SilverSeas Internet Services

We are considering a Silversas cruise and would like to know what internet service is available on the ships. Cost and speed. Thank you.

Several PC terminals in a room just off the library:

http://www.silvershadow.fotopic.net/p15581200.html

(with apologies for the slightly out of focus shot)

You can use the individual email account Silversea set up for you on board but think it's cheaper to use a webmail account like www.mail2web.com and the like...which is what I did.

I emailed and used the web a lot for up to an hour a day over the course of a week and the bill came to around 40 dollars. It's not broadband, but the speed was fine bearing in mind you are at sea in the middle of nowhere!

You access each PC by swiping your silver guest ID card. You are only charged when "downloading" pages. IE The more you surf, the more you pay. But that means you're not worried about the cost when composing emails online or reading stuff on screen. Think cost may also vary depending on where you are in relation to the satellite.

All in all, I thought the facilities / costs were excellent - and there's a free printer. There were a few busy times when I had to return later to find a free PC, but generally it wasn't a problem...and sometimes I was the only person in there. There's also PC help available if required.

The Shadow/Whisper has about ten internet stations each, tucked into deliberately created corners (to facilitate privacy) in the computer room and the adjoining library. The charges (calculated only on up/downloading times, and not log-on times like most other ships) are very reasonable and not a matter of concern at all (unless you have it hooked up specially in your own cabin, then it is a totally different matter). However, during the week we were on the Shadow (last December), the entire internet system was often not working on the ship, and there was no staff member close by to ask questions. That was frustrating, but hopefully, the problem has been fixed (does anyone know?) Hope this helps.

There was no problem on the Shadow last month (May). That's when I used the PCs as detailed above. Working at all times. Staff were also around at set advertised times for those who needed help of any kind.

In May, the system was INCREDIBLY slow. It was hard to get help. The help person finally told me that the computer use had the most complaints, and that they were switching to the "Radisson type" system, which is much better.

My experience on Shadow was verrrrry slowwwww! I finally gave up waiting for a start page to load after 3 minutes. There was a staff person in the adjoining area (I think it was the library??) who could not have cared less when I asked about the slow download. I used onshore facilities after that.

Gary

Thanks for the input.

The internet connections were painfully slow and in my mind very expensive for what it was.. I had sugtgested to management that they provide the service for free for a set amount of time per passenger per day. After all if liquor is free why shouldn't the internet be. For those of us who are not big drinkers I'd gladly trade some of the "free booze" for internet services. Maybe if more SS passengers and potential ones raised this issue perhaps SS would extend this service

I was on one voyage where the satellite was down part of the time, and on another when everything worked perfectly (and relatively fast).

The system is expensive for Silversea, and I can see why they charge extra for it: Internet access isn't part of what you might call the "core cruise experience" the way food and drinks are. Silversea's rates are cheap compared to those on some lines, since you're charged only when the system is uploading or downloading data instead of having the meter tick away while you're composing an e-mail message or reading a Web page.

Maybe the time will come when Internet access, like TV news, is something that most cruisers expect and take for granted. (On the other hand, no one expects ship-to-shore phone calls for free, so maybe not!)

i agree with go europe. i find the internet charges on silversea to be the most reasonable at sea. (Okay, i havent been on every line, but read the other boards and youll see its true.)

I found the internet to be excruciatingly slow, and consequently expensive, on my last trip on Silver Whisper - which was a while ago (January 2004). It was slower than it had ever been, even compared to two years before that in the South Pacific. The least expensive, quickest way, to get mail was through http://www.mail2web.com.

I agree with the thought that internet should be included. I don't like caviar and I'm not a big drinker... I would have really appreciated less internet angst.

I found the satellite connection on the Shadow to be extremely slow. Finally, I gave up, and decided I was on vacation and vacation was for play, and work was for work. When I returned home, there were no catastrophes in my absence, and life went on without me quite nicely.

There was a good lesson to be learned here; I now leave the work behind. That's why it's called a vacation. ;)

Denyse

P.S. BTW, I don't have a problem with paying extra for internet services if I use them. I don't think it's expected to be part of the cruise fare. All-inclusive doesn't mean every single imaginable thing known to human-kind. :)

I would guess that your problem came more from the slowness than the cost (which was usually small)!

I would guess that your problem came more from the slowness than the cost (which was usually small)!

Compared to the cost to be onboard, the internet was inexpensive... But compared to the cost to get mail at home, it was very expensive. I spent between $3 and $10 every time I got mail -- and that was with few messages (typically around 5) to be opened (I deleted messages unopened if they were not important). My final internet bill has always been in the hundreds of dollars range - whether using ship email address, or my own aol address. FYI, the computer head says that most URL's are faster to load than aol.

If the cost is so minimal why shouldn't it be included for a minimum usage per day? It always feels like I'm being nickeled and dimed. Why should all the liquor you can consume be free and yet a 5 to 10 dollar a day internet usage is extra. I wonder if enough passengers ordered bottles of wine and/or champagnes to their suite on a daily basis, if not consumed they can be traded for internet service. I jest, but hope you all get the point of my thoughts. Another words drink yourself silly if you wish but don't expect to use a computer for a bit at no charge. It really makes no sense at all to me. On a luxury cruise line I don't expect that charge.

I believe it is a matter of the competition. No other cruise line includes internet and e-mail and therefore I doubt that Silversea would either. I like Denyse's attitude...let's make it a real vacation (the way it was before the internet) and not use it! (That will keep the cost down, won't it?) I know that we are all addicted to the internet (like here on cruisecritic), but I try not to think about home while I am away.

I use internet services, but why should those passengers who don't effectively subsidize my usage? And why should those who use the internet only a little subsidize those who use it a lot? You could make the same argument with the complimentary wine, but most everyone drinks wine.

I didn't ask for passengers to subsidise the interner usage. I suggested that SS make it available for all for a limited # of reasonable minutes per day for free. You can drink all the liquor(not just wine) for as much as you desire at no cost. I think this would elevate the SS to a new status as including all amenities including the internet. You might be aware that many upscale hotels are including internet usage at no charge. Even mid priced motels are doing it

The VP for technology tells me that there are plans for Wifi but won't say when as he thinks it's commercially sensitive. The rough dates would be hardly that damaging - but might encourage people to book a year out! They're a funny lot at SS.

Jeff