Daily Internet Charge

[rsquare]

I just learned that the hourly charge for internet is gone, we now must pay by the day.  The minimum daily charge is $18 for my 12-day cruise next year.

 

I'm not happy about this.  I am not a particularly online person.  I really just want to check my e-mail perhaps twice a day, and occasionally look something up in Wikipedia.  I don't do social media, and I have never streamed a movie in my life, nor do I buy stuff from Amazon while on a ship.

 

This minimalist internet regime will cost me $216, of which only $145 will be covered by my Diamond-level credit.  In the years since I made Diamond, I have typically only used half of the minutes that I got for free.

 

This new pricing approach may work really well for the online-all-the-time among us, but those with low but daily usage like me are getting royally ripped off, paying for access we do not need and will not use in order to download a few messages a day.

 

I would like to see Cunard offer a time-limited alternative, say a half-hour a day of connection time, or 6 hours for my upcoming trip, at a much lower rate than is being charged for 24-hour access.  Am I the only one who feels this way?

[TheOldBear]

I also preferred the older minute by minute plans - there has been some discussion on how to make the WC credit last as long as possible. I think buying a day at a time, and only every other day makes sense [first with my WC credit, then with Mrs Bear's credit] and only after all WC credit is exhausted buying more time. 

One thing to consider is each chargeable  day is 24 hours - check email the afternoon of day 1, and the morning of day 2 - and that is only one usage day. That is why I would only sign in every other day.

[Host Hattie]

I prefer the new system but I cruise rather than cross so by using data in port and sharing via Bluetooth on board we can make our allowances last for a 14 day cruise. 

[NE John]

Cunard should give loyal WC pax options for WiFi plans. 

[Winifred 22]

I  prefer the new pricing. After deducting my World Club discounts I think I am left with a reasonable charge and when in port can use local WiFi 

[tv24]

We are not happy with the change in the internet charges vis-a-vis our elevated World Club status.  We used to get free internet, but now have to pay.  Not White Star Service.  But that is Cunard and that is what they do.  It's simply an upcharge, even though you are a loyal customer.

[Pushpit]

12 hours ago, rsquare said:

This minimalist internet regime will cost me $216, of which only $145 will be covered by my Diamond-level credit.  In the years since I made Diamond, I have typically only used half of the minutes that I got for free.

This isn't exactly a new change and given the way that the internet these days I think the current arrangements are reasonable. In the early days of on-board satellite linkage, all satellite internet was paid by the minute and sometimes the megabyte too, and very expensive tariffs were in place. These days the costs and technology of satellite internet have flipped totally (and I'm someone who is so off grid that I'm writing this at home via a satellite system) and it's not the signal provision that's so expensive, it's the hardware and support equipment. So a company like Carnival will have to invest in a lot of access points and receivers, and expect to make a return on investment over time, by charging per day.

 

However in your case, with a bit of creativity, and so long as you aren't on a direct Crossing, you should be able to mix and match a bit, use your cellphone hot spot when near to a coast line (and near can be 50 kilometres) or at a port, and the odd day of Cunard's internet when at sea. Your gap is $71 so it only requires 4 cellphone days, 8 Cunard internet days, to prevent being out of pocket. Since you also don't want to be "always on", then a bit of phasing on the timing means that two port days are embarkation and disembarkation, so by simplying phasing your 24 hour slots with a couple of gaps then you will be there anyway.

Edited August 22, 2023 by Pushpit

[Victoria2]

10 hours ago, NE John said:

Cunard should give loyal WC pax options for WiFi plans. 

Although there were many red tops on our last cruise, the 'Officers' Party' was rammed and whilst it's great to see so many repeaters, there has to come a time soon,  when another tier is introduced to the existing loyalty  levels of Cunard World Club.

Maybe  internet plans could be looked at, at that time.

[exlondoner]

20 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

Although there were many red tops on our last cruise, the 'Officers' Party' was rammed and whilst it's great to see so many repeaters, there has to come a time soon,  when another tier is introduced to the existing loyalty  levels of Cunard World Club.

Maybe  internet plans could be looked at, at that time.

Or just do away with the loyalty programme altogether. I can’t imagine anyone chooses a Cunard trip because of the loyalty benefits, so it is unlikely to benefit Cunard commercially. And for instance, giving a party from which newcomers are excluded, simply because they are new, might actually put people off. They could put any money saved towards making cruise prices inclusive of service.

[Victoria2]

10 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

Or just do away with the loyalty programme altogether. I can’t imagine anyone chooses a Cunard trip because of the loyalty benefits, so it is unlikely to benefit Cunard commercially. And for instance, giving a party from which newcomers are excluded, simply because they are new, might actually put people off. They could put any money saved towards making cruise prices inclusive of service.

That will never happen.

I have no idea if folk take loyalty benefits into consideration when booking. We certainly don't as the only ones we benefited from was the free, at the time due to usage, internet [now we have to use part of our obc to top up the internet charges]  and laundry discounts. We occasionally use the Lido pop ups if friends are onboard but that's it.

 

However, many passengers put a lot of store by the various levels even if they aren't a deciding factor when booking.

 

I would be happy to go up a level and have complimentary internet. You can keep anything else.

[Wonky]

Don’t bin it, improve it! Make it actually aspirational and include things that people would actually like to obtain. I don’t think perks put off new customers, look at the airline industry. And they make money out of it.

[exlondoner]

5 minutes ago, Wonky said:

Don’t bin it, improve it! Make it actually aspirational and include things that people would actually like to obtain. I don’t think perks put off new customers, look at the airline industry. And they make money out of it.

Well, I certainly felt a little unwanted and unworthy, when I was a mere bronze or whatever the bottom tier was in those days. But now I have reached the top, I can’t even remember whether it is diamond or platinum. What I would appreciate more than any of the current perks is a rising scale of obc, or a rising scale of money off the next cruise. Abolishing would be my preference, but as V2 says, it won’t happen, because people will feel something is being taken away from them and be resentful, even if it is something they don’t really want.

[TowandaUK]

As a newbie who will be a red top next May - I am more than happy for loyal regular cruisers to have a few extra perks. Hopefully that will be me in a few years!  

[SusieAV8R]

On 8/22/2023 at 5:45 AM, exlondoner said:

Or just do away with the loyalty programme altogether. I can’t imagine anyone chooses a Cunard trip because of the loyalty benefits, so it is unlikely to benefit Cunard commercially. And for instance, giving a party from which newcomers are excluded, simply because they are new, might actually put people off. They could put any money saved towards making cruise prices inclusive of service.

 

On 8/22/2023 at 7:07 AM, exlondoner said:

Well, I certainly felt a little unwanted and unworthy, when I was a mere bronze or whatever the bottom tier was in those days. But now I have reached the top, I can’t even remember whether it is diamond or platinum. What I would appreciate more than any of the current perks is a rising scale of obc, or a rising scale of money off the next cruise. Abolishing would be my preference, but as V2 says, it won’t happen, because people will feel something is being taken away from them and be resentful, even if it is something they don’t really want.

From a Newbie's perspective: you make some good points, exlondoner.

[Victoria2]

On 8/22/2023 at 5:54 PM, TowandaUK said:

As a newbie who will be a red top next May - I am more than happy for loyal regular cruisers to have a few extra perks. Hopefully that will be me in a few years!  

Excellent attitude.

We never felt excluded from anything or experienced any sense of  'we're only lowly Red or Silver tops'. We accepted we would climb the ladder of loyalty and be able to participate/enjoy anything which came with the rung we were on.

Hopefully, most passengers would think like you and me.🙂