HELP- Calling all Computer GURU'S!!!

[jessegirl88]

Hi Everyone! Well, my DD gave me a special gift this morning ~ she failed 4 subjects in school!!! Yes, needless to say I am over the crying and now trying to drum up a game plan. She will be doing online summer school and needs to log in 7 hours aday, YES, 7 hours every day while we are on the cruise. I called princess and to buy a plan with that many minutes will cost 1075.00.. The CSR told me to check on a wireless card that would go into my computer and I would be allowed access thru my laptop without paying any charges to Princess??? Is that true? Will it work out in Bermuda, Grand Turks, Puerto Rico and St. Thomas? Can anyone please le me know if this can be done? I am at the end of my rope. I cannot afford to pay for summer school and the minutes and go on vacation. I thought about canceling but I would lose my money. I have ins, but think that the insurance would only refund me if there is a sickness.

 

Please if anyone can give me information on what company to use and if it will work with my own laptop and if I need to purchase internet minutes. Comcast already told me it will not work internationally thru comcast.

I am literally sick over this..

 

ANYONE???Please....

[paul929207]

I belief there is a card that allows you to access the internet via satelite. This would bypass the ship's wifi. I would go to Best Buy or a place like that to get help.

[W247]

Hi Everyone! Well, my DD gave me a special gift this morning ~ she failed 4 subjects in school!!! Yes, needless to say I am over the crying and now trying to drum up a game plan. She will be doing online summer school and needs to log in 7 hours aday, YES, 7 hours every day while we are on the cruise. I called princess and to buy a plan with that many minutes will cost 1075.00.. The CSR told me to check on a wireless card that would go into my computer and I would be allowed access thru my laptop without paying any charges to Princess??? Is that true? Will it work out in Bermuda, Grand Turks, Puerto Rico and St. Thomas? Can anyone please le me know if this can be done? I am at the end of my rope. I cannot afford to pay for summer school and the minutes and go on vacation. I thought about canceling but I would lose my money. I have ins, but think that the insurance would only refund me if there is a sickness.

 

Please if anyone can give me information on what company to use and if it will work with my own laptop and if I need to purchase internet minutes. Comcast already told me it will not work internationally thru comcast.

I am literally sick over this..

 

ANYONE???Please....

 

My suggestion? Leave her at home with grandparents or another relative instead of letting her go on the trip. Problem solved, grades will possibly improve next year. So sorry, that's life. ( My daughter had a tough time in HS too, in hindsight this is what I should have done but didnt.)

[London25]

My suggestion? Leave her at home with grandparents or another relative instead of letting her go on the trip. Problem solved, grades will possibly improve next year. So sorry, that's life. ( My daughter had a tough time in HS too, in hindsight this is what I should have done but didnt.)

 

 

I agree. What ever happened to consequences for actions? In the event that you do go, will she do the work while you are away? Good luck with your decision - it's a tough one.

[jtmalt]

Hi Everyone! Well, my DD gave me a special gift this morning ~ she failed 4 subjects in school!!! Yes, needless to say I am over the crying and now trying to drum up a game plan. She will be doing online summer school and needs to log in 7 hours aday, YES, 7 hours every day while we are on the cruise. I called princess and to buy a plan with that many minutes will cost 1075.00.. The CSR told me to check on a wireless card that would go into my computer and I would be allowed access thru my laptop without paying any charges to Princess??? Is that true? Will it work out in Bermuda, Grand Turks, Puerto Rico and St. Thomas? Can anyone please le me know if this can be done? I am at the end of my rope. I cannot afford to pay for summer school and the minutes and go on vacation. I thought about canceling but I would lose my money. I have ins, but think that the insurance would only refund me if there is a sickness.

 

Please if anyone can give me information on what company to use and if it will work with my own laptop and if I need to purchase internet minutes. Comcast already told me it will not work internationally thru comcast.

I am literally sick over this..

 

ANYONE???Please....

 

I'm afraid you're not going to find an affordable solution to this problem. Basically, your computer needs to get connected to the internet. You have limited methods available to do this while on board the ship.

 

The first, and most obvious way, is to connect to the wi-fi network on board, using your own laptop, or via the internet cafe on board. Either way, you're using the ship's network, and the costs will be the same, over $1,000 as you were quoted by the CSR.

 

The second method is to connect via an "air-card", which uses cellular telephone service to connect to the internet. Unfortunately, I think this would be an even more expensive solution, since you would be connecting via the ship's cellular tower (if it works at all).

 

The only other option would be to find a cheap internet cafe when in port, but I can't imagine how practical it would be to camp out at one for a 7 hour stretch.

 

Sorry, unless the school is willing to compromise, this is a tough situation.

[clojacks]

My suggestion? Leave her at home with grandparents or another relative instead of letting her go on the trip. Problem solved, grades will possibly improve next year. So sorry, that's life. ( My daughter had a tough time in HS too, in hindsight this is what I should have done but didnt.)

 

You don't think she would have considered this if it was an alternative? I am sure without the OP writing a 2 page explanation, that there is a reason why she is taking her other than just to "reward" her. So nice to see people trying to help her out with solutions to her question rather than offering parenting advice.

[Colo Cruiser]

I belief there is a card that allows you to access the internet via satelite. This would bypass the ship's wifi. I would go to Best Buy or a place like that to get help.

 

Not at sea!! No shoreside wireless signal and when you are at sea the ships site would cost more then the $1075!!!

[W247]

You don't think she would have considered this if it was an alternative? I am sure without the OP writing a 2 page explanation, that there is a reason why she is taking her other than just to "reward" her. So nice to see people trying to help her out with solutions to her question rather than offering parenting advice.

 

As one mother to another mother, I was offering my advice on what I feel was the best solution. Opinions are opinions. Thank you for expressing yours.

[Toto2Kansas]

Not at sea!! No shoreside wireless signal and when you are at sea the ships site would cost more then the $1075!!!

 

Yes, I agree, I know of no internet card that would work onboard. Two options IMHO, leave her at home, or change your booking to a full suite where the internet is unlimited. In the long run, the price of the suite will probably less than 7 hours per day on the internet. As if the work takes 7 hours at home, it will probably take 12 (or more) hours through a satellite connetion. :eek:

[Colo Cruiser]

it will probably take 12 (or more) hours through a satellite connetion. :eek:

 

 

You are so right!

[TracieABD]

Connection on the ship's internet can be very, very slow and I have been aboard when there was no internet signal at all... for 3 days. Some folks were very unhappy about that!

 

I am not sure that I would ever rely on the ship's internet as a consistant method of communication. In my experience, it has been really scatty.

 

I hope that you can work this through. Have you tried calling your insurance provider to see if you can have a refund?

[ibfern]

Hi Everyone! Well, my DD gave me a special gift this morning ~ she failed 4 subjects in school!!! Yes, needless to say I am over the crying and now trying to drum up a game plan. She will be doing online summer school and needs to log in 7 hours aday, YES, 7 hours every day while we are on the cruise. I called princess and to buy a plan with that many minutes will cost 1075.00.. The CSR told me to check on a wireless card that would go into my computer and I would be allowed access thru my laptop without paying any charges to Princess??? Is that true? Will it work out in Bermuda, Grand Turks, Puerto Rico and St. Thomas? Can anyone please le me know if this can be done? I am at the end of my rope. I cannot afford to pay for summer school and the minutes and go on vacation. I thought about canceling but I would lose my money. I have ins, but think that the insurance would only refund me if there is a sickness.

 

Please if anyone can give me information on what company to use and if it will work with my own laptop and if I need to purchase internet minutes. Comcast already told me it will not work internationally thru comcast.

I am literally sick over this..

 

ANYONE???Please....

 

I would call the school and find out if she can do an "Independent study" which means she has to read and write a lot of info about one subject and turn in a report, maybe you could tie it into the locations you are visiting? She would have to bring lots of books and resources on the ship but at least it would not cost you a fortune.

 

I hope this helps!

[Toto2Kansas]

One more tiny thought. The internet onboard the ship is NEVER guaranteed. There are times when you can be without internet service. On Caribbean/Alaskan cruises this is rare, but it can happen, and if it does, there is absolutely nothing the cruise line can do about it. If this work MUST be done each and every day........................not sure I would even consider taking the chance of the internet being down while onboard.

[vandalayceo]

A point of clarification-does she need to be logged on for 7 hours and be interactive during that time? Or is it a 7 hour lecture that could be recorded and she can later access? the second situation may offer some possibilities.

[Essiesmom]

Your wireless card would probably work in Puerto Rico (mine did) and St. Thomas if your emwireless carrier has service there. Not in any of the other places, and not on the ship.

[TracieABD]

There is another (really painful) option. You could allow her to fail the year. No summer school. The following year she will repeat her grade. That would be a natural consequence of her choices.

 

(and yes, before the crew begins to flame me, yes, I know the statistics of grade repetition, etc... I am a lifelong public school servant who works in the field of educational research. I am just posing it as an option).

[frebrowser]

Be ready to answer questions on what kind of content she'll be using. I seem to recall that some providers charge by the amount of data downloaded, so video lessons would be more expensive than plain interactive text. Video will also be slower to load on the ship's network. Some providers may block access to video chat, etc.

 

I don't suppose a suite is feasible/available on your cruise?

[Grannycb]

Seven hours of Internet time every day on a cruise doesn't work for a variety of reasons. Look for another alternative starting with DD's guidance counselor. When our DD had mono her guidance counselor tutored her so she could pass all of her classes. We were very grateful for her help and support.

[Coral]

Just wanted to wish you the best of luck!

[Northender]

Boy, there but the Grace of you know who goes anyone with kids. If she needs 7 hours online per day at what seems an extremely huge cost while on the ship, maybe bringing a tutor would pass muster. You could pay for the cabin and perhaps the tutor would be glad to be on a cruise.:)

 

Beleive me as a Mom and Grandmother, I feel your pain

[bjkTX]

Yes, I agree, I know of no internet card that would work onboard. Two options IMHO, leave her at home, or change your booking to a full suite where the internet is unlimited. In the long run, the price of the suite will probably less than 7 hours per day on the internet. As if the work takes 7 hours at home, it will probably take 12 (or more) hours through a satellite connetion. :eek:

 

Considering it takes 5 minutes to download the smallest email - there aren't enough hours in the day to be "online" 7 hours of normal computer time. How much would a boarding school cost.....

[Toto2Kansas]

Considering it takes 5 minutes to download the smallest email - there aren't enough hours in the day to be "online" 7 hours of normal computer time. How much would a boarding school cost.....

 

Yep, I think my estimate was probably way off (12 hours). I actually timed it last month on the Emerald, it took over 5 minutes just to log in and connect, and that was on my own laptop. :eek:

[piper28]

Most online learning stuff like this requires heavy video usage. It isn't going to matter if you're in a suite or not, it's not going to work. The ships internet connection is not going to be up to handling that type of traffic. (And quite frankly, if they found someone trying to stream video for 7 hours a day, they may not look at that too fondly, because it's going to have a signifcant impact on everyone elses ability to do things.)

 

There is quite frankly no viable way that she's going to be able to do this on a cruise. It may not be the answer you want to hear, but the only real answer is that if she *has* to do this, then she *has* to stay home. Maybe you can work out with the school the ability to be gone for a week of the time. I don't know that I'd tell them the reason she needs to be gone though is for a cruise, it might not garner much sympathy :).

[Pam in CA]

Most online learning stuff like this requires heavy video usage. It isn't going to matter if you're in a suite or not, it's not going to work. The ships internet connection is not going to be up to handling that type of traffic. (And quite frankly, if they found someone trying to stream video for 7 hours a day, they may not look at that too fondly, because it's going to have a signifcant impact on everyone elses ability to do things.)

 

There is quite frankly no viable way that she's going to be able to do this on a cruise. It may not be the answer you want to hear, but the only real answer is that if she *has* to do this, then she *has* to stay home. Maybe you can work out with the school the ability to be gone for a week of the time. I don't know that I'd tell them the reason she needs to be gone though is for a cruise, it might not garner much sympathy :).

I agree. :( There is no cheap/inexpensive solution, mainly because her Internet access options are very limited and as Toto has said, there are never any guarantees that there will be any Internet access. The other thing that comes to mind is that if her Internet access is a video stream, that's a huge bandwidth hog on the entire Internet system and not only will it be very slow for her, but it'll slow down everyone else attempting to use the ship's WiFi or Internet at the same time. Video streaming might even bring the whole system down but I'm just guessing here. I know that if I were paying $$$ to use the Internet and someone else was doing video streaming, causing me to use 2x or 3x as many minutes, I'd be upset.

 

The OP has some hard decisions to make. I wish her and her daughter well.

[Feelin' Nauti']

She will be doing online summer school and needs to log in 7 hours aday, YES, 7 hours every day while we are on the cruise.

 

How long is your cruise? 7 days? 14 days?

 

Why I ask is probably your daughter can go on the cruise, miss part of the course then make up the rest after she comes back.

Problem solved. ;)