Internet on SDII

[awingatect]

Can anyone please advise on quality of service in the Caribbean? Website says: "Internet access is available from all staterooms. The charge is $35 for 24 hours of unlimited access. Laptops are available at no charge. Guests may also access the internet through the computers in the Library. The charge is $5 for the first 10 minutes and $3 for each additional, 10-minute period."

Please advise: Is the connection speed OK? and should one bring their own laptop, or are the ship's units OK and readily available? Thanks for the advice.

[maxx22]

We were on the SD II in the Caribbean over Christmas and, to put it kindly, the internet was a disaster. (Talking about the 2 computers available in the library...don't know about cabin access).

 

Frequently, the ship's service wouldn't make a connection at all. When it did, it was often very, very slow. It could easily take several minutes to log into a specific site. Sites that required passwords like our stock broker and email provider often dropped the connection because it was so slow.

 

The front desk was well aware of the situation and we received additional minutes on our card as did others who asked.

 

We relied on internet cafes on shore... less expensive and much more reliable and faster than SD II. If you absolutely need daily high speed internet access to home or business and are taking a trip that doesn't make shore stops (like a transatlantic crossing), then you should probably pass on the SD II unless they state that they have completely revamped there service over the last 2 months.

[ctbjr1309]

I was on SD2 in November and used the internet in my cabin. It was not nearly as fast as my cable modem connection at home but it was pretty good.

 

I was able to read my email, communicate with the office and even book plane tickets for a later trip on line. I saved more than the cost of the week long internet charge by virtue of having the ability to book those tickets while on SD2 rather than waiting until I returned home.

 

Others on board who used the internet in their cabins also had pretty much the same reaction as I did....relatively slow but steady and dependable internet connection.

[frequent traveler]

You should consider the times you use -- when the crew is on "break" or not seen on deck, internet usage spikes and the network slows down. Some of the best time to use is right before dinner when everyone is working hard or early in the morning before folks start logging on (especially after a late night!!). Weather also seemed to play a role on the speed TransAtlantic. I found it was best to do all my composing off line then log on and quickly send e-mails.

[surfklutz]

I have used both the stateroom internet connection and the library - and neither would be considered fast connections. If you use the library computer - the one to your right as you walk in is very much faster than the other one. I actually found my stateroom to be faster than either of the library computers. I used the ship's laptop - and it was fine.