

I just can't fathom why everyone who takes this position thinks it would be so much worse on a ship than it is on land. As I move around during the day I am not constantly blocked or impeded by people in some digital stupor. Where are these things happening? I go to work, I go to the mall, a movie, the grocery, the park etc. and I just don't see this epidemic of shuffling zombies staring at phones. Where is it? Why are cruise ship passengers expected to be so much more prone to it?

[travelplus]

I agree that WiFi should be free to everyone but I would think that it would be cost prohibitive due to the satellite service. But if the cruise lines did offer Free WiFI perhaps they could offer a free Basic service and a paid faster service.

 

When in port all users can use the free Fast Speed WiFi from shoreside.

[Sitzmark]

I agree that WiFi should be free to everyone but I would think that it would be cost prohibitive due to the satellite service. But if the cruise lines did offer Free WiFI perhaps they could offer a free Basic service and a paid faster service.

 

When in port all users can use the free Fast Speed WiFi from shoreside.

 

 

This is actually what many municipal WIFI services do, there is a free basic service, but there is often a paid premium service that offers higher speeds. Sometimes the free portion in muni wifi is subsidized by including advertisements as well which are eliminated on the premium services.

Edited September 26, 2014 by Sitzmark

[waterbug123]

Whatever. I can tell you that latte costs a whole lot more in Sydney without the free wifi. Someone has to pay that minimum wage and it's the customer.

 

 

OMG, you just don't get it. So the more expensive latte in Sydney means US customers aren't paying for the wifi? No. It means that the Starbucks in Sydney must have higher overall costs, even though those costs don't happen to include wifi. US Starbucks overall costs do happen to include wifi, but apparently they have other costs that are lower than those in Sydney, making their overall costs lower and hence, their prices lower.

Or maybe it means the customers in Sydney just love Starbucks SOOOOO much that they can charge higher prices there. It could mean various things, but it does not mean that the cost of wifi is magically not included in the price paid for a cup of coffee at a US Starbucks. :rolleyes:

[mommabean]

OMG, you just don't get it. So the more expensive latte in Sydney means US customers aren't paying for the wifi? No. It means that the Starbucks in Sydney must have higher overall costs, even though those costs don't happen to include wifi. US Starbucks overall costs do happen to include wifi, but apparently they have other costs that are lower than those in Sydney, making their overall costs lower and hence, their prices lower.

Or maybe it means the customers in Sydney just love Starbucks SOOOOO much that they can charge higher prices there. It could mean various things, but it does not mean that the cost of wifi is magically not included in the price paid for a cup of coffee at a US Starbucks. :rolleyes:

 

 

You don't get it. I'm talking about competition. Once one business offers it for free others will. Customers gravitate to places where they get a little something extra. The same thing will happen with cruise lines.

 

Coffee costs south in Australia for the same reason everything else does. Their minimum wage is approximately double what ours is. So everything costs double. That's not the point. Many tourists will buy something to get what they need. Coffee for wifi...or a restroom.

 

Competition is the point. People keep straying off of that. Even McDs used to charge for wifi. Now they don't. Even Lowe's and Publix have free wifi now.

 

If Carnival ever offers it free, "included" if you want to say it that way, RCI will, too.

[LetsGetWet!]

A lot of escalators on cruise ships for sure.

Be careful about making uninformed assumptions. There are escalators on RCI's Oasis & Allure; Celebrity's Century, Mercury, Galaxy & all Millennium class; Holland America's Statendam, Maasdam, Ryndam & Veendam; NCL Epic and Costa's Marina & Allegra - to name a few. ;)