laptops on cruise

[melika091900]

Do laptops work on cruises??? I have a aircard...

or do you have to pay for wifi?

never been on RCCL, trying to see if its worth bringing my laptop or not

thanks in advance

[cb at sea]

You will pay for a connection...they have "packages" of mins. avail., or you can do it "by the min", which is the most expensive option. The connection is NOT what you have at home...that's almost guaranteed...it's sloooow!

[LTyler]

just off the Allure and I had a fabulous fast connection, never had anything that fast before maybe I just got lucky but I ended up purcahsing multiple internet packages :rolleyes:

[Clarea]

Do laptops work on cruises??? I have a aircard...

or do you have to pay for wifi?

never been on RCCL, trying to see if its worth bringing my laptop or not

thanks in advance

The aircard may work, however you may incur data roaming charges. You should check with your aircard carrier for details about data charges while on board the cruise ship.

[mil76]

Not worth bringing the laptop if you plan to use it while the boat is at sea. Data is very slow, and expensive. If you have an Aircard, you better have an international data plan, and even that is very expensive unless you have unlimited INTERNATIONAL data on it. If you absolutely need to do things with your laptop, better to wait to get to ports and use a place with wifi, or if you go to the USVI, most US carriers have the same plan as you find in the US so your Aircard may be ok there (best to check though).

[melika091900]

K, seems like a hassle to bring, and the same price basically as using the ships computers..

thank you all for your responses :O)

[sandy toes]

Bring mine all the time. Have to check in even when on holiday with work issues. In port I use the air card at sea the RC minute pkg. It is slower that DSL but we are at sea. I do have an International card. You can add it to your plan for a month and then remove it once all your charges appear if you do not work out side of the country enough to keep it active. I know several friends that do that each time they go to Europe. Talk with your plan and get details, Maybe even talk with work, they might cover it.

[chipmaster]

Everything depends on what you are going to use it for.

 

If just internet, when at sea you will get the same speed, possible even a bit slower compared to the ship computer and pay the same.

 

If in port you could find your direct connnection to be faster but it will depend on your coverage and plan.

 

For me, I use my laptop for much more than just internet mail so it always comes with me, YMMV.

 

K, seems like a hassle to bring, and the same price basically as using the ships computers..

thank you all for your responses :O)

[Havingfun2010]

Do laptops work on cruises??? I have a aircard...

or do you have to pay for wifi?

never been on RCCL, trying to see if its worth bringing my laptop or not

thanks in advance

 

For work or pleasure? If it is for work, than make sure you set it up so you will get reimursed for it.

 

For pleasure, than buy a plan on the ship, and only use it sparingly!

[taxatty]

We also use a laptop for copying pictures off of a digital camera card, sending and receiving files by e-mail (which you can't do on a ship's computer), using Skype while in a pre or post cruise hotel and for watching DVD movies on long train rides and plane flights.

 

Les

[dodgersmom]

This will be my first cruise (leaving Monday on MOS) with my iPad. Doubtful I will use it for the internet, mostly for ebooks and games. But maybe I can get a free signal in port somewhere.

[stephanie1]

My friend had issues with the laptop on the Liberty. Connectivity took a long time, there were issues with guest relations about what we were being charged for as we had coupons for free time and then we subscribed to

the package and we were getting overcharged. Sign=on was a problem

as the guest relations guy never told me that we had to first activate the

sign-on on the Liberty computers in the Internet Cafe area. Then my friend

said that the sign-on was not to a secure site and he had confidential work

issues and it was a Mess!

 

Unless you are very patient and willing to deal with sign-on, connectivity

and people in guest relations who will tell you anything so they can take

care of the next person in line - do not take your laptop.

 

My friend got me so aggravated I wished that I had travelled alone!

[mjldvlks]

My carry on has a pocket that fits my little netbook about perfectly so I bring it. The pocket is right on top so it is easy to take out for security screening. I probably would not if it meant an additional bag to carry.

 

I recognize the problems with speed [always slower than dial up in my expereince] and connectivity, but I can generally manage to check email once in a while on board. I mainly use the internet and email on shore -- in the airport, hotels and other places with connectivity. On board, I also use the computer to sort, organize and back up pictures, so it is useful independent of internet/email issues. Using your own computer is no faster than the ship's computers, but having your own tabs and shortcuts for navigation saves a little time.

 

I have to add that guest services has always been very helpful and cooperative crediting us with extra minutes when it is really slow. One trick I have found is trying to use your minutes at off peak times. The fewer people using -- the faster it is.

 

[i must say I am encouraged by the poster above who said they experieced normal speeds on a recent cruise.]

[Sequim88]

I am teetering on the edge of using tablet next time instead of full laptop. I do like the ability to download pictures from camera as a backup but the tradeoff is weight. Work requires me to at least get email but would also like me to have Citrix remote access capability. If I can get that working on Android OS that would be sweet. At least they pay for the full minutes package.

 

On advantage to not using the ship PCs is being able to connect anywhere there is a WiFi signal - such as library. Much more comfortable than at PC desks. Our next cabin is close enough to library we might be able to catch a signal in cabin.

 

But best part of a transatlantic is the internet deadzone in mid-ocean. Blessed disconnect from work. :)

[LTyler]

[i must say I am encouraged by the poster above who said they experieced normal speeds on a recent cruise.]

 

Trust me I 've been on several cruises before this past one and it was slow as snails I couldn't believe how fast it was this past trip maybe because I mostly went on late evening before I went to sleep, it worked like a charm, the cruise before on Oasis it was sooo slow!!!

[Jimnbigd]

Of course you could use it without internet access, to view pictures and videos you have taken on the ship and in ports, plus to unload and free up your camera's memory card. So for that reason alone it might be worth taking.

[NorbertsNiece]

Of course you could use it without internet access, to view pictures and videos you have taken on the ship and in ports, plus to unload and free up your camera's memory card. So for that reason alone it might be worth taking.

 

Exactly what I do.

I upload my pics each day to my Netbook.

[bornin49]

I take mine all the time, I just use it for downloading my pictures, then I can look at them and see what ones I want to keep, it beats looking at the little digital screen.

[retiredonthesea]

Same here, use our mostly for pictures, but buy the pkg for certain amt. of minutes. Usally get a pretty good deal for being in a GS.

[Kartgv]

We always take our laptop and use it for email and photos. We manage a vacation rental property, so need to check emails a couple of times daily to avoid missing a potential rental. Have to pay for these cruises somehow! The photos are downloaded daily, so it's easier to label things before we forget what/where they were. The laptop does save some time/money, as we have all our favorites sites marked, as well as standardized formats for our business and address lists. You can also compose emails offline and save minutes that way. Another advantage is that we have online copies of all our important paperwork with us - all cruise documentation and emails, travel insurance paperwork, passport copies, etc. - means carrying less paper. Supposedly the Radiance now has WiFi in all staterooms, so that eliminates lugging the laptop to the usual hot spots.

[Loucat]

My friend had issues with the laptop on the Liberty. Connectivity took a long time, there were issues with guest relations about what we were being charged for as we had coupons for free time and then we subscribed to

the package and we were getting overcharged. Sign=on was a problem

as the guest relations guy never told me that we had to first activate the

sign-on on the Liberty computers in the Internet Cafe area. Then my friend

said that the sign-on was not to a secure site and he had confidential work

issues and it was a Mess!

 

Unless you are very patient and willing to deal with sign-on, connectivity

and people in guest relations who will tell you anything so they can take

care of the next person in line - do not take your laptop.

 

My friend got me so aggravated I wished that I had travelled alone!

Have to disagree. I travel with my laptop on every cruise. The cruise staff work with you when you have problems and are considerate in deducting for mishaps. They give you a brochure and tell you you need to sign in on their system to activate your account. Connection may be slow depending on where you are related to hotspots. Sorry you had such a negative experience.

[Happy ks]

I take mine all the time, I just use it for downloading my pictures, then I can look at them and see what ones I want to keep, it beats looking at the little digital screen.

 

I just take several memory cards and look at the photos when I get home. No laptop needed. We took it once, but it wasn't needed like I thought so it stays home now.