can you get wifi in room with intrnet package, use facetime?

Hello,

I am not computer saavy so this may be a stupid question. I would like to be able to facetime with my kids while on cruise on my ipad. Can I do this in the room if I buy an internet package? Also, does anyone know if ipads fit int he safe?

Thank you

Hello,

I am not computer saavy so this may be a stupid question. I would like to be able to facetime with my kids while on cruise on my ipad. Can I do this in the room if I buy an internet package? Also, does anyone know if ipads fit int he safe?

As for FaceTime, it, like Skype, uses a lot of bandwidth so it'll either be blocked, be very spotty and slow, or possibly OK. Keep in mind that if you use FaceTime, a whole bunch of people won't be able to check just their email because the WiFi will then keep timing out for them. And possibly you. While some people have used FT on a ship, it's not a good idea out of consideration for other passengers. And, it might cost you a lot of Internet time.

I have see a few people using from time to time (over a year ago). I don't know how reliable the signal is lately and if they have blocked it or not. Considering the amount of bandwidth it takes I wouldn't be surprised if they do block it.

I asked the internet manager on the Coral last April & he said it worked OK & at that time it was still being tolerated.

Best to do it while on shore in a port from a place that has Wi-fi.

We have facetimed our grandchildren from a ship but it was a P&O ship and we were in port - don't know about Princess. It was blocked on our recent Celebrity cruise.

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We were just on the Star Princess, and our iPad did NOT fit in the safe, but this was not a problem in our cabin.

Regards, Ned

We have used Facetime with our kids on the last 3 cruises. We did not experience any problems as long as the ships signal was good. If the signal is slow, we may lose the picture, but we are able to still talk. We are never on more than 5-10 minutes. We have free wifi minutes so we don't pay for the time we use. We have no problem fitting the Ipad into the safe.:D

I actually used FT with my baby granddaughter this past Sept on the Crown.

We have never been gone from her for more than a few days, so she needed to see me. :D

We were actually just sitting down in the dining room as we were pulling out of port, so it was only for a few minutes.

Pat

I actually used FT with my baby granddaughter this past Sept on the Crown.

We have never been gone from her for more than a few days, so she needed to see me. :D

We were actually just sitting down in the dining room as we were pulling out of port, so it was only for a few minutes.

 

Pat

Our cruise next month will be our first time on a cruise since our dear granddaughter was born. She will need to see us too! :D ;)

Same with us - we need to see our 3 grandchildren if we can and I would make no apologies for using Facetime on a ship if it was available - I have paid for the internet time and how I use it is up to me.

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Our cruise next month will be our first time on a cruise since our dear granddaughter was born. She will need to see us too! :D ;)

The only bad thing about cruising is missing my grandchildren. We have a new baby girl (well, she's 13 months now) and she hasn't gone with us yet. I will be doing FT with her now that she's a little older and will recognize me. She didn't seem to when I tried earlier in the year.

IPad fit in the safe on the Sapphire but not on the Coral. Safes were different sizes.

Apologies for being a Luddite, but until Princess greatly expands the internet capacity on their ships, I wish they would consistently block or severely throttle high-bandwidth programs -- at least during "busy" times of day. Single users of such programs may feel that they are only on-line for a few minutes. However, with numerous people doing that simultaneously for much of the day, service is seriously degraded for the large numbers of people wanting to do simple low-bandwidth tasks like checking e-mail. Ideally, Princess would greatly increase the system capacity, but until that happens, high-bandwidth programs (when allowed) greatly degrade the service for others. Now retreating into my flame-resistant suit...

John

Same with us - we need to see our 3 grandchildren if we can and I would make no apologies for using Facetime on a ship if it was available - I have paid for the internet time and how I use it is up to me.

 

 

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Agree! Otherwise, it would be like a certain famous George Orwell quote: 'All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.'

Just my opinion. Paul

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Apologies for being a Luddite, but until Princess greatly expands the internet capacity on their ships, I wish they would consistently block or severely throttle high-bandwidth programs -- at least during "busy" times of day. Single users of such programs may feel that they are only on-line for a few minutes. However, with numerous people doing that simultaneously for much of the day, service is seriously degraded for the large numbers of people wanting to do simple low-bandwidth tasks like checking e-mail. Ideally, Princess would greatly increase the system capacity, but until that happens, high-bandwidth programs (when allowed) greatly degrade the service for others. Now retreating into my flame-resistant suit...

 

John

I have used the wifi on Princess ships and found it to be slow at times and at other times to be adequate to upload pictures to a blog. I never thought there would be enough speed or bandwidth to actually support Facetime or Skype.

I decided to try Facetime and was amazed that it worked. If the speeds and bandwidth are actually available to use, then I don't feel I am degrading anyone's service. If Princess feels the system is overloaded, they will block it.

FaceTime and the Internet work best at least popular times like early morning and dinner time when less people are online.

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I see that you are sailing on the Caribbean Princess. When we sailed on her last month the Internet only worked in the "public areas" - pretty much just in the 3 levels of the piazza. Could never get it to connect in the theater or anywhere outside or in my cabin. I could get some reception in the hall outside my cabin but who wants to sit in the hall. I noticed one of my neighbors blocked his door open so he could get reception.

My iPad did fit in the safe, although a little awkwardly. I feel very strongly about always putting my valuables in the safe. If somehow the valuables were to disappear, my cabin attendant would be suspect and I don't feel it's fair to put their jobs at risk just because I didn't put my stuff away.

To answer your questions, yes, you have to purchase an Internet package to use the WiFi anywhere on the ship. Yes, you can use it in your cabin as all cabins on Princess have had WiFi for years. Yes, it'll fit in the safe but I just leave mine out on the desk. Never had a problem.

 

As for FaceTime, it, like Skype, uses a lot of bandwidth so it'll either be blocked, be very spotty and slow, or possibly OK. Keep in mind that if you use FaceTime, a whole bunch of people won't be able to check just their email because the WiFi will then keep timing out for them. And possibly you. While some people have used FT on a ship, it's not a good idea out of consideration for other passengers. And, it might cost you a lot of Internet time.

Hopefully it will be blocked. FT and Skype are big time bandwidth hogs an, as pam correctly has stated, can prevent others from getting on to the ships internet system.

Bob

Apologies for being a Luddite, but until Princess greatly expands the internet capacity on their ships, I wish they would consistently block or severely throttle high-bandwidth programs -- at least during "busy" times of day. Single users of such programs may feel that they are only on-line for a few minutes. However, with numerous people doing that simultaneously for much of the day, service is seriously degraded for the large numbers of people wanting to do simple low-bandwidth tasks like checking e-mail. Ideally, Princess would greatly increase the system capacity, but until that happens, high-bandwidth programs (when allowed) greatly degrade the service for others. Now retreating into my flame-resistant suit...

 

John

Well said......:):):)

Bob

On our iPhone, we couldn't seem to access wifi in our Ruby midship Caribe cabin, so I sat on the staircase or accessed while in port somewhere. Service was extremely slow on board. We left our phone on airplane mode and sent messages and an image or two on Viber. Good luck!

I agree, with flame retardant suit on, that high bandwidth hogs should not be used, or should be blocked by Princess, during peak internet usage times. Consider using one of many locations with free WiFi when in port.

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Hopefully it will be blocked. FT and Skype are big time bandwidth hogs an, as pam correctly has stated, can prevent others from getting on to the ships internet system.

 

Bob

Well unless it is blocked on a ship, if I have paid for internet time, then it is up to me how I use it. Would not dream of telling anyone else that they should or should not be accessing the internet on a ship in any way that is allowed.

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Well unless it is blocked on a ship, if I have paid for internet time, then it is up to me how I use it.

If an app is a problem, princess can block it. If they don't,

then the internet police have no authority.

Well unless it is blocked on a ship, if I have paid for internet time, then it is up to me how I use it. Would not dream of telling anyone else that they should or should not be accessing the internet on a ship in any way that is allowed.

 

 

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i agree with Bob and Pam on this….the opinion stated in quote above is just another example of why we ask for a table for 2 at dinner….

That's very insulting - you quote my post but you know nothing about me or my circumstances. Perhaps I cannot get ashore to use free internet facilities but would like to use Facetime to check in with my children and grandchildren. You should not assume things that you know nothing about .

In any event, if I have paid my good money for an internet package or earned the right to it through loyalty to a cruiseline, why should I refrain from using that internet package, in any way allowed by the cruiseline, so that someone else can access their emails more swiftly. My rights are every bit as valid as anyone else's.

This is just another example of some people feeling they have the right to tell other people what they should do, in the same way as they do with tipping and coffee cards, when it is nothing to do with them.

Because I disagree with something does not mean that I am some kind of awful person who needs to be avoided on a cruise.

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