Seabourn, Cost of Internet Access

[softsands]

Hi everyone,

 

First post on cruisecritic. I'm looking forward to my first Seabourn experience, 03/25/10 Legend's Caribbean 'Gems' cruise; doing a solo-day (ahhhh, just me, my book(s) and a nice Cabernet (or three)). Just wondering, though, what the cost of (wireless) internet is on-board (I'm a category B3) as I want to stay in touch with my very understanding family.

 

Thanks for any information!

[softsands]

Don't know how I missed the "Wi-Fi" thread - but I did :rolleyes:; found my answer. Good thing disk space is cheap.

[JaneBP]

Welcome to Seabourn. There are several of us on your cruise, but we will not intrude.

Look for us after the lifeboat drill, hopefully on the port side of the Sky Bar. (The band is usually on the starboard side). I will have my red Phillies hat, but perhaps not on my head. Ask a waiter if you want to find us. It's not long now. There is also a Roll Call thread further down the list.

[ltsally]

Internet costs are one of very few complaints I would have with SB. (The other being the laundry/ironing area - but who goes on a cruise to worry about laundry??) Have a wonderful time!

[lord of the seas]

Internet costs are one of very few complaints I would have with SB. (The other being the laundry/ironing area - but who goes on a cruise to worry about laundry??) Have a wonderful time!

 

Yes,I have heard about the wash room and I will keep giving the laundry to the lovely girl that keeps the suite so clean.

[Roxburgh]

Internet costs are one of very few complaints I would have with SB. (The other being the laundry/ironing area - but who goes on a cruise to worry about laundry??) Have a wonderful time!

 

My view is that internet should be included in the price of the cruise.

[skandls]

We were on the Jan 30 to Feb 13, 2010 Seabourn Pride cruise from Hong Kong to Singapore. The internet was often slow. I thought the prepaid $9.99 for 60 minutes was very reasonable compared to what most other cruise lines charge.

[softsands]

I hope I didn't offend anyone with the "just me" comment...I should have said "just me without my wonderful (but, hey, we all need a break) understanding wife and kids."

 

I'm hoping I can join some of my fellow travellers for good conversation and good-natured banter over dinner, port (the very fortified kind), and ridiculously difficult trivia.

 

Looking very forward to March 25th, say, around 5pm...In the meantime, I'll look for the roll call thread.

 

Cheers!

[ltsally]

Skandls: I'm more than surprised at your quote of $9.99 an hour for internet. I would have considered that reasonable.

 

We crossed on the Legend in November (09), and the cost was along the lines of $25 for 60 minutes (and much of that was waiting/wasted time). I wouldn't have bothered at all - we're 'getting away' from everything, who needs to be in touch?? - except that there was a family crisis happening back at home, so staying in touch was imperative.

 

(And, thanks to shipboard credit, it wasn't out-of-pocket. Nonetheless, I regarded it as excessive and a place where SB could stand to improve.)

[watergal]

Hi everyone,

 

First post on cruisecritic. I'm looking forward to my first Seabourn experience, 03/25/10 Legend's Caribbean 'Gems' cruise; doing a solo-day (ahhhh, just me, my book(s) and a nice Cabernet (or three)). Just wondering, though, what the cost of (wireless) internet is on-board (I'm a category B3) as I want to stay in touch with my very understanding family.

 

Thanks for any information!

 

We took our laptop onboard the Legend and paid the $9.99 for 60 minutes and if we had excess minutes, we would just pay the difference. We accessed our computer several times/day and evening over the two week cruise as we needed to be in contact with the homebase in Canada. We also booked airline reservations on our computer for some newfound friends we met onboard and when we finally settled our bill it was a very reasonable $16! Perhaps the secret is to bring your own as I did use the ship's computer to print boarding passes and found it verrrrry slow.

[ltsally]

I KNOW my cost wasn't $9.99. Wonder if the higher charge was because it was a trans Atlantic voyage? Yet, one of the passengers was getting cel calls out in the middle of the ocean as she sat at the Sky Bar, so how difficult could access be?

[Roxburgh]

I KNOW my cost wasn't $9.99. Wonder if the higher charge was because it was a trans Atlantic voyage? Yet, one of the passengers was getting cel calls out in the middle of the ocean as she sat at the Sky Bar, so how difficult could access be?

 

I found that my Blackberry worked fine most of the time and that was sufficient for me to do the few things that could not be avoided. As the Blackberry bill is covered by the firm, I don't know how much extra, if anything, the roaming cost.

[kathy16]

I thought the $9.99 charge per 60 minutes was very reasonable, and I bought several packages. Although SB had 4 computers, only 3 worked, and I found the best time to use it was after the evening show- about 11pm- no problem with availability then.

I did not bring a laptop- had enough to carry for 1 month vacation- and all hotels we stayed in (except Cambodia) were executive level with free computer access.

[Roxburgh]

I thought the $9.99 charge per 60 minutes was very reasonable, and I bought several packages. Although SB had 4 computers, only 3 worked, and I found the best time to use it was after the evening show- about 11pm- no problem with availability then.

I did not bring a laptop- had enough to carry for 1 month vacation- and all hotels we stayed in (except Cambodia) were executive level with free computer access.

 

I'm not big on using public computers for my stuff. Cookies, cache, temporary files, history and all that.

[lesliek]

I'm scared to ask this, but is there a rate you can pay for a week's worth of internet? I thought I read somewhere that there was but I can't find it now.

[westmount]

I paid $299 or $399 for three weeks unlimited, and I think Seabourn had a price of about .40 cents a minute for the other plans. For me, the unlimited seemed the right deal, as I didn't want to be counting seconds while the computer found it's signal etc. The best part were the multiple skype video conferences I had with my two daughters in different parts of the world, much better than blackberry and ship phone deals. Seabourn square was great, capachino, biscotti, computer and all the time in the world, ready to go back.

regards

[qbrain]

The prices on a recent Asia cruise was .40/minute, $10 for an hour that can be used piecemeal, $40 for a 24 hour continuous period and $400 for unlimited the entire 2 week cruise.

 

The internet connection was so bad during the trip the best deal was $10/hour. The internet only worked in the business center, and people would have to bring their computers into the business center to connect to the wireless if they wanted to use their laptop. When the internet was working, it was fast. When it wasn't fast, it wasn't working at all, so everyone logged off.

 

The first minute of every login is free, so if you are fast, you can use the internet for free.

[lifelover]

Sorry, but I'm laughing at the comment that the first minute is free and if you're fast you could use it for free. On our transatlantic crossing, it sometimes took 15 to 19 minutes (I timed it) just to get to my email. I think we purchased a total of 6 or 7 hour packages. At least three different times, we asked for a credit of twenty to thirty minutes because the internet was so slow. Sweet Julia or the very kind Daniel always agreed. We felt very justified in asking when you're on for thirty minutes and can only get two emails sent. Our friend Howard mentioned that he would write his emails offline and then simply copy them in and quickly send his emails that way. Smart!

 

Ginger

[PeaSea8ch]

Our friend Howard mentioned that he would write his emails offline and then simply copy them in and quickly send his emails that way. Smart!

 

On my last cruise on Odyssey, the $0.40 per minute worked out best for me. However, $9.99 per hour sounds reasonable, considering what Seabourn has charged in the past for internet packages.

 

To save even more time, I do not use my ISP's web-based mail site but my desktop email program. I have my emails all composed, addressed, titled and ready to go in an open window on my laptop. Then I log in to the ship's internet and the moment I am connected to the internet, I click on "Send All" and when I hear the confirmation tone, I log out. This uses the least amount of connect time. Either way, this is better than using the ship's computers and composing your emails while the meter is running.

[qbrain]

Sorry, but I'm laughing at the comment that the first minute is free and if you're fast you could use it for free. On our transatlantic crossing, it sometimes took 15 to 19 minutes (I timed it) just to get to my email. I think we purchased a total of 6 or 7 hour packages. At least three different times, we asked for a credit of twenty to thirty minutes because the internet was so slow. Sweet Julia or the very kind Daniel always agreed. We felt very justified in asking when you're on for thirty minutes and can only get two emails sent. Our friend Howard mentioned that he would write his emails offline and then simply copy them in and quickly send his emails that way. Smart!

 

Ginger

 

Fair enough. On the Pride, the internet was either working fast, or it wasn't working at all, and in that first minute you knew if it was worth your time to stay logged on.

[divenski]

I paid $299 or $399 for three weeks unlimited, and I think Seabourn had a price of about .40 cents a minute for the other plans. For me, the unlimited seemed the right deal, as I didn't want to be counting seconds while the computer found it's signal etc. The best part were the multiple skype video conferences I had with my two daughters in different parts of the world, much better than blackberry and ship phone deals. Seabourn square was great, capachino, biscotti, computer and all the time in the world, ready to go back.

regards

 

Based on this post, it sounds like Skype isn't blocked on SB ships. Is this true for all SB ships, and I am esp interested in Odyssey, which I am considering taking a last minute cruise on.

 

Don't want to spend a lot of time on the computer, but do need to keep in touch with the family, and would rather not spend port time on the phone.

[Seabourn-nail]

Based on this post, it sounds like Skype isn't blocked on SB ships. Is this true for all SB ships, and I am esp interested in Odyssey, which I am considering taking a last minute cruise on.

 

Don't want to spend a lot of time on the computer, but do need to keep in touch with the family, and would rather not spend port time on the phone.

We did use Skype while on our part of the World Cruise of the Odyssey.... but most of the time you have to leave the door of your suite open, which of course is not very private.... But it does work OK!

Marja

[strawbs1]

I just got off of Sojourn on Friday (left early to arrive home and have the weekend to ease "re-entry") and I'm an internet addict! I purchased the $9.99 per hour arrangement and even with checking e-mail every day, sometimes twice per day, I think I paid about $50 for a 12 day sailing. That's NOTHING! I've paid hundreds in the past for 10 days! Connection was a breeze and no waiting time of any significance.

 

Cruise was EXTRAORDINARY! First time on Seabourn and I'm hooked. Haven't written up anything because I've been so busy and rather jet lagged, but it was a FLAWLESS cruise!

[travelgal86]

Wow strawbs1, extraordinary and flawless. High praise indeed. Can't wait until my 1st Seabourn cruise next June!!