Encore Alaska Inside Passage WiFi Question please

[Salf777]

If sailing on the Encore on the Alaska inside passage, since close to land is there cellular service from my normal verizon carrier?

If not do you feel that the higher speed wifi is necessary just for checking emails and such for work, no streaming etc.

 

[ChiefMateJRK]

When is this cruise?  I've never heard of Encore sailing the inside passage.

[julig22]

Being close to land doesn't mean there are cell towers within range of the ship, especially in non-populated areas. So don't plan on cell service while at sea.

WiFi is via satellite, so always variable. I've never used anything but the basic service but I only check emails, no work. 

[YVRteacher]

18 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

When is this cruise?  I've never heard of Encore sailing the inside passage.

There are two inside passages. The more famous one is the one in British Columbia which is between the mainland and Vancouver Island and Haida Gwaii. Once ships reach Alaskan waters, there is another inside passage near Ketchikan. I believe OP is asking about the Alaskan Inside Passage.  @Salf777 my experience on the Encore is the wifi does not improve when we are closer to land. Be prepared for a weak signal that is being shared by over 6000 people.  The mountains in Alaska impact the wifi signal both in the fjords and generally.  Be prepared for poor wifi regardless of your package.  I found that the best place to get a good signal was in the Observation Lounge.  Crew on the Encore on the Alaska runs get quite frustrated with the poor signal and the challenges that creates in communicating with family.  What’s App worked better for me than texting.

[BirdTravels]

3 hours ago, Salf777 said:

If sailing on the Encore on the Alaska inside passage, since close to land is there cellular service from my normal verizon carrier?

If not do you feel that the higher speed wifi is necessary just for checking emails and such for work, no streaming etc.

 

For the most part, you are not close enough to land to connect with cell towers. And much of the coast that you get close to is unpopulated (and the bears don’t have cell phones) so there is no cell service. 
 

You are in port 5 of the 7 days. You may have cell service there. 
 

You get some Wi-Fi minutes with the Free at Sea package, enough for a few minutes for the sea days. 
 

And there is nothing high speed on a ship’s satellite internet. 
 

Save your money and disconnect. 

[ChiefMateJRK]

I've only ever had reliable cellular in AK when docked in Juneau.  That is usually all I really want anyways.  I will use the freebie crap WiFi to ping the mothership once or twice a day, but that's really just to receive any text or voice messages from back home, which are rare when I'm on a cruise.

[mugtech]

1 hour ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

I've only ever had reliable cellular in AK when docked in Juneau.  That is usually all I really want anyways.  I will use the freebie crap WiFi to ping the mothership once or twice a day, but that's really just to receive any text or voice messages from back home, which are rare when I'm on a cruise.

I love to cruise without a phone or tablet, helps me relax.  Very happy that I am so unimportant that I can go weeks without going on line.  I would think the free at sea would be sufficient for any "emergency".

"

[GateGuardian]

I did this cruise in May 2022. Not close enough to pick up signal. The internet was fine for checking emails. I tried an audio conference call and was too laggy for it to work.