Internet Service on the Riviera

[DLG123]

We will be on the Riviera in early October-Pearls of the Aegean. Can anyone recently returned report on the internet speed and reliability? Have there been any changes to pricing? Any info is greatly appreciated. -Larry

[JimandStan]

We will be on the Riviera in early October-Pearls of the Aegean. Can anyone recently returned report on the internet speed and reliability? Have there been any changes to pricing? Any info is greatly appreciated. -Larry

 

These are the rates, but the speed is still such that if you NEED Internet connectivity during your cruise, I would suggest that you plan to use it while you are off the ship.

 

There is a one time activation fee of $3.95, and then:

 

• 100 minutes for $85 (.085 per minute)
  
• 200 minutes for $150 (.075 per minute)
  
• 500 minutes for $325 (.065 per minute)
  
• 800 minutes for $440 (.55 per minute)
  
• 1200 minutes for $600 (.50 per minute)
  

 

If you do not choose a plan, you are billed at .95 per minute

 

Alternatively, you may use Oceania's Cruisemail service whereby you are assigned an Oceania Email Address at which you may RECEIVE unlimited Emails free of charge.

 

For each Email SENT from that account, there is a $3.95 charge (multiple addresses allowed).

 

Emails may be printed at the cost of .25 per email (not per page), if that is required.

 

Hope that this helped-:D

 

J&S

[potterhill]

Well, the printing of emails is certainly an improvement. When we were on Regatta in March emails sent to the cruiseline address could not be printed.

 

Mo

[giraffelt]

We were on the May 16th sailing. Wifi coverage was very good with access from virtually everywhere on board. However, internet access was something else. Either it didn't work or was extremely slow. I had purchased the 100 minute package which was a waste of money considering all the problems. The internet manager, Paul, had the patience of a saint dealing with all the complaints.

Internet access was the major complaint I had with the Riviera.

[Paul&Kathy]

We are just home from Riviera's 2nd sailing and used the pay as you go 95c a minute internet a couple of times. The speed was not too bad, each time I sent a couple of emails and received maybe a dozen or so and logged off straight away, once that took 6 minutes (daytime while at sea) and the second time (while the ship was in port in Livorno and nearly everyone else ashore)it only took 3 minutes. Much cheaper in port, of course.

[hondorner]

I had two experiences on Riviera. On the Christening Cruise, internet was complimentary and I used the heck out of it. I posted several long messages here on Cruise Critic (creating them while logged in), read almost everything on Cruise Critic Oceania and Regent boards, checked my email daily and sent several emails (composed while I was logged in), uploaded several photos to DropShots and to my own web site, and included somne of those photos in my CC postings. I logged in at least twice a day. I did not make any attempt to be frugal, and basically used the internet almost the same way I do at home. On that 9 day cruise, I used a total of 1034 minutes, less than the $600 pakage (1200 minutes). Signal was great, speed was slower during the day, but almost as fast as DSL early in the morning (before 6:30 AM) and after Midnight.

 

On the next leg, the Maiden Voyage, I had to pay for the internet and was a little more frugal. I wrote several CC messages in a text editor, then copied and pasted into Cruise Critic. I checked my email, but not every day -- probably twice in 3 days average. I didn't upload any photos. On the last night of the cruise, I had used 160 minutes and still had 40 minutes of my 200 minute package ($150, paid by onboard credit). I basically wasted some time trying to use it up and still had 5 minutes left when I signed off.

 

I was using my own laptop, which has all the software I need to be frugal. On one of my sessions, I tried updating email on Betsy's iPad2, but it was so slow I gave it up after 20 minuites. Maybe it was something in my settings, or maybe she had too much juink mail.

[DLG123]

Thanks for info. I hope to spend as little time online as possible. After all, we will be vacationing!

[Tansy Mews]

These are the rates, but the speed is still such that if you NEED Internet connectivity during your cruise, I would suggest that you plan to use it while you are off the ship.

 

There is a one time activation fee of $3.95, and then:

 

• 100 minutes for $85 (.085 per minute)
  
• 200 minutes for $150 (.075 per minute)
  
• 500 minutes for $325 (.065 per minute)
  
• 800 minutes for $440 (.55 per minute)
  
• 1200 minutes for $600 (.50 per minute)
  

 

If you do not choose a plan, you are billed at .95 per minute

 

Alternatively, you may use Oceania's Cruisemail service whereby you are assigned an Oceania Email Address at which you may RECEIVE unlimited Emails free of charge.

 

For each Email SENT from that account, there is a $3.95 charge (multiple addresses allowed).

 

Emails may be printed at the cost of .25 per email (not per page), if that is required.

 

Hope that this helped-:D

 

J&S

Thanks for the heads up about Cruisemail. Just back from our Marina cruise. Before going we told our family and friends to send email us through Cruisemail and then we replied using our purchased wifi on our personal device. Free to receive and read Cruisemail on the public computers (Internet @ Sea). We even received a few Christmas photos of our grandchildren which would have cost a lot to view through wifi. Note: you don't have a permanent copy of your received emails on your own device but that wasn't important to us.

[harryw]

Hi -

 

If I want to check in for my return flight on line, and print boarding passes, then the best option is to use "pay as you go"?

 

Harry

[LHT28]

Hi -

 

If I want to check in for my return flight on line, and print boarding passes, then the best option is to use "pay as you go"?

 

Harry

If that is the only time you will use the internet onboard that is what I would do

if you are in port the day before disembarkation find a place ashore & check in online & just print the boarding passes at the airport of just get them at the counter

[Caroldoll]

I find that if I get up at about 5 or 6 in the morning, it is relatively swift. Not a lot of use at that time. I prefer that.

[digtexas]

We purchased the unlimited Internet package for around $225. It was very much worth it to us as my wife and I both need to stay in touch with our offices and email. The speed was not bad most of the time and having unlimited time relieved the anxiety of having to quickly sign off the moment you complete a task. We much prefer it to the pay as you go plans.

[NicoleAbbate]

We were on board in December and the Internet was excellent, best we have experienced while cruising. The unlimited plan is wonderful.

[wristband]

To just print boarding passes, pay as you go charged by the minute. It should be about $12 for two passes, roughly ten minutes due to the slow speed.

 

Two months ago on Riviera, I and others found the ship service slow. For me, it was far more effective to use an Internet connection in port. In every European port we went to, typical cost was 1 euro for 30 minutes (vs onboard charge) $1.35 USD. Connections were always broad band - lightening fast receiving and sending emails, photos and files.

 

You can locate Internet cafes here on CC on the "Ports" board or a good guide book (Lonely Planet) will provide addresses & exact locations on a map. TI offices - often on the port - will direct you to free access wifi hot spots (if you have wireless) or Internet cafes nearby that are both inexpensive and very fast.

[harryw]

I recall reading an article that voiced concern about the security of wifi or internet service in ports or hotels. Is this just paranoia, or is there some strategy to be vigilant about this?

 

Harry

[wristband]

You are correct: significant concerns have been voiced about wifi. Some spots have been "penetrated" to collect passwords and personal data if those are not encrypted. I do not use wifi as we have Android phone/tablets that grant international Internet access on ATT. Those I have spoken to onboad who use wifi seem aware of the concern but happily rely on free wifi access & have not experienced identify theft or account hijacking in port or here in the US at McDonalds or Starbucks. But you never know.

 

As for port Internet cafes: be sure to "wipe out" your browsing history when finished with your session. This is easily done - go to the top row of Outlook commands. Select "Tools." Then select "delete browsing history" and your various site visits will be deleted. For further protection, again Select "Tools" and then select "Internet options" (the bottom of the "Tools" menu). That will offer "Security" and "Privacy" choices. Play with these three basic options at home. I think you will see how simple these basic steps are and how much peace of mind you will enjoy afterwards.

 

You can also log out and reboot. Obviously, do not transact financial affairs (signing in to a Fidelity or AmEx account) or pay bills from a bank account on any third party PC. Use the same common sense precautions as you would at home.

 

For over 15 years, on cruises and traveling independently, we have used Internet cafes in cities all over the world - Asia, Europe, N. America - to email without any problem. We erase our browsing history, use the "Tools" security options and have been very pleased with the low cost, high speed and integrity of local Internet services abroad compared to what is available onboard.

[Mura]

I have often used internet cafes and hotel service without a problem. But I am careful.

 

I sure don't pay any bills there!

 

If I'm concerned about the security of my email, I just change my password.

 

I would even be concerned about printing a boarding pass from a public place, but have never had a problem doing so from a hotel. Since we have never gone to the airport from the ship, this is do-able.

 

Mura

[bbwex]

We were on the Rome to Venice cruise in October/November, 2012. As with other cruise ships, the internet connection speed was terribly slow. I had the unlimited package, but will never, ever, ever, ever do that again! Admittedly I use Verizon for webmail, and their pages are data-intensive, and it was so slow as to be a waste of a tremendous amount of time. I had to have access during the trip as I had to do some work for a customer. Sadly that work was also data-intensive as there are lots of graphics on the pages, and it literally would not work -- it was taking so long it was timing out. I ultimately had to use an Internet cafe ashore and use up a half-day in a port.

 

The wifi access was excellent, but the satellite service was and remains horrendous. There is no way that I would ever buy this service again. I paid over $200 for what ultimately was perhaps one good 30 minutes of service -- if that. Not Oceania's fault ultimately, but still crappy service.

 

By the way, if you use AOL for email, they sense when you are on a slow connection and reduce the graphics, thus reducing the time to load each page.

[Hambagahle]

We took the total cruise package at 225.00 and used Internet a lot. W took one package for our suite and both used it, but obviously not together. I found it slow but no slower than Regent's Internet. But I also found it more reliable - ie I hardly ever got cut off in the midst of writing something, which was great. Perhaps this is due to pre-installed relays vs retro fit ones? I don't know. I thought that the cost was more than reasonable for the service provided.

[Mark_T]

As for port Internet cafes: be sure to "wipe out" your browsing history when finished with your session. This is easily done ...

 

...Play with these three basic options at home. I think you will see how simple these basic steps are and how much peace of mind you will enjoy afterwards.

 

I don't want to cause any unnecessary concern, but don't depend on this approach to protect anything you consider of value as if you are ever unfortunate enough to use a PC that has actually been compromised there will be key logging software on there that will record each key stroke as it happens and does not depend on the cached history for your details.

 

Nothing is ever really 100% safe and the advice you give is good as it will protect against casual abuse.

 

If you are not going to use the on-board facilities then wherever possible just use your own device with local wi-fi, preferably at a reputable establishment, still not 100% 'safe' either but the level of technology required to hack the data stream over wi-fi is a step up from the casual simplicity of a key-logger on a cafe PC.

[halljm]

We will be on the Riviera in early October-Pearls of the Aegean. Can anyone recently returned report on the internet speed and reliability? Have there been any changes to pricing? Any info is greatly appreciated. -Larry

 

 

We just came back from a 10 day cruise on the Riviera in the Caribbean. The pricing was $.99/min or $160.00 for 200 minutes. There was also a cruise-long price.

 

The speed was E-X-T-R-E-M -E-L-Y slow and seemed to me to eat up minutes.

 

Hope that helps.

[wallen]

Careful about promising free incoming emails using cruisemail. Just got the following in an email from Oceania:

 

As of our March of this year the Onboard Email Service has been discontinued.

 

Guests will have the option to use their personal email address and be charged by minute for internet usage or they can purchase one of the internet packages. There are no per email charges or additional fees based on the number of addresses or the size of the email. However, the email will take longer to send if it is large or if it includes lots of addresses.

[potterhill]

I guess that's why I couldn't find my email address in my documents to give to my SIL in case there were any developments regarding my 90 year old Dad. Hmmm.

I did give her the $10/min phone #. Guess that means I won't be contacted unless its serious.....

Just hadn't gotten around to contacting my TA and asking about it. I liked the service. They likely are thinking more will buy packages. Don't think we will.

 

Mo

[LHT28]

We have a cruise mail address on our documents ..not sure if there is a cost or not but if I was expecting an emergency situation may come up I would certainly check it

 

Perhaps you can check onshore at a internet cafe

 

Maybe SKS on your cruise with the all day package would let you check your online mail ;)

 

Lyn

[potterhill]

When is your cruise? Ours is March 10 on Nautica.

 

Mo