Internet, iPhone and iPads

We will be sailing on the Spirit (South America cruise)and would like some detailed information about internet packages,

Also, if anyone who has ATandT cell phone carrier service...please advise on what to do for roaming, messaging, etc. charges, while in ports.

We will be sailing on the Spirit (South America cruise)and would like some detailed information about internet packages,

Also, if anyone who has ATandT cell phone carrier service...please advise on what to do for roaming, messaging, etc. charges, while in ports.

We are trying to find it for Verizon as well. Please let me know if you find anything. We will be onboard 2/23! Are we speaking of the same cruise?

FYI, taken from the FAQ section of the Silversea website (answers internet package ?):

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Communication Services

Is there Internet service on board?

Yes. All Silversea ships are equipped to offer wireless (Wi-Fi) Internet access. You can use your own laptop to surf the Internet and check emails at Wi-Fi locations throughout the ship, or from the comfort and privacy of your suite. Computers, email and Internet access are also available on board at the Internet Café. However, it is important to understand that telecommunication services while at sea are via satellite and significantly different than high-speed connections on land back home. The signal travels in a similar manner to radio waves but at much greater distances. Therefore, onboard Internet access is not guaranteed at all times. Satellite communications are also affected by weather and the ship's location. In particular, Internet service is extremely sporadic while in the Arctic. Guests aboard expedition cruises to/from Svalbard should be prepared to be out of communication for the duration of their time on board. (Please be assured that Silver Explorer always has emergency communication capabilities.)

What is the charge for Internet service?

Whether accessing the Internet via your own laptop computers or via the Internet Café computers, the same rates apply. All charges are posted directly to your onboard account. No credit is given for unused Time Plan minutes. Rates shown are in US dollars and are subject to change.

Basic Rate: $0.50 per minute (pay as you go)

Time Plan 1: 100 minutes for $45 ($0.45 per minute)

Time Plan 2: 250 minutes for $85 ($0.34 per minute)

Time Plan 3: 1000 minutes for $250 ($0.25 per minute)

Is there mobile phone (cell phone) service on the ship? Yes. Onboard mobile phone service enables you to make and receive phone calls, text messages and other select data services on your mobile phone even when miles away from land. Your mobile phone service provider will bill you for calls and/or messages, which may appear as roaming charges. Please note that mobile phone service is sporadic at best while in the Arctic. Guests aboard voyages to/from Svalbard should be prepared to be out of communication for the duration of their time on board.

Click here for more information on Silversea's Cellular Phone service.

Will my devices work on board?

To be most successful, prepare your devices BEFORE leaving home:

Learn how to turn ON and turn OFF both the WiFi and network (mobile/cellular) connections on each of your devices.

Contact your mobile/cellular service provider to confirm that a roaming agreement with Silversea Cruises has been established and to and ask about rates. Learn how to enable your international roaming

Set up an email account if you do not have one already.

Be sure you know any usernames and passwords you may need.

Switch your settings to the most basic choice that shows less graphics and loads faster.

Make any software updates and turn off any automatic update settings for the duration of your cruise.

Download any books, audiobooks, music, movies, games, apps, etc. that you may want during your cruise.

Discuss VPN limitations with your company, as onboard personnel are not authorized to change your VPN settings.

Facebook users should bookmark and plan to use M.Facebook.com or Touch.Facebook.com instead as these have less graphics and load faster.

Don't forget to pack any power cords/battery packs, camera cables to transfer pictures, adaptor cables and headphones you may need for each of your devices.

I have ATT service and when we were in South America last year I purchased a data plan for my iPhone and pulled mail off the ship. I had the minimum plan for international and as long as you are not downloading big files it was perfect for reading and sending mail. Also got the international text message plan. At the time they had a voice roaming plan but they don't offer that anymore.

Keith

We have AT&T and used it in Jan 2014 in Antarctica using wifi to download data ( when we could get it - most of the time) and when we went around South America the year before. We did get the international text plan this year, $10/ month per phone but ended up using the 'whatsapp' app for text msg with people who also have whatsapp It is a free app and works internationally for FREE texting. We had our kids and siblings sign up for it. It worked great. We also sent photos using it. When we were in port we used wifi and had no problem. We just requested that family didn't sent large files or photos. We purchased the internet package on the ship.

Sent from my iPad using Cruise Critic Forums mobile app

Also worth noting: On the SS site

"Please note that onboard systems do not support 3G technology; the only option for iPad® users to access the Internet on board is via WiFi. Unfortunately, iPads assign little battery power to their internal signal. Unless the WiFi signal is very strong, it is likely you will experience interruptions or may not be able to connect at all. You may notice laptop users have no trouble connecting to the WiFi on board, while an iPad in the same spot drops and reconnects. In addition, the satellite signal fluctuates and iPads are more sensitive to this fluctuation, which may interrupt your iPad Internet session while going unnoticed on other devices."

My husband and I had our iPads and had minimal problems accessing wifi. I think I mentioned in an earlier msg that we actually found internet access better in Jan 2014 in South America and Antarctica than on any other SS cruise. There were a "few pockets" without access but it seemed minimal to us.

Sent from my iPad using Cruise Critic Forums mobile app

This has been discussed before .... but a "general" reminder for those traveling on ships (or indeed hotels) that also have traditional wall-socket connection to broadband. I do not know which ships have the sockets and which do not.

If you are so inclined you can buy and set up a small cheap travel router and plug it in and have all your gadgets ie ipad, phone, pc etc connect to the travel router rather than wifi. In the UK a really good travel router is less than £15. I use a simple TP LINK Router.

This will always be faster and more reliable ... and in some situations sometimes cheaper than using wifi. With wifi your gadget is always in contention with other users ..... sometimes each gadget is charged seperately ... and in effect each additional wifi user reduces performance for all others. This is markedly less so when connected to your own router via wifi. My connection speed via router is often 4 times faster than in house wifi. I tested the difference a few weeks ago in a hotel and it was 10 times the wifi speed.

Another thing that often happens is that you are charged for the connection of a single gadget ie the first item connected via your own router and thereafter anything else connected at the same time does not incur any additional charges.

It can be set up once and need not be set up each time if you do as I do ... I set up my travel router with exactly the same broadcast name and passwords as my home router so everything locks in whilst away ... because all gadgets think they are at home.

Hope the suggestion helps some people benefit from this approach.

:)

I think my iPad, while on the ships, has much more speed than the PCs in the computer center!

I think my iPad, while on the ships, has much more speed than the PCs in the computer center!

Correct, and that is what it should be because ipads are much faster devices than PCs. It has little to do with internet connections speed but more to do with how fast ipads loads and processes apps compared to the much slower speed of a pc doing the same with hard-disc resident bloated software.

:).

This has been discussed before .... but a "general" reminder for those traveling on ships (or indeed hotels) that also have traditional wall-socket connection to broadband. I do not know which ships have the sockets and which do not.

 

If you are so inclined you can buy and set up a small cheap travel router and plug it in and have all your gadgets ie ipad, phone, pc etc connect to the travel router rather than wifi. In the UK a really good travel router is less than £15. I use a simple TP LINK Router.

 

 

This will always be faster and more reliable ... and in some situations sometimes cheaper than using wifi. With wifi your gadget is always in contention with other users ..... sometimes each gadget is charged seperately ... and in effect each additional wifi user reduces performance for all others. This is markedly less so when connected to your own router via wifi. My connection speed via router is often 4 times faster than in house wifi. I tested the difference a few weeks ago in a hotel and it was 10 times the wifi speed.

 

Another thing that often happens is that you are charged for the connection of a single gadget ie the first item connected via your own router and thereafter anything else connected at the same time does not incur any additional charges.

 

It can be set up once and need not be set up each time if you do as I do ... I set up my travel router with exactly the same broadcast name and passwords as my home router so everything locks in whilst away ... because all gadgets think they are at home.

 

Hope the suggestion helps some people benefit from this approach.

 

:)

Being technically-challenged, I would like to read more "this has been discussed before." Can you tell me where I've missed this. This sounds like a very good solution.

Thanks.

Being technically-challenged, I would like to read more "this has been discussed before." Can you tell me where I've missed this. This sounds like a very good solution.

 

Thanks.

Hi,

It is a great solution for a couple who travel a fair amount, use wifi devices and sometimes find themselves in cold spots and simply wish to have more reliability and be more self sufficient. When we're away for extended periods it provides the extra speed we require to stream home slingboxes, Sky and other home streaming devices, although that speed and indeed costs make that an improbable luxury on a ship. In some places they charge per device and then the router is seen as a single device and all things connected attract no further charges. And on ships higher speed often means less time connected and therefore lower connect charges. mHopefully!

I am sorry but without the search function I cannot be absolutely sure ... but I am fairly sure that those posts alongside a fair amount of other information about miles schemes was reported as being "off topic" and deleted some time ago.

However, I'll try and answer any questions you have.

:)

Jeff

Being technically-challenged, I would like to read more "this has been discussed before." Can you tell me where I've missed this. This sounds like a very good solution.

 

Thanks.

This was one that still exists ....

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1814834

This was one that still exists ....

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1814834

The link is most helpful.

After I read/study the information on the device, if there are questions, I certainly will avail myself of your offer of answers. Thank you.

It does appear, though, that this is a way to strengthen the signal for better iPad connectivity, and that's what I'm seeking.

Thank you for your suggestion and help.

The link is most helpful.

 

After I read/study the information on the device, if there are questions, I certainly will avail myself of your offer of answers. Thank you.

 

It does appear, though, that this is a way to strengthen the signal for better iPad connectivity, and that's what I'm seeking.

 

Thank you for your suggestion and help.

No problem. May I also point you to another product that is relatively unknown that sits in my bag alongside the travel router. It is the Kingston Mobile Lite. It unlocks the ipad's lack of storage. We have a 128gb and my wife a 64gb both of which are inadequate. So, basically you connect something like a travel 1tb hard disk to it and store on it all your music, holiday picture, videos, recorded TV programmes, films, downloaded travel stuff etc etc and several ipads can read it and pass through it to your router and therefore the internet. You set it to log into your travel router. Don't be initmidated it is very easy! We also have the ipad to HDMI cables so we can watch all the stuff on the Ipad/Mobile Lite on the TV in HD. Also the stuff from the home slingboxes and Humax and sky recorders go straight from home to the in-suite TV - somewhat helped by the faster internet. Obviously the last bit isn't suitable for ship internet speeds and pricing :(

So it looks like

Several Ipads>Mobile Lite>Router>Internet

This gives you a complete internet and entrtainment system for your ipad and your wifes ipad when you travel and removes many of the limitations that frustrates when traveling.

It is a wonderful travel system.

Ask anything and I'll try.

:)

Being technically-challenged, I would like to read more "this has been discussed before." Can you tell me where I've missed this. This sounds like a very good solution.

 

Thanks.

We find it a good solution. On SS, the wall jacks in the cabins are 'dead' and can't be turned on (we've asked), so you must use wireless. On the other hand, you can configure your computer to share its wireless connection using the router plugged into your computer. Then any devices you have in range can share the single internet account.

Alternatively, you can also use a smartphone to create a mobile hotspot if you know what you are doing. (I haven't a clue but know it can be done because our son does it for us when we are traveling with him and need a wireless hotspot.)

Since the data port in the cabin is dead, I'm not sure using a router helps on SS for those only with iPads. But it does make things simpler for those who are also traveling with a laptop.

For those who think this is reprehensible (I was chided on another thread for posting about this), you are splitting your own share of the wifi bandwidth, not helping yourself to more bandwidth. For things like email, you won't notice any slowdown (unless someone sends you a photo in an email - I hate when that happens.) If you are uploading large documents or downloading a web page with lots of graphics, you'll notice it slower than the usual slow connection. The way around that is to get your partner to stop using their device. Then you are back to 100% of the one connection you share and are only slowed down by the other passengers also using the connection at the same time.

So the only performance to suffer from this is your own. You are not affecting any other passengers.

For things like email checking, it is faster to check both accounts simultaneously so you can save minutes as long as you aren't both doing data heavy transactions. For data heavy transactions, even without sharing bandwidth, I find I have to give up entirely when on the ship. So I set the browser I have FB open in to No Images and I have Adobe set to ask for permission so anything with video won't start until I confirm I want it to run. That way, if I open a webpage with a video on it, it won't spend time trying to run the video.

Aye, there's the rub!

Traveling only with ipads, no laptop. If the wall jacks are "dead," we might have a problem.

Thoughts from Kate and Jeff would be appreciated.

Aye, there's the rub!

 

Traveling only with ipads, no laptop. If the wall jacks are "dead," we might have a problem.

Thoughts from Kate and Jeff would be appreciated.

Indeed you might.

I can't help other than to say that kate has said that wall sockets on SS are dead. I read her note as being all sockets - all ships. I haven't tried all the sockets on all the ships ... so I cannot contradict this. I know this has worked for others because they have thanked me for the tip.

My suggestion was intended for travel generally and will work in virtually all hotels and ships with working sockets. The cost is £15 or so.

It's really a matter of you deciding whether being prepared is worth the bother and cost or not. Sorry ... nothing more I can say.

:)

Just checked with my husband:

Shadow - was live in 2007 and probably 2008.

Whisper - probably live in 2010 (we don't recall a problem)

Spirit 2011- we can't recall for sure - I think it was dead (which is weird because it was a new ship), he can't recall.

Wind 2012 - dead

Whisper 2014 - dead.

On one of the ship's with dead port, dh was told that it was live some places but whole sections were dead. He can't recall which ship.

I'll check my travelog and see if there's any mention of it on the Spirit.

Thanks to both Kate and Jeff,

I plan to just "be prepared" as Jeff mentioned because the plan/router is a good suggestion for travel generally.

On SS, we have had varying experience, so we'll just take that as it comes.

Good luck, Pincus.

We've had a bad track record with the router in hotel plugs lately. Most hotels we stay in (mid-range business hotels) have let their wired systems go dark and are now relying on wireless. It makes sense since smart phones and tablets can't wire in, but it also makes things slower for those of us who do travel with a router.