Zuiderdam questions

[judysdaughter]

Our family will be on the Panama Canal cruise in late February and we have a couple questions.

 

1. Are there railings in the hallways and other places?

 

2. What is the scoop on the internet, price, quality, etc.

 

Boy are we excited for this vacation

[RuthC]

There will be a railing on one wall in the passenger cabin areas, sometimes with a break for a doorway. In most of the public areas there will be a railing on at least one side of the passageway, and sometimes (like a wide passageway) both sides.

There are several public areas, though, where there's a large entrance to a side room, so there's no railing possible.

[judysdaughter]

Thanks a lot

[crystalspin]

Re: internet

 

It is slow (think dial-up), and sometimes blinky, but should have a bit better reliability on your cruise than Alaska or Cape Horn cruises because the communication satellites most or all orbit near the equator (why dishes in the northern hemisphere all point south).

 

In September of 2015, HAL started a number of 'test packages' on various ships. I do not know if these are still on!

 

On Nieuw Amsterdam and Zuiderdam, the "Hybrid" plan allows passengers to purchase either minutes or an unlimited Internet that spans the entire cruise. The plan offers 600 minutes for $199 (33 cents per minute), 400 minutes for $159 (40 cents per minute), 200 minutes for $99 (50 cents per minute), 30 minutes for $19 (63 cents per minute) and the "Unlimited Premium Voyage" package for $249.

 

The Explorations Cafe has computer stations, and WiFi hotspot(s) for your own device(s). Only one device can log on to your cabin's account at a time.

 

dr'spin and I *live* online at home, but have never bought time on a ship. We do spent loads of time in the Cafe and hear a steady stream of passengers complaining about dropped signal and losing what they have typed! YMMV If you're using your own device, write off line then copy and paste to send.

[cabinluvn]

We paid $55 for 100 minutes. It is over wifi, so very slow when at sea. A little faster when in poet, but not much. I had better success using my iPhone to connect rather than the computers in the exploration cafe. I used up more than half the minutes just connecting

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[Mtn2Sea]

On our Zuiderdam cruise last March, we purchased unlimited internet for a reasonable set price. This year, however, the Zuiderdam had the traditional internet plans where you choose a set number of minutes, such as 100, 250, 500, or 1000 minutes. They also had a by the minute or a very limited plan for people who only want to confirm their flight home. From my experience, the speed was about normal for a HAL ship - slow.

[HELENPSL]

I purchased 250 minutes for $100 on the Zuiderdam just 2 weeks ago. I was actually surprised that it connected as quickly as it did. I was using my Ipad and was pretty pleased with the service.

 

Helen

[catl331]

Don't read your email while on line; download it. Same with sending email; write it first and sent all your email in one swoop. Get's you off if everything slows down or cuts off and saves time and money:)

[RMLincoln]

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

General Tips on ship internet from our experiences:

We use it at off-peak times and usually find the speed adequate. Off-peak times are whenever many passengers are busy doing something else... dinner, shows, or in port, or sleeping.

We have pretty much given up trying to get online in ports at "free WiFi" restaurants because they are all jammed up with other passengers trying to get on.

If we have to download something large, like an update, the ship internet may not support it so we now try for a pay-for internet café in a port and it usually works really fast for about a dollar or less.

 

Have a great cruise, we love the Panama Canal cruises, m--