Jump to content

Free WiFi


Twogreynomads
 Share

Recommended Posts

Now that customer pressure seems to have got rid of the dreaded auto gratuities surely it's time to try to sort out another bugbear,the charge for WiFi on board.i can go to any local cafe or burger bar and as a customer get free wifi and yet I can easily pay 2k a week for a cabin and still have to pay to get on line. There is not even an allowance for regular customers, I am on Baltic level and about to go on my 51st p & o cruise and have never had so much as a voucher for the odd free hour.

I think that overall p & o offer great value and we really enjoy their ships but they don't seem to realise they are missing a great marketing tool.

Viking and other upmarket brands already do free wi fi, why can't p & o lead the way in the popular market sector

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well that was a surprise, after all the moaning I have heard recently on board about the high price of wi fi on the ships I thought I would get at least some reaction to my post.

I can only think that selbourne is correct in his posts about auto grats when he says that people need to remember that obc is YOUR money not p & o s. Just because you may have paid for wi fi or other things out of obc it does not mean that it is free. Think of what else you could have spent it on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Personally, I can't say that I am remotely interested in accessing wi-fi aboard. In fact I would be delighted if neither wi-fi nor mobile phone signals were available. That however doesn't mean that I cannot appreciate they are important to others.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think people forget about the huge cost of satellite wifi to the company, let alone limited bandwidth. Even captains have to pay for personal use. "Free" wifi would only add to the cost of the cruise. Just compare P&O with Saga.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Now that customer pressure seems to have got rid of the dreaded auto gratuities surely it's time to try to sort out another bugbear,the charge for WiFi on board.i can go to any local cafe or burger bar and as a customer get free wifi and yet I can easily pay 2k a week for a cabin and still have to pay to get on line. There is not even an allowance for regular customers, I am on Baltic level and about to go on my 51st p & o cruise and have never had so much as a voucher for the odd free hour.

I think that overall p & o offer great value and we really enjoy their ships but they don't seem to realise they are missing a great marketing tool.

Viking and other upmarket brands already do free wi fi, why can't p & o lead the way in the popular market sector

 

Ok I have nothing better to do..how do you access the internet onboard a ship..via satellite. How does your local burger bar access the internet..via telephone cable. Now which do you think is cheaper to supply.

Equally if everyone on the ship had free wifi how slow do you think it would be then. Not everyone would use it, but enough to make it more than useless. As stated if you want "free wifi" go on a ship that supplies it..however that cost is built in to the price you would pay for the cruise. plus neither Saga or Viking are big big ships, so less people trying to get online at the same time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Twogreynomads;56838591

I think that overall p & o offer great value and we really enjoy their ships but they don't seem to realise they are missing a great marketing tool.

Viking and other upmarket brands already do free wi fi' date='[/u'] why can't p & o lead the way in the popular market sector

 

You seem to have answered you own question, as even you say they offer great value.

Other top upmarket brands tend to charge more hence you are paying for what you are seeing as "free wi -fi".

As for why P&O are not jumping at the chance to be a leader in free wi-fi ?

That is something they have possibly looked at and thought they do not need to sell cruise's .

The owners of P&O, Carnival would most likely choose one of their more upmarket brands anyway.

Taking into account what Sharon says and Britboys, personally I prefer the lower cost and should I ever have the need for

"free wi-fi" , then I wait until in port and follow the crew off the ship to a good free wi-fi café they use.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't really care how much the Wi-Fi costs P&O, if others like Princess, Celebrity, RCI etc can offer free minutes to their upper tier loyalty members,then so should they.

They don't want to. its their cruise line. I don't base my choice of cruise on whether I can get free wifi as a perk.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I co-run a small business so do need to be in touch every few days. I never pay for wifi as it's so expensive. If I can't find a coffee shop or bar ashore with free wifi, I pay £1 for a day's data which is enough to deal with any emails etc.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't bother with WIFI on sea days. As soon as we dock I check online stuff on my phone. I have a good deal with my mobile provider so I don't get charged in Europe and only pay a reasonable amount in the rest of the world. Interestingly if you are in a French Caribbean island the phone company classes that as being in Europe so again I don't pay extra. Lord knows what will happen after Brexit!!

 

Peter

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't bother with WIFI on sea days. As soon as we dock I check online stuff on my phone. I have a good deal with my mobile provider so I don't get charged in Europe and only pay a reasonable amount in the rest of the world. Interestingly if you are in a French Caribbean island the phone company classes that as being in Europe so again I don't pay extra. Lord knows what will happen after Brexit!!

 

Peter

 

No-one knows yet. Your good deal with your mobile provider isn't one really. They were forced to do it by the EU. Some just jumped earlier than others to make them seem more giving.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wouldn’t want P & O to either give free free WiFi or cheap wi fi. The band width is limited. If I need it I buy it so that I can use it at a reasonable speed. Not fast but generally okay to do what I need to do. If it was free it would be so slow as to be useless.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wouldn’t want P & O to either give free free WiFi or cheap wi fi. The band width is limited. If I need it I buy it so that I can use it at a reasonable speed. Not fast but generally okay to do what I need to do. If it was free it would be so slow as to be useless.

 

Very good point, on Azura last week it was extremely slow on sea days or just as we were leaving port (presumably as lots of passengers were posting stuff about their day on social media). Even with a signal booster in our cabin various websites were taking minutes to respond (which felt like a long time given that we are all used to immediate access these days).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It seems like a lot of people are addicted to social media.

 

I feel sorry for the people who have to access it for work even when they're on Holiday.

 

I'd hate to be on a ship where there was unlimited Internet and I certainly wouldn't want to help pay for it.

 

There's so much to do, get out and experience reality :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Customer Service from P&O is chronic with reference to WiFi on board.

 

I cruised on Oriana in a Suite in March this year and the WiFi signal was patchy at best. Add to the mix was the fact that I couldn't update my WordPress websites as P&O won't open the necessary server ports on their systems to allow WordPress to work.

 

After complaining to The IT person on Oriana, I was advised that they would ensure they were opened for my next cruise, which I have just returned from.

 

Guess what - still the same problem persists!

 

Dave

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think it's very liberating to go on a cruise and stay off the internet for a fortnight. So relaxing.

 

Quite agree. Just think, if there was free WiFi on board, there would be people wandering the ship with a phone glued to their ears, and do we really want half of the table at dinner on their iphones just like in restaurants at home?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Whilst I quite agree that I don’t want people on their phones in the dining room, it’s a personal choice to pay for internet on board, and it’s not harming anyone else

 

I like keeping up to date with news, with a sick friend, with the office. That’s my choice and doesn’t make me a “sad” person. I’d rather do that that sunbathe. I also research future ports, organise tours; send photos of speciality meals to friends. My choice, my money. It’s a better use of my money than wasting time on shore looking for free wi-fi

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree, less options for internet usage on board has its advantages.

 

 

 

I wonder though, how long before P&O have an onboard app like RCL and DCL have. The Iona and her sister would probably be the ones to have it.

 

 

And no one will want to chew through their mobile data, so free onboard wi-fi enables increased usage of their app.

 

 

What if they offered an option of 'free' wi-fi instead of OBC? That way, you've got options.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...