Will NCL be the first cruise line to offer free internet for all?

[Out to sea!]

Sometimes you can't unplug for a week. I don't go near my work email and don't take my work phone on holiday with me but my husband runs his own business. He needs to know what's going on, especially as any problems affect his clients' businesses - and we tend to do 2 or 3 weeks away at a minimum.

 

So because he wants to keep in touch we shouldn't be on a cruise? :confused:

 

That's why they have 3 night cruises. :p

[Out to sea!]

Checking your phone a lot during a cruise?

OK if important; Not OK if you're standing in the middle of a walkway,

randomly checking Facebook.

 

And this is what 90% of the people do out there. Oblivious to the world around them and act as if it were 3 in the morning without nary a soul in sight. sigh.....

[hpecorari]

Truth be told, IMHO, most people can do without internet, if they choose.

 

OTOH, for those who are self-employed.....It is difficult to go without contact for a weeks cruise or a two week cruise, etc. When it's your own business...it's a different story.

 

For those who have a cruise and have a sick parent/family member etc. it's also very hard.

 

Also, It's hard for those who have someone else watching their small children.

 

So, I can see that some do need internet to check up on things.

 

However, I feel those should pay for the usage.

 

Harriet

[Barb Nahoumi]

That's why they have 3 night cruises. :p

 

Not enough for me. Even 7 days are too short. But three day cruises would be great for those who need a quick get-away.

 

NCL has 1 ship, the Sky which does only short cruises.

 

We just returned from a Boston-Bermuda Cruise on the NCL Dawn. My husband bought the Unlimited Minutes internet deal for $176.00. He said that the service was slower than the old fashioned dial-up. The internet cafe attendant explained that heavy usage slowed the connections.

 

I stayed away from the computer and cell phone while on board, but it took me 3 days to catch up once home. Oh well.

[4774Papa]

When we leave for a cruise or trip, our neighbor's daughter takes care of our cat. We leave emergency phone numbers for the ship with our cabin number as well as our email.

 

We also provide our children and close relatives with the emergency number.

 

In 15 cruises, no one has called us.

 

I do check my email on the ship perhaps twice on a 14 day cruise. Pre-cruise the hotels we stay at always provide free service and I check email there. Service at the hotel is fast, so I can check every second day or so.

 

We don't take our cell phones with us, since they don't work overseas.

 

We don't miss the internet very much.

[hpecorari]

When we leave for a cruise or trip, our neighbor's daughter takes care of our cat. We leave emergency phone numbers for the ship with our cabin number as well as our email.

 

We also provide our children and close relatives with the emergency number.

 

In 15 cruises, no one has called us.

 

I do check my email on the ship perhaps twice on a 14 day cruise. Pre-cruise the hotels we stay at always provide free service and I check email there. Service at the hotel is fast, so I can check every second day or so.

 

We don't take our cell phones with us, since they don't work overseas.

 

We don't miss the internet very much.

 

And I would have agreed with you......until the one time my husband called the ship and left a message for me to call him. I never got that message. Checking my e-mail a day or two later I found out that my GF passed away at the age of 54.

 

Harriet

[younglegend]

If they wanted, they could offer it for free without losing revenue or passing along the costs to passengers elsewhere. In fact, they may be able to gain a revenue stream by offering it for free. Just like Starbuck's, McDonalds, and other places that offer free WiFi, the business model is not only to bring in additional customers and make them stay longer, but also to get revenue from advertising that is shown when you log-in to the WiFi. In fact, the WiFi infrastructure isn't even owned by these companies. The more people who log-in, the more the advertising revenue, the more likely the company that runs it will be willing to increase bandwidth for all. Win-Win.

 

Increase in Internet speeds will become a necessity moving forward. While we may think that use of the Internet is voluntary, the fact is that more and more of our lives is reliant on the Internet and as the ship (and we) become more connected, NCL will need to keep up. It's not a question of whether, it's a question of when. That key card to get into your room and pay for things is so 2010.

Edited June 21, 2015 by younglegend

[Hondu]

I am totally cut off from the world back home when on a cruise and it always feel real good. I put my cell phone on airport mode and don't buy any Internet access. I told my adult children that whatever happens, it can wait. They have no problem with that. :)

[jerseylily]

If they wanted, they could offer it for free without losing revenue or passing along the costs to passengers elsewhere. In fact, they may be able to gain a revenue stream by offering it for free. Just like Starbuck's, McDonalds, and other places that offer free WiFi, the business model is not only to bring in additional customers and make them stay longer, but also to get revenue from advertising that is shown when you log-in to the WiFi. In fact, the WiFi infrastructure isn't even owned by these companies. The more people who log-in, the more the advertising revenue, the more likely the company that runs it will be willing to increase bandwidth for all. Win-Win.

 

Increase in Internet speeds will become a necessity moving forward. While we may think that use of the Internet is voluntary, the fact is that more and more of our lives is reliant on the Internet and as the ship (and we) become more connected, NCL will need to keep up. It's not a question of whether, it's a question of when. That key card to get into your room and pay for things is so 2010.

 

Hear Hear! A great post reflecting the new reality....

[4774Papa]

If they wanted, they could offer it for free without losing revenue or passing along the costs to passengers elsewhere. In fact, they may be able to gain a revenue stream by offering it for free. Just like Starbuck's, McDonalds, and other places that offer free WiFi, the business model is not only to bring in additional customers and make them stay longer, but also to get revenue from advertising that is shown when you log-in to the WiFi. In fact, the WiFi infrastructure isn't even owned by these companies. The more people who log-in, the more the advertising revenue, the more likely the company that runs it will be willing to increase bandwidth for all. Win-Win.

 

Increase in Internet speeds will become a necessity moving forward. While we may think that use of the Internet is voluntary, the fact is that more and more of our lives is reliant on the Internet and as the ship (and we) become more connected, NCL will need to keep up. It's not a question of whether, it's a question of when. That key card to get into your room and pay for things is so 2010.

Wonderful, then you will have hundreds of people walking around the ship not paying attention to anything but their smartphone, or wearing a Bluetooth.

 

Science will make it easier, but I think it will take some time for the internet speed to be fast when in the Indian Ocean, around the Horn of South America or off the North Cape of Norway.

[jerseylily]

Hopefully not too long to wait..

 

'Cruise operator rolls out first high-speed internet connection for the open ocean. Carnival's network is 'ten times faster' than previous boat-bound Wi-Fi'

 

the Verge 3rd November 2014

[deladypilot]

Of all the things they could give away to everyone, internet would not be one of the things I would want. I go away on vacation to spend quality time with whom ever I am traveling with, I do not want text, calls, emails while im gone. I always leave a way to be reached if it is an emergency but everything else can wait

[Ilovesailing]

They have that right now... it is free ... and called iConcierge. :cool:

 

We dont cruise to use internet, cell phone or pads. We cruise to get away from the hustle and bussel.

 

If family needs to get a hold of us for emergency they can call the ship.

 

You pay hundreds of dollars to sit on the internet. Just don't get it and never want to.

Edited June 21, 2015 by Ilovesailing

[drvalo]

When we leave for a cruise or trip, our neighbor's daughter takes care of our cat. We leave emergency phone numbers for the ship with our cabin number as well as our email.

 

We also provide our children and close relatives with the emergency number.

 

In 15 cruises, no one has called us.

 

I do check my email on the ship perhaps twice on a 14 day cruise. Pre-cruise the hotels we stay at always provide free service and I check email there. Service at the hotel is fast, so I can check every second day or so.

 

We don't take our cell phones with us, since they don't work overseas.

 

We don't miss the internet very much.

 

Our phone does work on the ship when at sea. We make sure everyone who needs the number has that number, and let them know to call late in the evening when we are sure the phone will work. We have gotten emergency calls and had to make calls. We also usually find free wifi in a port of two just to catch up with emails in case something needs attention, but that usually takes less than an hour of our vacation total. That said, if we had free wifi on the ship, we would likely use a little bit, but I see no need to stand in the walk way to text or update status. I'M ON VACATION!!!!!!

[ColinIllinois]

Hear Hear! A great post reflecting the new reality....

 

 

One persons reality is not necessarily anothers. ;)

[OhJinkies]

I often travel solo and like staying connected with friends and family. I love posting pictures of my daily adventures. Thankfully, my work team respects personal time and doesn't try to contact me when I'm on vacation.

But with that said, the ship internet connections are atrociously slow, so I don't spend that much time online.

My sister works for a cruise line. Though she's part of the shoreside operation, sometimes she has to work on board the ships. Part of her job is connecting with shoreside servers, so it's VERY trying for her to get much work done when she's at sea.

[mush71]

I get this image of a shipload of zombies, all looking at their cellphones.:eek:

 

It would look like the movie WALL-E. LOL with everyone not noticing everything around them until the power goes off. ;)

[$hip$hape]

It would look like the movie WALL-E. LOL with everyone not noticing everything around them until the power goes off. ;)

reminds me of the old cartoon...

[EyeSeaEwe]

Sometimes you can't unplug for a week. I don't go near my work email and don't take my work phone on holiday with me but my husband runs his own business. He needs to know what's going on, especially as any problems affect his clients' businesses - and we tend to do 2 or 3 weeks away at a minimum.

 

So because he wants to keep in touch we shouldn't be on a cruise? :confused:

 

If that is the case he has not hired the right people. I run my own business as well. I have people in place who can run it when I am not there.

Edited June 22, 2015 by EyeSeaEwe

[ndabunka]

no point

Edited June 22, 2015 by ndabunka

[wilmingtech]

You are exactly right

Its not cheap renting bandwidth from a satellite. And its slow as molasses even if your the only one on it. 10mb download is probably as fast as your gonna get and its not the same as 10mb at your local starbucks. Split that up with the 100 people on the ship trying to download at the same time and you can see how speedy that ends up being.

Dont forget that 75-90% of the crew pay for internet and if they are not working then they are the heavy users on the ship.

On a late night on Freedom OTS it took me about 15 minutes to log into Google and change my password. It was super slow. I would never pay again. Ill wait until I'm in port.

 

-Sean

 

PS - Just got off an NCL cruise with iConcierge and it totally rocks. It worked pretty well and was a great way to keep tabs on my charges and OBC as well as the schedule of things on the ship. And you can text wifey, kids, parents ...ect from the app. (Texting is a small fee but worth it)

Edited June 22, 2015 by wilmingtech

[4774Papa]

Our phone does work on the ship when at sea. We make sure everyone who needs the number has that number, and let them know to call late in the evening when we are sure the phone will work. We have gotten emergency calls and had to make calls. We also usually find free wifi in a port of two just to catch up with emails in case something needs attention, but that usually takes less than an hour of our vacation total. That said, if we had free wifi on the ship, we would likely use a little bit, but I see no need to stand in the walk way to text or update status. I'M ON VACATION!!!!!!

What is the cost of using your phone on the ship?

[ndabunka]

You are exactly right

Its not cheap renting bandwidth from a satellite. And its slow as molasses even if your the only one on it. 10mb download is probably as fast as your gonna get and its not the same as 10mb at your local starbucks. Split that up with the 100 people on the ship trying to download at the same time and you can see how speedy that ends up being.

Dont forget that 75-90% of the crew pay for internet and if they are not working then they are the heavy users on the ship.

On a late night on Freedom OTS it took me about 15 minutes to log into Google and change my password. It was super slow. I would never pay again. Ill wait until I'm in port.

 

-Sean

 

PS - Just got off an NCL cruise with iConcierge and it totally rocks. It worked pretty well and was a great way to keep tabs on my charges and OBC as well as the schedule of things on the ship. And you can text wifey, kids, parents ...ect from the app. (Texting is a small fee but worth it)

 

Thanks for posting. You may have noticed that I deleted my entire post prior to the timer running out as I felt it just looked too much like me grumbling but your experience points out the limitations that other don't see... That ubiquitous access at sea is NOTHING like the same thing terrestrially.

 

For those that didn't get a chance to read it, I pointed out (in a longwinded way) that kids these days... have NO IDEA of what it takes. I also pointed out that I worked on a couple of different accounts where we put the first land-to-sea internet and communication systems into place for one of the largest cruise lines back some 12 years ago so if you ever used your internet from Castaway Cay, you've seen it in operation.

Edited June 22, 2015 by ndabunka

[younglegend]

One persons reality is not necessarily anothers. ;)

 

I guess you're right. There's still tons of people walking around with Walkmans and flip phones, and we still open our cabin doors with actual keys.

 

Not everyone likes the idea of Internet everywhere, but that's not going to stop people from using it -- everywhere.