Free onboard wifi - it's long overdue

[ronrythm]

5 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

I have not run into any hotels or resorts in the last few years that do not have free internet and I have been in a lot. Sometimes we have to join their loyalty program to get it but they have it free, Starlink for ships is less expensive than what they had before. That is why the cruise lines installed Starlink in a few months after it was approved by the regulators. High end cruise lines are including it free. What it probably will take for free internet is one of the mainstream lines to give free internet as a competitive advantage.

And I have been in hotels that charge for it. So that proves nothing. Starlink still is very expensive, especially as your bandwidth goes up. And it is slower than fiber, with much higher latency, so it doesn’t scale up as well. High end can afford it, because, one, they are already charging a higher price, so the increase for internet costs is less noticeable, and two, they have smaller ships with fewer users. Main stream lines have to throttle the use to avoid overloading the system, (which still happens even with it throttled). One way to throttle is to charge for the use, so not everyone uses the system. A second way is to have “tiers” with different speeds.

 

I guess we need to update the old joke about the ship having an extension cord that they reel out and reel back in to include a fiber optic cable for internet!

[donaldsc]

1 hour ago, ldubs said:

 

That is a good point, but could it not apply to almost anything included in the fare?  

 

Yes but why should I have to pay for something else that I will not use.  

 

DON

[ldubs]

1 hour ago, donaldsc said:

 

Yes but why should I have to pay for something else that I will not use.  

 

DON

 

I think having that option is good.   My comment was about other things provided that not everyone uses.  Take room service for example.   Many if not all mainstream lines have now unbundled it and charge a fee (continental breakfast orders excluded).  Those that use room service are unhappy with the change and feel they are being nickel and dimed.    

[CDNPolar]

I personally don't believe that everyone thinks or feels that WiFi should be or must be included.  I feel that there are many that travel that want a technology detox and are not interested in being connected all the time.

 

We sail on Viking primarily and WiFi is included so we have never faced having to pay extra for it.

 

If we had to pay daily for Wifi it would depend on the itinerary of the cruise and the daily cost.  If River I probably would not pay for it because we tend to buy eSIMs for our phones and we are close enough to shore to almost always connect to a tower.  On an Ocean voyage, I might opt to only connect when in port with my eSIM.  I cannot tell you what daily cost we would or would not pay, but I would suggest that me and my husband would only pay for one of us and share the phone or access.

 

I have been faced with many hotels that charge for Wifi and because of eSIMs we don't need it.

[sparks1093]

7 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

That is a good point, but could it not apply to almost anything included in the fare?  

Of course it can, which is why the main stream lines offer all of the add ons. Passengers then decide which items they want. A fare that includes specialty dining, for example, would do nothing for us because that's not something we pay for anyway so having it included in the fare would not be an enticement. 

[CDNPolar]

4 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

Of course it can, which is why the main stream lines offer all of the add ons. Passengers then decide which items they want. A fare that includes specialty dining, for example, would do nothing for us because that's not something we pay for anyway so having it included in the fare would not be an enticement. 

 

I agree with this concept, although I like the pricing model of Viking.

 

I get specialty dining

I get Wifi

I get an included excursion in each port

I get wine at lunch and dinner

I get port fees included

I get free access to the thermal spa

 

I use all of these, so this to me is a good deal, but I can understand when someone does not drink, or use the wifi that they feel they are paying more for services that they don't use.

 

 

[Toofarfromthesea]

6 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

Of course it can, which is why the main stream lines offer all of the add ons. Passengers then decide which items they want. A fare that includes specialty dining, for example, would do nothing for us because that's not something we pay for anyway so having it included in the fare would not be an enticement. 

 

The other issue is that if it was free everyone would have it, usage would go up, and more usage on the ship's fix bandwidth would degrade performance for everyone.

[ldubs]

6 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

Of course it can, which is why the main stream lines offer all of the add ons. Passengers then decide which items they want. A fare that includes specialty dining, for example, would do nothing for us because that's not something we pay for anyway so having it included in the fare would not be an enticement. 

 

Yup, that is the benefit of a la carte pricing.  There could be an issue on where to draw the line I suppose.  For the mainstream lines, including specialty dining venues would require a major remodel as the current spaces would be completely overwhelmed.  Instead, I would support adding a few bucks per day to the fare and upgrading the quality of the food in the public dining places.  

 

One or both of us always gets the wifi.  Back when we were working, our employers footed the bill.  For some reason, after we retired, they won't do that anymore.  I only get it when we travel with a group.  They need a way to find me if I get lost.  🙂

[navybankerteacher]

51 minutes ago, ldubs said:

…I would support adding a few bucks per day to the fare and upgrading the quality of the food in the public dining places.  

 

… 🙂

Of course that would be just the start of a return to higher cruise prices.  The direction still seems to be downward - in per person space, and amount/quality of included things.  As long as the mass market lines continue to be able to fill bunks on ever more, ever larger, ships they are likely to do everything possible to hold down fares.  I would not be surprised if evening entertainment events started coming with a charge.

[Mike981]

37 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

I would not be surprised if evening entertainment events started coming with a charge.

 

I would be surprised if some are not doing this already with an 'elevated' experience.

 

When lines started with specialty dining, I was against paying more because the MDR food was good and sometimes very good. I remember a person here on CC said, "just wait, the MDR food will go down and people will then be willing to spend money for the 'good' food."

[crystalspin]

12 minutes ago, Mike981 said:

I would be surprised if some are not doing this already with an 'elevated' experience.

I thought that RCCL had pay-for shows several years before the shut-down.

?

[Honolulu Blue]

2 hours ago, crystalspin said:

I thought that RCCL had pay-for shows several years before the shut-down.

?

I don't know about Royal, but Carnival had special concerts in their main theaters under the Carnival LIVE banner.  Those were extra cost for all shows (with ticket costs that varied similar to concerts on land), but they had more mainstream acts and presumably put on a better and more professional show.

[ilikeanswers]

Free WiFi on board would make it even easier for cruisers to self organise port trips. Not sure cruise lines would want to do that 😂

[ontheweb]

On 5/16/2024 at 3:07 PM, crystalspin said:

I thought that RCCL had pay-for shows several years before the shut-down.

?

On the NCL Epic in 2012 I remember paying extra to see Ciirque d' Soliel. It was dinner theater.

[mnocket]

On 5/14/2024 at 5:43 PM, Toofarfromthesea said:

"I want it so it should be free" is not the compelling argument you think it is.

Try convincing Gen Z of that😁

[George C]

On 5/12/2024 at 9:15 PM, Ashland said:

I just think RCI should give free internet to GS and above fleetwide not just certain classes of their ships.

I agree , MSc yacht club has this as perk , also upper suites on celebrity.

[PurpleHays]

On 5/18/2024 at 7:18 AM, ontheweb said:

On the NCL Epic in 2012 I remember paying extra to see Ciirque d' Soliel. It was dinner theater.

We did too. It was our only NCL cruise. That act was amazing!

[Mum2Mercury]

On 5/12/2024 at 9:50 PM, navybankerteacher said:

Why would the cruise line’s want to give up an almost sure-thing revenue stream?  

This.  What's their motivation to provide for free an item that so many people are willing to pay for? 

On 5/13/2024 at 9:06 AM, wcook said:

Because passengers are getting sick of the low advertised price with tons of nickel and diming. 

I'm being argumentative, but what you're calling "nickel and diming" I see as CHOICES.  I don't need /want internet on cruises, and I'm happy it's not included in the cruise ticket price.  

[navybankerteacher]

3 minutes ago, Mum2Mercury said:

This.  What's their motivation to provide for free an item that so many people are willing to pay for? 

I'm being argumentative, but what you're calling "nickel and diming" I see as CHOICES.  I don't need /want internet on cruises, and I'm happy it's not included in the cruise ticket price.  

An excellent point:  too many cruisers seem to believe that something is “FREE” if it built in to their basic fare.  It’s sort of like being happy you are given FREE wheels when you buy a car.

[Donald]

Free onboard bottled water - its long overdue.

Free onboard Diet Coke - its long overdue.

Free onboard Adult Films on demand - its long overdue.

[ilikeanswers]

7 minutes ago, Donald said:

Free onboard Diet Coke - its long overdue.

 

What if I prefer a Pepsi Max🤪? 

[CDNPolar]

I used to think of and call it "nickel and diming" with the mass market cruise lines adding costs here and there... BUT, I have changed my mind completely with that.

 

The price we pay for a Viking cabin is way above the entry cabin price on a larger ship.  We know what is included and other than some optional excursions we don't have to pay for another thing.  However, not everyone wants everything that is included in the Viking price.  

 

The only challenge I have with the larger lines, is it is very difficult at the point of booking to really understand what is "included" and what I may have to pay extra for once onboard.  I fully see the cabin price, but I don't see menu of services, food, drink, coffee, etc., that I have to pay extra for so that I can understand what my full cost might be once onboard.

 

What we like about Viking is the posted price we pay is our total cost.

 

I wish that the larger lines would give you the option of adding services or options at the time of booking and offer a full menu of included vs. pay for options.

[ldubs]

14 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

An excellent point:  too many cruisers seem to believe that something is “FREE” if it built in to their basic fare.  It’s sort of like being happy you are given FREE wheels when you buy a car.

 

I agree with what you are saying.   I think we should all agree moving forward when someone says something is "free"we will understand it has the same meaning as included in the fare.  

[ldubs]

5 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

I wish that the larger lines would give you the option of adding services or options at the time of booking and offer a full menu of included vs. pay for options.

 

This is an interesting comment and deserves some attention from the cruise lines.   The info is there and there are optional packages.  It does require some effort to figure things out.  It seems to me it would be to the cruise line's benefit to make this kind of information easy to access and understand.  I'm guessing they don't realize this might be an issue.  

[ldubs]

15 hours ago, Mum2Mercury said:

This.  What's their motivation to provide for free an item that so many people are willing to pay for? 

  

 

Competitive advantage from providing something that is in high demand? Clearly the cost has to be covered in base fares.