Campaign for free wifi on all RCCL ships?

[cruizefam]

Comparing ship based wifi to land based is comparing apples and corn. The ship gets it's internet service through a satellite system, not from your usual providers on land - That's why it's more expensive. So, until the satellite providers reduce their fees, free isn't going to happen.

 

Lydia

 

Apples & Corn -- now that's funny!! :D

[LMaxwell]

I don't think the technology is there to make it viable for the amount of people on a ship. The current cost to do so would be prohibitive. Given that equipment is replaced 3 - 5 years with rapidly advancing technology I do not think that 10 years from now, and 2 or 3 generations of equipment, that it is out of the question for the technology to both have decent speed AND support so many people and devices. Costs on technologies reduce over time; it will be interesting to see.

 

But present day? No way; just not practical to implement.

[Former Goalie]

Hi all,

 

I think we should start a campaign for RCCL to set a cruise industry first by offering free wifi on all RCCL ships.

 

Wifi is quickly becoming apart of everyday life for so many people, for so many different reasons that it seems old fashioned to charge for wifi. It really would be WOW if RCCL offered free wifi.

 

It's just an idea.... :confused:

Never happen, nor should it. Bandwidth is in short supply on the ships. If you think internet speed is slow now, it would be at a snail's pace if wi-fi was "free" on RCI ships.

[Ocean Boy]

Free internet just means lost revenue that has to be made up somewhere else. There are things that most people on a ship use, like food and entertainment, that should be included in the cruise fare and then there are other things that people who need it can pay for it. There may be some folks on a cruise that need a lot of contact with the world while on a ship but I would think that, though many people may need to connect to the world for a short period of time, most people (maybe I am wrong) on a ship can disconnect from the world quite well for a one week vacation.

 

This is no difference from threads of the past concerning including soda, alcohol, etc., in the price of the cruise. People who don't drink a lot don't particularly want to subsidize other people's drinking. I don't feel the need to subsidize other people's connectivity.

[chengkp75]

RCCL must have a large bandwidth for their sat comms data alone.

 

That's just it. The ship buys so much bandwidth from their satellite provider. They then use it for everything on the ship. Virtually every S&S card swipe machine is online 24/7 to the home office. Every senior officer's network PC is connected to the home office 24/7. Ship's maintenance data flows back and forth to Miami, as the master database is kept ashore. What is available to passengers is what is left over of the bandwidth once company usage is done. Since they bought the bandwidth on predictions of peak usage, and they are then wasting money when usage is below peak, they found a way to resell that wasted bandwidth to the passengers.

 

All you need to know about the speed of satellite data, you can get from Direct TV in a storm. How many times do you lose signal, or the signal goes into reload? Now start moving your dish, and see what happens. There is talk of a newer generation of satellites being able to handle more traffic, faster, but someone is going to have to pay for those new satellites.

[TigerCruzin]

I may not be with the majority here...

 

But, I like the fact that our family can spend time together or separately that does not involve having our (I'm guilty too) faces in our phones and devices.

 

Having it included in the cost of the cruise (nothing is really "free") would be too much of a temptation for all of us. :rolleyes:

[Big_G]

I may not be with the majority here...

 

But, I like the fact that our family can spend time together or separately that does not involve having our (I'm guilty too) faces in our phones and devices.

 

Having it included in the cost of the cruise (nothing is really "free") would be too much of a temptation for all of us. :rolleyes:

 

I hear you. I'm not sure if you're in the minority or not but I need to stay connected for my job. We just keep it to a minimum. You won't catch me reading my emails at the pool. I was better off when the technology wasn't there to reach me.

[LuvBNatC]

I cruise to escape the Internet. I don't want Internet access improved because being at sea is the only time I can tell clients I'm taking a break and unavailable for the duration -- don't even try getting in touch. :D

 

And it would be a total bummer to walk around the ship and see many passengers engrossed in their gadgets, oblivious to their beautiful surroundings, or talking loudly about absolutely nothing with someone who's not there -- you know, like they do constantly in the grocery store.

 

A cruise is one of the few ways mankind has left to live in the moment, without electronic distractions. It should be preserved.

[lakelorain]

I don't think wifi should be free but I do like the reduced rates for early mornings on the Jewel. It would be nice if all ships did that.

Also, a few free minutes(possibly 20) for people to print their boarding passes for their flights home would be nice.

[Ocean Boy]

I don't think wifi should be free but I do like the reduced rates for early mornings on the Jewel. It would be nice if all ships did that.

Also, a few free minutes(possibly 20) for people to print their boarding passes for their flights home would be nice.

 

On Allure airline sites are free so you can do check-ins and print boarding passes. I am not sure if it is the same on other ships. This was the first cruise that we have encountered the free sites.

[lakelorain]

On Allure airline sites are free so you can do check-ins and print boarding passes. I am not sure if it is the same on other ships. This was the first cruise that we have encountered the free sites.

 

Airline sites weren't free on the ships we've sailed but prices for internet time were lower overall.

[DandDM]

With all the comparisons to hotels, I'm surprised no one has brought up the convenient "resort fees" that many hotels now have! For just a "small" daily fee on the ship, all your internet, pool time, and lido buffets will be free!! That would be a sad day:(

 

Seriously, though - I expect that within five years satellite internet speeds will increase significantly and we will see reduced rates for internet access on ships. Probably with a shift to per day or per device fees (as compared to the current per minute charges).

 

However, I do not expect to see free wi-fi on a cruise ship in my lifetime!

[blackshirt]

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.

 

Actually, you are both right. Prior to the digital age, it was common for Hz to be used in measuring both frequency and bandwidth, in fact that's the way I leaned it some 35 years ago (i.e. a voice channel was 3 KHz in bandwidth). In digital systems it is more common to measure bandwidth in MB or GB, though measuring in Ghz is still acceptable.

[ehfl]

Wifi is quickly becoming apart of everyday life for so many people, for so many different reasons that it seems old fashioned to charge for wifi.

 

I agree 100% and nominate you to personally cover the satellite expenses for the entire fleet. Why should they stick with an old-fashioned model of billing those who use a service for the cost of the service? It would be so much better if they used a more modern approach, where those that demand it should be free for all are the ones to pay so that it can be free for all.

[cruisegirl1]

It'll never happen. Some of those internet packages are sooo expensive and lots of people buy them because they can't bear to go a few days without being plugged in. It's too much of a money-maker.

 

 

 

It is not that people need to be “plugged in”. We sail 6-8 times a year BECAUSE we can be “plugged in”. Often our clients and colleagues don’t even know we are out of the county – and that is the way we like it. If we could not carry on usual business or even abbreviated business, we would likely sail only once or twice a year.

 

A cruise, or other land trip is not always a “vacation", but where we happen to be that week.

 

m

Edited April 23, 2014 by cruisegirl1

[Hypo]

I would rather have a free cruise, and then pay for the internet usage that i need. (obviously I would use little or no internet access).

[AZAficionado]

I don't see RCI including wi-fi with each cruise ticket anytime soon. It has to do with competitive pricing and their position in the marketplace. Although, what's technologically possible right now may be a limiting factor.

 

Each amenity that is "free" raises the base price of the cruise (nothing is really free). If RCI wants to continue providing cheap cabins and competing for bargain-shopping passengers, they'll have to continue offering many amenities as an extra charge. Some other cruise lines are in a very different position in the marketplace (e.g.: Celebrity, owned by the same company as Royal) and include all kinds of amenities by simply raising ticket prices. I would expect to see "free" wi-fi on higher-end cruise lines like Celebrity first.

 

The airline industry have been doing the same kind of thing - in order to keep fares as low as possible, most amenities come at an additional charge.

[BruceMuzz]

Kinda like asking for free specialty restaurants. Not likely to see that either. What I would like to see is them reduce the price of making a call home. We were on the Carnival Destiny a few years ago and they ran a special for like a buck a minute or something. We made a quick call home a couple times. That would be something they could do and probably make money on it. I would bet hardly anyone would call home on a ship now.

 

That same precious and narrow bandwidth used for the internet on ships is also used for many other things - including satellite telephone calls. Voice calls burn up bandwidth even faster than internet connections.

If voice calls are made cheaper, more people will make the calls.

More people making calls will dramatically slow the internet connections.

It is a no win situation.

[Ambiverol]

I think this chapter was after Guns vs. Butter

[NEMMRRC]

I'd rather have free photo packages on the ship instead of free wifi.

[Panda3]

Hi all,

 

 

 

I think we should start a campaign for RCCL to set a cruise industry first by offering free wifi on all RCCL ships.

 

 

 

Wifi is quickly becoming apart of everyday life for so many people, for so many different reasons that it seems old fashioned to charge for wifi. It really would be WOW if RCCL offered free wifi.

 

 

 

It's just an idea.... :confused:

 

 

Maybe have wifi free in the library at least it wouldnt be on deck. A cruise vacation is a great way to unplug and tune out from society. I hate the idea of wifi being free and seeing people stare at their phones all day and not watch where they are walking. At least if there is a charge that would minimize that

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Jessicalice]

Hi all,

 

I think we should start a campaign for RCCL to set a cruise industry first by offering free wifi on all RCCL ships.

 

Wifi is quickly becoming apart of everyday life for so many people, for so many different reasons that it seems old fashioned to charge for wifi. It really would be WOW if RCCL offered free wifi.

 

It's just an idea.... :confused:

 

It's vacation...I enjoy cruising because I can't access my email. when you vacation stateside you don't disconnect. I think lack of internet is my favorite part of cruising

[Trekker954]

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.

 

Everywhere as in every hotel. Every European Marriott, AC, Boscolo and Hilton charges for wi fi. With that said, yes I can walk out to the street and almost everywhere can pick up a signal from a local business.

 

Same in the Caribbean and where most cruise ships stop. There is always someplace, including some port terminals where the wifi is free. So I still don't see why Royal should give the service away.

 

I would like to see unlimited wi fi packages on all their ships. We had this on adventure and it was nice.

[blackshirt]

Wifi does not necessarily equate to internet access. Royal could easily make free wifi available that connected you to an on board server for information on ship activities. For example, they could make the daily Cruise Compass an online thing. The internet access, however, I don't see being made free anytime soon for all the reasons already mentioned.

[DandDM]

Wifi does not necessarily equate to internet access. Royal could easily make free wifi available that connected you to an on board server for information on ship activities. For example, they could make the daily Cruise Compass an online thing. The internet access, however, I don't see being made free anytime soon for all the reasons already mentioned.

 

I really like this idea! They could do a lot with an app, even without the internet. The compass would be a great start, then add deckplans, the ability to make reservations, info on how busy the dining room are, access to your online account, etc. I would certainly use this.