Iphone away from the Star Princess

[kwahl1]

Last year we took the iphone and droid thru the panama canal and found it ok to check emails in ports. I'm not one to pay 35 cents on the ship for SLOW internet.

Sidebar:Signals are readily available in ports but we found that bars and resturaunts/coffee shops willing to give a password if you eat/drink in their place. OK

So on the ship we keep the phones in the "airplane mode".

This year we are going on the Star to SA and not sure of the latest technology. Can someone fill us in? We had thought about mabe getting the Kindle fire, but wouldn't we still be in search of a signal in ports and still subject to minutes if we fortunate to get a signal. I guess it would be a signal from the phone tower versus a signal from pirated wireless.

Sidebar2: On the NE/Canadian cruise we were able to get a wireless connection in each cruise terminal at the end of the ramp at each port for the our laptop I carried in my backpack. Pretty convenient! The Crown crew all did the same thing. This was pre iphone/droid days.

 

So looking for suggestions and the use of technology in the port city of South/Central America. Doid? Iphone? Kindle? Kindle Fire? Laptop? Tell us about the technology. Thanks in advance

[whitearrow]

What are you looking to do? If you just want to check email a couple of times, finding an internet cafe in port would probably be the most cost-effective solution.

 

As for devices to bring with you, pretty much any smartphone will work anywhere with wifi. If you don't want to risk international roaming, turn off the data connection. A laptop with wifi will also work anywhere with wifi, but it's much more of a pain to carry with you. Same with the Kindle Fire, though somewhat less so. The Fire is wifi only, so if you can find free wifi, it wouldn't cost you anything.

 

I love the Kindle e-ink for reading, but would not recommend it as an Internet device. It's mainly a reader. You can get some web mail on it, but it's primarily a reading device.

[WVBill]

Pull the simm card out of your iPhone and it will still function for data via wi-fi and you will not have to worry about charges to your phone account.

[Potstech]

As has been said the Kindle Fire relies only on WIFI to connect to the internet to download items. It has no 3G/4G, bluetooth, external memory/SD card capabilities. It is a great reader and keeper of files. It also has some gaming that is available for it. Technically you can only get books from Amazon BUT there is also a way to get them from Barnes and Noble with a bit of slight of hand.

 

I intend to take my Android phone with me and when in port with everything else turned off find some free wifi available to download and send e-mail. Much easier and lighter to do.

[DeltaOne]

This year we are going on the Star to SA and not sure of the latest technology. Can someone fill us in? We had thought about mabe getting the Kindle fire, but wouldn't we still be in search of a signal in ports and still subject to minutes if we fortunate to get a signal.

 

All the devices you mention use 3G and/or WiFi, so which device you use really doesn't matter. The least expensive option, when using a smartphone, is to place the device in Airplane Mode and then turn WiFi back on -- and take advantage of low-cost or free WiFi hotspots.

[DeltaOne]

Pull the simm card out of your iPhone and it will still function for data via wi-fi and you will not have to worry about charges to your phone account.

 

No need to pull the sim card. Just place the iPhone in Airplane Mode and then turn WiFi back on.

[WarEagle76]

kwahl1, on the 12/24/11 Star Princess sailing we had the best internet access of any Princess cruise we've sailed, until the last two days (between Punta Arenas and Valparaiso). Did not use iphone (left in airplane mode) but used two laptops. Not sure if we were just lucky, if it was the weather, if they changed something during dry dock, but had faster access and didn't get kicked off once for the first 11 days. The last two days for whatever reason the access slowed down. We were on Caribe deck aft. Spoke to others who stated they were having better access during the cruise as well. Another possibility could be that a lot of the passengers were from South America and possibly they were checking their email and using the internet in port with some other access option so there wasn't as much activity via the onboard system. Regardless, we were pleasantly surprised and happy with the internet acess on the cruise.

[dhyayi]

No need to pull the sim card. Just place the iPhone in Airplane Mode and then turn WiFi back on.

 

great solution

 

[kwahl1]

kwahl1, on the 12/24/11 Star Princess sailing we had the best internet access of any Princess cruise we've sailed, until the last two days (between Punta Arenas and Valparaiso). Did not use iphone (left in airplane mode) but used two laptops. Not sure if we were just lucky, if it was the weather, if they changed something during dry dock, but had faster access and didn't get kicked off once for the first 11 days. The last two days for whatever reason the access slowed down. We were on Caribe deck aft. Spoke to others who stated they were having better access during the cruise as well. Another possibility could be that a lot of the passengers were from South America and possibly they were checking their email and using the internet in port with some other access option so there wasn't as much activity via the onboard system. Regardless, we were pleasantly surprised and happy with the internet acess on the cruise.

 

We are in C703. The internet you were please with, was that the "package deal" they sell onboard, so many minutes for $, and you use the computers in the computer lounge? Or did you have platinum status with internet minutes included? Thanks in advance

[Don P]

We have iPads with WiFi only......we traveled all over Europe last year and fpind free WiFi access just about everywhere. We were able to Skype with our children for free.

[ladybug1s]

so you can turn airplane mode on the off position to stop data, but still access wifi. I have a droid and buying a plan so we can use the wifi, way cheaper than the ships. This way we can message on the internet and kids can share pictures on Facebook with their friends

[mamaboss]

So if you turn on the airplane mode and then turn on wifi, you don't have to worry about roaming or someone calling you & you get charged $$$ because of it? I often wondered how I could use my droid phone without worry of excess charges.