Iphone

[sasjaz]

We will be on the Star Princess in June in the Mediterrean. Can I use my Iphone for email/internet connectivity? Will I have any service, or do I need to connect to the ship's WiFi? ATand T has a rate for limited use abroad that isn't too bad, but the ship charges in their WiFi areas could get very expensive. I didn't have an Iphone last time. Thank you for sharing any experience you have had.

[Essiesmom]

You will have to set up an internet account onboard just as if you were using a computer. EM

[sjcruiser]

Ditto with the post above. The cost can add up quickly, so if you just want to use it for the net, and limited for calls, I would use the ships pc's or wi-fi, and not the phone/ATT network, which still has to go through the ships satellite. Also while in port, if you search this board, you'll find free wi-fi locations to use the net.

[kitty9]

Even though you might have unlimited download, you still have to go through the ship's phone system to connect to the Internet, which is $2.49 a minute. Whenever I've tried to use the iPhone for interet, via wifi, it would not connect. I was told that for whatever reason, the ship's wifi wouldn't work with an iPhone. They may have worked out the problem, but be prepared anyway. Most who cruise with an iPhone learned the hard way that the phone can milk you dry because of the charges. When I first used mine on a Med cruise, I came home to a phone bill of over $600. And that wasn't for calls, but because the phone was constantly scanning for emails, at that $2.49 a minute. Some ave been surprised with bills nearing $2000. You will hear most on these boards tell you to turn off data roaming and just use the phone for calls and not for Internet or emails. Using the ship computers could prove to be much cheaper.

[SadieN]

Here's an old thread about using the iPhone onboard

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=888949