Rare Ken the cruiser Posted January 17, 2022 #1 Share Posted January 17, 2022 We have booked unlimited Wi-Fi on our Nov cruise on the Jade. Now I’m reading on various CC NCL threads about streaming. If we don’t plan on streaming any videos while we’re on our extended cruise, is there any need to worry about upgrading? For example, can I post to the cruise critic boards without upgrading? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare BirdTravels Posted January 17, 2022 #2 Share Posted January 17, 2022 10 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said: We have booked unlimited Wi-Fi on our Nov cruise on the Jade. Now I’m reading on various CC NCL threads about streaming. If we don’t plan on streaming any videos while we’re on our extended cruise, is there any need to worry about upgrading? For example, can I post to the cruise critic boards without upgrading? No need to upgrade. You can post to CC fine with just the standard wi-fi. Streaming is only needed for certain functions like streaming video, wi-fi phone calls, video phone calls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ken the cruiser Posted January 17, 2022 Author #3 Share Posted January 17, 2022 19 minutes ago, BirdTravels said: No need to upgrade. You can post to CC fine with just the standard wi-fi. Streaming is only needed for certain functions like streaming video, wi-fi phone calls, video phone calls. Thanks! That’s good news to hear!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Illbcruzn4life Posted January 17, 2022 #4 Share Posted January 17, 2022 if you upgrade the wifi is it fast enough to stream or would they block that sort of stuff? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktpc2005 Posted January 17, 2022 #5 Share Posted January 17, 2022 Is the regular internet OK if you want to listen to music on apps like Spotify or SirusXM? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallux Posted January 17, 2022 #6 Share Posted January 17, 2022 2 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said: For example, can I post to the cruise critic boards without upgrading? I seem to recall that accessing CC doesn't even require a WiFi plan... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ken the cruiser Posted January 17, 2022 Author #7 Share Posted January 17, 2022 16 minutes ago, hallux said: I seem to recall that accessing CC doesn't even require a WiFi plan... Really? How would that work if we’re, for example, cruising through the Suez Canal or along the east coast of Africa? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallux Posted January 17, 2022 #8 Share Posted January 17, 2022 7 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said: Really? How would that work if we’re, for example, cruising through the Suez Canal or along the east coast of Africa? The servers on the ship that block the rest of the traffic are configured to allow traffic for CC through. You can connect to the ship's WiFi for the entirety of the cruise, actually accessing stuff from the internet is what requires a plan... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ken the cruiser Posted January 17, 2022 Author #9 Share Posted January 17, 2022 Just now, hallux said: The servers on the ship that block the rest of the traffic are configured to allow traffic for CC through. You can connect to the ship's WiFi for the entirety of the cruise, actually accessing stuff from the internet is what requires a plan... Cool!! 😎 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kclovesken Posted January 17, 2022 #10 Share Posted January 17, 2022 So to be able to contact family, whats app, text or FB or something, would you need an upgrade? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare KeithJenner Posted January 17, 2022 #11 Share Posted January 17, 2022 Access to Cruise Critic varies. I have been on cruises where it can be accessed without an internet plan all the time and others not at all. On some cruises I have seen it (and some other social media) opened up on the last couple of days. In those cases there is often mention in the freestyle daily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlseymour3 Posted January 17, 2022 #12 Share Posted January 17, 2022 6 hours ago, Kclovesken said: So to be able to contact family, whats app, text or FB or something, would you need an upgrade? I don't think that's what people are saying. You need an internet plan. You presumably have one with the current Free on Board offerings. In the past when I've sailed with Norwegian you could select some, but not all, of the FOB offerings based on your cabin. So if you didn't choose the plan as a FOB, you would need to buy one. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kclovesken Posted January 17, 2022 #13 Share Posted January 17, 2022 5 hours ago, jlseymour3 said: I don't think that's what people are saying. You need an internet plan. You presumably have one with the current Free on Board offerings. In the past when I've sailed with Norwegian you could select some, but not all, of the FOB offerings based on your cabin. So if you didn't choose the plan as a FOB, you would need to buy one. Ok thanks :0) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Traveling Man Posted January 17, 2022 #14 Share Posted January 17, 2022 13 hours ago, hallux said: The servers on the ship that block the rest of the traffic are configured to allow traffic for CC through. You can connect to the ship's WiFi for the entirety of the cruise, actually accessing stuff from the internet is what requires a plan... I have never tried that, but I sure will on my next cruise. I do know that the computers in the Internet Cafe on NCL ships are set up to allow access to the NCL website without the need for an internet plan. Unfortunately, however, the access speed is interminably slow. I mean click on a link, read a couple of pages of your book, look back at the screen to see if anything has happened, read a couple more pages, and finally notice that you have moved one screen closer to your objective. A typical search sequence that might take five to ten seconds on your home WIFI connection can take ten minutes or more when you access the NCL website on board a ship without first logging in to your internet plan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare KeithJenner Posted January 17, 2022 #15 Share Posted January 17, 2022 In my experience you can reach the NCL site from your own device. You don’t need to me on a computer in the Internet cafe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zqvol Posted January 17, 2022 #16 Share Posted January 17, 2022 18 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said: We have booked unlimited Wi-Fi on our Nov cruise on the Jade. Now I’m reading on various CC NCL threads about streaming. If we don’t plan on streaming any videos while we’re on our extended cruise, is there any need to worry about upgrading? For example, can I post to the cruise critic boards without upgrading? As long as you are not trying to stream video there is no need to upgrade. Message boards, email, normal Internet pages, etc all work OK. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcakes122 Posted January 17, 2022 #17 Share Posted January 17, 2022 16 hours ago, hallux said: I seem to recall that accessing CC doesn't even require a WiFi plan... I think you are thinking about accessing NCL. Cruise Critic is not affiliated with NCL and there's nothing special in NCL internet protocols that allow free access to Cruise Critic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ColeThornton Posted January 17, 2022 #18 Share Posted January 17, 2022 1 minute ago, pcakes122 said: I think you are thinking about accessing NCL. Cruise Critic is not affiliated with NCL and there's nothing special in NCL internet protocols that allow free access to Cruise Critic. Over time I've read many people indicate they were able to access this site without a package. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ken the cruiser Posted January 17, 2022 Author #19 Share Posted January 17, 2022 I just checked and we have upgraded to the Unlimited WiFi package for both legs of our B2B on the Jade. But I can't tell if it includes streaming. For reference we upgraded from a 500 minute plan included with our booking. Is there anyway of telling which type of service we will be receiving, regular or streaming? This is what's listed on our confirmation. 1 x Unlimited Wifi Package Upgrade: From 500 Minute Plan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlseymour3 Posted January 17, 2022 #20 Share Posted January 17, 2022 3 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said: I just checked and we have upgraded to the Unlimited WiFi package for both legs of our B2B on the Jade. But I can't tell if it includes streaming. For reference we upgraded from a 500 minute plan included with our booking. Is there anyway of telling which type of service we will be receiving, regular or streaming? This is what's listed on our confirmation. 1 x Unlimited Wifi Package Upgrade: From 500 Minute Plan I think that just gets you unlimited time. I think the one you want for streaming is "Unlimited Premium Wi-Fi Package" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ken the cruiser Posted January 17, 2022 Author #21 Share Posted January 17, 2022 Just now, jlseymour3 said: I think that just gets you unlimited time. I think the one you want for streaming is "Unlimited Premium Wi-Fi Package" Thanks. But since we won't be "streaming" anything, my understanding is we should be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ColeThornton Posted January 17, 2022 #22 Share Posted January 17, 2022 Here's what each plan offers from NCL.com: https://www.ncl.com/onboard-packages/internet-packages 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcakes122 Posted January 17, 2022 #23 Share Posted January 17, 2022 15 minutes ago, ColeThornton said: Over time I've read many people indicate they were able to access this site without a package. I've never heard that, but the only thing I can think of is that with the Latitudes program there used to be free minutes. Maybe people thought Cruise Critic was free but they were actually just accessing their free minutes (no package needed.) One other point to mention in regards to the internet packages you linked, it is not necessary to purchase a "weekly package" to use the internet. You can just buy minutes. (For all the people freaking out that they no longer have free minutes with their Latitudes benefits, you do not have to buy a "$$ per day x length of cruise" package when all you really need/use was the 60 minutes for the entire cruise. Just buy 100 minutes or even pay by the minute.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallux Posted January 17, 2022 #24 Share Posted January 17, 2022 5 minutes ago, pcakes122 said: Maybe people thought Cruise Critic was free but they were actually just accessing their free minutes (no package needed.) It's pretty difficult to mistakenly use the free minutes, you have to activate it and do a login sequence to use the minutes. Since some don't believe us, I did the forum search for you so I could find a thread on it, here's another recent discussion on this - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare KeithJenner Posted January 17, 2022 #25 Share Posted January 17, 2022 As I stated earlier, free access to Cruise Critic (and some other sites) is a thing. Not accidental access or people not realising that they were logged in, but a deliberate move by NCL. It isn't all the time. I have seen it available all the time and also not at all. Other times I have seen it offered towards the end of the cruise. I believe that the idea is that people go online and tell everyone what a great time they are having. It certainly does (or at least has in the past) exist. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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