Wi-Fi, I.pad , or laptop & costs

[diy dave]

I think the title says it all. What is the cost of connecting to Wi-Fi on board? Which would be better, iPad or laptop, is there any need to put my simcard in my iPad? Considering it doesnt work as a phone.Any info on the above would be much appreciated, thanks Dave

[Royalty X]

I think it depends which line you cruise with Dave. If you've reached elite status with Princess, you will get a certain amount of free internet minutes. I would take the iPad, just cos it's easier. And no you won't need a sim in it if you're connecting to the ship's wifi. :)

[Gold Coast Cruisers]

Every ship has packages available which are cheaper than paying by the minute. Having said that, it's still not cheap and the connection is always very slow, on any ship.

 

The trick is to always type your emails offline then go online and copy and paste them to send. Also a good idea is to block any regular emails that you won't need to see whilst you're away. This speeds up the download of incoming emails.

 

If you're taking your mobile ensure you turn off the 'data' otherwise you'll have to take out a small mortgage to pay the bill on your return home... :eek:

 

Jill:)

[Australian family]

Every ship has packages available which are cheaper than paying by the minute. Having said that, it's still not cheap and the connection is always very slow, on any ship.

 

The trick is to always type your emails offline then go online and copy and paste them to send. Also a good idea is to block any regular emails that you won't need to see whilst you're away. This speeds up the download of incoming emails.

 

If you're taking your mobile ensure you turn off the 'data' otherwise you'll have to take out a small mortgage to pay the bill on your return home... :eek:

 

Jill:)

 

How do you block any regular emails?

[hbtcruiser]

If you are using an iPad they generally only download the text of the email and maybe any small attachments, you can then download any larger attachments if you want. This will save on time for getting emails and therefore cost less in Internet.

[Kiwi_cruiser]

If you've reached elite status with Princess, you will get a certain amount of free internet minutes.

 

Same applies when you get to Platinum status with Princess.

[diy dave]

Thanks guys, iPad it will be. Gotta keep Facebook busy.

[Sandielle]

Same applies when you get to Platinum status with Princess.

 

Very true - we had plenty of internet time with Platinum, too, and loved the fact we could use our laptop in the cabin. We are planning to take our ipad next time on Princess but have to work out how to use the mail system. We always use Mailwasher to vet emails before we download them, but DS says ipads don't work the same way. :rolleyes:

 

Nearer the time, I will be asking for advice. :D

[Sandielle]

Same applies when you get to Platinum status with Princess.

 

Very true - we had plenty of internet time with Platinum, too, and loved the fact we could use our laptop in the cabin. We are planning to take our ipad next time on Princess but have to work out how to use the mail system. We always use Mailwasher to vet emails before we download them, but DS says ipads don't work the same way. :rolleyes:

 

Nearer the time, if we haven't sorted it out, I will be asking for advice. :D

[diy dave]

I suppose if things don't work properly on board I could look for a McDonald's in the port we,re at.

[ceejay3377]

I think the title says it all. What is the cost of connecting to Wi-Fi on board? Which would be better, iPad or laptop, is there any need to put my simcard in my iPad? Considering it doesnt work as a phone.Any info on the above would be much appreciated, thanks Dave

 

I have taken my iPad and Macbook on cruises, and have found the wireless receiver in the iPad to be much weaker than my Macbook. I would be able to access wireless in the cabin on my Macbook, but not my iPad, so this is something it would pay to be aware of. (This was on HAL, that has pretty good ship wide wifi coverage on all decks). I used to go looking for the wireless points and plonk myself nearby for the best access.;)

 

Also I wouldn't recommend using your sim card in the iPad if you are planning on leaving Australia. I had a $150 Telstra card in mine that I used sparingly in SE Asia (I kept my iPad on 'airplane' mode or used wireless only wherever possible) and it was completely used up by the time I got home :mad:. Honestly, I used it maybe 5-6 times for a max of ten minutes, like when I got completely lost in Singapore's suburbs, trying to find the birdpark (!) and I really wanted to use google maps. When I first got my 'smartphone', I left it on, while in Auckland for the day at the end of a cruise. I had no idea that it would continue to roam. I didn't use it at all, I didn't even pull it out of my bag. It was on for maybe 12 hours before we got on the plane and I put it on to airplane mode. That cost me an extra $250 in international roaming charges!:eek: Lesson learned :o, I now know to disable this on my phone!!

 

I know some people can't understand why internet access is important to some cruisers. We have a business that requires almost daily access to emails and ibanking to keep it running while we are away. While the internet access is slow, and expensive by our land based standards, the fact that it exists at all means we are now able to take cruises of longer than a week.:) (Hence the greater frequency of cruises in my signature over the last few years). Plus, you also have to make sure all your facebook friends are soooo envious of you being on a cruise. :p

 

Cheers,

[rkmw]

I suppose if things don't work properly on board I could look for a McDonald's in the port we,re at.

 

they have the computer guy onboard and they are good if you need help