Onboard Internet and CWC benefits with daily internet rates

[Underwatr]

I haven't cruised since just before the pandemic so I haven't experienced the new high-bandwidth internet options with a daily charge vs a per-minute charge.

I've done some research and this how I understand it works currently for Cunard World Club members who get credit toward onboard internet packages. Could folks with more recent experience than mine please verify my understandings?

If I go to the US World Club benefits page at https://www.cunard.com/en-us/cunard-world-club it still shows the old benefit of a given package of minutes being provided at a given CWC level, but if I go to the UK page at https://www.cunard.com/en-gb/cunard-world-club I see the following benefits are now applicable:

• Gold: $45 internet credit per guest
• Platinum: A total of $80 internet credit per guest (i.e., cumulative and not in addition to the Gold benefit earned)
• Diamond: A total of $135 internet credit per guest (no longer double the Platinum benefit - grr)

 

Further, down in the footnotes it points out that you can't apply this benefit when purchasing via My Cunard prior to boarding. "Cunard World Club members with credits will have to wait until they are on board before booking an internet plan."

 

Finally, it says "The same prices quoted on My Cunard will be valid on the ship." For example I'm seeing a rate of $240 for my voyage ($20 per day) if I buy the Premium package or $180 ($15/day) the Essentials package for the entire voyage vs $36 or $24 per day if I pay a day at a time (which I might be tempted to do since I have six sea days and five port days in which my phone plan will give me free data). So those daily and package rates will still apply.

So to conclude:

• Internet credit will be available to CWC members ($40/$80/$135 depending on level)
• I can wait until after boarding to sign up and will pay the same rate per day and per voyage as I'm currently being offered on My Cunard.
• Apparently the only way to apply my CWC internet benefit is to wait until I've boarded.

Is that all correct?

[Victoria2]

Complicated, but we opt to pay on a daily basis using up one lot of CWC Diamond credits  then going over to the other CWC allowance and thus utilising both our CWC Diamond internet benefits which means on a 14 day cruise, we owe Cunard peanuts for the internet access.

edit

booked onboard the day after embarkation as phone is usually still within shoreside signal.

Edited November 9, 2023 by Victoria2

[sfred]

57 minutes ago, Underwatr said:

Is that all correct?

 

Yes, all correct @Underwatr.  Just a few additional items to help stretch the CWC benefit:

 

• The daily option runs 24 hours from the time of purchase.  So you can do say noon one day to noon the next, and get a few hours of connection over two days at the price of one day.
• There will be a purchase option for multiple devices at a higher price.  This refers to multiple simultaneously connected devices.  You can use multiple devices at the single device rate as long as you log off one device before connecting the next.
• Tethering a connected mobile to a laptop also works at the single device price.  Supposedly connecting another mobile or tablet via bluetooth also works, although I've never managed to get this to run successfully.  My bluetooth disconnects very shortly after a connection.
• The per-voyage price decreases progressively over the course of a voyage as the number of days remaining decline.
• Using local or roaming mobile SIMs when in port is a great option, saving ship internet for sea days.  If you are close enough to shore you can also sometimes get a few bars of mobile coverage if you go outside to a high deck.
• For me, the standard connection speed is adequate, as I only do email and web browsing.

 

 

Edited November 9, 2023 by sfred

[Underwatr]

I haven't looked at Bluetooth bandwidth in many years but at the time it was much slower than a 3G connection. I think I can set my phone up as a hotspot sharing its own WiFi connection - definitely worth a try to see if we can make that work for convenience. Otherwise we'll connect one of us at a time.

One twist is that I'm Diamond and my traveling companion will be a Red Card (so no internet time credit for her until a hypothetical third voyage). We'll make do with my allotment. 
Edit: Yeah, I'm successfully sharing my phone's WiFi connection via its hotspot and typing this on my laptop via the shared connection. 

Edited November 9, 2023 by Underwatr

[sfred]

36 minutes ago, Underwatr said:

 I think I can set my phone up as a hotspot sharing its own WiFi connection - definitely worth a try to see if we can make that work for convenience. Otherwise we'll connect one of us at a time.

 

Your mobile may be different, but mine cannot receive a WiFi connection (from the ship) and broadcast a WiFi hotspot at the same time.   I can and often do send a WiFi hotspot from a mobile data connection (eg a local or roaming SIM when in port).  And I can use a USB cable to tether a laptop or tablet from WiFi or mobile data.  I should be able to Bluetooth from WiFi or mobile data but as mentioned that doesn't work for me for some reason. 

[sfred]

50 minutes ago, Underwatr said:

 

Edit: Yeah, I'm successfully sharing my phone's WiFi connection via its hotspot and typing this on my laptop via the shared connection. 

 Excellent that should be a good approach.   My phone doesn't enable that.  

[Underwatr]

1 hour ago, sfred said:

 

Your mobile may be different, but mine cannot receive a WiFi connection (from the ship) and broadcast a WiFi hotspot at the same time.   I can and often do send a WiFi hotspot from a mobile data connection (eg a local or roaming SIM when in port).  And I can use a USB cable to tether a laptop or tablet from WiFi or mobile data.  I should be able to Bluetooth from WiFi or mobile data but as mentioned that doesn't work for me for some reason. 

I just successfully did that in my last post.
- phone in airplane mode, then turn on WiFi & connect to home network, then turn on hotspot.

- connect laptop to phone hotspot

- surf web on my laptop

- verify that phone is in airplane mode aside from WiFi on.

I don't think it's a function available on all phones and I was surprised to find it.

[starquake]

We just do as many do (Both now Plat) and use 1 day on one device, and move that device between us as we need it (writing emails etc then moving the plan to send).   With 2 of us, we get ~ 4-5 days free most cruises, meaning we only need to spend on 2 days (*usually with OBC thats left but not from our status) for the entire cruise.

 

We have no need or want to use 2 devices at same time, part of the fun of a cruise is being away from tech, but we usually DO get the package for things not on the TV etc, via a VPN (Excample being following our football teams matches which are all online).

[Pushpit]

There are differences between phones, and also between iOS and Android in the approach to tethering. So some phones will hotspot cellular networks and wifi, others will only hotspot off cellular, not wifi.

 

The options as I understand them are

- hotspot, particularly if your phone hotspots wifi

- tethering if Android, using a wire, if you use USB-C there should be minimal loss of latency. Not available on iOS.

- tethering via Bluetooth, ideally on the higher-spec BTs, but indeed signal drop is a risk and you best check shoreside that your combination works (as you appear to have done).

- getting a gizmo that is either standalone or connects to your device and acts quite similar to a hotspot. There isn't a consistent name for these devices, "Travel Router" seems the most popular but it's not actually a router, it's an Access Point extender that you want. It has the added advantage that if you have a weak signal in the main area of your stateroom, you can use the set up to rebroadcast a stronger signal to the rest of the room.

Edited November 10, 2023 by Pushpit

[BrisbaneR]

This interesting thread has got me wondering whether to buy the Essential or Premium plan for my upcoming QM2 voyage. I'm Gold so will have $45 to use. I like to watch various things on YouTube (e.g. documentaries, some music clips, etc.) so I am guessing that this is only possible with the Premium Plan. Or can I still use the Essential Plan but have to accept slower connection speeds? Can someone with recent experience ;et me know?

Thanks in advance!, 

[Megabear2]

We have a need for full Internet connection for emails, Internet and occasional video use.  Both of us are technophobe so no complicated set ups can be considered.  I am Diamond my husband is going to be on his second and third voyages, he will be working and requiring Internet access on both.  The voyages are 14 nights Queen Anne on 8th September 2024 and 35 nights QM2 11th January 2025.   

 

I had assumed I would buy my Internet in advance as we usually do but reading all this I gather that is not the case ?  Any advice on what is required for me to secure the necessary access would be gratefully received and also if anyone could actually do the mathematics and give me a rough idea of what each voyage is going to cost based on current figures I'd be extremely grateful. Thank you.

[rakkor]

I needed Zoom access several times on our last cruise, so decided to bite the bullet and pay for the premium package for the full cruise. We're also Diamond and I felt it was a necessary expense and after the loyalty discount was a couple of hundred bucks. I'd hold off as long as you can into the cruise if the expense is a concern as it gets cheaper by each day passed.

[Underwatr]

6 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

I had assumed I would buy my Internet in advance as we usually do but reading all this I gather that is not the case ?  Any advice on what is required for me to secure the necessary access would be gratefully received and also if anyone could actually do the mathematics and give me a rough idea of what each voyage is going to cost based on current figures I'd be extremely grateful. Thank you.

As mentioned I haven't been onboard yet since the shift to daily pricing so know that.

QM2 has a computer center (down one deck from the entrance to the Illuminations theatre/planetarium on the port side) with staff who can help you get connected if you're unsure.

The easiest way to connect would be for you to either share one device or sign up for two devices (I believe there's a small price break to do this compared to 2X the one-device price). You can actually sign out on one device and in on another with the single-device plan, but you'd have to be comfortable with that.

Your "My Cunard" page for the voyage will show you the daily and full voyage pricing for WiFi. In my case (six sea days, five port days) it would be slightly cheaper to buy the daily access for the six sea days than the full package for sea and port days but I think I'll just buy the whole package. My Diamond credit will pay for a little more than half of that.

 

The pricing for my voyage is in the first post of this thread. I'm not sure whether the daily pricing is consistent among all itineraries.

 

There are two levels. If you plan to do voice or video calling, Zoom meetings, or watch streaming video you'll need the more expensive package.  I don't know how well the ship's total bandwidth supports passengers' use of the higher-bandwidth services, but the Starlink service should be in general faster and lower latency (time for the signal to go end-to-end) than the older service.

[TheOldBear]

One trouble with applying wold club credits - if you buy the package, only one set of credits can be applied [not both passengers in the room]

 

We will use some sort of [bugsBunny]stragety[/bugsBunny] to optimize applying our CEC credit to day by day purchases

[Pushpit]

12 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

I had assumed I would buy my Internet in advance as we usually do but reading all this I gather that is not the case ?  Any advice on what is required for me to secure the necessary access would be gratefully received and also if anyone could actually do the mathematics and give me a rough idea of what each voyage is going to cost based on current figures I'd be extremely grateful. Thank you.

My caveat is that I haven't used the Starlink set up yet, under the old provider there wasn't an obvious difference between Essentials and Premium packages, they both had exactly the same speed and latency.

 

But the reason for delaying purchase, rather than doing it in advance is purely to make use of the Diamond credit. If you buy in advance it's the same rates, but without the $135 credit, so the only advantage I can see for buying in advance is to avoid any inflationary increases.

 

If you need daily usage, and won't try out (e.g.) cell phone hot spotting when in port, then it's simple to get the whole cruise package as soon as you get on board. If you can (e.g.) use the cell phone on embarkation, and play around with the 24 hour daily packages, so that you perhaps have a few half day breaks between purchases, it's likely that you will save money. If you buy per day it's also easier to decide to have a Premium day once in a while if you are doing Zoom calls.

 

You will also save money if you are ok to share a signal via tethering / bluetooth or not both being online at the same time but I suspect that won't work for technophobes. But given the double Diamond credit it's quite possible to pay nothing for your wifi if you were going down this route on the 35 night voyage, and certainly so for the shorter voyage.

 

In terms of the maths, it's basically how simple you want to make your life + whether you want end to end cover or not. But if you want to take advantage of your Diamond credit, you are going to be buying on board.

[Megabear2]

12 minutes ago, Pushpit said:

My caveat is that I haven't used the Starlink set up yet, under the old provider there wasn't an obvious difference between Essentials and Premium packages, they both had exactly the same speed and latency.

 

But the reason for delaying purchase, rather than doing it in advance is purely to make use of the Diamond credit. If you buy in advance it's the same rates, but without the $135 credit, so the only advantage I can see for buying in advance is to avoid any inflationary increases.

 

If you need daily usage, and won't try out (e.g.) cell phone hot spotting when in port, then it's simple to get the whole cruise package as soon as you get on board. If you can (e.g.) use the cell phone on embarkation, and play around with the 24 hour daily packages, so that you perhaps have a few half day breaks between purchases, it's likely that you will save money. If you buy per day it's also easier to decide to have a Premium day once in a while if you are doing Zoom calls.

 

You will also save money if you are ok to share a signal via tethering / bluetooth or not both being online at the same time but I suspect that won't work for technophobes. But given the double Diamond credit it's quite possible to pay nothing for your wifi if you were going down this route on the 35 night voyage, and certainly so for the shorter voyage.

 

In terms of the maths, it's basically how simple you want to make your life + whether you want end to end cover or not. But if you want to take advantage of your Diamond credit, you are going to be buying on board.

Thanks.  Telephone wouldn't be of use, itsxall laptopped based for access to clients files. It's very helpful, much obliged and thank you.

[watsonbeau]

How does it work on QM2 if booked as one 26 nt cruise but comprises - Southampton via New York - Caribbean-NYork - Southampton  ? Do you get 3x$80 (so $80 per “sector”) if Platinum ? 
can’t find anything about this.  Thank you 

[TheOldBear]

2 hours ago, watsonbeau said:

How does it work on QM2 if booked as one 26 nt cruise but comprises - Southampton via New York - Caribbean-NYork - Southampton  ? Do you get 3x$80 (so $80 per “sector”) if Platinum ? 
can’t find anything about this.  Thank you 

Under the pre lockdown, minute by minute, plan I've received a fresh allocation at any separately bookable segment [nyc-sou; sou-ham; ham-sou; sou-lehavre-nyc in 2019]

 

Last year, the entire multi segment 26 night cruise was a single allocation - and buying for the 'entire cruise' meant that only on WC credit could be applied.

[alibabacruisers]

We are currently on QE and booked Barc to Mel and thought it was one segment but once we boarded we had a letter that said we had two allotments.  One allotment for barc to singapore and the other singapore to melbourne.  I do not like it that they do not allow you to book using your CWC prior because once we boarded we are paying $36 for a 24 hour period, most of which we are not using because of overnight portion.

[Winifred 22]

7 hours ago, watsonbeau said:

How does it work on QM2 if booked as one 26 nt cruise but comprises - Southampton via New York - Caribbean-NYork - Southampton  ? Do you get 3x$80 (so $80 per “sector”) if Platinum ? 
can’t find anything about this.  Thank you 

I did a Southampton New York Southampton but it was classed as a 14 night voyage as one booking with one booking number so only received one allocation of WC internet. If you just have one booking number and have booked a 26 night cruise regardless of the segments possibilities in between you will only get one allocation. If you had  separate booking numbers for each segment then you would get allowances for each booking. 

[Victoria2]

29 minutes ago, Winifred 22 said:

I did a Southampton New York Southampton but it was classed as a 14 night voyage as one booking with one booking number so only received one allocation of WC internet. If you just have one booking number and have booked a 26 night cruise regardless of the segments possibilities in between you will only get one allocation. If you had  separate booking numbers for each segment then you would get allowances for each booking. 

Not quite the same in our experience pre Covid, on a world cruise. One booking reference but three segments meant we got three lots of internet allowances.

[Winifred 22]

1 hour ago, Victoria2 said:

Not quite the same in our experience pre Covid, on a world cruise. One booking reference but three segments meant we got three lots of internet allowances.

Yes I was hoping for two lots but I suppose post the shut down they have tightened up. Internet access is important to me so I just factor it in as an additional necessary expense as with the gratuities. Now you can’t use Shareholder OBC for gratuities I will just use that element of OBC towards internet. 

[watsonbeau]

I’m guessing I will just get the $80 but also OH has $80 as well. That will give me about a weeks worth as he won’t use his at all so I will spread it out and add to it if needed. Thank you 

[sfred]

Our QE San Francisco to Barcelona voyage in August had three CWC internet allotments (and diamond alternative dining credits).  First was SF to Ft Lauderdale.  Second Ft Lauderdale to Barcelona, and a third for the last week around the western Med finishing in Barcelona again.  The  voyage was all on one booking and voyage number.  I was semi-expecting there would be two allotments, based on Cruise Critic reports from the previous year, so the third tranche was an unexpected bonus.

 

How Cunard resets CWC credits is a mysterious black box.  There are occasions when you'd think it should reset but doesn't, and others where it is the other way around. 

 

[Wonky]

On 11/12/2023 at 1:38 PM, Winifred 22 said:

Now you can’t use Shareholder OBC for gratuities

Is this new? Can’t find this anywhere.