CONFIRMED: You can get the daily paper on your Kindle using the ship's Wi-Fi

[squidward]

Yesterday I sent a query to Kindle user support asking if I would be able to use the ship's wi-fi to get my daily paper delivered (I have a Kindle subscription to the Times). Here was their response:

 

Hello,

 

Yes, you can use the ship's wi-fi to receive the NY Times to your Kindle.

 

However, some Wi-Fi networks require a password or user name. Once you have added a Wi-Fi network, your Kindle will remember and automatically connect to that network the next time you’re near the network.

 

You can watch a video about how to connect to a Wi-Fi network here:

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/?nodeId=200588130#connect

 

For more information on how to connect to a Wi-Fi network see our guide here:

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200505540setupwifi

 

If you need more help connecting to a wireless network, you can reach us by phone directly and toll-free from many countries by clicking the Contact Us option in the right-hand column of our Kindle Support pages at:

 

http://www.amazon.com/kindlesupport

 

Thanks for your interest in Kindle.

:)

[biker1972]

Sure you can connect to the network on board. But to get the password you will have to sign up with X and purchase a package of minutes. The question is how fast is the download for your paper delivery. You can also have Kindle on your laptop or netbook.

[Fblack]

Why use some expensive ship board Internet minutes downloading to a Kindle when you can walk to the front desk around 10:30AM and pick up printed copies. I just did it all last week. And I also got copies of the Canadian and British versions at the same time. All for free.

[rockfsh]

Why use some expensive ship board Internet minutes downloading to a Kindle when you can walk to the front desk around 10:30AM and pick up printed copies. I just did it all last week. And I also got copies of the Canadian and British versions at the same time. All for free.

 

 

Which newspapers are available on board?

[squidward]

Why use some expensive ship board Internet minutes downloading to a Kindle when you can walk to the front desk around 10:30AM and pick up printed copies. I just did it all last week. And I also got copies of the Canadian and British versions at the same time. All for free.

 

The ship provides only a brief summary of the daily paper. It's great for keeping up with headlines and scores, but if you are a real newspaper reader it's not nearly enough. I can read it cover to cover in a few minutes.

 

On the Kindle, the paper is in a unique format that is extremely compressed so it literally just takes seconds to download, even with a slow connection.

[eddiethekub]

Not only are the on-board "newspapers" compressed ( 8 pages total), the news is a day old. I used my iPad last week, and downloaded the NYT & WSJ in fairly quick order. As Elites, DW & I each had 90 minutes...was more than enough to keep up with news, e-mail & facebook.

[Redtravel]

You can also use your kindle to do email. It's not as easy as using a regular computer, but it works. You need to be in a wifi zone. Most ports are good.

[Lsimon]

Keep in mind that if you are using the ship's wi-fi you will need to set up a ship board wifi account at the ship's internet cafe. Usage on this account runs $0.65/minuite (charged to your on-board account) for every minute you are logged in regardless of how poor the ship's satellite connection is at that point in time. You will continue to be charged that rate until you either shut off the kindle wi-fi or log out. So you do not want to leave the Kindle set to connect all the time as the instructions from the Kindle support suggest.

[Fblack]

The ship does have abbreviated newspapers in many languages and from many countries. I saw at least news from: USA, Britain, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Germany and a few others.

 

While yes this is abbreviated news, and yes it is a bit old, the Eclipse had numerous all news TV channels. As for costs to download a paper to your devices, not only is the Internet pretty expensive (except for us Elites who get 90 minutes free), but it is VERY slow.

 

A few days it took me 7 or 8 minutes just to get my Google E-mail account to load. I watched as some passengers took 15 minutes to get airline websites to pop up.

[artvlay]

Does the kindle work at sea to just read a book without paying any fees?

[mum4romessex]

"Does the kindle work at sea to just read a book without paying any fees?"

Yes, you can download all your books through a wifi connection before you travel. Although you do pay a fee to download each book.

Once downloaded then you can read the books any time any place without an internet connection. This is what i plan to do this year on my cruise and other trips abroad.

 

Viv

[lysolqn]

Yes, you can download all your books through a wifi connection before you travel. Although you do pay a fee to download each book.

Viv

 

Just curious, are you saying you pay a charge to download Kindle books via Wi-Fi in the UK? No such charge here in the US.

[LandlockedinTexas]

Only some books are free on Kindle. Current releases or best sellers are not free.

[lysolqn]

Only some books are free on Kindle. Current releases or best sellers are not free.

 

Thank you. Yes, I have a Kindle (love it!) and am aware of the that. I was asking if in addition to paying for the book, there is a download fee but I see now that I may have misinterpreted what mum4romessex was saying. Sorry for the confusion.

[CruisinManiac]

I received a Kindle for Christmas, and so far have downloaded over 30 books! Some are best sellers, and some are pre-new releases. :) I have games, the Bible, 25 Languages, and all the classics downloaded.

 

I also have music downloaded. It's like a large MP3 player. I can listen to music on the airplane, and on the cruise with earbuds.

 

OH, did I mention that everything above was downloaded absolutely FREE!!!

 

I have my email set-up on the Kindle, but have not been successful in checking it. I cannot seem to get the emails to open up. I need to try that again.

[Seabee]

I received a Kindle for Christmas, and so far have downloaded over 30 books! Some are best sellers, and some are pre-new releases. :) I have games, the Bible, 25 Languages, and all the classics downloaded.

 

I also have music downloaded. It's like a large MP3 player. I can listen to music on the airplane, and on the cruise with earbuds.

 

OH, did I mention that everything above was downloaded absolutely FREE!!!

 

I have my email set-up on the Kindle, but have not been successful in checking it. I cannot seem to get the emails to open up. I need to try that again.

 

So are you gonna tell us how to download all that for free?

[CruisinManiac]

Well, for starters, all the Classics are free, so are some versions of the Bible. Search Amazon.com. I check the MP3 list occasionally and find the songs that are offered for free. The only noise that I have paid for was a 45 min loop of white noise. It was .99. ;) Many games are free.

 

I use the following BLOG to find out what books are free each day from Amazon. Now, the free books vary from great to uninteresting for me. There are also some free book offers that can be downloaded to your computer and then to the Kindle, but the Amazon books can be download straight to the Kindle if you have wifi.

 

Here's the blog: http://fkbt.wordpress.com/

 

I also forgot to mention that the Kindle also holds photographs.

[glutenhab]

Just wait until you get close to or into a port & use your Kindle to connect via 3G & everything you do is then free as far as internet charges go.

You may have to pay a small fee ($4.99/month?) to download subscriptions such as newspapers but that's it.

As cumbersome as it is on a Kindle, sending & recieving e-mails & light web browsing is free anywhere a 3G connection is available.

[seasearider]

Just wait until you get close to or into a port & use your Kindle to connect via 3G & everything you do is then free as far as internet charges go.

You may have to pay a small fee ($4.99/month?) to download subscriptions such as newspapers but that's it.

As cumbersome as it is on a Kindle, sending & recieving e-mails & light web browsing is free anywhere a 3G connection is available.

 

But of course you need a Kindle with 3G capability, the $139 WiFi model doesn't have 3G.

[cruisestitch]

Not much 3G in the Caribbean -- St. Thomas, Puerto Rico and not much else that I found -- has anyone had other experience finding 3G in the Islands or Central America?

[Mercruiser]

Not much 3G in the Caribbean -- St. Thomas, Puerto Rico and not much else that I found -- has anyone had other experience finding 3G in the Islands or Central America?

 

Amazon has a 3G coverage map here: http://client0.cellmaps.com/tabs.html

To see the Caribbean, or any other area, just pan with the mouse pointer.

Note that the 3G Kindle will work in areas without 3G coverage, just at a slower speed.

[FunCruiser56]

Every day I go to Amazon and check out the 'bestsellers' one list is the pay for books and the other is the free books. Both lists are the top 100 in the Kindle books. Check this list frequently since they change. I have lots of free books that now are a charge for book so it pays to check. I also get the kindle nation daily blog that is a wealth of books and tips for your kindle. .99 a month.

 

I have about 100 books in collections on my kindle and well over that in my amazon archive. I have plenty to pick from on my vacation without needing wifi.

I will be checking into a newspaper subscription before our next cruise, I do miss reading it while on vacation!

 

Bev

[squidward]

OP, here.

 

Well, I was able to download the NY Times every day on my Kindle 3G, even while at sea. I didn't get a 3G signal, so it took a long time to download (about 5-10 minutes; normally it takes less than a minute).

 

I also tried the ship's WiFi with my Kindle. It was faster than the regular signal at downloading the paper, but since I wasn't exactly in a rush it wasn't worth the hassle of logging on each time.

 

Tip: You can monitor the download progress on your Kindle. On the Home screen, go to menu and click "View Downloading Items."

[CruisinManiac]

OP, here.

 

Well, I was able to download the NY Times every day on my Kindle 3G, even while at sea. I didn't get a 3G signal, so it took a long time to download (about 5-10 minutes; normally it takes less than a minute).

 

I also tried the ship's WiFi with my Kindle. It was faster than the regular signal at downloading the paper, but since I wasn't exactly in a rush it wasn't worth the hassle of logging on each time.

 

Tip: You can monitor the download progress on your Kindle. On the Home screen, go to menu and click "View Downloading Items."

 

Did you pay for the ships WiFi?

[squidward]

Did you pay for the ships WiFi?

 

I'm Captain's Club Elite, so I received coupons for 90 minutes of free Internet. We received 5 coupons on this 10-night sailing, more than enough to cover all of our Internet needs. Otherwise, you do have to pay to use the Wi-Fi on board.