Warning FYI

[asalligo]

I have bought the Premium plan the last three cruises on the Dream, the Paradise and the Elation and it has worked fine as long as you understand that ships internet is not land internet. Speed tests max out at about 1 to 3 mbps per second even with the premium package, so something like a Facebook page will take about 10 to 20 seconds to load.

[Crusin Hogs]

Please don't encourage people to use their cell phones in port while roaming. If they're carrier plan doesn't cover that area, they will incur heavy charges that rack up to very big bills.

 

Also, are you sure you were receiving Hub app chat messages five hours after leaving the ship? Because the Hub app doesn't work unless connected to the ship's wifi.

 

ATT users can call home from US Virgin Islands , Pureto Rico , Cozumel and several other islands ..no roaming charges ,,same as local calls at home

[Organized Chaos]

ATT users can call home from US Virgin Islands , Pureto Rico , Cozumel and several other islands ..no roaming charges ,,same as local calls at home

That's good for people to know, but not everyone sails to those locations or have a carrier that covers them. So telling everyone to use their phones in roaming while in port isn't a good idea. Telling them it'll save them money compared to on board wifi, when in fact it can possibly cost them a lot more, is also a bad idea. That's the first time I've ever seen anyone on these boards tell people not to worry about the costs of roaming. Bad advice.

[Bobbylah]

That's good for people to know, but not everyone sails to those locations or have a carrier that covers them. So telling everyone to use their phones in roaming while in port isn't a good idea. Telling them it'll save them money compared to on board wifi, when in fact it can possibly cost them a lot more, is also a bad idea. That's the first time I've ever seen anyone on these boards tell people not to worry about the costs of roaming. Bad advice.

 

To me, that read as 'here is some potentially useful info, contact your carrier for clarification on your particular situation'. I don't believe the intent was 'hey just plow forward using roaming without a care in the world, you'll be ok'. There are options. People need to do their due diligence. If you don't and get charged per your contract terms, suck it up. You made the mistake, no-one else. Too many snowflakes out there not taking responsibility for their actions.

[grandmarnnurse]

That's good for people to know, but not everyone sails to those locations or have a carrier that covers them. So telling everyone to use their phones in roaming while in port isn't a good idea. Telling them it'll save them money compared to on board wifi, when in fact it can possibly cost them a lot more, is also a bad idea. That's the first time I've ever seen anyone on these boards tell people not to worry about the costs of roaming. Bad advice.

My phone completely shuts down once away from the USA. I have Straight Talk without the International plan, so even when I cross the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls over to Canada to do a little gambling in the Casinos, my phone goes dead. I can only use it for photos.

[stargate fan]

My husband purchased the Hub App chat option on a cruise last year. He had constant issues with the connection. On the last night of the cruise, I went to Guest Services and inquired about the chat issues. The agent contact IT on the ship who confirmed there was a problem with the service. I was not offered a refund for the chat portion, but I requested the refund and was given the refund on our S&S account.

 

Moral of the story...be proactive. No one else in our group requested the refund. We did, and we got it.

 

Did they give that refund as OBC? If so, then it's not much of a refund. "Here's your money back. Just go spend it with us elsewhere." :) Unless you know to use the casino cash-out trick, any "refund" issued as OBC is going right back to Carnival.

The refund was not obc.

It showed up as a credit on our S&S statement, hence our final bill was that amount less.

[coevan]

They gave me the middle plan for free one day due to some kind of issue last year. It was sure slower than what I use at home. That is how satellite internet has generally been. It still worked. It's good to see that new technologies are coming.

 

 

Do some research, this is not true at all. I have been on many boats with Satellite which is very fast. Hughes Net runs about 20Mb, which is fast enough to stream. Actually LITE is fast enough to stream

[Organized Chaos]

To me, that read as 'here is some potentially useful info, contact your carrier for clarification on your particular situation'. I don't believe the intent was 'hey just plow forward using roaming without a care in the world, you'll be ok'. There are options. People need to do their due diligence. If you don't and get charged per your contract terms, suck it up. You made the mistake, no-one else. Too many snowflakes out there not taking responsibility for their actions.

I wasn't referring to Cruisin Hogs' post. I was referring to the OP's first post because she straight up told people to "save your money, wait for a port and use your roaming feature." That's just bad advice. In addition to what Cruisin Hogs mentioned, if someone's carrier plan covered those locations, just as if they were at home, then they wouldn't be roaming, like the OP suggested to do.

[beans79]

I have a hard time understanding why some people are so concerned about what other people do on their vacations.

 

 

 

For me it’s to stay connected with my child who is staying at home with her aunt. I want to check in with her.

 

 

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[fragchild]

"but I believe Apple has made some changes since then and that's why Carnival doesn't support it."

another WHAT? what does Carnival have to do with Apple? Do you think Carnival knows what kind of device you are using?

 

They absolutely have the capability to know what device you're using. You're using their network and their filtering software.

[Saint Greg]

They absolutely have the capability to know what device you're using. You're using their network and their filtering software.

 

Yep. And they should be able to track you as your phone moves between different access points on the boat.

[lazydays2004]

Thanks for the review. We were on Triumph in October, I bought the social media plan which worked fine just a bit slow. It makes me wonder if Carnival changed something. I had planned to buy it for my upcoming trip but now I'm having second thoughts.

[salty dingo]

It may be a blessing in disguise to have a chance to go through a day without being tethered to a phone, and connected to others.

 

To me, the sea invites solitude not often available in every day life. Why not take advantage of that while you can?

[Drazil65]

Both services were useless. When we tried to use Facebook and Instagram, the wifi ground so slowly that it was impossible to use it.

None of this is new info and there have been dozens of threads regarding this issue. Post it notes and verbal instructions to those we are sailing with for meeting times and any other communication to each other still works like a charm;p!

[Cyber Kat]

Not understanding why someone could not go 7 days without FB or internet for that matter.

 

 

 

Before we retired that was a huge perk of cruising, away from cell phones and computers for 7 glorious days. We still enjoy that when cruising.

 

 

 

Think about it.

 

 

 

And I don’t understand why someone with no interest in using internet on a ship would bother reading and posting in a thread about using the internet on a ship.

 

I don’t have to think about it. I want internet on a ship and it’s no ones business why I want it or how I’m going to use it.

 

Everyone has different wants and needs. Think about THAT instead of assuming everyone should be like you. SMH!

 

 

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[Cyber Kat]

It may be a blessing in disguise to have a chance to go through a day without being tethered to a phone, and connected to others.

 

 

 

To me, the sea invites solitude not often available in every day life. Why not take advantage of that while you can?

 

 

 

Umm. How about because I don’t want to!

 

 

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[Organized Chaos]

It may be a blessing in disguise to have a chance to go through a day without being tethered to a phone, and connected to others.

 

 

To me, the sea invites solitude not often available in every day life. Why not take advantage of that while you can?

We have no desire to check emails, browse websites, use fb, or anything like that. We just want simple, reliable communication. Mainly between us while on board, especially with our son, but also with a few people back home. We’re taking our son’s friend this time and it’d be nice if he could keep in touch with his parents.

 

As far as being on board, yes we know there’s always notes and verbal communication, but we don’t mind paying to use a technological advantage, whether that’s the Hub app chat or wifi. It’d be nice if whatever we purchase is reliable and delivers what they say it will.

[Hopep84]

My husband always purchases the most expensive plan (I never get anything) and we have never been happy with it. It does work, sort of. Ha. We own a movie theater and often times if something goes wrong with one of the computer systems, he can fix it from his phone (ain't technology grand??). I always wonder if location on the boat has anything to do with it? Like if we got a cabin closest to the business office would that equal better internet?

[riclop]

Nothing new , Carnival just takes your $$$.

[Swissmiss6253]

Smash those weaving machines!

 

We like the internet and find it adds to our experiences so always buy it.

[Lottacruises]

The phones in the room are around 1,99 a minute. That may be a good way to do a quick check in back home

[momonthego17]

For me it’s to stay connected with my child who is staying at home with her aunt. I want to check in with her.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

 

 

We have scheduled a time to call from the phone in our room every morning to our kids before they would go to school. It costs $1.99 a minute and we kept it short and sweet but it did the job.

Have a great cruise!

 

 

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[grandmarnnurse]

Smash those weaving machines!

 

We like the internet and find it adds to our experiences so always buy it.

We love our internet——at home. On vacation, we totally unplug enjoy all that life has for us out there.

[maldenmusic]

Been on several different Carnival ships and the Triumph was the one we had the most trouble with the wifi.

[firefly333]

Ive always waited for the ports and for the price of a drink, or coffee, or in cozumel i go to the internet cafe (downtown internet is free).

 

For about $5 to $7 I can get up to unlimited wifi in ports.

 

I dont use my roaming service on my phone, i have a old fashioned tracfone ... so for those of us who still use tablets and wifi ... yes ports are great, i saw unlimited in Roatan in the Carnival port last time for very cheap for instance. like $5? Lots of cheap options in ports besides roaming.