Using iPad online on Cruise - Anyone ever done it?

[max2]

I know I know a Cruise is not for iPhones and iPads or the internet. It is to relax. Wouldn't use the internet everyday and not very often anyway but it would be great in the morning after just waking up and in the evening before going to bed.

Anyway does anyone know what kind of speed you get ? I am curious. I know ping will be really high. Did you find it was worth it ?

 

[sjleworthy]

Personally, not worth the effort or hassle. We do a couple most years and to be honest..

A) unless you cruise locally your cellular network out at sea doesnt usually hold up where internet is conceerned to well
B) onboard internet is ****!!!!!!! Very VERY expensive and very sloooooow

 

[Rok73]

Use your devices when you stay at a harbor. Internet on cruise ships is satellite driven and VERY expensive. You can check the prices most likely in the FAQ on the website of your cruise line.

 

[max2]

Use your devices when you stay at a harbor. Internet on cruise ships is satellite driven and VERY expensive. You can check the prices most likely in the FAQ on the website of your cruise line.

Yep but actually internet on cruise ship is not that expensive anymore except on Disney cruises.

 

[Rok73]

Yep but actually internet on cruise ship is not that expensive anymore except on Disney cruises.

I can assure you that I've checked several cruise line websites and actually it is mostly quite expensive. On a side note, I am from Europe, prices can differ. And I can't imagine you know all of the prices from each single cruise line.

 

[max2]

I can assure you that I've checked several cruise line websites and actually it is mostly quite expensive. On a side note, I am from Europe, prices can differ. And I can't imagine you know all of the prices from each single cruise line.

It is around $5 to $30 a day unlimited.

 

[bensisko]

It is around $5 to $30 a day unlimited.

To me, that's expensive - but I'm not used to paying for it outside of my provider's bill.

I thought I remember Royal Caribbean was making some strides in both internet at sea as well as app usage onboard (being able to book reservations, shore excursions, etc.).

I'm interested in hearing your experiences though!

As for using stuff on vacation - you don't need to justify your usage to anyone (with the possible exception of the significant other...). It's your vacation and you have the right to spend it the way you want! I get so tired of people on the Amtrak boards berating people for using their electronic devices on a train ride because they should be "relaxing and enjoying the view". You should be spending your time how you want to spend it!

 

[sjleworthy]

i suppose if you can afford a cruise then $5-30 per day (and decent is usually towards the $30 mark) is peanuts.
i dont find those prices exuberant myself, but i do when i compare them to my regular wi-fi/home use costs.

Also, whatever cruise companies say, the coverage is pretty poor and very slow and loads of people constantly using the lines. Cruise internet really is a poor service. trust me, i do test these things most regular

 

[baypharm]

Went on an Alaskan cruise in May and WIFI/cellular was very spotty and slow in some of the ports - other ports zero. Cruise ship sat net was very very slow and beyond expensive: charging by the minute. They also charged $5 for a 12 ounce can of Coca Cola. Free food was limited to low quality pizza every day. The whale watch was cancelled with no explanation. The cruise director talked too much over the intercom. Final day of cruise they told us a group meeting was mandatory - later found out it wasn't. Canned Salmon was hugely expensive in port of calls. Save your money there. You can get fresh wild caught Salmon at your local grocery for half the price. Massage therapist was good but plan on spending at least $400 for an hour session. I could go on but you get the picture. It was a major world recognized cruise ship.

 

[joeblow7777]

I know I know a Cruise is not for iPhones and iPads or the internet. It is to relax.

No judgement from me. I find surfing the Internet and using my devices to be very relaxing. I wouldn't want to go on vacation without any internet access.

 

[willmtaylor]

Went on an Alaskan cruise in May and WIFI/cellular was very spotty and slow in some of the ports - other ports zero. Cruise ship sat net was very very slow and beyond expensive: charging by the minute. They also charged $5 for a 12 ounce can of Coca Cola. Free food was limited to low quality pizza every day. The whale watch was cancelled with no explanation. The cruise director talked too much over the intercom. Final day of cruise they told us a group meeting was mandatory - later found out it wasn't. Canned Salmon was hugely expensive in port of calls. Save your money there. You can get fresh wild caught Salmon at your local grocery for half the price. Massage therapist was good but plan on spending at least $400 for an hour session. I could go on but you get the picture. It was a major world recognized cruise ship.

Well that rant was quite off-topic. I am sorry to hear about your bad experience though. We went s coup,e of years back and had s fantastic time all around. Great service, great food, great excursions, great weather.
[doublepost=1470100061][/doublepost]

It is around $5 to $30 a day unlimited.

If $30/day is reasonable for you, then have at it. For me, that's not worth it. When we went, I just dealt with it and connected to data at the different ports of call.

 

[Fthree]

just returned yesterday (carnival) ended up getting the social media package that they offer. ($25 for 7 days) wasn't terrible speed. To gain access to the entire internet and a great speed that package was around $100 for the week. I love having social media available to communicate in a place where there is no cell reception with messages and pictures to family.

 

[willmtaylor]

just returned yesterday (carnival) ended up getting the social media package that they offer. ($25 for 7 days) wasn't terrible speed. To gain access to the entire internet and a great speed that package was around $100 for the week. I love having social media available to communicate in a place where there is no cell reception with messages and pictures to family.

That sounds reasonable.

 

[baypharm]

Well that rant was quite off-topic. I am sorry to hear about your bad experience though. We went s coup,e of years back and had s fantastic time all around. Great service, great food, great excursions, great weather.
[doublepost=1470100061][/doublepost]
If $30/day is reasonable for you, then have at it. For me, that's not worth it. When we went, I just dealt with it and connected to data at the different ports of call.

Well then my very humble apologies to you for expressing myself.

 

[willmtaylor]

Well then my very humble apologies to you for expressing myself.

Not my thread.

 

[JeffyTheQuik]

Went on an Alaskan cruise in May and WIFI/cellular was very spotty and slow in some of the ports - other ports zero. Cruise ship sat net was very very slow and beyond expensive: charging by the minute. They also charged $5 for a 12 ounce can of Coca Cola. Free food was limited to low quality pizza every day. The whale watch was cancelled with no explanation. The cruise director talked too much over the intercom. Final day of cruise they told us a group meeting was mandatory - later found out it wasn't. Canned Salmon was hugely expensive in port of calls. Save your money there. You can get fresh wild caught Salmon at your local grocery for half the price. Massage therapist was good but plan on spending at least $400 for an hour session. I could go on but you get the picture. It was a major world recognized cruise ship.

Understand, and even in port, in Skagway, the cell Internet was great as we were pulling into port, then slowed down to a crawl... then I realized why...

Let's say there are 4500 people on a cruise ship, 1500 are the crew, and 3000 are passengers with cell phones, and you pull into a town like Skagway, that has 700 people year round. The cell companies know there will be limited coverage of 4 months when they will need a huge number of IP addresses (there are 3-4 cruise ships in port at a given time), and it isn't 7 days/week, more like 3-4 days/week, as I asked the locals - really nice people!

OK, let's say that the crew has Internet at 50%, and the guests are at 100% (heck, even the kids have Internet, and some people have two devices, like the OP with his/her iPad.
The cell companies go from 700-1000 IP addresses at 10-20% usage (if that) to 15-16000 ip address with 15-25% usage per device. Hey! We're in Alaska, and here's a FB post, plus I have to check out all my likes from the last time in port! Where are the Pokemon up here? We were deathly afraid of getting on the Canadian cell service, as that would be about a $400 bill... quadruple checked that roaming data wasn't on, and made sure my work phone (which has international text/data) was getting AT&T before switching our phones off of airplane mode.

One good thing, if you don't have international data, is the GPS works not on cell (I used Navigon) but on satellites that we've already paid for, so it's kind of fun to see where we are. The funny part was at the last day, from Victoria to Seattle, we just cruised along the Canadian side of the Straight of Juan de Fuca. Not fun, but oh well...

Also, get the refillable soda cup for $50. Mrs. thequik and I did, and it's nice to not worry about being nickel and dimed for sodas. Plus, the stores in town have 6-packs for gas station prices.

Would happily go on another Alaska cruise, and looking forward to our European one, with all 7 of the kids.

Oh yeah, if you use the exercise room, you can eat all you want and lose 5 lbs. too! Win-win!

 

[bufffilm]

Went on an Alaskan cruise in May and WIFI/cellular was very spotty and slow in some of the ports - other ports zero. Cruise ship sat net was very very slow and beyond expensive: charging by the minute. They also charged $5 for a 12 ounce can of Coca Cola. Free food was limited to low quality pizza every day. The whale watch was cancelled with no explanation. The cruise director talked too much over the intercom. Final day of cruise they told us a group meeting was mandatory - later found out it wasn't. Canned Salmon was hugely expensive in port of calls. Save your money there. You can get fresh wild caught Salmon at your local grocery for half the price. Massage therapist was good but plan on spending at least $400 for an hour session. I could go on but you get the picture. It was a major world recognized cruise ship.

Hmmm...My brother and sister (with their h/w) are planning an Alaskan cruise in the near future.

What cruise line did you sail with? PM if you wish. Thx.

 

[max2]

Thanks guys this is really helpful!

 

[Denmac1]

Depending on the cruise line, many offer package deals the first day at sea. Compare their price on line before you decide.

 

[Cvx5832]

Personally, not worth the effort or hassle. We do a couple most years and to be honest..

A) unless you cruise locally your cellular network out at sea doesnt usually hold up where internet is conceerned to well
B) onboard internet is ****!!!!!!! Very VERY expensive and very sloooooow

I work in the cruise industry. Listen to this guy. Internet out at sea isn't fun and really is more a "need to". As pointed out it's expensive and slow.

Most internet connections piggyback the necessary electronic communications between ship and shore so you can imagine how capped that bandwidth would be.

 

[Fthree]

I work in the cruise industry. Listen to this guy. Internet out at sea isn't fun and really is more a "need to". As pointed out it's expensive and slow.

Most internet connections piggyback the necessary electronic communications between ship and shore so you can imagine how capped that bandwidth would be.

I have to respectfully disagree The connection I had while aboard wasn't bad it wasn't comparable to on shore (Home/Data plan) speed but was manageable and going into it not expecting "lightning fast" service i was not disappointed. Drinks are $10 a piece, the ticket to get on is over $1000 if you want to be able to get online $100 for seven days isn't that bad in "cruise" reality.

 

[ftaok]

Went on a Norwegian cruise in the Caribbean last year. We paid to activate the Norwegian app to allow texting via ship wifi. It was like $6 per phone. Well worth it.

We stopped at 3 ports, one of which was st Thomas, which has att service, so I use my phone for free.

T-Mobile has better free international data. If we were on T-Mobile, we could have used or phone data at totoga and the Bahamas.

 

[max2]

Thanks everyone for all the help judging by the views this was a topic a lot of people wondered about.

 

[aneftp]

We did NOrwegian in June. We had the suites/haven so 1GB of Internet was included.

It was so freaking slow. Probably less than 56 kpbs quality most of the time. Maybe on days we were docked or at 4am and less people using it on ship it was about 256kpbs

It was hard to use the 1gb for 7 days cause webpages would just time out. As soon as we docked in St Thomas (US virgin island with LtE domestic for att). I was like Thank God. I have real Internet.

 

[max2]

The conclusion so far I have come to is the internet on a cruise is fine for texting and anything else with very light usage like viewing forums websites with mainly only text but anything bandwidth intense like video streaming not ok with.