What ports have wifi access on balcony?

[kymbakitty]

We will be on a VERY port-intensive cruise....14 nights, with 9 ports! While this is not something we would normally be attracted to, there were enough islands that we had not been to that made it worth our while.

 

Before I go and spend a whopping $180 on internet access (which my husband just thinks is the most ridiculous thing he has ever heard)....I was wondering if there was a special section on this message board from other Princess passengers that were able to get free "wifi" from their balconies on their laptops?

 

I wouldn't have even thought of this had I not read a post from someone on the Grand last week...she was literally sitting on her balcony, posting to this bulletin board.

 

That made me wonder....hum....I wonder how many other ports of call have wifi from the balconies?

 

The ports are Aruba, St. Thomas, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Port of Spain, Curacua (sp?), San Juan, St. Kitts, Barbados and Grand Turk. And of course, Fort Lauderdale for pre/post internet access.

 

I don't plan on spending THAT much time, but for 14 nights, I can see 500 minutes going pretty quickly. But given all the ports, heck, I may be throwing away $100 so I thought I would check first.

 

Thanks.

 

Dawn

[Langley Cruisers]

Well we tried last year on our Eastern but couldn't get any WiFi on our balcony; I know for sure we could not get access in Barbados. However, we took our laptop into port and found it fairly soon after leaving the ship. If you can't get access on your balcony, you should be able to find it in port. Sit at a nice bar, have a local brew, and type away. :) You may even find it inside the cruise ship terminal; every port is different.

[redlac]

...

 

I don't plan on spending THAT much time, but for 14 nights, I can see 500 minutes going pretty quickly. But given all the ports, heck, I may be throwing away $100 so I thought I would check first. Thanks.

Dawn

 

 

It sounds that you are then taking your own laptop...if this is the case, remember that you can do the following...

1. connect to the onboard Princess internet service, and receive your incoming emails...
   
2. disconnect from the internet service, while you read your emails at your leisure, then take your time composing your replies...
   
3. re-connect to the internet service, so that your replies can be sent.
   

Thus, the purchased minutes you use on your own laptop are a fraction of the minutes one must use when using one of the Princess computers.

[cruisin36]

Just a suggestion so please do not flame me - leave your laptop at home and enjoy the cruise -You can always find an internet cafe at most ports that have a reasonable charge for usage. In case of a dire emergency people can always call you on the ship, perhaps a little expensive, but it should be an emergency! Life is too short to waste a vacation on the internet. If you need the internet connection for business reasons then buy the Princess package and write it off.

 

Enjoy your cruise!!!

[chasetf]

Before I go and spend a whopping $180 on internet access (which my husband just thinks is the most ridiculous thing he has ever heard)....

Remind your husband that going through a satellite is much more expensive than a landline. Even sitting in port they do not have landline access.

That made me wonder....hum....I wonder how many other ports of call have wifi from the balconies. The ports are Aruba, St. Thomas, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Port of Spain, Curacua (sp?), San Juan, St. Kitts, Barbados and Grand Turk. And of course, Fort Lauderdale for pre/post internet access. Dawn

The ports of Aruba, St. Thomas, Barbados and Ft Lauderdale are in commerical areas. Town (and potential WiFi connections) are pretty far away. That might be true for the other ports as well. So the chance of picking up an unsecure WiFi signal on your balconey would most likely be remote.

 

Aruba has (or did have the times we were there) an internet cafe within easy walking distance from the ship.

[Langley Cruisers]

...The ports of Aruba, St. Thomas, Barbados and Ft Lauderdale are in commerical areas. Town (and potential WiFi connections) are pretty far away.

 

We got WiFi at Havensite shopping area - just sat right down outside of a store and used our laptop.

[ericosmith]

Had a good wifi connection from a portside balcony in Aruba

[bigeagle12]

Use Google and search "Caribbean free wifi" and you will find multiple sites listing all the free wifi spots on each island.

[kymbakitty]

Great information provided....many thanks.

 

I don't think I'll use that much time on the actual internet, but I've read that when you do access the internet on a ship, the speed can be much slower than it is at home. Yikes...I may feel like I'm back to dial-up...remember those days?

 

Anyway, most of the use will not require internet access....(music, photos, hooking up laptop to tv to watch movies downloaded on laptop)....so I can probably get away with purchasing a lower minute package.

 

Thanks for the tips!

 

Dawn

[kymbakitty]

Just a suggestion so please do not flame me - leave your laptop at home and enjoy the cruise -You can always find an internet cafe at most ports that have a reasonable charge for usage. In case of a dire emergency people can always call you on the ship, perhaps a little expensive, but it should be an emergency! Life is too short to waste a vacation on the internet. If you need the internet connection for business reasons then buy the Princess package and write it off.

 

Enjoy your cruise!!!

 

Dear Cruisin36--

 

We are simply from different worlds. Why do I say that? Because in your mind, bringing my laptop would mean I could not also enjoy my cruise. It has nothing to do with emergencies!!!! And, "life is too short to waste a vacation on the internet" just means you really have no idea what people use their laptops for if you actually think that the vacations is wasted simply because someone has their laptop...do you really believe that?

 

Would you be floored if you discovered that we may even enjoy our vacation MORE because we had our laptop? I have no intention of working or spending countless hours emailing people from home. Our laptop provides us with so much more than I can ever tell you...but it has nothing to do with work or emailing people (very few emails actually when we are on vacation...just now and again with our housesitter to see how our animals are doing...that's about it).

 

All I can say is that we would never go on vacation without it. I can't begin to tell you how many times our laptop has served us well.

 

One real quick memory just came to mind....while in Australia on vacation in Nov 2009, my husband and I were sitting in the Executive Lounge of our hotel having breakfast. I brought my laptop with me....free wifi anyway. I logged on and went to the Sydney Opera House and the timing was perfect because two seats (front row!!!!) had just been returned to inventory for THAT VERY NIGHT's play, "God of Carnage." At the Sydney Opera House!!! We've been to many plays, but never had seats like those!!! Trust me when I say this did not ruin our vacation....just opened the door for an amazing opportunity.

 

Rest assured, we will enjoy our vacation--in spite of having our laptop!!! You definitely won't see us in the internet cafes in ports...we'll be able to use that precious time enjoying the island.

 

There is room for all us...but we'll have our laptop with us--you can bet on that.

 

Dawn

[gooch47]

Dawn, I agree 100%. We use ours mostly for photo backup, but also to keep in touch with people back home. I write a little "live from" story off-line and then post it on CC and also email it back to the family. And on nights when we just want to relax in our cabin, my hubby uses it to play Freecell. He is on a quest to do every one of them in numerical order. He is up to over 32,000 of them solved. Dumb? Maybe. But we do enjoy having the laptop. Well, we've moved over to a little notebook that weighs almost nothing.

 

This won't help you, but might help others. We got good reception in Nasssau in the Bahamas, too. We were on an NCL cruise (:eek:) and didn't get free internet.

[Strawberry]

Kymbakitty - You are so right--your posting says it all! We use our notebook computer a lot when we are away from home. We don't use it at all for work as we are retired. We also don't use it only for e-mails. We never play games on it. You have written exactly what I have been thinking every time I have read a posting that says to "leave your computer at home as you are on vacation and enjoy yourself." Well, we are on vacation all the time and we manage to enjoy ourselves and still use our computer.

[Colo Cruiser]

I have not been lucky enough to get a shoreside WiFi signal on our balcony in any port.

[danacline]

The ports are Aruba, St. Thomas, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Port of Spain, Curacua (sp?), San Juan, St. Kitts, Barbados and Grand Turk. And of course, Fort Lauderdale for pre/post internet access.

 

St. Thomas - Havensight, or there's a few net cafes in downtown if you're there. St. Lucia - did an 8-hour tour that left no time for internet. St. Kitts - supposedly there's a few free spots in the shopping center at the doc, but I could never find them, and ended up finding a net cafe with a fast wired connection at the edge of the shopping center. No beer there, however...

 

Barbados has net in the shopping center at the port, but not free...gotta buy a card and it's kind of a hassle. Curacao - had to cross the bridge and found one on that side of town for cheap. Great town to wander around.

 

For photos of the ports, visit my web site...

[cutiepie43]

I am currently writing this by the pool while our ship is in Dominica and picking up some free wi-fi quite nicely :)

[cruisin36]

Dear Cruisin36--

 

We are simply from different worlds. Why do I say that? Because in your mind, bringing my laptop would mean I could not also enjoy my cruise. It has nothing to do with emergencies!!!! And, "life is too short to waste a vacation on the internet" just means you really have no idea what people use their laptops for if you actually think that the vacations is wasted simply because someone has their laptop...do you really believe that?

 

Would you be floored if you discovered that we may even enjoy our vacation MORE because we had our laptop? I have no intention of working or spending countless hours emailing people from home. Our laptop provides us with so much more than I can ever tell you...but it has nothing to do with work or emailing people (very few emails actually when we are on vacation...just now and again with our housesitter to see how our animals are doing...that's about it).

 

All I can say is that we would never go on vacation without it. I can't begin to tell you how many times our laptop has served us well.

 

One real quick memory just came to mind....while in Australia on vacation in Nov 2009, my husband and I were sitting in the Executive Lounge of our hotel having breakfast. I brought my laptop with me....free wifi anyway. I logged on and went to the Sydney Opera House and the timing was perfect because two seats (front row!!!!) had just been returned to inventory for THAT VERY NIGHT's play, "God of Carnage." At the Sydney Opera House!!! We've been to many plays, but never had seats like those!!! Trust me when I say this did not ruin our vacation....just opened the door for an amazing opportunity.

 

Rest assured, we will enjoy our vacation--in spite of having our laptop!!! You definitely won't see us in the internet cafes in ports...we'll be able to use that precious time enjoying the island.

 

There is room for all us...but we'll have our laptop with us--you can bet on that.

 

Dawn

 

WOW!! I did request to not flame me. You were rather harsh. We take two netbooks with us, however, we both get enough free minutes to do what we have to. The OP was concerned about the cost and my answer was that if they are concerned about cost of internet on board then seek out an internet cafe in ports. Sorry I upset you.

[kymbakitty]

WOW!! I did request to not flame me. You were rather harsh. We take two netbooks with us, however, we both get enough free minutes to do what we have to. The OP was concerned about the cost and my answer was that if they are concerned about cost of internet on board then seek out an internet cafe in ports. Sorry I upset you.

 

 

This is one thing about email that will probably always have its problems. If you were sitting in my living room with me and I had that conversation w/you, shared my adventure about Sydney, not for one second you would have felt "flamed."

 

This is one area that will always be a shortcoming (email in lieu of good old face to face conversation).

 

In no way was it meant in the spirit that it was taken....not flaming at all...just saying that the suggestion that a "cruise would be wasted..." was very silly.

 

That's all...I am really sorry you felt you were flamed...not my intention whatsoever.

 

Dawn

[ONT-CA]

If we can keep this posting on subject, we are very interested in any port that has free wifi. With that in mind, we will be testing from our balcony all the ports of call on our upcoming cruise and if we are lucky enough to connect we will so advise on CC. We already have one positive response from Dominica and if anyone else wold like to assist in this experiment, please do.

[csk]

we were just in Grand Cayman, and a coffee shop had free wifi, just make a purchase and they give you a password, also the same in Cozumel, and Roatan,

[kymbakitty]

If we can keep this posting on subject, we are very interested in any port that has free wifi. With that in mind, we will be testing from our balcony all the ports of call on our upcoming cruise and if we are lucky enough to connect we will so advise on CC. We already have one positive response from Dominica and if anyone else wold like to assist in this experiment, please do.

 

 

Very good idea. Maybe after the thread has gone on a bit with a few ports that have been reported to get wifi, I (someone) can list all the known ports where someone can get wifi from their balconies.

 

Aruba is a thumbs up for me so far....that will be one of my ports. Although I will need to make sure I don't automatically log on to the wifi that the ship offers...I'm sure I will figure it out. As it is, I'm going to need to figure out how NOT to automatically connect to the wifi when I want to do something that does not warrant the internet.

 

I read something about typing in something like iiiiiii....I'm sure I will figure out...I'm not even sure where they were suggesting to enter in the data that would log them off.

 

I am sure there will be directions once on the ship.

 

This is very helpful to me as it will help me to determine what package to buy.

 

Thanks....

 

Dawn

[gooch47]

On the ship you have to log in to get to the internet. If you don't log in, you can do as much as you please offline with no worry about being charged for minutes.

[cutiepie43]

Today I'm in Grenada and again no troubles with free wi-fi, although had to go in the terminal to get it. Very low signal from the pool.

[ONT-CA]

...This is very helpful to me as it will help me to determine what package to buy. Thanks.... Dawn

 

This can be of more help than the purchase of packages. As Elite members we both have ample time allocated for our use. But any time I can use an available wifi server I am taking the load off the ship's communication system which we know to be stressed at times with downtime. Plus, the speeds available with found wifi systems are usually much higher and are great to send out photographs and the like.

[cutiepie43]

And before someone has a chance to comment, No I wasn't IN the pool!:D

[ONT-CA]

Today I'm in Grenada and again no troubles with free wi-fi, although had to go in the terminal to get it. Very low signal from the pool.

 

Can you tell us the wifi speed you encountered at the Grenada terminal?