Purchasing Internet access on NCL ship

[sss08pea25bee69]

I posted this in the general section but am reposting in the NCL section since my question is related to NCL cruises. Is it cheaper to purchase an Internet package before you go on your cruise or wait till you are on the ship to make your purchase? Any help will be greatly appreciated.

[Froggitt]

Same, although I think you save a $4 activation fee buying in advance.

[POA1]

You'll save $3.95, the activation fee. Otherwise it's the same price.

[keep on cruisin]

Can you bump up to unlimited if you purchase the 1gb plan and find you need more? We have 1 100 minute promo for limited use for keeping in touch with our son. But we know we will need more for each of us. Just not sure if we will need more for 1 device. We like to use our slingbox for tv at night. If the signal is strong enough for streaming. If not the 1gb should be plently.

[NMLady]

You'll save $3.95, the activation fee. Otherwise it's the same price.

 

Thank you!! This is the same answer I gave the OP yesterday evening when OP asked the question in the Ask Question forum. OP then thanked the two people who sent OP to this NCL forum but OP chose to totally disregard my answer to the question.

[mking8288]

Why not wait till onboard - it's been fairly common for them to offer sign-up special on day 1 & day 2, with extra minutes or data allowance given for time-based & even MB-based plans.

 

The waived or free activation fee is worth less than 5 minutes, much less than the extra promotion only available onboard the ship ... and, it's been reported that it's not always charged.

 

When we get our "Free At Sea" 250 minutes/1GB promo plan activated or our complimentary Platinum WiFi minutes added, no activation fees charged or involved - point is, internet cafe manager has discretion. If there are issues with poor to no service while at sea, it's easier to request & get a refund or OBC directly offset for inability to use their WiFi.

 

As noted by previous posts, some has reported success in upgrading their "Free" plan to the unlimited options at a pro-rated or discounted basis ... which I won't get into, easy enough to "search thread" option & read those detailed replies here on CC. For light use, the 1 GB plan is sufficient without paying extra/more for unlimited.

 

As for slingbox streaming ... good luck in keeping those high latency satellite connection at sea, even if the http ports aren't blocked and throttled for taking up excessive bandwidth as it is shared & like cellular data, will be grounds for throttled or dropped.

[POA1]

Thank you!! This is the same answer I gave the OP yesterday evening when OP asked the question in the Ask Question forum. OP then thanked the two people who sent OP to this NCL forum but OP chose to totally disregard my answer to the question.

I can only hope my answer gets disregarded as well. I only type answers to give my fingers a workout. ;)

[garycarla]

Sling TV?

 

If they have the unlimited, then maybe. All depends on the current speed. Video takes a fair amount and I would think you would run into an issue that right at a critical moment, the signal would drop.

 

Not all ships have unlimited.

 

There is also the issue of being able to change the access port/source on the TV's. I have seen mixed responses on being able to do that.

 

Personally, we have lots of movies/shows download to ipad with an HDMI cable. If we can connect to the TV great. But - no data charges and no interrupted shows.

[itchief]

For something like Sling TV you will need to set up a VPN. Sling TV will block access from IP addresses outside of the USA. I have not tried from a ship yet but I will let you know in a few weeks how it goes for me.

 

VPN's are easy to set up and some software is free but for better performance you will need to spend a little money on a VPN.

[garycarla]

For something like Sling TV you will need to set up a VPN. Sling TV will block access from IP addresses outside of the USA. I have not tried from a ship yet but I will let you know in a few weeks how it goes for me.

 

VPN's are easy to set up and some software is free but for better performance you will need to spend a little money on a VPN.

 

 

Oh yea... forgot about the IP address thing. We ran into that trying to download a movie while in Europe last year.

[keep on cruisin]

Thank you for all the replies. I had difficulty refining this post and asked again yesterday in a separate post about the upgrades.

 

We were able to use the Slingbox with minimal drop out when on the Breakaway a few years back. Tv was not a problem as we were in the Haven and a disconnected the HDMI going to the DVD player and used that input.

 

Slingbox is different from Sling TV however. Slingbox gets its signal through my cable box at home. Full access to home channels.

 

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[Froggitt]

I streamed UK live television via Tunnelbear.

[Kevin7kodak7]

Thank you for all the replies. I had difficulty refining this post and asked again yesterday in a separate post about the upgrades.

 

We were able to use the Slingbox with minimal drop out when on the Breakaway a few years back. Tv was not a problem as we were in the Haven and a disconnected the HDMI going to the DVD player and used that input.

 

Slingbox is different from Sling TV however. Slingbox gets its signal through my cable box at home. Full access to home channels.

 

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OMG. If you need to bring a slingbox on a cruise, your doing it wrong. You have 51 other weeks to veg out in front of your tv.

 

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[keep on cruisin]

You will NOT be able to stream. The speed is closer to the old 56k dial up than anything we currently are used to. Not only that but I highly doubt you an hook up and such drive in the cabins anyway.

No drive required. It uses an app on the tablet or a website on a laptop.

 

As for connecting to to the TV that was the easy part as all I had to do was plug into the HDMI from the DVD player going to the TV. I already did that on my last Breakaway to Bermuda trip.

 

My original question which I have since found the typical sometimes yes sometimes no answer was if I could upgrade the promo plan to a higher tier plan and if I could upgrade a purchased plan to a higher purchased plan if I find I need more.

 

It would hiccup occasionally for connection but for the most part it did not cut out.

 

 

 

Some have been able to others have not. Appears to depend on the Internet manager on each ship and sailing. I will ask on board.

 

If I stream I know I will need at least 1 unlimited plan as I used 10 gig on the Bermuda trip.

 

 

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[keep on cruisin]

OMG. If you need to bring a slingbox on a cruise, your doing it wrong. You have 51 other weeks to veg out in front of your tv.

 

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Lol. You are right there.

 

Actually I usually will record the Devils games and watch them when we get back to the room. Find it better than the repeated movies that are on the regular tv.

 

Not the end world if it doesn't work.

 

 

 

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[keep on cruisin]

I don't recall anyone mentioned a drive or driver. BTW it is nt the plan that you get it is the VERY low speed and bandwidth that is the limiting factor. Also unplug already!

Your original, post you said "Not only that but I highly doubt you an hook up such drive in the cabins anyway"

 

And the bandwidth and speed were fine when doing it on our last Breakaway. And since many people have no idea what a Slingbox is. I chose to clarify.

 

 

 

 

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