How is the internet these days?

[knittinggirl]

The last time we went to Hawaii on Sapphire, the internet was slower than Dial-Up. And it stopped working in the between Los Angeles and Hawaii.

 

Is it any better these days, or should I just not bother purchasing it.

[shredie]

It varies by region, ship, weather, etc. There's no way to tell how fast it will be on any given day at any given place. That said, it's never very fast in the first place.

[JF - retired RRT]

Wait till you are Platinum, it will be free. The smallest amount you get is 150 minutes/Platinum member. That is plenty.

It is so spotty (at least on the cruises I have been on) it isn't worth paying for.

[Pam in CA]

Internet speed is dependent on several things: ship speed and direction, where the ship is in relation to satellite coverage, time of day, what other passengers are using it for, etc. For instance, if someone is using FaceTime or Skype, few other people can connect at the same time or they will have an excruciatingly slow connection or it'll time out. If you are using a text-based email client, download your email, sign off, read and respond offline, re-sign-on and send, it'll be pretty fast. If you use TapaTalk or the Cruise Critic app to access Cruise Critic instead of using a browser, it'll be faster. It all depends on how much bandwidth you're using and graphics you're downloading.

 

My guess is that Princess is eventually going to go the route of charging by data usage, not by minutes. That would be the fairest since if you're hogging the bandwidth, you should pay more. When you sign off now, the screen will show not only your minutes used but data usage as well.

[bhopal21]

The last time we went to Hawaii on Sapphire, the internet was slower than Dial-Up. And it stopped working in the between Los Angeles and Hawaii.

 

Is it any better these days, or should I just not bother purchasing it.

 

Two words . . . Slow and Slower

 

All the rest is just fluff.

 

Mike:)

[geoherb]

It was spotty on our Caribbean Princess cruises last year. Sometimes I'd lose the WiFi signal in our cabin and have to reestablish it by taking my laptop out into the hall in front of the elevators before I could sign off (or keep working). Since we were taking short cruises back to back, I had plenty of minutes to burn. But if I had paid for them, I would not have been happy about the clock ticking down while I was not actually connected.

[shepp]

On my last two cruises (Alaska and Canal) I noticed that the WiFi seemed much faster than it had been a year or two ago, except around 10 pm, when everything slowed to a crawl, maybe because everybody was back in their cabins and checking mail before bed? Dunno if there were technical improvements or it was just luck.

[Kingofcool1947]

The last time we went to Hawaii on Sapphire, the internet was slower than Dial-Up. And it stopped working in the between Los Angeles and Hawaii.

 

Is it any better these days, or should I just not bother purchasing it.

 

The star was entirely rewired for Internet when it came out of dry dock recently.

No too bad, as I could get a pretty fast connection in our stateroom and public areas.

Seemed fast and faster in certain areas of the ship. :)

iPad Mini Retina user. ;)

 

Good luck and enjoy your cruise.

Edited January 21, 2015 by Kingofcool1947

[Pam in CA]

On my last two cruises (Alaska and Canal) I noticed that the WiFi seemed much faster than it had been a year or two ago, except around 10 pm, when everything slowed to a crawl, maybe because everybody was back in their cabins and checking mail before bed? Dunno if there were technical improvements or it was just luck.

Passengers are back in their cabins but the slowdown is more likely due to crew. I've found that the best times are before 8am, 6-8pm and after midnight.

[Whitby Lass]

Any one know what the available packages (Grand Princess) are and costs?

[Orlando Vic]

Any one know what the available packages (Grand Princess) are and costs?

 

10 minutes

Item #6034 – $49.50

Internet access

Perfect for those who like to stay in touch or need to manage their

affairs on a daily basis in order to put their minds at ease. Help a

passenger relax and fully enjoy their Princess vacation by giving them

Internet access for news, information and web-based email.

 

120 minutes

Item #6038 – $72.95

(Includes $69.00 for Internet time plan + $3.95 One time activation fee) Includes 20 bonus minutes for prepurchasing an Internet

time package.

 

240 minutes

Item #6039 – $102.95

(Includes $99.00 for Internet time plan + $3.95 One time activation fee) Includes 40 bonus minutes for prepurchasing an Internet

time package.

 

http://www.princess.com/learn/onboard/gifts_services/Gifts_Services.pdf

[Whitby Lass]

Thanks,Vic for your most informative and comprehensive answer.

[geoherb]

10 minutes

Item #6034 – $49.50

The first item applies to purchasing a 10-minute phone call, not Internet pricing.

[Woobstr112G]

The last time we went to Hawaii on Sapphire, the internet was slower than Dial-Up. And it stopped working in the between Los Angeles and Hawaii.

 

Is it any better these days, or should I just not bother purchasing it.

 

 

A picture is worth a thousand words.....:D:D:D

 

Bob