Change in Provider and Options for Onboard Internet Being Reported

[anricat]

Also depends on how savvy the person looking is. Not hard to backdoor around the lockdowns. Just like the cops are doing right now with the suspect in the Uvalde school shooting. If it is on the internet, ANYONE can access it if they try hard enough.

If someone is really THAT savvy, they probably already figured out my work schedule and when I might be out during the day. I think you're giving way way too much credit to your garden-variety burglar. Most of them are not the brightest bulb on the christmas tree.

Besides, I spent all my money on a Disney vacation. Not much left in my humble home to burgle. The mouse already took it all!

 

[lilsonicfan]

High time Disney made its crappy internet better. The 50mb free was…well on our last cruise I wouldn’t even say I appreciated it because every time I tried to actually use it to check email or surf, it didn’t work (but ate the mb anyway). I’d certainly pay for a reliable option.

 

[dina444444]

Hopefully these will be the options on the Wish. If it’s at all similar to what I had on the Oasis on RCCL in 2016 I’ll be happy.

 

[tvguy]

If someone is really THAT savvy, they probably already figured out my work schedule and when I might be out during the day. I think you're giving way way too much credit to your garden-variety burglar. Most of them are not the brightest bulb on the christmas tree.

Besides, I spent all my money on a Disney vacation. Not much left in my humble home to burgle. The mouse already took it all!

Well, not a burglar but until I retired I spent some time backdooring Social Media doing stories. It isn't as hard as you made it out to be.

 

[AquaDame]

I'd bet most burglaries are just right place right time - they case a house and if it looks like no one is home, they try their luck. Or it's someone in your neighborhood that already knows your routine/what items of yours they want to snag. The one time someone tried to break into our house I was at home at the time and they high tailed it when I slammed against the door asking them what the (expletive) they thought they were doing.

I don't always go online on my vacations but when I do, I'd rather my money go further. 24 hour segments work well for us, since we can buy it once or twice and put the phones entirely away the rest of the time. What I don't appreciate is the name 'stay connected' that then takes away one of the basic ways of staying in touch - email. That should absolutely be included at all levels IMO, especially when traveling! If my flight is delayed I get an email... not a text or message on Facebook!

 

[Intr3pid]

This is great if they can put a better package in place for our summer Iceland cruise. Will be nice not to live in a cave for 11 days.

 

[cwis]

Can confirm. On a Magic, provider changed right when our second B2B cruise started.

Currently between Corsica and Sicilia, not using the WiFi as I do get faster 4G, here is a speed test I made a few minutes ago:



I'm not really looking forward to getting Internet on the ship (I'm fine when we're near land/at port and we can have 4G), though my wife definitely wants to stay connected and it has been one of her complain on the first cruise that she had to pay attention to how much she was going to “eat” her 1GB internet package. She looks very happy to be able to make en “extra donation” to Bob Chapek and no longer care about how many bytes are in transit.

A few interesting things to note:

• you need to select how much concurrent devices you need (that's not “unlimited” for your phone, watch, game console, tablet, computer… if you chose 1 device you need to chose which one)
• …but when you hit the device limit, it's very easy to disconnect all the other devices, you get a button when you try to login which allows you to do this

So if you, say, wants to share a connection, but not actually use it at the same time, you're good to go with paying only for 1 device.

Also, accounts are not “tied” to your Disney account/stateroom, so you can share the same plan with member of your parties (and, theoretically, with strangers, if you dare… that would give you some discount, though, if you're really in need of saving some dollars but still be connected).

And last, yes, the 50MB free tier is gone and has not been replaced. Overall everything is more expensive with these new plans BUT it's way more convenient.

 

[cwis]

On another note, it's funny because we just ate brunch at Palo's. We've seen so many people taking “Instagram” pictures on deck!! Some of them looked very funny, up to the point the wait staff couldn't resist to laugh about it and they were like “omg we've got to get back to work”.

 

[tinkerone]

I'm glad they changed it but it still isn't great. Pretty costly for something that doesn't stream IMO. I always purchase the Surf and Stream package when we sail RCL. We have a B2B on the Symphony of the Seas in Oct and I am paying $19 Canadian (about $15 US) for the Surf and Stream package. It is fast and unlimited. I like to watch movies in the evening and it's not always a Disney movie I want to see. I like to check in at home most days so Facetime is a must.
Do any of the packages cover these things?

 

[DVC Doc]

FINALLY. But this new offering still pales in comparison to what other lines have. I recently cruised Virgin Voyages where basic internet is free and premium is available for $10-15/day (or free for suites as we were). I had no problems using FaceTime or streaming movies from Netflix and the like anywhere with their service.

According to DCL blog, the DCL service does support FaceTime and YouTube, but not “long form” streaming services.

 

[tvguy]

Anyone know what the going rates are for renting a mobile satellite internet Hot Spot? I have to think that could be a better bargain.

 

[Kwami]

Anyone know what the going rates are for renting a mobile satellite internet Hot Spot? I have to think that could be a better bargain.

Well, but you need a receiver that's pointed to the sky to get a satellite signal. It won't work indoors at all.

 

[tvguy]

Well, but you need a receiver that's pointed to the sky to get a satellite signal. It won't work indoors at all.

Out on the deck or a balcony should work. Although on some of the Disney ships, folks have reported. the Internet doesn't work indoors very well either, LOL.

 

[Doingitagain]

So with the new plan, can we buy a $10 package one day, skip a few days, then buy a $40 package for the next day? Trying to see if is on the Wonder and we can buy the premium package the last day only for our video with telehealth for COVID test…it is a sea day and cellular won’t work.

 

[mmackeymouse]

Well, $20/day if you want to do anything that isn't social media, like checking in for flights or getting your emails. So that's $80 for a 4-day Bahamas cruise, which is roughly equivalent to the old 1GB package, but with unlimited data and a (probably) faster and more reliable connection. So, I think the new system will be better for a lot of people, but worse for folks who only used the smallest data packages with the current system.

Right.

I just happen to fall into that small segment of people who use the minimum on any given day. So, it's nice for me to have the usage-based plans.

I think with this system I will just forego the internet altogether, and rely on my cellular service once we get back into American signal space. If that means I lose out on a lightning lane or end up with a C group boarding pass...well, it is what it is.

 

[Kwami]

Right.

I just happen to fall into that small segment of people who use the minimum on any given day. So, it's nice for me to have the usage-based plans.

I think with this system I will just forego the internet altogether, and rely on my cellular service once we get back into American signal space. If that means I lose out on a lightning lane or end up with a C group boarding pass...well, it is what it is.

Your mobile carrier might have something that lets you connect in foreign ports, at least. It won't help you with the final day check-in for your flight, though. Maybe it's worth the $20 for just the final day?

 

[cwis]

So with the new plan, can we buy a $10 package one day, skip a few days, then buy a $40 package for the next day? Trying to see if is on the Wonder and we can buy the premium package the last day only for our video with telehealth for COVID test…it is a sea day and cellular won’t work.

I can confirm you definitely can mix-and-match your packages.

We went with the $20 package for the first day, then the second day we bought the $20 package again. DW tried to download an app from the App Store which wasn't allowed, so she upgraded to the $30 package (paid only the difference), and fortunately the download went through.

For those fortunate that telework from ships (and for those unfortunate that needs to work from their vacation) I can also confirm you can use a VPN using the $30 package (haven't tried using the $20). I'm not saying this is a way to watch “Netfilx” (as they say, typo included) because it would probably be against Disboards policies of not breaching Disney's policies.

 

[DCLMP]

I can confirm you definitely can mix-and-match your packages.

We went with the $20 package for the first day, then the second day we bought the $20 package again. DW tried to download an app from the App Store which wasn't allowed, so she upgraded to the $30 package (paid only the difference), and fortunately the download went through.

For those fortunate that telework from ships (and for those unfortunate that needs to work from their vacation) I can also confirm you can use a VPN using the $30 package (haven't tried using the $20). I'm not saying this is a way to watch “Netfilx” (as they say, typo included) because it would probably be against Disboards policies of not breaching Disney's policies.

Most importantly does it work better than the old system? I had a lot of connectivity issues on my last cruise.

 

[cwis]

Most importantly does it work better than the old system? I had a lot of connectivity issues on my last cruise.

I was not using the previous system as counting megabytes never felt like vacation to me.
My wife used both (on our back to back, first cruise used “internet at seas” and now we have “onboard iCafé”. Said she wasn't too impressed but feel relieved not having to track usage and remember to log in/log off everytime.

 

[TheSpooph]

I wonder if this will permanently ‘fix’ the glitch that allows iMessage. Has anyone tried to use iMessage with the new provider without purchasing a package?