No WiFi on Cruise??!!

[NW-Bound]

The low-altitude satellites also have a faster rate of orbital decay, and will fall down to earth quicker, perhaps in a few decades.

With Musk putting up 12,000 cubesats, will we live long enough to see them raining down from the sky?

 

[Souschef]

Solution is don't cruise if you want to stay connected.

There are European river cruises and those are stupidly expensive. The food had better be worth it but actually, I would think the food you can find in Europe is a lot better than what they serve on cruise ships.

We have done a number of European river cruises and they are expensive. When you only have a couple hundred passengers you do not have the economies of scale as an ocean cruise.
The food is better because they are only cooking for a couple hundred, not a couple thousand..

 

[Souschef]

Ketchikan, Juneau, Anchorage have good connectivity and 4G data. Victoria and Vancouver have free texting and good data, but phone calls cost $$. Kodiak has nothing unless you purchase a local package. Homer and Icy Strait have free texting but very poor data connections.

Your phone will tell you when you are connected to land services instead of ship.

I was in Juneau and Ketchikan recently, and there was no 4G coverage that I could find.

 

[Alan]

We have done a number of European river cruises and they are expensive. When you only have a couple hundred passengers you do not have the economies of scale as an ocean cruise.
The food is better because they are only cooking for a couple hundred, not a couple thousand..

I've also heard that the (some?) excursions are included in the price.

 

[TromboneAl]

I watched some videos on Alaska cruises, and despite the wonderful scenery, I think I'd be bored. I got bored on the train trip from Sacramento to Denver, and that didn't take a week.

 

[NW-Bound]

^^^ Then, drive an RV up to and through Alaska.

You will likely have some vehicle problems to keep things interesting, and to have something to stay occupied with.

 

[Amethyst]

We took a Tauck tour of Alaska back in 2017. Half the tour was on land, and half was on a Princess ship (our first cruise). The land tour was incredible (except for the food, which was just OK). The cruise, after the novelty of Being On A Cruise wore off, was kind of meh.

Yes, the scenery from the ship was marvelous - you can see (what's left of) the glaciers quite well, although seeing them from the air on the land cruise was even better. The excursions did little for us, although the visit to the Indian entertainment center (native dances and displays) was interesting. The towns along the cruise route are tourist traps, and not as much to our taste as the tourist traps on the land tour.

 

[Teacher Terry]

We loved our Alaskan cruise. The excursions were great. We took a whale watching tour and we’d lucky enough to see some. We really wish we had taken the land portion also.

 

[target2019]

The average age, boat size, and your crowd determine how boring. I found our recent cruise very relaxing.

 

[sengsational]

I get free WiFi on Princess, but haven't used my whole allotment...too much else to pay attention to. If the hint of boredom ever arises, I just realize that I've not been paying enough attention to what's happening around me. Often the engineered distractions aren't things I'd go out of my way for, but the opportunities for relaxation and connection with other travelers while on this amazing contraption whizzing through the sea... that's plenty for me.

 

[Big_Hitter]

Offer to pay the bill. 15 - 30 bucks, possibly.
Daily.
Her us carrier will be available at each port.

ouch

 

[gayl]

Does anyone know what the cruise ships use to provide internet? It seems that they have the same limitations that cell phones have. e.g. Satellite internet in notoriously slow.

Depends. MedallionNet on Princess is as fast as home / slow on its other ships. But you don't need much. I'm cheap. I log on, open email app, log off. Respond to all emails & start a few. Sits in my outgoing until Iog on for 1 minute which downloads what I'll respond to the next time and sends what's in outgoing. Log off. There. I've used 2 minutes which will be charged as 1. Cheap

I get 100- 250 free minutes per cruise and have never run out

 

[explanade]

I get free WiFi on Princess, but haven't used my whole allotment...too much else to pay attention to. If the hint of boredom ever arises, I just realize that I've not been paying enough attention to what's happening around me. Often the engineered distractions aren't things I'd go out of my way for, but the opportunities for relaxation and connection with other travelers while on this amazing contraption whizzing through the sea... that's plenty for me.

I can't imagine traveling without online access of any kind. If I'm outside most of the day and then return to the hotel at night, the down time is great for catching up with emails and such.

A lot of hotels offer satellite TV channels so people can catch up on news on CNN or BBC. Now they have channels for Japanese, Chinese, Russian, Arab, etc. travelers.

But I can keep up with news just with Internet.

About 15 years ago, I was in Rome and Internet in hotels weren't common yet, at least in that city. So I bought like a week of use at a cyber cafe -- remember those?

I had to hike a bit to get there and lug my laptop, which wasn't light.

But I recall during that trip that I executed a stock sale which gained me more than what that trip costed, several times over.

So if online access on cruises are prohibitive or just poor, it would be a reason not to choose the cruise.

 

[Big_Hitter]

I can't imagine traveling without online access of any kind.

that's the best part of traveling

 

[akck]

I was in Juneau and Ketchikan recently, and there was no 4G coverage that I could find.

I have LTE in Juneau and got it intermittently near other towns. It is on AT&T networks, so your coverage may be less with your service provider. A friend had no coverage at a Village and later found out her provider had no agreement with AT&T there.

 

[mpeirce]

Not all cruise lines engage in the constant upsell.

Viking Ocean includes WiFi.

 

[Amethyst]

So does Regent Seven Seas. One device at a time in the lower level cabins. Up to four connected devices at Concierge level and above. Of course RSSC is not cheap.

Not all cruise lines engage in the constant upsell.

Viking Ocean includes WiFi.

 

[TromboneAl]

They arrived in Juneau and DD answered my question of "Wha? No WiFi on the boat?"

with

"No, they just charge oodles of money for it!"

As you guys predicted.

They're on the Oosterdam with Holland America.

 

[NW-Bound]

Not all cruise lines engage in the constant upsell.

Viking Ocean includes WiFi.

So does Regent Seven Seas. One device at a time in the lower level cabins. Up to four connected devices at Concierge level and above. Of course RSSC is not cheap.

I wonder how fast it is, when several thousand passengers on the boat all use it.

T-Mobile allows free data roaming in Europe, but it was so slow for us it was good only to send SMS. We never could send any photo to our children.

 

[mpeirce]

I wonder how fast it is, when several thousand passengers on the boat all use it.

My recollection was that it was fine for regular web use. Email was fine. Web pages fine. Kindle download fine. I *think* they blocked Netflix and other streaming, which I was fine with me - the bandwidth is constrained and a few people streaming video would wreck it for everyone else checking their email and reading early-retirement.org.

WiFi calling (ATT) worked. I recall a neighbor called me in the middle of the night (for us, not for them) who didn't know we were away. Annoying but my own darn fault.

I hope the cruise lines are early adopters for SpaceX's new service. It should be much better than the current sat service.

 

[NW-Bound]

^^^ That's a lot better than I expected.

About SpaceX's Starlink, it will be a while yet. I don't know about their plan, but with LEO satellites, you need many of them up before you can get something usable. Else, the service will be sporadic, and available only in the short amount of time when a satellite happens to fly overhead.

 

[sengsational]

"No, they just charge oodles of money for it!"

Looks like they're having oodles of fun without being connected. And they must have found a land-based connection to send you those high res shots.



I found out how to find the best land-base free WiFi in the port where the ships dock: You watch the crew exit gang plank, then follow the guy with the laptop bag. I've got off the ship, seen a place with a "free WiFi" sign, had to buy something and couldn't even get it to work. The crew knows right where to go, closest to the docks.

 

[easysurfer]

...

"No, they just charge oodles of money for it!"
..

Looks like they treated the extra wifi expense as part of the vacation splurge similar to going out to a nice restaurant. Sounds like a nice plan!

 

[target2019]

Looks like Alaska. Same view from Nieuw Amsterdam!
A wonderful experience.

 

[Janet H]

Fees are high and the liquor is free - I know which I'd pick

https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=45#hal

The "Standard" plan offers 1,000 minutes for $250 (25 cents per minute); 500 minutes for $175 (35 cents per minute); 250 minutes for $100 (40 cents per minute); 100 minutes for $55 (55 cents per minute); and a "pay as you go" option for 75 cents per minute. The plan is available on select cruise ships: Prinsendam, Volendam, Zaandam, Maasdam, Veendam, Noordam, Oosterdam, Eurodam, Amsterdam and Rotterdam.