Internet on Windstar

[robinandirwin]

We have travelled in the past with Windstar and the only access to internet at the time was to pay for internet time and use the onboard computers. I see now that they advertise wireless available (for a cost- of course) in the cabins? So now I am wondering if I need to take a laptop. Does anyone have experience with internet on Windstar?

Thanks

[yogagal47]

Bring your tablet or laptop-if you buy an internet package you are purchasing data i believe, rather than time. Be advised that although it works in cabins and elsewhere on the ship, it is very slow and you will burn through that time quickly. My husband used it. I waited until Virgin Gorda and went over to the Bitter End Yacht club, ordered a drink and hung out there for a while to receive and send emails. There are also bars in port in Antigua and Tortola. In St. Barts, the restaurants charge for it.

[robinandirwin]

Thanks so much. We are travelling through the Panama Canal and in Costa Rica. Dont think there will be too many places off ship with internet.

[yogagal47]

Thanks so much. We are travelling through the Panama Canal and in Costa Rica. Dont think there will be too many places off ship with internet.

Drake's Bay has a bar where the tenders leave you off-they had internet last year. If you ask some of the crew(spa staff, fitness, watersports) they will tell you. Isla Coiba definitely will not have it. Quepos/Manuel Antonio probably will. Manuel Antonio is a surf town and likely there is an internet cafe/coffee shop/restuarant that has it. Quepos itself is a port town but they probably have a bar or two with wifi. Have a wonderful cruise!

Edited January 14, 2014 by yogagal47

[dandee2]

I had no problem on the Surf last Dec. Yes, it is data size related, not time. However, it is best to disable any automatic update on your laptop/tablet/etc. If you don't, it will eat your data pretty quickly.

 

Make sure you are up to date on you antivirus before boarding, wifi is not always secure in the different place you go.

 

dandee2

[sb44]

Our ISP is Verizon Wireless. They have a deal with Windstar using the Windstart connectin that gives more mb for less money than you can buy from the ship. The best advice that we were able to get was through Verizon's international help center. They were great.

 

That being said,the connections are extremely slow. The cruise from St Maarten had lots of stops with decent connections. We're going again in the spring through Costa Rica and Panama. Making the assumption that service will be next to nothing.

[Emperor Norton]

Windstar bases their internet pricing off the amount of data rather than the amount of time? Does anyone have their data rates?

Edited April 26, 2014 by Emperor Norton

[dandee2]

Found this online (as of July 2013).

 

Windstar prices its Internet packages by megabytes rather than minutes. Two packages are available: The “Email Plan,” which is $60 for 30 MB of data, is recommended for checking email and some browsing. The “Surfing Plan” is $160 for 90 MB of data and is recommended for more extensive browsing and small file transfers, such as sharing photos online.

 

dandee2

[stcruise]

Pricing from Wind Star April 20-26, 2014, Barcelona-Rome:

 

$50 - 100 megabytes

$100 - 250 megabytes

 

We did not purchase, but spoke to someone who had. He said it was working OK, but not overly fast with some dropping out every now and then.

 

We had no trouble finding free wifi spots on the islands we visited at many of the restaurants and cafes.

[milepig]

Pricing from Wind Star April 20-26, 2014, Barcelona-Rome:

 

$50 - 100 megabytes

$100 - 250 megabytes

 

We did not purchase, but spoke to someone who had. He said it was working OK, but not overly fast with some dropping out every now and then.

 

We had no trouble finding free wifi spots on the islands we visited at many of the restaurants and cafes.

 

We've also found it easy to find a coffee shop in Europe with free WIFI. Sometimes just open, but otherwise buy a cup of coffee and they'll give you the access code.

[Swinden]

For the recent Trans-Atlantic and Trans-Pac voyages, how was the internet crossing the oceans?

[Crusin Kelly]

I would echo the thought about asking the crew. They know a place at each port where they get connected. We were in Malta and all the dockside bars and restraunts had free-access.... it was interesting to see almost the entire crew sitting on the steps with their phones and laptops. At a small restraint in Rhodes, our waiter told us which corner of the bar, that we would get better Skype access - we Skyped home along with a dozen of the crew from that busy corner.

 

They know where it is free or cheap.