Does Cunard discount Internet packages?

[sonoma03]

I am booked on the QE for an Alaska cruise in August, and I intend to buy the Essential Internet plan for $18/day, but was wondering if they ever put it on sale.  Is there any benefit to buying it before sailing vs. buying it on board?  If I buy on board I can use my OBC which would be preferable.  Thanks!

[mahasamatman]

The only discount I know of is for status.

[TowandaUK]

There was a sale recently, although I believe this is not something that happens routinely. We had already bought an internet package, so cancelled and bought st the discounted price. 

[bluemarble]

There was a Valentine's Day sale earlier this year when they dropped the price on Internet plans by 28%. So far that's the one and only time I've seen a sale on Internet plans although that might be the start of something new. Hard to tell.

 

There is no benefit to buying the plan before sailing unless they offer another similar limited-time sale. Once on board you can buy a plan for the same non-discounted price which allows you to use some of your OBC.

 

One other benefit of waiting until you are on board is that you may find your existing cellular connection will handle your connectivity needs on embarkation day while you are still in port. If you find you can wait to purchase a full voyage plan until the second day of your voyage you can save the $18 you would have paid for the first day when buying the plan ahead of time.

[reeves35]

Other cruise lines had a range of specials as part of Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales across a variety of onboard things including internet, drinks packages etc.  All Cunard offered was highly conditional special pricing on selected sailings and, even then, restricted it to US customers only.

 

Maybe they'll be a bit more involved this year but, if their app (or lack of app) is any indication, I'm not hopeful of Cunard being particularly innovative.

 

[sonoma03]

Thanks everyone, and thanks to bluemarble for the suggestion to wait until the second day to buy the package; that's a great idea.

[buchanan101]

17 hours ago, sonoma03 said:

I am booked on the QE for an Alaska cruise in August, and I intend to buy the Essential Internet plan for $18/day, but was wondering if they ever put it on sale.  Is there any benefit to buying it before sailing vs. buying it on board?  If I buy on board I can use my OBC which would be preferable.  Thanks!

I managed to get the Premium Plan for $140 (for a 7 night cruise on QA) but only because they were advertising as newly launched with Starlink so with an offer.

 

HOWEVER, looking at my account,  if you buy the essentials on board it'll cost $24 a day as opposed to $18 a day if bought now. I guess you could do it on a day by day basis when you aren't in port (where you could use roaming) to save some money on the $24/day, and it used to be that you could save by not starting it until the day after sailing... 

 

Your OBC will in significant part be taken up with the Hotel and Dining charge (tips) and presumably some drinks... it doesn't go that far, unless you got a really good chunk (our $300 in PG for 7 days won't go much beyond the "tips" - $18pppd = $252!!)

Edited April 16 by buchanan101

[buchanan101]

17 hours ago, bluemarble said:

There was a Valentine's Day sale earlier this year when they dropped the price on Internet plans by 28%. So far that's the one and only time I've seen a sale on Internet plans although that might be the start of something new. Hard to tell.

 

There is no benefit to buying the plan before sailing unless they offer another similar limited-time sale. Once on board you can buy a plan for the same non-discounted price which allows you to use some of your OBC.

 

One other benefit of waiting until you are on board is that you may find your existing cellular connection will handle your connectivity needs on embarkation day while you are still in port. If you find you can wait to purchase a full voyage plan until the second day of your voyage you can save the $18 you would have paid for the first day when buying the plan ahead of time.

We did the "wait until the next day" on QM2 in 2022... but it's then $24 a day I think...though it's not clear what they'd charge for a package that starts on the day after sailing from this. A full voyage plan starting day after departure may not be available...?

 

[Pushpit]

If you buy on board, then there is a series of slightly confusing panels that need to be highlighted, but on day 1 and day 2 there should be an "all voyage" option, which is a bit cheaper on day 2 since the per night multiplier will have reduced by one. Thereafter you can only pay by day.  It has to be like this since Cunard World Club members can only buy on board, not in advance, and therefore need both options - voyage and daily - available once they get to mycunard.

[bluemarble]

44 minutes ago, buchanan101 said:

We did the "wait until the next day" on QM2 in 2022... but it's then $24 a day I think...though it's not clear what they'd charge for a package that starts on the day after sailing from this. A full voyage plan starting day after departure may not be available...?

 

 

Our experience has been that the Full Voyage Plan actually means for all the remaining days of the voyage at the time of purchase. Each day we have postponed purchasing the Essential Full Voyage Plan has reduced the total cost by $18.

 

My wife and I are both Diamond members so we each receive $135 internet credit. That $135 gets us 5 individual days at the Essential 24-Hour Plan rate of $24/24 hours or 7 days of the Essential Full Voyage Plan at the rate of $18/day.

 

Let's say for example we are on a 12-night voyage. To maximize our internet credits, one of us would purchase individual Essential 24-Hour Plans (at $24 each) for the first 5 days. Then the other would purchase the Essential Full Voyage Plan for the final 7 days of the voyage (at $18/day x 7 days = $126).

 

That's how it has worked for us on QM2 in the past although we have not been on board since the Starlink rollout so it's possible I don't have all the latest information about the onboard package prices.

Edited April 16 by bluemarble

[NE John]

45 minutes ago, buchanan101 said:

our $300 in PG for 7 days won't go much beyond the "tips" - $18pppd = $252!!)

Is your $300 OBC for PG per person?

[buchanan101]

Just now, NE John said:

Is your $300 OBC for PG per person?

Nope.. not a particularly generous allocation. Only have $260 for Sep 26 in PG. But both cruises were sold with discounted prices, not extra OBC

[buchanan101]

3 minutes ago, bluemarble said:

 

Our experience has been that the Full Voyage Plan actually means for all the remaining days of the voyage at the time of purchase. Each day we have postponed purchasing the Essential Full Voyage Plan has reduced the total cost by $18.

 

My wife and I are both Diamond members so we each receive $135 internet credit. That gets us 5 individual days at the Essential 24-Hour Plan rate of $24/24 hours or 7 days of the Essential Full Voyage Plan at the rate of $18/day.

 

Let's say for example we are on a 12-night voyage. To maximize our internet credits, one of us would purchase individual Essential 24-Hour Plans (at $24 each) for the first 5 days. Then the other would purchase the Essential Full Voyage Plan for the final 7 days of the voyage (at $18/day x 7 days = $126).

 

That's how it has worked for us on QM2 in the past although we have not been on board since the Starlink rollout so it's possible I don't have all the latest information about the onboard package prices.

Good planning...

 

But also..does anyone actually buy more than one package - with it's lousy 10% discount for the second one. Very easy to share access on one package

[Victoria2]

Don't forget to take into consideration  buchanan101  , if you're travelling with a companion [who has the same amount of Wi-Fi loyalty credit, if you take a whole voyage plan, it comes off one passenger's allowance and maybe over the 'given' amount.

 

In sharing the wi-fi connection, we take out a 24hr per day plan on the day after embarkation. Utilising both allowances and judicious timing when taking the next 24hrs out, we can just about get away with a small $ debit to our onboard account on a two weeker.

 

 

[buchanan101]

3 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

Don't forget to take into consideration  buchanan101  , if you're travelling with a companion [who has the same amount of Wi-Fi loyalty credit, if you take a whole voyage plan, it comes off one passenger's allowance and maybe over the 'given' amount.

 

In sharing the wi-fi connection, we take out a 24hr per day plan on the day after embarkation. Utilising both allowances and judicious timing when taking the next 24hrs out, we can just about get away with a small $ debit to our onboard account on a two weeker.

 

 

Is it $45/person when you become gold (after two cruises/ 14 nights)? Will have to bear that in mind all the way off in Sep 26! That's a trip from NY to Quebec so may be mostly able to rely on port stays (Boston/Quebec overnight) and being close to land...

 

I prebooked the premium package for QA at $140 - on offer -  so I'm quite happy with that for the upcoming cruise (68 days out...)

[Victoria2]

I think so but not sure. The benefits will be per person.

 

We get the 'huge' $135 internet allowance per person and it took a couple of cruises post Covid to get my brain in gear and see that utilising both allowances judiciously on a per day basis was cheaper on a two weeker than just one of us taking out a 'whole voyage' plan at $18 per day.

[bluemarble]

1 minute ago, buchanan101 said:

Is it $45/person when you become gold (after two cruises/ 14 nights)?

 

That's correct. The current internet credits based on Cunard World Club status are as follows:

 

• Gold members receive $45 per person.

• Platinum members receive $80 per person.

• Diamond members receive $135 per person.

 

One additional detail about these internet credits. They are similar to OBC in that they can only be used for internet plans purchased once on board. In fact, they prevent you from pre-purchasing internet plans in My Cunard if you qualify for an internet credit. Instead of a button to purchase an internet plan, it says "Use your credits to purchase internet on board."

[King Amo]

Ah that's interesting, I wasn't expecting anything to be there for Gold tier. Quite handy, as while I'm very much looking forward to being out of internet range, having some credit as back up should something be needed is very useful. 

[buchanan101]

2 hours ago, bluemarble said:

 

That's correct. The current internet credits based on Cunard World Club status are as follows:

 

• Gold members receive $45 per person.

• Platinum members receive $80 per person.

• Diamond members receive $135 per person.

 

One additional detail about these internet credits. They are similar to OBC in that they can only be used for internet plans purchased once on board. In fact, they prevent you from pre-purchasing internet plans in My Cunard if you qualify for an internet credit. Instead of a button to purchase an internet plan, it says "Use your credits to purchase internet on board."

I’m looking forward to the pins… 

[Victoria2]

54 minutes ago, buchanan101 said:

I’m looking forward to the pins… 

They look good strung up on the Christmas Tree! 😃