WiFi pricing increasing next week

[balcony bound]

11 hours ago, shof515 said:

I found the new rates:

I don't think this chart is correct.  I just paid 18.90/day for premium, not the 21.25 this chart shows.

[shof515]

1 minute ago, balcony bound said:

I don't think this chart is correct.  I just paid 18.90/day for premium, not the 21.25 this chart shows.

thats the old rate as before next Friday December 8. after December 8, the rates will go into effect and the chart will be correct

[balcony bound]

3 minutes ago, shof515 said:

thats the old rate as before next Friday December 8. after December 8, the rates will go into effect and the chart will be correct

Thanks:)

[ChinaShrek]

11 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

And drinks….and no gratuities……and free gambling……and no charge for excursions….and free pictures……

Complimentary WiFi is standard at hotels and restaurants throughout the United States. Delta will have free WiFi on all flights next year. Young people today wish to be connected to the world 24/7. WiFi will be a standard amenity on cruise ships within 10 years.

[Earthworm Jim]

13 hours ago, ChinaShrek said:

I was hoping they would just include free WiFi in the price of the cruise. It really should just be standard like water or meals. 

 

It sounds like your thinking of a cruise like at a hotel or resort where you'd expect the wifi to be included, which isn't an unreasonable comparison on the surface. But to my mind it's more akin to the wifi on flights, which you typically have to pay for. At least on the airlines I fly.

 

Despite the naysayers like me opining we shouldn't all have to pay for included wifi, I think in the long run you're going to be right. As the older generation fades and it's just the younger generation sailing who consider online access as non-negotiable, it will be included. We're just not there yet.

[Earthworm Jim]

34 minutes ago, ChinaShrek said:

Complimentary WiFi is standard at hotels and restaurants throughout the United States. Delta will have free WiFi on all flights next year. Young people today wish to be connected to the world 24/7. WiFi will be a standard amenity on cruise ships within 10 years.

 I see you were posting much the same idea while I typed the above.

[jimbo5544]

50 minutes ago, ChinaShrek said:

Complimentary WiFi is standard at hotels and restaurants throughout the United States. Delta will have free WiFi on all flights next year. Young people today wish to be connected to the world 24/7. WiFi will be a standard amenity on cruise ships within 10 years.

There is no such thing as a feee lunch

[MadManOfBethesda]

1 hour ago, ChinaShrek said:

Complimentary WiFi is standard at hotels and restaurants throughout the United States. Delta will have free WiFi on all flights next year. Young people today wish to be connected to the world 24/7. WiFi will be a standard amenity on cruise ships within 10 years.

Many hotels, especially in resort areas, include a daily amenity fee of up to $50/day on top of the room charge that they justify by saying it is for WiFi, fitness center, etc. And unlike Carnival, it is not optional. You have to pay it whether you plan to use the WiFi or any other hotel or resort "amenity."

[BlerkOne]

7 hours ago, Honolulu Blue said:

I missed this discussion.  I was following @BlerkOne's thread on the same subject.  These threads should probably be merged.  

 

 

Looks like they did.

[jimbo5544]

2 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

If dialing back is possible, Princess is a leader, and they also have Starlink. OTOH, Princess also charges less.

 

 

That makes sense with the whole medalian thing.  

[jimbo5544]

8 hours ago, ChinaShrek said:

Complimentary WiFi is standard at hotels and restaurants throughout the United States. Delta will have free WiFi on all flights next year. Young people today wish to be connected to the world 24/7. WiFi will be a standard amenity on cruise ships within 10 years.

Many hotel chains charge for wifi unless

you are a member of their loyalty program. 10 years in technology meaning is a lifetime.   The wifi you get in most restaurants is dog butt alow as well.  All that said, my point was it is what it is.  We are dine paying for it.  Your experience may vary.  

[mz-s]

Carnival is really shooting themselves in the foot with hiking these prices. They could really lean in to the "work from home" millennials who can work from anywhere. They're handing that market to Virgin and getting the fighters and pot smokers instead. Their choice.

[BlerkOne]

38 minutes ago, mz-s said:

Carnival is really shooting themselves in the foot with hiking these prices. They could really lean in to the "work from home" millennials who can work from anywhere. They're handing that market to Virgin and getting the fighters and pot smokers instead. Their choice.

Business expenses are a tax deduction.

[mz-s]

19 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

Business expenses are a tax deduction.

 

Wifi on vacation is not deductible for the use case I'm talking about, and even if it was that doesn't mean it's free like it is on other lines and pretty much every land resort.

[mz-s]

Pretty sure when Carnival released these new plans, the Social plan was $5 a day. The current prices are disgusting and actually feel punitive.

[jimbo5544]

1 hour ago, mz-s said:

Carnival is really shooting themselves in the foot with hiking these prices. They could really lean in to the "work from home" millennials who can work from anywhere. They're handing that market to Virgin and getting the fighters and pot smokers instead. Their choice.

 Carnival has zero problem selling cabins right now.   If the people speak with their wallets, then it will change.  My guess is it will continue to sell.  

[BlerkOne]

2 hours ago, mz-s said:

 

Wifi on vacation is not deductible for the use case I'm talking about, and even if it was that doesn't mean it's free like it is on other lines and pretty much every land resort.

Nothing is free. You pay for it one way or another.

[BlerkOne]

30 minutes ago, mz-s said:

 

I was hoping that now that starlink seems to have mostly solved the speed and latency issues with shipboard wifi, we'd see prices come down for mass adoption. Some lines are starting to include "basic" wifi in their fares. It's a shame that the prices are going the other way on Carnival.

Whether it is bundled into a package or purchased separately, you still pay for it. Many people don't use the Internet when cruising. Why should everyone subsidize Internet usage for the few who want it?

 

Numerous vloggers and others are running businesses from the ships, using up bandwidth and driving up prices. Instead of offering different speeds, Carnival should offer packages with various data caps.

[mz-s]

10 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

Whether it is bundled into a package or purchased separately, you still pay for it. Many people don't use the Internet when cruising. Why should everyone subsidize Internet usage for the few who want it?

 

Numerous vloggers and others are running businesses from the ships, using up bandwidth and driving up prices. Instead of offering different speeds, Carnival should offer packages with various data caps.

 

I don't think data caps are the answer personally. If I were designing Carnival's new wifi plans in the era of Starlink, I'd have two plans. A throttled plan, say 2Mbps max. Good for everything except streaming video really. And an unthrottled plan for everyone else. No data caps, no social media only plans, etc. A throttled plan for average users, and an unthrottled plan for those who want to Zoom or vlog or whatever from the ship.

[BlerkOne]

1 hour ago, mz-s said:

 

I don't think data caps are the answer personally. If I were designing Carnival's new wifi plans in the era of Starlink, I'd have two plans. A throttled plan, say 2Mbps max. Good for everything except streaming video really. And an unthrottled plan for everyone else. No data caps, no social media only plans, etc. A throttled plan for average users, and an unthrottled plan for those who want to Zoom or vlog or whatever from the ship.

I can't see that. Starlink doesn't guarantee service, much less speed. Users and usage on a cruise ship aren't distributed uniformly - there will be bottlenecks and a throttled user won't stand a chance if surrounded by heavy hitters.

[mz-s]

9 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

I can't see that. Starlink doesn't guarantee service, much less speed. Users and usage on a cruise ship aren't distributed uniformly - there will be bottlenecks and a throttled user won't stand a chance if surrounded by heavy hitters.

 

Good point - they may still need to throttle the "shrimp and crab" plan users, say to 10Mbps or something, just so that they don't hog all the bandwidth. In fact they probably still do that today.

[ohioNCLcruiser]

I don't mind the increase in price (business costs are business costs) but I keep better track now when it's not working and ask for the appropriate amount of a refund at the end of the voyage. I don't mind paying the premium price for when it works but not when it doesn't. This hasn't been an issue with partial refunds recently and guest services seems to be pretty understanding when you say you just want x%. Due to this I am paying more upfront with the new prices but probably paying less overall with some partial refunds from time to time. 

Edited December 3, 2023 by ohioNCLcruiser

[Illbcruzn4life]

On 12/2/2023 at 8:55 AM, jimbo5544 said:

There is no such thing as a feee lunch

I like it. feee lunch!! lol Freudian slip?

[coffeeboy77]

Wifi needs to be included in the fare. Eventually people will demand it and competitors will offer it.  The current offerings from carnival make no sense.  The social media plan (the cheapest offering) will allow for consumption of enormous amounts of data while scrolling through TikTok, yet a line is drawn at sending an email?  The cruise line should want everyone to have good (included) access for the sharing/hashtag marketing that could happen.  The hub app is very important to the cruise line. The vast majority of cruisers use the hub app, tugging at the bandwidth.  Virtually everyone is using the wifi in one way or another.

[BlerkOne]

11 minutes ago, coffeeboy77 said:

Wifi needs to be included in the fare. Eventually people will demand it and competitors will offer it.  The current offerings from carnival make no sense.  The social media plan (the cheapest offering) will allow for consumption of enormous amounts of data while scrolling through TikTok, yet a line is drawn at sending an email?  The cruise line should want everyone to have good (included) access for the sharing/hashtag marketing that could happen.  The hub app is very important to the cruise line. The vast majority of cruisers use the hub app, tugging at the bandwidth.  Virtually everyone is using the wifi in one way or another.

The Hub app doesn't require Internet. Why should everyone subsidize Internet for the subset that want Internet?