I've been impressed with the discounts offered by Royal Caribbean on its cruise add-ons, especially one super useful add-on.
Internet access on a cruise ship is a must-buy for me. I've been buying WiFi packages for years because of how critical and useful it is for me.
Not only do I do work from the ship, but I value being connected with friends and family at home. It's also a source of entertainment, no different than if I brought a few good books to have.
As a Pinnacle Club member in the cruise line's loyalty program, I get a one device package of internet on every cruise that is complimentary.
Because I work from the ship, throughout the day I'll need to be connected on my laptop and phone at the same time. While I could easily swap the free internet package I receive between my phone and laptop, the issue I run into is missed messages on my phone while I'm doing work on my computer.
On most cruises I "bite the bullet" and pay for an extra internet package, but I'm planning ahead thanks to this year's Black Friday deal.
Black Friday discount on WiFi
Royal Caribbean has discounted many things for Black Friday, including its Voom internet packages.
The advertised discount is "up to 55% off", and I've observed prices for a one device package as cheap as $15.99 per day.
The price range seems to be between $15.99 and $21.99 per day for a one device package, and those savings add up when you consider onboard prices for the same package start at $27.99 and could easily go up from there.
By buying an additional internet package now, I'll save money across my cruises remaining this year and even into 2025.
The important takeaway for anyone reading this post is to understand there are good prices available for an add-on, such as the internet.
Royal Caribbean's Voom package discounts are illustrative of the general notion that the Black Friday sale happening now is a good opportunity to not just search for deep discounts, but take advantage of better than average prices on other items as well.
Depending on your sailing, there may be really good prices on other add-ons, such as drink packages that cost about half of what you'd pay onboard.
Our readers have shared their success in finding great prices too.
The soda package has been spotted as cheap as $6.99 per day, and waterpark on Perfect Day at CocoCay for $38.99 per person.
It's also worth noting you can book something today and still take advantage of a price decrease later.
Royal Caribbean allows for cancelling and rebooking pre-cruise purchases without a penalty. Cancel, re-buy it at the lower price, and you'll get the refund from the original purchase in a few business days. In my experience, it almost always ends up being on the same credit card billing cycle as the revised purchase.
Don't overlook the drink and WiFi packages
It's worth noting Royal Caribbean brought back drink package & internet bundles for the first time in a long time.
As it implies, you can pay one price to get a drink package and a one-device internet package together.
This is really useful if you're a solo traveler, or just want to get this for one person in your cabin.
Truthfully, you're probably better off buying a drink package and Voom package separately if you need it for more devices, as the multi-device discount on Voom packages ends up being cheaper than the combo package.
Maximizing WiFi on a cruise
If you do purchase an internet package, there are a few easy ways to get the most value out of it.
With any internet package, it limits how many devices may be connected at once, not how many devices may use the package in total.
This means you can log out of the internet on one device, and back on with another. And switch on an off as you see fit. Moreover, you can share the internet package with anyone else. You're just limited by how many devices can be logged on at the same time.
If you're at least a Diamond member in Crown and Anchor Society, you get a free day of internet access that can only be redeemed onboard (two days if you're Diamond Plus).
For a cruise of four nights or less, you might still be better off by waiting to book onboard the ship and redeeming your free day, especially if you can wait until midnight on the first day to avoid paying for embarkation day and only paying a prorated amount for the rest of the sailing.
While satellite internet can have intermittent issues, Royal Caribbean's Starlink connection is usually reliable enough to support streaming video while on the ship. You could watch a sporting event, catch up on TV shows, or keep up with new YouTube content.
