iPad on board

[sailnsee]

W

How does taking an iPad on board work...do you need to buy wifi pkg.....price?

Anyone have experience with reading ebooks that have been downloaded,still need wifi...?

[Caribbeansunrise]

WIFI is necessary for internet but not reading e-books. When first using WIFI, be sure to select yes when asked if you want to bookmark log-off page.

[CarpeCerevisi]

You'll need to first login on one of the internet terminals on the ship to set up your userid and password. After that you will be able to login with that id from your iPad when in wifi range. After logging in from your iPad the first time you'll be given internet package options to choose and as the previous poster stated, save the logoff url, but if you don't, shutting wifi off on the iPad will disconnect you.

[A&L_Ont]

You'll need to first login on one of the internet terminals on the ship to set up your userid and password. After that you will be able to login with that id from your iPad when in wifi range. After logging in from your iPad the first time you'll be given internet package options to choose and as the previous poster stated, save the logoff url, but if you don't, shutting wifi off on the iPad will disconnect you.

 

Not to say that it won't work but I will share our cautionary story. Last November we lost 30 internet minutes on Oasis when I put it to airplane mode, which isn't the same as your suggestion of shutting it off. The connection to the internet was not terminated and we lost 30 minutes of prepaid internet and consumed another 240 additional minutes. Thankfully they were understanding and credited the 240 minutes and a portion of the 30 minutes back.

 

Ever since then we have logged off on the url page and then double checked that we were logged off. Prior to that sailing all we did was go to airplane mode and it worked. Since then we have purchased the full cruise internet and this has not been a problem.

[stevea36]

W

How does taking an iPad on board work...do you need to buy wifi pkg.....price?

Anyone have experience with reading ebooks that have been downloaded,still need wifi...?

 

WIFI on board is slow and EXPENSIVE !!!!! (the long cable attached to the ship slows down the data :)... seriously, satellite communications is slow compared to what you are used to using on land)

 

Be sure to shut off your cellular data on the device if you have it. The use of cellular data is even more expensive and iPads like to chat with the mother ship (Apple).

 

If you need access to the internet, do it at free wifi spots at the ports.

 

Steve

[Dett]

With my mini ipad I have found that the best way to log off is to go to settings, choose the RCCL wifi, then click on the "i" (located to the right of the RCCL wifi), forget the wifi network, then turn off wifi, then shut down the ipad. I have never had charges using this method. Ipads don't seem to want to save the log off page the way that a computer would.

 

And of course turn off cellular as has been previously suggested. I turn off cellular when the ship sails.

Edited April 26, 2014 by Dett

[Clarea]

Regarding the iPad logoff, Guest Services can provide a logoff URL.

[LuvBNatC]

W

How does taking an iPad on board work...do you need to buy wifi pkg.....price?

Anyone have experience with reading ebooks that have been downloaded,still need wifi...?

 

I have brought my iPad several times solely for reading or playing games offline, and have never used it for Internet because the connection is too slow and expensive to be worthwhile for me.

 

Before you leave home, use your regular Internet connection to download whatever books or magazines or videos you want to view onboard. They will then be resident on the iPad.

 

Whenever you're ready to stop accessing the Internet with it, and before you board the ship, go to Settings and switch the iPad to Airplane mode so it won't keep looking for WiFi to hook up to (which also eats up battery life).

 

Bon voyage and happy reading!

[sailnsee]

Thanks,good to know about the ebooks,guess I'll just use some free minutes for emails....

[Cruise_Christy]

Fill your ipad up with whatever books (or movies, music) etc. that you want at home and as long as they are on the ipad hard drive you will have access to them.

 

Write your emails whilst offline and save them to drafts, then when you log on (yes, it will cost on the ship - but there are often restaurants and public wifi spots on shore) it will take just 1-2 minutes of internet time (a bit more if you're sending pics) to send all your mail and collect new mails.

[petel]

Thanks,good to know about the ebooks,guess I'll just use some free minutes for emails....

 

My technique is to send the log on screen and log off screen links to my home screen. Easy to find and works for me.

 

Settings WIFI off keeps the auto connect from working in the background.

 

Constructing emails and CC posts offline saves those high priced minutes. ;)

Edited April 26, 2014 by petel

[dschultz56]

We were on Allure a couple of weeks ago and did the unlimited WIFI for 2 devices. You don't need to go to the Internet lounge to set up your account....you can do it directly from your Ipad or PC. We were able to use 2 devices at the same time - phone, Ipad, PC...whatever you want. While it is slower than land-based internet, it was really that unreasonable. And we were in the last cabin overlooking the boardwalk so I'm sure we were far from access points.

[Caribbeansunrise]

Regarding the iPad logoff, Guest Services can provide a logoff URL.

 

 

http://192.168.132.1/ekgnkm/WirelessLogin.asp

 

I saved this URL on my iPad long ago and it has worked on all ships we have been on since.

[golfpccc]

To log off, just type logoff.com in address and you will be logged off - to me faster than finding the link.

[cruisnfool]

We just got off the allure and the eclipse last nov both trips we had no problem with access or speed. Seems like it has greatly improved over the years.

[peteukmcr]

Got off Adventure TA last Sunday and the system in place for unlimited WiFi was far more user friendly.

 

I could sign up from the iPad without having to go to the internet café on deck 8. When I created a username and password the system automatically checked what discounts were available to me as a Diamond C&A member (either 1 hour of free time or $29.95 discount off any package) and I could select the offer I wanted.

 

Once I had purchased my package and created my login details, whenever I connected to WiFi, if I wasn't logged in, the system would prompt for my username and password.

 

To end the session, I simply entered logoff.com into the browser address bar and the system logged me off.

 

It was the most user friendly process I've known on RCI which is a great step forward.

Edited May 10, 2014 by peteukmcr

[Caribbeansunrise]

I like logoff.com an whole lot better than the link I saved. I'll be trying it in a couple of weeks.

 

Thanks for the information