Receiving E-mails on board

[colmil]

Can anyone give me any information regarding receiving e-mails and any costs whilst on board, please?

[EileenN]

While on board I usually take a package for xx number of minutes of internet time and log on to yahoo and enter my usual mail account, where I send and receive email as usual. Not sure of the cost as latitudes get a discount and purchasing the package on the first day, offer another discount or extra minutes. Although the cruise line offers an email address to use, I find it more efficient to use my usual yahoo account. Hope this helps.

[garycarla]

The original question was a bit vague...but...

 

If you have a web based email service like yahoo, gmail, msn, etc. you can buy minutes to login to the internet and check them.

 

If you want to use the ship provided email address, they will deliever a paper copy to your room. I forget the cost, but it is a few bucks which is way too much.

 

Normal internet is $.40 to $.75 per minute depending on package that you buy.

[9illi9an]

If you're considering using e-mail on the ship, bear in mind that the connection is VERY slow. It took us more than 5 minutes to simply log in. We opted for the "pay-as-you-go" plan, which is 75-cents per minute. Of course, NCL also tacks on a $4 "activation fee" the first time you log in. So your first minute is actually $4.75.

 

My advice would be to simply wait until you reach a port, find an internet cafe, and send your e-mails from there. For $1-$5, you can usually log on for 15-20 minutes in any port. And if you really search, you can even find a few places that offer free internet service (usually with the purchase of food or drink.)

[fin]

What the above poster said is all true, but can be countered to some extent if you use a laptop and copy your messages quickly and then log off to type your replies. Then log back on and send them all at once.

 

It is likely the cheapest way to maintain contact with anyone on shore while you are at sea. The ship internet signal does occassionally go down however.

[9illi9an]

Before we sailed, I came up with the brilliant idea of using Notepad to construct my e-mails, then log in and quickly do a cut-and-paste to send my e-mail. Unfortunately, all Windows programs are blocked by NCL. The only program you can use is Internet Explorer. So you have to log in in order to type your e-mail messages.

 

I also thought of printing my incoming e-mails to save time, but NCL charges a 50-cent fee per print. If you have your own laptop, there are some clever ways to reduce your connection time, but if you don't have a laptop, NCL pretty much has you over a barrel.

[colmil]

Thanks everyone!

 

Greetings from England.

[salty dingo]

...you use a laptop and copy your messages quickly and then log off to type your replies. Then log back on and send them all at once.

 

I tried this, but I was not happy with the result. True, you can compose your mail offline, but the problem comes with receiving mail.

 

A relative emailed me some pictures, which were HUGE files, and after several expensive minutes of waiting for the download, I gave up.

 

My advice is to use a shoreside internet cafe. The rates and connection speeds are much better.