Looks Like Royal Has Changed Internet Options

[johnasmith99]

We are Diamond and are booked on Harmony April 21, 2024.  I have always bought just the basic Surf internet plan for 2 devices, no streaming.  I have also always waited to get it onboard because for Diamond it seemed to be less that way.  Now when I look online I see only Surf & Stream offered.  I have no interest in streaming while on a cruise, I just want email available.  The price is $250 which is ridiculous.  Am I missing anything?  

Edited January 22 by johnasmith99
Typo

[steveru621]

That all changed with Starlink.  It's only called Voom, and it's always cheaper to buy a two-device plan before you board.

[johnasmith99]

Thank you. 

[Pellaz]

I was wondering about this also, since the only option offered for our charter sailing next week is Voom Surf + Stream at a whopping $28/day.  We weren't sure if Royal had dropped all other tiered internet plans or if RC was "sticking it" to us charter cruisers.  

 

• In the past, there's been a combined internet + soda package offered.  Has that also gone the way of he dodo? 
• For those of us who are...bemused...at the higher prices, is it still possible to purchase wi-fi by the hour, a la carte?   
• Also, is it possible to purchase the Surf+Stream plan onboard, on the second or third day?  

 

[Jasukkie]

We all need to stop buying it until they put out an improved product.

 

Virgin Voyages has a much superior internet product that works anywhere on the ship. I thought, okay, brand new cruise line and ship, that's why it's so much better. Then I went on an older Carnival ship, and they also had internet that worked all around the ship, even in cabins. Royal just doesn't compare, even on newer ships. Starlink can't solve the problem of internet not working in cabins. 

[smokeybandit]

All internet is surf and stream.  The old one was a gimmick to get people to pay more for internet.

They just decided that people are going to pay more anyway, so they changed to one plan after Starlink.

[Tatka]

12 minutes ago, Jasukkie said:

We all need to stop buying it until they put out an improved product.

 

Virgin Voyages has a much superior internet product that works anywhere on the ship. I thought, okay, brand new cruise line and ship, that's why it's so much better. Then I went on an older Carnival ship, and they also had internet that worked all around the ship, even in cabins. Royal just doesn't compare, even on newer ships. Starlink can't solve the problem of internet not working in cabins. 

 

We cruise 5 times a year.

In the last several years it was Anthem 3 times, Liberty twice, Enchantment, Adventure .. .I am missing something. We always have internet and always use it in cabins too.

[GetToLivin]

15 minutes ago, Tatka said:

 

We cruise 5 times a year.

In the last several years it was Anthem 3 times, Liberty twice, Enchantment, Adventure .. .I am missing something. We always have internet and always use it in cabins too.

Same. Aside from Mariner where it was a little choppy, internet has been fantastic, we purchase it every single cruise. I have to work from the ship from time to time and it has never interfered with my ability to get work done (and I'm in IT). Just echoing my experience 🤷‍♀️

[Tatka]

I am also in IT. We experienced several days of spotty internet on Anthem in January 2023 when switch to Starlink was happening, but this was it. Even on old Enchantment that was fine.

[LobsterStalker]

53 minutes ago, Jasukkie said:

We all need to stop buying it until they put out an improved product.

 

Virgin Voyages has a much superior internet product that works anywhere on the ship. I thought, okay, brand new cruise line and ship, that's why it's so much better. Then I went on an older Carnival ship, and they also had internet that worked all around the ship, even in cabins. Royal just doesn't compare, even on newer ships. Starlink can't solve the problem of internet not working in cabins. 

LOL....Let me know how you make out with that revolt

[Jasukkie]

2 minutes ago, LobsterStalker said:

LOL....Let me know how you make out with that revolt

I'm more of a quiet quitter. Been cheating on Royal with other cruise brands.

 

[cruiseguy1016]

1 hour ago, Pellaz said:

I was wondering about this also, since the only option offered for our charter sailing next week is Voom Surf + Stream at a whopping $28/day.  We weren't sure if Royal had dropped all other tiered internet plans or if RC was "sticking it" to us charter cruisers.  

 

• In the past, there's been a combined internet + soda package offered.  Has that also gone the way of he dodo? I have not seen that in a few years.
• For those of us who are...bemused...at the higher prices, is it still possible to purchase wi-fi by the hour, a la carte?   Sorry, no. You can buy a 24 hr. block but it's good for 24 consecutive hours not broken up as needed/wanted. The way a lot of people do it is, buy it at 3:00pm (or there abouts) on one day and you'll be able to use it until 3:00pm the next day.
• Also, is it possible to purchase the Surf+Stream plan onboard, on the second or third day?  Yes, the cost is prorated.

 

 

Hope this helps.

[taglovestocruise]

1 hour ago, smokeybandit said:

All internet is surf and stream.  The old one was a gimmick to get people to pay more for internet.

They just decided that people are going to pay more anyway, so they changed to one plan after Starlink.

Note to Royal.. Elon says thank you. 

 

                                                   

[Sunshine3601]

4 hours ago, johnasmith99 said:

We are Diamond and are booked on Harmony April 21, 2024.  I have always bought just the basic Surf internet plan for 2 devices, no streaming.  I have also always waited to get it onboard because for Diamond it seemed to be less that way.  Now when I look online I see only Surf & Stream offered.  I have no interest in streaming while on a cruise, I just want email available.  The price is $250 which is ridiculous.  Am I missing anything?  

If you can do without internet on day 1, just use your phone for as long as it works once onboard, then day 2 use your free diamond day, then buy internet onboard for the remaining days of your cruise it may end being cheaper than buying pre cruise for the entire cruise.

[Morecruisesplz]

1 hour ago, Sunshine3601 said:

If you can do without internet on day 1, just use your phone for as long as it works once onboard, then day 2 use your free diamond day, then buy internet onboard for the remaining days of your cruise it may end being cheaper than buying pre cruise for the entire cruise.

Or only use your 4 free days per D+ couple no matter the cruise length. You can still send email and text. They will go when you connect. 

[PhillyFan33579]

5 hours ago, Jasukkie said:

We all need to stop buying it until they put out an improved product.

 

Virgin Voyages has a much superior internet product that works anywhere on the ship. I thought, okay, brand new cruise line and ship, that's why it's so much better. Then I went on an older Carnival ship, and they also had internet that worked all around the ship, even in cabins. Royal just doesn't compare, even on newer ships. Starlink can't solve the problem of internet not working in cabins. 

I cruise on RCI 1-2 times a month. Over the last year I have cruised on ships as old as Grandeur and as new as Wonder. I have had no issues with WiFi on any cruise and have streamed countless sports games all over ships including my cabin. Just an FYI, all of my cruises have been in the Caribbean. I realize experiences might be different in other parts of the world. 

[Biker19]

12 hours ago, Jasukkie said:

Starlink can't solve the problem of internet not working in cabins. 

Royal has been addressing that by upgrading the networking inside the ship - by now most ships would have had that upgrade.

[Sunshine3601]

7 hours ago, Morecruisesplz said:

Or only use your 4 free days per D+ couple no matter the cruise length. You can still send email and text. They will go when you connect. 

The OP said he/she is Diamond so only one free 24 hour/day pp.    

Yes, it can be shared with another to make it 2 free days.    If they don't want to be online at the same time.

 

[johnasmith99]

Thank you all. Unfortunately we are not D+ so only one free internet day for each of us.  Some good points though, so I am going to try going without buying it this trip.  I just read that onboard messaging is now free so that will help a bit.  Also, I have T-mobile so I get limited cell service when in ports.  

[Pellaz]

As a follow-up, this was the speed we achieved on the Freedom this past week.  I performed this test and another one (similar results) after departing the Dominican Republic for Miami. 

 

Our consensus as a group charter was "not worth the $27/day price."   

 

[Tatka]

This seems like slow. I usually get much better speed. More than enough for browsing, watching YouTube etc. Whether it is worth $27 per day… well… I pay $50 per months for cable internet with 450… If you buy multiple days price is cheaper. Before cruise for 11-12 dayer it’s aeoynd $17.99

[Biker19]

1 hour ago, Pellaz said:

As a follow-up, this was the speed we achieved on the Freedom this past week. 

That was very likely a temporary issue. Even the most throttled ships usually get at least 4 Mbps download speeds. Also, for most browsing, it's that latency that counts a lot even though it is also a bit high (usually less than 100ms -lower is better). Pre-Starlink, latency was running at 200ms at best.

[nelblu]

On 1/22/2024 at 5:46 PM, Jasukkie said:

We all need to stop buying it until they put out an improved product.

 

Virgin Voyages has a much superior internet product that works anywhere on the ship. I thought, okay, brand new cruise line and ship, that's why it's so much better. Then I went on an older Carnival ship, and they also had internet that worked all around the ship, even in cabins. Royal just doesn't compare, even on newer ships. Starlink can't solve the problem of internet not working in cabins. 

Not sure what ship or device you are using, but I've been on 10 sails since the restart and never had a problem with internet connections either with my I-phone or laptop.

[robtulipe]

On 1/22/2024 at 9:50 PM, Sunshine3601 said:

If you can do without internet on day 1, just use your phone for as long as it works once onboard, then day 2 use your free diamond day, then buy internet onboard for the remaining days of your cruise it may end being cheaper than buying pre cruise for the entire cruise.

We did something similar on the 11 night Anthem cruise we came back from earlier this week.

We are Cdn and didn't bother with cell phone coverage plan in US thus it would have very costly to use our cell phone for data. We left our phone on airplane mode with Wi-Fi on for our entire stay in US..

We skipped day 1 as we had free Wi-Fi internet at our hotel before going to Cape Liberty later that morning

Then we use wife's D+ two free 24 hrs for days 2 to 3 and 4 to 5 followed by skipping having it for day 6. 

I then used my two free 24 hrs for internet for days 7and 8 and 10 and 11 skipping having it on day 9.

I could have used my internet credit to get the last three days for $21 but felt we didn't need that.

Doing the above gave us internet while in US for almost all days, except two at no cost.

Edited February 3 by robtulipe

[Joebucks]

For my upcoming 5 day cruise, it is $94.95 for the cheapest option. I like having the internet, but for that price, I might skip out.