24 hour internet pass

Is the unlimited internet pass charged by the day? I'm trying to figure out if it is possible to buy it for certain days, or is it billed from the day you buy it, until the end of the cruise? I know the internet cafe on board has a little more latitude in terms of how you are billed, so perhaps if purchasing a day-pass isn't possible on line, it is something that can be done on board?

Also, on 8-day (7-night) cruises, if I buy on board, how many days am I billed for? If all 8, can I wait until midnight of day 2 to buy my internet access and save a day's worth of charges?

Lastly, I am sailing on the Epic (second time). I didn't get internet access on there before, so I don't know how it is. Is it worth upgrading to the top-tier streaming package, or is basic surfing enough? I don't need streaming, but, if I have it, I'll use it. I know internet speed is pretty bad on these ships (I tried it on the Excape and pretty much couldn't do anything but the most essential web surfing) so if streaming is just barely passable, I would rather pay for the basic package.

Thanks so much for the info!

AFAIK, they don't sell 24 hours (unlimited or not) internet pass, onboard or in advance - you can certainly ask in person. Otherwise, they have several plans based on minutes, 250 was (is) priced at $125 (and, you can use OBC for it)

For a 7 nights cruise, you can purchase/upgrade to the unlimited premium (with or without the streaming option) package until 10 pm of Day 2, and are charged for 6 nights instead of 7 (can't clear if they do that you trade-up or upgrade using the 250 minutes Free At Sea promo offer as selected) ... that should save you $30 or $35 from day 1.

Can't help you with the real life streaming speed & latency of satellite "broad"band on the Epic ... most of the ships had supposingly got 1 or 2 rounds of hardware/server & software/app upgrade within the past 2 to 3 years ... results & feedbacks seemed to be a mixed bag, keep in mind end user's hardware/devices aren't exactly the same ... I usually connect over 5 Ghz although "ac" protocol hasn't been adopted, but it's less prone to buffering & drops.

Meh, so at least its a 7 day charge and not 8 day. Eh, does anyone know if the ultimate package is the same speed as the standard package, and its just that they "block" video streaming?

If the regular package is actually the same speed as the ultimate, but with streaming blocked, then I'll probably just get the regular package.

Meh, so at least its a 7 day charge and not 8 day. Eh, does anyone know if the ultimate package is the same speed as the standard package, and its just that they "block" video streaming?

 

If the regular package is actually the same speed as the ultimate, but with streaming blocked, then I'll probably just get the regular package.

Same speed.