DiTomCruisers Posted November 26, 2014 #1 Share Posted November 26, 2014 Hi Gang, I may have some significant grandchild withdrawals on our cruise. Has anyone used "Facetime" on Princess? We are Princess Platinum so we get some free internet minutes. Thanks, Diane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grandmacruise Posted November 26, 2014 #2 Share Posted November 26, 2014 I tried it last cruise. I had audio only. My granddaughter had audio and video. I don't know if this is common. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Tanna Posted November 26, 2014 #3 Share Posted November 26, 2014 (edited) Hi Gang, I may have some significant grandchild withdrawals on our cruise. Has anyone used "Facetime" on Princess? We are Princess Platinum so we get some free internet minutes. Thanks, Diane If Facetime does not work well on the ship, Maybe look for an internet café when you get to port. Depending what itinerary I have seen some close by the ship. Just follow the crew members..they know where they are! Good luck Edited November 26, 2014 by Dan Tanna Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loonbeam Posted November 26, 2014 #4 Share Posted November 26, 2014 From my Princess FAQ: Skype, Facetime, Etc. A common question is whether Skype and similar services will work on cruise ships, and the answer is yes, but… The amount of information (bandwith) that can be sent and received from the ship is very limited due to it being a satellite connection. Skype (especially with video) consumes a large portion of that capacity. This has two effects, possibly making your connection very poor, but also reducing the amount available to the other ships passengers. Depending on the satellite signal, 3 or 4 skype users can take up almost half of the total capacity for all passengers. For this reason some ship’s engineers block voip and streaming services. This is becoming more common as the amount of smartphones and other devices proliferate. If you need to use such a service, connecting during off hours (very late evenings, very early mornings and while in port) can reduce both your issues and impact on other passengers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingofcool1947 Posted November 26, 2014 #5 Share Posted November 26, 2014 (edited) Hi Gang, I may have some significant grandchild withdrawals on our cruise. Has anyone used "Facetime" on Princess? We are Princess Platinum so we get some free internet minutes. Thanks, Diane Internet speed too slow. Edited November 26, 2014 by Kingofcool1947 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grandmacruise Posted November 26, 2014 #6 Share Posted November 26, 2014 Many restaurants or bars in port will give you their wifi pAsscode for a purchase. I've spent an hour in port using wifi while enjoying a beer. Again, look for a place with customers hovered over their devices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxmantoo Posted November 26, 2014 #7 Share Posted November 26, 2014 Many restaurants or bars in port will give you their wifi pAsscode for a purchase. I've spent an hour in port using wifi while enjoying a beer. Again, look for a place with customers hovered over their devices. Just follow any crew member getting off the ship :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiTomCruisers Posted November 26, 2014 Author #8 Share Posted November 26, 2014 thanks for the feedback folks! I love the idea of following the crew members Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassyredhat Posted November 26, 2014 #9 Share Posted November 26, 2014 You sound like me. :D Actually, I was able to connect for a few minutes in the dining room while we were pulling out of port. I had been trying all day. Poor little baby was sick. It was only for a couple of minutes while everyone was getting seated.:) Patti Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul929207 Posted November 27, 2014 #10 Share Posted November 27, 2014 If you try to use it on the ship, do it in your cabin. That way you will not have all the other noises distracting you and you will not bother others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruiseprincess Posted November 27, 2014 #11 Share Posted November 27, 2014 Following crew members to free wi-fi spots has become almost obsolute lately as most places now charge for their service. There are a few free places left & are becomming harder to find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennyg2610 Posted November 27, 2014 #12 Share Posted November 27, 2014 Hi Gang, I may have some significant grandchild withdrawals on our cruise. Has anyone used "Facetime" on Princess? We are Princess Platinum so we get some free internet minutes. Thanks, Diane We have done Facetime a couple of times when our son needed to talk to us. We are Platinum so it was cheaper as we were in the middle of the Pacific Ocean than if he had phoned us. The connection was good and we had not problems. Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-D Posted November 28, 2014 #13 Share Posted November 28, 2014 (edited) Here is another recent thread on this topic: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=44576514 As usual in threads discussing this matter, there were widely divergent and strongly held views! John Edited November 28, 2014 by J-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Once Upon A Time Posted November 28, 2014 #14 Share Posted November 28, 2014 We were recently on board for almost a month and with quite a few grandchildren (17) wanting to talk to us, we used FaceTime many times.. onboard it was very difficult most of the time and we lost service consistently.. Much better to use it ashore.. Occasionally, we had a great connection.. The Internet Cafe manager can be very helpful with suggestions about timing and a good location on the ship .. Good Luck.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now