NCL Jade Internet Service experience

[catbro]

We are casual cruisers. Our first NCL cruise was 2017. Taking the Jade Panama Canal Cruise this March and for the first time am considering buying NCL social media internet service.

 

I have read NCL FAQ and terms of service but I'd appreciate input from actual passengers who have paid for and used the service. Was the service useful, reliable, accessible from many ares on the ship or a waste of your time and money. Our itinerary has stops in Cartagena, Limon, Harvest Caye, Roatan and Costa Maya. Would I be better off with a Verizon international data package for internet access? 

 

Advise appreciated.

[ddlb]

I used the social media pkg on the Jade - the one where you can use facebook messenger or whatsapp or some others.  I used messenger all the time but it does not allow you to do much of anything else.  I used unlimited internet on the Epic (cost a fortune) but I could do everything with it.  Slow sometimes but allowed me to do my usual stuff on my ipad when I wasn't doing ship stuff.

[catbro]

Thanks DDLB,  Does the itinerary have any impact on the quality of the service? 

 

[senseib]

17 minutes ago, catbro said:

Does the itinerary have any impact on the quality of the service? 

 

It can.  Weather is a big factor but satellite coverage is also important.  Marine communication companies are placing more satellites over the Caribbean because of the increased demand by cruise ships.  So service in the Caribbean is likely to be better than other destinations.  A lot has to do with how the cruise ship is controlling your usage of the internet and the service level you select.  Once in port your service is dependent on the land cell providers and your carrier, not the cruise ship.

[VideoTech]

We have always gotten either an internet package or unlimited internet on all our NCL cruises. We use it mostly for email, and more recently for FB messenger texting with those back on land. Service for those purposes is fine. Web browsing is slow, but doable if you're patient. Can't speak to any other uses such as Skype, Streaming, or anything else...don't do those.

 

Keep in mind regarding any cellular company International Data packages: These will only be useful when you are in port. You can't use them on the ship. 

[Oakman58]

As VideoTech said, the Verizon Plan will only work in ports.  Even then it might not work as promised.  I had the Verizon International Plan when we did a Panama Canal cruise from Miami to LA.  As the ship arrived at each port I would get a text from Verizon with a message welcoming us to (name the country).  Yet when I would try to send text messages to my daughter back in the states my phone would just say sending and not sent.  It wasn’t until our 10^th day of the cruise when we arrived in Acapulco Mexico that all of my text messages were finally sent.  My daughter texted me that all of my messages came in at the same time.  When we arrived in Cabo San Lucas texting didn’t work again.

     To Verizon’s credit, when we got back home I called Verizon and complained and they removed the charge for the International Plan from my bill.

[ddlb]

14 hours ago, catbro said:

Thanks DDLB,  Does the itinerary have any impact on the quality of the service? 

 

I think the time of day used made it slower. If you get the wifi as a perk you should absolutely upgrade it to unlimited. Its worth it watching your minutes tick away while connecting or worrying about forgetting to logoff. I took your cruise and do nor remember having any problems. I did not skype or steam and downloaded a few movies from netflix before i left home. Also used iphone or ipad not a laptop which may be slower not sure.  

[catbro]

My primary usage would posting/viewing on instagram & facebook while on the ship. Thanks for all the input!

[catbro]

Actually, my NCL cruise summary page shows 0 internet packages available for this itinerary. Not sure what this means. 

[ddlb]

14 hours ago, catbro said:

Actually, my NCL cruise summary page shows 0 internet packages available for this itinerary. Not sure what this means. 

Not sure how far out you are but they will show up maybe 80 days before sailing like the offers to bid if not in plenty of time to book online to get the discount.  For 7 day cruises I got the 250 min perk valued at $125 and then I think I paid like $80 or something for unlimited but you have to do that once on the ship.  If you buy the minutes it's $105 or something online but they still allow you a value of $125 to upgrade to unlimited.

[catbro]

It's 65 days out from the sailing and shows 0 packages available. I guess I'll call to find out.

 

[travelnap]

catbro, I was on the Jade a little over a month ago doing the same cruise that your are doing.  I did purchase an internet package of 250 minutes.  There were a few glitches at first but overall it was the usual internet experience.  Not the fastest uploads or downloads, but I was able to connect throughout the cruise without any problems so I think you will be fine.  I did not post to any social media accounts so I can't comment about that.  Initially I had problems connecting to CC from the ship but the internet manager was able to help me switch over to a google search engine from the older IE that they have and it worked fine after that.  Enjoy your cruise, I know I did.

[herdingdogmom]

9 hours ago, catbro said:

It's 65 days out from the sailing and shows 0 packages available. I guess I'll call to find out.

 

I'm 58 days away from sailing and noticed today the internet packages are now showing as available with the 15% discount.  Maybe they show up at 60 days out?

Edited January 5, 2019 by herdingdogmom

[Peachypooh]

Just a friendly hint because we made this mistake more than once ...make sure you logout when you are done. Either by clicking the logout button if using the ship computer or typing in logout.(or follow any other directions they tell you). If you forget or it doesn't close properly all your minutes will run out. The computer tech will usually credit you  a one time reload but then you are on your own if it happens again.

 

[All-ready2cruise]

Absolute best hint!! If you don't log out after using the internet.... say good-bye to your minutes. Sure the IT person may give you back some of your minutes, ONCE but, after that, it's on you.   The only way to by-pass this problem is by getting the internet promo (250 minutes) and upgrading it, once onboard, to the unlimited; something I'd encourage anyone who uses internet more than just a little.  JMO but... been there, done that and worked well without worry. Believe the cost is around $130 additional for 7-day cruise. 

 

Enjoy your cruise