Mobile Hotspot for Internet

[tootsie7]

We will be in Alaska on the Golden in 1 week and was wondering if I could use my little mobile hot spot for internet access while in port. It works off cell towers so I was sure if the ship would still charge me. Has anyone used one of these in Alaska?

[jesteinf]

I used mine in Seward and Juneau and wasn't hit with any additional data fees (I have Verizon). After that I was sort of enjoying being disconnected so I didn't try it in other ports.

[tootsie7]

Thanks, I hope it will work. It will be give me a way to stay in touch with my family without any additional charges from the ship. Do you have pretty good service in Juneau?

[Mike073]

Just be sure your service provider's name is the one listed at the top of your phone. Then it will work just as at home.

[jesteinf]

I did have good service in Juneau. Regarding what your phone says, mine actually said "Extended Network" the entire time we were in Alaska (not the name of my carrier). I called Verizon customer service and they assured me I was still in network even though my phone was showing otherwise.

[greatam]

Thanks, I hope it will work. It will be give me a way to stay in touch with my family without any additional charges from the ship. Do you have pretty good service in Juneau?

 

I don't understand this statement "without any additional charges from the ship". You WILL get charged if you try to use it on the ship.

 

On land, no. But there is plenty of free wi-fi in most ports and the internet cafes are only a few dollars for an hour's time.

 

Just one more piece of equipment to lug around (and possibly loose) when the options are as easy if not quite as cheap. JMHO

[CMcG]

I don't understand this statement "without any additional charges from the ship". You WILL get charged if you try to use it on the ship.

 

On land, no. But there is plenty of free wi-fi in most ports and the internet cafes are only a few dollars for an hour's time.

 

Just one more piece of equipment to lug around (and possibly loose) when the options are as easy if not quite as cheap. JMHO

 

Now I don't understand :)

 

Why will using a mobile hotspot incur a charge from the ship? You are using a cell phone to connect to the Internet, not the ship's Internet system. I thought cell phones would work on the ship subject to possible roaming charges from your cell phone company but without a charge from the ship. Am I mistaken about cell phone connectivity?

[PennyAgain]

When the ships are out of port, your cell phone use will be routed via the ship's cell tower and you will be charged a significant fee per minute. Check your own ship and cruise line for rates.

 

If you see 'Cellular at Sea" as your service provider, you are going to be charged those fees on your cellphone bill and not on your ship charge account.

 

You will be long home before you find out what you have spent and in no position (literally) to argue with the cruise line.

 

If you see "Rogers" as your service provider in or near Canada, you will be charged high rates for that service.

 

Don't make assumptions!

[greatam]

Now I don't understand :)

 

Why will using a mobile hotspot incur a charge from the ship? You are using a cell phone to connect to the Internet, not the ship's Internet system. I thought cell phones would work on the ship subject to possible roaming charges from your cell phone company but without a charge from the ship. Am I mistaken about cell phone connectivity?

 

As Penny posted, you WILL be charged BY YOUR CELL COMPANY for mobile hotspot/cell calls while on the ship.

 

A mobile hot spot is not merely a cell phone connection to the internet (unlike an aircard). There has to be an INITIAL internet connection. It is actually a "dispurser" of signal so you would have to have someway to connect FIRST to the internet WITHOUT going through the ship's internet service to create your own wi-fi. And that ain't going to happen on the ship.

 

This is the way it works: WMS (Cellular at Sea) leases space from the ship to provide cell calls/data service. WMS has also signed agreements with the MAJOR cell companies for the cell companies to bill THEIR customers for WMS usuage-generally $2.49 per minute for cell calls BUT DATA is at a much higher price (about $.02 per mb which loosely translates to $20.00 for 4 normal pictures-very, very expensive). You could POSSIBLY use an aircard at $2.49 per minute plus any data charges to make the INITIAL connection.

 

BUT I don't see how a mobile hot spot will work WITHOUT the ship's internet connection, which will incur the ship internet service charges. There is no DIRECT internet connection with a mobile hot spot-more like a TV antenna picking up signals from the air on "free" wifi networks. And there is no FREE wifi on cruise ships.

 

I don't see how you would gain anything except a large bill trying to use a mobile hot spot on the ship WHEN IT IS MOVING and not in port.

[CMcG]

When the ships are out of port, your cell phone use will be routed via the ship's cell tower and you will be charged a significant fee per minute. Check your own ship and cruise line for rates.

 

If you see 'Cellular at Sea" as your service provider, you are going to be charged those fees on your cellphone bill and not on your ship charge account.

 

You will be long home before you find out what you have spent and in no position (literally) to argue with the cruise line.

 

If you see "Rogers" as your service provider in or near Canada, you will be charged high rates for that service.

 

Don't make assumptions!

 

Thanks for the education - I don't plan on using my cell phone on vacation so hadn't really paid much attention. My head is swimming with all the details required to plan my trip - so since this detail isn't critical to my planning it didn't get saved in memory!

[CMcG]

greatam - now my head really hurts - you lost me after "not merely a cell phone connection to the internet" - thank goodness I don't have to know how this stuff works!

 

Hopefully someone else will find the technical information useful - I plan on turning my phone off for the week and will use wifi in port or pay for an Internet package (hubby may need it for work). We should be able to keep our time to a minimum - we're going to be on vacation after all!

[jesteinf]

To be clear, the way the mobile hotspot works on my phone is it takes the existing 3G connection and allows another device to connect to it to access the internet (and other data). I only used it when we were in port, and there was absolutely no interaction with the ship's wifi service or cellular service. Again, using Verizon, I did not incur any data charges for this. I also did not incur any additional charges from the ship for using their wifi service.

[greatam]

To be clear, the way the mobile hotspot works on my phone is it takes the existing 3G connection and allows another device to connect to it to access the internet (and other data). I only used it when we were in port, and there was absolutely no interaction with the ship's wifi service or cellular service. Again, using Verizon, I did not incur any data charges for this. I also did not incur any additional charges from the ship for using their wifi service.

 

You are correct up to a point. The 3G connection has to connect SOMEHOW to the internet. And in port, you were picking up either your own cell carrier's signal or someone else's wifi signal (restaurants, Starbucks, libraries, private wifi networks set up to accommodate cell companies).

 

ON THE SHIP WHILE THE SHIP'S tower is on, the connection will be through the ship's tower. $2.49 per minute.

[jesteinf]

You are correct up to a point. The 3G connection has to connect SOMEHOW to the internet. And in port, you were picking up either your own cell carrier's signal or someone else's wifi signal (restaurants, Starbucks, libraries, private wifi networks set up to accommodate cell companies).

 

ON THE SHIP WHILE THE SHIP'S tower is on, the connection will be through the ship's tower. $2.49 per minute.

 

Right. In case I wasn't clear, I was in port and connected to Verizon's network.

[tootsie7]

I only plan on using this while in port and from what I understand the ships towers should be turned off. My phone is AT&T and my hotspot is also thru AT&T and as long as my phone says AT&T then my hotspot would also. When I turn the hotspot on it connects to At&T cell towers and then my laptop connects to the hotspot giving me internet access. I use it all the time driving down the highway or if I am somewhere there is no wifi available.

[jesteinf]

I only plan on using this while in port and from what I understand the ships towers should be turned off. My phone is AT&T and my hotspot is also thru AT&T and as long as my phone says AT&T then my hotspot would also. When I turn the hotspot on it connects to At&T cell towers and then my laptop connects to the hotspot giving me internet access. I use it all the time driving down the highway or if I am somewhere there is no wifi available.

 

You'll be fine...enjoy your trip!