Newbie Looking for Info and Advice From More Seasoned Cruises

[bbttb]

Hi Celebrity Cruisers,

 

We recently booked a "last minute" cruise for a Pacific Coastal cruise on the Infinity in a few weeks. We sailed on her maiden voyage to Alaska many years ago, and are looking forward to seeing her again.

 

I have many questions, and offer apologies in advance if I should be looking elsewhere for this information.

 

Can I bring my work Jetpack (a mobile hotspot) on the ship, without having it confiscated? If so, will it work while in the Canadian ports? While sailing in Canadian waters? In US ports (I live in the US). In US waters while sailing? Will I need to purchase an internet package from the cruise line to use along with my Jetpack? (My employer doesn't offer vacation time, so to take this cruise, I have to continue to do my work while I'm gone. In the "old days", I wouldn't even think of turning on any devices!;)

 

Is the internet on the Infinity reliable and fast?

 

Is the Aqua Spa Café open to all passengers, or only those in certain types of cabins?

 

What size is the safe in the room? Will it hold a 15" laptop? If not, is there a safe place where I can store it while not in use?

 

Do cruise ships dock with the front end closest to the pier? The reason I ask is that we will be in SF during fleet week, and would love to be facing the action. Our cabin is on the right hand side of the ship.

 

I thank you in advance for any information / help that you can provide.:)

[Host Jazzbeau]

Hi Celebrity Cruisers,

 

We recently booked a "last minute" cruise for a Pacific Coastal cruise on the Infinity in a few weeks. We sailed on her maiden voyage to Alaska many years ago, and are looking forward to seeing her again.

 

I have many questions, and offer apologies in advance if I should be looking elsewhere for this information.

 

Hopefully there will be really seasoned cruisers who can answer your internet questions. I can help with these:

 

• Is the Aqua Spa Café open to all passengers, or only those in certain types of cabins? Open to all

 

• What size is the safe in the room? Will it hold a 15" laptop? If not, is there a safe place where I can store it while not in use? Probably not, but I have never had a problem leaving my late-vintage 15" MacBook Pro on the desk throughout the cruise -- I assume that (a) the cabin steward is honest and (b) if not, smart enough to know how serial numbers and MAC address can be traced.

• Do cruise ships dock with the front end closest to the pier? The reason I ask is that we will be in SF during fleet week, and would love to be facing the action. Our cabin is on the right hand side of the ship. It depends. On our recent Azamara cruise the captain almost always docked with the front end facing out of port, for a quick getaway -- but we saw many other ships facing the other way.

Edited September 6, 2016 by Host Jazzbeau

[neverbeenhere]

Is the internet on the Infinity reliable and fast?

 

Quickest answer is ...........................N..............................O.

[bbttb]

Host Jazzbeau, thanks for the information. Neverbeenhere, thank you too, but you're scaring me! Hope I don't miss out on most of the cruise because my nose is stuck in the laptop!

[phoenix_dream]

Welcome back to the Infinity! You might want to join our Roll Call so you can chat with others on your cruise. I am one of them so maybe we'll meet on board.

 

I agree Internet still tends to run slow, but usually is not all that bad compared to how it used to be. I am not familiar with the hardware you are mentioning, sorry. And I agree your laptop will not fit in the safe, but we also always bring ours and have never had a problem.

[bbttb]

Hi phoenix dream,

 

Thanks for the welcome. I'm looking forward to being back on the Infinity...it's been a long time. She was a beautiful ship the last time we were on her.

 

I will need to do some research to figure out how to join the roll call.

 

Do you happen to know which side of the ship will be facing the Golden Gate Bridge when we're in SF? Hoping to have a good view of the fleet week activities from our balcony. We're on the "right hand" side of the ship.

[phoenix_dream]

Hi phoenix dream,

 

Thanks for the welcome. I'm looking forward to being back on the Infinity...it's been a long time. She was a beautiful ship the last time we were on her.

 

I will need to do some research to figure out how to join the roll call.

 

Do you happen to know which side of the ship will be facing the Golden Gate Bridge when we're in SF? Hoping to have a good view of the fleet week activities from our balcony. We're on the "right hand" side of the ship.

 

Here is a link to our Roll Call: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=50978127#post50978127. Just post a message saying you are joining. If you want to keep getting notified when someone posts something, just click on the 'thread subscription' drop box when you post like you would for any other posting. Also, if you want to be included in the Connections Party, you can find that link on the main boards. If you have issues let me know and I can help.

 

I don't know which side of the ship will be facing the Bridge. A few years ago when we were there the ship backed in so the port side was facing the bridge. Not sure if that means they always do that or not.

[ClaudiaB]

Honestly, there's no way to predict which way a ship will face in any port. Sometimes they back in, sometimes they don't. Depends on weather conditions, who else is in port, and I swear it sometimes is the whim of the captain that particular day.

 

Do not worry about someone taking your laptop. I have never heard of anyone losing one. We keep ours on the desk or in a drawer. Typically we charge ours at night, but sometimes we do it during the day when it's out in the open.

 

I understand about needing to be connected. My husband owns his own company too and we couldn't cruise at all if he couldn't keep in touch with his customers and accounts. He does try and limit it to 30 minutes or so a couple times a day. We get lots of free minutes with our loyalty status and/or from the TA after we transfer our booking for more perks, but he's always had to buy extra minutes. Last few cruises we have received unlimited internet as a perk which is great for him.

Hope you don't find you need to work ALL the time....enjoy your cruise.

[bbttb]

Thanks much for your helpful information and comments. I think you're right -- whether our cabin faces the Golden Gate or not, we've got a much better view than just about anyone else in the Bay Area that day.

 

As for the laptop and other equipment, it belongs to my employer, so I feel I need to take extra care that it doesn't get lost or stolen.

 

Less than 3 weeks now until we sail...:):)

[midwestchick]

Lock your laptop in your suitcase.

[ldock]

Buy a laptop lock. We bought one originally for trade shows, where we had laptop on table showing a video all day. A quick wo ogle search and u will see what I am referring to. Attached to security Cord, and laptop fully usable while locked.

[IJustWantToGo36]

I believe there is no way to know what side the ship will face in a particular port, because the crew does lifeboat drills and port and it has to be done from both sides of the ship...... not on the same day of course.

[bbttb]

I believe there is no way to know what side the ship will face in a particular port, because the crew does lifeboat drills and port and it has to be done from both sides of the ship...... not on the same day of course.

 

 

I guess we'll just have to wait and see. We've sailed in and out of SF several times in the past, and I remember that our balcony faced the Golden Gate. I just don't recall which way the ship was docked.

 

Thanks everyone for your replies!

[Cruise Raider]

We've sailed a few times on the Infinity and my SIL that sailed with us a couple of years ago did take a hot spot and was able to finish her online courses with only one big disconnect but that was up in Alaska. Not sure about Canadaian waters or ports, though. We've gotten decent reception while sailing along the west coast of the US, but slow ... hopefully it will be good for you as I understand all the ship's internet service has been upgraded in the last year.

 

As others have said, the 15" laptop won't fit in the safe.

 

It is iffy as to which bridge you will see. Either direction, you will see either the Golden Gate or the Bay Bridge. From my many cruises out of SF, docking has been bow first ... so on the starboard side, you should see the GG. But there should be no problem seeing either bridge if you just go up top. Not sure if you are doing an overnighter in SF, but the Bay Bridge is a sight to see at night. I believe the festivities will be spread out in either direction along the Embarcadero, whether you are docking at pier 27 or pier 35 during fleet week. Anyhow, Pier 27 is much newer and so much nicer than Pier 35 but either would be ok.

[bbttb]

We've sailed a few times on the Infinity and my SIL that sailed with us a couple of years ago did take a hot spot and was able to finish her online courses with only one big disconnect but that was up in Alaska. Not sure about Canadaian waters or ports, though. We've gotten decent reception while sailing along the west coast of the US, but slow ... hopefully it will be good for you as I understand all the ship's internet service has been upgraded in the last year.

 

As others have said, the 15" laptop won't fit in the safe.

 

It is iffy as to which bridge you will see. Either direction, you will see either the Golden Gate or the Bay Bridge. From my many cruises out of SF, docking has been bow first ... so on the starboard side, you should see the GG. But there should be no problem seeing either bridge if you just go up top. Not sure if you are doing an overnighter in SF, but the Bay Bridge is a sight to see at night. I believe the festivities will be spread out in either direction along the Embarcadero, whether you are docking at pier 27 or pier 35 during fleet week. Anyhow, Pier 27 is much newer and so much nicer than Pier 35 but either would be ok.

 

 

Would I need to buy the internet package, AND bring my mobile hotspot, or would the hotspot be all that I need provided we're close enough to short? I really don't understand how these things work. I'm not trying to cheat Celebrity, but not sure that their wifi provides the security and reliability that my boss demands. The boss says do not use "free" wifi, because he's concerned about the security of his proprietary software.

 

I don't think you can have a bad view from the SF waterfront, and we'll be thankful for whatever view we have. The Port Schedule currently shows us docking at Pier 35, maybe because the ship is overnighting in SF before we have to disembark.

 

Do you know if Pier 35 has a parking lot? Is there luggage storage at Pier 35 for the day?

[mailmama]

If you are close enough to cell towers on shore, your jet pack might work. We have used ours but lose the signal pretty quickly when we leave land. (caribbean sailings). Better have a back-up plan!;)

[2theship]

You'll need to check with the service provider for your Jetpack regarding your coverage. There may be additional fees incurred for using on the ship, much like with cell phones.

[Duanerice1]

Like was said, check with your carrier about Jetpack coverage. Basically it is your internet so you don't need to buy it from Celebrity. But, it might be more expensive in Canada and you don't want to come back with a $300 internet bill :)

 

I used in the Caribbean and it worked fine when I tried it but admit I didn't get on a lot.

[dkjretired]

Honestly, there's no way to predict which way a ship will face in any port. Sometimes they back in, sometimes they don't. Depends on weather conditions, who else is in port, and I swear it sometimes is the whim of the captain that particular day.

 

Do not worry about someone taking your laptop. I have never heard of anyone losing one. We keep ours on the desk or in a drawer. Typically we charge ours at night, but sometimes we do it during the day when it's out in the open.

 

I understand about needing to be connected. My husband owns his own company too and we couldn't cruise at all if he couldn't keep in touch with his customers and accounts. He does try and limit it to 30 minutes or so a couple times a day. We get lots of free minutes with our loyalty status and/or from the TA after we transfer our booking for more perks, but he's always had to buy extra minutes. Last few cruises we have received unlimited internet as a perk which is great for him.

Hope you don't find you need to work ALL the time....enjoy your cruise.

 

Actually, the whim of the Captain is not far off. Often they do training and testing of the lifeboats in port and there is probably a schedule they follow.

[Mr. Click]

The Jet pack is allowed but the cellular service you need to make it work will be spotty along the Alaska coast. When the land based cell service is out of range they do turn on the ship's system but it is very very very very pricey to use. We were on the Millenium Vancouver to Sweard in July and the new Xcellerate wifi is a big improvement over the old system. Still far from great but at least you could work some. Unless you have some captain's club status look to pre-purchase your internet package because they usually offer a discount for pre-purchases. There were serveral times we had no cell service but there was always wifi so if you have to work, that would be the way to go.

[bbttb]

The Jet pack is allowed but the cellular service you need to make it work will be spotty along the Alaska coast. When the land based cell service is out of range they do turn on the ship's system but it is very very very very pricey to use. We were on the Millenium Vancouver to Sweard in July and the new Xcellerate wifi is a big improvement over the old system. Still far from great but at least you could work some. Unless you have some captain's club status look to pre-purchase your internet package because they usually offer a discount for pre-purchases. There were serveral times we had no cell service but there was always wifi so if you have to work, that would be the way to go.

 

We're sailing the Pacific Coastal Cruise from Vancouver down to San Diego then up to San Francisco. I haven't done this itinerary before, but I would think we would be pretty close to land most of the time. Do you think the Jetpack would work while docked in the US ports? Any idea how far from land it can pick up a signal?

 

We're in the process of checking with Verizon to see if we can expand the Jetpack's range to include Canada.

[s2kreno]

You'll need to check with the service provider for your Jetpack regarding your coverage. There may be additional fees incurred for using on the ship, much like with cell phones.

 

I was using my phone as a hot spot. Had set it up with Verizon last year when we took the Summit to the Caribbean. In the middle of our cruise, the company that provides the ship's internet shut it down and we suddenly got hit with massive overage charges from Verizon, which took forever to sort out. We did not buy the ships internet because that was before the upgrade and everyone said too slow and npt worth having. We worked offline and sent in work using free wifi on shore. Kept phones in airplane mode the rest of the trip.

 

Get whatever promises you get from your service provider in writing. Only thing that saved us.

[wrk2cruise]

We're sailing the Pacific Coastal Cruise from Vancouver down to San Diego then up to San Francisco. I haven't done this itinerary before, but I would think we would be pretty close to land most of the time. Do you think the Jetpack would work while docked in the US ports? Any idea how far from land it can pick up a signal?

 

We're in the process of checking with Verizon to see if we can expand the Jetpack's range to include Canada.

 

 

You will be far enough out to be in international waters so the duty free shops and Casino can be open.

[bbttb]

You will be far enough out to be in international waters so the duty free shops and Casino can be open.

 

I didn't think of that, but of course the cruise line wouldn't miss a chance to open up the casinos and shops! Is that 7 or 12 miles out to sea? Do you think the Jetpack would work that far from shore?

[lodinayr]

You won't have cell signal when the ship is sailing (out of port). Buy the unlimited internet package and don't worry. You'll have cell service in all the ports, and full internet when at sea. It's a couple of hundred bucks for unlimited internet but soooo worth it to not always be worried about minutes. BTW, I'm on this cruise too!

 

 

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