No WiFi on Cruise??!!

[TromboneAl]

DD is going on a cruise to Alaska (from Seattle). I just got an email from her saying:

Our boat is taking off as we speak, so we'll be out of data and wifi range! Potentially we'll have service when we dock, but we'll see!!
​

This conflicts with my view of reality. How is it possible that a cruise ship would not have WiFi? AFAIK, it's not some kind of Luddite cruise. Are they sailing into a timewarp to 1967?

 

[Teacher Terry]

You have to pay for it.

 

[jimnjana]

May not be willing to pay cruise prices for it. We sometimes will use ports of call for wifi fixes at bars set that offer it for free.

 

[MarieIG]

What!!! Turn the ship around!!!

 

[Aerides]

Like a game a lot of hotels like to play, I'm going to guess there is wifi, there is just not necessarily, free-included-in-your-package-wifi.

And yes it's 2019, charging extra for wifi is very eye-roll-inducing.

 

[Moemg]

Your daughter has inherited cheapness from someone and it going without WiFI .

 

[easysurfer]

I switched over from a flip phone to a smart phone a few years back as I didn't know about the cell service on cruise unless you are willing to fork over lots of roaming fees. Ended up, I went like to good old days and no phone use for the cruise. Didn't mind the quiet of no distractions but was totally frustrating as no way to keep in touch with folks who's idea of meeting up was wandering about .

IMO, I say, in a real emergency, the pay the roaming. Otherwise, enjoy peaceful time away on vacation.

 

[target2019]

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

 

[explanade]

They'd either have to connect with cell networks or satellite.

Once they get north of Vancouver, are there cell networks? Maybe not enough population density for cell carriers to have bothered up there.

 

[Teacher Terry]

We turned off our phones because you can rack up big roaming fees unless in a port that’s not foreign. We used old fashioned written notes left in the room. You can pay for internet for one day at 20 and use public computer.

 

[aja8888]

Why do people on cruises need WiFi? I thought people took cruises to get away and relax.

 

[Teacher Terry]

I only bought it when I was teaching my online college class.

 

[Souschef]

I just got back from an Alaska cruise, and Princess has WiFi, but you have to pay for it, unless you have free minutes as a function of your status.

We got 250 minutes free each , but did not use hardly any.
As far as cellphone service in Alaska, they do not have 4G, and my smartphone did not work. It only worked en route to Vancouver/Victoria because we could hit Washington state towers.

 

[audreyh1]

Yes, I remember being out on a small group cruise and a few people complaining about not having their favorite daily news channel. They felt deprived because they were starved of the latest news and didn’t know what was “happening out there!”

This made an impression on me.

 

[Teacher Terry]

We purposefully don’t watch the TV on cruises. We want a news break.

 

[Souschef]

I do not blame you the - news on the room TV on Princess sucked! We could only get MSNBC international, which spent every 10 minutes promoting them selves or BBC (Yawn) among other less interesting ones.

 

[explanade]

Load up a laptop or iPad with shows and movies ...

 

[Bestwifeever]

If her smart phone plan has US coverage with unlimited data she can probably connect with that when they are near Alaska (ours worked on a Hawaiian cruise). She probably looked into wifi availability earlier and just didn't tell you--she's pretty smart.

Use it in your next book!

 

[YVRRocketSurgery]

They'd either have to connect with cell networks or satellite.

Once they get north of Vancouver, are there cell networks? Maybe not enough population density for cell carriers to have bothered up there.

If sailing through the inside passage, I would suspect one would be able to pick up coverage to the north end of Vancouver Island. But beyond that and if sailing on the west side of Vancouver Island, which many cruises out of Seattle do and on the the way back during a round trip cruise, I doubt there would be a lot of/any coverage within reach of the ship.

 

[Sunset]

When I go into Canada, I put my phone on airplane mode, so I don't get the big fees of roaming. So I do that on cruise ships too.

I just update and get email when in port on land via wifi.

 

[Sunset]

Carnival Cruise ships do offer wifi, to read the day's events, etc , but you can't email etc your friends with that.
To do social media, you have to pay, and to do email pay more.
I think they also have a simple pay $5 for the entire cruise and you can chat-text your fellow cruise ship passengers if they also pay $5.

 

[akck]

For the most part, there will be cell/4G+ service (LTE service is available in some locations), as you come into range near cities and villages in Alaska. Free WiFi is available in towns as many businesses provide it, plus city libraries. In Canadian waters, you’ll be internationally roaming. Not all phone companies will work here for data depending on agreements between providers. AT&T, Verizon (lesser extent), and GCI (local), are your main carriers. You can text them at any time and they will receive it when they are close to service.

 

[Badger]

When I go into Canada, I put my phone on airplane mode, so I don't get the big fees of roaming. So I do that on cruise ships too.

I just update and get email when in port on land via wifi.

+1 Most of the time I just turn the WiFi off. I don't want to be bothered.


Cheers!

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

Why do people on cruises need WiFi? I thought people took cruises to get away and relax.

It is usually much cheaper than roaming, and most any phone made in the last 6-7 years should be capable of WiFi calling, where all calls go through as usual via WiFi instead of cellular network. And voice calls only take a fraction of the bandwidth of streaming a compressed song, which is not that much to begin with. We needed to check in a few times a day to check that our elderly parents and pets were doing OK. Sure, there's not much we could have done in an emergency at sea, but it helped to get "all clear" texts rather than to worry.

 

[athena53]

I'm used to this; UnCruise, which I use, has NO Wi-Fi available to passengers on the ship. I manage; my Ting plan works internationally but, as others have said, I use it with Cellular turned off unless I want to try and get on-line. My two main interests are seeing what the stock market is doing (I don't trade frequently but just like to know) and keeping friends/family posted via FB and e-mails. Both can wait until I get into a port with decent reception.

DH and I cruised out of Ketchikan twice; the first time we had a day there before the cruise and checked out the library, which was convenient to the port. We even bought a few books at their Used Book sale. The second time, 2 years later, the library had been moved to a location much further from the port. The locals told us it was because all the cruise ship passengers would swarm into the library and tap into the free Wi-Fi!