Internet Service on board

[strawhat]

How is the internet service on board the Pearl? I am taking a much needed vacation but need to stay in touch and the best way for me to do this is with my laptop. We will be on an Alaska cruise and, while I won't need it constantly, I would like to know that I can receive a few emails and possibly use Skype to speak to the folks staying back and running the business.

 

Are there packages available on board or will I have to pay by the minute? Does anyone know of any free wi-fi places along the way (Juneau, Ketchican, Skagway)?

 

I appreciate any information you can give.

[garycarla]

Someone else posted about internet on Alaska cruise yesterday or the day before. Scroll down a page to see that.

 

But - on all NCL ships you can buy packages that run from $.40 to $.75 per minute for speeds a bit better than dialup. Though I have heard of folks getting Skype to work, I have seen many postings where it does not.

 

When you are in any of the Alaska ports you can use your cell phone of course to dial the states, assuming you have nationwide service. While at sea, most cell phone carriers charge $2.49 a minute. T mobile is at $5.

[martinchem]

It's best to use services in the ports if $$ are a concern.

[richannc]

We had gone to Alaska several years ago on both HAL and Celebrity. We did purchase internet packages on board both cruises, prices vary, best to call the cruise line and inquire about packages, they do run specials during the cruise. Another idea that we used was once in port we went to the local library and were able to use internet for free, some limited time but no charge and we did see part of the city on the way. Since all the Alaska towns are quite small, finding the library very easy and didn't take much time and you can't beat the price.

[bakerintn]

Here is the link to the NCL page about Internet services onboard

 

http://www.ncl.com/nclweb/cruiser/cmsPages.html?pageId=InternetCafe

[salty dingo]

I don't think there is the bandwidth to make a good skype call. You can just use a cell phone for that, and it is $2.49 a minute and up, depending on the carrier.

[rich40245]

But - on all NCL ships you can buy packages that run from $.40 to $.75 per minute for speeds a bit better than dialup.

That can not be said enough. The internet speed on most, if not all, cruise ships is VERY slow.

 

Rich

[mking8288]

I access internet via GSM signal on AT&T's cellular "home" network (Edge) in 3 Alaska ports (except Prince Rupert, BC - which is Canada) while docked or still close enough near ports - via USB cable to my own laptop with ease, downstream speed comparable to ship's satellite tower. By turning off video, sound & graphic features on the browsers, all of which tend to take up bandwidth & slow things down - it help with speeding email downloads & catching up on news, etc.

 

The AT&T smartphone has internet access & tethering it help me to keep cost down whenever we travel & have no other easy access to broadband connection.

[salty dingo]

Alaska was all local calls on my national roaming cell plan. For Internet, there are plenty of places in port to get online for not much cost.

 

It's sort of nice that the Internet is slow and expensive on the ship because that is a good reason to stay off. You can surf anytime but on a ship it's best to soak up what can only be had on a cruise.