Cyber Cabin V.S. Hot Spot on Jewel

[Ottawa_cruise_man]

I was convinced that I was going to get the cyber cabin service on my upcomming crusie next month. Someone said that they preferred the wireless hotspot service.

 

What are your preferences? Any speed (bandwidth) differences? Cost v.s. speed benfits?

 

Thanks!

 

Laurent

[ABcruisers]

I was wondering about this too...any opinions out there?

[Ottawa_cruise_man]

Woo-hooo! The advice is just pouring in! Can you feel the warmth? :D:D

[over the edge]

Inquiring minds want to know!! :confused:

[over the edge]

I hate the white screen!! Still having trouble posting. :rolleyes:

[Azhure]

There must be some nice kind "techy" out there that can help us out here.;)

[wraithe]

Cyber Cabin is 44Kbaud, dial up, so it's about like watching grass grow. If all you're going to do is some email, or check out a couple low bandwidth pages, then it's tolerable. You have to have a modem, have to get one of the few Cyber Cabin devices available and then follow the directions in your cabin, you should have a relatively stable, always on connection in your stateroom.

 

Wi-Fi is 802.11b, that said, it's not the broadband connection you have in your house. It usually takes me about 5 times longer to download my mail than it does at my house. It's still much faster than cyber cabin IMHO. Beauty is, I can log in, download mail, log off, read and write replies, then log on and send mail. Log off and usually it only takes a few minutes.

 

Hope that helps some.

[wrp96]

Laurent, I'll have my CyberCabin down the hall from you.

[leoandhugh]

cyber cabin is snail pace slow slow slow because it is just a glorified dial-up. I always take my laptop to one of the "hot" spots and there are plenty; it is still slower than at home but it sure beat my experiences with cyber cabin. a previous poster has given you the technical stuff; i am just relating my experiences with both setups.:)

[toadsister]

Hi,

 

We sailed on the Jewel of the Seas December 2-10, 2006 and used CyberCabin. We went to the guest relations desk around 1:00pm on boarding day and had no trouble getting the hook up! It was $10.00 a day and well worth it for us. We were able to use AIM to instant message with our family and had a fairly steady connection. My husband is early to bed and I am a night owl so I enjoyed being able to IM with our kids (ages 18 and 22) late at night. We would occasionally lose our connection, but only for a minute or less. We were able to send e-mails, but not pictures. We were also able to check sites like Ebay and Cruise Critic. The lady at guest relations told us that we had 24 hours from the time that we picked up the connection equipment to try it out and if it did not work for us, we could bring it back and there would be no charge. We will definitely use CyberCabin again on future cruises. Enjoy your cruise!

 

Wendy

[critterchick]

We had Cybercabin on Jewel the 2 trips before Wendy and, although it was as slow as molasses in January, it seemed more consistent than Wifi. Plus I liked being able to use it in the cabin without having to carry the laptop around (not a huge deal to carry it, but I'm fundamentally lazy while on vacation.

 

Wifi is a lot faster than Cybercabin, but I didn't find it to be any more reliable. I almost never got a conncection while on Serenade in October - I ended up using my entire Diamond credit (the concierge got me another one when I mentioned it and I got about 5 minutes of use out of because the connection was so bad.

 

I would often hit "send" and just do something else for a minute or two. By the time I got back to the computer, it usually had gone through.

[Ottawa_cruise_man]

Cyber Cabin is 44Kbaud, dial up, so it's about like watching grass grow.

Wi-Fi is 802.11b, that said, it's not the broadband connection you have in your house.

Thanks, we live in a rural area, and our dial-up says we are connected at 28.8K, but when we go to download a large file, the progress windows say 2.3kbps! I wonder what the actual download progress is on cyber cabin.

Wi-Fi access: is it pricey? Are the hot spots all inside, or can you get reception while lounging on the deck chairs? My lovely wife is going to want to lounge in the sun and possibly check her e-mails, and such - is that possible, or does she have to go to a hot spot to do that?

Trying to determine if we get one or the other or both! hehe!

 

We had Cybercabin on Jewel the 2 trips before Wendy and, although it was as slow as molasses in January, it seemed more consistent than Wifi. Plus I liked being able to use it in the cabin without having to carry the laptop around (not a huge deal to carry it, but I'm fundamentally lazy while on vacation.

 

Wifi is a lot faster than Cybercabin, but I didn't find it to be any more reliable. I almost never got a connection while on Serenade in October - I ended up using my entire Diamond credit (the concierge got me another one when I mentioned it and I got about 5 minutes of use out of because the connection was so bad.

Fundamentally lazy, eh? Love it! hehe!

Using up your diamond credit: not sure what a diamond credit is worth: just how expensive is the wi-fi service?

 

 

We sailed on the Jewel of the Seas December 2-10, 2006 and used CyberCabin. It was $10.00 a day and well worth it for us. We were able to send e-mails, but not pictures. We were also able to check sites like Ebay and Cruise Critic. The lady at guest relations told us that we had 24 hours from the time that we picked up the connection equipment to try it out and if it did not work for us, we could bring it back and there would be no charge.

Like I said above: we have dial-up at home. I can send anything over the Internet, regardless of what software I'm using (browsing, IMing - MSN & Yahoo, ftp for my web site, etc...), and I've never not been able (sorry for the double-negative there!) to send pictures. Is there some reason you weren't able to send pictures, or were they too big (5-6 megs, etc...). With newer models of digital cameras, the resolution is an average of 5 megapixels, which translates to large pictures (3 to 5 megs). If you're using dial-up at snail pace, then you can run into some serious delays, usually running into the 30 minutes per picture!

 

Thanks for he information!

 

Cheers,

 

Laurent

[ldm2004]

Is it safe to leave your laptop out in the room or do you lock it in the safe? Will it fit?

[ldm2004]

Is it safe to leave your laptop out in the room or do you lock it in the safe? Will it fit?

[toadsister]

Thanks, we live in a rural area, and our dial-up says we are connected at 28.8K, but when we go to download a large file, the progress windows say 2.3kbps! I wonder what the actual download progress is on cyber cabin.

Wi-Fi access: is it pricey? Are the hot spots all inside, or can you get reception while lounging on the deck chairs? My lovely wife is going to want to lounge in the sun and possibly check her e-mails, and such - is that possible, or does she have to go to a hot spot to do that?

Trying to determine if we get one or the other or both! hehe!

 

Fundamentally lazy, eh? Love it! hehe!

Using up your diamond credit: not sure what a diamond credit is worth: just how expensive is the wi-fi service?

 

 

 

Like I said above: we have dial-up at home. I can send anything over the Internet, regardless of what software I'm using (browsing, IMing - MSN & Yahoo, ftp for my web site, etc...), and I've never not been able (sorry for the double-negative there!) to send pictures. Is there some reason you weren't able to send pictures, or were they too big (5-6 megs, etc...). With newer models of digital cameras, the resolution is an average of 5 megapixels, which translates to large pictures (3 to 5 megs). If you're using dial-up at snail pace, then you can run into some serious delays, usually running into the 30 minutes per picture!

 

Thanks for he information!

 

Cheers,

 

Laurent

 

 

 

Hi!

 

Yes, I do believe that the reason that I could not get a picture to send was because of the size of the file. I purchased my camera right before the cruise so it is a newer model. I only tried a couple of times and then gave up, but the CyberCabin worked fine for sending e-mails, instant messaging and visiting websites. I would definitely use it again.

 

Wendy

[toadsister]

Is it safe to leave your laptop out in the room or do you lock it in the safe? Will it fit?

 

 

Hi,

 

We left our laptop out on the desk in our stateroom the entire time. Our laptop would not fit in the safe. I don't believe I have even been in a stateroom that had a safe large enough for a laptop....but I am only speaking from my experience. We were is stateroom 1552 on the Jewel of the Seas and the safe was really only large enough for wallets, small cameras, passports, jewelry...small things like that.

 

Wendy

[toadsister]

Is it safe to leave your laptop out in the room or do you lock it in the safe? Will it fit?

 

 

Hi,

 

We left our laptop out on the desk in our stateroom the entire time. Our laptop would not fit in the safe. I don't believe I have even been in a stateroom that had a safe large enough for a laptop....but I am only speaking from my experience. We were is stateroom 1552 on the Jewel of the Seas and the safe was really only large enough for wallets, small cameras, passports, jewelry...small things like that.

 

Wendy

[madforcruising]

Well Laurent,

 

to me it´s Cybercabin. I like to use the web from the privacy of my cabin and while it´s slow I don´t care as it´s a flat rate and not a pre minute charge. The Hot Spots are charged per minute. It all depends of course on how much you are going to use it.

[Ottawa_cruise_man]

for those that don't undertand/know about taking digital photos and their sizes, etc...

 

When you take a picture with your digital camera, you have the option of selecting the resolution. What you're going to do with the picture afterwards should determine what resolution you select. The greater the resolution, the fewer the pictures you'll be able to take, since it is determined by the capacity (in megabytes or gigs) of your memory card/on board memory. and the oposite holds true: lower the picture size/resolution, and increase the number of pictures you can take.

Rule of thumb: If you're planning on printing the picture, select the largest format possible. That will give you the best detail and colour depth (don't ask me to explain colour depth - more is better), so your prints will look their best.

If you want to enjoy the picture on your computer only, you might want to select a mid-sized format.

If you're strickly going to e-mail the pictures, and you have a slow Internet connection (like dial-up, and in this case Cybercabin), then select an even lower resolution. You can always preview the pictures on your computer prior to e-mailing them.

If you want to keep the pictures in high-resolution but still want to e-mail some to your friends to brag (:D), then resize the pictures using any number of picture viewing/editting programs, BUT SAVE THE PICTURES UNDER A DIFFERENT FILE NAME - if you don't you'll loose the high resolution picture.

Play around at home before trying to do this during your cruise: last thing you want is to spend time trying to figure out some software when you're supposed to be having the time of your life! Become a pro at it before you cruise, then it will become second nature.

Some photo editting programs allow you to add coments, remove red eye, and lots of other things. Familiarize yourself with these great programs, and you'll be sending pictures to your freinds to make them jealous in no time, and be back to having a great time on board!

 

There you go: tip of the day for you!

[critterchick]

Using up your diamond credit: not sure what a diamond credit is worth: just how expensive is the wi-fi service?

 

THe diamond credit is a coupon for $10, which is 20 minutes of time on the Wifi or on the ship's computers. You can also buy packages of minutes that can bring the price to as low as .33/minute. I think that's a $50 package for 150 minutes (don't have my calculator out & the brain doesn't function that well with numbers).

[leoandhugh]

that is correct on the packages; the cheapest is $50 and it works out to $.33/minute, but i use minutes only for pulling emails off and for sending i compose my outgoing emails off line then just send saves a lot of airtime.

also,I have always left my laptop out on the desk in the cabin except when in port; then i just stick it in a suitcase under the bed or under a pile of laundry. never had a problem.

for whomever raised the question about wifi "hot spots" on Radiance class, both the solarium and much of the area around the pool is "hot" just a case of finding a place where you don't get too much reflection on your screen.

[wrp96]

Using up your diamond credit: not sure what a diamond credit is worth: just how expensive is the wi-fi service?

 

 

Laurent, Wifi is $.50 per minute, but you can buy packages that bring it as low as $.33 per minute. Oh, and that's US not CDN!

[ccletzgo]

Well Laurent,

 

to me it´s Cybercabin. I like to use the web from the privacy of my cabin and while it´s slow I don´t care as it´s a flat rate and not a pre minute charge. The Hot Spots are charged per minute. It all depends of course on how much you are going to use it.

 

I agree. Am I the only one that has a pounding heart and shaking fingers when I am being charged by the min in the internet cafe? Its kind of like taking a typing test..:eek:

[wraithe]

Thanks, we live in a rural area, and our dial-up says we are connected at 28.8K, but when we go to download a large file, the progress windows say 2.3kbps! I wonder what the actual download progress is on cyber cabin. Wi-Fi access: is it pricey? Are the hot spots all inside, or can you get reception while lounging on the deck chairs? My lovely wife is going to want to lounge in the sun and possibly check her e-mails, and such - is that possible, or does she have to go to a hot spot to do that?

 

Per minute is $0.50 US, packages go for 60 minutes at $25, 90 minutes for $35, and 150 minutes for $50. Unused minutes are non-refundable, use it or lose it. Here's all the rest of the techy stuff that you'll need to know, http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=294633&page=3, post #41. Hot spots are usually the Centrum in the vicinity of the Purser's Desk and usually one deck above or below, business center, library, solarium deck, those will get most of them.

 

Is it safe to leave your laptop out in the room or do you lock it in the safe? Will it fit?

 

No, it will not fit in the safe, but I've never heard of anyone who's had one pilfered, for all the howls of indignation about how little the crew makes, it's far and away more than they can make at home, so they're not going to jeopardize their "career" by stealing a laptop. The cabin attendants are the only ones that can really get into your cabin, so it isn't likely to come up gone. Now if you sit in down on a lounge chair in the solarium and go for a swim, weeeelllllll, who knows? I usually put mine in the cabinet next to the desk, on the desktop, or in the drawer in the nightstand.

 

Hope that helps.

[Ottawa_cruise_man]

We'll probably get the cyber-cabin package, and if we feel like we want the hot spot on top of that, we'll buy a small package.

Regarding security: I agree that only cabin attendants have authorized access to our cabins, but thieves still exist. No amount of security, short of Fort Knox stuff, will prevent a determined thief from going into your cabin. One form of prevention is available: if you have a web cam and cyber cabin service, you can run a security software that will do the following: it will detect when someone enters your cabin, and start recording. It can also send, via the Internet, snapshots to a website. That way if your laptop has disappeared and all your jewelry is gone (probably throw the laptop in the ocean), you can always go online to see what the thief looked like. I think it's extreme, but it's a cheap mobile security solution. All you need is to have web space with FTP service, along with cheap software and a $30.00 webcam. Just remember to flip the webcam over when you're in your cabin! Don't need to be recording your fun!;):eek::D

 

Thanks to all that have offered advice: it's all been very helpful!:)