Wireless Cards for Laptops on Voyager Class

[Chilly Chad]

Any info would be appreciated by anyone who has brought their own Laptop and purchased the card from RCCL. I will be cruising the AOS and heard you can purchase an unlimited usage card for the week for like a hundred dollars. Thanks, Chad

[alexkrn46]

You can buy a wireless card on ebay for about $10. You can rent one, for something like $50. I think you are thinking about the cybercabin which is dial up connection which is unlimited but very slow. Past cruises I have used the wireless connection, much faster and reliable. Alex

[Treven]

It's going to be cheaper just go to Best Buy & buy one; they're not expensive at all.

[Tiggerbuddy]

I have to agree with Treven and alexkrn46. I have used both wireless and in cabin.

The wireless is the better way to go by far. Speed is way faster and you can find hotspots in various parts of the ship.

You can buy a wireless card from your local computer store or online for less than the rental charge from RCCL. I would stick with a name brand as they usually have better support should you have any problems.

Last cruise I was sitting at an outside table under a full moon on the upper deck chatting with my daughter online. This is the way to compute ;-)

Next cruise I'm going to bring the webcam and see if we can video chat.

I would also suggest purchasing a package of minutes as this will help keep the cost down.

Enjoy your cruise!

[cowprintrabbit]

Is this Voyager class only? I will be on the Splendour (Vision-class) in May and hubby would be in heaven if he had connectivity :-)

 

We already have laptops and wireless cards but weren't planning on taking them...

[wvjohn]

I had my lappy with a built in wireless card on the Voyager and was able to get a signal in a couple of places but it was very very slow .... ended up just using the internet cafe for internet (which was also very very slow, below dial up) and my lappy for storing pics and music

[DonnaK]

where are the hot spots on Mariner

[aebalc]

Just to keep these boards fair and balanced here is a different point of view. Leave the machines at home this is a Vacation! No pagers (who still has one anyway). No cellphones. No email. get away from it all. Unplug, relax, get drunk, get sunburned, get lei-ed (Hawaii only). Get in touch with your inner native "Don't worry , Be happy" - "No problem mon" - "No worries mate". Step away from the keyboard, its for your own good.

[on the square]

Here is a nice adapter. Hope this doesn't violate any rules.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16833127151

[critterchick]

Is this Voyager class only? I will be on the Splendour (Vision-class) in May and hubby would be in heaven if he had connectivity :-)

 

We already have laptops and wireless cards but weren't planning on taking them...

 

I believe that all RCI ships now have Wifi. We had it on Vision in January and it was a strong enough signal to reach our cabin on the far aft, so we didn't even have to go in search of hot spots.

[mcfaddensfarm]

I believe that all RCI ships now have Wifi. We had it on Vision in January and it was a strong enough signal to reach our cabin on the far aft, so we didn't even have to go in search of hot spots.

 

So if your laptop already has a wireless card in it (like mine does), then as long as you find a hotspot you can use your laptop there? I thought I had read on another thread that you still had to pay a fee of some kind for using the minutes, even if you brought your own wireless laptop. Can anyone clarify this for me? Thanks!

[DonnaK]

Just to keep these boards fair and balanced here is a different point of view. Leave the machines at home this is a Vacation! No pagers (who still has one anyway). No cellphones. No email. get away from it all. Unplug, relax, get drunk, get sunburned, get lei-ed (Hawaii only). Get in touch with your inner native "Don't worry , Be happy" - "No problem mon" - "No worries mate". Step away from the keyboard, its for your own good.

 

It's a nice thought, but we need a way to keep in touch with our families back home, elderly parents, etc, and cell phones don't always work. As well, when traveling with teenaged girls, it's very difficult to cut off communication with their friends. As well, the laptop has our downloaded music to listen to, and is needed to transfer digital pictures off the memory card so we can take more pictures. And to keep an online journal of the trip.

 

Is a computer a necessity? No. But it's a convenience that makes the vacation run smoother.

 

(Some people can't get a full week off from their jobs unless they have a way to check in occasionally while they are away - it's a shame really, but that's the way of the working world these days)

[skypilotks]

Yes, you can use whatever wireless you have (ie built-in, card, USB) but to when you hit your browser it goes right to there website, like on there internet cafe computer (or close to the same page) Which you first have to go to, and signup for the wireless option and make a logon and PW, and that's how it is charged to your seapass, so then when you log on wireless, you log-on and it starts charging your seapass! some advice for C&A members with the coupons! Used them before you buy the package!

The package is cheaper! the normal price is 0.50 min, with the best package it's like 0.33 a min!

When we went to submit the coupons on Granduer in Feb. the last day, they told me that the coupon can't be used with any other discount, and they counted the package as a discount!

[critterchick]

So if your laptop already has a wireless card in it (like mine does), then as long as you find a hotspot you can use your laptop there? I thought I had read on another thread that you still had to pay a fee of some kind for using the minutes, even if you brought your own wireless laptop. Can anyone clarify this for me? Thanks!

 

You still have to pay for it, but I found it to be a lot faster than using the ship's computers. Also, you can compose all of your documents, then log on, paste them into emails or Internet messages, and send them, so your actual connected time won't be as long. Be very careful to log off when you're finished - somebody posted a few weeks back that one of her kids didn't and she received a bill for something like $1100 for Internet access.:eek:

 

You can either pay by the minute (.50), or buy a package, where the price will go down as low as .33/minute. You will need to create a user name & password, I think at one of the ship's Internet terminals, at least that's how I had to do it because I had to swipe my card (the purser's rep on Vision didn't even know that it was available). Then you connect your laptop to the RCI wireless network and select your preferred payment plan.

 

One thing I aim to find out is whether the passwords are cleared after each trip or whether my password will be valid on our next cruise. Time will tell!

[mcfaddensfarm]

Skypilotks & Jean, thanks so much for the explanations! I understand how it works now. Jean, I like the idea of composing everything in a Word document (or something similar to Word) and then just pasting it into an email to send. That would be handy for keeping the cost down, especially if you're just doing the "per minute" plan instead of one of the packages. Any idea what the different packages are?

[skypilotks]

Actually like AOL has the option of downloading and uploading your email, and then logging off, and then reading, and writing offline! it's still from those days (not that long ago) when we had to pay by the minute for any online access

[alexkrn46]

I cut and pasted on my last cruise, I think I save some time and money and didn't feel rushed typing the email. Alex

[critterchick]

Any idea what the different packages are?

 

To the best of my recollection (said the Watergate defendant, if you're old enough to remember), the fee was

 

50 cents/ minute or

 

30 minutes @.42

90 minutes @.39

180 mintues @.33

 

We got the middle package for a 3-night cruise and used it all plus a few extra minutes. There were bits & pieces of charges on our Seapass, complicated by our C&A coupon good for 20 free minutes, so I'm not sure how they ended up billing the extra minutes.

[mcfaddensfarm]

Thanks for the info Jean! It's nice to know these things ahead of time so that's one less thing you have to think about & decide on while you're on your cruise.:) My husband won't be cruising with us so it would be worth it I think, for him to be able to stay in contact with me. (He misses us when we cruise.)

 

P.S. I was born in the late 60's so I remember Watergate, even though I was a kid.:D "I am not a crook!"--Tricky Dick

[critterchick]

P.S. I was born in the late 60's so I remember Watergate, even though I was a kid.:D "I am not a crook!"--Tricky Dick

 

A family friend who is a shrink always said that if he'd said, "I am an honest man," instead, things would have gone differently. You always put it into the negative when you want somebody to feel precisely that way: your mother saying, "I don't want you to feel guilty, but why haven't you visited in 3 years?" was his classic example.

[medic_cruiser]

When you sign up for wifi, are you made aware of where the "hot spots" are? I will have a balcony cabin, starboard/bow, will I get the signal there?:confused:

[SuiteLiving]

I'm going on a 9 night on the Explorer in June, does anyone know if I'll be able to get a signal in my suite on Deck 10? Also, do they offer an unlimited minutes package?

[critterchick]

When you sign up for wifi, are you made aware of where the "hot spots" are? I will have a balcony cabin, starboard/bow, will I get the signal there?:confused:

 

Your laptop will tell you. Turn it on when you get on board & check for available networks. If it doesn't detect the Royal Wifi network, then you don't have cabin access.

[Squiggles]

For $100/wk you can rent a special phone/adaptor that hooks up in your cabin for laptop connection on certain ships. You have unlimited minutes with this. It is more like dial-up, much slower, but, on the other hand, since there is no charge for minutes, there really is no hurry. Then you have 24/7 connection without leaving your cabin. And if it is too slow-you can sit and watch the ocean go by, as you wait! Depending on how much you plan to use your laptop, this may be a cheaper, more convenient way to stay in touch.

[alexkrn46]

Last year, I tried the cyber cabin on the VOS, it was unbearable ( I have used it successfully in the past), the wireless was much quicker. I don't want to spend my vacation tied to a computer, the wireless was much more productive.