Royal Caribbean responds after people complain over 'crazy' price of cruise ship Wi-Fi
The world's largest cruise line company has responded after facing criticism over the cost of Wi-Fi packages that staff members have to purchase to get online.
Royal Caribbean takes thousands of sun-seekers across the world on its luxurious fleet of cruise ships, with its newest vessel the Wonder of the Seas carrying almost 7,000 paying customers at any one time.
One of the key ingredients in making sure those thousands of people having a good time is the staff, with Wonder having more than 2,000 people on board to cater for their every need.
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Whether that's cleaning, manning bars, running the on-board shops, cooking food or entertaining guests, thousands of people are needed so that it runs like a well-oiled machine.
There's perks to working on a cruise liner - and that's a lot of what staff get totally free of charge.
We're talking living quarters and food, mainly, with both included with the contracts staff sign when joining up with a cruise liner.
But one thing that got people annoyed was the cost of Wi-Fi, as revealed by cruise ship worker, Bryan James, who posts about his life on board cruise ships over on TikTok and YouTube.
Working on Royal Caribbean's Odyssey of the Seas, he revealed on social media that the cost of Wi-Fi is pretty expensive - as well as also quite slow.
He said in one video: "It's not cheap at $12 for just three hours coverage.
"And then even after paying it's a pretty poor download speed at less than 2MB per second.
"It can then worsen depending on how many people are using the service."
Considering the average download speed in the UK is now almost 70MB per second, with such a package costing on average less than £30 a month, it's not the most competitive.
One YouTube user posted: "What I am hearing is that, if you are working on a cruise ship, you should download a tonne of videos to a hard drive for entertainment."
A second wrote: "$12 a day for internet? Crazy."
While a third posted: "The Wi-Fi charges cover the price of the 'free food'."
And a fourth added: "Charging for 1MB of internet is BS."
Royal Caribbean has spoken to LADbible about its staff Wi-Fi packages, shedding some light on the situation and added extras staff get that you might not know.
For one, staff are given WhatsApp and WeChat web access for free so that they can stay in contact with friends and family when needed.
They also get two hours of complimentary internet weekly.
Rates then start at five cents per minute; so while the package Bryan flagged might have been a bit different, there's clearly more than meets the eye.
A Royal Caribbean spokesperson told LADbible: "Our crew experience is a top priority and essential to delivering the best vacations. It’s important we keep internet package offerings fresh and competitive to retain and attract top talent.
"Based on preferences, our crew members can purchase internet (surf & stream) by the minute across different plans, starting at $0.05.
"They can connect with friends and family via WhatsApp and WeChat, free of charge.
"Crew receive 120 minutes of complimentary surf & stream internet weekly.
"Throughout the year, crew receive additional complimentary internet time around holidays, from national/cultural holidays to maritime holidays such as Crew Appreciation Day."
Topics: Cruise Ship, Holiday, Money, Technology, Travel, World News, Social Media, TikTok, Cost of Living, YouTube
Tom Earnshaw