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

[mixplix]

I get one package for the four of us (work pays for it - you want me to be connected, well, you are paying for internet). The kids/wife can use it to check their email, etc. when I am not using it. Most beaches, etc. now have wifi, so they can check there as well. While I can't totally disconnect, my availability is much more limited, and my clients know that. As for the kids, their cell data is turned off once we get on the boat and they are limited to wifi only, or my package. While they dont realize it, they actually like to disconnect as well - of course, they both go to sleep away camp, and are used to NO ELECTRONICS for seven weeks each summer!

[CruisingNole]

don't be the person I have to step around because you are Facebook live-ing everything.

 

 

 

I know a few folks that have blogs and/or are social media influencers and they get paid cash and/or free vacations to give live updates. Can't say I blame those folks for staying plugged in. [emoji6]

 

 

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[blackshirt]

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.

/quote]

Not quite the same. Cruise ship call and data rates are higher than their land equivalents, especially data. Cruise ship “per use” data is $8/mb.

[KimA75]

We unplug and use the free wifi at ports to check emails, voice mails, etc. I download some movies to the kids' tablets before we get on the ship so they have movies available to watch. Same with some books for me. We email and Facebook photos when we are in the ports at the free locations. It is not difficult to go a day or two without being connected.

[Rogueperson]

Royal Caribbean's internet is not as bad as it used to be. Its still way worse than on land, but its more usable now.

 

To stay connected with one another, EACH of you would have to have a device that's attached. Which makes it quite expensive just to stay connected to one another. If the ship you have has the Royal IQ app running, that can be a lower priced solution for texting onboard (I think its 8 bucks per device, not per day). Though I don't know how well it works for texting and calling. Supposedly, it can be used to call and text others who also have the app.

[LeeW]

I have pets and they all have webcams, as well as smart devices at home.

 

Picturing a dog sitting at a computer staring at his webcam.....

[mister windu]

I like to be completely unplugged (even from my family once in awhile!), but there are a couple of folks in my family who really like to be connected. No internet for me, but definitely a package for them!

[Jasukkie]

I am an internet addict and I vote for unplug. It felt very liberating to not keep up with social media, work email, breaking news, etc. I had gotten the package on a 5 night cruise last September and didn't have the best experience with it so decided it wasn't worth it on our 9 night in January since it is a considerable expense.

 

You can download books ahead of time to read. Netflix now gives you the ability to download so you can watch content without an internet connection. I do that all the time now when flying, very convenient. The on ship TV selections are useless.

 

I figure if something tragic happens, someone will figure out how to communicate that to me through RC, and there won't be anything I can do about it from sea anyway. On Anthem, verizon to verizon texts came through for free anyway.

[Dixie1337]

I'm of 2 minds about this. On the one hand I like to be able to post my photos to fb - for me. I enjoy going back and looking at/reading about what we did to get hyped before our next cruise, and it's easier on my memory and time to do it once a day before bed. Also for googleable moments. Like "what was the name of that guy in that movie" or something. The kind of thing at the edge of your mind driving you nuts until you finally remember.

 

On the other hand this past trip there was a bunch of family crap happening that I would have preferred to be isolated from while I was on vacation and it made me wish I hadn't paid to be connected.

 

There's pros and cons to both.

[DrivesLikeMario]

TO BUY NOW OR NOT TO BUY? That is the question!

 

 

Rates for one device are on sale now for our cruise at $12.99 per day. Should I buy now or wait until closer to my cruise next year?

[Clarea]

TO BUY NOW OR NOT TO BUY? That is the question!

 

 

Rates for one device are on sale now for our cruise at $12.99 per day. Should I buy now or wait until closer to my cruise next year?

Buy now and keep watching the price. If it goes down, cancel and re-order.

[DrivesLikeMario]

Buy now and keep watching the price. If it goes down, cancel and re-order.

Good idea, thanks. Didn't even think of that and should've.

[M_BA]

TO BUY NOW OR NOT TO BUY? That is the question!

 

 

Rates for one device are on sale now for our cruise at $12.99 per day. Should I buy now or wait until closer to my cruise next year?

 

Also check the beverage/Internet combos. We were able to get surf/stream for $11.00/day add-on with our two beverage packages.

 

As Bob mentioned, you can always cancel and re-purchase for any price drops you may encounter.

[JAMESCC]

I haven't read through this entire that but after getting Voom on Anthem last year I will never be without internet again in a cruise. I like being connected, I like to check the news and look up anything I want, when I want. Also our son had his Kindle and was watching videos that saved us a bunch of times.

 

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[lenquixote66]

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!

We have never paid for wifi . We go on a cruise to get away from everything happening in the world and to relax .

We always find a way to find everyone on the ship.

[Beachin2]

Maybe it depends on the ship, but my last cruise on the Brilliance the net connectivity was so bad and unreliable for the 3 weeks that it was unusable much of the time. There were contractors on board "upgrading" the system - but they still sold me something that really didn't work most of the time.

 

 

First time I've ever felt that Royal ripped me off. No response from survey comments either.

 

 

Buyer beware.

[barb in ga]

We just got back from our Symphony Med cruise. I use ATT, so I explored options before I left. AT&T offers an international package for $10 for each day that you use your phone while on land. That means if there are 2 or more of you that may want to call each other, you must pay $10 PER phone that gets used each day. This gives you access to your regular plan of minutes and data. This means $20 per day if you want to call each other.

 

On the ship, there is a different package: $60 per device, with only 2mb of data.

 

We chose not to activate service with AT&T, knowing that we could use wifi calling and texting(on land) without additional charges. We also used on shore free wifi where available.

 

We were Diamond members(this cruise bumps us up to D+), so we each got 24 hours of free ship wifi. We used one day mid-cruise, and 1 day on the last day. It was enough for us, to check email, etc.

 

Connect if you need to, but for me, I really love being mostly free of the need to be online.

 

Barb

[FLACRUISER99]

Maybe it depends on the ship, but my last cruise on the Brilliance the net connectivity was so bad and unreliable for the 3 weeks that it was unusable much of the time. There were contractors on board "upgrading" the system - but they still sold me something that really didn't work most of the time.

 

 

First time I've ever felt that Royal ripped me off. No response from survey comments either.

 

 

Buyer beware.

Did you complain on the ship, every time I had poor connectivity they gave me a refund, no questions asked

 

 

 

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[Ourusualbeach]

Did you complain on the ship, every time I had poor connectivity they gave me a refund, no questions asked

 

 

 

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6003 using Forums mobile app

 

Exactly. After the second day I would have been at guest services.

[Beachin2]

Did you complain on the ship, every time I had poor connectivity they gave me a refund, no questions asked

 

 

 

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6003 using Forums mobile app

 

Gave me a token credit for 2 of the 21 days because the net was almost completely out (even the crew routers). Other days "we know, we are working on it". Got tired of wasting my cruise time waiting in the GS line and beating my head against a brick wall.

[kalliekae]

We have unplugged on the last few cruises. Dh is always on VM or business calls at home so it's nice to unplug and really enjoy the vacation time. Here's a side story......our friends took their first cruise to Alaska and the husband felt he HAD to work while on the cruise. So he paid for the internet package only to find that it really didn't work all that well. He ended up spending more time trying to send documents back to his office than enjoying the cruise with his wife. He also said that was the last cruise he will ever take which is sad since he really didn't try to enjoy the cruise. So find your happy medium and go with it.