Sending e-mails from the ship.

[VCameron]

I would like to ask you about sending e-mail from the ship. I have read that HAL provides you with a personal e-mail address to use onboard. How much does it cost? Do you pay more for a large e-mail? Can you compose it and send it from the TV in your cabin, or only from the Internet centre? (Explorations Cafe?...)

 

Thank you in advance,

 

vcameron

[jtl513]

If you use that email address it will cost you $3.95 for EACH outgoing email! :eek::eek: Size does not matter.

 

There is no interactive TV, not even to check your on-board account, so unless you bring a laptop you must use the Explorations Cafe.

 

This DigitalSeas site gives you price options, but the info for hotspots (if you are interested) is not correct for all ships. What ship are you on?

[2kitties]

If you decide to use HA email service, I would suggest you set up a Yahoo or Hotmail address before you leave home and tell everyone to send any email to it. They have 3 options, we bought 250 minutes for $100. I can't recall the other prices, but one was for fewer minutes and other was a minute at a time. It doesn't make any difference the size of your email, it all revolves around the time you spend online. We had to use their laptops Explorations Cafe, since we didn't bring a laptop with use it. If you do bring a laptop with you, there are hot areas on the ship where you use it. I understand that on some of the Vista ships, you can sign on in your stateroom. When you sign on for the first time, you have to establish a user name and password. This has to be done in the Explorations Cafe. If you have any additional questions, I will try an answer them.

[kh6275]

It is very easy to bring a laptop or use HAL's terminals and this is the most cost effective. If your email is not web based in that you can't check via the Internet you can set up your email with www.mail2web.com a POP3 that is free and super easy to use that will facilitate this. It allows you to check and send email.

[2kitties]

Hi John,

 

I think you made a mistake. That $3.95 is an activation fee. You don't pay for each individual email that is sent out.

[jtl513]

Hi John,

 

I think you made a mistake. That $3.95 is an activation fee. You don't pay for each individual email that is sent out.

NO! Read the info at the DigitalSeas link I posted regarding CruisE-mail. That $3.95 applies to every outgoing email if you use the temporary email address from HAL (which the OP was asking about) instead of your own yahoo/hotmail/aol/whatever.

[arzz]

You are right that the $3.95 is the activation fee, but I do believe that if you use the HAL e-mail address you also have to pay for each e-mail that you send -- I am not sure what the fee is (I have not done this, so I may be wrong) and you have to pay for your minutes.

 

Since I tend to like to write a lot, we bring our own laptop and then purchase a package of minutes. When traveling I use my aol e-mail account as it is web based and usually easy to access (yahoo and others also work well). I compose and type e-mails while off line, and then when I am on line I just copy and paste both incoming as well as out going e-mails-- can usually get on, collect and send mail, and get off line even in locations where the internet is quite slow in 5 minutes or less.

 

If you use the ship's computers it saves you the hassle of bringing your own, but you cannot compose off-line so you are paying a per minute fee for accessing whatever mail account you use, you pay for the time you spend reading your incoming e-mails and you also pay for the time you spend typing and sending your outgoing e-mails. It can really add up fast.

 

It is possible to print if you access the internet in the ship's internet cafe, and then again, you pay a printing fee by the page. This can be handy if you have to change any hotel or flight arrangements while on board.

[2kitties]

NO! Read the info at the DigitalSeas link I posted regarding CruisE-mail. That $3.95 applies to every outgoing email if you use the temporary email address from HAL (which the OP was asking about) instead of your own yahoo/hotmail/aol/whatever.

John, it appears we are talking about different things. The activation fee is $3.95 too, but from what you are saying, if you use one of HA email address, they charge you $3.95 each time you send an email. It would be foolish to do that, especially if you send a lot of emails while on the cruise. It would be cheaper to set up an account on a free email service before leaving for the ship.

[jtl513]

John, it appears we are talking about different things. The activation fee is $3.95 too, but from what you are saying, if you use one of HA email address, they charge you $3.95 each time you send an email. It would be foolish to do that, especially if you send a lot of emails while on the cruise. It would be cheaper to set up an account on free email service before leaving for the ship.

Exactly. I am NOT suggesting the OP do that. That is precisely why I said :eek::eek: in my first sentence of my first post, warning the OP NOT to do it!

[SakeDad]

It is very easy to bring a laptop or use HAL's terminals and this is the most cost effective. If your email is not web based in that you can't check via the Internet you can set up your email with www.mail2web.com a POP3 that is free and super easy to use that will facilitate this. It allows you to check and send email.

I travel all over the country year round and mail2web.com is by far the best (and free:)) way to pick up and respond to emails. Set it up before you leave home if you have pop3...otherwise use a Yahoo or other free account. If you REALLY want to save, use the internet cafes located in ports.

[jleck]

I am booked in a penthouse on a Noordam sailing in March 2008. Will I be able to pick up wireless internet on my personal laptop?

 

Thanks!

[jtl513]

I am booked in a penthouse on a Noordam sailing in March 2008. Will I be able to pick up wireless internet on my personal laptop?

 

Thanks!

My guess would be no. There's an antenna in the Neptune Lounge, but I don't think you'll get a good signal in the PH, and will have to walk 6 cabins down. :)

[smoothsailors]

Would anyone know what HAL charges to send/receive a fax? For emergency purposes that may be more important to us than e-mail but I haven't seen any information as to costs. Tnanks!

[jtl513]

Would anyone know what HAL charges to send/receive a fax? For emergency purposes that may be more important to us than e-mail but I haven't seen any information as to costs. Tnanks!

What are phone calls (not cell phones) running now, about $13/min? I would think faxes would be comparable, but don't really know.

[2kitties]

If all else fails, you can give Holland America a phone call to find out if they have fax machines on their ships that passengers can use. Or if you went through a travel agent, they could probably tell you, if not, they could find out this information, along with a phone number to reach a particular ship.

[jtl513]

... along with a phone number to reach a particular ship.

Phone numbers to reach all ships are given with the cruise documents, but those aren't fax machines.

[Herrbeir]

To answer the op's question. I'm just back from the 3-18 Westerdam. The cost to send and email is $2.00 and it is another $2.00 to recieve an email. The nice folks in the Internet Cafe gave me my log on info and held my hand through the simple process. It did not matter the size of the file or time used to compose the email. No activation charge to use your HAL email address. I had only one $2.00 email charge on my ship account at the end of the cruise. I left my laptop at home so I only used the computer in the Internet Cafe

 

On a side note, the Internet Cafe will let you use a card reader to see all your digital photos on their computer monitors for no charge. I thought it was kinda nice to view a slide show half way through tthe cruise. No doubt you could email pictures to friends and family from the ship.

[kh6275]

I am booked in a penthouse on a Noordam sailing in March 2008. Will I be able to pick up wireless internet on my personal laptop?

 

Thanks!

 

I was in SA 7055 and could only pull the WiFi from the Neptune if I opened my cabin door or if I held the laptop up to the vent in the door. The PH is not as close to the Neptune as 7055 so I'm sure you will not be able to use the Internet in your cabin.

 

To all you techies out there make sure that you set up VoIP (voice over IP) on your laptop before you leave to make your calls onboard. The rates are super cheap compared to the cell or sat options. I previously posted about this.

[kh6275]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=523828

[VCameron]

Thank you all for your kind response! I'm travelling on the Rotterdam, May 14, and I don't want to bring my laptop. I suspect that the inexpensive pricing must apply only to the Vistas, while the older Rotterdam must charge per minute and the initial fee.

(Something similar I have encountered on the Cunard Queens)

Again, thank you all,

vcameron

[Djptcp]

DH and I sailed on the Zuiderdam in December and I used the ship's computers to access my email about 3 times during the cruise. I just created an account, paid the activation fee once, logged in each time, and went to Yahoo to read and send emails. In and out in about 7 minutes @ $.75 a minute. Who wants to spend time on a computer while on a cruise anyway? The only reason I did was my mother was quite ill and I wanted to keep informed of her condition. Otherwise my emails can wait until we get home, thank you very much.

 

Carnival - 1995, 1998, 2006, 2006, 2007, 2007

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[jtl513]

To answer the op's question. I'm just back from the 3-18 Westerdam. The cost to send and email is $2.00 and it is another $2.00 to recieve an email. ... No activation charge to use your HAL email address.

Yet another instance of DigitalSeas still having outdated info posted, I guess! :mad: Thanks for the update.

 

while the older Rotterdam must charge per minute and the initial fee.

The Rotterdam should have the same 100 and 250 minute blocks available at $55 and $100 respectively.