Transatlantic Internet and Other Questions

[Coastalbreezes]

Hi all -- this may seem like a stupid question but I have never done a transatlantic and am looking at one in October on the Epic.

 

Considering that there are 9 sea days I was wondering what internet service is like in the middle of the ocean as I need to keep in touch with my family.

 

Also since this would be my first crossing, any great advice or thoughts you would want to pass along would be much appreciated.

 

Thank you!

Tracy

[wg6530]

I ahveused the Internet on TA cruises on a few different lines, including NCL. so far, so good on all. I do recall seeing written warnings on some trips that there may be long interruptions of internet service on transatlantic voyages, but I have not yet experienced that. Fingers crossed for EB and WB TA's this year.

 

to test the service, I generally try the free Internet sites like NCL.com before I log into my paid account. If the freebies work OK, the paid Internet has too. Generally it seems faster on the paid account than the freebies.

[ImADaneFan]

The internet service is just as slow while crossing as it is when you're in port.:rolleyes: Be sure to compose your emails offline so you don't use all your minutes composing your messages.

 

We did the TA on the Gem last November, Venice to NYC. We loved the sea days because they were so relaxing. We did have an issuse with the weather. The Captain went as far south as possible to try to miss the storm that was going up the east coast. We caught the end of a Nor'easter about 3 days out of NY. We had 30'-50' waves. It was quite a ride. We had a great time. Lots of damage in the shops. The storm turned over the chairs in our cabin, and emptied all the contents of our fridge. The hot tub also sloshed out and flooded a couple of cabins in the CY. Here's a link to some of our pics and videos of the crossing. http://travel.webshots.com/video/3050442130105389627oDOuQc

[Coastalbreezes]

The internet service is just as slow while crossing as it is when you're in port.:rolleyes: Be sure to compose your emails offline so you don't use all your minutes composing your messages.

 

We did the TA on the Gem last November, Venice to NYC. We loved the sea days because they were so relaxing. We did have an issuse with the weather. The Captain went as far south as possible to try to miss the storm that was going up the east coast. We caught the end of a Nor'easter about 3 days out of NY. We had 30'-50' waves. It was quite a ride. We had a great time. Lots of damage in the shops. The storm turned over the chairs in our cabin, and emptied all the contents of our fridge. The hot tub also sloshed out and flooded a couple of cabins in the CY. Here's a link to some of our pics and videos of the crossing. http://travel.webshots.com/video/3050442130105389627oDOuQc

 

That is quite the video! We boarded the Gem after you got off and heard some hair-raising stories from crew members about that storm. Thanks for sharing it and also the internet info.

Tracy

[Why Knot Me]

Also since this would be my first crossing, any great advice or thoughts you would want to pass along would be much appreciated.

 

Thank you!

Tracy

 

The Epic is a great ship to do a TA especially with a lot of sea days because there is so much to do on-board. The only thing on our TA is that the weather was not too great so we didn't get to use the pool deck much.

[garycarla]

If the ship is 100 miles from port or in the middle on the ocean, internet is the same. Has nothing to do with location, as it is satellite based. (they used to drag a long cable, but stopped doing that a few years ago).

 

Rates are the same on your laptop, internet enabled cellphone, wireless, or wired, or on their computers. $.75 to .40 per minute for a slow connection.

[Coastalbreezes]

If the ship is 100 miles from port or in the middle on the ocean, internet is the same. Has nothing to do with location, as it is satellite based. (they used to drag a long cable, but stopped doing that a few years ago).

 

Rates are the same on your laptop, internet enabled cellphone, wireless, or wired, or on their computers. $.75 to .40 per minute for a slow connection.

 

Thank you!

[travelnap]

TracyE, You will probably find the internet speed about the same as you cross the Atlantic as what it is on other cruises. I've done the crossing and I didn't notice any difference in speed or availability on any day of the crossing and I used the internet every day. Since its sattelite based, location is not a big deal. It can be very slow if a lot of people are using the internet at the same time, so if you go early morning or later in the evening the speed will be better for you. When a lot of people are on, its slower than dial up, as pages take forever to load. I usually just buy a package rather than the per minute rate as I know I will use the minutes. As far as activities, although I have not sailed on the Epic, it looks like they will have plenty of activities to keep you occupied. I like to read so the sea days were very laid back for me. Hope you enjoy your trip.

[NMLady]

We did our 5th ta this past October and I agree with what the others have said about internet across the Atlantic -- it's about the same as in port or anywhere else.

 

I also agree that you should try to use the internet at times when not too many others will be using it. That will help the speed somewhat.

 

If you buy an internet package on embarkation day/night, then you'll get free extra minutes.

[dr28326]

I noticed most of you did the ta in october...what about april? weather better or worse?

[pex]

Have you figured out how to compose emails offline if you're using the internet cafe? I couldn't find a text editor, much less an actual word processing program on my last trip.

 

I was on the Gem the previous year to yours, and we had a similar ride. We had no smooth days. On on particularly rough night (I think it was the first night in the Atlantic), a couple of waves came close to throwing me out of bed. I turned on the television to check the wind and waves, but the captain had turned it off. Since we were in a mini-suite just a short walk to the bridge observation deck, I padded on down. I only stayed for a few minutes, but saw a gust with 130K direct crosswind (sustained, about 95K). I actually thought it was fun--evidently I don't get seasick--but I heard lots of complaints from the other passengers. Evidently room service did a brisk business.

 

The internet service is just as slow while crossing as it is when you're in port.:rolleyes: Be sure to compose your emails offline so you don't use all your minutes composing your messages.

 

We did the TA on the Gem last November, Venice to NYC....We had 30'-50' waves. It was quite a ride. We had a great time. Lots of damage in the shops.

[Carnac767]

If the ship is 100 miles from port or in the middle on the ocean, internet is the same. Has nothing to do with location, as it is satellite based. (they used to drag a long cable, but stopped doing that a few years ago).

 

Rates are the same on your laptop, internet enabled cellphone, wireless, or wired, or on their computers. $.75 to .40 per minute for a slow connection.

 

Was that the same cable they used for the television?

[fin]

My trans atlantic was port rich and I thought that might be why the internet was able to support decent voice communications to the states using my laptop and a messenger chat and a headset.

 

And I took a photo of hurricane force winds on the remoted instruments behind the bridge, portside on deck 11.

[Ask4Jay]

@TracyE -

Typically I buy a package of about 90 minutes for $50. That lasts for the entire crossing for my iPod touch. I do all my writing (daily travel log, emails, etc) off-line. No surfing. Once a day I log on and let the system send and receive stuff automatically, which takes between four and six minutes per session. Don't know whether that is fast or slow; it works, and that's all I want. Love TAs.

 

@garycarla -

I thought that was the extension cord. Being aft, we notice these things.

[Coastalbreezes]

Thanks to all for your responses. I usually buy the package on the first day, too. I'm an early riser and hit the internet cafe with my morning coffee just to quickly check and respond to any really important emails then log off and I usually end up with unused minutes at the end of the cruise.

 

Tracy