Hi guys, i'm leaving for a 10 night cruise next week with royal carribean and i was just wondering what the best way to get internet aboard was since their onboard expenses for internet is ungodly. Would data roaming work on a prepaid sim card? Thanks guys
How to get Internet on a south pacific cruise?
givemethebestdeals on 01/02/2017 - 15:03
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yes this is the main thing i'm looking forward to about the cruise. Reliving life like it was the 90's! no internet everyone being social and interactive although i will need internet and i will be expecting an important email while on the cruise. I'll just use data roaming while at one of the islands. Thanks for the reply
Yes, enjoy life without internet and where all you do, is eat, sleep and be entertained. It really depends on where your cruise is going, if it is hugging the shores, you will probably still get mobile reception, but if you are travelling on international waters, you are out of luck.
is new caledonia considered international?
For the purpose of mobile roaming, international = not Australia.
ok thanks does data roaming work on prepaid sim cards?
@givemethebestdeals: Yes it can by prebuying credit but it is shockingly expensive. Have a look at your carrier's prices, be shocked, recover, and then reconsider.
If you have a plan with Vodafone, you might be able to use $5/days if that country is covered.
Another possibility is Telstra's International Roaming Browse Plus Pack: 100MB for $29 over 30 days which can be paid using the credit on a $30 starter pack (might be able to get this on sale < $30). Enough to check your email.
Yes. The blue bits on Google Maps a few kilometres out from land between Australia and New Caledonia is where you will get no reception apart from the cruise ship's mobile tower, which will cost you an arm and a leg for megabytes of data. Yes, I said it right, megabytes.
would anyone have general tips about the cruise? It's my first one and i don;t know how to prepare myself to save time and money
Smuggle onboard your own booze? It has been a while since I went on a cruise, not sure how stringent they are now. If you are going to New Caledonia, and plan to go scuba diving on your excursion, bring your own scuba gear. Tours booked onboard are always more expensive than the operators at the port. If you plan to go to a specific restaurant onboard, book your table the night before(This tip won't save you money, but will save you disappointment).
Buy the largest bottle of sunscreen you can (2L perhaps). Empty out the contents, clean thoroughly - fill with the spirit of choice. Enjoy!
+1's please.
If you get motion sickness try booking your room as close to the middle of this ship. Might want to get some over the counter medications like kwells. Took 48 hours to get my sea legs otherwise had a blast with RC.
Might want to buy a a compact microtowel during your excursions to save you time from lining up for a cruise towel and have early access to lifeboat tender.
If you a baby/toddler book for the child care in advance before the cruise. It'll most like be booked out once your on the ship. Enjoy!Just came back from an RC cruise in SE Asia.
Couple things to remember:
1. take your own lanyard with a pouch for your cruise card
2. think about your drinks package. Frankly this is one thing that pissed me off. As a non-drinker the drinks packages were all crap and grossly overpriced.
3. a cruise is a bit like being trapped in an enormous resort hotel - with the occasional excursion outside for good behaviour (and for which they will charge you landing fees)
4. they also charge an auto-grat per person, per day. So unless you expressly kick up a stink, your cruise is going to cost you a tidy sum extra.
5. Don't take a power board or extension cord in your luggage. They will detain your bag, confiscate the item, and treat you like it was a bomb or a kilo of heroin.
I think those were the key things that offended my scroogey-ness. It was fun and we had a good time - but the above were annoying.i think we've already paid for the auto gratuity. they gave us an option of paying before hand (lump sum of $60 or something pp), any other nasty charges awaiting for me aboard the boat?
I was told by my friend to bring my own powerboard btu thanks for that tip!Must be a very short cruise if you paid $60 upfront. It is $12.50-$13.50 pd pp usd.
Sign up for crown and anchor loyalty program. You'll get nothing for your first cruise, I'm reasonably certain.
Go to RCI website, log into, "my cruises". You can do this even if you booked through a TA. You can generally get 30% off internet if you do it pre cruise. I have only not bought the internet plan once, when I was emerald level and my partner and I each got one day of internet free. And I had bought a NZ SIM card.
You are allowed two bottles of table wine or sparkling wine per cabin per voyage. This means two if there are 1 or 8 in the cabin. This means 2 if the journey is 1 night or 24. Go through the X-ray machines separately. Everyone over 18, pack two bottles. Security do not reconcile. It's two bottles per person if you go through separately. Not officially, just IRL. You can not bring sprits or fortified wine on board through this program.
The free fee drinks if you are not a crown and anchor member of gold or above is the captains receptiin. You can drink as much of their crappy sparkling as you can stand fir about 69-90 minutes.
Ensure you have lots of credit in your credit card available. Every night they will get a hold for that date charges. Then at the end they charge you the whole amount. So if you were to spend $2000 on board, you would have $2000 on hold and get charged $2000. You would not get the on hold amounts released for 7-10 days.
Do not exchange money on board. Every island will take "real money", ie Aussie dollars.
On the ships, you will need a us adapter. I think the only RCI ship in Aussie waters that has USB ports is Ovation.
thanks for this, my dad will be happy to know he can bring wine on the cruise liner!
we've opted to pay everything with cash on the boat to manage our cash flow.Ok, just space yourselves out. You pretty much check in together, then fill out immigration forms then go through immigration then security. Go through security separately. You will have plenty of opportunity to space yourselves out. Just stay in the area where you fill the forms out, then wait fir a few groups to go. Then the next party member go through, etc.
Do not pack your two bottles in your checked luggage. You will likely get your luggage delayed.
Depending on how desperately you want free/cheap internet, google "ip over dns"
It requires a bit of technical knowledge, but it's straight forward and there's pre-made scripts/apps that do most of the work.
i was able to get internet on royal carribean for about $15 a day which isn't too bad, but it is satellite internet so the connection isn't great.
if you try and smuggle booze onboard they won't deliver your bag to your room, you'll have to go see them to get it back and they'll take away the booze and give it to you when you get back
check the main dining room menu each day and if you see food on there you like, go and eat there (should also be open for lunch when you're at sea). thats usually the best food on the ship. if you don't like anything on the menu, you can always go to the buffet.
alcoholic drinks package isn't cheap (about $65/day) but if you're an alcoholic like me it works out ok, and you can sneakily get drinks for your partner by visiting multiple bars.
is food outside the set dinner times complimentary? or will they be coming out of our wallets? I understand that there are certain 'fancy' restaurants onboard and that you would have to pay to dine there but would food at the buffet or main dining are be free? thanks
I believe all RC ships are basically the same.
They have the main dining hall for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Its fancy and a la carte.
They also have the Windjammer Café which is a large self-serve buffet for pretty much any other time.
Apparently it is very common for cruisers to stack on the weight.ahh so the windjammer cafe is free i take it? or extra $$$ per person thanks
Eat as much as you want, whenever you want. Buffet etc is free game.
As for internet, don't use the ships network for anything. It's slow and will cost a heap. Plenty of wifi access in Noumea (Cafes, pubs etc). As for bringing drinks, you will get checked in OZ. After that it's fair game. For example, I put a bottle of bourbon and vodka in my back pack, and had a 4 pack of beers in my hand in Noumea (supermarket is across the road, good for wine, spirits and mixers) and Fiji no issue, not a word. Pt Villa is by far your best duty free option. If you buy before 3pm it gets sent to the ship. If you buy after 3pm, you 'have to carry it on yourself'… but you will be asked to hand it in for collection at the end. So just before 3pm, pay a taxi driver $5 to take you into villa and grab a 6 pack on the way. Give him a beer to wait for you, and say you will give him a beer if he drops you back (I guarantee he's going back there anyway..it's a win win). Buy your allowance of 2.2litres, plus one more bottle. Get in the taxi, and have a laugh with your driver over a quite beer (my guy took me on a detour to his place for a quick cava, never met him in my life, but felt like a best mate). Legit stuff too, not the rubbish they let you try at tourist places. With 2 beers left, give one to the cabby in good will, pop one yourself. Walk on the ship. They will say 'please hand your drinks in to the guy at the desk at the end'.. no worries, give him your 2.2 litre allocation. Keep a bottle in the bag and walk up to your room (they are far too polite to check, nor do they care). I haven't been on RC, but on Princess and Holland America I've never had a problem, except being asked except the hand in at Pt Villa. If I have left over drinks at the end I give them to my room cleaner. My first cruise I did the ole 'hide it in a freezer brick' idea, but after that just carry it on now.
When cruising the Mediterranean I grabbed a bottle of wine here and there and brought it onboard. Now you can't take the bottle to dinner, but you can take a glass. I was the only one doing it the first night, by the second there was maybe 10, 20 on the 3rd etc…funny to watch my antics go viral!
Since your cruise is departing OZ you should have no issue cancelling the gratuities at the front desk as it isn't an Australian custom. But I would say, give your favorite people a few $ as they get paid very little. With all the $ you save on booze, Cash out your on-board credit at the casino and div it up to the crew.
As for shore excursions, don't be a muppet and pay the cruise line tour prices. Either pre book them with websites like Viator / Shoretrips etc. If it's a tender, let the front desk know you have a pre booked tour to get off earlier (doesn't have to be a cruiseline booked tour if you give them advanced warning). If you have local cash (use your Citibank + card at Noumea and Villa ATM's) and just pay someone when you get off. Ask them how much, smile, then divide it in half, add 5%, it will get you in the ball park.
Have fun, you'll love it.
the main dining room and buffet are free, they will have extra restaurants onboard which cost extra (but not very much) if you do go to one of these johnny rockets is good, and so is izumis.
also on the main dining room, remember all the food is free, if you want to order two entrees or two mains, they don't care. on my last cruise there was a few times i saw someone else order something nice and I wanted it and they are more than happy to bring it for you.
oh and another thing mentioned by someone below about cancelling the included gratuities. unless you get bad service somewhere, or you really can't afford them, please don't do this. the staff on the ship get paid hardly anything, and the included tips get distributed around to more people than just the ones you see. remember that its an american based system so tipping is expected and they pay their staff less based on this. if you go on a similar cruise on another cruise line you'll be paying more than these included tips just to get onboard.
Any shipboard deals you post would be unavailable to most ozbargain users….
You can access free Internet in Noumea, Vila and Luganville at pubs and restaurants. The park in the middle of Noumea also has free wifi….you can get 1 day (24hours) at a time $15au onboard or cheaper in a package pre purchased through your Cruise Planner in the RCI site. You can carry on 2x700ml bottles of wine or champagne on embarkation..drink anywhere on the ship, no corkage. If you drink beer Fosters is the cheapest way….it is Texas USA brewed and nothing like Aussie Fosters…it is similar to XXXX or Corona and comes in what is called an Oil can…700mls (long neck size) for about $9.10au ;) :) Enjoy your cruise.
Every cruise I've been on, the bags have been xrayed on a conveyor belt as you come back on board at every port. Makes sense security wise.
If you are in a suite, other than a junior suite, you have access to the concierge lounge which offers a 3.5 hour free piss up every night. Once you are diamond, you can go to the diamond lounge, for same 3.5 hour piss up, regardless of cabin. When you are diamond plus, you can use either concierge or diamond lounge regardless of cabin. Many prefer the diamond lounge because the concierge lounge allows children in who are guest suites.
Room service is free, except for like 12-6 am. There's a small surcharge regardless of order size. Ovation was offering premium selections at an extra cost, with less of the traditionally included items available.
Premium coffee costs. Free squeezed juice costs. Ben & jerrys ice cream costs. Johnny rockets outside of breakfast costs.
Go to cruise critic for specific info on your journey and sign up for the meet and mingle.
I got off Voyager of the seas just in December 2016. I took a copy of the flyer that shows the cost of internet. Linked on my dropbox. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/220472/royal-carribean.p…
We went on Voyager of the Seas to South Pacific in December 16.
for internet, pre-purchase before your trip is cheaper than buying on board (If you travel in Suite on Ovation, free wifi is included)
food is available most of the time. There will down time eg 1 hour before lunch and about 4-5.30ish. Windjammer will be closed and there won't be any food even at Suite lounge. You can still order room service but it normally takes 40m+
more about food. If possible, go to the main dining room for lunch and dinner. Go to windjammer for the time when the dining room is closed. I find it to be more hygienic as it's a la carte - they give you a menu and you choose what you entree/main/dessert you want to have. Edit 2: some food and drinks (even at main dining room) are extras, meaning you have to pay additional $ for it, not part of the cruise.
another info about food. Some restaurant charges fix fee and you can order whatever you want in whatever amount like Johnny Rocket. I thought the food was ordinary but people I've met raved about the chili. Get in early as the chili ran out by dinner time.
as mentioned, bring your own lanyard. They sell their own RCI ones about USD8+ depending on the design
don't bother bringing power board. It'll get confiscated (a table full with power boards to be claimed on disembarkation). But having said that, we took a mini powerboard we got from target that only has 2 power points and 2 USB slots and it managed to pass through.
edit 1: bring your USA plug converter. We forgot ours. You can borrow from the ship and they'll hold usd20 as deposit. You'll get it back when you return it. They sell plug converter on board for about usd15ish. Cheaper to buy here.
you can bring the ship towel to the beach at New Caledonia and they'll require room number for it. They'll charge you if you don't return the towel.
Having said all that, go with no internet if you can. I had withdrawal but by the end of the cruise, I realised I've had a really good rest. No internet to distract me at night.
As we have now done over 20 cruises advice would be to wait until you're in a port. Then visit a local restaurant,bar or MacDonalds & use their free wi-fi. Ship internet is notoriously slow in connecting which results in you losing valuable connection time. We are lucky enough to gain 250 mins free. With Princess as they are our major choice of cruise line & have gained Elite status - even then it ran out quite early on in our recent cruise because of the time taken to even connect.
In April we're going on Ovation of the Seas - Royal Caribbean. This time there won't be any free internet time as it's only our 2nd time with this line, so will wait until each port to catch up & deal with everything.
With regard to drink packages - we always do. Also get our own on board in luggage for our personal cabin use, but you have to be pretty savvy in the containers used so they are not detected through security - never had a problem getting on apx. 5 litres of spirit.
Enjoy your cruise & don't forget the Panadols for the hangover!
No one's mentioned purchasing a prepaid sim at your location so I will. :) I'm not sure what your itinerary is, but here is the internet section from my review for a trip I went on mid last year. It's for a different cruise line so some of the more specific details will be not applicable, but I have things like a packing list that you may find useful. :)
My top tip would be to bring a snorkel! I really enjoyed snorkeling at the islands. You should be able to get snorkel+fin combo sets for about $20 to $25 since they're actually in season at the moment. (I went during winter and the only snorkel I could get was at Anaconda..sigh.) If you're traveling with someone, get them one too cos it's no fun being the only one snorkeling. XD
** Internet/Wi-Fi **
An alternative if you don't need the internet that much, and if you're going on the same itinerary, is to buy a SIM in Vanuatu. Your phone has to be unlocked from any other provider. We chose Digicel, which gave us 200MB and 400 Vatu of calls for 700 Vatu (about 8.50AUD). There are a couple of Digicel retailers and one large Digicel shop (conveniently beside an ANZ for currency exchange) on the walk from the wharf to Luganville town, and also a Digicel kiosk at Unity Park. All of them only accept Vatu so you’ll have to have some/change some. We actually got a French Mother's Day bonus so we got 400MB, but don't count on there being a promo when you're there. 200 Vatu for the data package + 500 Vatu for the SIM card. An alternative is the Tourism SIM (1GB) for 1000 Vatu, but I can't find info about this on their website. We went with the cheaper option since didn't expect to use that much, ended up using about 280MB or so. Didn't use the calls, but the internet reception was okay. Especially with the larger ports, it was available on board for hours even after leaving the port. Probably traveled close to shore/a cell tower.
|| Mobile Internet reception at various ports: ||
Luganville, Port Vila: 3G
Champagne Bay, Mystery Island: G
I've just booked a South Pacific RCI. Raise and wasn't v pleasantly surprised to find that prepaying voom internet was "just" $12 AUD per day. Really happy with this. As a crown and anchor member who gets 1 day of free internet per trip, they will give me an onboard credit of $20usd if I ask. Very happy. This is for one device.
you only get one device, but when you're in your stateroom you can do what I did and connect my phone to the wifi, and share the connection to my tablet and the wife's laptop via bluetooth. that way we could both be online at the same time
I could never use the hotspot feature on RCI ships. Are you talking about tethering? I'm stoked about $12 AUD pd. it's also Voom, which is fast enough to stream, usually. I'll be able to hopefully stream. The Walking Dead, depending on whether Foxtel recognises the wifi as domestic or foreign. .
hotspot is sharing 3G/4G internet over wifi, i'm talking about sharing wifi internet over bluetooth.
I think all their ships that come here have voom now, but don't expect to be able to stream anything during the day when all the kids are online facebooking, instagrumping and twittering. internet speeds were only ok at night time
I don't think foxtel would let me on the app, and I couldn't connect to a vpn provider from the ship (not sure if it was blocked or not, i'd never tried to use it before)
@terminal2k:
The radiance circumnavigation cruise was treated by Foxtel as Australian internet and the Ovation sin-per was not. So if you share over Bluetooth, you font necessarily have to be in your stateroom, just near each other, is that correct? I'm always offering to let international peeps use my phone to call home because I don't use my international minutes and if I can Bluetooth them, I can help some of those people who waste their time in port checking their emails. I don't like letting anyone use my devices. The % of kids should be lower as it is not school holidays.oh you can do it anywhere, I just didn't take my laptop or tablet out of the room, so when I was elsewhere on the ship I just used the phone.
@terminal2k:
You can Bluetooth phone to phone, can't you? I heard you can message via Bluetooth without internet, but I can't be without internet. Thanks
I just got back from the 11 night Voyager of the Seas cruise around the south pacific.
Other than getting internet in ports the cheapest way would probably to share the internet amongst a few people. You can only use one device at a time, however, you can easily log out on one device and log in with another easy enough. So coordinate with a few people.
Unless you need the internet for work, you really don't need it though.
Also with the gratuity, you can request it be removed at the service desk. We just paid our waiters and room cleaner ourselves.
Enjoy!
No, not unless you are in port. Roaming requires connection with a mobile tower. Why not just enjoy the disconnection from the noisy Internet?