Premium vs Surf, and Social internet plans

[Jersey42]

The information below is the latest information I have seen regarding HAL internet plans.  It matches what I believe was offered a few months ago on our Nieuw Amsterdam cruise.

 

Internet plans:

• Social. Social sites only (FB, Twitter, etc), 250MB/day limit. 
• Surf. Most sites, but no video streaming. 300MB/day limit.
• Premium. Most sites,  including video streaming. 500MB/day limit.

 

My main question is does HAL block most sites, IP addresses or ports on the Social plan?  Do they do the same thing to a lesser degree on the Surf plan?

 

On our upcoming cruise one of us will need the ability to send and receive texts (our phone and carrier let us do this over wi-fi) and send/receive occasional emails through an email app.  There is also a possibility that we may need to make a wi-fi call (again our phone and carrier let us do this without a third party app such as Skype etc).  We have no problem with data limits (if they are enforced).  We also do not need to connect more than one device at a time.  So, what is the cheapest plan that will meet our needs?

 

If HAL lets you upgrade the plans, my inclination is to try Social and see if texting and email work.  If not then try the next level and possibly the third.  We can worry about the phone call if it becomes necessary.

[3rdGenCunarder]

 

I can't answer the questions about your specific needs, but I can tell you that they do block sites. I had the surf plan because that's all I need. I wanted to go into the Audible site to check out a sale, and the system wouldn't let me go there, even though I wasn't trying to download anything from my Library. I just wanted to visit the site.

 

You can upgrade. When I logged in, I would see a notice that I could upgrade to premium. The price went down as there were fewer days in the cruise. 

 

[Jersey42]

9 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

. . . I can tell you that they do block sites. . . .

 

You can upgrade. When I logged in, I would see a notice that I could upgrade to premium. The price went down as there were fewer days in the cruise. 

Thanks for the info. I am guessing Social will not work for us, Surf probably will and Premium almost certainly will. I will confirm with staff onboard, but it is nice that they will let you start with one plan, and allow you to upgrade for hopefully just the price difference if we need it. 

[crystalspin]

8 minutes ago, Jersey42 said:

Thanks for the info. I am guessing Social will not work for us, Surf probably will and Premium almost certainly will. I will confirm with staff onboard, but it is nice that they will let you start with one plan, and allow you to upgrade for hopefully just the price difference if we need it. 

Take into consideration that Premium (and only premium) can be bought before sailing, for 20% off, which price puts it very close to Surf on board. If you get on board, buy Surf, and have to upgrade to Premium (for sites or data limit), you will pay full price for it (prorated for the number of days left anyway). This chart is from 1/2019, but was current as late as 12/19. 

 

[wyobean]

If I want to buy any of the internet plans before the cruise can I have them charged to my OB account or do I have to pay for them at the time of purchase?

[oceanmom]

Can only buy the premium plan before the cruise and paid for by credit card, not on-board credit.

[oceanmom]

1 hour ago, oceanmom said:

Can only buy the premium plan before the cruise and paid for by credit card, not on-board credit.

 

Clarifying my response above: Only the premium plan is available to purchase before boarding with about a 20% discount and paid for by credit card, not on-board credit.

[ScottishMaid]

Note if 5 star and you sign up on board you automatically get $30 deducted from any plan. 
Also there are different prices for one device or two devices or three devices. 
One device means only one device at a time on the plan example my iPhone. But I could log out and my

husband could then log in on his iPhone or laptop. 
We used the middle plan. The price for the cruise goes down each day as there are less days left. 

[VMax1700]

@Jersey42 The Surf plan is ok for wifi calling/sms and emails.  (large attachments may be a problem!)

We used Surf plan and even in middle of Atlantic were able to make and receive excellent quality calls.

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

We are 5 star and bought the premium plan before the cruise for the discount.  Once on board, we got the #30 discount on our on board account.  It showed up as a Loyalty discount.  

[TAD2005]

It appears that the Premium plan daily data cap of 500mb is not enforced unless it becomes a problem.   A typical HD movie streamed to a phone or tablet will consume about 1 gb, which is twice the 500 mb limit.  That same 100 minute movie in SD will use up 700 mb, well over the limit.   So unless you are just streaming short video clips from You Tube, the data caps should cause your premium plan to be throttled down to a point where streaming video is impossible.  This has never happened to me, so I can only assume that the data caps are just there to justify throttling in case the usage goes crazy.

[*Miss G*]

On 3/1/2020 at 10:48 AM, Jersey42 said:

If HAL lets you upgrade the plans, my inclination is to try Social and see if texting and email work. 

 

Email definitely won’t work with Social.  It will work with Surf.