Solstice free Wi-Fi

[mamoune]

Hello! Can someone tell me if there is free Wi-Fi on the Solstice? I will be purchasing an IPad very soon and was wondering if it is worth it to pay extra for the 3G technology as most places where I would be using it provide free Wi-Fi, except maybe for the Solstice ?

 

Thanks for your replies!

[Gonzo70]

No, internet is expensive on cruise ships - no free wifi unless you are Elite with Captain's Club (then you receive 90 minutes free).

[LKN-NC]

Hello! Can someone tell me if there is free Wi-Fi on the Solstice? I will be purchasing an IPad very soon and was wondering if it is worth it to pay extra for the 3G technology as most places where I would be using it provide free Wi-Fi, except maybe for the Solstice ?

 

Thanks for your replies!

 

Not free (.65 a minute, less for packages) and 3G won't help you on a cruise ship as the data charges are exorbitant. In ports outside the US you may find free wifi. AT&T's international 3G plan is not very economical either.

 

I travel with and love my iPad, but I buy an internet package on-board and use their computers. Due to how the iPad logs on to Celebrity and/or RCCL wifi, you aren't able to access the log out screen, so there can be a lag before the system decides you are not there. I routinely lost about 10 minutes each time I used the iPad.

 

If Celebrity and RCCL would create a web page specifically to log off, the iPad would be great.

 

Also if you have a 3G be sure to turn off Cellular Data when on the ship. Certain apps periodically check in and you could have data charges without you knowing it happens.

 

One advantage of the 3G is the built-in GPS -- which is fun to use and track where you are when at sea. I used it from Europe to Iceland and in the Caribbean to save a track of our path. Fun.

[DeltaOne]

Hello! Can someone tell me if there is free Wi-Fi on the Solstice? I will be purchasing an IPad very soon and was wondering if it is worth it to pay extra for the 3G technology as most places where I would be using it provide free Wi-Fi, except maybe for the Solstice ?

 

Thanks for your replies!

 

Yes, it's worth buying the WiFi + 3G iPad, but not for the reason you're asking. On the ship you'll pay $2.49 a minute or more if you let your iPad connect via 3G. It's much cheaper to buy a package or individual minutes and use the ship's WiFi.

 

I would want the WiFi + 3G iPad since I can turn the 3G service on and off as needed.

[satchiesmom]

I got the iPad w/o the 3G because I have 3G on my phone and didn't think I needed it on 2 devices. Just something to consider.

[nps001]

I also had an issue with logging off the site while on X cruises. Interestingly, it does give you a message to book mark the page so you can log off easily. Of course, I didn't do that. After a few cruises, I did just that and it worked great on my laptop as well as Ipad.

 

A contrasting opinion: I also bought the Ipad without 3G thinking I always carried my iphone and could use it when necessary. I now wish that I had it. I am looking forward to the new version of the ipad coming out, and will be upgrading to 3G. Once you surf the web on the ipad, it really isn't much fun to do on an iphone.

[Lsimon]

I also had an issue with logging off the site while on X cruises. Interestingly, it does give you a message to book mark the page so you can log off easily. Of course, I didn't do that. After a few cruises, I did just that and it worked great on my laptop as well as Ipad.

 

A contrasting opinion: I also bought the Ipad without 3G thinking I always carried my iphone and could use it when necessary. I now wish that I had it. I am looking forward to the new version of the ipad coming out, and will be upgrading to 3G. Once you surf the web on the ipad, it really isn't much fun to do on an iphone.

 

Hi Joe!

I was looking at an article today and see that you can get something called "tethering" on your ATT iPhone for $20/month. This allows you to share the iPhone's 3G internet connection with other devices. I'm not sure if the sharing is accomplished through wi-fi or by bluetooth. Might be something to look into for at least a temporary subscription while traveling.

[cruisinitaliano]

I was excited to find out about how to use I-Pad on Solstice starting this Sunday.

Apple support and AT&T told me that if I purchase International plan [ starting @ $29.95 for 20 mg.] then there would be no additional Hook up charges from Celebrity.

So, with my 3g plan plus a one month intnl. plan, I would be able to use I-Pad freely[ so to speak]

Puerto Rico, St. Thomas..being U.S. territory..would be like using device @ home.

So, I hope the info, as I understood it, is correct...Cuz if it is..it sounds much less expensive than ships internet.

 

BTW...am sooo excited about Solstice.

[nps001]

Crusinitaliano:

There is always a chance that I am wrong, but I dont believe I am.

 

In order for you to "join" the Celebrity wifi, you need to sign up and pay. AT&T may not charge extra but you will be charged by Celebrity. Think of it similar to this: If you buy the AT&T plan there are no roaming charges, similar to a cell phone. However, X still charges you to use their satellite system.

 

If I am wrong, this would be great news. Please let me know.

[jagoffee]

I was excited to find out about how to use I-Pad on Solstice starting this Sunday.

Apple support and AT&T told me that if I purchase International plan [ starting @ $29.95 for 20 mg.] then there would be no additional Hook up charges from Celebrity.

So, with my 3g plan plus a one month intnl. plan, I would be able to use I-Pad freely[ so to speak]

Puerto Rico, St. Thomas..being U.S. territory..would be like using device @ home.

So, I hope the info, as I understood it, is correct...Cuz if it is..it sounds much less expensive than ships internet.

 

BTW...am sooo excited about Solstice.

 

Please report back on your results. I would think that when you are in port, it might work as long as you do try to use the ship's network. I am fairly certain that you will not be able to get a signal in the middle of the ocean.

[cruisinitaliano]

Thanks soo much for the last two replies concerning receiving signal:

I am a total novice @ I-Pad etc.....so I read many posts concerning this issue, and resorted to the aformentioned calls to AT&T and Apple support.

I do not know what will happen. I reported what I was told after being on phone with the sources, re-affirming what they said to be what I heard.

 

I assume those of you that have tried to use devices on-board know way better than those of us that haven't:regarding fees/charges.

 

I will report back in a week or so if the Intrnational plan..coupled with 3G network...which I assume by-passes the ship's Wi-fi will work.

 

I appreciate your in-put...and mostly hope this helps the original poster with some info.

[Lsimon]

Thanks soo much for the last two replies concerning receiving signal:

I am a total novice @ I-Pad etc.....so I read many posts concerning this issue, and resorted to the aformentioned calls to AT&T and Apple support.

I do not know what will happen. I reported what I was told after being on phone with the sources, re-affirming what they said to be what I heard.

 

I assume those of you that have tried to use devices on-board know way better than those of us that haven't:regarding fees/charges.

 

I will report back in a week or so if the Intrnational plan..coupled with 3G network...which I assume by-passes the ship's Wi-fi will work.

 

I appreciate your in-put...and mostly hope this helps the original poster with some info.

 

Here is some info I can add which hopefully will lessen and not increase your confusion. The key point here is that on the ship you'll have two choices for connection: w-fi services sold by Celebrity and billed to your on-board ship account or 3G service arrainged through AT&T and billed by, or purchased from, AT&T.

 

1. iPad will definitely work on the Celebrity's ship Wi-Fi which is independant of ATT's 3G service. The Wi-fi runs $0.65/minuite charged to your on-board seapass charge account by the Celebrity ship. In order to use the ship's wi-fi you will have to go to the internet cafe on the ship and create a wi-fi user name and passward tied into your seapass account. Discounts are available for advance purchases of wi-fi minutes in bulk such as 90 minutes for $50. There are discounts for Select and free minutes for Elite, Captains Club members.

 

2. At port in the USA including St. Thomas and Puerto Rico, ATT's 3G service should work fine.

 

3. 3G (cellular) service at sea - here is the part I don't know about. With an iPhone none of the ATT international packages work so an iPhone is charged the full undiscounted non-package international rate when connecting via 3G at sea even if one has a International Data package, although the latter should work at non-USA ports of call. For this reason the general advice for iPhones (not iPads) is to leave the 3G data roaming turned off while on the ship.

But the iPad differs from the iPhone: As I understand it (not 100% sure on this) the iPad international packages must be prepaid for a defined amount of minutes. If this is true then it seems to me it couldn't hurt to try this on the ship at sea as the worst thing that would happen is that it wouldn't work - as opposed to the iPhone usage which would result in a gigantic cellular phone bill. I'd confirm this all with ATT over the phone before I left.

[LKN-NC]

I was excited to find out about how to use I-Pad on Solstice starting this Sunday.

Apple support and AT&T told me that if I purchase International plan [ starting @ $29.95 for 20 mg.] then there would be no additional Hook up charges from Celebrity.

So, with my 3g plan plus a one month intnl. plan, I would be able to use I-Pad freely[ so to speak]

Puerto Rico, St. Thomas..being U.S. territory..would be like using device @ home.

So, I hope the info, as I understood it, is correct...Cuz if it is..it sounds much less expensive than ships internet.

 

BTW...am sooo excited about Solstice.

 

Yes, San Juan and St. Thomas will like home.

 

20 mg isn't much. You could easily use that up in a session or 2 if you open an emails with pictures or go to a couple websites. If just plain email you may be OK. I used close to my 2G limit in a week-long trip. That is 100X 20mg.

 

PS we loved both Solstice and Eclipse. Looking forward to Reflection when it comes out. Have a great cruise!

 

This calculator may help http://www.att.com/standalone/data-calculator/, click the 200mg button then divide by 10 to get an idea of what you can do with 20mg.

 

Remember too that 3G may be slower than using the ships wifi. When I had my iPad cellular on by mistake, it showed E for the Edge system rather than 3G and if that is true, you will be wasting your money on the international plan as the Edge system is so slow it's close to worthless.

 

$29.95 onboard gets you the equivalent of $.61 a minute. If you sign up on the first day, you get an additional 20% credit. (and if select, an additional discount in the coupon book). I found the 29.95 plan + add'l 20% plenty for checking email on our 7 day cruise last month on Eclipse. iPad with 3G was used in Miami at the beginning and end of the cruise, plus travel time.

[lobster129]

2. At port in the USA including St. Thomas and Puerto Rico, ATT's 3G service should work fine.

 

Thank you for posting as I am pretty new to AT&T and iphone. If I put my iphone on "airplane mode"....will that prevent me from incurring charges on oard Solstice?

 

If that is correct....could I still check email in Ft Launderdale, Dan Juan and St Thomas...but not in St Martin...then turn back to "airplane mode" prior to reboarding???

 

I really appreciate all the advice!:)

[mamoune]

Thank you all for your advice. I will probably get the Ipad with 3G regardless of whether it works on the ship or not. Better safe than sorry, and the 3G will undoubtedly be usesful at other times. Since I will be on a 12 day European cruise, which Internet plan with Celebrity should I choose? I plan on sending text e-mails only, maybe an occasionnal photo, if I can download from my camera onto my Ipad :)

 

Thanks again!