Wi-Fi of 1 device for 2 passengers vs Wi-Fi for 2 devices for 1 passenger

[lostchild]

If I just buy Wi-Fi for 2 devices for 1 passenger, it is a LOT cheaper than buying Wi-Fi for 1 device per passenger for 2 people.   I am not sure I understand the logic.   Any down side of just going with the 2 devices for 1 plan and the devices would be my phone and my wife's phone?

 

This is on Apex.

[mahasamatman]

No issues.

[NutsAboutGolf]

The only potential issue which is super minor, if one of you are changing devices, say going from their phone to a laptop, it may log the other person's device off when the other person logs on to the new device.  All they need to do is log back on

 

It should also be noted that Window PC's have a hotspot feature where you login your window device to X's internet and connect your smartphones to the windows hotspot.  FYI that the speed will be split and all devices need to be in range of the windows device

[lostchild]

32 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

The only potential issue which is super minor, if one of you are changing devices, say going from their phone to a laptop, it may log the other person's device off when the other person logs on to the new device.  All they need to do is log back on

 

It should also be noted that Window PC's have a hotspot feature where you login your window device to X's internet and connect your smartphones to the windows hotspot.  FYI that the speed will be split and all devices need to be in range of the windows device

Yeah that's okay.   The price difference was pretty significant too for Premium Wi-Fi on a 12 night cruise.   My Pixel 7 could do shared Wi-Fi connection when it is in airplane mode with hotspot on.   Technically, I really only need 1 person 1 device plan and just shared my Wi-Fi if any other devices are within 10 to 20 feet of my phone.  Interesting enough, iPhone does not have that capability.   

[NutsAboutGolf]

1 hour ago, lostchild said:

Yeah that's okay.   The price difference was pretty significant too for Premium Wi-Fi on a 12 night cruise.   My Pixel 7 could do shared Wi-Fi connection when it is in airplane mode with hotspot on.   Technically, I really only need 1 person 1 device plan and just shared my Wi-Fi if any other devices are within 10 to 20 feet of my phone.  Interesting enough, iPhone does not have that capability.   

 

Yup; I had heard (not sure if it's true) that to do this you'd need two "wi-fi radios" and iphone only have one

[Octavias]

Now I’m really confused.  I have an iPhone and an iPad.  Can I just stick with the premium Wi-Fi that comes with my package as long as I alternate which one I’m using and not use them at the same time?

[NutsAboutGolf]

3 minutes ago, Octavias said:

Now I’m really confused.  I have an iPhone and an iPad.  Can I just stick with the premium Wi-Fi that comes with my package as long as I alternate which one I’m using and not use them at the same time?

 

Yes.  We're talking about something entirely different; some devices can work as a WiFi router where it takes an incoming wifi signal and shares it as a hotspot...The iPhone cannot do this, it can only take cellular data and share it to its wifi hotspot

[Octavias]

2 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Yes.  We're talking about something entirely different; some devices can work as a WiFi router where it takes an incoming wifi signal and shares it as a hotspot...The iPhone cannot do this, it can only take cellular data and share it to its wifi hotspot

Oh, I see.  Thanks for the clarification. 

[Bxc53]

We did the ‘ One person, two devices’ plan on a recent  RCL cruise. I’ll assume the plans and rules are the same. It worked great for the wife and I to share with 4 devices total, but only two on line at any one time. You simply log out of one device and log in the other. WiFi calling on the phones worked fine as well, we were able to stay in contact from Vancouver to Hawaii. 

Edited May 18, 2023 by Bxc53

[DaKahuna]

@lostchild The only issue is that instead of each of you having a separate login account, with the 1 person 2 device, one set of account credentials are used for both device logins.

 

 Since we normally book Sky Suites both my wife and I each get the premium WiFi.  Since my wife almost never uses her iPhone or iPad outside the room, I bring a travel router and use her account to connect the travel router to the ship's WiFi.  I then connect her iPhone and iPad to the travel router, as well as my iPad, and all three of those devices can connect to the internet without having to log one device on or off. 

 

I use my account to connect my iPhone to the ship's WiFi and take it everywhere with us.  All our family knows to call or text my phone if they need to reach us us. 

Edited May 18, 2023 by DaKahuna

[suzzek]

Most of this info is clear as mud to me. I’m not sure what a travel router is and wondering if I should purchase one, are they expensive?

 

[mommyloons2009]

I think it is ridiculous what they charge.  Other cruise lines I have been on aren't even near that much.  If I get the basic plan basically all I can do is text and maybe surf the web.  Am I correct on that info? 

[NutsAboutGolf]

2 minutes ago, mommyloons2009 said:

I think it is ridiculous what they charge.  Other cruise lines I have been on aren't even near that much.  If I get the basic plan basically all I can do is text and maybe surf the web.  Am I correct on that info? 

 

Correct on that info; in order to do wi-fi calling you need premium however with basic you can do 3rd party calls like FB or WhatsApp.  I agree I wish they didn't charge for it as near all hotels don't

[NutsAboutGolf]

51 minutes ago, suzzek said:

Most of this info is clear as mud to me. I’m not sure what a travel router is and wondering if I should purchase one, are they expensive?

 

 

Do you have a laptop?  Bring that if so, much simpler than a travel router.  A travel router can be a bit complicated because they can have multiple modes to do different things.  If you get one attempt to set it at home so you know what you're doing once you're on board.  Watching Youtube videos on your router model would be incredibly helpful

[lostchild]

52 minutes ago, suzzek said:

Most of this info is clear as mud to me. I’m not sure what a travel router is and wondering if I should purchase one, are they expensive?

 

Travel router could connect to hotel, cruise, or other internet (wired or wireless) and then create a private Wi-Fi connection for all your other devices to connect to.   It was really popular back in the day when many hotels only has ethernet connections, and when Android OS does not have the same functionality.   They are not expansive and could save you a lot of money especially on cruise when they charge you an arm and a leg for each additional device.   

[Bxc53]

5 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Correct on that info; in order to do wi-fi calling you need premium however with basic you can do 3rd party calls like FB or WhatsApp.  I agree I wish they didn't charge for it as near all hotels don't

Not making any excuses for the cruise lines, but the costs for satellite based internet on the ships is much higher than land based that the hotels use. Maybe the  Starlink being deployed will help bring costs down, eventually. 

[NutsAboutGolf]

12 minutes ago, Bxc53 said:

Not making any excuses for the cruise lines, but the costs for satellite based internet on the ships is much higher than land based that the hotels use. Maybe the  Starlink being deployed will help bring costs down, eventually. 

 

Supposedly starlink is a lot cheaper than past systems yet I do not see them ever lowering the internet price, it'll only go increase like gratuities 

[DaKahuna]

1 hour ago, suzzek said:

Most of this info is clear as mud to me. I’m not sure what a travel router is and wondering if I should purchase one, are they expensive?

 

 

No they are not that expensive when you consider the cost of shipboard WiFi per device. 

 

My Travel Router is an older version of this:

 

https://www.amazon.com/GL-iNet-GL-AXT1800-Pocket-Sized-Extender-Repeater/dp/B0B2J7WSDK/ref=sr_1_5

 

As was said earlier, set it up at home before taking it on a cruise. 

 

The initial setup consist of powering the device up and connecting to it via WiFi or an ethernet cable. Once connected you go to the device admin page and configure the WiFi SSID, or leave it default, and change the default password to something you will remember (make sure it is a complex password/pass phrase).  

 

Once you have done that, you will need to reconnect via WiFi using the new information, and then youo set it up for repeater.  Connect it to your home WiFi using your home WiFi SSID/Password and you should be able to connect to the internet.

 

When you get on the ship, you power it up, connect to it using the SSID and Password you configured.  Once connected you then go to the repeater settings and configure it to connect to the ship's WiFi using the account you created on the ship.   Since there is a logon page, you'lll have to wait a little while until you see the login page on your mobile device and do the same as if you were connecting directly to the ship's WiFi.  

 

Yes, it's a little complicated at first but once you have done it a few times, it's quick and easy.  Plus being able to connect multiple devices to the Internet with only one account, while you are in your stateroom is worth the effort in my opinion. 

 

Maybe one of these day's i'll do a tutorial with pictures on how to do it but it's easy enough to find youtube video's on how right now. 

 

 

[bikerunner]

43 minutes ago, suzzek said:

Most of this info is clear as mud to me. I’m not sure what a travel router is and wondering if I should purchase one, are they expensive?

 

First question is how much do you need multiple devices connected to the internet at one time.  Its not hard logging off and signing onto another device if need be.  I have my phone that most of time is locked in the safe except in AM to go thru work emails and anything at home I need to attend to and then check on it here and there.  I dont bring my computer anymore on trips and try to keep things to a minimum.  

[jenf22]

We couldn't get our travel router to work on Eclipse in Dec/Jan this year.  I've never had a problem with it on NCL.  I wondered if our router was too old.  Anyway, thanks for the tip about the Pixel 7!  We got our son one for Christmas, it would have been great to have used it on this last cruise.

[suzzek]

4 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Do you have a laptop?  Bring that if so, much simpler than a travel router.  A travel router can be a bit complicated because they can have multiple modes to do different things.  If you get one attempt to set it at home so you know what you're doing once you're on board.  Watching Youtube videos on your router model would be incredibly helpful

I have an iPad, not a laptop. Would it work the same way. I’ll check YouTube videos. Thanks!

[NutsAboutGolf]

1 hour ago, suzzek said:

I have an iPad, not a laptop. Would it work the same way. I’ll check YouTube videos. Thanks!

 

If apple is to be believed, no, can only turn cellular data into a wifi hotspot

[suzzek]

3 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

If apple is to be believed, no, can only turn cellular data into a wifi hotspot

Thanks for the info. I’m leaning toward the basic Wi-Fi package. It’s only a seven day cruise to AK and I think we can get by.  Everyone has had great input, which I greatly appreciate!

[arealcheapskate]

We have a travel router for this purpose works great. You can use all the devices you want off one connection. 

[DaKahuna]

14 hours ago, suzzek said:

I have an iPad, not a laptop. Would it work the same way. I’ll check YouTube videos. Thanks!

 

Yes.