Getting connected
Cruise operators answer calls for better Internet service
While most cruisers are positive, ask them what bugs them most about cruising, and one of the answers will be “the Internet.”
On ships, Internet access can be slow, costly and have poor connections. Prices can range from 55 to 75 cents a minute, and in 50to 500-minute packages, the cost is adjusted by the number of minutes.
Viking Cruises, the new name covering both Viking’s river and ocean cruises, has determined that Internet connection bugs passengers so much that it’s offering free web service on the Viking Star, the first oceangoing ship that’s to launch in 2015. On Viking’s river ships, the Internet is always free, as the ships are within yards of shore, so connections, while balky at times, are local.
But Viking isn’t alone in improving Internet access. On many ships you can now connect from anywhere — your room, the bar and so on — and the cost is usually the same. This happens in an age when all generations are connecting online to family and friends, including by streaming video, and expecting WiFi to be faster and cheaper.
Royal Caribbean’s chief information officer, Bill Martin, in a recent interview with Information Week, indicated his company had increased its bandwidth sevenfold this year. The cruise line is piloting fibre-like service on Allure of the Seas, with test packages for $49.95 a day, or a seven-night unlimited data package for $179. Per-minute usage rates are 65 cents.
PHIL’S PICK OF THE WEEK
Since they were launched as the world’s two biggest cruise ships, the popularity of Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas has kept price points higher than most ships in the fleet.
Here’s a reasonable deal, with prices available at time of writing and based on per-person, double occupancy. It’s a seven-day cruise on Allure of the Seas and leaves Dec. 1, 2013, from Fort Lauderdale. Ports include Labadee (Haiti), Falmouth (Jamaica) and Cozumel (Mexico). Starting price: $690 (balcony, $819).
See a cruise travel agent or go to Royalcaribbean.com.