Email question

[Cookiesbykk]

With 2 days to go, this first timer has another doozy of a question...I know that I'll be able to send emails to my kids back home via the internet cafe onboard the Grand but can they hit the reply button and send something back to me? If so, is there a charge involved?:confused:

 

Karen

[donna5]

as long as you are using an e-mail account that you can access from the ship, it works the same as at home. You have to use your e-mail account from home(ISP or free account). You don't actually have an ship e-mail account. Before you leave make sure you know what the url(address is for your e-mail).

[cusyl]

Yes, they can hit the reply button and send a reply. There is a charge when you READ the email. It will go on your sign and sail card.

[Nancyquilts]

Am I wrong? Again? I thought the only charge was per minute when on-line, whether e-mailing or receiving or checking on Cruise Critic. Nancy

[chrysalis]

yes..only a charge when you are online....reading, sending, surfing...does not matter, it is a charge to access the internet...by the minute

[Pam in CA]

Am I wrong? Again? I thought the only charge was per minute when on-line, whether e-mailing or receiving or checking on Cruise Critic. Nancy

Nancy, you are right.

 

If someone hits REPLY, you have to sign onto your email to read the mail. Hence the charge to read mail.

[dennbr9]

It works like regular Email, you are using your own service- aol, etc. but there is no Instant Messinger capability though.

 

Dennis

[jlp20]

>If someone hits REPLY, you have to sign onto your email to read the mail. Hence the charge to read mail.

 

Before you leave, learn how to sign on, download ALL your mail, sign off and learn how to read off line. In reverse, learn how to write all your mail before gong online and sending them out in one burst.

[GloriaF]

My suggestion may be too late for you, since you were leaving in 2 days, but here goes anyway:

 

Set up a free email account with yahoo before you leave home, download the email addresses you'll need while cruising, and send yourself a test email from your regular account so that you know how to manipulate the site.

 

The advantages are this: It is easy to access yahoo from Princess computers (the icon is on the home page) and you don't have to sift thru and delete junk mail from your regular account while spending $$. Your kids can reply by hitting the reply button. I do this and consider it my cruising email account - I don't use it except enough to keep it active - it is wonderful to open up an email account and only find a couple of messages in it and they are from people you actually want to hear from.!

[Juliadlf]

First time cruising with Princess in August. Do they sell "bulk" minutes, ie you pay a flat rate for let's say 100 minutes, instead of the "per minute" charge?

 

GloriaF: Very good suggestion. Thanks for the tip.

 

Julia

[msmeltz]

I remember that there is an email address for each ship, and that if the cabin number is put in the subject box it will be delivered. I can't remember the address. anyone out there know it?

marilyn

[Splinter]

Before you leave, learn how to sign on, download ALL your mail, sign off and learn how to read off line. In reverse, learn how to write all your mail before gong online and sending them out in one burst.

 

You can only do this if you are using your own laptop. The "computers" in the internet cafe are only dumb terminals. They are not computers. You cannot download or upload anything to them. They have no programs or storage on them except those on the mainframe attached to them, and these only allow you to go on-line. So there is no way to "download" your e-mail. Anytime you are on these terminals, you are being charged for minutes.

 

If you have your own computer, and are using their wireless, you will pay for the download time....which is VERY slow compared to even dial-up ashore.

[rkdahl]

The "computers" in the internet cafe are only dumb terminals.

 

The internet cafe 'terminals' on the Princess ships are actually PC's just exactly like yours at home. They run Windows 2000/NT operating system and have hard drives, etc. They are under the desks behind a panel. But you are correct, they have a user interface built to keep the users from seeing the operating system and any of its functions, so it appears to the user as just a terminal with only very limited capability.

 

As far as email goes, what confuses some people is how to get their email. When they have their email provided through their ISP, say Charter.net for example, it's different than if they have their email thru Hotmail or Yahoo or AOL.

 

So if your email is through an cable company ISP:

- most ISP's have web based access to your email accounts. Check with your ISP, find out the web address (for Charter Cable Co it is http://mail.charter.net), jot that down with your email and your email account password. You can then use any web browser to get your email. You keep the same email address and everyone uses your same email. You use the web interface instead of Outlook Express for example. People then send you email just like they always do.

 

If you have Yahoo, Hotmail or AOL. The menus on the Internet Cafe PC's have these accessible so you can go right to your email account, enter your password and your set. People send you email only to your Yahoo, Hotmail or AOL email ID. If you get a special email account just for your cruise it might conufse people on where to send you email. If they use their address book it'll go to your normal email account and you will not see it. If they hit 'reply' in response to your email from the ship, it'll come back to your new account on Yahoo, Hotmail or AOL.

 

All time in the Internet Cafe runs from when you swipe your room key card until you sign off. The clock keeps ticking no matter what you are doing, reading, typing, watching the ocean go by, talking to the cute girl on the terminal next to you, whatever. And you are charged by the minute to your room account unless you are Platinum or higher, then it's unlimited time, and the time is credited back to your account as a credit.

 

Hope that helps!

[Globaliser]

If you have Yahoo, Hotmail or AOL. The menus on the Internet Cafe PC's have these accessible so you can go right to your email account, enter your password and your set. People send you email only to your Yahoo, Hotmail or AOL email ID. If you get a special email account just for your cruise it might conufse people on where to send you email. If they use their address book it'll go to your normal email account and you will not see it. If they hit 'reply' in response to your email from the ship, it'll come back to your new account on Yahoo, Hotmail or AOL.

AOL users can access their e-mail via a normal web browser as well. Just go to http://www.aol.com and sign in with your screen name (user name) and password. This also allows you to access your e-mail from shore-side internet cafes, which are infinitely better value than using the ship's internet service if you have to pay for that.

 

I've used the internet on some ships which have installed AOL software as well as providing web browsers. Sometimes the AOL software is faster, sometimes a web browser is faster. It's worth trying both ways round to see which is better, but these days I generally try not to use the ship's internet at all if I can avoid it.