Internet on azamara

[oceandrive]

I see their package goes as follows:

 

Internet access is available in the Internet Café 24 hours a day until debarkation is completed. Internet minutes are available at these five different rates:

$0.65 cents a minute with no package

$29.95 for 49 minutes

$49.95 for 89 minutes

$79.95 for 150 minutes

$99.95 for 237 minutes

 

Is their internet somewhat fast or really slow ?

 

I was on Holland America's Ryndam a few months ago and the internet was painfully slow. We also regretted purchasing a plan and we ended up using internet at ports only.

 

Should we do the same ?

[DougK]

Is their internet somewhat fast or really slow ?

 

There's no either-or here; it's a wide range, depending on how many other people are using the link, what the satellite connectivity is like, etc. On the transatlantic a couple of weeks ago, sometimes the Internet was very slow and flaky, and other times it was a relatively quick response and speed (considering it's a satellite link). On-ship Internet will never be anywhere near the speed or low-cost of land-based service, due to the satellite link. It's up to you whether you want to go to the effort to locate and use land-based options during limited port time.

 

Doug

 

PS Watch the minutes you're using carefully. I assumed that Internet service would just end when the package time ran out, and ended up diddling around some on the final day to use up my last minutes. Turns out that they don't cut off access; I went over by a couple of minutes, and got billed extra for those minutes...

[oceandrive]

I've used internet on Princess, RCCL, Celebrity and Holland America. I realize it is a hit and miss with Satellite communication. However, on my last Holland America 21 day cruise we never ever got any decent speed...For 21 days ! It was appalling !

 

As long as I don't have to wait for 15 minutes just to connect, I'll be a happy camper !

[ikelmay]

We had the package on our recent med cruise and the speeds generally weren't too bad - more equivalent to old style dial-up but then we were really only checking emails and very low loading links.

 

It was certainly more stable than our last two celebrity cruises - and I also remember the problems on board the Ryndam - I recall trying to check in for our return flight and giving up after 10 minutes of barely getting the initial page loaded.

[3418ahl]

On our E Med b2b in Oct., the speed was really fast.

[alcpa1]

Unfortunately we were on the Ryndam too last year. We bought the lowest price unit basically to do our air check in and it took the entire package to do the check in. It was much faster on The Journey although spotty in several different locations on the ship. It was fine from our cabin. I'd characterize the service as a cross between dial up and DSL.

Do be aware that there are scheduled classes in the computer room from time to time so try to work around that. You can get the schedule from the staff.

Have a wonderful cruise.

[California Native]

OceanDrive...

since you've cruised before you know how crazy internet usage can get.

It's not just about the Cruise line or ship...

It's about the ship location, the satellite position, the weather, sometimes your own computers location.

 

In the med and Holy Cruise the speed was pretty good. Ive been in Mexico, Caribbean and Panama Canal in the past and its

been a nightmare...and avoid connections between Vancouver and Seattle what a nightmare

The important difference I noticed about AZ is they have an internet manager who works in the Internet Cafe regularly posted hours.

The one on the Journey was wonderful and right now her name escapes me.

Because I did a live blog and was posting on AZ facebook page for 24 days we interacted quite a bit. She was able to recognize any connection issues and was very fair about crediting minutes back when necessary.

There was no drawn out debate like Ive had on other cruise lines.

She was also available to answer questions whether they were the most basic or more advanced and when she did offer classes (I didnt take any) the internet cafe was closed so the class could focus on what she was teaching with no distractions. I really respected that since my fellow passengers were paying for those classes.

In retrospect, I wish I had check to see if she would offer a private one on one tutorial for myself on a few items. Might be worth checking into if thats an interest for you.

We brought our netbook and found that it worked quite well in cabin 7043

which is mid ship and inside. Also, by having my own netbook I was able to open several browser windows of both mozilla and explorer and work between the windows as the other was loading which Saved me quite a bit of time

Hope this helps.

K.

[ddonalds]

I was on the Holy Land cruise, and had to take my work laptop and keep up with things. I know it's different depending on where you are, but the speed was completely acceptable. I think they really do work hard to make it as good as it can be. Last February, I was on a RCCL ship in the Caribbean, and also had completely acceptable internet speeds. All access was from my cabin.

[Marbella]

Where2, I couldn't agree more. The "internet manager" was very helpful.

Just another one of the thoughtful touches by Azamara!

[Ask4Jay]

@oceandrive -

On our last transatlantic on Azamara I purchased the $49.95 package for 89 minutes. I use an iPod touch to do my writing and communicating. I do all my writing off-line. Once a day I log on in our cabin. All emails that I have written, and that are sitting in the Out box, will be transmitted automatically, and all incoming emails will be downloaded. All I have to do is start the email app. Then I log off. I will continue writing my daily log and answer the downloaded emails. This is repeated once every day. Each on-line session takes between 4 and 6 minutes. On the two-week cruise I exceeded the plan by a little over $2. Was it slow or fast? I don't know, but I hope NCL has a similar package for our next crossing in May.