My family has been on several cruises over the years, beginning when my youngest was just a baby. We used to look forward to disconnecting from the world while on the cruise without phone and internet service. But then as our kids aged and cruise internet packages decreased in price, we gradually added internet back into our cruise vacations.
We have a cruise coming up in a few weeks, but this time, we’re vacationing like we did in the “old days” without any internet or phone service.
Why are we skipping the internet?
The cost is outrageous. The price varies by cruise and date. For our upcoming cruise on Royal Caribbean, the internet plan for one device is $189 for the week. We can add multiple devices (up to 4 devices total) for a cost of over $525. Nope! I’d rather use that money for an excursion or literally anything else.
On past cruises, we’ve purchased a plan for 1 or 2 devices and shared the plan. But I don’t remember the cost being this high!
What about emergencies?
Cruise ships have an emergency number you can give to family/friends in case they need to reach you while you’re at sea. We plan to give this number to our pet sitter and our family. Two of our excursion locations also have free WIFI, so we can check messages on those days as well.
Alternatives to Internet on Board
Most of the time, we will be enjoying ship activities and port excursions. The internet is really just for downtime. I told my kids that they can pick out a book from Amazon to bring along. We can also download Netflix shows to our phones to watch offline. But aside from that, we’re “stuck” with the limited TV that Royal Caribbean offers in staterooms. We will survive.
Bottom Line
I’m looking forward to disconnecting on our upcoming cruise. My kids will adjust and find other things to do in their downtime.
Do you ever go without the internet/phone on vacations?
Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
Buy package for one mobile device, turn on your hotspot, and voila, you have Internet on all devices.
@Mantis that is a good idea, but I don’t even want to pay for one. 🙂 Plus we’re in different cabins.
The choice is obvious – internet is a luxury at sea, and if some willing to pay for it it’s fine. For most people it’s not necessary and even frees yourselves from the hectic media-checks. Vacations should be different from everyday life, relaxing and exploring.
Did couple cruises past year both without internet packages. One day I had to do some work for few hours, so I’ve used mobile network and GigSky (free 15-day plan with some credit cards). You can also catch wi-fi or/and use mobile network at most of the ports, with most locations offering free texting (to family and friends). So it’s really never a day without an emergency back-line available.
And we don’t watch TV at home, hence no need for TV on cruises or at hotels either. Life adventures are way more interesting then fake shows and mindless internet scrolling.
Happy travels!!
@Aleks Internet at sea is definitely a luxury and in my case not worth the price.
We didn’t buy the internet package and spent miss having it at all. I like that it forces everyone to disconnect from electronics, myself included!
@Jennifer Sounds good!
We go without internet/phone on vacation all the time. I don’t check email, social media, news, etc. Basically if the phone/internet activity isn’t vacation related, it’s not happening.
Ahhhhh… freedom.
@projectx Sounds nice! I try to keep internet/phone to a minimum, but my kids are worse about it.
Wow!!…thank you Nancy for the heads up. My daughter is going on a cruise in 3 weeks.
@GBSanDiego Some ships and cruise lines have cheaper internet and special promos for internet. On my last cruise to Alaska, I didn’t have to buy a package since I got phone service in the Alaska ports.