Campaign for free wifi on all RCCL ships?

[Passin Thru]

I go to disconnect with the world, leave my watch and cell phone at home and if you or someone in your family have an emergency the ship comm will get in touch with you. People ae afraid to disconnect because they might have to have a real conversation.

[LMaxwell]

The cost of providing free unlimited Wifi access on a ship would be cost prohibitive. You may as well ask for free alcohol for everyone; it may be cheaper.

 

With technological advances we may get to a day where Wifi is cheap / free, decent speeds, can support thousands of devices on at the same time but I don't see it within 2 - 3 generations, or about 7-10 years and that is optimistic.

 

I'm not against the idea of having an intranet for cruise compass, account info, deck plans, etc., but it should not replace the paper version. Not everyone owns or wants a smart device. One of the greatest pleasures on a cruise for me is turning off and putting my phone in the safe. I write on my cruise compasses, crumple them up, sometimes lose them, they get wet, other people want to borrow them...etc. The paper may be old and analog but it is the simplest way.

[Ocean Boy]

I go to disconnect with the world, leave my watch and cell phone at home and if you or someone in your family have an emergency the ship comm will get in touch with you. People ae afraid to disconnect because they might have to have a real conversation.

 

Not having a watch while cruising could be very dangerous!;) That is the one thing I always have with me.

[alfaeric]

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.

 

That's something I would very much support. To the point of suggesting it on one of Adams blogs.

 

Start with replicating the electronic boards on an app- that is all available on the ship's network, else it would not be on an electronic board. It would be really cool to add reminders for events you are interested in. I have my phone all the time as a camera- never as a device to stay connected.

 

then maybe add the ability to text one another.

 

Other than that, I don't want to pay more for a handful of people who think they need to be connected when I want to be very much away.

Edited April 30, 2014 by alfaeric

[davy jones]

I would rather see them give free internet to the crew members, so they they don't have to use up their free time in port to communicate with their families.

[silentbob007]

It is ridiculous to demand free wifi. There are enough people on it as it is to make the experience excruciating. Imagine all of iPads, phones, etc, were connected at once. One thing I like about taking my niece cruising is that she has to put her iPhone down and actually do things with people in the same room.

[MedicKen]

It has been said, "There is no such thing as a free lunch", or a free puppy. They could make wi-fi no charge, and just up the fare to cover for it. I echo the sentiments of of those who cruise to get away but also understand those who feel the need to stay connected. We sail with a friend who uses the internet extensively and would love for them to have free access but we do not use it and would be a bit upset if I had to subsidize those who require it.

[Ocean Boy]

I would rather see them give free internet to the crew members, so they they don't have to use up their free time in port to communicate with their families.

 

And who would be making up for that lost revenue?

[davy jones]

And who would be making up for that lost revenue?

 

Passengers, of course. But passengers pay for salaries and benefits of crew in one way or another.

[BamaGuy44]

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.

 

Exactly. And why would they give something for free that people are happy to pay for? And even land based hotels mostly don't give free wifi. Sure they advertise free wifi, but the free version is crippled down to old dial up speeds. If you want anything resembling your home service, you'll pay. (I'm sure luxury type hotels have it for "free" since all the services are built into the price of the room)

 

Personally I'm glad my family has no phone and internet connection at sea. That's the only way I can get my teenage son to look up from his phone for more than 10 seconds at a time :D

[Margy23]

I would rather see them give free internet to the crew members, so they they don't have to use up their free time in port to communicate with their families.

I agree. When we took the All Access Tour, we were surprised to learn that the crew has to pay for Internet usage, although at a lower rate than passengers.

 

Since we've been Diamond with 1/2 hour free access each, I occasionally check an email account I keep just for cruises. Only people we feel might have something really important to tell us know about that email address, so I can do it quickly. For emergencies our family has contact info through the ship.

 

The rest of the time we can be disconnected and enjoy life as it was before the Internet.

[AtlantaAlly]

The best art of a cruise is that the world can't reach me and I feel no guilt! I love that the prices are high because it discourages me even more. :) just buy yourself a sat receiver if you need it so badly. But hopefully you'll just change your mind and enjoy a vacation!

[lady_cruiser]

Some of us can go a week or two without turning on WiFi but there are a few unfortunate souls who do have to take a working vacation. Also, if I had a choice between a working cruise or no cruise at all then the working cruise would win all the time.

 

Lets face it most of us enjoy the "live reports" that some members post here and without the Internet they couldn't do it for us. And yes, Internet packages, are a big money maker so I can't see Royal Caribbean giving it away for free.

Edited May 5, 2014 by lady_cruiser

[bouhunter]

The best part of a cruise is that the world can't reach me

 

Yep!!!!! Phones and devices are turned off and in the safe for a week:)

[marci22]

Where would you suggest that RCI make up the lost revenue?

 

Clam shell cabanas in the MDR

 

or something relating to cabanas and eating.

[MaritimeR&R]

Apart from everything that has been mentioned, free Wi-fi onboard would be yet another perk that Crown and Anchor members would lose. (depending on your Crown and Anchor status you get a certain amount of internet for free and/or a discount on the package you select)

 

So, I say, "no."

[DirtyDawg]

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:

 

I'm sure one day we will be even much more connected to the internet than we are now and competitive pressures will force cruise lines to include 'free' wifi on board their ships and in the cruise fare. I don't think we are anywhere near this yet (some might be;)) but it's coming. I saw an estimate by one of the big networking companies that the number on connected devices will grow from 10 billion in 2013 to 50 billion in 2020.:eek: More and more people will be wearing their Google glasses and Iwatch's and more and more people will be expecting more and more wifi availability everywhere including cruise ships.

 

The cruise lines will want to milk this growing demand by charging an arm and a leg for it but I'm sure eventually one cruise company, wanting to fill its cabins, or to attract a younger demographic, will start to include 'free' wifi. Will Royal be first, who knows.

[graphicguy]

I'm sure you meant that they could sell it to someone because they are not going to sell me any such thing!;)

Yeah....not seeing free wifi happening on any ship. They make money on selling it (and it is very expensive for such SLLOOOOOOWWWW service). I can't even imagine how unreliable and slow it would be if everyone on board tried to use it.

 

Sat internet is much slower than land based internet.

 

As far as streaming music or movies? Talk about a network bottleneck. Plus, I know any music I want is already on my iphone/android, etc. I wouldn't need/want streaming music or movies. And, I certainly wouldn't pay extra for it.

Edited May 5, 2014 by graphicguy

[Ocean Boy]

The best art of a cruise is that the world can't reach me and I feel no guilt! I love that the prices are high because it discourages me even more. :) just buy yourself a sat receiver if you need it so badly. But hopefully you'll just change your mind and enjoy a vacation!

 

Well I would bet that the folks who have the choice of staying connected or not cruising do not share your enthusiasm for the prices charged.

[The Duke of Bethnal Green]

If RCI were to charge each passenger $1 per day for the duration of the cruise do you honestly think that there would be any losers?

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[LMaxwell]

If RCI were to charge each passenger $1 per day for the duration of the cruise do you honestly think that there would be any losers?

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

Yes, RCI. The data transmission is still phenomenally expensive compared to land based systems. I still maintain that NO ship currently sailing has the infrastructure to support open wireless for all onboard. There are still technological limitations.

 

Maybe the next step is to sell unlimited plans like they do on Allure; those that want/need can pay a single fee and not worry about overuse or extra charges.

[Haber]

My thought is that LIMITED free Internet would be a win-win situation. I’ve added vacation places to my bucket list based on Facebook photos. But I’ve never seen one from a friend on a cruise. I read an article a few days ago that was discussing how most cruise customers have cruised before. On one hand, that means people who love it, love it a lot. But on the other hand, cruise lines have reached market saturation and aren’t getting new customers. Who’s going to fill all the new ships if they can’t convince non-cruisers that cruises are more than geriatrics, Costa Concordias, poop cruises, and Norwalk? And what better advertising then seeing your peers having a fantastic time on ship.

 

Here’s an interview from a few days ago with the VP and Chief Information Officer of RCCL. They’ve obviously been thinking along the same lines:

 

http://skift.com/2014/05/05/interview-royal-caribbeans-cio-on-making-cruise-ship-wi-fi-faster/

 

“People want to be connected, and nowhere, we believe, is that more true than when they’re on vacation:

...

But on cruise ships today, that’s limited because people don’t want to either pay the price or share it when they get back home, because that’s too late. In this real-time, right-now world, seven days after it happened is ancient history. People won’t bother.

...

Martin: Social media sharing is certainly a part of our thinking. We believe real time sharing — think of it as testimonials — of the amazing vacation experience we provide represents some of the best advertising possible.”

 

Unfortunately, they seem to be taking this in the faster, unlimited, more expensive direction:

 

“We’re charging about $179 for a 7-day package and, depending on the cruise, $49 to $59 a day, to have the entire day. That’s an unlimited connection for the day”Rather than in a direction that would actually increase their social media presence: free limited (a small number of Mb or minutes / person / day) So they’re going to end up with a few people shelling out for the package and hiding in their cabin all week making sure they get their money’s worth while the rest of us go, “179 dollars for Internet!?!” :eek:

Edited May 5, 2014 by Haber
Formatting

[ahecht]

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.

 

A 1 minute phone call uses about 300KB of data for upload and download. That's nothing compared to 1 minute of web browsing (just loading Royalcaribbean.com uses 2,150KB).

[Ocean Boy]

? And what better advertising then seeing your peers having a fantastic time on ship.

 

 

Anyone can go to YouTube and call up countless videos of people having a fantastic time on their ruises. I don't need to pay for other people to have free internet time on the ship so that they can drum up business for the cruise line.

[AtlantaAlly]

Well I would bet that the folks who have the choice of staying connected or not cruising do not share your enthusiasm for the prices charged.

 

They shouldn't be taking that financial hit, their company should. If the company doesn't, then how can it expect people to work on vacation. I'd personally be pushing back on my employer. It is disappointing that as a society we've allowed our work to be so pervasive in our lives. Don't get me wrong, I think in some of my own cases I would be whipping out a laptop for 10 minutes here or there, but when my family is sleeping and not at my expense. I would also make sure I don't have to take vacation for that time. If we don't push back at all, they won't see it as more than a slight inconvenience. I (and many more) owe it to my family to be present to them when I'm with them. I would also be looking for a new job if that wasnt acceptable.