Internet package questions

[DANCING GRANDMOMMY]

I have always purchased the social package so my family could contact me through Facebook messenger. (I never tell anyone through social media I am leaving for a cruise until I return). It have always be sufficient. My next cruise is 15 days long and I just do not want to deal with 15 days worth of emails when I return. My question is; Is the Premium package $51.00 better than the value package. ($102.00 Social $153 Value $204 Premium). Thank you for all your help

[xDisconnections]

51 minutes ago, DANCING GRANDMOMMY said:

I have always purchased the social package so my family could contact me through Facebook messenger. (I never tell anyone through social media I am leaving for a cruise until I return). It have always be sufficient. My next cruise is 15 days long and I just do not want to deal with 15 days worth of emails when I return. My question is; Is the Premium package $51.00 better than the value package. ($102.00 Social $153 Value $204 Premium). Thank you for all your help

It's 15 days... just pay the difference and get the premium. I'd happily pay the difference without question to have better service and certainly couldn't handle a cruise that long without Internet.

Edited November 8, 2020 by xDisconnections

[firefly333]

56 minutes ago, DANCING GRANDMOMMY said:

I have always purchased the social package so my family could contact me through Facebook messenger. (I never tell anyone through social media I am leaving for a cruise until I return). It have always be sufficient. My next cruise is 15 days long and I just do not want to deal with 15 days worth of emails when I return. My question is; Is the Premium package $51.00 better than the value package. ($102.00 Social $153 Value $204 Premium). Thank you for all your help

I assume it is far into the future and a TA? Cruises longer than 7 days are banned thru next November, so you have a lot of time to decide.

 

I like to get off at ports as most all have high speed wifi and I can go thru days worth of emails quickly. For the cruise I would just do basic and email and save face time for if you have ports with faster internet if it's just you. I guess it depends on how much time you spend online. $51 isnt much extra to spend. 

 

If I'm a day or so late answering a email people wouldnt panic. 

 

Newer ships also im told have faster connections, so it might also depend on which ship you are booked. 

Edited November 8, 2020 by firefly333

[Essiesmom]

I didn't find the premium package any better than the value.  I was trying to upload pictures to photobucket, only to find it was blocked on both packages, so it is not worth it to me.  I find a bar or restaurant when in port and upload now, only now it is to Shutterfly.  EM

[Saint Greg]

I always get premium because I’m not taking a chance at someone having a faster connection than me. But I have compared my premium to a value side by side just loading a webpage and the speed wasn’t that big of a difference. I think you could purchase value and then upgrade if it isn’t good for you. 

[DANCING GRANDMOMMY]

52 minutes ago, Essiesmom said:

I didn't find the premium package any better than the value.  I was trying to upload pictures to photobucket, only to find it was blocked on both packages, so it is not worth it to me.  I find a bar or restaurant when in port and upload now, only now it is to Shutterfly.  EM

I am not very tech savy. On our last cruise I tried to get internet in port in Mexico, (our plan covers Mexico) and could never make it happen. Thanks for the comparison. I think I will choose the value. It is not for work, so speed is not important. I lead an email prayer ministry and my emails would take forever to answer if I waited until I returned.  Thank you for your help.

[DANCING GRANDMOMMY]

1 hour ago, firefly333 said:

I assume it is far into the future and a TA? Cruises longer than 7 days are banned thru next November, so you have a lot of time to decide.

 

I like to get off at ports as most all have high speed wifi and I can go thru days worth of emails quickly. For the cruise I would just do basic and email and save face time for if you have ports with faster internet if it's just you. I guess it depends on how much time you spend online. $51 isnt much extra to spend. 

 

If I'm a day or so late answering a email people wouldnt panic. 

 

Newer ships also im told have faster connections, so it might also depend on which ship you are booked. 

I did not know that 8+ day cruises were banned through next November. Our is in 2022, so we will wait and see. If this pandemic has taught me anything it's I am not in control, but I know the one who is and will trust Him. 

[firefly333]

2 minutes ago, DANCING GRANDMOMMY said:

I am not very tech savy. On our last cruise I tried to get internet in port in Mexico, (our plan covers Mexico) and could never make it happen. Thanks for the comparison. I think I will choose the value. It is not for work, so speed is not important. I lead an email prayer ministry and my emails would take forever to answer if I waited until I returned.  Thank you for your help.

I just go to the internet cafe if its cozumel  it the bldg across from the port about 4 stories high with red on the front. Its ac, smaller now than it used to be, but I can plug in my tablet. There are coffee shops for the price of coffee will give you the password. I've heard downtown has free internet, but it's getting to be a long walk for me. I'm getting lazy. Many places buy something like grand caymans I go to the coffee shop, though the password remains the same, i buy something. 

 

I find the internet on the ship too slow. I've tried it in the past. Maybe it's better. It's really not good for skype and facetime apps. Middle of the night fewer online it's better, but now I just get on at ports and let my family know I'm ok. 

 

Carnival.com used to have a public message board, where you can log in for free and talk to your family but my parents arent tech savvy and kept forgetting how to get to it. Idk if they still have it. I gave up. 

[firefly333]

9 minutes ago, DANCING GRANDMOMMY said:

I did not know that 8+ day cruises were banned through next November. Our is in 2022, so we will wait and see. If this pandemic has taught me anything it's I am not in control, but I know the one who is and will trust Him. 

If you look thru some of the cdc provisional threads the 40 page document which doesnt expire until nov 1, 2021 says cruises longer than 7 days not allowed. It's not clear how that would be applied to b2bs and it could be revised or extended. The thread about still no word from carnival, the OP has a longer cruise than 7 days. The thread butterbean started, she has a 8 day.. or read thru some of the cdc protocols. 

 

We can hope people take the vaccine by your cruise and the situation much improved.

[Saint Greg]

9 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

I just go to the internet cafe if its cozumel  it the bldg across from the port about 4 stories high with red on the front. Its ac, smaller now than it used to be, but I can plug in my tablet. There are coffee shops for the price of coffee will give you the password. I've heard downtown has free internet, but it's getting to be a long walk for me. I'm getting lazy. Many places buy something like grand caymans I go to the coffee shop, though the password remains the same, i buy something. 

 

I find the internet on the ship too slow. I've tried it in the past. Maybe it's better. It's really not good for skype and facetime apps. Middle of the night fewer online it's better, but now I just get on at ports and let my family know I'm ok. 

 

Carnival.com used to have a public message board, where you can log in for free and talk to your family but my parents arent tech savvy and kept forgetting how to get to it. Idk if they still have it. I gave up. 

Depends on the ship. I bet Vista class would be fast enough. 

[xDisconnections]

23 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

Depends on the ship. I bet Vista class would be fast enough. 

Have they switched over to O3b yet like Princess and Royal Caribbean? All things considered, the O3b connectivity is very fast and highly reliable. 

[Saint Greg]

2 hours ago, xDisconnections said:

Have they switched over to O3b yet like Princess and Royal Caribbean? All things considered, the O3b connectivity is very fast and highly reliable. 

I’m not sure what they call it, but it’s good enough to stream live video all over the ship at all times.

 

[firefly333]

1 hour ago, Saint Greg said:

I’m not sure what they call it, but it’s good enough to stream live video all over the ship at all times.

 

Maybe its improved then since I bought it. Good to hear.

[Saint Greg]

7 hours ago, firefly333 said:

Maybe its improved then since I bought it. Good to hear.

I think it was the spring of 2018 when they upgraded the Vista internet. I had it in Feb ‘19. Also had premium on Panorama in March. Same deal. I could stream live video all the time anywhere on the ship. I could also upload videos with no problem.

[Sagittarius traveler]

13 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

I think it was the spring of 2018 when they upgraded the Vista internet. I had it in Feb ‘19. Also had premium on Panorama in March. Same deal. I could stream live video all the time anywhere on the ship. I could also upload videos with no problem.

 

 

Thank you for the update. I never brought internet I was scared it would not work. If you can go live that must be good service.

[DANCING GRANDMOMMY]

12 hours ago, xDisconnections said:

Have they switched over to O3b yet like Princess and Royal Caribbean? All things considered, the O3b connectivity is very fast and highly reliable. 

That was like reading a foreign language🙂 

[xDisconnections]

9 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

I’m not sure what they call it, but it’s good enough to stream live video all over the ship at all times.

 

Fantastic! That’s a step in the right direction.

[xDisconnections]

2 minutes ago, DANCING GRANDMOMMY said:

That was like reading a foreign language🙂 

O3b is a type of satellite constellation that is offered by the network provider SES. Its goal is to maximize available bandwidth and offer service at low latency levels so the amount of connected devices doesn’t bog down the available speeds. Royal Caribbean has used this provider for years and Princess opted to use their product as well to power their MedallionNet Internet service.

 

https://www.ses.com/networks/networks-and-platforms/o3b-mpower 

[Joebucks]

I don't know this for certain, but I don't believe I've ever received "premium" speeds on any premium internet I've ever had. I think there is a cap/limit so you can't stream unless you pay for their highest package, using all of the bandwidth. For emails and whatnot, I can't imagine you would ever notice a difference, even if there was a significant boost in speeds between packages.

 

On a 15 day cruise, you are surely going to find wifi somewhere to access emails. I understand if you don't want to spend time at port checking email. If I were you, I'd get the value package.

[crzndeb]

I have always gotten the Value package (Europe, TA, TP included), and it has always worked perfectly for my needs. I have even been able to FT occasionally. Not guaranteed, but everything must have aligned perfectly...LOL

I have games I like to play on my IPad, and like you, I don’t want 300-400 emails waiting for me. I’m pretty OCD about having a clean mailbox. I normally do 10-14+ days on a cruise, so I can understand  your need to keep up.

I’m a really early riser on the ship (4-5am), and speeds are pretty darn good at that hour. If you’re a night person, later is better. 

Edited November 8, 2020 by crzndeb

[stellarose]

my teens got the basic package before our dec 2019 breeze cruise. sometimes they said it was really really slow. 

 

[Honolulu Blue]

On 11/7/2020 at 11:34 PM, firefly333 said:

Carnival.com used to have a public message board, where you can log in for free and talk to your family but my parents arent tech savvy and kept forgetting how to get to it. Idk if they still have it. I gave up. 

 

Like Funship Freddy, George Lopez, EA Sports lounges, and the Carnival Fantasy, that message board is just a memory.

[firefly333]

16 minutes ago, Honolulu Blue said:

 

Like Funship Freddy, George Lopez, EA Sports lounges, and the Carnival Fantasy, that message board is just a memory.

Thanks. Havent cruised as much lately. Last was nov 2018 on vista. 

 

Idk funship freddy gone. Kinda sad.

Edited November 9, 2020 by firefly333

[Saint Greg]

On 11/8/2020 at 11:28 AM, xDisconnections said:

Fantastic! That’s a step in the right direction.

Only on vista class though. I wish they had it on the entire fleet. 

[xDisconnections]

39 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

Only on vista class though. I wish they had it on the entire fleet. 

It will work its way throughout the fleet eventually. It started first with Regal Princess and now O3b is being used on most ships. I don't believe Regal even launched with it.