Disappointed with Carnival

[skipsmith]

Cruised last hear on the Magic and was able to purchase unlimited internet for around 30 bucks. Found out the unlimited is no longer available and you must purchase blocks of time for my upcoming cruise again on the Magic.

 

My job requires me to be available if needed and it would be difficult if something came up while on the cruise. Last year, thankfully nothing came up at the office and did not really need it. But I would say the unlimited internet actually helped me enjoy my vacation knowing if something was needed I would have not difficulties taking care of it...kind of like insurance.

 

Wish the Carnival people would reconsider this.

 

Skip

[belkin]

Unlimited for $30 is a heck of a deal.

 

Too bad you have to be "connected" while on vacation.

[south-carolinagirl]

Check with your cellular carrier, might not be awful if you don't needto use it a lot. Verizon offers 100 mb for $25 for most countries and cruise ships. Might be worth it for piece of mind.

[shootr]

Seems to me your employer should be footing the bill if they want to bug you on a vacation...

[SadieN]

DH has to stay connected to the office also. (That's the price we pay for him to have his own business.) He spent the first 10 days of last year's B2B working on a client that unraveled the night before we left.

He literally spent our first day in New Orleans on the phone in the hotel room and internet. Normally he does call twice a day, morning and end of the business day to give instruction to our great staff.

 

From the ship and in port he used a combo of the AT&T international phone package, calling from the stateroom and the ship internet. Unfortunately the internet was worse than dialup, even the Future Cruise gal was having problems with it.

[skipsmith]

I do wish I could completely unplug from the Internet, but I have my own business and it is just not possible.

 

It is my hopes the week on the cruise I am not needed on anything. The unlimited internet just gave me the ability to check my email as needed and if I had to do anything....I could and not worry about the time. It made my vacation last year nice and a little insurance if I had to fix something.

 

I know a lot of resorts offer unlimited internet to guest and Carnival has the ability. I am good with paying like I did last year... Heck I would have paid twice the amount.

 

If anyone sees a change in the internet options please pass them on.

 

Thx

 

Skip

[rjrice1]

Not sure but I think T-Mobile has free access to over seas..

Cathy

[Smiling Cruiser]

You can buy an internet package and get more time if needed. We would also like to see the unlimited internet but until then we will continue to purchase the time we want or need.

[kicia]

Carnival is looking at a new internet provider and hopes to be able to offer different packages or unlimited data in the future.

[Gingee]

How much in the future for the data?

[Out to sea!]

Seems to me your employer should be footing the bill if they want to bug you on a vacation...

 

I agree. If the employer demands he be connected, then they should be paying the bill.

 

If they don't want to pay the bill, I would tell the employer upon returning that they had already run out of minutes by the time he got to the ship. :eek::D

[Shaded Lady]

I agree. If the employer demands he be connected, then they should be paying the bill.

 

If they don't want to pay the bill, I would tell the employer upon returning that they had already run out of minutes by the time he got to the ship. :eek::D

 

I think you missed the post where OP said he's self-employed- so he could make himself pay! :p

[SadieN]

I think you missed the post where OP said he's self-employed- so he could make himself pay! :p

 

 

But he can deduct it as a cost of business.

[Out to sea!]

I think you missed the post where OP said he's self-employed- so he could make himself pay! :p

 

Reread the OP, nothing there about self-employment?

 

Edited to add: Okay, found post 6 where he states he owns the business. Still, isn't that the point of hiring others to be able to manage if he is not there? What if something happened if he was unable to communicate? Would the business simply die because he wasn't there? Sorry, but to me, working on vacation isn't a vacation.

Edited April 2, 2014 by Out to sea!

[winddawn]

Cruised last hear on the Magic and was able to purchase unlimited internet for around 30 bucks. Found out the unlimited is no longer available and you must purchase blocks of time for my upcoming cruise again on the Magic.

 

My job requires me to be available if needed and it would be difficult if something came up while on the cruise. Last year, thankfully nothing came up at the office and did not really need it. But I would say the unlimited internet actually helped me enjoy my vacation knowing if something was needed I would have not difficulties taking care of it...kind of like insurance.

 

Wish the Carnival people would reconsider this.

 

Skip

Skip, Carnival's Internet service is notoriously unreliable and slow. I think you may have had a false sense of security to potentially depend on it on your previous cruise. I agree with the others that your cell service provider could provide you with a more reliable alternative.

[ky_emt]

Can anyone tell me about their experience with wifi on cruise ships particularly on smart phones? I have an iPhone and I use a few dating apps, Facebook, TripAdvisor, and The Weather Channel app....is the Internet at least fast enough to use these apps? I also have imessaging (iPhone to iPhone) which is like text except it uses data, I'm also wondering if the Internet is fast enough to use imessaging.

 

 

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[golfadj]

Reread the OP, nothing there about self-employment?

 

Edited to add: Okay, found post 6 where he states he owns the business. Still, isn't that the point of hiring others to be able to manage if he is not there? What if something happened if he was unable to communicate? Would the business simply die because he wasn't there? Sorry, but to me, working on vacation isn't a vacation.

 

Own my own small business and cant let my customers be ignored because I am on vacation.

 

I buy an interenet package of 240 minutes and if I spend 4 hours working over a weeks cruise whats the big deal? Allows us to go on 2-3 cruises a year.

[goldwinger88]

I also own my own business and love cruising to be able to get a day off every so often.

 

But the wifi connection on Carnival is dismal to say the least.

 

I am going so far as to getting a Sat phone for contact with the business when they open and close. After this years ice storms and power outages everywhere, it is also a back up system.

 

Make contact a couple times a day and then enjoy the vacation.

 

Out to Sea, try owning your own business. It is on your mind 24/7. You can have the best employees in the world, but you always want reassurance things are going smoothly.

[irishnyc]

Can anyone tell me about their experience with wifi on cruise ships particularly on smart phones? I have an iPhone and I use a few dating apps, Facebook, TripAdvisor, and The Weather Channel app....is the Internet at least fast enough to use these apps? I also have imessaging (iPhone to iPhone) which is like text except it uses data, I'm also wondering if the Internet is fast enough to use imessaging.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

 

You certainly can use all of that - very slowly at best, and at the cost of many hundreds of dollars if not thousands. You're on vacation - turn off the dating, look out the window for the weather, no need for tripadvisor on a cruise you're already on, Facebook will still be there when you get back, and anyone you text/iMessage can survive without you.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Tampa Bay Irish]

If Carnival were smart and forward looking. They would find a way to provide free internet on board to all their passengers. Young people today (30 and under) love to constantly be connected to their friends. The first mass market cruise line that offers free wi if to all passengers will instantly win the loyalty of the entire generation. These people already fit Carnival's Forever Young and Fun target Demographic. I am sure it will be expensive and I am sure there are some technical challenges to over come. But every time somebody post a Lido deck video of them having fun, it will be like an unpaid Carnival commercial on Facebook. The key to doing this is to be seen as the leader and to keep upgrading the quality of your product.

[Davey Wavey]

Even the "fast" internet options on the newer ships is really slow. We bought minutes to check in with the kids using Skype text messaging. We could switch over to voice communications if needed in a pinch, but the voice quality is obviously terrible. On a 7 day cruise, we only needed it on sea days. Every port had a free wi-fi connection somewhere close to the ship where we could make free good quality calls (or 2cents per minute to a landline).

 

So maybe consider just checking in via text to see if there is any reason you need to call. Plan to call while in ports with either cellular or wi-fi. It really keeps the costs of staying in touch reasonable.

[skipsmith]

Some have said the internet is bad on the ship... I was able to video Skype last year a couple of times. Did not stay on very long but the internet on the Carnival Magic seemed pretty good. It was not blazing fast, but certainly was functional for what I was needing.

 

For those who say get someone else to do your job, I have a small business and that is just not always possible. Does not matter if a carnival guest works for a large company or has their own business or unemployed, this post was really about offering unlimited internet options when they previously offered it on the Magic. Heck, they offer all you can drink booze. Just my 2 cents.

 

Our trip last year on the Magic was fantastic and Carnival does a great job. I am sure our trip this year will be even better, but I will have to figure out "what ifs" and make a plan for business issues.

 

Thx

 

Skip

[1313steve]

If Carnival were smart and forward looking. They would find a way to provide free internet on board to all their passengers. Young people today (30 and under) love to constantly be connected to their friends. The first mass market cruise line that offers free wi if to all passengers will instantly win the loyalty of the entire generation. These people already fit Carnival's Forever Young and Fun target Demographic. I am sure it will be expensive and I am sure there are some technical challenges to over come. But every time somebody post a Lido deck video of them having fun, it will be like an unpaid Carnival commercial on Facebook. The key to doing this is to be seen as the leader and to keep upgrading the quality of your product.

 

If a cruise line figures a way to do this reliably and cost effectively, all the lines will follow suit pretty quickly. The cost of the bandwidth to satellites and back is what is expensive and Carnival (or any other line) doesn't own those satellites so they are going to pay fair market rates, which are still pretty high

[gtalum]

I also own my own business and love cruising to be able to get a day off every so often.

 

But the wifi connection on Carnival is dismal to say the least.

 

I am going so far as to getting a Sat phone for contact with the business when they open and close. After this years ice storms and power outages everywhere, it is also a back up system.

 

Make contact a couple times a day and then enjoy the vacation.

 

Out to Sea, try owning your own business. It is on your mind 24/7. You can have the best employees in the world, but you always want reassurance things are going smoothly.

 

FWIW, I own my own business and I don't call in or remain in contact when I'm on cruises or other vacations. In my experience most small business owners are egotistical micro-managers, but if your business is properly run (and you're not a one-man shop) your people should be able to get by for a week without input.

 

I put in some extra time the week before and the week after, but I am out of touch when I'm on vacation.

Edited April 2, 2014 by gtalum

[ibcnusoon]

I also own my own online business and need internet while away.

 

Unlimited internet for $30?!?! Wow, I paid the 250 minutes for $100 on both the Victory in 2012 and last year on the NCL Breakaway. I plan on purchasing another internet package on the Splendor.

 

Which ships have unlimited internet for $30???

Edited April 2, 2014 by ibcnusoon