Azamara Ship Wi Fi (Internet) Logging in and out Instructions

[JM0115]

We will be sailing on Azamara for the first time soon. We have limited internet minutes (120 minutes each).  Is it easy to log in and log out just to check messages and not waste too much of these precious 🙂 minutes? Does someone have instructions on how this is done? 

[beatnix]

As far as I remember a how to deal with Internet on the ship is given with the information you find at your stateroom on embarkation day.

[Grandma Cruising]

You must make sure you log off every time or you will waste minutes - as far as I can remember you have to type ‘log off’ into the search box, but as Beatrix says there will be instructions in your cabin, if not check with Guest Relations on Deck 4.

[fruitmachine]

A couple of people on Journey in April said that since Starlink was installed (even though it was going incredibly slowly) logging-off had speeded up hugely from the past, and so it was much easier to pause your usage timer.

[AlphaOne]

We bought the unlimited wifi package which was $20 per day for the duration of the cruise so watching minutes wasn't an issue for us. If you are on the limited plan I suggest turning off wifi on your device to prevent unwanted usage.

[excitedofharpenden]

I'll be honest. I really dislike the Internet by the minute. On more than one occasion I didn't get logged off (either because of my oversight or a system fault). A visit to Guest Relations and they always sorted it, but I decided some time  ago that I'd pay for the unlimited to save me the stress of watching those minutes count down.amd forego the free minutes I was given. Obviously it does depend upon how much you use it, but for me the unlimited was the way to go. 

 

Phil 

[Host Jazzbeau]

We always get the unlimited upgrade, because (in the past at least) when the connection is really slow it was great to leave the computer connected overnight and wake up to full in-boxes of emails and texts.  Maybe Starlink will make this unnecessary, but hopefully it will also make unlimited packages even more affordable.

[fruitmachine]

4 hours ago, AlphaOne said:

We bought the unlimited wifi package which was $20 per day for the duration of the cruise so watching minutes wasn't an issue for us. If you are on the limited plan I suggest turning off wifi on your device to prevent unwanted usage.

Watch out - turning off WiFi doesn't stop the access timer.  The important thing to note is that you must follow the instructions to logout.

[Host Jazzbeau]

1 hour ago, fruitmachine said:

Watch out - turning off WiFi doesn't stop the access timer.  The important thing to note is that you must follow the instructions to logout.

And sometimes [this is not about Azamara, but has happened to us on several lines] the ship network is so slow that logging out is impossible or at least interminable.  That's why we go for unlimited: set it and forget it.

[excitedofharpenden]

10 hours ago, fruitmachine said:

Watch out - turning off WiFi doesn't stop the access timer.  The important thing to note is that you must follow the instructions to logout.

Absolutely!

 

Phil 

[cruisinclined]

Could you remind we less tech savvy passengers about advice to  switch our phones to airplane mode on board  to stop being charged for wifi without our knowledge? Or have I misremembered that?

[Grandma Cruising]

1 hour ago, cruisinclined said:

Could you remind we less tech savvy passengers about advice to  switch our phones to airplane mode on board  to stop being charged for wifi without our knowledge? Or have I misremembered that?

Yes, really good idea!

[fruitmachine]

3 hours ago, cruisinclined said:

Could you remind we less tech savvy passengers about advice to  switch our phones to airplane mode on board  to stop being charged for wifi without our knowledge? Or have I misremembered that?

WiFi isn't charged based on your phone being connected to the ship's WiFi, but on how long you're logged on to their system.  Switching WiFi (or even airplane mode) off or on will make no difference.

Phone signal (i.e. what you use for voice calls or traditional SMS text messages, plus any mobile data) is more of an issue.  Unless you have a package with your provider, you will typically get billed by them at the highest international call and data rates for calls made or received, SMS messages sent, or any data consumed.  Once the ship is at sea and out of territorial waters, the ship will switch on their own  cell phone tower and become like a floating mini-country.  Going into airplane mode is what's needed to avoid these charges.

 

There are more nuanced ways of stopping data usage, but that's perhaps for the technology discussion board!

[gaeltrav]

We did a cruise in April2023 on AZ  Quest  Signing out was a nightmare and the instructions in the cabin were incorrect and still involved the old R CCL system . I purchased 60 minutes for $19.95. The first time I tried to logout we had to call reception and they said they refunded me 10 minutes. The second time I actually had to walk down to reception as the previous instructions did not work so they told me they refunded 40 minutes. I then decided to save those minutes to check in to Air Canada for our flight home but when I signed in it said I only had 4 minutes left and as the website was in Japanese it ran out before I could do anything!! Luckily we were in port most days and Japan has excellent wifi in ports so we followed the crew and managed. I think it is absolutely ridiculous to charge for internet in 2023. There should be a minimum of one sign in per cabin

[1985rz1]

On 5/17/2023 at 10:13 AM, cruisinclined said:

Could you remind we less tech savvy passengers about advice to  switch our phones to airplane mode on board  to stop being charged for wifi without our knowledge? Or have I misremembered that?

You should your phone into airplane mode to avoid the high-priced cost of phone call, texts, and cellular data that the ship's Cellular-at-Sea charges. You can then turn on the WiFi separately if you wish to log into to the ship's WiFi network to access the internet and for WiFi calling, if your phone and cellular plan support it.  To avoid excess WiFi charges (if you don't have an unlimited package) you need to remember to log off when finished, and track the number of minutes you have used, to avoid WiFi overage charges.