NCL onboard internet prices jumped 20-55%

[SeaShark]

Perhaps these price increases should make people reconsider just how "vital" it really is for them to have an Internet connection. What would happen to these folks if they were out at sea and the Internet simply wasn't working?

 

Makes you wonder just how people and businesses survived before the Internet. :rolleyes:

 

 

If you simply can't believe that you can't survive without an Internet connection, then you are what FDR calls a "captive audience" who has NO CHOICE other than to pay whatever they wish to charge. :eek:

[triptolemus]

If you simply can't believe that you can't survive without an Internet connection, then you are what FDR calls a "captive audience" who has NO CHOICE other than to pay whatever they wish to charge. :eek:

 

Here... have a Pepsi!

[LrgPizza]

If you simply can't believe that you can't survive without an Internet connection, then you are what FDR calls a "captive audience" who has NO CHOICE other than to pay whatever they wish to charge. :eek:

 

Upcoming cruise we want to be able to check in with our child at home. We could choose not to; I'm just not willing to make that choice. So we will pay whatever we have to pay. I'm a captive audience. Prior to this I've never used the internet while on a cruise.

[hawkeyetlse]

If you simply can't believe that you can't survive without an Internet connection, then you are what FDR calls a "captive audience" who has NO CHOICE other than to pay whatever they wish to charge. :eek:

We are all captive on board on way or another (unless you don't spend any extra $$$ on board at all, in which case NCL and most other cruise lines would be more than happy to release you from captivity…)

 

People are not purchasing drinks and excursions and bingo cards and tanzanite-encrusted Invicta watches on board because they "can't survive" without them. Internet access is just another extra that some people are happy to pay for; it's NCL's business to figure out exactly how much. (And, as always, some other people will be happy to chime in with "I don't drink", "I don't gamble", "I am able to truly disconnect", etc. etc. etc.)

[SeaShark]

We are all captive on board on way or another (unless you don't spend any extra $$$ on board at all, in which case NCL and most other cruise lines would be more than happy to release you from captivity…)

 

People are not purchasing drinks and excursions and bingo cards and tanzanite-encrusted Invicta watches on board because they "can't survive" without them. Internet access is just another extra that some people are happy to pay for; it's NCL's business to figure out exactly how much. (And, as always, some other people will be happy to chime in with "I don't drink", "I don't gamble", "I am able to truly disconnect", etc. etc. etc.)

An "extra" is one thing, but there are many here who view it as a need and not as a want.

[abe3]

All this over Internet.

[missintuitive]

Was speaking with the onboard services director on the Sun in May and she told me the prices are set by MTN not NCL....even crew, officers included have to pay for internet.

 

 

 

IMHO with all the hard work and time away from home the crew has, MTN should cut them some slack :mad:

 

 

Go and look at the episode of Undercover Boss with Shennan. One of the big takeaways was that he was going to make internet access more affordable to the crew so they could stay in contact with their love ones while at sea. I believe he did institute the lower costs. He even talked about it on a cruise blog interview after UCB.

 

I'm sure that all in the distant pass now...

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[darlak8]

Anyone know how many devices can be logged into one unlimited account at the same time?

[Demonyte]

Anyone know how many devices can be logged into one unlimited account at the same time?

 

Only one.

 

You might be able to circumvent the limitation with your own hotspot but that requires usually an additional device and technical know-how (I've done that with my laptop when using wired network to connect to ship's system).

[motleyfan]

MTN surely sets the "wholesale" price for the whole connection, but definitely not the end user prices.

 

Big chunk of the connection capacity is already reserved for NCL's internal usage (all kinds of back office needs; accounting, comms to HQ, etc, etc) and it's up to NCL to make up the prices they want to charge from the customers for using the rest of it. That is one big money maker for the company - just like eg. bar sales.

 

For the staff talking to customers it's always easier to shift the blame to another company when possible to prevent people of getting annoyed towards NCL.

 

You think but you can't be sure. The other poster was probably Right that Ncl does not set any of the prices for the Internet. Seems like people just want another blame Ncl thread

[Shawnino]

This is the NCL business model.

Low sticker price, gouge on everything else.

[motleyfan]

We are all captive on board on way or another (unless you don't spend any extra $$$ on board at all, in which case NCL and most other cruise lines would be more than happy to release you from captivity…)

 

People are not purchasing drinks and excursions and bingo cards and tanzanite-encrusted Invicta watches on board because they "can't survive" without them. Internet access is just another extra that some people are happy to pay for; it's NCL's business to figure out exactly how much. (And, as always, some other people will be happy to chime in with "I don't drink", "I don't gamble", "I am able to truly disconnect", etc. etc. etc.)

 

I was just going to say you're not technically captive because if you know the price in advance you can cancel your cruise or even if you can't cancel you can choose not to Cruise Ncl or not at all

[SeaShark]

Shipboard Internet is always a fun discussion.

 

 

I pay $42.99/mo for unlimited Internet access. Pro-rated, that comes out to $10.03 for unlimited (high speed) Internet access 24 hours a day, for 7 days. And my ISP is making money at that rate.

 

 

Now...

 

We see people here who carry on cases of water because they don't want to buy water onboard because of the "excessive mark-up".

 

We see people here who carry on cases of soda because they don't want to buy a soda onboard because of the "excessive mark-up".

 

We see people here who spend all the time, energy, and effort to research and book their own shore excursions because they don't want to book them through NCL because of the "excessive mark-up"

 

 

Yet they are more than happy to pay an "excessive mark-up" for Internet access. :confused:

 

The OP quoted a pre-increase price for unlimited Internet access of $19.99 per day...or $139.93 for a 7-day cruise. That is nearly FOURTEEN TIMES the rate I pay at home for the same (well, actually much faster) access. Talk about an excessive mark-up!

[abe3]

Shipboard Internet is always a fun discussion.

 

 

 

 

 

I pay $42.99/mo for unlimited Internet access. Pro-rated, that comes out to $10.03 for unlimited (high speed) Internet access 24 hours a day, for 7 days. And my ISP is making money at that rate.

 

 

 

 

 

Now...

 

 

 

We see people here who carry on cases of water because they don't want to buy water onboard because of the "excessive mark-up".

 

 

 

We see people here who carry on cases of soda because they don't want to buy a soda onboard because of the "excessive mark-up".

 

 

 

We see people here who spend all the time, energy, and effort to research and book their own shore excursions because they don't want to book them through NCL because of the "excessive mark-up"

 

 

 

 

 

Yet they are more than happy to pay an "excessive mark-up" for Internet access. :confused:

 

 

 

The OP quoted a pre-increase price for unlimited Internet access of $19.99 per day...or $139.93 for a 7-day cruise. That is nearly FOURTEEN TIMES the rate I pay at home for the same (well, actually much faster) access. Talk about an excessive mark-up!

 

 

Internet in a ship compared to land based Internet is much different and you can't compare those prices. Sea based Internet is much more expensive then Internet at home. If you want to compare similar internet on land and in the sea you have to use satellite Internet which is much more expensive then the typical Internet most people use at home.

Edited October 4, 2015 by abe3

[SeaShark]

Internet in a ship compared to land based Internet is much different and you can't compare those prices. Sea based Internet is much more expensive then Internet at home. If you want to compare similar internet on land and in the sea you have to use satellite Internet which is much more expensive then the typical Internet most people use at home.

 

Sorry, no...Internet is Internet. If anything, shipboard Internet is INFERIOR due to the extremely slow speeds which does nothing but justify a LOWER price as it is not the same value.

 

You can't compare prices of water, soda, alcohol, crew wages, etc between land and sea and then try to claim that I can't do the same with Internet access.

 

Just for fun, Googled this: http://www.hughesnet.com/plans-and-pricing

 

Price for unlimited SATELLITE Internet access is $49.99 per month....only $7 more than I'm currently paying...and still WAAAAAY lower than the shipboard cost. This raises my $10.03 cost per week to $11.66...hardly what I would consider "much more expensive". Still...nothing more than an extreme mark-up designed to drain money from those who can't or won't disconnect for a few days.

[medicalma'am]

we just got off the Dawn on Friday. We paid $129 for the 250 minute package. It was .50 a minute and I thought that was what we had paid in the past, but I guess not. The speed was great- I was surprised. Sure was faster than when we had it in the past.

 

In dry dock they will be turning the Internet cafe into a relaxation area since most people have their own devices now. There will be an Internet sign up desk somewhere near the excursion desk we were told by the hotel director. They have asked for all the technology upgrades but have not heard if they can get it done.

[Demonyte]

We see people here who carry on cases of water because they don't want to buy water onboard because of the "excessive mark-up".

 

 

 

We see people here who carry on cases of soda because they don't want to buy a soda onboard because of the "excessive mark-up".

 

 

 

We see people here who spend all the time, energy, and effort to research and book their own shore excursions because they don't want to book them through NCL because of the "excessive mark-up"

 

 

 

Yet they are more than happy to pay an "excessive mark-up" for Internet access. :confused:

 

 

You can get cheaper alternatives for all the things you listed - except for the onboard internet while at sea.

 

For me personally having internet access only in ports wasn't enough when I managed our e-commerce business. Had I been able to get more affordable access to the internet while at sea, heck yeah I would have done so.

[Shawnino]

Shipboard Internet is always a fun discussion.

 

 

I pay $42.99/mo for unlimited Internet access. Pro-rated, that comes out to $10.03 for unlimited (high speed) Internet access 24 hours a day, for 7 days. And my ISP is making money at that rate.

 

 

Now...

 

We see people here who carry on cases of water because they don't want to buy water onboard because of the "excessive mark-up".

 

We see people here who carry on cases of soda because they don't want to buy a soda onboard because of the "excessive mark-up".

 

We see people here who spend all the time, energy, and effort to research and book their own shore excursions because they don't want to book them through NCL because of the "excessive mark-up"

 

 

Yet they are more than happy to pay an "excessive mark-up" for Internet access. :confused:

 

The OP quoted a pre-increase price for unlimited Internet access of $19.99 per day...or $139.93 for a 7-day cruise. That is nearly FOURTEEN TIMES the rate I pay at home for the same (well, actually much faster) access. Talk about an excessive mark-up!

 

This comparison is retarded.

 

People bring on their own water/soda because they can do it easily.

 

People book their own shore excursions because they can do it easily.

 

If people could actually save money by bringing their own gear and paying a landbased ISP, they would. It's not that straightforward, so they get gouged by NCL instead. They're not "happy" about it.

 

Some people try to avoid this by looking for internet services in ports. Mileage varies port-by-port.

[abe3]

Sorry, no...Internet is Internet. If anything, shipboard Internet is INFERIOR due to the extremely slow speeds which does nothing but justify a LOWER price as it is not the same value.

 

 

 

You can't compare prices of water, soda, alcohol, crew wages, etc between land and sea and then try to claim that I can't do the same with Internet access.

 

 

 

Just for fun, Googled this: http://www.hughesnet.com/plans-and-pricing

 

 

 

Price for unlimited SATELLITE Internet access is $49.99 per month....only $7 more than I'm currently paying...and still WAAAAAY lower than the shipboard cost. This raises my $10.03 cost per week to $11.66...hardly what I would consider "much more expensive". Still...nothing more than an extreme mark-up designed to drain money from those who can't or won't disconnect for a few days.

 

 

If I am going to get anywhere close to my speed I currently have at home which is 50mbs the closest plan they have at Hughes net is 15mbs for $119 per month. And this is way more expensive then what I pay and a much faster speed for less money.

 

Can't compare satellite Internet to home Internet we typically use. A lot more cost for Internet through satellite and I do agree that ships will increase their prices on board but all businesses mark up their products substantially. People will have to decide if it's a need to be connected at sea and if it is that important then they will have to pay it or find other alternatives. To me I use my vacation to disconnect myself from everyday life and if I really need to use the internet I will just buy the minutes that I need to do what I need to do, but rarely get on the Internet on a cruise so to me Internet prices have no baring on booking a cruise.

[sfaaa]

It's totally optional. Don't like the price? Then don't buy. It's that simple.

[SeaShark]

You can get cheaper alternatives for all the things you listed - except for the onboard internet while at sea.

 

For me personally having internet access only in ports wasn't enough when I managed our e-commerce business. Had I been able to get more affordable access to the internet while at sea, heck yeah I would have done so.

 

Which is EXACTLY the point I initially made. As long as there are people who believe that they "have" to have Internet access, then NCL can, and will, be able to charge these people extremely marked-up prices that they have no choice but to pay.

 

Might as well just sign a blank check.

 

 

Unlimited Internet at $19.99 per day is the same as $599.70 per month. Even the most expensive home SATELLITE Internet packages don't come anywhere near that.

 

There is a difference between a reasonable profit and gouging.

[calmpets]

I'm not sure when the new pricing goes into effect, but I was able to pre-book 100 minutes for $75 today for my October 16th sailing on the Dawn. Pre-booking also waives the $3.95 activation fee. Just a thought if it's something you'll be needing!

[sfaaa]

NCL sometimes offers bonus minutes if you book an internet package on first day of sailing. But of course, no one ever comes here to complain about these freebies.

[triptolemus]

There is a difference between a reasonable profit and gouging.

 

True. But would you say that it it's necessary to keep the price inflated in order to prevent everyone from purchasing it? Consider that the ship's network likely can't handle 3,000 devices attached to it. If unlimited internet were $3 / day, that would obviously be a problem.

[DGP1111]

True. But would you say that it it's necessary to keep the price inflated in order to prevent everyone from purchasing it? Consider that the ship's network likely can't handle 3,000 devices attached to it. If unlimited internet were $3 / day, that would obviously be a problem.

 

Interesting observation . . . and probably some real validity to it. ;)

 

I admit that when NCL did an earlier e-mail survey about optional onboard services, and what would I be willing to pay for, I indicated that I'd pretty much go with whatever they charged for internet. I just mentally add it to my cruise vacation expenses. On some vacations it was more a 'need' than a 'want', so I don't regret the purchase. I accepted the It Is What It Is situation.

 

I pre-purchased the Unlimited option for my next NCL voyage, and had to chuckle at the options that were listed. The Unlimited package was the least expensive option for this particular sailing . . . less then buying the 100 minute package. It was a no-brainer, and I quickly shared it with the roll call to take the same advantage.

 

.

Edited October 4, 2015 by DGP1111