New internet levels. Surf, Premium and $tream

[YourWorldWithBill]

4 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

 

14 and 16 day cruise in Dec I paid $50 to upgrade to Premium. I did it on day 3 both times. In Dec, cabinmate did not upgrade. On day 7 hers showed $25 to upgrade.

Best wishes on the new career.

Do you know how much it would have been to upgrader before boarding? 

[Hlitner]

On 2/5/2024 at 1:12 PM, Sea42 said:

I agree. Just reading the boards here, anyone can see how much of a priority people place on internet access onboard. I'm not surprised cruise lines want to make as much as they can by offering higher priced packages.

Not "cruise lines" but simply SOME cruise lines.  We cruise on many lines and quite a few include Internet (some unlimited) while others have it included in various packages at a reasonable cost.  Consider that our last 3 cruises (in the past year) were on Princess, Explora Journeys, and HAL. Princess had it included in a package (along with drinks and other perks) and Explora Journeys has unlimited for free.  Our next 3 cruises are on Oceania, Seabourn and Silversea and they include Internet as a free perk.

 

Hank

[Mary229]

9 minutes ago, YourWorldWithBill said:

Do you know how much it would have been to upgrader before boarding? 

They don’t allow the upgrade prior to boarding.  

[Sea42]

5 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

Not "cruise lines" but simply SOME cruise lines.  We cruise on many lines and quite a few include Internet (some unlimited) while others have it included in various packages at a reasonable cost.  Consider that our last 3 cruises (in the past year) were on Princess, Explora Journeys, and HAL. Princess had it included in a package (along with drinks and other perks) and Explora Journeys has unlimited for free.  Our next 3 cruises are on Oceania, Seabourn and Silversea and they include Internet as a free perk.

 

Hank

No, it's not free on Explora, it is included.  It is paid for by the higher fares. HAL and other lines make it available in other ways which are also paid for. The difference is that those who don't use it don't pay for it on HAL and other lines. Choice is a good thing!

[YourWorldWithBill]

4 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

They don’t allow the upgrade prior to boarding.  

Thanks. That figures. I've never bothered to upgrade before.

[Hlitner]

26 minutes ago, Sea42 said:

No, it's not free on Explora, it is included.  It is paid for by the higher fares. HAL and other lines make it available in other ways which are also paid for. The difference is that those who don't use it don't pay for it on HAL and other lines. Choice is a good thing!

I kind of agree with you that HAL has morphed into a budget line with all kinds of add-ons (you would call it choice).  It would not surprise me to see a future HAL that charges for tender use, elevator use, an extra glass of water in the MDR, etc.  After all, why should folks that don't use those things pay.  I wonder how big the attendance would be if HAL also charged for their BBC Documentary shows in the theater, and perhaps a fee to ask a question at the Guest Relations desk.  At least one cruise line is already experimenting with a fee for certain shows.  Can you imagine the high price to see the "History of HAL" slide show 🙂

 

Hank

[Haljo1935]

54 minutes ago, YourWorldWithBill said:

Do you know how much it would have been to upgrader before boarding? 

When it's part of the HIA package, upgrading can only be done onboard. To purchase internet separately (ie not bundled in HIA), you can see the price of each level inside your booking in "packages."

Edited February 11 by Haljo1935
Additional comment

[Cruising Is Bliss]

On 2/6/2024 at 7:15 PM, drowelf said:

 

 

I actually miss the daily papers. As soon as we boarded I would go to the front desk and ask that all the English Language versions be delivered to my cabin each day. Then I would have some reading for trips to the facilities. I remember one cruise when it was a bumper crop of papers as I would get US, UK, Canadian and Australian versions. The first 3 would come in the morning and the Australian would be with the nightly delivery of the of the daily program on the bed. 

 

Me too! I always took them with me to read with my first latte of the day.

[Sea42]

1 hour ago, Hlitner said:

I kind of agree with you that HAL has morphed into a budget line with all kinds of add-ons (you would call it choice).  It would not surprise me to see a future HAL that charges for tender use, elevator use, an extra glass of water in the MDR, etc.  After all, why should folks that don't use those things pay.  I wonder how big the attendance would be if HAL also charged for their BBC Documentary shows in the theater, and perhaps a fee to ask a question at the Guest Relations desk.  At least one cruise line is already experimenting with a fee for certain shows.  Can you imagine the high price to see the "History of HAL" slide show 🙂

 

Hank

I think you need to take a break from your obsession with HAL. You are now agreeing with something that was never written, stretching to make a very convoluted point. It's become tiresome.

[Rubyfisch]

On 2/10/2024 at 11:45 PM, REOVA said:

Texting will depend on your phone (model and age). IPhone uses MMS to send messages via internet so you can send and receive from other iphones (blue and green text used to differentiate non iPhone/iPhone). Android is different and usually uses SMS and needs cell tower so in airplane won't work. (You have to be able  to modify settings for internet use for Android). 

Across multiple phones and providers, I've had no issues with texting via Wi-Fi on an Android. You just turn on Wi-Fi calling before you put your phone on airplane mode. It's worked on both Holland America and Royal Caribbean. It does not tend to work on airplane Wi-Fi - I assume they block it like they block Zoom (we use the Zoom chat client at work - don't worry, I'm not trying to have a Zoom call from an airplane ...).

[IPB4IGO]

On 2/10/2024 at 8:45 PM, REOVA said:

Texting will depend on your phone (model and age). IPhone uses MMS to send messages via internet so you can send and receive from other iphones (blue and green text used to differentiate non iPhone/iPhone). Android is different and usually uses SMS and needs cell tower so in airplane won't work. (You have to be able  to modify settings for internet use for Android). 

Let me clarify re:Android phones. First you put your phone in Airplane Mode, so you won't inadvertently connect with their expensive Cellular at Sea service. Then you turn on Wi-Fi. If your phone has the Wi-Fi Calling feature, you can then use your Wi-Fi package for texting and voice calls. I have done that on our last two cruises.

[drowelf]

On 2/10/2024 at 11:45 PM, REOVA said:

Texting will depend on your phone (model and age). IPhone uses MMS to send messages via internet so you can send and receive from other iphones (blue and green text used to differentiate non iPhone/iPhone). Android is different and usually uses SMS and needs cell tower so in airplane won't work. (You have to be able  to modify settings for internet use for Android). 

I text in Airplane mode all the time on my S20+. Once connected to the Wifi I can text all day long. 

11 hours ago, Rubyfisch said:

Across multiple phones and providers, I've had no issues with texting via Wi-Fi on an Android. You just turn on Wi-Fi calling before you put your phone on airplane mode. It's worked on both Holland America and Royal Caribbean. It does not tend to work on airplane Wi-Fi - I assume they block it like they block Zoom (we use the Zoom chat client at work - don't worry, I'm not trying to have a Zoom call from an airplane ...).

I'll have to check my settings, but I don't think I've ever had to explicitly enable WiFi Calling to do texts. As long as I'm connected to the ship (or airplane) AP and have Internet access, texts come in just fine. 

Edited February 13 by drowelf

[POA1]

As long as your carrier supports Wi-Fi calling and your phone supports it, you should be good to go. This applies to both Android and iPhones. Odds are that most phones manufactured in the last few years will be fine, but your carrier will have the details for your phone.

 

As a general rule you'll turn on airplane mode first. This turns off your cellular radio and the Wi-Fi radio. You then turn Wi-Fi on and connect to the ship's internet. At that point, Wi-Fi calling and texting will work fine if supported by the phone and your carrier.

 

You may have to toggle Wi-Fi calling on in your phone's settings. This is super easy, barely an inconvenience to try at home.

 

Depending on your phone model, you may have to turn Bluetooth back on after you go into airplane mode. Again, try all this at home.

[crystalspin]

18 hours ago, POA1 said:

You may have to toggle Wi-Fi calling on in your phone's settings. This is super easy, barely an inconvenience to try at home.

We have it already turned on because we live in an intermittent black hole of cell service and for our (only phones') calls to come through, we have to depend on our wi-fi in our own home!

[Goldenrosebags]

I'm new to HAL. I have the early booking bonus. Can anyone tell me what level of interner I'll get?

[Haljo1935]

4 minutes ago, Goldenrosebags said:

I'm new to HAL. I have the early booking bonus. Can anyone tell me what level of interner I'll get?

Welcome to HAL!! Go to the end of your booking confirmation - you should see a list of the various items that are included, among them internet. It should identify what level you have.

[Goldenrosebags]

Thank you.

[YourWorldWithBill]

On 2/14/2024 at 3:09 AM, crystalspin said:

We have it already turned on because we live in an intermittent black hole of cell service and for our (only phones') calls to come through, we have to depend on our wi-fi in our own home!

As long as everyone remembers that when turning on airplane mode, it's necessary to turn wifi calling back on.

[crystalspin]

1 hour ago, Goldenrosebags said:

I'm new to HAL. I have the early booking bonus. Can anyone tell me what level of interner I'll get?

It has historically been Premium -- when Premium was the top level. It could be $tream now! Go have a look. 

 

If you used a travel agent, you might have to ask them for the entire Booking Confirmation from HAL: the amenities are on the last page(s), with Passenger "1,2" in a column next to the list. It will also specify Elite Beverage Package, which covers 15 alcoholic drinks up to $15@ + unlimited non-alcoholic beverages.

[Goldenrosebags]

49 minutes ago, crystalspin said:

It has historically been Premium -- when Premium was the top level. It could be $tream now! Go have a look. 

 

If you used a travel agent, you might have to ask them for the entire Booking Confirmation from HAL: the amenities are on the last page(s), with Passenger "1,2" in a column next to the list. It will also specify Elite Beverage Package, which covers 15 alcoholic drinks up to $15@ + unlimited non-alcoholic beverages.

It says Premium. But the cruise was booked over a year ago. So we're probably grandfathered into whatever it was before. It did list Elite beverage package. Which is nice.

[Haljo1935]

1 hour ago, Goldenrosebags said:

It says Premium. But the cruise was booked over a year ago. So we're probably grandfathered into whatever it was before. It did list Elite beverage package. Which is nice.

With the current changes, I didn't want to make assumptions on your specific booking, so best to always check the booking confirmation. Will be nice if they give you the top, but Premium has been great.

Safe travels- enjoy your cruise! 

[Goldenrosebags]

1 hour ago, Haljo1935 said:

With the current changes, I didn't want to make assumptions on your specific booking, so best to always check the booking confirmation. Will be nice if they give you the top, but Premium has been great.

Safe travels- enjoy your cruise! 

Thank you. Looking forward to trying HAL. We can download our shows if we need to.

[twprincessfirsties]

On 2/6/2024 at 10:15 PM, drowelf said:

 

 

I actually miss the daily papers. As soon as we boarded I would go to the front desk and ask that all the English Language versions be delivered to my cabin each day. Then I would have some reading for trips to the facilities. I remember one cruise when it was a bumper crop of papers as I would get US, UK, Canadian and Australian versions. The first 3 would come in the morning and the Australian would be with the nightly delivery of the of the daily program on the bed. 

You can still read the NYT and the LA times and the financial post for free from Navigator. What was cool was that I could use the NYT app on my tablet and get all of the daily news in a very readable format for free, and portable as well. 

[Crew News]

The latest HAL internet change for the Surf plan is:  "Only available with Have it All fare."  The Stream plan states that it adds video streaming (Netflix, Disney+, etc) to the already video calling/messaging and WiFi calling of the Premium plan.

[Shalandara]

I was looking at the different packages today and noticed the FAQ at the bottom of the page.  One question made me open and look. 

 

So a usage cap without calling it a usage cap?

 

Here's the text for those who might have problems with images:

How much usage is allowed per day per user?
With the introduction of content-based plans guests no longer have to worry about running out of minutes or megabytes – they can use their device to access included sites all day. After certain daily limits guest data may receive lower prioritization but guests will not be prevented from accessing sites included in their package.