Free wifi in Bermuda

[Moriah]

I'm sailing on Veendam to Bermuda next week and it will be my first time there. Any tips on places with free wifi that are close to where the ship docks? (I'll be shlepping my laptop to get work done)

[jtl513]

I was told that you could get an hour free at the library but I was unable to connect there. As I was returning to the ship I saw a crew member carrying a laptop and he led me to the lobby of a building almost directly across the street where I was successful. Unfortunately I don't remember the name of the place. Ask a crew member, or hang around the terminal building until you see one leaving with a laptop.

 

edit: apparently there's been a change since I was last there. I found this:

 

There are several paid wi-fi zones and internet cafes in Bermuda including in Hamilton, Dockyard and St. George. However, free internet access in Bermuda is very limited as the concept of 'free' is quite unknown to an island which is the third most expensive country in the world. I have discussed free wi-fi access separately in a section below.

 

Bermuda National Library

The library is located next to Queen Elizabeth-II Park (formerly Par La Ville Park) and on Queen Street in Hamilton City. There are 5 internet stations in the library, and if free you can use one of them for 30 minutes free of cost. You need to however sign up using a Photo Id. Each internet station also has a printing facility @25 cents per page.

Paid wi-fi internet access

 

Hamilton City is Wi-Fi Enabled

Since Mid August 2012, the entire Hamilton City is Wi-Fi enabled. That means from anywhere within the city boundary you can now access internet on your laptop, tablet or smart phone from any public places. The Hamilton City Administration has partnered with TBI (TeleBermuda International) to provide this service (City WiFi). Once you connect to the wireless service, follow the instructions. You can either pay online through your credit card or buy vouchers from the city administration office or retail outlets. Current rates: 1hr=$3, 24hrs=$9.99, 72hrs=$14.99, and monthly=$29.99.

 

Sounds like a good price to me!

 

Edited April 25, 2015 by jtl513

[take us away]

When in doubt - ask your dining steward as they always know where to find free or cheap wifi. They have to also pay for internet time on the ship so they scout out the free / cheap wifi spots so they can communicate with their family and friends.

[Moriah]

 

Hamilton City is Wi-Fi Enabled

Current rates: 1hr=$3, 24hrs=$9.99, 72hrs=$14.99, and monthly=$29.99.

 

Sounds like a good price to me!

 

 

Wow.. this is great! In Israel the large cities (Tel Aviv, Jerusalem) are wifi ready as well, but it's absolutely free! I think this is the way of the future. Good news!

[Moriah]

 

Hamilton City is Wi-Fi Enabled

Current rates: 1hr=$3, 24hrs=$9.99, 72hrs=$14.99, and monthly=$29.99.

 

Sounds like a good price to me!

 

 

 

I wonder if this will work from the ship itself while docked at Hamilton?

[gone2c]

I have heard that if you have a balcony you probably will be able to access it there but not inside the ship.

[cruz chic]

I wonder if this will work from the ship itself while docked at Hamilton?

 

Posters on our roll call are saying it works if you are on a balcony or the lower promenade facing Hamilton. To be honest, I'd rather pay a little for Internet. If found free internet to be very slow because so many people are on it.

Edited April 25, 2015 by cruz chic

[jtl513]

I wonder if this will work from the ship itself while docked at Hamilton?

It should. In many ports I have been able to pick up free wifi coming from a terminal building while out on my balcony or the promenade.

 

When In Bermuda in late 2011 I was able to get a free strong signal while out on the Lido deck, but it was restricted to only Bermuda business or attraction sites.

 

Edited April 25, 2015 by jtl513

[cruz chic]

I wanted to come back to this thread to report what I encountered in Bermuda. When I signed onto my iPad I could not purchase the wifi that is supposed to be enabled in Bermuda. I could get to the page but couldn't buy it. I asked in the tourist center and she didn't know anything about it. She "thought" you might be able to buy cards for access but I didn't see them. I didn't look super hard though. You could absolutely not get wifi from the outside decks facing front street.

[sail7seas]

I'm going to be at the dockyard and wonder if I'll be able to get free WiFi there. If not, I'll be able to compare NCL's with HAL's on board WiFi. :D :eek:

 

Wish me good luck. I still can't believe I'm actually sailing anywhere but blue hulled beauties but the once (likely) won't hurt me. :)

 

[summer slope]

I'm going to be at the dockyard and wonder if I'll be able to get free WiFi there. If not, I'll be able to compare NCL's with HAL's on board WiFi. :D :eek:

 

Wish me good luck. I still can't believe I'm actually sailing anywhere but blue hulled beauties but the once (likely) won't hurt me. :)

 

Your friends will make the cruise very enjoyable....and the blue hulled beauties will await your return.

 

[cruz chic]

I'm going to be at the dockyard and wonder if I'll be able to get free WiFi there. If not, I'll be able to compare NCL's with HAL's on board WiFi. :D :eek:

 

Wish me good luck. I still can't believe I'm actually sailing anywhere but blue hulled beauties but the once (likely) won't hurt me. :)

 

 

My friend says you can buy fairly reasonable wifi at the dockyard. I can't remember where she said it was and she's on a cruise right now. I didn't spend a ton of time at the dockyard. I don't think you'll find free wifi there unless you are in a restaurant.

[sail7seas]

Your friends will make the cruise very enjoyable....and the blue hulled beauties will await your return.

 

 

What a nice post. I admit to becoming a bit anxious after having made final payment. :eek: I hope I made the right choice.

 

 

My friend says you can buy fairly reasonable wifi at the dockyard. I can't remember where she said it was and she's on a cruise right now. I didn't spend a ton of time at the dockyard. I don't think you'll find free wifi there unless you are in a restaurant.

 

 

Thanks, crux chic. I wanted new and different for my first cruise back to sailing and seems I really am going to get just that. :D :cool:

 

[sppunk]

The library there has free wifi. We have used it often.

[silvercruiser]

I seem to remember a MacDonald's or Starbucks a couple or three blocks up the street from the ship in Hamilton where it was free if you bought some small thing to eat or drink.

[iancal]

Our practice is not to use the harbour shopping area, a Starbucks or a MacDonalds. Too busy, and the internet is slow.

 

We look down a side street for a small bar. Many do not have wifi signs but they often have wifi. Pick one with few customers. This has worked very well for us. We never bother with shipboard internet. Too slow, too expensive, and we do not really need it.

[FLACRUISER99]

I use this although it's not free http://www.telebermuda.com/residential/wifi/

[clarkie02360]

I use this although it's not free http://www.telebermuda.com/residential/wifi/

 

 

How good is this service? Decent speed? Does it work on the ship?

[cruz chic]

I use this although it's not free http://www.telebermuda.com/residential/wifi/

 

I was not able to pay thru that website no matter what I did. How did you pay for it? The tourist center knew nothing about it when asked.

[cruz chic]

How good is this service? Decent speed? Does it work on the ship?

 

I posted earlier that I tried this and could not pay online. It didn't work for me on the ship.

[Moriah]

Sorry I neglected to come back to this thread after my cruise. My experience with wifi:

1. On the ship - I bought two 30 minute packages and "rationed" them on the way out to Bermuda. Speed and reliability about what you would expect out at sea, but it worked well enough for me to check email a few times to keep up with work emergencies (which luckily there were none of).

 

2. Arrival at Hamilton - As the captain "parked" the ship I was able to bring up the city of Hamilton site and I paid (online) the $14.99, assuming it would work in various places on shore and would be worth it for the 3 and a half days we'd be in port. In reality, this worked beautifully, BUT only in a very limited number of locations in Hamilton. I ended up having a little routine of getting up at 6:30, getting my coffee at Explorations at 7 when they opened, and taking it on shore to a bench next to the Ferry station and sipping while looking at email (city wifi did work there). It did NOT, as a previous poster stated, work from any of the outside decks. I was sure it would work on deck 6 outside since we were literally in Hamilton, but the reality was I had to walk about 50 yards away from the ship to get a signal. Since I couldn't hang around in those hot spots all day, I DID have to purchase more minutes on board even for the time we were in Bermuda. We spent a couple of days at the Coco Reef Resort, and that included free wifi, so... between the three ways of connecting (ship minutes, Hamilton paid wifi, and free Coco Reef wifi) I managed to make it work and keep in touch as much as I needed to. Not ideal, but it was okay. Next time I'd probably skip buying the city of Hamilton wifi.

 

I REALLY missed the "unlimited for one payment" system that rolled out on Westerdam on my Caribbean cruise in March. I am still hoping HAL will make that a fleetwide system. It was wonderful.

[cruz chic]

Sorry I neglected to come back to this thread after my cruise. My experience with wifi:

1. On the ship - I bought two 30 minute packages and "rationed" them on the way out to Bermuda. Speed and reliability about what you would expect out at sea, but it worked well enough for me to check email a few times to keep up with work emergencies (which luckily there were none of).

 

2. Arrival at Hamilton - As the captain "parked" the ship I was able to bring up the city of Hamilton site and I paid (online) the $14.99, assuming it would work in various places on shore and would be worth it for the 3 and a half days we'd be in port. In reality, this worked beautifully, BUT only in a very limited number of locations in Hamilton. I ended up having a little routine of getting up at 6:30, getting my coffee at Explorations at 7 when they opened, and taking it on shore to a bench next to the Ferry station and sipping while looking at email (city wifi did work there). It did NOT, as a previous poster stated, work from any of the outside decks. I was sure it would work on deck 6 outside since we were literally in Hamilton, but the reality was I had to walk about 50 yards away from the ship to get a signal. Since I couldn't hang around in those hot spots all day, I DID have to purchase more minutes on board even for the time we were in Bermuda. We spent a couple of days at the Coco Reef Resort, and that included free wifi, so... between the three ways of connecting (ship minutes, Hamilton paid wifi, and free Coco Reef wifi) I managed to make it work and keep in touch as much as I needed to. Not ideal, but it was okay. Next time I'd probably skip buying the city of Hamilton wifi.

 

I REALLY missed the "unlimited for one payment" system that rolled out on Westerdam on my Caribbean cruise in March. I am still hoping HAL will make that a fleetwide system. It was wonderful.

 

Thanks for the update. I guess when I tried to pay I was not at one of the places wifi worked. It sounds like a pita to me. It's too bad that people that represent tourism in Bermuda are not well informed. I did buy a 250 minute package for my 2 week cruise plus used wifi in port when I found it. Thx for the accurate information on the wifi.

[Me from ME]

Seconding Moriah's experience with BTI. In the past when on board a ship at the Dockyards the BTI signal was strong and reliable. When reading that it might be a similar on the Veendam in Hamilton we bought a three day pass.

 

(Did this while at the ferry terminal since we were buying tickets and wanted to make every second of our vacation count.) The only time we could log on while on the ship was at sailaway when we were on the foredeck facing the ferry terminal and the glare was a real issue. Believe me, we tried multiple places on Veendam including the Crow's Nest and although our devices could detect the BTI network we either weren't successful logging on or accessing the page we needed.

 

So, if you don't mind taking your laptop to the Dockyards, or the ferry terminal you are all set. It's a bit more of a hassle than having some coffee in the Lido and planning the day or checking e-mail but definitely more economical than what is offered on board. (In fact I overheard one of the pursers advising a fellow passenger not to buy the Veendam's internet. I surmise they deal with a lot of complaints.)

[cruz chic]

Seconding Moriah's experience with BTI. In the past when on board a ship at the Dockyards the BTI signal was strong and reliable. When reading that it might be a similar on the Veendam in Hamilton we bought a three day pass.

 

(Did this while at the ferry terminal since we were buying tickets and wanted to make every second of our vacation count.) The only time we could log on while on the ship was at sailaway when we were on the foredeck facing the ferry terminal and the glare was a real issue. Believe me, we tried multiple places on Veendam including the Crow's Nest and although our devices could detect the BTI network we either weren't successful logging on or accessing the page we needed.

 

So, if you don't mind taking your laptop to the Dockyards, or the ferry terminal you are all set. It's a bit more of a hassle than having some coffee in the Lido and planning the day or checking e-mail but definitely more economical than what is offered on board. (In fact I overheard one of the pursers advising a fellow passenger not to buy the Veendam's internet. I surmise they deal with a lot of complaints.)

I tried to buy it in the ferry building in Hamilton and I couldn't get to the page to put it in. It's not a matter of knowing how either. It's pretty straight forward.

[mygoalie35]

Both my husband and son purchased the 72 hour ($15) internet package from the tourist center. Not the one directly at the port, the one at the marina at the bow of the ship. They enter the pass code directly into your device so that it can not be shared and have various hot spots on the island.

 

It was good reception from the front of the ship and the sitting area near the dock.

 

For free Wi-Fi -grab a drink or snack at Flannigan's and utilize their service. Great meal, friendly staff and Wi-Fi all in one.