New Wifi on QE

[tv24]

Thanks to everyone about this big change that will require a lot of adjustments for all passengers who will probably overwhelm the staff at Connections to get a clear explanation.  At our Fabulous Diamond Status, the dollar benefit buy-in of cost per day works out similar to the minutes benefit that usually ran out before the crossing was over, causing us to buy more minutes.  But the big problem remains:  Cunard's satellite connection is horrible and thus the whole wifi is often not acceptable.  Should be much better.  So we continue to be nickle-and-dimed for a mediocre service.  Not White Star Service.

[Se1lad]

1 hour ago, tv24 said:

Thanks to everyone about this big change that will require a lot of adjustments for all passengers who will probably overwhelm the staff at Connections to get a clear explanation.  At our Fabulous Diamond Status, the dollar benefit buy-in of cost per day works out similar to the minutes benefit that usually ran out before the crossing was over, causing us to buy more minutes.  But the big problem remains:  Cunard's satellite connection is horrible and thus the whole wifi is often not acceptable.  Should be much better.  So we continue to be nickle-and-dimed for a mediocre service.  Not White Star Service.

It sounds like the satellite connection may not be the issue any more as wifi quality varies significantly depending on which cabin or public area you are in on the ship.

 

About 10 years ago, a hotel I stayed in frequently for work improved its wifi offering, and it quickly became apparent that they needed to install more wireless access points to make the service consistent - in the end they put an access point in each guest room - maybe Cunard will have to do the same!

[Jonem2001]

It’s very strange - Princess seem to have made this work for their Medallion offering on much bigger, denser ships; so it’s not physical architecture that can be the issue. I suspect Cunard might need to take some advice from elsewhere in the corporate family regarding implementation.
 

I agree the current offering is not great service in terms of availability; regardless of my feelings on pricing structures. I board QE on Wednesday so I’ll get to experience the ‘improvements’ first hand.

[roscoe39]

13 hours ago, Jonem2001 said:

It’s very strange - Princess seem to have made this work for their Medallion offering on much bigger, denser ships;

........and likewise on the  Explorer of the Seas when I was on it a few years back, the wifi was positively amazing and that ship is a lot larger and "denser" than any of our slimline and refined Queens. The wifi was almost as good as fibre at home and $10 a day if I remember correctly. I will definatly be watching the new wifi offerings closely as it could severely impact accessibility on a world cruise at $20 - $30 a day. Even taking into account port days that's quite a wack.

Edited March 28, 2022 by roscoe39

[BouncingWheel]

1 hour ago, roscoe39 said:

........and likewise on the  Explorer of the Seas when I was on it a few years back, the wifi was positively amazing and that ship is a lot larger and "denser" than any of our slimline and refined Queens. The wifi was almost as good as fibre at home and $10 a day if I remember correctly. I will definatly be watching the new wifi offerings closely as it could severely impact accessibility on a world cruise at $20 - $30 a day. Even taking into account port days that's quite a wack.

The Wi-fi on here is pants - especially in cabins. Ours works but only by the cabin door and toilet and even then it is slow. I think it is unfair to compare it to some of the newer medallion Princess ships as they were built for it whereas here they are trying to put the infrastructure into an older ship not really designed for it. On Queen Anne it should work perfectly otherwise someone needs sacking.

[Jonem2001]

10 minutes ago, BouncingWheel said:

I think it is unfair to compare it to some of the newer medallion Princess ships as they were built for it whereas here they are trying to put the infrastructure into an older ship not really designed for it.

An excellent point - it is indeed easier to roll these things out from the start. But physically, it is possible. 
 

I wonder if there’s a cost/benefit decision being made here - is the cost of upgrading an older ship with a potentially more limited market for the service ‘worth it’. 
 

The other consideration is dry dock time; it occurs to me that the QM2 and QE have had this service change rolled out with no potential time slot for technical upgrades of the required complexity; so I wonder if this is a service rebranding which is still sitting on the older technology (if so, that’s poor expectation management). We’ll find out after the next dry dock periods! 

[stephenSJ]

18 minutes ago, Jonem2001 said:

complexity; so I wonder if this is a service rebranding which is still sitting on the older technology (if so, that’s poor expectation management). We’ll find out after the next dry dock periods! 

We were on QE a couple of weeks ago when then ship changed overnight to the "new" WiFi. We went to bed with one software and awoke with new software. THe only visible change was the long line of angry people  at the pursers desk who were either unable to log on or then log out. 

[BouncingWheel]

Sounds like new software on existing infrastructure so no wonder it’s pants. I too am sure it is doable on a refit but no idea on how easy - suppose it would be something like putting satnav and hi tech sound system into a Ford Capri 🤣

[tv24]

First of all, I love the QM2, have a future crossing booked, and will continue to sail the QM2 wifi or not.  And the Cunard product is acceptable, IMHO.  But internet/wifi has simply not been a  priority for 10 plus years.  A few years ago, I read an interview with one of Cunard's executives where he stated (something to the effect of the following) that Cunard was not prioritizing internet connectivity because they believed that their clients were on holiday and needed to relax and disconnect.  Nice concept.  But not practical in the modern age,.  For us, we travel extensively and for long periods of time.  The internet is essential for us, for the simple purpose of keeping us on track for our next hotel or apartment or tour or airline.  And we are dependent on it for keeping in touch with our beloved family and friends.  I know some other lines, even within the Carnival Corp., are doing a better job with connectivity.  Someday Cunard will join them.  But I will continue to sail and try not to whine too much about this.

[Host Hattie]

On 3/27/2022 at 4:57 PM, Jonem2001 said:

It’s very strange - Princess seem to have made this work for their Medallion offering on much bigger, denser ships; so it’s not physical architecture that can be the issue. I suspect Cunard might need to take some advice from elsewhere in the corporate family regarding implementation.

There are lots of complaints on the Princess board at the moment, they are definitely having wifi problems in some parts of the world.

[alc13]

5 hours ago, tv24 said:

... Cunard was not prioritizing internet connectivity because they believed that their clients were on holiday and needed to relax and disconnect.  

I see.  Much better to create aggravation and stress by offering slow and intermittent service!

[LeCommandant]

If someone can provide us more information about the 500MB limit, it is appreciated! 

I don't see the point to pay for the "Premium Plan" if there is such a limit. 

[david,Mississauga]

On the QE Norway cruise in 2015 and the Alaska cruise in 2019 the internet was unavailable for long periods of time.  We were told this was due to the proximity of the mountains.

 

On the earlier cruise the QE still had the lovely computer room off the lobby. (I miss those attractive work stations and the potted palms.)  For at least one entire day the door to this room was locked.

[LeCommandant]

51 minutes ago, david,Mississauga said:

On the QE Norway cruise in 2015 and the Alaska cruise in 2019 the internet was unavailable for long periods of time.  We were told this was due to the proximity of the mountains.

 

On the earlier cruise the QE still had the lovely computer room off the lobby. (I miss those attractive work stations and the potted palms.)  For at least one entire day the door to this room was locked.

Indeed, Norwegian Fjords are not easy areas to cover with a satellite connection. The signal is "obstructed" with the mountains. 

My experience on the QM2 was rather positive (except for the old prices that were too high), with a full availability at all times during all the Atlantic crossing. 

Edited April 4, 2022 by LeCommandant

[LittleFish1976]

On 4/4/2022 at 10:54 PM, david,Mississauga said:

On the QE Norway cruise in 2015 and the Alaska cruise in 2019 the internet was unavailable for long periods of time.  We were told this was due to the proximity of the mountains.

 

On the earlier cruise the QE still had the lovely computer room off the lobby. (I miss those attractive work stations and the potted palms.)  For at least one entire day the door to this room was locked.

 

Having travelled on a Hurtigruten ship from Bergen to Kirkenes I can assure you that we had very good internet for the entire journey - we didn't seem to have any problems with the mountains interfering with the internet, even in the wilds of the Barents Sea.

 

[NanWales]

Returned yesterday after a great cruise on QE, food in QG excellent, and crew were some of the best we have met.  The only thing in the 17days to cause friction in our suite was the internet connection,  DH paid for premium package as he needed to keep in touch with colleagues whilst on board.  We  have  sailed with Princess, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity, who's wifi is pretty good,  but sorry to say Cunard need to sort their internet out, it is the worst.   During any 24 hour period, there were many hours when he could not get a connection,  and when he did often the connection would just drop.  He did go to the pursers office, but had no real explanation as to why this was happening.  In the end he would wait until we were in port to go online.  One amazing incident though, in the middle of the med, when no mobile or internet available he would get offers on his iphone from Domino's Pizza UK, this happened several times, so perhaps Cunard  and other cruise lines could take advice from Domino's.  I would explain he has the app on his phone as our older grandchildren order a pizza as a treat when they stay with us!

[ivanidea]

I'm disappointed to read that our free Wi-Fi perk is no more.  As a light user, I find the 4 hours more than adequate for a 2 week cruise.  No way will I pay up to $30 per day for internet, especially if it is restricted.

 

Whilst unlimited internet is the way forward, and other cruise lines do this well, I think Cunard are charging too much, whilst devaluing the value of their loyalty scheme.

[BouncingWheel]

17 minutes ago, ivanidea said:

I'm disappointed to read that our free Wi-Fi perk is no more.  As a light user, I find the 4 hours more than adequate for a 2 week cruise.  No way will I pay up to $30 per day for internet, especially if it is restricted.

 

Whilst unlimited internet is the way forward, and other cruise lines do this well, I think Cunard are charging too much, whilst devaluing the value of their loyalty scheme.

Free Wi-Fi perk is still there but in a different format. Instead of free hours we were given free wi-fi credit to use against any days or package we wanted.

[ivanidea]

7 minutes ago, BouncingWheel said:

Free Wi-Fi perk is still there but in a different format. Instead of free hours we were given free wi-fi credit to use against any days or package we wanted.

 

How do I use my credit so that I can enjoy internet on demand without any cost added to the cruise?  The perk now has extra costs associated with it.

[BouncingWheel]

23 minutes ago, ivanidea said:

 

How do I use my credit so that I can enjoy internet on demand without any cost added to the cruise?  The perk now has extra costs associated with it.

As I say there is still a free perk but a different free perk. Like all things that change there are winners and losers though I think the losers are the ones that were the lowest loyalty perk tier that only wanted to use a little time each and every day. Everyone else seemed to be a winner getting multiple whole sea days.  On our recent 12 day cruise some couples ended up not using all their wi-fi credit.

 

As mentioned before though, the reception can still be pants whether it is "perk free" or not.

[safarigal]

For Diamond members on a crossing you can get the premium wifi for the whole crossing at an extra $5:00 which is working really great for us. I was online most of yesterday trying to make a ferry booking, and there is no way I would have been able to do that with the old system.

 

However, I can see that it will be frustrating for others especially on longer voyages. Personally so far I think it is a great improvement, but let's see how I feel after a 2 week cruise!

[mcloaked]

Can any on-board spend, from booking on board previously, and similar, be used to pay for additional days of internet now in the new system?

[Klapka]

My wife and I are just restarting our cruising and planning well ahead.  We like to hop around the lines.

 

This change to the internet pricing by Cunard seems to be against the industry trend.  I am being offered free wifi all over.

 

This new Cunard structure does not work for us at all.

 

I was already furious to see how measly the World Club benefit actual was going to be on our 47 day cruise coming up soon.  

 

Pretty cross.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[bitob]

I am on qe now

wifi worst of any line I’ve ever been on

i paid for premium lol

rarely works and constantly kicked off 

 

 

my only complaint

everything else is great

[2Oldpeopleinlove]

Minority opinion: I prefer to be “forced” off connectivity while on board. It helps change our focus to what’s before us, including each other.