I was recently interviewed by Travel Weekly, a travel industry publication, about social media and the need to keep our guests connected while they are at sea. One of the things we discussed was that over the last 10 years we’ve found many of our guests are no longer looking for a vacation that offers an opportunity to disconnect and get away from it all. We also discussed why social media has become a crucial part of our marketing strategy.
You can read the article here.
Let me know your thoughts on taking a vacation that offers a way to disconnect from your everyday world and how you use social media to share your vacation experiences.
I love taking my laptop and iPad on the cruise and staying connected with people. I do wish it was easier to get connected at sea. You have to sign up for a user name on the ship and then log in and choose a payment plan. It is very expensive to stay connected at sea. And you have to use Internet Explorer. I usually use Google Chrome. It would be nice if it was easier to connect while on the ship.
Thanks for listening!
Beth
(Elizabeth Lamenskie)
Diamond Plus member
We appreciate your comment, Beth, and we will be sure to keep it in mind as we head towards the future.
I would agree with you about people liking to share their Royal Caribbean cruise experiences while they’re cruising. I’ve used your ship Wifi the last 4 cruises I’ve done with Royal Caribbean and will do so again during my 2 November cruises. It’s been really cool to be able to post comments telling about the great places I’m getting to see or some of the cool things I got to do on the ship. I remember big time the fascinating free tour of Serenade of the Seas galley I got to take and raved about on the Internet. I think this does help you sell your product because people can trust more what folks like me post. We’re not going to hide or downplay the warts we discover or go over the top about things we really like. I look forward to using the faster new Internet service you’ll be offering. Question for you: Are the ship Wifi rates the same in Europe as they are in the Caribbean and the U.S.? Just wondering what they’ll be like on Splendour of the Seas when I sail on her in November.
Hello Ronald, to see our rates, please click here and please note that pricing is subject to change. Thank you.
Thanks Adam for the link to your WiFi rates. I didn’t know if you had a set rate fleet wide or if it depended on the area. I knew the rates were the same for Alaska and Caribbean but, I’ve never cruised in Europe before. I saw your unlimited soda package was more expensive for Europe so, I wondered if your WiFi packages would be more expensive too.
Hope you didn’t mind me trying to answer the one lady’s questions about the WiFi on your ships. I know a little about it so I thought I’d chime in.
Lastly, thanks for the reply. It’s neat to hear from you. I can’t wait to go on my first European cruises with Royal Caribbean. It’ll be something to sail past the Ducal Palazzo in Venice. I look forward to telling folks on Royal Caribbean’s Facebook page about my new adventures as they happen. The cruises should be a serious blast. God bless.
I moderated the CMO panel for Cruise Shipping 2012 earlier this year, and your social efforts were discussed. I was so incredibly impressed with RCCL’s consistency of message through all the marketing touch points, it’s now my key example of best practices of integrated marketing communication in marketing class lectures. I just used it again yesterday with a class of Executive MBAs, and the usually talkative class hushed when The Sea Is Calling came on, and I had their full attention as we drilled all the way through the subway campaign and social. RCCL has really done a great job of understanding the underlying relationship of social, and it’s a key distinction many companies miss. Kudos.
It is an honor to be part of your course, Lin. Thank you for your kudos and it is great to hear that we are helping a part of the learning process.
One of the greatest attractions of taking a cruise is getting away from it all. As long as I can get headline news, I’m cool with no internet, social media or text connections. Of course, I cannot rate that higher than great intineraries, great food and lots of fun meeting new people from around the globe, all of which I have found on RCCL cruises. Oh, did I forget the best wait staff, bartenders and stewards afloat?
Thank you, Terry, we appreciate your comment.
My husband and I are Emerald members. Would love to see free WiFi or lower connection rates. We stay connected with our families and our pet sitter while we are cruising. Gets very expensive especially with slow connections. We take advantage of the discounts as Crown and Anchor members but still find the rates expensive for a week longf cruise. We love Royal Caribbean and have two cruises booked, September 2012 and March 2013. By the way I was born and raised in sothern NJ. Graduate of Collingswood High School. Saw that you are from Cherry Hill.
What a small world, Nancy, and thank you for your suggestion.
Interested to read about the shipwide wi-fi. Will that be free of charge, or if not do you know what the charges will be yet ?
Sue
Sue, shipwide wifi is available on many if not all Royal Caribbean ships. They’ve been steadily upgrading their ships in that way. The WiFi however isn’t free and most likely won’t be due to having to go over satellite. As Beth Lamenskie and Nancy Allen both mentioned, the service is pricey though if you’re a Crown & Anchor member, you can save some money on it through one of the discount coupons they put in your cabin on every cruise. My Gold (am Platinum now) discount coupon booklet included a coupon that got me 10% or $5 off, whichever was greater on what ever Internet plan I chose. The best plan is the most expensive i.e. 500 minutes as this offers the lowest price per minute. I won’t quote the price for the service because I don’t know if it’s the same on all of Royal Caribbean’s ships. That’s why I asked Adam on my comment/question if he had any idea what the Internet rates were on Splendour of the Seas (I’ll do 2 cruises on that ship in November).
FYI, I’m not in any way affiliated with Royal Caribbean so take my answer for what it’s worth. Adam Goldstein would be the ultimate authority on anything concerning Royal Caribbean. My knowledge comes from using Royal Caribbean’s WiFi a considerable amount (over 2,000 minutes worth). Hope this answers part of your question at least.
Airlines offer internet now at a responsible fee at 30,000 to 40,000 feet, why is the internet so much more expensive on a ship? I am so surprised how fast the connection is on the plane moving at hundreds of miles an hour,why is the ship’s connection so slow?