Elite Internet Pre-pay

[jc719]

Is there any benefit to purchasing an internet package pre-cruise for those with Elite status?

[rdt10]

The pre-cruise price is usually 10% off. Need to call captains club to purchase with Elite discount. The elite discount won't show up in the online system.

[39august]

Elite discount is 30% and you have to call CC to get it prior to boarding. 

[Mosttoyswin]

 You lock in a price by ordering over the phone. For instance a few Months ago surf Internet on my cruise was $149.  With the elite discount I paid $104. Today it’s priced at $179 so I would pay $125. So I save $21. It’s not a huge amount but every little bit helps.

[swoonx]

On 10/5/2019 at 10:19 PM, 39august said:

Elite discount is 30% and you have to call CC to get it prior to boarding. 

 

Exactly. I'll do it every time.

 

As soon you arrive on board, you will have instructions in your room how to log in.

[bikerunner]

I just got the surf for my cruise.  The 30% made it kind of reasonable but I should be able to submit it for work expense. I hope anyway.  Only really need to check emails thru out day.  

[johhnnyt]

And you can combine the two discounts if you call and ask them

10% for prepaying in advance 

+

30% for Elite  =
Total of 40% off

(or 45% for Elite +)

Many times the TA or Celebrity agent won't know the two discounts are combinable, but I know I've gotten it at least the last 10 cruises by requesting it with TA or Vacation Planner

[keesar]

I would use my Elite free minutes first and that would give me an idea as how the internet was working.  On some cruises, it has been so slow I would not purchase it.  You can  also get a discount mid-cruise and that can be $$$ advantageous.  

[jc719]

Both DW & I each get the Elite 90 min/30% discount.  We haven't been on Celebrity for a while, but were on RCCL a couple years ago (with reciprocal Diamond status) and used the strategy of using the free minutes from one acct first for a day or two, then buying a discounted package on the other acct for the remaining days.

 

So the question is "surf" or "unlimited".  Does anyone know the technical implementation differences between the two packages?  How do they enforce the surf limitations?  Do they blacklist IP addresses for surf (like Netflix, etc), or ports/protocols (for VoIP)? Do they block VPNs?  I got the impression that the speed was the same for both rather than throttling.  True?  Are there usage caps in either plan?  For the "free" minutes, are those "unlimited" or "surf" class of service. 

 

Also, the pre-cruise "unlimited" plans show a 10% discount, while the "surf" packages show no pre-cruise discount.

 

Edited October 12, 2019 by jc719

[swoonx]

3 hours ago, jc719 said:

 Does anyone know the technical implementation differences between the two packages?  How do they enforce the surf limitations?  Do they blacklist IP addresses for surf (like Netflix, etc), or ports/protocols (for VoIP)? Do they block VPNs?  I got the impression that the speed was the same for both rather than throttling. 

 

VPNs are blocked.

Can't tell how they technically enforce the restrictions in the surf package because I always have used my free minutes or had the unlimited package. But if your planning to use VoIP or stream videos, you probably can't work around the restrictions in the cheaper package.

[drakes2]

4 hours ago, keesar said:

I would use my Elite free minutes first and that would give me an idea as how the internet was working.  On some cruises, it has been so slow I would not purchase it.  You can  also get a discount mid-cruise and that can be $$$ advantageous.  

It's very slow would not bother to buy it. Had 90 minutes free with elite status. Would not work on my balcony by the time you sign in and wait for a website to load you have already used up 3 minutes.  Better voice quality with free wifi in ports.

[jc719]

Maybe I should add that we are on the Edge, if the ship's implementation matters.  My only recent, possibly relevant, experience was on RCCL Oasis OTS in 2017 and that service was excellent (at least for the services I used) & much better than my pre-2017 Solstice-class experiences.  I got download speeds of 3 Mbps, which was quite usable.  At the time, RCCL used SES/O3b as their internet provider.  I can't find whether Celebrity is also using the O3b MEO satellites, but the internet service tiers are marketed and priced similarly between RCCL & X (surf vs. stream/unlimited).

[keesar]

2 hours ago, drakes2 said:

It's very slow would not bother to buy it. Had 90 minutes free with elite status. Would not work on my balcony by the time you sign in and wait for a website to load you have already used up 3 minutes.  Better voice quality with free wifi in ports.

 

It was so frustrating getting connected on the first few sea days.  I heard people saying they were glad they did not purchase a plan.  We had significantly better connections waiting to get in port.  Free and fast...

[mac_tlc]

18 hours ago, jc719 said:

Maybe I should add that we are on the Edge, if the ship's implementation matters.  My only recent, possibly relevant, experience was on RCCL Oasis OTS in 2017 and that service was excellent (at least for the services I used) & much better than my pre-2017 Solstice-class experiences.  I got download speeds of 3 Mbps, which was quite usable.  At the time, RCCL used SES/O3b as their internet provider.  I can't find whether Celebrity is also using the O3b MEO satellites, but the internet service tiers are marketed and priced similarly between RCCL & X (surf vs. stream/unlimited).

Our experience is that “Surf + Stream” on the Oasis class ships is much better than the fastest internet on the Edge. And Celebrity’s prices are noticeably higher.

 

mac_tlc

[swoonx]

The internet speed really depends on the system, the region of the world you are cruising and the time of the day - and not only because there are peak times with too many people surfing. (Especially on cruises with many Elite members you'll have a lot of internet users.)

 

Don't want to get into the technical details how internet on cruises or planes work, but it's too easy (and probably wrong) to say that the internet on one ship is better/worse than on another.

[drakes2]

1 hour ago, swoonx said:

The internet speed really depends on the system, the region of the world you are cruising and the time of the day - and not only because there are peak times with too many people surfing. (Especially on cruises with many Elite members you'll have a lot of internet users.)

 

Don't want to get into the technical details how internet on cruises or planes work, but it's too easy (and probably wrong) to say that the internet on one ship is better/worse than on another.

Just got off the Equinox last week and noticed internet speed was  good around 7 am. On a few occasions I experienced some issues and made some trips to the I lounge. The girl there said it was actually pretty good on our ship compared to others. I seemed to have lost some minutes somewhere perhaps I didn't log out properly but they were returned to my account. 

[jc719]

I've been watching the pre-cruise pricing for Internet for our upcoming cruise.  We have elite status and I understand that we get 30% off and have to call CC to get the discount applied to a pre-cruise purchase.  I've been watching the one device unlimited package and prior to today, it has been showing as "10% off" (of the on-board price, I presume) and available for $302.  The CC elite price when calling is $211 (302 - 30%).  Today, the cruise planner cost dropped to $268.80.  I called to get the 30% discount from that and was denied.  CC says Elite cost is still $211 (30% off the 10% off on-board price, not 30% off the planner price).  Is this correct?