New Internet Policy?????

[AliceS]

How is the new internet policy going? What is your experience with that one?

[envy4u]

I have friends who are sailing on the Golden now and apparently they are having a lot of problems with the internet . Have not heard from them in over 24 hours.:(

[AlaskaGolden]

I have friends who are sailing on the Golden now and apparently they are having a lot of problems with the internet . Have not heard from them in over 24 hours.:(

 

And they are charging 75 cents a minute for this! :mad:

 

I know they have packages which brings down the cost to 40 cents a minute, which is reasonable while at sea - but it has to work fairly well, we're still paying for it!

[rc51]

And they are charging 75 cents a minute for this! :mad:

 

I know they have packages which brings down the cost to 40 cents a minute, which is reasonable while at sea - but it has to work fairly well, we're still paying for it!

 

I'm sure bandwidth out at sea is expensive...it has to mature. I remember the days (15+ years ago) where we had to pay more for 1200 baud dial up speeds than we do today for a T1 connection to the net.

 

However if you have a BB, I'd use that..all you're really require is minimal bandwidth to get the emails out.

 

I would componse emails offline, have them queue, connect via BB or wireless and fire them off. If you have a laptop, you can do the same and just go into port and grab an open wi-fi connection to send them out.

[Protirees]

Can you tell me what is "BB?"

[JotWorld]

Can you tell me what is "BB?"

I believe he is refering to a small handheld Blackberry. (Phone, Browser/email, Memo Pad, etc);)

Jot :)

[Lewdog]

BlackBerry, hmmmm I posted this and then the previous post shows, still have bugs here folks!

[surfklutz]

And they are charging 75 cents a minute for this! :mad:

 

I know they have packages which brings down the cost to 40 cents a minute, which is reasonable while at sea - but it has to work fairly well, we're still paying for it!

 

Wow - even at 40 cents per minute that can still add up - especially if your connection is slow.

[dakrewser]

Bandwidth on the Dawn Princess late last month was awful. While there was no problem to and from the Wireless Access Point (WAP) on the ship, the satellite connection was spotty, at best. Worst connectivity we've ever had on a ship over the past 10 years.

[AliceS]

Wow! I didn't expect the responses to be so technical. My inquiry was about FREE internet access ending on April 1 and how the credits work for Platinum and Elite CC members. I am impressed with all the chatter here, I just don't understand a word! I do know that it's internet access is SLOW, I just don't know why.

 

Have any Platinum or Elite CC members had any experience with the new drill? What do you think?

[CrusinAgain]

Last week on the Diamond Princess it took us 4 minutes just to reach our e-mail account at .75 cents a minute. Those packages offering 100 minutes for 55.00 certainly will not enable you for long to check your e-mail as people were disgusted in the internet cafe how much it was costing them and how ridiculously slow it was. It was way worse than dial-up. It has gotten worse since our cruises last years in April and October at .35 a minute.

[Protirees]

Thanks for the earlier answer to BB. I actually have a Blackberry so should have been able to figure this out. I guess I was thinking it was some special wireless technology term and couldn't see the forest for the trees.

 

Has anyone had experience using their laptop and wireless rather than the cafe computer? That is, is the speed any better on your own laptop? I assume not, given that the wireless bandwith is the same but did wonder if it might make a difference in speed--an even marginal difference would help. I was thinking of using my own laptop to connect on my next cruise rather than the computers in the cafe (and I will also use a hopefully much faster WiFi connection while in port). However, I will be at sea a number of days and still need to connect so want to do whatever I can to improve the connectivity (if possible).

 

Thanks, Barbara

[Bucky3]

Since this new program will not be even a week old until tomorrow, I would imagine there should be some information posted early next week.

[Julia’s Journey’s]

I would have hoped they would have sorted the problems out before the new policy went into effect but obviously not:eek: :eek:

[DeltaOne]

I have friends who are sailing on the Golden now and apparently they are having a lot of problems with the internet . Have not heard from them in over 24 hours.:(

I'm sorry, but when I'm on a cruise I'm not going to keep in contact with anyone (other than my wife, and she'll be on the ship with me) in any given 24 hour period. Sheesh, the only folks that *might* hear from me during a cruise are my (grown) kids, and at most once or twice during the week.

[Pam in CA]

Wow! I didn't expect the responses to be so technical. My inquiry was about FREE internet access ending on April 1 and how the credits work for Platinum and Elite CC members. I am impressed with all the chatter here, I just don't understand a word! I do know that it's internet access is SLOW, I just don't know why.

 

Have any Platinum or Elite CC members had any experience with the new drill? What do you think?

Actually, free Internet access for Platinum, Elite and Suite passengers wasn't going to end on April 1. That's a misconception. What is supposed to happen, and hopefully someone will post on this, is that you would "purchase" a package and depending on the length of your cruise, the package is then credited back on your onboard account so that the package is free. It's just no longer UNLIMITED free Internet.

[rc51]

Thanks for the earlier answer to BB. I actually have a Blackberry so should have been able to figure this out. I guess I was thinking it was some special wireless technology term and couldn't see the forest for the trees.

 

Has anyone had experience using their laptop and wireless rather than the cafe computer? That is, is the speed any better on your own laptop? I assume not, given that the wireless bandwith is the same but did wonder if it might make a difference in speed--an even marginal difference would help. I was thinking of using my own laptop to connect on my next cruise rather than the computers in the cafe (and I will also use a hopefully much faster WiFi connection while in port). However, I will be at sea a number of days and still need to connect so want to do whatever I can to improve the connectivity (if possible).

 

Thanks, Barbara

 

Depending on your Blackberry model and your current carrier plan, yes, you should/could be able to access the Net using the BB as a wireless gateway. Check with your carrier, they should be able to tell you if you have the data coverage and if your BB model supports this.

 

As for using a laptop at a INET cafe in port, yes, I would suggest in most cases this would be faster than on-board access and much cheaper. You can buy pre-loaded cards with time which can be used at multiple locations.

 

If you're lucky you can even find 'open' or 'public' wi-fi access points at some ports.

 

Personally, I would take a slower but reliable connection over a fast and sporadic connection anyday.

[rc51]

Thanks for the earlier answer to BB. I actually have a Blackberry so should have been able to figure this out. I guess I was thinking it was some special wireless technology term and couldn't see the forest for the trees.

 

Has anyone had experience using their laptop and wireless rather than the cafe computer? That is, is the speed any better on your own laptop? I assume not, given that the wireless bandwith is the same but did wonder if it might make a difference in speed--an even marginal difference would help. I was thinking of using my own laptop to connect on my next cruise rather than the computers in the cafe (and I will also use a hopefully much faster WiFi connection while in port). However, I will be at sea a number of days and still need to connect so want to do whatever I can to improve the connectivity (if possible).

 

Thanks, Barbara

 

Depending on your Blackberry model and your current carrier plan, yes, you should/could be able to access the Net using the BB as a wireless gateway. Check with your carrier, they should be able to tell you if you have the data coverage and if your BB model supports this.

 

As for using a laptop at a INET cafe in port, yes, I would suggest in most cases this would be faster than on-board access and much cheaper. You can buy pre-loaded cards with time which can be used at multiple locations.

 

If you're lucky you can even find 'open' or 'public' wi-fi access points at some ports.

 

Personally, I would take a slower but reliable connection over a fast and sporadic connection anyday.

[Lewdog]

Depending on your Blackberry model and your current carrier plan, yes, you should/could be able to access the Net using the BB as a wireless gateway. Check with your carrier, they should be able to tell you if you have the data coverage and if your BB model supports this.

 

I can vouch for this. We have a model that can act as a modem. Haven't used it on a cruise but have on a moving Amtrak and it worked great.

 

 

 

Personally, I would take a slower but reliable connection over a fast and sporadic connection anyday.

 

I agree. Sure, I like the fast connection but a reliable one is much more important.

[donna5]

Maybe after the cruisers that started their cruises on Sunday April 1, get home, they can tell us what the patters or other information, they received onboard said about the internet packages. They can also tell us what or how it showed on on their shipboard account at the end of the cruise.

[Salty Dawg]

We cruised the CB in March and I spoke with the INTERNET person on board, as they were already offering the packages. He told me to use the per minute charges until April 1, at which time Platinum/Elite passengers would be told to purchase the $75 package for a 1 week cruise, or the $100 package for the longer cruises and it would be charged to your account and then credited to your account. If you went over the 150 minutes for the $75 package or 250 minutes for the $100 package (IE. 10 day cruise), you would be on your own for charges.

 

But since we are bot Platinum, that would equate to double the allowable minutes. You no longer have to swipe your cruise card to log on. The first time you log on, you sign up for the package, use your name and cabin number plus a password you pick, and then throughout the cruise, you just log on. At the end of each session, a receipt is generated telling you the time you used on that session, as well as the balance remaining on your package. So when you get close to the end of your minutes, sign up your S.O. and use their minutes, assuming that you both are not using your minutes separately.

 

As far as the INTERNET speed is concerned, it really is very slow. I would say about the same as the old dial up service from home. Try to use the INTERNET late at night or early in the morning when not as many computers are in use. That seems to speed it up a bit.

[flvol77]

We cruised the CB in March and I spoke with the INTERNET person on board, as they were already offering the packages. He told me to use the per minute charges until April 1, at which time Platinum/Elite passengers would be told to purchase the $75 package for a 1 week cruise, or the $100 package for the longer cruises and it would be charged to your account and then credited to your account. If you went over the 150 minutes for the $75 package or 250 minutes for the $100 package (IE. 10 day cruise), you would be on your own for charges.

 

But since we are bot Platinum, that would equate to double the allowable minutes. You no longer have to swipe your cruise card to log on. The first time you log on, you sign up for the package, use your name and cabin number plus a password you pick, and then throughout the cruise, you just log on. At the end of each session, a receipt is generated telling you the time you used on that session, as well as the balance remaining on your package. So when you get close to the end of your minutes, sign up your S.O. and use their minutes, assuming that you both are not using your minutes separately.

 

As far as the INTERNET speed is concerned, it really is very slow. I would say about the same as the old dial up service from home. Try to use the INTERNET late at night or early in the morning when not as many computers are in use. That seems to speed it up a bit.

 

Thanks for the ideas, I didn't think that each of us (my wife and I) would receive $75 worth of net time - very cool thanks.

[br_luv2travl]

Thanks to all for your different advice and points of view - will not be cruising again till November, so hopefully by then internet will be working more smoothly. More reason to get an even more compact laptop. Family will jsut have to get used to not getting our updates. Will just write up my daily dairy with photos and then send it off at a session. Hope those packages are available for ones own computer and not only the internet cafe. (using ones own laptop should be cheaper as they do not have to maintain ours and it is strictly minutes we are paying for.)

 

How did I ever manage without these boards?? They are such a wealth of information (and opinions).:o

[suzyluvs2cruise]

My dad and his wife are currently on the Island Princess 15 day RT Los Angeles/Hawaii. I spoke to them while they were in Hawaii and they said every time they went to try to use the internet there were no terminals available. They are Platinum and it doesn't look like they will use any of their "free" minutes as we haven't heard form them via email yet...............and they return on Wednesday. We'll be on the Diamond Princess 4/14, and are Platinum too, so will see for myself about the availability of internet for our Mexico cruise. It's great to have a "perk" and hope that we can use it.

[NJ2FL]

I have my own business and need to be able to check email just so I can tell people to leave me alone for two weeks :D I have a Palm Treo but told that there is no data service in Alaska.

 

Does anyone know of any Internet Cafe's near the ports in Juneau, Skagway or Ketchikan? We'll be at the Princess resort in Denali before the trip - I assume they have decent Internet there.

 

Believe me, I don't want to spend my vacation cruising the web... I want to cruise the seas! And other than a quick email to closest of kin in lieu of a postcard, I don't understand those who do.:confused: