Campaign for free wifi on all RCCL ships?

[WeLuvVacation]

I vote 100% no! Keep it the way it is. I do not want to pay any increased cruise fare to cover this. I go on a cruise to get away from all the news of the world. I absolutely love the fact that I can be in the dark about all the crud that goes on in this world for as many days as we are on a cruise.

[Big_G]

Many hotels do give you free wi-fi

 

Nothing is free. You're still paying for it and wifi is a lot cheaper on land than at sea. That said, I think Trekker was pointing out they don't sell apps at hotels and resorts.

[steveru621]

I've just returned from trips to the European countries Belgium, France and Germany, and live in England and have never paid for wi-fi. Everywhere we went it was free-Nor have we ever paid on any of our previous trips either.

 

I knew everything is free in Europe. No one pays VAT or any other kind of tax.

[Cuizer2]

Assuming that the ship has 4.8GHz of bandwidth which can be supplied by a leading satcoms company and also assuming that 5000 passengers and crew are using the Internet at the same time, it would mean they would be receiving just under 1mb of Internet speed. It's highly unlikely that 5000 people will be using the Internet at the same time.

 

That said it is more likely that at any given time about 20% of the aforementioned 5000 passengers and crew will be online at once, this will give a broadband speed of 5mbs per person which is more than adequate!!!

 

Assuming that the ship has 4.8GHz of bandwidth and that the ship charges, so perhaps only 5% of the passengers and 25% of the cruise is using the Internet at any one time, that give us 350 users with 4.8GHz of bandwidth or 13.7mbs per person. SO HOW COME THE INTERNET SPEEDS ON THE SHIPS ARE SO DAMN SLOW???

 

The only logical reason is that the ships are not connecting at 4.8GHz now. Why do you believe that they would upgrade just so that they can charge less???

[rcrdale]

Seems to me that if you want to be on the net all day it would be cheaper to just stay home.

 

Do gadgets really run your life?

 

I usually get the lower wifi package plus get the global data plan for my phone. Due to my work in emergency management, I need to stay in contact with people. I wish I could just turn it off when I am away, but I can't.

[Ocean Boy]

I usually get the lower wifi package plus get the global data plan for my phone. Due to my work in emergency management, I need to stay in contact with people. I wish I could just turn it off when I am away, but I can't.

 

Not everyone understands that for some people the option is to either remain in contact or stay home. Folks who can completely disconnect from the world while they go on vacation are very fortunate.

[Mark_K]

Assuming that the ship has 4.8GHz of bandwidth which can be supplied by a leading satcoms company and also assuming that 5000 passengers and crew are using the Internet at the same time, it would mean they would be receiving just under 1mb of Internet speed. It's highly unlikely that 5000 people will be using the Internet at the same time.

 

That said it is more likely that at any given time about 20% of the aforementioned 5000 passengers and crew will be online at once, this will give a broadband speed of 5mbs per person which is more than adequate!!!

GHz is a frequency not a bandwidth.

[peteukmcr]

I knew everything is free in Europe. No one pays VAT or any other kind of tax.

Could you please clarify your statement that no one pays VAT or any other kind of tax? :confused:

[edjny]

If it were free for everyone to use, I'm guessing it would be amazingly slow.

 

Not only extremely slow, but you would be lucky to even connect. There are relatively low limits to the number of connections that can be made on a satellite hookup. If it were free, EVERYBODY would try to link up there gadgets and there would be even more unhappy people complaining they can't get on to update their facebook with the latest gossip.

[mommabean]

I knew everything is free in Europe. No one pays VAT or any other kind of tax.

 

It's free for us at their tax payers expense. :) It's great to find certain public squares in many countries that have free Internet access.

 

It's much harder to find in Australia. You can't even get a "free" code with a coffee purchase in most places. They make you buy a plan.

 

And when people say the free wifi cost is built into the hotel costs - That is fine with me since it's the cheapest hotels that aren't charging for wifi. Hampton Inn - free wifi at $100 a night. Embassy Suites - $10 a night for wifi at $200 a night. Ok so they give you "free" booze at ES but something still annoys me about a hotel that charges extra for Internet.

 

That being said, I prefer the paid system the ships now have. They should just offer better packages on all ships and lower prices across the board and the SAME price on each ship.

 

Why is Radiance 75 cents a minute in Australia and Rhapsody 65 cents a minute in Australia? That, I don't understand.

[Static events]

GHz is a frequency not a bandwidth.

 

GHz is a frequency yes but in this case it's bandwidth. The frequency for satcoms will be the KU band which is 12-18GHz with a bandwidth of about 5GHz.

 

;)

[Alohaaloha]

Could you please clarify your statement that no one pays VAT or any other kind of tax? :confused:

 

I think it was an attempt at sarcasm directed towards me. However, that aside, I clearly meant that there is 'free' wifi available for those who want it, in hotels bars, restaurants etc throughout most public places in Europe. Unless of course you are a tax evader or exempt from VAT:D

[mommabean]

Could you please clarify your statement that no one pays VAT or any other kind of tax? :confused:

 

I detected sarcasm in that poster's comment. In other words the is no free ride. There is no free health care either. Medical professionals get paid and the money comes from somewhere - the taxpayers. Someone is paying for the free wifi. In other countries where there is free public access, that countries taxpayers are paying it.

[Cuizer2]

I detected sarcasm in that poster's comment. In other words the is no free ride. There is no free health care either. Medical professionals get paid and the money comes from somewhere - the taxpayers. Someone is paying for the free wifi. In other countries where there is free public access, that countries taxpayers are paying it.

 

Gee, I guess that means the cruise lines will just add the cost for the free Wi-FI to the price of the cruise and all the passengers will get to pay for it, whether they use it or not. Then of course it will be "free" for everyone, just like the food is "free".

 

Something about there is no free lunch comes to mine.

Edited May 5, 2013 by Cuizer2

[Alohaaloha]

I detected sarcasm in that poster's comment. In other words the is no free ride. There is no free health care either. Medical professionals get paid and the money comes from somewhere - the taxpayers. Someone is paying for the free wifi. In other countries where there is free public access, that countries taxpayers are paying it.

 

 

Exactly- the inference was that we weren't aware of that- Duh!!! However, as I am not a taxpayer in Belgium, France and Germany it actually was free in public places like malls etc:D

Edited May 5, 2013 by Alohaaloha

[CruisinMatt]

It would be nice for my Kindle but I can deal without Internet for a week... If the cruise is longer I buy a small package...

[Langley Cruisers]

OP, appreciate your passion but it will never happen. As stated, it's a huge money-maker for them and if offered, our cruise prices would go up. Everyone would "pay the price" for those passengers who want this product. Not everyone uses the Internet these days (I know, hard to believe but it's true). ;)

[BND]

Hotels don't and will never do this, so why do you think RCI should do this. Cruise vacations are so cheap anyway. Internet is a big moneymaker. Remember they are in business to make money. Sorry, IMHO, dumb idea.

 

Not true. A lot of hotels offer free wifi. I think the bigger issue is that wireless at sea is very expensive to purchase. The provider is making a tidy sum too. The competition for bandwidth would make it extremely slow, yes, ever slower than it currently is. Remember, it's not the same at sea as it is on land.

[mommabean]

Exactly- the inference was that we weren't aware of that- Duh!!! However, as I am not a taxpayer in Belgium, France and Germany it actually was free in public places like malls etc:D

 

And I think that is a great way to treat tourists. It pays off for them if we can search local places, directions, restaurants, etc. We then go and spend money and support their economy. I'm surprised some countries haven't caught on. When we can't use our phones to connect, "free" wifi really gets us going with some spur of the moment ideas. I've actually NOT gone into a cafe because they charge for wifi.

 

If they can get you into a mall with free wifi, they might sell a whole lot more.

 

But someone has paid to put the wifi in and someone is paying the monthly fee. In reality we're probably paying some of those taxes with those built in taxes in the price of the hotels. Tourists flip out when taxes are added on to the hotel cost in our country. I do like getting a total price in Europe but I still like the tax break down to see how much of a hit we are really taking. :) if you know what I mean.

 

Whether or not tourist hotel taxes are used towards "free" public Internet access, I don't know.

[3dog]

GHz is a frequency yes but in this case it's bandwidth. The frequency for satcoms will be the KU band which is 12-18GHz with a bandwidth of about 5GHz.

 

;)

 

GHZ is a frequency. if you are suggesting this turn into a bandwidth for internet service, that would be 5gb. And that would be a maximum theoretical bandwidth. Shifted to 12ghz, there would only be a maximum effective bandwidth of 1.2gb (to which internal equipment might even throttle it more). And considering satellite latencies, it would probably only be 600-800mb of practical bandwidth. Add to this the latencies of receiving stations and/or dropouts related to the ship being a moving object, it may well drop to 400mb of actual usable bandwidth (or less, depending on the equipment actually providing services on the ship). Certainly usable for a typical user, but adding numbers of other users (not to mention what is needed for the ships staff). Add to this the 1/2 second round-trip limitation, and it isn't long till service is saturated and observed response is poor.

[Clarea]

It would be nice for my Kindle but I can deal without Internet for a week... If the cruise is longer I buy a small package...

Not sure I understand. My Kindle does not need internet access to read downloaded books.

[mommabean]

Not sure I understand. My Kindle does not need internet access to read downloaded books.

 

To download new books some need wifi. I have a 3G kindle that works in other countries - And even on board when the cellular signal is good enough.

[mommabean]

GHZ is a frequency. if you are suggesting this turn into a bandwidth for internet service, that would be 5gb. And that would be a maximum theoretical bandwidth. Shifted to 12ghz, there would only be a maximum effective bandwidth of 1.2gb (to which internal equipment might even throttle it more). And considering satellite latencies, it would probably only be 600-800mb of practical bandwidth. Add to this the latencies of receiving stations and/or dropouts related to the ship being a moving object, it may well drop to 400mb of actual usable bandwidth (or less, depending on the equipment actually providing services on the ship). Certainly usable for a typical user, but adding numbers of other users (not to mention what is needed for the ships staff). Add to this the 1/2 second round-trip limitation, and it isn't long till service is saturated and observed response is poor.

 

Did you know that some of us are bored with this? :D

 

Ok, I'll skip it. ;)

[mommabean]

Maybe we can change the subject to how much bandwidth we need for FaceTime. Or will Skype work better on board?

 

Just kidding. Although I have made a Skype call from sea. :)

[JimAOk1945]

Sounds good to me! :D