Can I upgrade my internet package once onboard?

[dad son team]

While I will be on vacation from work, I will still have school work to do so I plan on getting an internet package so I can upload some assignments. I am thinking the 250 minute package will be enough, but if it isn't, will they let me upgrade to the full package and pay the difference, or would I have to buy another 250 minute package?  The two 250 minute packages would be more than the 1 unlimited (non-streaming) package.

[don't-use-real-name]

250 MINUTES =s 4 hours and 10 minutes is that enough time ?

There are three package plans LINK:

 

https://www.ncl.com/onboard-packages/internet-packages

 

Speed is not all that great - 250 minutes may not be the best choice.

Your cruise does it involve a lot of port intensive time or sea time ?

If port time take advantage of the free services the ports offers to reduce your ship time

and increase the possibility of faster down/up load speeds.

 

You don't have to purchase the plans on line in advance with a discount.

Consult with the internet café manager for works best for your agenda.

 

And the CC readers here may offer a great deal more input to help your make your choice.

[mking8288]

OP,  not sure which NCL ship you are sailing on soon ... if it's either the Gem or Escape, I can safely say the following ...

 

Upload speed is often faster than download, not blazing fast like cable ISP or Fios these days, but usuable for graphics & documents/file transfers - and, I compressed most of my *.JPG before sending/posting them ... "semi live" onboard during our 14 days.  

 

Whenever possible, I looked for, use and take advantage of much faster 4G-LTE cellular connections during our port stops, never failed for us - NOT "free" or paid "WiFi" with a purchase, those tend to be congested & difficult to connect at times.  

 

If you have NCL's "free" 250 minutes plan, it has a $125 trade-up value - upgrade to the unlimited premium/streaming or non-streaming WiFi plan until 10 p.m. of Day 2 - which, for a 7 nights cruise - the cost is about $210, you are charged the difference of about $85 against your OnBoard account (and, if you have (non)refundable OBC - that can be used.  Streaming/VPN plan is $5 per day higher.  If you upgrade or purchase on Day 2, I believed you might be charged only for the remaining days.  

 

Your planned usage & MB data to be transferred should be a good indicator to estimate your needs, and whether it is sufficient or not.  

 

We had a total of about 330 minutes to be used, mainly while at seas - stay offline & connect ... upload, download, then disconnect & read offline (multiple browser pages opened ... difficult to do on a smartphone or tablet, very easy with Chrome or Firefox on a laptop/notebook) and compose, connect ... repeat.  Consumed more than 1.5 GB data with those minutes ... background & cloud backups turned off, apps not updated. 

 

[dad son team]

Thanks everyone.  It looks like I'll be doing the Epic Western itinerary.  I'm not going to be streaming, and my plan was to do as mking8288 said and go online, open up the pages I need then disconnect to do the work, and reconnect when I need to send a word .doc.  Most of my online is posting in my class forums, similar to what we do here.  I'd rather not take the laptop off in port so I'll mostly be on the ship.  I think I may chance it and just buy the 250, and worst case is I will have to buy another 250.

[firstimecruiseronncl]

1 hour ago, dad son team said:

Thanks everyone.  It looks like I'll be doing the Epic Western itinerary.  I'm not going to be streaming, and my plan was to do as mking8288 said and go online, open up the pages I need then disconnect to do the work, and reconnect when I need to send a word .doc.  Most of my online is posting in my class forums, similar to what we do here.  I'd rather not take the laptop off in port so I'll mostly be on the ship.  I think I may chance it and just buy the 250, and worst case is I will have to buy another 250.

Are you getting 250 minutes for free with the cruise? If so, then it makes sense to take that and upgrade to the unlimited package, which will only cost you $85. Why take the chance and then have to pay $105 just for an additional 250 minutes. It will also take the worry out of how many minutes you are using, as well as not having to log off and on. 

[66Cruisin]

I was in the same situation onboard the Epic last year (and will be again in a few days), having to do a few disc board posts and replies for school and uploaded one paper. 250 minutes is plenty of time to handle those things. I wouldn't upgrade unless you have to actually do some research that will require extended browsing.

[BirdTravels]

On 2/5/2019 at 7:37 PM, dad son team said:

While I will be on vacation from work, I will still have school work to do so I plan on getting an internet package so I can upload some assignments. I am thinking the 250 minute package will be enough, but if it isn't, will they let me upgrade to the full package and pay the difference, or would I have to buy another 250 minute package?  The two 250 minute packages would be more than the 1 unlimited (non-streaming) package.

The way the question is written, you seem to want to start with the 250 and them move to the unlimited if you run out of minutes. They will NOT let you do this. 

 

If you have a 250 minute Free at Sea perk, they will allow you to use this as a credit toward an unlimited plan BEFORE you start using the package. You can buy an unlimited plan on Day 1 or 2. 

Edited February 7, 2019 by BirdTravels

[mking8288]

Jamaica, Cayman Island, Cozumel & GSC (coverage as part of Berry Islands) all have very good to excellent 4G LTE coverage - do check your US-based plans on coverage, options & costs; and, take advantage of those ... it is much faster and will be less than paying extra for satellite WiFi.

 

We used - between 3 devices including tethering as a MiFi hotspot on an iPhone SE - an extra 2 GB worth of "roaming" data at 4 foreign ports that just cost $25 only.  We didn't need or wanted to stream - made mostly VoIP (WiFi) calls while docked as a good, solid 3G connection is more than adequate for voice calling. 

Edited February 7, 2019 by mking8288

[CruisingNole]

Other than AOL in the '90s, is there another place that charges for internet BY THE MINUTE in 2019 other than NCL?

 

Inferior stone age technology on those ships.