Wifi: Free at Sea 150 minutes wifi vs. upgrade, vs. buying on board per day

[MLA]

Hi. Sailing on the Getaway in Feb. 10 day cruise. Confused about these various options.

1. I have the Free at Sea 150 minutes "free" wifi.

2. I have sapphire status so I have a 20% discount on wifi.

3. Can you purchase the "upgrade" offer ($199 or $299) on board or does it have to be pre-boarding? if I can buy when I board, I can use onboard credits. I realize if you do this you don't also get the 150 minutes from the Free and Sea package.  Or:

4. If I don't activate the Free At Sea 150 minutes and instead wait until after midnight the first day of the cruise and then buy the $29 or $39 per day wifi package, will I get any refund for NOT using the free at sea minutes at all? Reason for asking: I am entitled to a 20% discount on wifi due to my latitude status, and will have quite a bit of onboard credit on my account as well.

 

Sorry if this seems complicated, but NCL makes it hard to figure out the best options!

[TheDawg79]

You get ZERO refund for not using your free promo benefits. 

[Russiamomm]

I learned the hard way on my TA earlier this month to upgrade in the first two days if you think you want to.  At least on that sailing, they had a “special” the first two days to upgrade to unlimited for something like $129 for the duration of the cruise - 16 nights.  My thought was that the price would go down as the days passed and I’d upgrade later in the trip as my 300 minutes were used up.   I didn't need the unlimited for the first half of the cruise as it was very port intensive.  I wanted it for the six sea days at the end.

 

Anyway, the option disappeared from the app on day 3.  I went to the internet manager who quoted $275 to upgrade.  They wouldn’t budge.  So, when they say it is a special on the first two days, believe them.  It is a good deal and really is a “special”, unlike so many other “deals” that they offer.

 

Just my experience.  YMMV.

[mking8288]

1 hour ago, Russiamomm said:

I learned the hard way on my TA earlier this month to upgrade in the first two days ... had a “special” the first two days to upgrade to unlimited for something like $129 for the duration of the cruise - 16 nights ... option disappeared from the app on day 3 ... internet manager who quoted $275 to upgrade.  They wouldn’t budge.  It (was) a good deal and really is a “special”, unlike so many other “deals” that they offer. YMMV.

Part of the reason is the pricing, I believed the daily rate for basic unlimited dropped to $25 when it's for 14 days or longer, and returned to the higher $30 per day rate once it's 13 days or less, could be 12 ... and when their "system" factored in the trade-up value of the unused 300 airtime minutes, making it much longer ... to $129 in your case.  It doesn't "hurt" to go ask the iCafe manager on day 1 when most folks are occupied with other embarkation requests, to see & find out the trade deals.  I plan to do that, quoting online trade-up of $230 for 15 days ... think we can do 14 days at $205 but after day 2, the net cost go sky high  Definitely, a case of YMMV - ship has Starlink and since it's coming out of OBC anyway, just going to bite the bullet & get it, Mrs. will be happy with unlimited and sharing.  

 

Some folks "must" have the Vibe and/or spa passe, it's no different than the choice of being able to choose to be connected. 

 

Happy holidays. 

Edited December 24, 2023 by mking8288

[FLAHAM]

Leave devices home.  Bring books or a Kindle.

[Joanne G.]

Thank you to those explaining the upgrade options and process.  I haven’t been on NCL for a while, and I do want internet access beyond my “free” minutes. Books and a Kindle don’t allow me to stay in touch with my family or my airline or my post cruise hotel or my credit card company in case of any issues, so that suggestion doesn’t help me.  
 

But I do bring a Kindle to read. 😃

Edited December 24, 2023 by Joanne G.

[julig22]

Ok, I can't speak to how it all works, but here's what happened on my current 7day cruise.

I did not log into the network until day 2, so no FAS minutes used. Offer was $179 for unlimited for the remainder of the cruise, less $100 credit. So $79 for 6 days.

I don't think there is a latitudes discount when upgrading, only for buying a new package.

[bbixler18]

2 hours ago, julig22 said:

Ok, I can't speak to how it all works, but here's what happened on my current 7day cruise.

I did not log into the network until day 2, so no FAS minutes used. Offer was $179 for unlimited for the remainder of the cruise, less $100 credit. So $79 for 6 days.

I don't think there is a latitudes discount when upgrading, only for buying a new package.

Yes, agree.  Just did this today on day 2 on Joy

[cruiser2015]

8 hours ago, MLA said:

Hi. Sailing on the Getaway in Feb. 10 day cruise. Confused about these various options.

1. I have the Free at Sea 150 minutes "free" wifi.

2. I have sapphire status so I have a 20% discount on wifi.

3. Can you purchase the "upgrade" offer ($199 or $299) on board or does it have to be pre-boarding? if I can buy when I board, I can use onboard credits. I realize if you do this you don't also get the 150 minutes from the Free and Sea package.  Or:

4. If I don't activate the Free At Sea 150 minutes and instead wait until after midnight the first day of the cruise and then buy the $29 or $39 per day wifi package, will I get any refund for NOT using the free at sea minutes at all? Reason for asking: I am entitled to a 20% discount on wifi due to my latitude status, and will have quite a bit of onboard credit on my account as well.

 

Sorry if this seems complicated, but NCL makes it hard to figure out the best options!

Back to the basics.

Absolutely "accept" the FAS minutes.

The upgrade to unlimited is based on you having that and is at a substantially reduced rate than if you simply buy that service separately. 

I also have 150 minutes on my 1/12 cruise. I am upgrading to unlimited on day1 because I want to use OBC to cover the $230 x 2 cost.

[MLA]

14 hours ago, bbixler18 said:

Yes, agree.  Just did this today on day 2 on Joy

Thanks for the info. So if you don’t use any of the free and sea minutes at all, can you upgrade to unlimited when you board? On the first day? And get some kind of discount for not using any of the minutes? It’s 150 for me since I’m on a ten day cruise and the unlimited is $199 or $299 if you want streaming. Also, Do you upgrade by seeing the internet manager? Sorry to be dense about this but want to be sure of my options. 

[Asawi]

38 minutes ago, MLA said:

Thanks for the info. So if you don’t use any of the free and sea minutes at all, can you upgrade to unlimited when you board? On the first day? And get some kind of discount for not using any of the minutes? It’s 150 for me since I’m on a ten day cruise and the unlimited is $199 or $299 if you want streaming. Also, Do you upgrade by seeing the internet manager? Sorry to be dense about this but want to be sure of my options. 

It may be different on different ships, but I've sailed Star and Gem recently and on both of those it made no difference if I had used any minurtes or not. The 150 minutes has had a "value" of $100 and the upgrade price has gone down about $30/day the first few days. After which it has stayed the same. Not disappeared as it did for @Russiamomm

But, as I said, it could be ship specific.9

[Ken the cruiser]

On 12/24/2023 at 8:53 AM, MLA said:

Hi. Sailing on the Getaway in Feb. 10 day cruise. Confused about these various options.

1. I have the Free at Sea 150 minutes "free" wifi.

2. I have sapphire status so I have a 20% discount on wifi.

3. Can you purchase the "upgrade" offer ($199 or $299) on board or does it have to be pre-boarding? if I can buy when I board, I can use onboard credits. I realize if you do this you don't also get the 150 minutes from the Free and Sea package.  Or:

4. If I don't activate the Free At Sea 150 minutes and instead wait until after midnight the first day of the cruise and then buy the $29 or $39 per day wifi package, will I get any refund for NOT using the free at sea minutes at all? Reason for asking: I am entitled to a 20% discount on wifi due to my latitude status, and will have quite a bit of onboard credit on my account as well.

 

Sorry if this seems complicated, but NCL makes it hard to figure out the best options!

Have you checked out the additional perks provided with their new FAS Plus package for an additional $49 pp/day, if you booked your cruise with the FAS option and there are 2 people in your cabin?

 

 

[cruiser2015]

4 hours ago, MLA said:

Thanks for the info. So if you don’t use any of the free and sea minutes at all, can you upgrade to unlimited when you board? On the first day? And get some kind of discount for not using any of the minutes? It’s 150 for me since I’m on a ten day cruise and the unlimited is $199 or $299 if you want streaming. Also, Do you upgrade by seeing the internet manager? Sorry to be dense about this but want to be sure of my options. 

The upgrade to unlimited over the 150 minutes from the FAS is a flat rate for the cruise - at least for the full # of days. There may be a small discount for the next day or two - because you are getting unlimited for fewer days.

I'm on a 15 day and got the same 150 minutes; my upgrade price is higher in total but less per each day. Guess I got a bargain.

[MLA]

4 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Have you checked out the additional perks provided with their new FAS Plus package for an additional $49 pp/day, if you booked your cruise with the FAS option and there are 2 people in your cabin?

 

 

I’m solo

[MLA]

3 hours ago, cruiser2015 said:

The upgrade to unlimited over the 150 minutes from the FAS is a flat rate for the cruise - at least for the full # of days. There may be a small discount for the next day or two - because you are getting unlimited for fewer days.

I'm on a 15 day and got the same 150 minutes; my upgrade price is higher in total but less per each day. Guess I got a bargain.

I think I need to call NCL as now I’m totally confused since there seem to have been different experiences on different ships.  

[cruiser2015]

31 minutes ago, MLA said:

I think I need to call NCL as now I’m totally confused since there seem to have been different experiences on different ships.  

There's room for some confusion.

It certainly doesn't hurt to give them a call.

But just to review a bit.

There is a Latitudes discount - but only if you buy an internet package - not on an upgrade. You do not want to do this.

 

The upgrade to your FAS deal is straight forward. You mentioned the $199, which should be right there in your NCL account when you log in. I assume the $299 is for the premium unlimited.

You may purchase those upgrades now, or the day you board the ship - same price. You can get it at the internet cafe or it should be available on the app or, I expect, the cabin TV. As I mentioned, I am purchasing onboard next month.

 

You probably can save a few dollars by holding off from upgrading on day 1. But if want to use the service on day one, just pay the full price and knock yourself, out instead of playing around. 

There have been other threads on this previously posted. A Phone call may reveal the available adjustment by waiting a day or two.

[PhillyTravelBug]

I take the FAS and then upgrade with their "discounted" rate.

[podgeandrodge]

So, to clarify, what are peoples experiences if they used some of the 150 minutes on day 1 - could they still upgrade on Day 2, or does that kill the upgrade option i.e. you have to keep the 150 minutes unused.  (I see it worked for one person above that had used some of the 150 mins, but a big risk if this is not consistent practice).

[jemz1949]

For an upcoming 7 day, my precruise upgrade price is $109.  For an upcoming 10 day, the precruise upgrade price is $230.  For me, not having to deal with what "deals" are available once onboard and the time that it takes to mess with it then simply isn't worth it.  

[SugarStar00]

I’m just wondering if I can upgrade to premium drink package on board, never sailed NCL before 

[vswan]

5 hours ago, jemz1949 said:

For an upcoming 7 day, my precruise upgrade price is $109.  For an upcoming 10 day, the precruise upgrade price is $230.  For me, not having to deal with what "deals" are available once onboard and the time that it takes to mess with it then simply isn't worth it.  

I agree. On most cruises I don't even use my 150 free minutes. Check into my email a couple of times and check out a few news headlines, afraid that I might use up all my minutes. This time because I'm traveling solo and have some issues that may need to be addressed while I'm gone, I just pre-purchased the mid-level internet for the whole cruise. Was just easier.

 

I did purchase the internet on day two in August for my grandson. We had used some of the minutes and still got a reduced priced in the $130 range.

[julig22]

5 hours ago, jemz1949 said:

For an upcoming 7 day, my precruise upgrade price is $109.  For an upcoming 10 day, the precruise upgrade price is $230.  For me, not having to deal with what "deals" are available once onboard and the time that it takes to mess with it then simply isn't worth it.  

An extra $121 for an additional 3 days? That seems kinda steep!

 

My 11-day upcoming cruise is listed as $229.89, 12 day (where I have additional FAS minutes) is $214.88. Onboard upgrade on my 7-day was $89 on day 2, so that is in line with $109.

 

So now my question is -do they give you credit for your FAS package if you book precruise? Looks like maybe yes, maybe no?  I've only actually upgraded on 1 cruise, I had extra OBC...  So waiting until I board has as much to do with using OBC as it does with saving money by waiting for day 2.