Internet is very expensive

[JAMESCC]

Well we are 60 days away from our cruise on Breakaway and the internet packages just showed up today for purchase. 125 bucks for 1,000 mb is steep enough, but 209 for unlimited ain't cheap either. What the heck is 1,000 mb anyway? It sounds like very little data. Isn't 209 bucks a little ridiculous? I guess we will go without internet at all. If it were reasonable like 50 bucks or 75 bucks maybe I'd go for it. At home its 60 a month for super duper high speed reliable internet. I'm not paying 209 for 7 days.

[AdoraBelle]

Well we are 60 days away from our cruise on Breakaway and the internet packages just showed up today for purchase. 125 bucks for 1,000 mb is steep enough, but 209 for unlimited ain't cheap either. What the heck is 1,000 mb anyway? It sounds like very little data. Isn't 209 bucks a little ridiculous? I guess we will go without internet at all. If it were reasonable like 50 bucks or 75 bucks maybe I'd go for it. At home its 60 a month for super duper high speed reliable internet. I'm not paying 209 for 7 days.

 

Oh the one hand, yes it's expensive and the service is also terrible. Some cruise lines have fast, affordable internet, but NCL is not one of them.

 

On the other, you're losing my sympathy by comparing it to your home internet connection. They can run actual cables to your house. The ship internet goes through satellite dishes. Apples and oranges.

[EaglesWin]

Yes, it's expensive. Do yourself a favor, unplug for a week and enjoy the cruise!

[casofilia]

Two things that might help.

 

Wait till you are in port and see if the local library or information office has free Wi-Fi. The other place to look for is a coffee house.

 

Ask the crew where they go for free Wi-Fi, they know!!

[JohnIreland]

If it's only for browsing then 1gb will be fine.

 

If you need video / downloading then got the unlimited.

[sanger727]

1,000 mb is 1 gig. Depends on how badly you need internet and what for. I wouldn't both unless it was essential for work. You'll have chances to get on Wi-Fi here and there to check in with family when you are on the islands, at restaurants and starbucks, etc.

[mking8288]

James, if I recall, you might've seen our BA review back at of May. Satellite broadband is always going to be pricey compared to cellular, and this is duplexed over WiFi, until the mystery SpeedNet roll out - BA still being the fastest.

 

For Bermuda, you don't really need the unlimited plan and either the 300MB or 1000MB (or 1GB) data usage plan should suffice, depending on how email & web surfing you plan to use. Dockyard has TBi's paid WiFi, 3 days unlimited pass for $15 & the log-on can be shared among users, just like ship's paid WiFi, one device at a time.

 

The "current" connection is reasonable functional, not exactly "fast" if you are accustomed to business class broadband at work or at home, or 4G LTE on the road - 300MB is roughly the same as 300 minutes (which is the formula for other NCL ships) or about 75 minutes daily on the 4 days in the middle of the ocean.

 

For Bermuda, DigiCel and CellOne has prepaid data plan, you just need to get to downtown Hamilton's office/store to buy & get it activated. Refer to the Semi Live review - page 8 has the full details, etc.

 

P.S. On Bermuda, we just turned on our Google Project Fi sims and it just worked, even while on SeaExpress en route over to St. George's - international roaming data at prevailing rate, which turned out to be free with the offset charges, used about 200 MB worth of data & made about 3 calls for a total of 5 minutes. 3G "Fi" roaming data speed is now 10X to 20X faster, so at comparable HSPA+/4G speed.

Edited August 3, 2016 by mking8288

[JAMESCC]

Thanks guys I think we'll just unplug. I really wanted some form of connection, but I like the idea of using whatever we can in Bermuda. We are gonna be there for 3 days. I gotta pick one bone here because I see it every time there is a internet thread. No one likes to be told to "unplug". People have different reasons be "plugged in". Anyway thanks for the replies.

[JAMESCC]

Oh the one hand, yes it's expensive and the service is also terrible. Some cruise lines have fast, affordable internet, but NCL is not one of them.

 

On the other, you're losing my sympathy by comparing it to your home internet connection. They can run actual cables to your house. The ship internet goes through satellite dishes. Apples and oranges.

 

That is why I said 50 bucks for the week is fair. If its 60 for a month of 24 hours a day, then a 50 dollar premium for 7 days is I think fair. But NCL can charge what they want, its up to the customer to not buy as I will not.

[VideoTech]

Yes, it's expensive. Do yourself a favor, unplug for a week and enjoy the cruise!

 

Absolutely!

[VideoTech]

Well we are 60 days away from our cruise on Breakaway and the internet packages just showed up today for purchase. 125 bucks for 1,000 mb is steep enough, but 209 for unlimited ain't cheap either. What the heck is 1,000 mb anyway? It sounds like very little data. Isn't 209 bucks a little ridiculous? I guess we will go without internet at all. If it were reasonable like 50 bucks or 75 bucks maybe I'd go for it. At home its 60 a month for super duper high speed reliable internet. I'm not paying 209 for 7 days.

 

You will find that onboard internet is only really good for periodic email checking. Sign on, download new emails, sign off. Write replies if needed. Sign back on and send them. When you do that, you won't use much data anyway. If you're thinking you're going to be posting photos and videos to FB, and updating the world about your cruise, you'll be very frustrated.

 

Buy the minimum amount of data, check your email every now and then if you must, and then forget about it and enjoy the cruise and the vacation.

[Diane123boys]

Does anyone know about how bad FB just to get on and message someone would be ? OR messaging apps that are like FB messaging? My sons understand to disconnect but you know how 21 year olds are , They HAVE to message the girlfriends at least 2 times a day or they will DIE!!! We already have on Bermuda covered but need for on the ship

[Sauer-kraut]

Does anyone know about how bad FB just to get on and message someone would be ? OR messaging apps that are like FB messaging? My sons understand to disconnect but you know how 21 year olds are , They HAVE to message the girlfriends at least 2 times a day or they will DIE!!! We already have on Bermuda covered but need for on the ship

 

For an example -- I used 15 minutes of time (before they sold by the gigabyte) just to open my email server and write a quick note to the private tour operator we'd hired that we'd would be missing that port stop.

 

I seriously don't imagine they would need to contact their girlfriends until they get to Bermuda and actually see things.

[bluesea777]

Yes, it's expensive. Do yourself a favor, unplug for a week and enjoy the cruise!

 

Absolutely!

 

Amen. Amen.

[luddite]

Yes, it's expensive. Do yourself a favor, unplug for a week and enjoy the cruise!

 

Winning advice!!!!

[mjkacmom]

That is why I said 50 bucks for the week is fair. If its 60 for a month of 24 hours a day, then a 50 dollar premium for 7 days is I think fair. But NCL can charge what they want, its up to the customer to not buy as I will not.

 

Many business hotels charge up to $20 per day for Internet.

[CruiseFun56]

OK, have every intention of staying unplugged. However, there will be a need to jump on line for a brief message on the final sea day. Assume there is some ridiculous buy-the minute plan in place??? I only recall seeing discussions about "packages." Is the minimum package really necessary (or a requirement??) if one only needs the net briefly on the final day? Thx in advance for your thoughts.

[luckyinpa]

is data usage on board the same as on land? for example if in my daily behavior checking and dictating email is 10 mb a day at home, will the same level of usage be about the same on board?

[pathubia]

Does anyone know about how bad FB just to get on and message someone would be ? OR messaging apps that are like FB messaging? My sons understand to disconnect but you know how 21 year olds are , They HAVE to message the girlfriends at least 2 times a day or they will DIE!!! We already have on Bermuda covered but need for on the ship

 

Last November we traveled with two 21 year olds, it was well worth it to split the cost of the unlimited package. They didn't have to worry about how many minutes, etc.

[VideoTech]

is data usage on board the same as on land? for example if in my daily behavior checking and dictating email is 10 mb a day at home, will the same level of usage be about the same on board?

 

Yes.

[VideoTech]

Does anyone know about how bad FB just to get on and message someone would be ? OR messaging apps that are like FB messaging? My sons understand to disconnect but you know how 21 year olds are , They HAVE to message the girlfriends at least 2 times a day or they will DIE!!! We already have on Bermuda covered but need for on the ship

 

The problem with FB is twofold. First, if you're using their app, it constantly tries to connect and download new content. Second, even if you're just visiting FB on a web page, the page has to download all that content - old posts, ads, etc - and on a slow, low bandwidth connection that takes time and eats up minutes.

 

There are hundreds of native messaging apps for phones, and any phone, whether Apple, Windows, or Android, comes pre-loaded with a messaging app built into the software. I'm sure your boys know this. Using the native messaging app is much more economical.

 

The biggest problem you're likely to have is that the boys will be used to "all the time" connectivity and will likely forget to sign out of the ship's internet and turn off the cell service on their phones once they start messaging. Plus it won't be just their girlfriends they'll need to message....*lol*

 

Edit: Also, remember that if you only sign up for one internet account, it's "one device at a time" - so whichever boy isn't logged on will have to wait for the other to finish and sign off before he can log on. I guess that might help enforce the "sign off when you're done" policy.

 

Good Luck!

Edited August 4, 2016 by VideoTech