Cruising and internet access

EH75 · Wednesday at 21:48

jpaul said:
so does this mean you can't even watch anything decent on the tv's that are presumably in all the cabins ? most of folks would presumably want netflix and not just CNN/BBC.

courtesy of this thread, I now understand why I hadn't seen daily pictures of food/surroundings from relatives on cruise ships, how much does the in ship entertainment cost in comparison,
to what looks like preposterous £14/pd wifi

They have on demand TV in the cabins with box sets etc loaded but yeah Netflix etc isn't going to work unless you lay for the most expensive WiFi package and bring a fire stick or something (I know people who do this).

Honestly though - you're on holiday. By the time you've been ashore on tour and then with dinner and entertainment in the evenings etc there's little time for Netflix.

Participant · Wednesday at 22:31

EH75 said:
Not possible. Each crew member will have an individual login.

You just have to seduce them.

Quartz · Wednesday at 23:05

EH75 said:
Bringing a personal starlink antenna wouldn't be allowed

It's explicitly called out as being banned in one of the videos on the Tips For Travellers channel, which is why I mentioned it.

Sinbad2000 · Thursday at 08:41

Quartz said:
It's explicitly called out as being banned in one of the videos on the Tips For Travellers channel, which is why I mentioned it.

What's the reason for that, apart from profiteering?

Quartz · Thursday at 09:24

Sinbad2000 said:
What's the reason for that, apart from profiteering?

I'd have to re-watch the video to be sure but I think it is indeed pure profiteering.

200sols · Thursday at 09:28

Of course its profiteering. Take P&O. They're charging £20 a DAY for the 'ultimate' package of wifi. They dont want to lose that.

jpaul · Thursday at 10:27

EH75 said:
Honestly though - you're on holiday. By the time you've been ashore on tour and then with dinner and entertainment in the evenings etc there's little time for Netflix.

on a land-based holiday you might go for an after dinner stroll, in a warm climate anyway -in absence of that, I'd suggest people are earlier to bed

Sinbad2000 said:
What's the reason for that, apart from profiteering?

presumably you'd have to be on deck outside in the sun with a surreptitiously packaged antenna + power supply - it's not going to work through a porthole.

Sinbad2000 · Thursday at 10:28

jpaul said:
on a land-based holiday you might go for an after dinner stroll, in a warm climate anyway -in absence of that, I'd suggest people are earlier to bed

presumably you'd have to be on deck outside in the sun with a surreptitiously packaged antenna + power supply - it's not going to work through a porthole.

We always book balcony rooms

(My wife gets a bit claustrophobic)

Firestar_3x · Thursday at 14:33

jpaul said:
on a land-based holiday you might go for an after dinner stroll, in a warm climate anyway -in absence of that, I'd suggest people are earlier to bed

presumably you'd have to be on deck outside in the sun with a surreptitiously packaged antenna + power supply - it's not going to work through a porthole.

Spot the person whos never been on a cruise ship.

ZXSpectrum · Thursday at 15:24

If its just to keep in contact for emergencies or to text then you can get a Telenor/Red bull Esim. Its 5 euros for 250mb or 15 euros for 1Gb of data. When we went to Britannia there were loads of kids with them to text their mates or parents onboard.

Telenor Maritime Internet

WIFI on cruise ships - Stay connected while cruising - Internet on the ship with eSIM of RedBull MOBILE Data

esim.redbullmobile.com

Other than that there is normally a 4G signal when in port.

Kenai · Thursday at 15:32

jpaul said:
on a land-based holiday you might go for an after dinner stroll, in a warm climate anyway -in absence of that, I'd suggest people are earlier to bed

I'm no fan of cruises but ffs, it's not a cross channel ferry with some slot machines and a crap cafe, there's things to do on the ship other than eat and sleep :cry:

EH75 · Thursday at 16:26

Kenai said:
I'm no fan of cruises but ffs, it's not a cross channel ferry with some slot machines and a crap cafe, there's things to do on the ship other than eat and sleep

Quite. On some cruises it's been known for the bar to still be open at 5am when we are approaching the berth for the next port!

krooton · Thursday at 16:49

Plenty of the friends we made on our last cruise, were all 5+ years older than us, would party to 1am most nights.

We're boring though and tend to be in bed at 10pm regardless of hols or not

jpaul · Thursday at 18:01

coincidentally in news today : surprisingly genz aren't into action vacations.

Cruise executives say older Gen Zers, now in their late twenties, and millennials are increasingly choosing ocean-based vacations, pulling down their average passenger age even as populations in the core markets of Europe, Asia and North America get older.
Article content

Almost a fifth of 25- to 34-year-olds surveyed by United Kingdom travel association Abta had taken a cruise in the past 12 months, up from less than one in 20 in 2019.

Feek · Thursday at 18:03

Sinbad2000 said:
Just watch out if you elect to use roaming, that you don't roam onto the ship's onboard mobile provider (if it has it - the two P&O cruises I've been on have done so).

It's trump white house decoration levels of expensive. Like £10 per megabyte. Or more.

On the ferry to the Channel Islands, they actually announce via the tannoy that people should switch off roaming because it’s very expensive!

ZXSpectrum · 2025-11-14T09:17:38+0000

Firestar_3x said:
Spot the person whos never been on a cruise ship.

This!

jpaul · 2025-11-14T10:20:05+0000

EH75 said:
Spot the person whos never been on a cruise ship.

I need to interrogate family members who have ..
but the multiple tv shows about cruise ships the remote sometimes selects show communal organised entertainment - have been to one cancan type show in Monacco,
but I wouldn't consider repeats as an attraction on a cruise ship, an onboard theatre play perhaps.

Sinbad2000 · 2025-11-14T10:27:33+0000

jpaul said:
I need to interrogate family members who have ..
but the multiple tv shows about cruise ships the remote sometimes selects show communal organised entertainment - have been to one cancan type show in Monacco,
but I wouldn't consider repeats as an attraction on a cruise ship, an onboard theatre play perhaps.

The entertainment schedule on the P&O cruises I've been on is insane.
Every day there's a programme dropped off outside your cabin. It's usually at least 4 densely packed a4 pages.

Sample:

All P&O Arvia Horizon Newsletters from a Mediterranean Cruise

We share all P&O Arvia Horizon Newsletters from our Mediterranean cruise, with the full list of

cruiselifestyle.co.uk

Chrisc · 2025-11-14T13:44:44+0000

alex24 said:
Tell them to enjoy their holiday instead. I’ve done multiple cruises and never wanted for WiFi, plenty of better things to do!

I can understand if you’re staff of course.

We did a caribbean cruise two years ago. i absolutely refused to buy the wifi package. I am a doom scroller but whilst on holiday i want to be far away from it.

after two weeks, even my 14yr old at the time told me how much better he felt for having a limited service.

its freedom! Enjoy your bloody holiday!

InkZ · 2025-11-14T13:58:57+0000

I bought an iPad with 1TB storage so I could download loads of Netflix before I go as well