Do you purchase the Internet package?

[Racer70]

How many of you will or have purchased the weekly internet package for your cruise?

 

Do you purchase it for each member of your family if they are age appropriate?

 

I’m cruising at the end of June with my 14 yr. old. She’s insisting I get her the internet package so she can stay in touch with friends etc.

 

Currently I can purchase it for $16.99/day per person. As I recall, you can also purchase internet time on the ship & pay for a block of time if you wish.

 

What do you do regarding internet/WiFi on the ship?

 

 

[Toddcan]

I always get the internet package. Part of my relaxing by the pool, or on my balcony is mindless games, facebook, family chat - but never work emails (although some people do this).  So it's worth it for me.  

 

It's not the greatest - even with Starlink. My experience it that it disconnects a lot (Anthem of the Seas, March 2023)

[shipgeeks]

No, would never even consider it. Cell phone only goes on the cruise, and it stays in the safe until the trip home.

[Kiki and The Noush]

I always get the internet.  I like to read the news with my morning coffee, upload pics, check in on my puppers, etc.  

[Ourusualbeach]

34 minutes ago, Racer70 said:

Currently I can purchase it for $16.99/day per person. As I recall, you can also purchase internet time on the ship & pay for a block of time if you wish.

It will probably be more expensive on the ship nd you can no longer purchase blocks of time.  The only thing you can purchase is full 24 hours continuous access or a full voyage package.

[twangster]

I've always bought internet plans.  Even going back to the days when you could buy a certain number of minutes and you had to connect and disconnect or you would burn through your 100 minutes really quickly if you forgot to disconnect.  That was super slow internet.  I would compose an email offline, connect to send an email and immediately disconnect.  

 

Royal introducing Voom and full voyage unlimited plans was a game changer.  Being connected 24 x 7?  Wow.  That was something else.  

 

Between Royal and other cruise lines I've purchased internet plans over 75 times.   Since becoming Pinnacle it became free as a CAS perk but leading up Pinnacle I bought it on every Royal cruise, except when in suites on those ships that include Voom with suites.  I figure I've spent just over $4k on Voom on Royal never mind other cruise lines. 

 

When sailing with family they've always had their own Voom plan.  That $4k for my Voom doesn't include what I've spent buying Voom for my teen or early adult kids.  

[Ashland]

We always purchase the internet package. Usually the two device option. I wish it was included with suites and not just only on certain ships.

[JeffT237]

43 minutes ago, Racer70 said:

Do you purchase it for each member of your family if they are age appropriate?

 

We always get the internet package for one of us, but we purchase for 2 devices and share.  We had it a few weeks ago on the Wonder and paid around $195 on Black Friday.  Worked well enough for our use, we don't have social media but we do like to stay in touch back home especially with our aging parents.  Text, Wi-Fi calling and FaceTime is what we mostly use it for.

[vacationlover_mn]

My husband and I usually purchase a 1 device package, and share it.  We are ok with not being online at the same time.

[Starry Eyes]

DH and I are d+ so we each get 2 free days.  We share that access and space out those 4 24 hour periods over the course of a typical cruise.  We have access over half the time and that’s all we need.

 

How much time do you want your 14 year old to be on line during the vacation?  You might buy her a package.  You might buy “yourself” a single device package so you can “stay in contact with work” and “share” an agreed upon number of hours with her, so she could check in with friends daily but not be online the entire vacation.  You might not buy any.

[cruisegirl1]

We always have internet and cell service (wifi calling).    We cruise often and technology allows us to be away from home.  Recently the ship WIFI has been horrible, even on Wonder.   Slow, always getting knocked off, hard to understand phone calls. I hope it gets better.

 

Our best result was  to purchases a day on shore with our Verizon international pass.  Only $10 a day and great service. 

 

M

Edited April 1, 2023 by cruisegirl1

[VernRDH]

We get the soda plus voom every cruise. Yes with being D+ we get our free drinks but we like the freestyle machine for beverages other than soda. We each get it and I try to purchase it on Black Friday sale. 

We both like to play games, keep up with email etc. I now do have to check in with work occasionally, so internet is a must for us. We just plan it in our budget. 

[Cigar King]

I'll never pay for wifi.  I'd also never pay for a cruise and give that person wifi too.

 

There are plenty of free wifi options in most of the ports.  Have her check in there.

 

 

[Tatka]

I always purchase 1 package for me aside from super short cruises like 6-7 days where we use our 4 free Diamond+ days and buy the rest. (we also have free data, messaging, and 0.25 calls in all ports due to T-Mobile service)

 

This is a good price, but you can buy it anyway and watch in case it goes lower then you can rebook.

Edited April 1, 2023 by Tatka

[S.A.M.J.R.]

Never purchase internet package.  Will use cell phone during sail away to talk to my mom about watching the sail away, after that, airplane mode.  Join the wifi for the app.  I like being able to disconnect from the "world".  

 

No, have never purchased internet for the kids.  Their friends will survive (as will they) being out of contact for a week.  If it was month long cruise, then I might consider it. 

[time4u2go]

Nope, never have purchased it. I go on a cruise to escape being connected. And I enjoy not carrying around a cell phone.

 

Edited April 1, 2023 by time4u2go

[ShillyShally]

2 hours ago, vacationlover_mn said:

My husband and I usually purchase a 1 device package, and share it.  We are ok with not being online at the same time.

This is what we do too. He doesn’t care as much on checking in, I envy his ability to disconnect. Me, I like knowing my adult kids, who are often my dog sitters, can contact me. I also

like staying aware of work things - more high level.

[easyqueasy]

I always get it. I think it’ll make the cruise more enjoyable for her if she’s that insistent, even if you ask her to pay half. Easy enough to share with a kid since probably not everyone will be at the same shows at all times.

[Ret MP]

When we cruise Star, the internet is included for each member of our party in the suite.  However, when we cruise Balcony, I don't purchase any Internet package.  Now that I'm D, I get one day of the Internet included and that's more than enough to upload pictures/videos.  However, if I did buy an Internet package and I had kids with me, I'd get the one-device option.  Kids should be out there having fun, not sitting in the cabin with their noses attached to a device screen.  I'd give them, maybe, an hour a day, each, which you can control.  

[cello56]

We always buy one package plus we each get two free 24 hours periods because we are Diamond Plus. Internet is a necessity for us as my DH works while on the cruise. You will see him up in the Diamond Lounge most mornings from 6AM - 9AM working on his computer. He knows were all the electrical outlets are in the Viking Crown Lounge! He finds a quiet corner and takes meetings several early mornings. Why does he do this? Because he can then deduct that time from his vacation useage and we can take an extra cruise each year! Plus because he is Type A and likes to.

 

I would not be happy to 'disconnect' for a week. Not happy at all. I would feel great anxiety if I couldn't be in touch with family, especially since I use wifi calling to call my almost 90 year old mother-in-law twice each day to check in on her.

 

As for your 14 year old daughter, well that is another story. "Insisting" that you buy her internet? Yeah, I don't think so! She will survive a week without facebook and friends. Having work and family responsibilities is different than wanting to chat with friends. Now if she wants to save up the cost of buying a package herself, that might be an excellent lesson  for her. See if after the cruise she thinks it was a wise investment of her funds.

[Racer70]

“Insisting” was a poor choice of words on my part. I should’ve said my daughter is recommending or suggesting we buy an internet package for use on the ship.

 

Of course we’ll be enjoying all the ship and our port excursions have to offer & there will be time limits on internet usage.

 

I too enjoy unplugging from the world while cruising. However, I will need internet for some work purposes & other issues that may arise while on the cruise.

 

That being said, I just purchased the Voom internet package for the length of the cruise for one device, so we can take turns using internet when needed. 

[barbeyg]

We buy for 2 devices.  Only time we don’t buy is on an Alaskan cruise, since port days are mostly in US. We buy ahead of time on sale. When it is truly a sale and not a pretend one. 

Edited April 1, 2023 by barbeyg

[Mum2Mercury]

Nope, not something I need, and the price is pretty high.  

[shof515]

i only need internet to do the airline check in

[rockmom]

I/we always get it.  If buying for more than one person, we go for the one person/multi-device package because it saves a bit.  Even when there are 4 of us in 2 different rooms, it's easy to share the 4 device package.