Wifi on Valor

[MyImagination]

Since the Valor is the first Carnival ship to offer "100 PERCENT BOW TO STERN’ WIRELESS INTERNET ACCESS" Did any of the Valor cruisers notice anyone using laptops on deck, lounges, bars?? Just curious.

[Brynzley]

I was was also wondering about the cost for access to WI-FI. Anyone know?

[Rescue156]

I would imagine AT LEAST the 75 cents a minute charge of the regular internet access if not more. Probably more. Not to mention they probably have it rigged up where you HAVE TO rent one of their laptops to access it.

[btyko]

I brought my laptop on the January 2nd cruise, and accessed the Internet from my cabin. I did notice a few people with laptops in public areas.

 

You only need to rent equipment if you do not have a wireless card on your laptop, or if you want to rent their laptops. Of course, you can use the terminals in the Internet cafe.

 

You can pay by the minute or get a plan; I think 100 minutes or 250 minutes. You can also alternate between the terminals in the cafe and your own laptop if you want. On the Miracle in November, if you used your own laptop, you had to get a plan, and you could not alternate between your laptop and the terminals.

 

Whether you pay by the minute or by a plan, there is a setup charge; I believe it was $3.95.

 

The service was slow at times. When I complained to the manager, I was twice told that half my minutes would be credited. I never got the credit.

[TNCruzer]

Sorry, I had to add my 2 cents.

 

The main reason that I cruise is to get away from my office, the 26 e-mails a day, phone calls and faxes. WHY would anybody want to bring with them, that which they are trying to escape?

JMHO

[Bran8778]

What was the cost to rent a laptop???

[Mollypuss]

The reason my husband and I will be bringing our laptop has nothing to do with work...he is a policeman and I am a nanny...we do not use a laptop in our workplace. We will be leaving our 11 month old with grandma and grandpa and will want to communicate on a daily basis. As phoning would be more expensive than internet, we will phone once or twice and e-mail the rest.

 

The purpose of this cruise is to "get away", but would not think of going a whole week without checking in on our daughter. Also, we will use our laptop to watch DVD's on the flights and maybe on an evening when we would like to be lazy and hang out in our cabin.

[GoinCruisin]

Sorry, I had to add my 2 cents.

 

The main reason that I cruise is to get away from my office, the 26 e-mails a day, phone calls and faxes. WHY would anybody want to bring with them, that which they are trying to escape?

JMHO

 

I wouldn't if I didn't have to. We own a small business and have to be in touch... This is not an option. However, all of my customers know that I will be accessing email once a day, early in the morning. I don't check it more than once unless there is a major issue that needs follow up. I have a "vacation" email set up, so I don't spend so much time downloading hundreds of emails.... it works out just fine. We simply cannot be out of pocket for a week...

[WeatherGeek]

Sorry, I had to add my 2 cents.

 

The main reason that I cruise is to get away from my office, the 26 e-mails a day, phone calls and faxes. WHY would anybody want to bring with them, that which they are trying to escape?

JMHO

 

This is what I'll be using mine for:

Upload digital camera pix

Update my online journal daily with memories that are still fresh in my head

E-mail my friends to brag about the warm weather while they're freezing their behinds off back home ;)

Watch a movie on the balcony on a sea day

 

Some of us are just computer geeks and go through withdrawls if we're not connected to the rest of the world for longer than 2 days at a time :D

Work? What's that??

[MyImagination]

What was the cost to rent a laptop???

 

I think its around $35 per day for the laptop and $10 for the card.

[jenny368]

We got 100 minutes for $55.00. We used our own lap top in our cabin. We got a sheet of paper from the internet manager and my husband set it up very easily. All that we had to do to sign on was enter our log in and password that we used when we set this up. We used this to access our emails, post on CC about the new "Valor", and check on the weather in our ports. It was very handy. Our teenage daughter also used AOL instant messaging to keep in touch with her friends at home. Our lap top already had the proper card in it so we did not need to rent a lap top.

[joleda]

We have 7 pc's in our house which includes the 4 for our digital video business. Every cruise, I leave my out of the office messages and forget it for a week. We sometimes (maybe once in the past 3 cruises) log on and send a bragging message what a great time we are having. Being the first ship to have Bow to Stern WiFi, I definetly want to try it, just for the heck of it. While I have my laptop, I too will sit on the balcony and listen to some music or watch a movie. Heck, if a song pops in my head, I'll just go out there and get it. Having the access if you want it is the key. Heck, it's vacation, I can do whatever my little heart desires. Plus, just having the contact in case anyone needs to send a message is a big plus. I probably won't check or answer a business email, as I never do. I may even bid on a few ebay items while sitting out there. One thing I do want to try, is bringing up a webcam somewhere we are going and having my son wave to me. Sounds geeky, but it is just the fun part to be able to do such a thing. Today's technology is just amazing and I will take advantage of it while on this earth. I can't wait to give it a try and see how well they did.

Just my 2 cents

 

Dave :)

[MyImagination]

I brought my laptop on the January 2nd cruise, and accessed the Internet from my cabin. I did notice a few people with laptops in public areas.

 

You only need to rent equipment if you do not have a wireless card on your laptop, or if you want to rent their laptops. Of course, you can use the terminals in the Internet cafe.

 

You can pay by the minute or get a plan; I think 100 minutes or 250 minutes. You can also alternate between the terminals in the cafe and your own laptop if you want. On the Miracle in November, if you used your own laptop, you had to get a plan, and you could not alternate between your laptop and the terminals.

 

Whether you pay by the minute or by a plan, there is a setup charge; I believe it was $3.95.

 

The service was slow at times. When I complained to the manager, I was twice told that half my minutes would be credited. I never got the credit.

 

Thanks

[folashade]

Sorry, I had to add my 2 cents.

 

The main reason that I cruise is to get away from my office, the 26 e-mails a day, phone calls and faxes. WHY would anybody want to bring with them, that which they are trying to escape?

JMHO

 

Wow you only get 26 emails a day! For some they like to check their personal email etc. For me the chance to get away from my work computer, cell phone, blackberry I get excited. However, having said that I do bring my laptop since I can play music in my room

[phlydude]

If you run a fantasy sports franchise, that computer access is crucial, especially when departing and arriving on Sundays. Not having access for 2 out of 17 football Sundays during a season could mean the difference between winning some $$$ or losing the money you paid for a franchise.

 

In addition, it's nice to be able to confirm with independent tour opperators while on the ship to re-confirm reservations and such. Also to track weather in the caribbean and home (to know whether you have some shoveling to do once you get back!) as well as keep in tune with the news since you tend to lose touch with reality while sailing for a week.

[kodiac]

This is what I'll be using mine for:

Upload digital camera pix

Update my online journal daily with memories that are still fresh in my head

E-mail my friends to brag about the warm weather while they're freezing their behinds off back home ;)

Watch a movie on the balcony on a sea day

 

Some of us are just computer geeks and go through withdrawls if we're not connected to the rest of the world for longer than 2 days at a time :D

Work? What's that??

 

You have the right idea! I do all of the above but only send e-mail to brag.. not read e-mail. Sometimes I even post to Cruise Critic live like we did on the Legend. Cruise Critics love live updates :)

[tef43]

Cruise Critics love live updates :)

Ya think? :rolleyes:

 

Personally, I have to wonder exactly how good a cruise is if a passenger is hidden away in the internet cafe.

 

No phones, no computers, no newspapers, no television, no relatives. *THAT'S* a vacation.

[DaytonCruiser]

I heard that "bow to stern wi-fi" will be fleetwide by fall of this year.

[JrMafia90]

This is what I'll be using mine for:

Upload digital camera pix

Update my online journal daily with memories that are still fresh in my head

E-mail my friends to brag about the warm weather while they're freezing their behinds off back home ;)

Watch a movie on the balcony on a sea day

 

Some of us are just computer geeks and go through withdrawls if we're not connected to the rest of the world for longer than 2 days at a time :D

Work? What's that??

 

I will also be using mine to upload pictures, watch movies, and sometimes instant message or e-mails my friends.