Brilliance wi-fi

[Flick]

I know that Brilliance now has wi-fi thru out the ship including the cabins. We have never taken our lap top before but were wondering if we use it in our room are we charged for wi-fi? Same question...if we use it out on deck are we charged?

[Clarea]

I know that Brilliance now has wi-fi thru out the ship including the cabins. We have never taken our lap top before but were wondering if we use it in our room are we charged for wi-fi? Same question...if we use it out on deck are we charged?

Yes, all WiFi on Royal ships are subject to charges. I believe Brilliance is still on the per minute charge plan, which starts at $0.65 per minute.

[KroozFoolz]

Rick, you and Kay need to join our roll call! ;)

 

Here is the link to the current last page:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=39465372#post39465372

[cruisePAC]

When we were on Brilliance in May we were charged per minute for using the wi-fi. I don't suspect that it has changed in the past few months.

[cb at sea]

Oh yes....you will be charged! The only way to get the password to access wi-fi is to pay for it!

[ggo85]

As of last week . . .Yes, you can get internet in your stateroom and yes there is a per minute charge. There are "discounts" if you buy a package of minutes and cruisers with status (e.g., Diamond) will get discounts and free minutes in their coupon booklets.

 

I was able to get Blackberry access without a PW and without paying the ship. However, I did have to pay for the international package of data and phone from my carrier. Needed it for work so work paid.;)

[btc1951]

My husband and I are sailing on the Brilliance on October 13th (NE/Canada cruise), and we are bringing smartphones and a mini tablet. I'm seeing references to the per-minute charge, but I can't find anything official about the package price (for bulk minute purchases). Also, would it be cheaper to just use our data plan with Verizon? I'm thinking we should probably turn the phones & tablet off except when we want to incur either minutes on the ship or data charges on land. On land, I'm sure we can find a hot-spot to check email/upload photos from phone to facebook, etc. [Can you tell we're joined at the hip to our devices!] I just don't want to get back home and find a whopping cellphone bill from data charges either.

 

Would appreciate any and all advice.

 

Betsy

[Clarea]

My husband and I are sailing on the Brilliance on October 13th (NE/Canada cruise), and we are bringing smartphones and a mini tablet. I'm seeing references to the per-minute charge, but I can't find anything official about the package price (for bulk minute purchases). Also, would it be cheaper to just use our data plan with Verizon? I'm thinking we should probably turn the phones & tablet off except when we want to incur either minutes on the ship or data charges on land. On land, I'm sure we can find a hot-spot to check email/upload photos from phone to facebook, etc. [Can you tell we're joined at the hip to our devices!] I just don't want to get back home and find a whopping cellphone bill from data charges either.

 

Would appreciate any and all advice.

 

Betsy

Here the the current onboard internet charges (except for Allure):

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/customersupport/faq/details.do?pagename=frequently_asked_questions&pnav=5&pnav=2&faqSubjectName=Life+Onboard&faqId=310&faqSubjectId=334&faqType=faq

[hellsop]

Also, would it be cheaper to just use our data plan with Verizon? I'm thinking we should probably turn the phones & tablet off except when we want to incur either minutes on the ship or data charges on land.

 

(Figures pulled form memory, not contemporary, authoritative sources.)

 

SMS and cell calls work on ships, but they are Not Cheap (typically about $7 per minute $0.50 per SMS). They are, however, slightly cheaper than actual ship-based/legacy calls from at sea (about $10 per minute). No cell-based data service aboard from Verizon unless you're within range of a shore-based cell tower.

 

Ship data will not be used unless you use their browser widget to "sign in" and start your prepaid or per-minute internet connection (do NOT forget to "sign out"). Just having wifi turned on and connected is not enough to be charged, or allow access off the ship.

 

For most, "Airplane Mode" is your friend. That will turn off all the device's radios. You'll still be able to use whatever content is on the phone or tablet.

 

You can prevent expensive calls and SMSs aboard ship and ashore by turning on Airplane Mode, then explicitly turning the wifi back on. This will leave you safe from unexpected charges of any kind on shore and ship short of forgetting to log out of your shipboard internet access. (So, again, do NOT forget to "sign out".)

 

Slightly looser but still pretty protected is to set your phone to not allow "roaming". There's usually two separate settings for that, one for limiting only data roaming and one for also limiting traditional cell/SMS roaming. This is particularly useful Verizon customers because it also limits which cell connections are used in border areas. When I had a Verizon phone, I could forbid roaming and still get cell and data connections to shore a good 30 miles out of Miami up on the deck above the pool. The shipboard cell relay counts as "Roaming" to the phone.

[btc1951]

Thanks! This is great information to have BEFORE we board in October. It helps to be informed and understand the best way to handle things. I'm a Facebook junkie, and I use my cellphone for all my pictures, then I typically upload some to my FB page (I don't use a stand-alone camera anymore).

 

It also sounds like text messages are cheaper than phone calls (I doubt I would need to make a call anyway short of an emergency). My family/friends track my travels through FB anyway. We will probably limit most of our "CONNECT" time to hot spots in ports, with occasional usage on board.