Mexican Riviera Cruise - Work from Ship Questions

[HRReader]

My family will be on the Discovery starting 12/3.  My daughter works from home using Central Time hours (the company is based in Chicago).  Will the ship remain on California time, or will it switch to the local time in ports? (Cabo, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallerta)

 

Also, we know the internet is super slow so she's taking vacation days while we're at sea.  Do you think the internet will be strong enough in port?  Does anyone have any recommendations for places near the ship that has strong internet service that she could work from?

 

Bummer that she can't take the whole week off, but better to be working  from (hopefully) sunny Mexico than from her apartment!

 

Thanks for your help and any tips!

Edited November 29, 2022 by HRReader

[DUCHESSRN]

The ship will change time 1 hour usually .

Glad you know ahead of time Internet is terrible . 

Cabo Port area has Internet , in Puerto Vallarta the bar by the Craft Market has internet .

Good Luck.

[DUCHESSRN]

The computers in the Internet Cafe on Deck 5 were faster , there was a student doing his classes on line in there . 

[VibeGuy]

From an open deck or a balcony, all of those three ports should have decent cell service (LTE or 5G).  Princess sticks to local time in ports where passengers are likely to drink.  

[driftychick]

We are on Discovery now, Deck 10.  Clocks changed ahead on the first night.  Internet has been fairly decent for us so far.  Just left Cabo on the way to Mazatlan.

[sirclean]

Just off the Discovery for a Thanksgiving Week trip.  (Probably the same itinerary!)

Time will change 2 times on the way to Puerto Villarto, and then change back on the way back to Cabo, and then again on Friday night returning to LA.

 

The internet was UNUSABLE .  It took 4 to 5 minutes just to load my gmail account, and IF I tried to delete more than 5 ads from email, it bogged again.  Only once did I have barely usable speed.  The rest was an excercise in frustration and futility. 

IF your daughter has a phone package to access data in Mexico, then you will be in some shape to do some things in ports.  Otherwise, NO Work will be done on the ship, even checking emails! 

 

[rocklinmom]

11 hours ago, DUCHESSRN said:

The computers in the Internet Cafe on Deck 5 were faster , there was a student doing his classes on line in there . 

Oh I'm glad to hear this! My daughter has to register for spring college classes and pay her tuition during our upcoming cruise, so if our Wifi package doesn't work well enough we will pay for her use the Internet cafe. I think they charged by the half hour of use or something like that.

[CalTexCruiser]

We were on Discovery Mexican Riviera and the Internet was unusable--couldn't even download emails.

 

We have an ATT Wireless unlimited plan, so we get free cell service in Mexico (unlimited data, text, and call).  I tried hot spotting to my phone in port but even that was a challenge--not sure why.

[Steelers36]

31 minutes ago, rocklinmom said:

Oh I'm glad to hear this! My daughter has to register for spring college classes and pay her tuition during our upcoming cruise, so if our Wifi package doesn't work well enough we will pay for her use the Internet cafe. I think they charged by the half hour of use or something like that.

Using the Internet Cafe is free.  But, you must purchase MedallionNet access in order to use internet features.  This is sold by the day or by the cruise (for a per/day charge).

[travelin.sisters]

sometimes they switch to local time for each port (so two time changes) & sometimes they do not go to local time in the last port & only change once...I don't know if it is the captain's choice or a corporate decision...on our last Mexican cruise in early Oct I did not get good cell connection for wifi (did in Jan) so that too can be unpredictable...you could ask a crew member about wifi hotspots in port, or they used to put them in the port info

[Shelly97060]

1 hour ago, rocklinmom said:

if our Wifi package doesn't work well enough we will pay for her use the Internet cafe. I think they charged by the half hour of use or something like that

 If you have a WiFi package she can use your logo in information in the Internet cafe ( or if she has one she uses that log in for the Internet cafe computers).

 

Emails for work shouldn’t be a problem ( may be slow at times)  but uploading or downloading large attachments can be problematic and things like Zoom calls on sea days would be iffy. iMessage and WhatsApp generally work well for messaging if she needs to be able to use chat feature for work.

[tonit964]

12 hours ago, driftychick said:

We are on Discovery now, Deck 10.  Clocks changed ahead on the first night.  Internet has been fairly decent for us so far.  Just left Cabo on the way to Mazatlan.

I’m on the ship too. Just in case you haven’t seen it yet, we change the clocks forward 1 hour again tonight. Ugh.

[KarmaCruisers]

1 hour ago, rocklinmom said:

Oh I'm glad to hear this! My daughter has to register for spring college classes and pay her tuition during our upcoming cruise, so if our Wifi package doesn't work well enough we will pay for her use the Internet cafe. I think they charged by the half hour of use or something like that.

The “Internet cafe” is no different in network speed, it uses the same pipe.

While on ship, like others have said, no way in hell your daughter will be able to work. Best case scenario is in port using her cell phone as a hot spot..but she’ll need a data plan that covers Mexico (I know Verizon offers this)

[ChutChut]

I couldn't even access my email account on most days during the cruise. Simple things like accessing a news website, etc. will be fine, but any complicated stuff is probably out of the question unless she can get off while in port and attempt it there.

[sirclean]

.you could ask a crew member about wifi hotspots in port, or they used to put them in the port info

 

 

Yes!! The Crew Know ALL, in EVERY PORT!! 

Ask one of the bartenders (when it is slow) or go to the buffet area and ask one of the workers their advice!

They know the best hotspots, closest pharmacy, Walmart, and grocery store! 

(My travel buddy is very talkative and friendly, and he can find out all of the best places in any port, and will sometimes arrange to go WITH The crew when they get off the ship and travel to there 'spot'....

On last week's trip, the Bartender made a run to Walmart for a load of chips (pringles) and pork rinds!

So if they help you out, maybe bring them back something they can not get on the ship!)

[seekatz]

No the Internet is not fast enough to do serious work, and as others have said it has times it really slow. I was on this ship about a month ago, and no way would an employer think this was a good or efficient use of their time. Better to take vacation days and enjoy the trip.

[shubsens]

Just got off the Mexican R 7 day and well you won't be working from the ship. I have worked in high tech for 15 years (On the very technical side) and you can get emails and txt ok but beyond that good luck!

 

It was slightly better when near a coast but when your on the open ocean its pretty bad.

 

My wife did a few speed tests and she got 2.8Mbps downloads and 2.1 uploads. on average.

[cruisingrob21]

I had better internet connectivity when sitting in a bar or lounge (if you can find a quiet one) than my cabin.  Also, I did a wifi USB tether to my phone to connect.  My work laptop had VPN issues connecting to the Medallion Class network, but it seemed to connect when it was connection via my phone.  Also, since I only had 1 device, it allowed me to keep getting notifications and chats on my phone at the same time.

[Rick&Jeannie]

On 11/29/2022 at 12:37 PM, KarmaCruisers said:

The “Internet cafe” is no different in network speed, it uses the same pipe.

 

You beat me to this point!  I was on a previous cruise (not long ago) where I went to the Internet Cafe and asked if they had any better response.  The guy just laughed and said "Nope...we're all in the same boat...no pun intended!"

[Roberto256]

On 11/28/2022 at 11:06 PM, HRReader said:

Also, we know the internet is super slow so she's taking vacation days while we're at sea.  Do you think the internet will be strong enough in port?  Does anyone have any recommendations for places near the ship that has strong internet service that she could work from?

 

My experience on princess in general ... not ship specific ...

 

Internet in port is good ... as all the passengers are off the ship.   Unless there is a mountain or some other obstacle next to the ship.

(more likely in alaska than mexico)

 

The best ship board internet I ever got ... in port, during a crew drill.

All passengers off the ship.   All crew at their musters stations, and not permitted to use their phones.

 

Other than that, I would try 3-4 am for good service.