150 free Wi-Fi

[rdemn]

Can someone explain how the 150 minutes of free Wi-Fi works on the iPhone? How do you keep track of it? I know the iPhone has background stuff going on. Does that use up a lot of minutes   Or do I need to keep

wi-Fi off when not using it?

[cruiseny4life]

8 minutes ago, rdemn said:

Can someone explain how the 150 minutes of free Wi-Fi works on the iPhone? How do you keep track of it? I know the iPhone has background stuff going on. Does that use up a lot of minutes   Or do I need to keep

wi-Fi off when not using it?

It's based on minutes used, not usage. Now, all the peripheral background usage could create a slower experience for what you're trying to do online, so you may want to turn off background apps. I know I can do that on my Samsung device. Not sure iPhones can do that. 

 

For the minute meter to stop running, you need to click logout on the screen that appears after you login or go to logout.com. If you don't, the meter keeps ticking and you lose whatever minutes were used. 

[CaptainBazz]

Once you login to the internet the minutes start...your usage is by the minute or part of. Once you are finished you must log out or the meter keeps running and you lose your minutes. Happened to me twice...they will reinstate but usually only once on the cruise. When you log out there is a summary of how many minutes you have used per session so you can keep track of what you have used. Not the best system to use...but does its job for downloading emails and iMessages.

[Rob_H]

It's like dial-up: you have to log in at the start, and log off when you're finished.  The minutes between login and logoff are deducted from your 150 total, until you have none left.

 

It's like dial-up another way as well: speed (or lack of).

[MKESail]

9 minutes ago, Rob_H said:

It's like dial-up: you have to log in at the start, and log off when you're finished.  The minutes between login and logoff are deducted from your 150 total, until you have none left.

 

It's like dial-up another way as well: speed (or lack of).

That’s great 😜👎 is there a way to check my minutes balance throughout the cruise? what happens if I go over 150? do they charge me some ridiculous amount per extra minute or will I not be able to connect at all then?

[Mrdell]

1 minute ago, MKESail said:

That’s great 😜👎 is there a way to check my minutes balance throughout the cruise? what happens if I go over 150? do they charge me some ridiculous amount per extra minute or will I not be able to connect at all then?

After you log out it will give you an updated balance…. Over 150 minutes it will stop working 😊

[Ken the cruiser]

Or you can just upgrade your "free" 150-minute perk to unlimited and not worry about it, especially when the download speed is super slow.

[cruisinmeme]

One little trick I used. When doing an email do the email THEN sign in to send it. 
also if two people in cabin (example husband and wife) and one primary person will be using it they will transfer all minutes to one persons phone.

[BirdTravels]

3 hours ago, MKESail said:

That’s great 😜👎 is there a way to check my minutes balance throughout the cruise? what happens if I go over 150? do they charge me some ridiculous amount per extra minute or will I not be able to connect at all then?

You get cut off. No more wifi. 

 

The time to log on and log off also counts against your usage. Tick Tick Tick. And once you're on, it is satellite wifi shared with 4000 of your newest friends (especially on sea days),,, so expect it to crrreeeep along at a snail's pace. 

[phoenix1181]

Keep in mind that with your iPhone on airplane mode, you can still message to other iPhones.  You can't send photos unless you're online, but messaging works great.  I was able to check in with family on my recent Panama Canal cruise without using any internet time.    

 

 

[mking8288]

Stop at the iCafe to pickup a mini printed guide as below, with instructions. The meter will start when you logged in and stop when you properly logged out or logged off.

 

Your upgrade options and pricing will be displayed.displayed

[Noworkforme23]

On 3/3/2023 at 4:27 PM, cruisinmeme said:

One little trick I used. When doing an email do the email THEN sign in to send it. 
also if two people in cabin (example husband and wife) and one primary person will be using it they will transfer all minutes to one persons phone.

 

[Noworkforme23]

On 3/3/2023 at 4:27 PM, cruisinmeme said:

One little trick I used. When doing an email do the email THEN sign in to send it. 
also if two people in cabin (example husband and wife) and one primary person will be using it they will transfer all minutes to one persons phone.

How do you do that? I am the primary person and I how do I get the 300 minutes all on my phone? My adult son will be with me, but we are only using my phone and he does not have an NCL account like I do, but he is on my reservation.  

[cruisinmeme]

2 hours ago, Noworkforme23 said:

How do you do that? I am the primary person and I how do I get the 300 minutes all on my phone? My adult son will be with me, but we are only using my phone and he does not have an NCL account like I do, but he is on my reservation.  

The person at the internet desk an do it for you.  H is located usually by the Starbucks and information counter

[roger001]

Trying to sign in and sign out is a major pain.  It adds to stress on what should be more relaxing.  I now just bite the bullet and upgrade to unlimited. You can do it after cruise purchase.  Right now it shows $109 for one person.  You can then share one at a time if you wish.  That is upgrading to the standard wi fi, not the high speed premium.  Then no worry about running out of time.  You can actually just let it run on one device if you wish.  

[CCJack]

3 hours ago, roger001 said:

Trying to sign in and sign out is a major pain.  It adds to stress on what should be more relaxing.  I now just bite the bullet and upgrade to unlimited. You can do it after cruise purchase.  Right now it shows $109 for one person.  You can then share one at a time if you wish.  That is upgrading to the standard wi fi, not the high speed premium.  Then no worry about running out of time.  You can actually just let it run on one device if you wish.  

 

I agree.   We had the 150 free minutes on Joy, and it was worth nothing in my opinion.   You have to go to a logout page to stop the timer.  However....... It was so slow that it took minutes (many minutes) for the logout page to load with your timer going the whole time.  You will spend most of the 150 minutes messing with this administrative stuff.  

 

Some ships have upgraded from what I understand and things may be faster.   

[kwokpot]

On 3/3/2023 at 3:23 PM, Ken the cruiser said:

Or you can just upgrade your "free" 150-minute perk to unlimited and not worry about it, especially when the download speed is super slow.

I'm on the Viva now. The upgrade to unlimited Wi-Fi with a special onboard discount came to $110/wk for the unlimited basic WiFi. Excellent price. You save $100. 

[insidecabin]

On 12/6/2023 at 2:22 PM, roger001 said:

Trying to sign in and sign out is a major pain.  It adds to stress on what should be more relaxing.  I now just bite the bullet and upgrade to unlimited. You can do it after cruise purchase.  Right now it shows $109 for one person.  You can then share one at a time if you wish.  That is upgrading to the standard wi fi, not the high speed premium.  Then no worry about running out of time.  You can actually just let it run on one device if you wish.  

Share not much help when the reason for internet is to message each other when not in same location.

[Rick&Jeannie]

Has NCL moved over to Starlink like some of the other cruise lines? (Princess, Carnival...)

[kwokpot]

1 minute ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

Has NCL moved over to Starlink like some of the other cruise lines? (Princess, Carnival...)

Yes

[Torius]

On 3/3/2023 at 9:27 PM, mking8288 said:

Stop at the iCafe to pickup a mini printed guide as below, with instructions. The meter will start when you logged in and stop when you properly logged out or logged off.

 

Your upgrade options and pricing will be displayed.displayed

How does upgrading your connection work?  Can my teenager upgrade without my permission?

[N-8]

I'm "decent" in terms of tech savy but I swear I lose 5 minutes or more each time I log on/log off. The free WIFI is nice to have but don't expect much. I've been on 3 NCL cruises and it's "ok-ish" to check email. Don't get me wrong, it's a nice free perk NCL has but those 150 minutes go fast (not the speed though...)

[cruiser2015]

On 12/8/2023 at 1:33 PM, Rick&Jeannie said:

Has NCL moved over to Starlink like some of the other cruise lines? (Princess, Carnival...)

That's a work in process.

Some ships done, some not.

Installations are working their way through the fleet.

[mking8288]

6 hours ago, Torius said:

How does upgrading your connection work?  Can my teenager upgrade without my permission?

Welcome to CC and sticky around to learn, get to know how the forum works.

 

You will be upgrading your plan - from limited to basic unlimited or premium unlimited with streaming, priced accordingly as shown on your MyNCL App and online when logged in.  Doing this does NOT really changed or grant you "faster" speed or connections, it is cached and throttled on the shared & allocated bandwidth, subject to data traffic & congestion.  

 

There are a # of ways to do the upgrade, including going to the iCafe manager's desk, doing it yourself via the NCL App and/or pre-embarkation; and, if they have access privileges into the account and appropriate permissions set, yes - they "can" do the upgrade themselves but the charge will be posted to your stateroom's OnBoard Account. 

 

 

[Lively_Sea_Turtle]

9 hours ago, mking8288 said:

 

 

There are a # of ways to do the upgrade, including going to the iCafe manager's desk, doing it yourself via the NCL App and/or pre-embarkation; and, if they have access privileges into the account and appropriate permissions set, yes - they "can" do the upgrade themselves but the charge will be posted to your stateroom's OnBoard Account. 

 

But doesn't it just prompt you for the upgrade one time when you first connect to activate the 150min? I thought I read that it is a one time only offer and after that you have to go to the Internet desk.

Edited March 29 by Lively_Sea_Turtle