Internet on Spirit

[soozles]

Hi all. We’re booked on a southern caribbean cruise on the Spirit, considering switching to Horizon. My husband owns his own business and unfortunately it requires him to be on the internet daily. Anyone know how the internet is on spirit compared to Horizon? We have been on many cruises, and understand the internet is not what it is at home. But if the Horizon is a newer ship, would they have better internet?

 

Also, if we are going with 2 toddlers, which ship would have more for them to do? The itineraries are very similar. 

[groundloop]

I was on Spirit a couple of months ago.  I bought the "premium" internet and it wasn't any different than any other Carnival ship I've been on..... it sucked.  It was ok for things like checking email and that was about it.  Supposedly you can stream video with the "premium" internet, and early in the morning before anyone else is up that's usually possible, but once folks are up and using internet it grinds to a halt.

 

I've read that the newer ships (including Horizon) have better internet than the rest of the fleet, but I can't really comment on that since I've yet to sail on any of the Vista or Excel class of ships.

[Bostwick girl]

I agree with Groundloop, internet on Spirit was very bad! My first time purchasing internet, but our grandson & wife were having baby while we were gone and wanted to be able to FaceTime to see baby. Bought the value package. Pretty much the only time it was usable was very early in the morning. After a day or two I quit even trying! Should have asked for a refund, but didn’t! Hopefully it would be better on the newer ships. This was the end of March this year.

 

[bamaone]

2 hours ago, Bostwick girl said:

I agree with Groundloop, internet on Spirit was very bad! My first time purchasing internet, but our grandson & wife were having baby while we were gone and wanted to be able to FaceTime to see baby. Bought the value package. Pretty much the only time it was usable was very early in the morning. After a day or two I quit even trying! Should have asked for a refund, but didn’t! Hopefully it would be better on the newer ships. This was the end of March this year.

 

When you say not usable are you referring to Face Time use or all internet like email and text?

[jetsfan58]

Let me start by saying that I am not a trained medical professional or a counselor. This is a perfect example of keeping a solid focus on our Work Life Balance. Please encourage your husband to have someone shadow him to learn the business so that he can put the cell phone and the computer away; at least while on vacation. We have all been there and a Cruise is really a time to try and get away from it all. Good luck on the internet connectivity which can be challenging at times.     

[ray98]

4 minutes ago, jetsfan58 said:

Let me start by saying that I am not a trained medical professional or a counselor. This is a perfect example of keeping a solid focus on our Work Life Balance. Please encourage your husband to have someone shadow him to learn the business so that he can put the cell phone and the computer away; at least while on vacation. We have all been there and a Cruise is really a time to try and get away from it all. Good luck on the internet connectivity which can be challenging at times.     

 

...or....better yet.....you could mind your business and let them live their lives as they see fit.

[jetsfan58]

1 minute ago, ray98 said:

 

...or....better yet.....you could mind your business and let them live their lives as they see fit.

No problem. That's why I qualified my statement in the beginning! I certainly wish them a well and relaxed cruise get away! 

[ray98]

15 hours ago, soozles said:

Hi all. We’re booked on a southern caribbean cruise on the Spirit, considering switching to Horizon. My husband owns his own business and unfortunately it requires him to be on the internet daily. Anyone know how the internet is on spirit compared to Horizon? We have been on many cruises, and understand the internet is not what it is at home. But if the Horizon is a newer ship, would they have better internet?

 

Also, if we are going with 2 toddlers, which ship would have more for them to do? The itineraries are very similar. 

 

I was on the Spirit in March and the internet was horrible.  I had the middle package and there were times it could not load a standard website.  My friend had the premium package and it wasn't much better.

[jetsfan58]

2 minutes ago, ray98 said:

 

I was on the Spirit in March and the internet was horrible.  I had the middle package and there were times it could not load a standard website.  My friend had the premium package and it wasn't much better.

Thanks for your understanding and knowing that each of us has our own perspective and some of us are more transparent than others. No harm intended as we are all Carnival Cruise Nuts!!!  

[ray98]

4 minutes ago, jetsfan58 said:

Thanks for your understanding and knowing that each of us has our own perspective and some of us are more transparent than others. No harm intended as we are all Carnival Cruise Nuts!!!  

 

I get that.....my point is I was once a small business owner and it was impossible for me to do what you suggested.  I was the face of the company and that was who my customers wanted to deal with.  There was no turning that off and I was not in a position to turn it over to someone else.  Sometimes, it is simply the cost of working for yourself.

 

Without anyone knowing the particulars of the business no one can say "train someone else and turn your phone off for the week".  You had good intentions but they aren't always feasible.

Edited May 8, 2022 by ray98

[jetsfan58]

7 minutes ago, ray98 said:

 

I get that.....my point is I was once a small business owner and it was impossible for me to do what you suggested.  I was the face of the company and that was who my customers wanted to deal with.  There was no turning that off and I was not in a position to turn it over to someone else.  Sometimes, it is simply the cost of working for yourself.

 

Without anyone knowing the particulars of the business no one can say "train someone else and turn your phone off for the week".  You had good intentions but they aren't always feasible.

Thank you as any/all professional commentary is always cherished and taken to heart. Part of my response was personal as I lost a very dear friend that was self employed for many years. He was never able to enjoy the World of Cruising because of his dedication to his business. After years of convincing him to get away (we worked on him with his mother, wife and kids) and cruise with us he finally said "yes"! Sadly two weeks prior to us all finally Cruising he suddenly passed away.

 

So part of my Carnival Cruise Nuts exchange is dedicated to my life long friend.      

[Bostwick girl]

2 hours ago, bamaone said:

When you say not usable are you referring to Face Time use or all internet like email and text?

I’m referring to every aspect of it. Never tried FaceTime because baby delivery date changed to Monday before our cruise. I could look at email, Facebook and play a game very early in the morning, but as the day went on you couldn’t get anything to load, not even the carnival website. This was using my iPad. Cell phone text worked ok.

 

 

 

[soozles]

10 hours ago, jetsfan58 said:

Let me start by saying that I am not a trained medical professional or a counselor. This is a perfect example of keeping a solid focus on our Work Life Balance. Please encourage your husband to have someone shadow him to learn the business so that he can put the cell phone and the computer away; at least while on vacation. We have all been there and a Cruise is really a time to try and get away from it all. Good luck on the internet connectivity which can be challenging at times.     

Thank you, but that’s really not an option. Nobody else will care as much about your own business as you. His clients expect to deal with him, and if they don’t reach him, he could very well lose that client. He’s not stuck in his room all day, but he does need to answer emails, usually in the morning before breakfast and in the evenings. If we manage to get the kids to nap, he’ll stay with them in the room to work while I go to the spa. It’s just the way it has to be right now, it’s the nature of owning an online company. 

[ctav01]

We sailed for the 50th Sailabration and purchased the premium service and it was horrible through out the ship. Our suite was in the stern and I needed to walk up to the Atrium area for connectivity and then it was about as fast as dial-up. I've had much better service on other ships.