New Internet Policy - RCCL

[chrisb74]

Question, though: I didn't know you could buy OBC in advance and have ever particularly had any desire to do so... is this just a budgeting strategy for you, or is there some other benefit of doing it that I'm unaware of?

 

80% Budget, 20% Exchange Rates. (I'm not US based)

[MicCanberra]

80% Budget, 20% Exchange Rates. (I'm not US based)

 

Likewise I am not in the US, although Exchange rates for me is more like 55% and budget 45%. We had our AUD dropping fast at one stage there.

[SA Mom]

We will be cruising for the first time this summer with my in-laws that cruise several times a year. Question: how do people get in touch with you in case of a real emergency? Is there some sort of emergency number?

 

I also have an elderly parent that I am the primary contact for. We go camping in places that have no internet or phone service, so a week without is fine. But we always have a way for someone to get in touch with us if absolutely necessary.

[NorbertsNiece]

We will be cruising for the first time this summer with my in-laws that cruise several times a year. Question: how do people get in touch with you in case of a real emergency? Is there some sort of emergency number?

 

I also have an elderly parent that I am the primary contact for. We go camping in places that have no internet or phone service, so a week without is fine. But we always have a way for someone to get in touch with us if absolutely necessary.

 

There's a generic phone number people can use to call you on. They will need to know your ship and room number. VERY EXPENSIVE. There was a phone number on the room phone on Rhapsody someone tried to call me on last cruise. It didn't work. There was a totally different number provided on the back of the sheet you get with all the senior officers' pics on. I'm sure someone here will have the number for you....not on PC right now...

[Pencruise]

I don't think that's the point. Further, if you have a family emergency, sick parents/relatives etc. its just highway robbery. I just can't in all good conscience support this gouge fest.

 

We have just returned from 7 days on the Allure and as Diamond Plus we each chose the 3 day package consecutively which was free when using the D+ coupon, so we basically got 6 days of free 24 hour Internet which was much better than what was previously given. Perhaps it varies from ship to ship though.

[MicCanberra]

We have just returned from 7 days on the Allure and as Diamond Plus we each chose the 3 day package consecutively which was free when using the D+ coupon, so we basically got 6 days of free 24 hour Internet which was much better than what was previously given. Perhaps it varies from ship to ship though.

 

That doesn't sound too bad for a 7 day cruise.:D

[GottaKnowWhen]

We will be cruising for the first time this summer with my in-laws that cruise several times a year. Question: how do people get in touch with you in case of a real emergency? Is there some sort of emergency number?

 

I also have an elderly parent that I am the primary contact for. We go camping in places that have no internet or phone service, so a week without is fine. But we always have a way for someone to get in touch with us if absolutely necessary.

 

All cruise lines have an emergency number that can be used to reach you.. Leave your ship name, port-of-departure, date of departure, cabin number with your at-homebackups. A call is going to cost like $8 per minute, but those sort of calls don't need to be long, they just need to alert you that there is an issue. My wife is caregiver for her stepmother, 98yrs old. Her backup when we travel knows to email, message, and call if there is a serious problem.

[knittinggirl]

10 to 15 minutes a day isn't bad unless you're in the 'middle of the ocean and you spend those 10 minutes trying to load your email. These days, I check the connection speed on my wifi, and slog on unless the speed is decent.

 

Sent from my KFTHWI using Tapatalk HD

[Pencruise]

John, please clarify on the "one device" part of this. I realize it is supposed to be one device at a time, but if you log out with your phone then attempt to log into the same account with a tablet, does it not let you in?

 

We are Diamond and going on the Oasis for a b2b next February. I was hoping to combine and share our days with my brother & SIL, also Diamond. We were hoping to alternate our use periods during the 24-hour periods so we could all check email or post to CC or other sites intermittently throughout our combined 8 days over the 2 weeks.

 

Does the system actually remember the device identifier and only allow a single, unique device to login during the 24 - hour day?

 

Just off Allure, took out package on I Pad for one device and once logged off on I pad, re logged in on I phone and worked fine. I believe it means one device at a time.

[dst87]

80% Budget, 20% Exchange Rates. (I'm not US based)

 

Where are you based? I'm in the UK but have never seen this option before.

 

Can you advise where/how you do this? It's something that might be useful for future.

 

Also how does it work? Do you pay for $100 as $100 and get your card to exchange at todays date, or do Royal offer $100 for (e.g.) £65 and charge you in GBP (or whatever your home currency is?)

 

I have an Amex reward credit card that offers spot rate with no fees, while I suspect Royal Caribbean do not offer spot rate on their conversion. Just curious to know how it all works!

[loubetti]

To the OP:

 

How did you ever manage to cruise prior to the internet, cell phones and such?

[Bobal]

We have just returned from 7 days on the Allure and as Diamond Plus we each chose the 3 day package consecutively which was free when using the D+ coupon, so we basically got 6 days of free 24 hour Internet which was much better than what was previously given. Perhaps it varies from ship to ship though.

 

It must vary from week to week too as we were on Allure as D+ a couple of weeks ago and only had 2 days free for D+. Part way through the cruise they introduced a 3-day package for £50.99 but it certainly wasn't available at the start of the cruise.

[Clarea]

We will be cruising for the first time this summer with my in-laws that cruise several times a year. Question: how do people get in touch with you in case of a real emergency? Is there some sort of emergency number?

 

I also have an elderly parent that I am the primary contact for. We go camping in places that have no internet or phone service, so a week without is fine. But we always have a way for someone to get in touch with us if absolutely necessary.

Emergency number info:

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/customersupport/faq/details.do?pagename=frequently_asked_questions&pnav=5&pnav=2&faqSubjectName=Onboard+Extras&faqId=267&faqSubjectId=337&faqType=faq

[Big_G]

To the OP:

 

How did you ever manage to cruise prior to the internet, cell phones and such?

That's what I was thinking.

 

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

[SA Mom]

Thanks for the info everyone. The original poster made it sound like one would be completely out of touch without internet or some sort of mobile plan. I am looking forward to being some what unreachable for a week.

[John&LaLa]

It must vary from week to week too as we were on Allure as D+ a couple of weeks ago and only had 2 days free for D+. Part way through the cruise they introduced a 3-day package for £50.99 but it certainly wasn't available at the start of the cruise.

 

But wasn't it two days each :what:

[kwbound]

Does anyone know what a lowly gold member can expect to pay for internet access on the Navigator? Last year we were able to pay for so many minutes and then spread them out over the length of the cruise. Sounds like that is not going to be an option this year. I do agree that forcing you to pay for 24 hours and use it or lose it in one 24 hour period is very bad form.

[Clarea]

Does anyone know what a lowly gold member can expect to pay for internet access on the Navigator? Last year we were able to pay for so many minutes and then spread them out over the length of the cruise. Sounds like that is not going to be an option this year. I do agree that forcing you to pay for 24 hours and use it or lose it in one 24 hour period is very bad form.

Current pricing seems to be converging to $20 per day for one device and $30 per day for two devices. This is for unlimited access when a package is purchased for multiple days. Royal is moving away from "per minute" pricing.

[kwbound]

Current pricing seems to be converging to $20 per day for one device and $30 per day for two devices. This is for unlimited access when a package is purchased for multiple days. Royal is moving away from "per minute" pricing.

 

Thanks clarea. That is quite a lot. :( And they probably won't let you purchase it for sea days only. We may just have to check in while in ports. That expense is something I'm going to take into consideration and add to my comparisons before I book our next trip.

[Clarea]

Thanks clarea. That is quite a lot. :( And they probably won't let you purchase it for sea days only. We may just have to check in while in ports. That expense is something I'm going to take into consideration and add to my comparisons before I book our next trip.

There is no restriction on which days you can purchase, but I believe purchasing a single day is more than the per day cost of purchasing for the entire cruise.

[TravelEEmpress]

Thank you everyone for all the feedback. It’s been quite the education. After hearing all feedback and tossing the petty/non value added comments, I have come to the conclusion that half of RCCL folks like the new internet policy and half do not and the reasons why.

 

I’ve come to the conclusion that it seems to work best for the following: 1) Those who have businesses and have companies who pay for it and/or it is a write off 2) Those who are part of a couple and are at Diamond and Diamond plus status who receive x2 benefit (as opposed to singles who don’t) 3) Those who take shorter cruises (5-7 days vs. 14 and up and/or B2B’s) where it is easier to stretch the available packages over the course of the cruise. So I can see why some of you are perplexed as to why I would be against the change in policy.

 

However, for other cruisers (those who do not have a business, singles, new cruisers with no benefits and cruisers on long cruisers and/or B2Bers) it doesn’t work as well. I found myself unexpectedly in this group for 40 plus days, thus my shock and irritation with this new policy. Evidently it had just changed in April (we got on the ship May 3rd) and it was quite a surprise to many of us who now had to either pay a huge unexpected amount of money or go without internet. In some cases this was just not viable. My main issue on this 40 day cruise with the new policy was being forced to choose between an overpriced package on 3 separate legs (my internet bill was well over $500) or staying connected at all. The one or two day packages were just useless in this situation.

 

The other perplexing thing is the wide range of difference between what I received on my cruises as a benefit ($29.99 for Diamond and $39.99 for Diamond Plus) as opposed to many of the quotes ranging from $59.00 to $79.00 as reported on this post. Not sure why this is, but trust me on a 14 day cruise at $195 for unlimited internet the $29.99 really didn’t help ease the pain much.

 

As to those of you who took issue with the “tone,” you’ll get no argument from me. Was it effective? Probably not. However, neither was the polite letter sent by another couple on the ship about this very policy and that our second leg which was supposed to include a Suez Canal crossing during the day had actually occurred at night. Thus all we saw was an entrance at night and leaving Port Said the next morning. To say the least, it was a huge disappointment for many! For all their trouble they received a letter a month later with a lot of “I’m sorry.” This couple along with several others I’ve met along the way, have met their breaking point with Royal as well and have chosen to cruise with other companies. I think this breaking point is different for everyone and is cumulative. I know it was for me.

 

My memorable moments with Royal have more to do with the fabulous ports and some of the best staff ever, who always made my day. While the moments of irritation had primarily to do with their rusty ships, business model, loyalty take aways, and the nickel and diming/ gouge fest policies. Despite the fact that I had one of the best times ever on this 40 day adventure and met some of the most wonderful line staff (our waiter, my room steward, the guy at the bar who always addressed me by my first name) I really think it’s time for me to say goodbye.

 

Luckily for many of us there is always the option to carry over our status to Celebrity which seems to be a notch up with less nickel and diming and/or branch out to other cruise lines. No matter what I and my fellow deserters decide to do, I have no doubt, it will always be an adventure!

[John&LaLa]

Thanks clarea. That is quite a lot. :( And they probably won't let you purchase it for sea days only. We may just have to check in while in ports. That expense is something I'm going to take into consideration and add to my comparisons before I book our next trip.

 

Freedom was $40 a day in the beginning, $120 for week. $20 a day in the last two days

[roquejo]

It changed effective April of this year and was first rolled out on Quantum, Oasis and Allure. It was then slowly rolled out to all the other ships in the fleet.

 

Diamond Members get 24 consecutive hours, Diamond Plus get 48 consecutive hours and Pinnacle Club get unlimited internet for the duration of the cruise.

 

When establishing an account Diamond and Diamond Plus Members are given the option to apply their times towards a package.

 

Thank you..this info is very helpful. Hope it is fleet wide now.

[Paulxyz2004]

I don´t own a Business and I can´t write any Internet cost off. I´m a single cruiser and I won´t step onboard for anything less than at least 12 nights.

 

As I said those Internet rates are fabulous and I actually do mention them in every Survey.

 

I´m so glad it´s offered like this now.

 

I have to say though that I´m not of the mindset that Internet is a free for all Thing. I have other criteria to Chose a Hotel than free Internet. If it is included fine, but it´s usre the bottom of the list item.

[dst87]

I don´t own a Business and I can´t write any Internet cost off. I´m a single cruiser and I won´t step onboard for anything less than at least 12 nights.

 

As I said those Internet rates are fabulous and I actually do mention them in every Survey.

 

I´m so glad it´s offered like this now.

 

I have to say though that I´m not of the mindset that Internet is a free for all Thing. I have other criteria to Chose a Hotel than free Internet. If it is included fine, but it´s usre the bottom of the list item.

 

I couldn't agree more with this. My partner and I sail together, so we're not singles, but our next cruise is 14-nights, we don't put internet access against our business as really it's mostly a personal expense (though maybe we should... either way it's our money!) and, like you, I will gladly pay to stay connected 24/7. We'll probably even pay for the 2 device package so we can both have a device connected all the time.

 

We are new to Celebrity so don't have any loyalty status. No discounts or free minutes, just money in exchange for services. No problem here :)