When will WiFi be free on Celebrity?

[bikerunner]

Like many have pointed out the internet comes from satellites not land based internet like we have in the states in many places.  The cost for this is very very expensive overall.  I use the free minutes I get from my captains club to check on basic emails and other things.  Otherwise I am on vacation and don't need the access that much.  My brother when he cruises does get it reimbursed thru business just because he is one the main people for approving certain things.  In truth I really don't think the ships at this point could offer it for everyone, the system would be a snails crawl going thru things if the ships with 2500plus had everyone being able to access the internet.  And if it was offered for free would be just added into the price, pp would go up about 150 or so a cruise I would assume.  Its not something I would care to be added in for my trip. 

 

 

[Tourist1292]

In reality, free Wi-Fi just means it is already included in the price like with Viking. So everyone is paying for it instead of just those who choose to purchase the service. As it is a monopoly on the ship, there is no reason for them to drop the price either. They keep the price so high to make the perk more valuable. There is a deep discount for additional devices, but there are other ways to make it cheaper.

[bikerunner]

7 minutes ago, mfs2k said:

 

See the comment above yours. Virgin is already doing it. 

 

If cruiselines want to attract the millennial market they’re going to have to pay more attention to what people under 30 want and less what seniors want. Eventually we’ll be dead. Casinos are facing the same problem. Apparently Virgin gets it and agrees with what I posted. 

Are you willing to pay virgin prices for there cruises?  Yes there's is all inclusive but I have no interest in paying about 300-400+ a night pp for cabin.  When technology catches up then I can see it being added in, with a cost spread to everyone but I think right now more niche cruiselines will be offering the "free wifi" 

[gold1953]

with free WIF just imagine.. the anti social environment it will create.. young people glued to their devices instead of socializing.  Couples who don't get to spend time together at home will still be apart if one is addicted to social media. I would say if free WIFI ,just 20 mins a day to check email

[MizDemeanor]

11 minutes ago, bikerunner said:

Are you willing to pay virgin prices for there cruises?  Yes there's is all inclusive but I have no interest in paying about 300-400+ a night pp for cabin.  When technology catches up then I can see it being added in, with a cost spread to everyone but I think right now more niche cruiselines will be offering the "free wifi" 

 

Which could change at any given point in time too...

[Provence55always]

Have to say we were 2 weeks on the Equinox and had no internet except our free 90 minutes each on second leg when we became Elite! I slept fantastic for the full 14 nights.....since I returned home my sleep pattern is just gone......what do I blame too much iPad time. I know lots of people have to have internet for checking email and work commitments etc but I just love been free of internet while cruising. I see people constantly on phones at breakfast, lunch and dinner so much so that it has become difficult to strike up a conversation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[NLH Arizona]

FWIW, if Celebrity were to give free wifi, I would be my house that they would raise the price of fares to make up for the loss of revenue they would encounter for it being free.  So, basically we will pay for it one way or another, because no company is going to lose revenue without trying to make it up somewhere else.

Edited March 4, 2019 by NLH Arizona

[hcat]

We find that the Celebrity Loyalty program is quite generous with internet minutes....and laundry,  etc,

 

You are coming to X for the first time and seems you  already want to change it.....

 

Why not enjoy your X experience,  earn  loyalty points and get  more internet  minutes as you move up...That's what most do on cruiselines...and hotel loyalty programs like Hilton Honors....

[mfs2k]

Here's what I'm hearing from some of you:

 

A generator onboard is REALLY expensive, so even though we have 2,500 passengers, and 1,500 crew, we're only going to have on board an electrical generator with a capacity for 2,000 people.  So, to solve the problem, we will charge $300 a week to anyone who wants to use unlimited electricity, and the rest get power only certain times of the day. 

 

See how ridiculous that is on a luxury cruise line?  They need wifi capacity for everyone.  It's doable.  

[broberts]

1 hour ago, mfs2k said:

 

there's no cell service on a ship.  People make calls over wifi

 

Not accurate. There is cellular network support onboard cruise ships. Maritime Telecommunications Network, the cellular provider partner used by RCI says "We operate a redundant, high-availability core network based on the worldwide cellular industry standards of 2G (GSM), 3G (UMTS) and 4G (LTE)...". 

 

WiFi uses different protocols and bands. 

[mfs2k]

 

lol.  

[mfs2k]

2 minutes ago, broberts said:

 

Not accurate. There is cellular network support onboard cruise ships. Maritime Telecommunications Network, the cellular provider partner used by RCI says "We operate a redundant, high-availability core network based on the worldwide cellular industry standards of 2G (GSM), 3G (UMTS) and 4G (LTE)...". 

 

WiFi uses different protocols and bands. 

 

there isn't generally available cellular service on a ship... 

[bikerunner]

2 minutes ago, mfs2k said:

Here's what I'm hearing from some of you:

 

A generator onboard is REALLY expensive, so even though we have 2,500 passengers, and 1,500 crew, we're only going to have on board an electrical generator with a capacity for 2,000 people.  So, to solve the problem, we will charge $300 a week to anyone who wants to use unlimited electricity, and the rest get power only certain times of the day. 

 

See how ridiculous that is on a luxury cruise line?  They need wifi capacity for everyone.  It's doable.  

With a price attached.  It would be just built into the price adding an extra 25-30 dollars a day pp.  Yes it is doable, but I don't want it and rather just have it as an option. 

[broberts]

3 minutes ago, mfs2k said:

 

there isn't generally available cellular service on a ship... 

 

This may come as a surprise to the thousands of people currently using their cell phone aboard a cruise ship at sea.

[CYNSport]

8 minutes ago, mfs2k said:

Here's what I'm hearing from some of you:

 

A generator onboard is REALLY expensive, so even though we have 2,500 passengers, and 1,500 crew, we're only going to have on board an electrical generator with a capacity for 2,000 people.  So, to solve the problem, we will charge $300 a week to anyone who wants to use unlimited electricity, and the rest get power only certain times of the day. 

 

See how ridiculous that is on a luxury cruise line?  They need wifi capacity for everyone.  It's doable.  

Here is what what I’m hearing from you: I REALLY WANT FREE WIFI! I WILL BROOK NO DISAGREEMENT!

[bEwAbG]

This isn't a luxury cruise line.  I think your expectations on this thread and others are way too unrealistic.  And as you should know from working in the hospitality industry, true luxury places are the kings of nickel and dime-ing their guests.  Want eggs with your included breakfast?  There's a surcharge for that.  

 

If technology changes and they can offer free WiFi at little to no cost, then I think they'd gladly do it.  The technology has gotten better on planes in the last couple of years but is still hit or miss and is not available for free on a widespread basis, yet.  Same on cruise ships, who are using similar technology.  What X SHOULD do is invest in whatever technology Royal uses because it's faster and cheaper.  I noticed, too, that my 7-day package on HAL was appreciably cheaper than X.  So, I think it more realistic that you'll see prices decrease to the point where most who "need" it don't think twice about adding the option.  

Edited March 4, 2019 by bEwAbG

[mfs2k]

10 minutes ago, bikerunner said:

With a price attached.  It would be just built into the price adding an extra 25-30 dollars a day pp.  Yes it is doable, but I don't want it and rather just have it as an option. 

 

Competition from other cruise lines would prevent them from just tacking on another $30  per person.  

 

15 years ago, hotels were switching from big box televisions to expensive flat screen HD televisions.  A lot of hotel owners and operators said:  We'll invest the $2,000 per room for flat screen TV's but we're going to have to raise our rates $20 a night to cover it.    The truth is, that wasn't possible because there's so much rate competition, they couldn't just arbitrarily raise rates without affecting occupancy.  This is the same scenario. 

 

Vegas and AC resorts now charge Resort Fees because when they try to raise their room rates, guests book at the competition.  Now they all have adopted resort fees.  It really has nothing to do with the cost of the wifi, but everything to do with they are looking for ways to increase revenue in a declining rate market.

 

But Wifi isn't the way to do this in my opinion, if you're trying to attract younger clientele.  Celebrity's clientele is mostly an older demographic, but you can see from Edge, they know this needs to change.  Older clientele are less attached to their electronics whereas millenials cant stop looking at theirs..  I predict a big change in the next few years.  

Edited March 4, 2019 by mfs2k

[hcat]

1 minute ago, CYNSport said:

Here is what what I’m hearing from you: I REALLY WANT FREE WIFI! I WILL BROOK NO DISAGREEMENT!

Exactly...and in a fairly provocative way..

OP will be new to X from  Carnival...Do they have free wi for everyone..????

[MizDemeanor]

13 minutes ago, mfs2k said:

 

 

See how ridiculous that is on a luxury cruise line?  They need wifi capacity for everyone.  It's doable.  

 

Celebrity is not a luxury line. It’s a very nice line, but it’s not true luxury. 

[mfs2k]

Look, I'm just expressing an educated opinion on this topic.  I know there are a lot of opinions, and dialogue is a good thing.  

[ThatCOprep]

5 minutes ago, hcat said:

Exactly...and in a fairly provocative way..

OP will be new to X from  Carnival...Do they have free wi for everyone..????

They don't. Straight from Carnivals website:

 

"Cellular-network-dependent Wi-Fi calling and Facetime services are also not supported. Prices are based on cruise-long plans and are subject to change without prior notice: Pre-Cruise price: $14.45 USD per day. Onboard price: $17.00 USD per day. Onboard price for 24 hour plan: $25.00 USD."

 

Thats for the "Premium Plan" They have lower priced plans with less features. A social plan and a value plan but no free wifi. 

 

Edited March 4, 2019 by ThatCOprep

[Cruise Junky]

Oceania added free wifi last year. It used to be a perk, but now it's a standard offering.  With Celebrity's current pricing, Oceania isn't that much higher.

[mfs2k]

1 minute ago, hcat said:

Exactly...and in a fairly provocative way..

OP will be new to X from  Carnival...Do they have free wi for everyone..????

 

I don't think I said Carnival has free wifi for everyone, but this thread would pertain to them too.  

 

(PS, I havent sailed on a cruise since 2012 or 13)   When I sailed on Carnival last, they didn't have drink packages or "FTTF (First to the Fun) promotions either.  Even though I reached Platinum on Carival, we stopped going on cruises and started going to nice All inclusive resorts to get away from being nickel and dimed.  We voted with our wallet.   Now that beverage packages are a thing, we're trying cruising again.  Things do change.  Change is good. 

 

[drakes2]

57 minutes ago, mnocket said:

I guess the question is Why would they?

 

Unless there is competitive pressure (i.e. competing cruise lines start offering free wifi), I wouldn't expect Celebrity to break rank and start offering it for free.  Will the industry move in this direction?  Probably not in the near future.  The industry trend seems to be increasing charges, not eliminating them.  I expect we'll see Celebrity charging for room service before we see them offering free wifi.

I know they're already charging for room service after 11 PM and this is something quite recent. I had a conversation with my cell phone provider yesterday as I will be 12 nights on the Silhouette later this month without a wifi package. I need to make a phone call upon arrival in FLL before heading to ship.  He said not to make the call even if ship is still docked in port in Florida as I will connect to the ships Marine wifi and data charges are $7.00 per MB if I turn my phone on. I thought I could make a call from my balcony without connecting. Is this true?  I just don't want to incur additional cell charges. 

[MizDemeanor]

6 minutes ago, Cruise Junky said:

Oceania added free wifi last year. It used to be a perk, but now it's a standard offering.  With Celebrity's current pricing, Oceania isn't that much higher.

Good to know.