Live from Vista—Montreal to Miami

[basor]

1 hour ago, DrKoob said:

In the last five years we have sailed on Celebrity, Viking Ocean, Royal and Holland America. All have offered a free WiFi option that included unlimited devices. Every single one of them. In almost all these cases it was part of the cruiseline's Have It All program or Included or whatever Celebrity was calling theirs. Viking I am absolutely sure of with no special offer. On all river and ocean ships.

Thanks for the info - so all but Viking offer a program to upgrade to a package that offered more than one device but none of them included it with their basic WIFI...so an add on that will pay for before cruising with an upgrade bundle or pay on board with the upgrade.

[DrKoob]

25 minutes ago, basor said:

Thanks for the info - so all but Viking offer a program to upgrade to a package that offered more than one device but none of them included it with their basic WIFI...so an add on that will pay for before cruising with an upgrade bundle or pay on board with the upgrade.

No. Celebrity, HAL and the others current offerings at the time included WiFi. Unlimited WiFi. No extra charge at all. No upgrade. There was no "basic" WiFi. You either got the freebie or you got nothing.

[basor]

2 minutes ago, DrKoob said:

No. Celebrity, HAL and the others current offerings at the time included WiFi. Unlimited WiFi. No extra charge at all. No upgrade. There was no "basic" WiFi. You either got the freebie or you got nothing.

Thanks - I went on all 3 websites and checked their WIFI offerings and was only quoting what it stated on their website concerning their free WIFI included and available options.  None of their websites state that the free WIFI included in their basic fares include unlimited devices at this time.  

[ak1004]

5 minutes ago, DrKoob said:

No. Celebrity, HAL and the others current offerings at the time included WiFi. Unlimited WiFi. No extra charge at all. No upgrade. There was no "basic" WiFi. You either got the freebie or you got nothing.

 

Things change all the time.

 

When we sailed on Celebrity last time in 2018, the Wifi plans were for one device. I believe at some point they switched to "all included" model where drinks and Wifi were included, but now you can select if you want Wifi for extra cost or not. I stopped following all the changes on Celebrity because we have no interest sailing on 3,000+ guest ships anymore. But I don't believe it's unlimited.

 

btw, if I remember correctly, WiFi on Silversea is also one device per guest (same as the new SM on O).

[EJL2023]

24 minutes ago, basor said:

Thanks - I went on all 3 websites and checked their WIFI offerings and was only quoting what it stated on their website concerning their free WIFI included and available options.  None of their websites state that the free WIFI included in their basic fares include unlimited devices at this time.  

I saw same on HAL.  Have it All was the basic Wi-Fi for one device. Could upgrade if wanted more than one device. 

[CurlerRob]

23 minutes ago, DrKoob said:

No. Celebrity, HAL and the others current offerings at the time included WiFi. Unlimited WiFi. No extra charge at all. No upgrade. There was no "basic" WiFi. You either got the freebie or you got nothing.

 

I'm not sure what you meant by "at the time", but we sailed HAL in December/22. The "Have It All" program provided separate internet accounts for each passenger, but each account only allowed one device at a time. Switching was easy, but limited to one device connected to the internet at a time.

 

HAL's internet offerings were either: no package; the Have It All 'standard' package that prohibited streaming (blocked multiple sites); or additional charge for upgrade to open the streaming sites.

 

You are correct that HAL WiFi was not restricted - no limit on the number of devices that could use their app on ship WiFi (and hence onboard messaging, which was clearly of importance to your group). But WiFi itself is not the same as internet connectivity (although many interchange the terms), which may be the cause of some of the confusion here.

 

Viking's multiple device allowance is convenient, but stresses the available bandwidth and can result in decreased internet performance for all (even 'quiet' devices use up internet bandwidth if they are signed into the service).

 

Local connectivity via shipboard WiFi is easy - shipboard internet is quite a bit more complex in terms of cost for service levels. 🍺🥌

[Gracie115]

8 hours ago, DrKoob said:

No. Celebrity, HAL and the others current offerings at the time included WiFi. Unlimited WiFi. No extra charge at all. No upgrade. There was no "basic" WiFi. You either got the freebie or you got nothing.

 

This has not been our experience on Celebrity.  While sailing in a Celebrity suite on Apex this past April we were given "unlimited wifi" as in, use it as much as you want no minutes restriction. BUT it was for 2 devices not unlimited and, yes, since we were in a suite we had the all included package.  When I wanted to use my IPAD either myself or my husband had to sign off our phone.  

[sunlover12]

10 hours ago, basor said:

Thanks for the info - so all but Viking offer a program to upgrade to a package that offered more than one device but none of them included it with their basic WIFI...so an add on that will pay for before cruising with an upgrade bundle or pay on board with the upgrade.

The OP also mentioned Royal.  They offer complimentary WiFi for suite guests. No restrictions on number of devices. 

 

[pinotlover]

😂. I wish people would make up their minds. We have one thread going where people are complaining about NOT wanting to pay for extras. Only pay for what you want! They don’t want all inclusive. Here we have people complaining about things that aren’t included! 🙄 😂

[Waltershipman]

12 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Explora Journeys includes 3 devices per person!   Speaking of Explora 1, that ship has 8 elevators (two banks of 4) and each elevator holds up to 26 persons (they are the largest cruise ship elevators we have seen).  And that is on a ship with a maximum of 930 passengers!  On our 18 day EJ1 cruise, we never waited more than 10 seconds for an elevator (I kid you not) and it became a personal contest.

 

Hank

Thanks Hank

 

And rarely were there any other people in the elevator.  EJ truly a great cruise experience 

[ak1004]

19 minutes ago, Waltershipman said:

Thanks Hank

 

And rarely were there any other people in the elevator.  EJ truly a great cruise experience 

Well the price is almost double compared to O. Significantly higher than SS and SB too. At those prices they better be perfect..

 

As for no other people in the elevator, from what I read they sail half empty. Might explain no other people in the elevators and other public areas..

[Waltershipman]

4 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

Well the price is almost double compared to O. Significantly higher than SS and SB too. At those prices they better be perfect..

 

As for no other people in the elevator, from what I read they sail half empty. Might explain no other people in the elevators and other public areas..

True story and fir now it's pretty great for passengers as level of service as well as quality are exceptional and very high 

[ak1004]

2 minutes ago, Waltershipman said:

True story and fir now it's pretty great for passengers as level of service as well as quality are exceptional and very high 

 

Yes, but they will need much fuller ships to survive. Same as Crystal. And at current prices, I doubt they will ever sail full or close to full. 

[Vineyard View]

I just perused EJ, again, and it sure looks to be an attractive addition to the cruise industry. Our TA informed us that they have great discounts through qtr1 of 2024. Unfortunately there are no itineraries that would work for us with their one ship. Maybe when their next ships launch it will be worth another look, as I have read on several forums how impressed people were with their recent sailings. 
I would add though that unless the attractive discounts remain in play, their pp/pd cost is quite a bit higher than we budget. 
 

[Waltershipman]

12 minutes ago, Vineyard View said:

I just perused EJ, again, and it sure looks to be an attractive addition to the cruise industry. Our TA informed us that they have great discounts through qtr1 of 2024. Unfortunately there are no itineraries that would work for us with their one ship. Maybe when their next ships launch it will be worth another look, as I have read on several forums how impressed people were with their recent sailings. 
I would add though that unless the attractive discounts remain in play, their pp/pd cost is quite a bit higher than we budget. 
 

Agreed and it is superb and I am just a cruise lover 

[Hlitner]

1 hour ago, ak1004 said:

 

Yes, but they will need much fuller ships to survive. Same as Crystal. And at current prices, I doubt they will ever sail full or close to full. 

I think you need to understand that EJ is different than any other cruise line (although Viking is close).  EJ is owned by MSC which is owned by Mr and Mrs Aponte.  Those two have a net worth (according to Forbes) of somewhere north of $80 Billion.  They also own over 700 container ships (now the largest container ship company in the world).  Since they are privately held they do not have to deal with boards, stockholders, etc.    Bottom line is that this family-owned company can continue to lose money on EJ for as long as they please (which they hope will not be very long).  Unlike most other lines these folks have pledged to maintain quality, not cut-back, and not cut prices to fill their ships.  

 

All that being said, this company has a very good track record (financially) because they are in the position of being able to quickly make decisions and not be concerned about financing.  They are already committed to building 6 ships (the last 4 will be LNG powered).  Some of us do question their sometimes "full of themselves" attitude that rejects suggestions.  That being said, on our cruise we did meet a couple of folks from the home office (Geneva) who seemed very receptive to ideas and also admitted that the line is a work in progress and will continue to make changes.  

 

DW and I are truly excited about EJ, having recently spent 18 days on their sole ship.  Some things on that ship simply blow away all the competition.  All the negatives (and we wrote about this in a blog) are things that can easily be corrected (there are indications that the corrections are already happening).  This line might also be an example of "you get what you pay for" and on EJ1 you get an absolutely gorgeous vessel.  This is not a ship with a few nice lounges, but a ship where no matter where you go the design and decor is close to magnificent.  There will be design "tweaks" in the future builds (EJ2 will be cruising later this year).  What is pretty obvious to most folks who have been on EJ1 is that they spared little expense in the decor.  Consider that their ships will each have 3 Steinway pianos (top of the line)....not the faux electronic things found on many other ships.  While the Steinway thing is a bit much, it goes to the attitude of spending money on the best available products.  In an era where cost-cutting is the norm, we thought EJ was a breath of fresh air.

 

Hank

[ak1004]

1 hour ago, Hlitner said:

I think you need to understand that EJ is different than any other cruise line (although Viking is close).  EJ is owned by MSC which is owned by Mr and Mrs Aponte.  Those two have a net worth (according to Forbes) of somewhere north of $80 Billion.  They also own over 700 container ships (now the largest container ship company in the world).  Since they are privately held they do not have to deal with boards, stockholders, etc.    Bottom line is that this family-owned company can continue to lose money on EJ for as long as they please (which they hope will not be very long).  Unlike most other lines these folks have pledged to maintain quality, not cut-back, and not cut prices to fill their ships.  

 

All that being said, this company has a very good track record (financially) because they are in the position of being able to quickly make decisions and not be concerned about financing.  They are already committed to building 6 ships (the last 4 will be LNG powered).  Some of us do question their sometimes "full of themselves" attitude that rejects suggestions.  That being said, on our cruise we did meet a couple of folks from the home office (Geneva) who seemed very receptive to ideas and also admitted that the line is a work in progress and will continue to make changes.  

 

DW and I are truly excited about EJ, having recently spent 18 days on their sole ship.  Some things on that ship simply blow away all the competition.  All the negatives (and we wrote about this in a blog) are things that can easily be corrected (there are indications that the corrections are already happening).  This line might also be an example of "you get what you pay for" and on EJ1 you get an absolutely gorgeous vessel.  This is not a ship with a few nice lounges, but a ship where no matter where you go the design and decor is close to magnificent.  There will be design "tweaks" in the future builds (EJ2 will be cruising later this year).  What is pretty obvious to most folks who have been on EJ1 is that they spared little expense in the decor.  Consider that their ships will each have 3 Steinway pianos (top of the line)....not the faux electronic things found on many other ships.  While the Steinway thing is a bit much, it goes to the attitude of spending money on the best available products.  In an era where cost-cutting is the norm, we thought EJ was a breath of fresh air.

 

Hank

 

Thank you Hank, very helpful.

 

I know that you got a great deal on your sailing, but would you pay their current prices? They are 30-50% more expensive than SB, they have to be in a completely different league to justify those prices. Are they? And how many people can afford their prices, considering their ships are close to 1,000 guests and 6 more to come? Not to mention that for many luxury cruises guests the ships might be actually too large - there are a lot of complaints that SS new ship Nova is too large at 730 guests. 

[Waltershipman]

2 hours ago, Hlitner said:

I think you need to understand that EJ is different than any other cruise line (although Viking is close).  EJ is owned by MSC which is owned by Mr and Mrs Aponte.  Those two have a net worth (according to Forbes) of somewhere north of $80 Billion.  They also own over 700 container ships (now the largest container ship company in the world).  Since they are privately held they do not have to deal with boards, stockholders, etc.    Bottom line is that this family-owned company can continue to lose money on EJ for as long as they please (which they hope will not be very long).  Unlike most other lines these folks have pledged to maintain quality, not cut-back, and not cut prices to fill their ships.  

 

All that being said, this company has a very good track record (financially) because they are in the position of being able to quickly make decisions and not be concerned about financing.  They are already committed to building 6 ships (the last 4 will be LNG powered).  Some of us do question their sometimes "full of themselves" attitude that rejects suggestions.  That being said, on our cruise we did meet a couple of folks from the home office (Geneva) who seemed very receptive to ideas and also admitted that the line is a work in progress and will continue to make changes.  

 

DW and I are truly excited about EJ, having recently spent 18 days on their sole ship.  Some things on that ship simply blow away all the competition.  All the negatives (and we wrote about this in a blog) are things that can easily be corrected (there are indications that the corrections are already happening).  This line might also be an example of "you get what you pay for" and on EJ1 you get an absolutely gorgeous vessel.  This is not a ship with a few nice lounges, but a ship where no matter where you go the design and decor is close to magnificent.  There will be design "tweaks" in the future builds (EJ2 will be cruising later this year).  What is pretty obvious to most folks who have been on EJ1 is that they spared little expense in the decor.  Consider that their ships will each have 3 Steinway pianos (top of the line)....not the faux electronic things found on many other ships.  While the Steinway thing is a bit much, it goes to the attitude of spending money on the best available products.  In an era where cost-cutting is the norm, we thought EJ was a breath of fresh air.

 

Hank

ABSOLUTELY AGREE WITH HANK

 

We were fortunate to meet ip on a portion of our journey. In addition the staff is excellent and the food is truly remarkably fantastic 

[Hlitner]

35 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

Thank you Hank, very helpful.

 

I know that you got a great deal on your sailing, but would you pay their current prices? They are 30-50% more expensive than SB, they have to be in a completely different league to justify those prices. Are they? And how many people can afford their prices, considering their ships are close to 1,000 guests and 6 more to come? Not to mention that for many luxury cruises guests the ships might be actually too large - there are a lot of complaints that SS new ship Nova is too large at 730 guests. 

We would not pay much more than the SB prices, since SB is one of our favorite cruise lines.  The issue of the newer luxury ships being too large is a great topic.  I do think that the writing is on the wall in that most luxury lines are moving to larger sizes.  Can they maintain quality on those ships?  My votei is out.  There are quite a few reasons why we still prefer SB over EJ, but no question that the cuisine on EJ is light years better than what we get on SB (which is quite good).  The recent SB announcement about replacing the TK Grill, and the addition to pared-down Sushi Bars on the smaller ships, are all good things.  On the other hand, SB is selling off one of their ships which might be seen (by SB fans) as ominious.

 

As to folks being able to afford the cruises, EJ has an interesting target group.  They figure there are an awful lot of working folks with relatively high incomes.  These are the folks that tend to take shorter vacations but are willing to spend lots of bucks.  Will EJ be able to attract this crowd?  When they started the Yacht Club, many thought nobody would pay $300 per person day (now more than $400) to be on a mass market Carnival-like ship.  They were wrong and the Yacht Club generally sells out on most cruises.  The YC does attract a decent cross-section of society including younger families willing to pay for quality.  EJ is certainly more money than the YC, but the EJ experience is notches above what we get in the YC (although we still like the YC).

 

DW and I are returning to Princess (for 14 days) in about a month.  We do this having recently cruised on both SB and EJ.  As DW reminds me, this means lowering our expectations to what one expects on Princess (we have over 500 days on that line).  The Princess cruise will cost us less than half what it costs on SB or any other luxury line.  Whether we can still be content with that mass market product remain a big question.  The good news is that we will likely gain a lot less weight on Princess then on EJ!  

 

Hank

[LHT28]

a comment on the mobility scooters/wheelchairs etc

 There were a lot less onboard this sailing than we have encountered on other Oceania  cruises

JMO

[DrKoob]

As promised, I came back to add my buddy Mike Preisman's review of this cruise. Mike will have even more info about the ship than I do. Many more pics of the food. Full menus, If you would like more about this cruise or about Vista, this is the review for you. You can find it here: http://www.thepreismans.com/vista23_1.htm 

 

Enjoy! Mike does an awesome job.