NCL onboard internet prices jumped 20-55%

When I went to get the link to the price list to answer a question in another thread, I realized that the prices have been raised significantly.

 

Unlimited internet was earlier $24.99/$19.99 per day, now it's $29.99/$24.99 per day.

 

Regular packages of 100 and 250 minutes were $55 and $100 respectively, now $85 and $129.

 

New prices: http://www.ncl.com/onboard-packages/internet-packages

 

Old prices: http://web.archive.org/web/20150906095204/https://www.ncl.com/about/staying-connected-sea-internet-access

Edited October 3, 2015 by Demonyte

Thanks for the heads up! I'm sailing on October 16th, and will need to check emails daily (I run a small business at home). Not particularly happy about the price increase, but as there is nothing I can do about it, I'll just have to deal.

Never use it as it's a ripoff plus it can be very slow at times.

If we need internet we wait till we hit a port as you'll usually find one near the pier.

Yes those prices are crazy.

 

For a lot less I am able to put a travel pack on my phone. For about the equivalent of 3 days unlimited I can have a Caribbean Travel Pack that gets me 200 minutes world wide talk time, unlimited text messages and 500 MB of data. Additional bundles of data are sold for $20. I can use my phone as a hot spot so I can use my laptop or an iPad too. This travel pack lasts a month, which works perfectly for later this month when I will do 11 days on one ship have 3 days on land and then board another ship for 7 days. So both cruises can be covered under the same pack. Although not available at sea I can utilize it from on the ship when in port.

 

I used to always purchase the largest data plan. Now with so many other options I don't need to. And certainly don't want to with the increase in cost.

 

 

Rochelle

Was speaking with the onboard services director on the Sun in May and she told me the prices are set by MTN not NCL....even crew, officers included have to pay for internet.

 

IMHO with all the hard work and time away from home the crew has, MTN should cut them some slack :mad:

Rochelle,

 

I am in no way knowledgeable on this subject. But how do you prevent the ships satellite tower or whatever they have from charging a connect fee if you are using an alternative?

Was speaking with the onboard services director on the Sun in May and she told me the prices are set by MTN not NCL....even crew, officers included have to pay for internet.

 

 

MTN surely sets the "wholesale" price for the whole connection, but definitely not the end user prices.

 

Big chunk of the connection capacity is already reserved for NCL's internal usage (all kinds of back office needs; accounting, comms to HQ, etc, etc) and it's up to NCL to make up the prices they want to charge from the customers for using the rest of it. That is one big money maker for the company - just like eg. bar sales.

 

For the staff talking to customers it's always easier to shift the blame to another company when possible to prevent people of getting annoyed towards NCL.

Edited October 4, 2015 by Demonyte

Rochelle,

 

I am in no way knowledgeable on this subject. But how do you prevent the ships satellite tower or whatever they have from charging a connect fee if you are using an alternative?

 

I make sure that I have my phones settings set to 'cellular off' and 'data off'. When the ship is close to land (docked) and I can pick up a signal from land with 'cellular on' then I turn 'data on'. I can then use my phone as a hotspot for another device.

 

To connect to the ships internet you need to set up an account. I never do this so am unable to connect to their internet. The phone's home screen tells me which cellular service I am connecting to. Almost always when I turn 'cellular on' I get a text message welcoming me to the country, what network I am connecting to and how to make a call from there back to Canada.

 

As for a more technical answer..uuhhh....I don't know:o...I just know what I need to do for my phone. When I call to order a travel pack for my phone they usually always tell me the step by step process and how to avoid charges onto the phone. Be sure to tell them you are going on a cruise to. All the roaming around makes a difference.

 

 

Rochelle

LOL

Everything on these ships just gets more expensive by the day.

NCL seems to be coming in the back door with their price increases. First the fee for room service then the raise in auto and now internet. When will there be a charge for the dining rooms and shows?

He did say he wanted to gouge $50 per person extra.

Was speaking with the onboard services director on the Sun in May and she told me the prices are set by MTN not NCL....even crew, officers included have to pay for internet.

 

IMHO with all the hard work and time away from home the crew has, MTN should cut them some slack :mad:

 

I got to know some crew well on a much smaller line also served by MTN, Lindblad. In 2012, crew could buy at 50% of the passenger rate.

Was speaking with the onboard services director on the Sun in May and she told me the prices are set by MTN not NCL....even crew, officers included have to pay for internet.

 

IMHO with all the hard work and time away from home the crew has, MTN should cut them some slack :mad:

 

That explains why the crews are always commandeering the internet outlets near the piers and the telephones as well because they can call home cheaper with calling cards.

 

But I agree that NCL should provide crew Free access so that they can stay in touch, even it means setting up an area in their private social area and work out some sort of schedule so that all can get a shot at using it, even if they limited the amt. of time.

Or sell them time with prices that are affordable to them.

Although not available at sea I can utilize it from on the ship when in port.

This is the problem, some people really want/need to be able to connect from the ship while at sea and can't wait until the next port. I guess if it's a business expense you can write off the cost, or bill your customers for it…

Regular packages of 100 and 250 minutes were $55 and $100 respectively, now $85 and $129.

According to the links you provided, you are comparing the highest new fares with the lowest old fares, which is slightly misleading (although for some shorter cruises, these are indeed the old and new prices). And your thread title is simply false, since it is not the case that all rates have gone up at least 20%. Cruises of 6 days or longer have seen less outrageous increases in price on these two packages, since they used to cost $75 and $125 (13% and 3% increase). I don't expect those customers to be jumping for joy, because even a small price increase is bad news, but they should at least have accurate information about what they are complaining about this time.

But I agree that NCL should provide crew Free access so that they can stay in touch, even it means setting up an area in their private social area and work out some sort of schedule so that all can get a shot at using it, even if they limited the amt. of time.

Or sell them time with prices that are affordable to them.

The crew do get lower prices (I once saw the prices posted in the hallway during a behind the scenes tour, but I don't recall the details), but I have no idea what they would consider affordable or not. Edited October 4, 2015 by hawkeyetlse

... did say he wanted to gouge $50 per person extra.

 

Well ... true. :rolleyes:

Someone is gotta pay for all those "freebies" giveaways ... at least, there's no 18% gratuity add-on levied.

 

Well, we have T-Mobile & under the Simple Choice Plan, roaming data is free at most islands/ports while cruising, if not covered as home use. Stay off "slow" ship internet except for emergencies while at sea b/c we have no intent of paying the "subsidy"

He did say he wanted to gouge $50 per person extra.

 

He's gotta be triple that by now.

This is the problem, some people really want/need to be able to connect from the ship while at sea and can't wait until the next port. I guess if it's a business expense you can write off the cost, or bill your customers for it…

According to the links you provided, you are comparing the highest new fares with the lowest old fares, which is slightly misleading (although for some shorter cruises, these are indeed the old and new prices). And your thread title is simply false, since it is not the case that all rates have gone up at least 20%. Cruises of 6 days or longer have seen less outrageous increases in price on these two packages, since they used to cost $75 and $125 (13% and 3% increase). I don't expect those customers to be jumping for joy, because even a small price increase is bad news, but they should at least have accurate information about what they are complaining about this time.

The crew do get lower prices (I once saw the prices posted in the hallway during a behind the scenes tour, but I don't recall the details), but I have no idea what they would consider affordable or not.

 

Many purchase some minutes to keep in touch when they're unable to leave the ship, but will save the long conversations to times when they are in port. They learn quickly where to go for the best free wifi.

 

My last few cruises I've gone with the unlimited internet because I also run my own business and prefer to be reachable if necessary. I'm not spending all of my time on the phone, but a quick look at my phone throughout the day took away the stress of not knowing what was going on.

Edited October 4, 2015 by SuiteCruiser

I make sure that I have my phones settings set to 'cellular off' and 'data off'. When the ship is close to land (docked) and I can pick up a signal from land with 'cellular on' then I turn 'data on'. I can then use my phone as a hotspot for another device

 

Rochelle

 

Setting data roaming off will prevent you from roaming into the ship's network. My US [very large] carrier considers incoming text messages the same whether at home or abroad. Setting cellular on allows me to receive messages without additional charges (that's a carrier by carrier thing).

 

Leaving your wifi on allows you to connect via iConcierge to the ship's information system to see what's happening, monitor your room charges and make reservations (restaurants, shoreex)bat no additional charge. This is available on more ships as they complete their upgrades.

Well ... true. :rolleyes:

Someone is gotta pay for all those "freebies" giveaways ... at least, there's no 18% gratuity add-on levied.

 

Well, we have T-Mobile & under the Simple Choice Plan, roaming data is free at most islands/ports while cruising, if not covered as home use. Stay off "slow" ship internet except for emergencies while at sea b/c we have no intent of paying the "subsidy"

Do you know if the T Mobile Simple Choice plan works in San Juan and St Thomas. When I spoke to one of their reps at a mall kiosk I was told pre paid plans only work on the US Mainland. We are hoping to use it on our cruise next week.

NCL seems to be coming in the back door with their price increases. First the fee for room service then the raise in auto and now internet. When will there be a charge for the dining rooms and shows?

 

I actually don't mind the increase to the DSC since it goes back to the service crew.

 

Since we don't use standard room service and it cost everyone to have crew onboard to do room service, I am happy that those who use the service pay for the service. There's lots of food available 24 hours a day onboard. Kinda like the spa, I don't want it to be free to everyone and increase the cruise cost, people who use it should pay for it.

 

For Internet, as more people use the service the cruise lines have to buy more bandwidth. I would rather them have more bandwidth than have everyone fighting over a smaller pipe.

Much less than 50% discount. I was on a behind the scenes tour on the Epic two weeks ago, and a notice said it was charged at 5c a minute offpeak and 9c a minute peak.

 

We weren't stopped long enough for me to see what peak hours were.

Much less than 50% discount. I was on a behind the scenes tour on the Epic two weeks ago, and a notice said it was charged at 5c a minute offpeak and 9c a minute peak.

Are you saying they have to pay more than 50% of the public price, or less? If the 250-minute package for passengers costs $129, that's more than 50¢/minute. :eek:

Prepaid under T-Mo USA works in San Juan for sure on voice plus 4G LTE & I believe, USVI but not BVI or either sides of SM. Postpaid is better & only slightly more without contract or activation free. You can always switch back to prepaid after a full month to avoid pro-rating. We roamed for free last month in Korea & Taiwan for 2 weeks at no charge, call home w Google Hangouts free & between countries for 2 to 4 cents a minute on WiFi. On ships, we are captives but once in ports with land towers, gotta love T-Mo.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Edited October 4, 2015 by mking8288

According to the links you provided, you are comparing the highest new fares with the lowest old fares, which is slightly misleading (although for some shorter cruises, these are indeed the old and new prices). And your thread title is simply false, since it is not the case that all rates have gone up at least 20%. Cruises of 6 days or longer have seen less outrageous increases in price on these two packages, since they used to cost $75 and $125 (13% and 3% increase).

 

Wow, you're absolutely correct (those old prices are from memory, unlimited prices I checked from the old page) - they have clearly raised the prices once before too. We have only taken longer cruises and paid $55/$100 for 100/250 min packages, I didn't even realize that the price had been raised also earlier.

Yikes! $775 for a 31 day cruise.

 

NCL has probably noticed that those who buy it won't be put off by that increase anyway.

I hate it but for longer cruises, >14 days, I prefer just paying the flat fee instead of using precious port time looking for wifi. Or the dreadful look of the timer ticking while the page is not loading for what feels like minutes.