Wifi

I understand the desire to disconnect from our wired existence on land. And to some extent I do that on ships and wait until I arrive in port to check into many of my fave sites, including Cruise Critic. But on the other hand we have a traveling life style and are away from home for months, so we need to stay connected to take care of problems back home, take care of business and banking, stay in touch with certain friends and family, and plan the next phases of our travel. Today the internet is essential for all of that, so it is not a luxury or a play thing for us.

I understand for some travelers that internet connectivity is an essential, not a luxury. I do think that a fair number of people bitching about it don't fall in that category.

Internet access is very important for DH and my work. We could not travel as much if we did not have internet working at a decent clip at least at somewhere on the ship we can get to, which on our cruise last month was not in our suite, but at SB Square on the Quest. We used our cellular service in ports as hot spots to back up our needs.

$399 unlimited for the 16 day cruise, which seemed reasonable for our values, helped adjust for "ka-ching sound" irritations when it would be very slow, and we would be willing to pay much more than that if it would be more reliable and faster. If more people had "free" internet, as with "free" excursions (e.g., on Regent) you would likely have more casual chit-chatters overloading capacity on a ship, as others noted.

Suite Travels pointed out the difficulties ships have with internet. I wonder if a consortium of cruise line could pool resources and launch more private satellites to meet international cruise ship service needs, then recoup costs by having better service for fees, paid by people who greatly value internet.

Bottom Line is that RCCL and Celebrity have WiFi which is so fast it puts WiFi at home to shame. Come on Seabourn!!! Seriously? Seabourn a "luxury" line and so many other mass market lines are Trumping them (sorry for analogy) when it comes to high speed WiFi. Let's face it - those who take Seabourn cruises are often business oriented and on longer voyages where being in touch actually is comforting and relaxing and not the opposite. It's being out of touch that makes a long voyage anxiety provoking for many of us. The technology is clearly available and Seabourn should invest in it and make it inclusive instead of nickel and diming. My understanding is that the charge for WiFi is so that it limits availability as to not clog the slow band width. Seabourn is an amazing product! In my opinion, if they would add comfortable lounges with cushions and terry cloth covers (like Regent and Oceania) by the pools and high speed WiFi for all they would be absolutely perfect. As an aside with the lounges - so many lines pride themselves on their bedding - how about priding themselves on poolside bedding/lounges? Sounds crazy, buy if you lay on a Seabourn slingback lounge by the pool for an hour your back aches. Sorry for digression from internet. Bon voyage!

Californiacruislovrs, does Celebrity's smokin' fast internet still smoke in remote areas?

We sailed Blue Lagoon Cruises in Fiji last year on a small boat. Free, fast internet in the middle of nowhere. Here on Encore it is slow and expensive.

Catlover54: YES! VERY fast. Even remote areas.

Last month on Odyssey, I was unable to use Skype for voice calls and was told by guest services that Skype was blocked on board. Is that a new and fleet-wide policy? (They also told me gambling and some other sites are blocked as well.)