Internet plan changes since we last sailed with Cunard

[Splice the mainbrace]

Previously on Cunard (5 years ago) being platinum members we got an allowance of 240 ‘free’ minutes which counted down as you logged on and off, this was more than enough for our use. Now it seems there is a $80 credit towards an internet plan but from what I can see all the plans are more cost than that, so in effect it is no longer ‘free’. Is my understanding correct of the current situation?

 

We also used to get minutes for every leg of a longer cruise, for example one for a transatlantic, one for the Caribbean and another for the return transatlantic leg. In this scenario do we now get 3x $80?

 

We are booked on a Cunard cruise in May and have just started looking at things such as this.

[TheOldBear]

With the current plan, any usage of wifi starts a day's usage - the billing is per day, not minutes between login and logout.

 

On last fall's 26 night sailing there was a single credit for all three segments [eastbound, Norway, westbound] - and it was a single credit against my WC status, no credit for Mrs Bear's WC status.

 

On the whole, there seems to less value for the internet benefit than the pre-lockdown minute by minute scheme. 

 

I think for next year's sailing, if the current policy and prices are in place, we will do a day at a time to exhaust both WC credits before purchasing any multi day plan.

[and yes internet bandwidth seems horrid - even if your device has a strong connection to the internal WiFi network. The internal network response to the 'myvoyage' site is also quite poor at times; makes you miss the old style paper daily program]

Edited April 19, 2023 by TheOldBear
typos

[Splice the mainbrace]

On the face of it the $80 credit does buy 3 days of internet instead of only 240 minute previously, however the way that I use the internet on a cruise I would prefer to use less hours on more days.

 

Even on the previous plans I thought that it was strange that you get the same minutes and now credit whether you are on a 7 day or 21 day cruise.

Edited April 19, 2023 by Splice the mainbrace

[bluemarble]

1 hour ago, Splice the mainbrace said:

Previously on Cunard (5 years ago) being platinum members we got an allowance of 240 ‘free’ minutes which counted down as you logged on and off, this was more than enough for our use. Now it seems there is a $80 credit towards an internet plan but from what I can see all the plans are more cost than that, so in effect it is no longer ‘free’. Is my understanding correct of the current situation?

 

We also used to get minutes for every leg of a longer cruise, for example one for a transatlantic, one for the Caribbean and another for the return transatlantic leg. In this scenario do we now get 3x $80?

 

We are booked on a Cunard cruise in May and have just started looking at things such as this.

 

You are correct about how the new Internet plans work along with the Cunard World Club Internet credits you receive now. For the Essential Plan, you either pay $24 for 24 hours of usage from the time of purchase, or you pay $18 per day for all the remaining days of your voyage at the time of purchase.

 

If you don't need to use the Internet every day, your best bet might be to purchase individual 24-hour segments as you go for $24 each. Assuming you are a couple and you are both Platinum, your two $80 Internet credits will allow each of you to purchase three separate 24-hour packages as you go. That will cover a total of six days without having to pay extra for Internet access.

 

They do give each Cunard World Club member separate Internet credits based on their individual Cunard World Club status. Each member has to purchase the plans separately in order to use their credits though. You couldn't purchase a full-voyage plan at $18 per day and expect your combined Internet credits to pay for $160 of that plan. Only one $80 credit would be applied in that case for whichever one of you purchased the full-voyage plan.

 

If your Internet credits do not refresh each segment (as @TheOldBear has just indicated), then that's basically it. You'd get a combined total of six days for free. Naturally, if they ever decide to address that issue and refresh your credits each segment, that would give you quite a bit more benefit.

Edited April 19, 2023 by bluemarble

[kayakbob]

The "World Club Benefits" page on the Cunard website still has the 4 hours of free internet:

"

"On completing seven voyages, or 70 nights on board, you will be awarded Platinum Level membership. You will continue to receive all of the great Gold Level benefits plus much more:

• An additional two hours of Complimentary Internet"

[Splice the mainbrace]

1 hour ago, kayakbob said:

The "World Club Benefits" page on the Cunard website still has the 4 hours of free internet:

"

"On completing seven voyages, or 70 nights on board, you will be awarded Platinum Level membership. You will continue to receive all of the great Gold Level benefits plus much more:

• An additional two hours of Complimentary Internet"

This is what I can see, I don’t know when it changed.

https://www.cunard.com/en-gb/cunard-world-club

[sfred]

A really great additional price point (if anyone from Cunard is reading this thread??) would be for say ~$5 for a two-hour block.  I don't really need a full 24 hours access.  I'm on the ship to enjoy being at sea or at a port, not to be on the internet.  Two hours would be enough to do email, check on news from back home, and see what's happening on Cruise Critic.  A $5 price point option would enable the World Club benefit to last  much longer, similar to the way the old minute allotment could be stretched to last the entire voyage.

[bluemarble]

1 hour ago, kayakbob said:

The "World Club Benefits" page on the Cunard website still has the 4 hours of free internet:

"

"On completing seven voyages, or 70 nights on board, you will be awarded Platinum Level membership. You will continue to receive all of the great Gold Level benefits plus much more:

• An additional two hours of Complimentary Internet"

 

Yeah, that's an old version of the Cunard World Club Benefits page which can still be found on the Cunard US website at https://www.cunard.com/en-us/the-cunard-experience/world-club-benefits.

 

The updated Cunard World Club page, similar to what @Splice the mainbrace has indicated, is found on the Cunard US website at https://www.cunard.com/en-us/cunard-world-club.

 

I'm not sure if there is still a link to that old page within the Cunard US website itself. I found it via a google search. When I do a google search for Cunard World Club Benefits (the title of the old page), that old page is the first search result I receive and the new page is the second result. When I just search for Cunard World Club (the title of the new page), that gives me the new page as the first search result and the old page as the second result.

[mahasamatman]

Old thread, but I didn't want to start a new one.

 

The Cunard FAQ (https://my.cunard.com/en-us/mycruise/QV/internetListing) states "If you wish to connect multiple devices to the Guest Wi-Fi simultaneously, you will need to purchase an internet plan for each additional device. Internet plans for additional devices are discounted." Does anyone know what the discount is?

[martinmct]

These are screen shots from the internet purchase page on QM2 at the moment… PREMIUM starts at 36 US per 24hrs, ESSENTIAL starts at 24 US per 24hrs. Multiple device discounts as shown.

 

Hope this helps.

[3rdGenCunarder]

On 4/19/2023 at 4:18 PM, sfred said:

A really great additional price point (if anyone from Cunard is reading this thread??) would be for say ~$5 for a two-hour block.  I don't really need a full 24 hours access.  I'm on the ship to enjoy being at sea or at a port, not to be on the internet.  Two hours would be enough to do email, check on news from back home, and see what's happening on Cruise Critic.  A $5 price point option would enable the World Club benefit to last  much longer, similar to the way the old minute allotment could be stretched to last the entire voyage.

 

YES!!!!  I would love to see that. 

 

I don't need to be online 24/7. I check email, check to see if there's any change in an independent tour I might have booked. Check weather in the next port. On a TA, all I did was a quick email check and then I was done. I don't know how many minutes I've left behind on TAs over the years. 

 

As much as I'd love to see the $5/2hour plan, I don't think it would happen. A minute or hour plan requires accounting. It's much easier for the system to go day by day. 

[roscoe39]

am I missing something? I am about to hop on the QV tomorrow as the last half of the WC and this is what my booking summary shows the internet as