Question about the "surf" Wi-Fi pkg included with HIA, and about upgrading to "premium"

[Turtles06]

My wife and I will be on the Rotterdam next month.  We have the HIA promo, and thus the "surf" internet package.  A few threads that I've recently read on here were confusing as to whether or not we can each be connected to the internet at the same time (using one device per person), so I would appreciate clarification on that.  HAL's description is this:

 

"The base Surf Wi-Fi package included with Have It All includes access for one device for each of Guest 1 and 2 on a booking."  (Emphasis mine.)

 

To me, this means that both my wife and I can be connected to the internet at the same time, each of us only on one device each.   Is that the case?  (Some threads said this was a per-cabin thing, and that only one single device in the cabin could be connected to the internet at a time, which is not what HAL's language says.)

 

Will we each have different log-ons to connect to the internet? 

 

My second question is about upgrading to the "premium" package.  Is it correct that we can do this on board, and that it will be some amount of dollars per day beyond the value HAL has assigned to the "surf" package that we already have?    Would we both have to upgrade, or may only one person upgrade? 

Thanks for the help on this!

[POA1]

Under Have It All, you EACH have the Surf Plan, so it's ONE device per person, or TWO devices total. You'll have separate logins.

 

I'm pretty sure that you can upgrade just one plan, but I don't know the incremental cost. My advice would be to try Surf first and see if it works for you. Don't expect to be streaming though. If you want to take audio or video along, download as much as possible before you leave home.

 

Real life example: We traveled during football season (the US kind with pouty ends) and had no problem following our fantasy football team scores. We could not, however, stream the actual games.

Edited June 7, 2023 by POA1

[Jenhilmc]

I was just on the Koningsdam which has starlink. We had the HIA package and there were three off us in the cabin. Only two of us had internet and we each could have one device at a time. I moved back and forth between my iphone and my Samsung tablet. I finally just kept it on my iPhone since we used that for imessaging. All of our group has iphones and we kept them on airplane mode and those of us with internet (first two passengers in each cabin) could message each other. We could also send messages to other iphone users not on the cruise. For example, I could message my sisters who have iphones, but if I included my brother who has an android phone, the message errored out. I only had the surf package and I successfully streamed baseball games on the bally sports app. 

[crystalspin]

15 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

My wife and I will be on the Rotterdam next month.  We have the HIA promo, and thus the "surf" internet package.  A few threads that I've recently read on here were confusing as to whether or not we can each be connected to the internet at the same time (using one device per person), so I would appreciate clarification on that.  HAL's description is this:

 

"The base Surf Wi-Fi package included with Have It All includes access for one device for each of Guest 1 and 2 on a booking."  (Emphasis mine.)

 

To me, this means that both my wife and I can be connected to the internet at the same time, each of us only on one device each.   Is that the case? 

Yes and it is one device apiece AT A TIME. If you have a phone and a tablet or laptop, you can switch between. When you go to log on to the new device, it will ask if you want to log off the other (or buy a multi-device plan!). 

 

I have recently read on CC but not found on HAL, that you cannot "upgrade" a HIA Surf plan on board. You can of course ask. If you NEED Audio/Video apps, you might consider buying the Premium before sailing, assuming it is still 20% off when bought for the length of your cruise.

[cruisemom42]

13 hours ago, Jenhilmc said:

I was just on the Koningsdam which has starlink.

 

Does anyone know which ships currently have starlink and -- for those that don't -- when it will be installed?

[Turtles06]

45 minutes ago, crystalspin said:

 

I have recently read on CC but not found on HAL, that you cannot "upgrade" a HIA Surf plan on board.

HAL says you can upgrade on board:

 

[crystalspin]

20 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

HAL says you can upgrade on board:

Excellent! I will correct the advice I pass on to others!

[Woofbite]

Can't you make your phone a hot spot and let another user access your internet account?  I've connected my phone and a tablet but can't remember if both were in use at the same time.

 

 

 

[vicd1969]

On 6/7/2023 at 8:08 AM, Jenhilmc said:

I was just on the Koningsdam which has starlink. We had the HIA package and there were three off us in the cabin. Only two of us had internet and we each could have one device at a time. I moved back and forth between my iphone and my Samsung tablet. I finally just kept it on my iPhone since we used that for imessaging. All of our group has iphones and we kept them on airplane mode and those of us with internet (first two passengers in each cabin) could message each other. We could also send messages to other iphone users not on the cruise. For example, I could message my sisters who have iphones, but if I included my brother who has an android phone, the message errored out. I only had the surf package and I successfully streamed baseball games on the bally sports app. 

WhatsApp works well for messaging both offboard iPhone and Android users 

[VMax1700]

34 minutes ago, Woofbite said:

Can't you make your phone a hot spot and let another user access your internet account?  I've connected my phone and a tablet but can't remember if both were in use at the same time.

 

 

 

I believe that the number of phones that can do this is limited as the phone requires two radios (one to receive the internet over ship's wifi' and the second radio to transmit the hotspot).

You can use a wifi router.

[erdufylla]

I was on Koningsdam last week, where e had the HIA package with the surf wifi. When I logged in to the internet through the Navigator app, it loaded an external browser page that has a button you click to connect to the internet. Below that was an option to upgrade to the premium package. On the first day, it listed options for upgrading for X number of days (something like 24 hours, or a 5-day package, IIRC), and as the cruise continued and the number of days left on board decreased, the upgrade package lengths became smaller, too. We didn’t opt to upgrade, but my impression was that the upgrade would apply to just the single account that selected it, not both accounts included in the HIA promotion.

[Iamthesea]

I wish I had known that two persons in a stateroom could use separate accounts.  My DH did not take his iPhone on our recent cruise to Norway, but I had both my iPhone and iPad.  I mostly used my iPad for surfing, sending iMessages, and Facetime.  My iPhone was used mostly for the HAL App.   I could not have both connected at the same time.  I found it a pain to keep logging in/out.  Had I known, I could have set up a separate account for one of the devices by using my DH's name and password and kept them both live for the cruise. 🙄

 

We had the basic HIA package.  No problem looking at web pages, sending messages, etc.  I did not stream anything.  However, on port days, the internet was always inaccessible in our stateroom when we were docked.  Very frustrating to wait until sailaway to get a signal.  I am not sure if having the Premium package would have changed anything.  We do have Premium included in our HIA for our cruise next May.

[Haljo1935]

On 6/7/2023 at 9:40 PM, Turtles06 said:

HAL says you can upgrade on board:

 

@Turtles06 yes you can upgrade onboard. And the HIA plan you currently have is 1 device person (at a time), each of whom will use their own log in.

Enjoy your cruise!

[POA1]

Q

On 6/8/2023 at 10:57 AM, Woofbite said:

Can't you make your phone a hot spot and let another user access your internet account?  I've connected my phone and a tablet but can't remember if both were in use at the same time.

 

 

 

Kinda, sort of yes. Most phones are designed to share the cellular network as a hotspot. In this case, it's a Wi-Fi (802.11) network you're trying to share. A dedicated hotspot/router will handle it easily. Your phone might have problems.

 

(If you know how to run a Linux router on your phone, you'll be fine. Also, you would not be asking... 😉)

[IPB4IGO]

On 6/8/2023 at 7:57 AM, Woofbite said:

Can't you make your phone a hot spot and let another user access your internet account?  I've connected my phone and a tablet but can't remember if both were in use at the same time.

 

 

 

I have done that on several HAL cruises. I have also shared my laptop's Wi-Fi connection. There were no complications with either device, even when I had my VPN in use.