Wi Fi Availability When in Port

Do Holland America ships provide Wi Fi when in port? If so, do they charge for it? Or, do you have to find a Wi Fi enabled coffee shop off the ship?

HAL will always charge for wifi

The best way to find it in port, is to ask the crew -- they know the best deal on close by wifi in every port. You'll see them carrying off their laptops and other devices -- you can just follow them! :)

You only get the Wifi that the port provides. Some are free, others you must pay for. Reykjavic was 20 minutes free.

Very slow in port. The crew all use the port WiFi too, so lots of usage. You may have better luck w/ the Wifi on Tender ports, because the crew kept mentioning they didn't have time to go ashore in tender ports. We didn't test this, because we don't go ashore on tender ports.

HAL will always charge for wifi

 

The best way to find it in port, is to ask the crew -- they know the best deal on close by wifi in every port. You'll see them carrying off their laptops and other devices -- you can just follow them! :)

Great advice - this is exactly what I do - follow the crew!

One time while standing on the gangway I asked the port shopping expert where to get wi-fi and was directed about a half mile away to the Starbucks. At the bottom of the gangway I asked one of the crew and he said "about 50 yards away in the port building (that you have to pass through) is where we go". Funny!

The crew get time off in tender ports as well. Perhaps not as many, but they do.

Holland America providing free wifi?? LOL. Not in this reality. Many of the cruise terminals offer wifi access, free, in many cases. Asking the crew is also a good option.

Whenever I'm heading to a new port, as part of my pre-cruise research I google "wifi hotspot [name of port]". I've always found lots of good free or inexpensive sites that way, with decent bandwidth too, something not always available at the close-to-ship locations generally used by the crew members.

You an also load up one of the free wifi finder apps for your device. Run it when you get on land and see what is closest...

I cannot recommend one as I always just use my cell service to do what I need; I'm not an internet hog, so I have yet to go over my limit on my phone or my tablet.

Not to sound silly, but we agree with what someone else said...we look for locations where lots of crew members are located on their devices and there is most-certainly wifi there. It's usually slow, but still works.

Another is to look for a coffee shop or juice bar. They often have free or provide you with a code if you purchase something.

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We also ask the crew where free wifi are located. They know some coffee shops near the port, aside from McDonald's and Starbucks, where they just order a coffee and gets the password on the store's wifi. Some port terminal buildings have it too.

I have recently become aware of a small device called Skyroam which is a device that connects to the telephone systems of about 100 countries at (supposedly) 4G speed. The device costs $100 and then $8 to open it for a 24 hour period. It requires no foreign SIM card. The device acts as a hot spot for up to five devices, and the data for the 24 hours is unlimited. I will be trying it out on the world cruise.

With the skyroam, we should be able to connect to the internet from an open deck on the ship while in port. And (supposedly) Skyping and other internet functions should be possible. It’ll be great to see if it works as advertised. If it does, I’m done looking for Wi-Fi spots in various ports. I’m really glad that the crew gets to use the free Wi-Fi in many of the ports, but I have found the system totally unacceptable because once the crew start Skyping home (and I’m glad for them that they can,) the system typically slows down so much as to be useless for me.

I suggest you each check out their website (Skyroam.com) and then you’ll know as much as I know. It sure sounds like a great idea (if only it works as advertised.)

Scott & Karen

Holland America providing free wifi?? LOL. Not in this reality.

• Yes Holland America will charge you to use the internet on the wifi for emails and browsing.
  
• However it is free to use the ship wifi to look up the day's events and to check your cabin charges. This came in handy when I discovered drink charges were not applied to a package I purchased on the first day.
  
• the free wifi allows you access to a limited version of the New York times
  
• remember to logoff! I signed up for pay as you go... when I switched to email, but the button to logoff went MISSING. The librarian was on her break, but guest services was able to sign me off.
  

Be careful folks with the free cafe internets. "Sniffers" are used more and more... stealing your informaton. Don't check your bank accounts EVER when on an unsecured network. Sniffer is: computer software or hardware that can intercept and log traffic passing over a digital network.

My T-mobile plan has unlimited data and texting in most European countries (check before you sign on). No need to find wi-fi spot in port. We have even set up a hotspot on the phone to use laptop. Other cell services may have similar offerings.

I have recently become aware of a small device called Skyroam which is a device that connects to the telephone systems of about 100 countries at (supposedly) 4G speed. The device costs $100 and then $8 to open it for a 24 hour period. It requires no foreign SIM card. The device acts as a hot spot for up to five devices, and the data for the 24 hours is unlimited. I will be trying it out on the world cruise.

 

With the skyroam, we should be able to connect to the internet from an open deck on the ship while in port. And (supposedly) Skyping and other internet functions should be possible. It’ll be great to see if it works as advertised. If it does, I’m done looking for Wi-Fi spots in various ports. I’m really glad that the crew gets to use the free Wi-Fi in many of the ports, but I have found the system totally unacceptable because once the crew start Skyping home (and I’m glad for them that they can,) the system typically slows down so much as to be useless for me.

 

I suggest you each check out their website (Skyroam.com) and then you’ll know as much as I know. It sure sounds like a great idea (if only it works as advertised.)

 

Scott & Karen

I had considered Skyroam until I started reading some of the reviews, including PCMag's which concluded "Skyroam's 3GMate+ offers international broadband, but its data caps, coverage, and hardware quality all need to be improved." The 100MB/day cap before throttling and questionable hardware quality are particularly disturbing. It sounds like a good idea that needs a bit more time.

I had considered Skyroam until I started reading some of the reviews, including PCMag's which concluded "Skyroam's 3GMate+ offers international broadband, but its data caps, coverage, and hardware quality all need to be improved." The 100MB/day cap before throttling and questionable hardware quality are particularly disturbing. It sounds like a good idea that needs a bit more time.

In anticipation of an Australia-Africa-UK trip next year, I purchased the GlocalMe G1 from Amazon that is similar to Skyroam except that charges are based on amount of data used. It creates a "virtual SIM" upon first contact in a foreign country.

The model I got can also be used as a power source for your phone (not important to me) but has a wired option so can use such connections when available (e.g. in some hotel rooms).

Have used it in USA (for testing, setting up account, etc.) and Mexico so far. It came with some free data to get you started and some "bonus" as well. Will see how it does on cruise next month from San Diego to Rio.

Their website has a rental option now.

I have found you have to be patient with these devices and give them time to make the initial contact with a new country (subsequent contacts connect much faster). Have had to reset and try again once or twice but always worked. Have only used for email - not surfing the web or Skype.

Much prefer being charged for actual usage than by the minute on the ship (although the ship is pretty much your only choice while at sea, of course).

My routine is (a) arrive in port, (b) power up G1 & get connection, © read email & reply as needed, (d) turn off, (e) do tourist stuff ashore without taking time to find a free/otherwise WiFi spot.

May not be a good fit for your needs but seems to work for mine.

LBCBob and Cavediver:

Please let us know how well these devices work in foreign ports as sound intriguing.

Also, would like to reiterate the UNSECURE nature of WiFi in foreign ports, especially the free or 'buy a coffee and get the password' places. Know more 2 people who was hacked; one in Indonesia (free terminal WiFi) and 1 in Guatemala (coffee shop).

LBCBob and Cavediver:

 

Please let us know how well these devices work in foreign ports as sound intriguing.

 

Also, would like to reiterate the UNSECURE nature of WiFi in foreign ports, especially the free or 'buy a coffee and get the password' places. Know more 2 people who was hacked; one in Indonesia (free terminal WiFi) and 1 in Guatemala (coffee shop).

I agree totally with what you say, but would add that it is as much an issue domestically as it is in foreign ports. All of my portable devices (laptops, tablets and cell phones) have VPN installed and I don't connect to any public wifi without using it.

We have never had any trouble finding a coffee shop, bar, etc. for wireless. Once in a while we have actually had shore based wireless just by sitting on our balcony.

Be careful about going where the crew usually go. They are often doing skype etc. If there are several crew members doing this we find that it can slow our response time considerably. We avoid any of the fast food/coffee places for the same reason.

We typically walk down a sidestreet and find a place that has wireless and very few customers. This has worked well for us in Europe and Asia.