Using ship computers for emails at home

[mermaid122]

I'm not that familiar with the cruising industry, but I'm on the Serenade of the Seas Mediterranean cruise in May. I KNOW not even to TURN ON a phone while on a ship because of cost and connectability. So what is the best option to stay in touch with home, just use the computer facilities on the ship for emails? Do the ships have a wi-fi package you can buy where you can use wi-fi for emails with a device or will that be too costly?

 

Another question, when on land at one of the ports, would anyone recommend buying a sim card to use your phone or is it better to just buy a calling card for Europe? What have any one of you done to stay in touch with home without having it too costly or complicated?

 

Appreciate anyone's feedback.

 

Thanks

Marie

[frank1001]

You can buy wifi packages on board. They are quite expensive though. Other option is to use the ships PC's, but I think the cost of using them is more expensive per minute than the wifi packages.

We usually give them a miss, unless there is an urgent need to send emails. We go for hotspots when ashore, or use internet cafes.

Do an online search for hotspots at each port you are stopping at. Some places may have them at the ships terminal.

Happy cruising.

[mermaid122]

You can buy wifi packages on board. They are quite expensive though. Other option is to use the ships PC's, but I think the cost of using them is more expensive per minute than the wifi packages.

We usually give them a miss, unless there is an urgent need to send emails. We go for hotspots when ashore, or use internet cafes.

Do an online search for hotspots at each port you are stopping at. Some places may have them at the ships terminal.

Happy cruising.

 

 

Thanks for your info and will check into costs and looking for internet cafes ashore. Will only use if needed as you say given the limited options.

 

Thanks again,

Marie

[lakelorain]

I use the ships computers. I set up a special email account and tell the important folks(family and close friends) to use that account while we are away. I only check that account. Computers are slow but if you only have a few emails, it's no problem. I check the account at least every other day.

If there is a real emergency they can call the ship and leave a message for you.

As far as cell phones in Europe, call your carrier. Some have a small charge for using your phone in Europe and some just charge per call. Unless you are going to be there a long time, you don't need a sim card.

[jamesr3939]

I used the ships computers once a day to check my EMail. I would answer anything that needed an answer quickly and then log off. Never that much if you just check the EMail. Your smart phone can be used the same by connecting to the ships wifi, but I haven't ever used it. On my Iphone I turn off data, which is were that uncontrolled surprise expense comes from you always hear about. You can make/receive calls using the ships cel system at it's $2.95 a minute. When in a foreign port you pay whatever the local system wants to charge you. So either leave it turned off or in airplane mode. I know the last couple of trips we went on when we docked and the ship turned off their system I got a text message from the local cel system telling what the charges would be if I used my phone in port.

[jamesr3939]

BTW: if you use the ships computers make sure you totally log out. At least twice I went to log on and found whom ever had been there last hadn't logged all the way out so I am guessing the clock kept running on their charges..

[cruisinfanatic]

You can buy wifi packages on board. They are quite expensive though. Other option is to use the ships PC's, but I think the cost of using them is more expensive per minute than the wifi packages.

.

Any internet package purchased on the ship costs the same whether you use the ships internet terminals or your own wifi device. You can buy by the minute also

[TBone2K]

I am assuming that you download your email to your smart phone or Outlook or some email program? Contact your email provider and see if they have a web-based email client you can use. Then all you need is a browser and the internet package.

 

As others have said, there is not difference between using your own wifi device and the ship's computers. The packages are purchased by the minute.

[jamesr3939]

Good point, I have an sbcglobal Email, but if checking from other computers I log on through yahoo mail. I forgot about the price, yes it's the same cost no matter where you log on. In fact, if you buy a package you can log on at the computer stations, smart phone, Ipad, etc using the same shipboard account you bought.

[DeltaOne]

I'm not that familiar with the cruising industry, but I'm on the Serenade of the Seas Mediterranean cruise in May. I KNOW not even to TURN ON a phone while on a ship because of cost and connectability. So what is the best option to stay in touch with home, just use the computer facilities on the ship for emails? Do the ships have a wi-fi package you can buy where you can use wi-fi for emails with a device or will that be too costly?

 

First, it's easy to use one's smartphone when on a cruise. Just put the device in Airplane Mode. This turns all the radios off and you will not incur large, unexpected charges. And you can continue to use the device for everything else it can do. And remember, you can turn WiFi back on and use free or low-cost WiFi hotspots to check your email or surf the web.

 

Second, it's much less expensive to use one's computer, tablet or smartphone than to use the ship's computer for checking email. With your own computer, tablet or smartphone you can log on, download emails and log off. Then take your time reading and composing replies. Then log on, send replies, log off. Quick and easy.

 

We used a 30 minute package on the ship for an entire week using this method. You'll use an email app like Apple's Mail or Microsoft's Outlook -- not a web browser. And this is easy to set up and test before you leave home. When you use a ship's computer the clock is ticking, and you're paying, the entire time you're downloading, reading and sending replies. Much more expensive.

[MIcruiser99]

The coupon books have had credits that you can apply to your account for internet use. With both my coupon and DH's coupon, we did not pay any extra for internet use when we just quickly checked email. The computers are very slow so I only did quick checks each day.

[setsail]

Cheapest way to stay in touch while on a cruise, texting

[crazypriest]

I agree the best way to check email is to turn your cell phone to airplane mode and then logging into your Royal WiFi account (REMEMBER TO LOG OFF ONCE EMAIL COMES IN).

 

This method should only take a minute or two vs the 10-12 minutes it takes on the ships computers.

 

For phone calls from Europe the challenge is that you need to have a different SIM card for each country. Also... you'll want to UNLOCK your phone with your carrier BEFORE leaving the USA. You also need to know that your phone takes a SIM card... I think only ATT and one small company have SIM cards.

 

If you need to really make a call on your phone then what we do is have the SKYPE app on our phone and have an account with $5 in it. Then we call using SKYPE on wifi (still on Airplane mode) and call from an internet cafe on shore. The ship is TOO SLOW for good SKYPE.

 

I hope this helps!

 

Ernesto

[teacherman]

We have ATT family plan with unlimited texting. When we are cruising, we turn on our phone in each port to see if anyone has texted us. I believe it is 5 cents per tax for anything that is incoming. It is 50 cents per text if we send from a foreign country. Easy and cheap. Anywhere that our phone shows ATT service (Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, etc) it is part of our unlimited plan.

[Avista]

I always take my iPad. I take pictures and write my emails off line. Once a day I sign on for a couple minutes. This allows my pics and emails to go out and emails to come in.

[jstraw20]

Agreed 100% about using a wifi enabled device instead of the ship's computers, they are very slow and you are "on the clock" the whole time. Compose your messages offline, turn wifi on, log in, send and receive, log off, turn wifi off. Faster and less expensive.

[oneputt18]

I also use ipad, log onto wifi, dowload emails, log off wifi, answer emails log back on to wifi and send. It saves alot of wifi charges.

[Ashland]

I believe some RCI ships are now offering an unlimited internet package..So no need to worry about those minutes that are ticking away.

[ssb]

I believe some RCI ships are now offering an unlimited internet package..So no need to worry about those minutes that are ticking away.

 

Thank goodness

[mermaid122]

I use the ships computers. I set up a special email account and tell the important folks(family and close friends) to use that account while we are away. I only check that account. Computers are slow but if you only have a few emails, it's no problem. I check the account at least every other day.

If there is a real emergency they can call the ship and leave a message for you.

As far as cell phones in Europe, call your carrier. Some have a small charge for using your phone in Europe and some just charge per call. Unless you are going to be there a long time, you don't need a sim card.

 

 

 

Thanks for all this info. I think I'll abe using the ship's computers. Less complicated.

 

Marie

[labeachcomber]

Agreed 100% about using a wifi enabled device instead of the ship's computers, they are very slow and you are "on the clock" the whole time. Compose your messages offline, turn wifi on, log in, send and receive, log off, turn wifi off. Faster and less expensive.

When I had a PC laptop, I never used Microsoft Exchange and didn't really understand how people used this similar technique and did most of their stuff offline. Now with an Apple iPad or iPhone, it makes total sense. I will be doing this as well, thanks for the tip!

 

I believe some RCI ships are now offering an unlimited internet package..So no need to worry about those minutes that are ticking away.

I'm assuming it will be quite pricey though?

 

I don't recall, do you need to buy a minutes package to use the ship computers or Royal Wifi? Or can you just purchase by the minute?

[north29]

and my Ipad took more time to load emails than the ships computers. I use gmail, and did not use a email program to down load my mail.

 

I thought I was pretty savvy with computers, but and not to derail, what email program works with gmail that allows you down load the entire email go off line and then reply to all back on line.

[Ashland]

When I had a PC laptop, I never used Microsoft Exchange and didn't really understand how people used this similar technique and did most of their stuff offline. Now with an Apple iPad or iPhone, it makes total sense. I will be doing this as well, thanks for the tip!

 

 

I'm assuming it will be quite pricey though?

 

I don't recall, do you need to buy a minutes package to use the ship computers or Royal Wifi? Or can you just purchase by the minute?

Approx $149.00 per week for unlimited internet doesn't sound too bad at least to me.

[OperaJoe]

I believe some RCI ships are now offering an unlimited internet package..So no need to worry about those minutes that are ticking away.

 

Would you know what RCL ship that would be? I was on Oasis in Jan. and just last week on the Liberty in a TA. The internet packages remained as in previous years - expensive! I do a lot of email and web-based work so I always buy the biggest package they offer. The problem is extremely slow connectivity and congestion, especially during the day. Often I couldn't even log on, so an unlimited package is a moot point. I attended some sort of Q&A on board, and one of the officers in charge mentioned that within 18 months or so, a new internet system (currently being tested) will debut, with much improved connectivity, up to 10 or 20 times better than it is now. He did mention the system name but I cannot remember, and it involves a different part of the wireless spectrum. Has anyone heard this?

[labeachcomber]

Approx $149.00 per week for unlimited internet doesn't sound too bad at least to me.

 

Might not be if you need to be on your email/internet for work or if you're addicted to cruise critic! But for somebody that wants to just check in for a few minutes every other day or so, $149 seems ridiculous to me.

 

I'll look for maybe that 30 minute package and that would be sufficient for me.

 

Since I've never used the Wifi onboard, are there Wifi hotspots where the signal might be stronger and downloads occur faster? I seem to recall reading that people thought the Wifi in their cabins was really slow.