Internet Rates

[spindrift]

I have forgotten what the rates are for internet packages. I have always purchased a package relative to the length of the trip we are taking.

 

I have a new laptop and am considering taking it with me this time, so I was wondering also what the WiFi situation is on the ship and the cost for its use as well. (Only 18 days until our Reunion cruise - wooppee)

 

Thanks.

[LHT28]

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/T_MainContentPage.aspx?PageUID=89f3a518-78a5-4b1b-af0d-8a6f236defa2&Secure=True

Internet Pricing

• 0.95 per minute with no package
  
• Inbound messages up to 200K are $2 per message

Package Pricing:

• 100 minutes for $80
  
• 200 minutes for $140
  
• 500 minutes for $300

* Note: Rates are subject to change without notice

[meow!]

The above is rather expensive, compare them below:

95cents/min without package ..... 50cents/min on Silver Shadow

$80 for 100min 80cents/min ..... $45 for 100min 45cents/min

$140 for 200min 70cents/min ..... $85 for 250min 34cents/min

$300 for 500min 60cents/min ..... $250 for 1000min 25cents/min

So the rate on Silversea is just about half that on Oceania!

[DaveFr]

The above is rather expensive, compare them below:

95cents/min without package ..... 50cents/min on Silver Shadow

$80 for 100min 80cents/min ..... $45 for 100min 45cents/min

$140 for 200min 70cents/min ..... $85 for 250min 34cents/min

$300 for 500min 60cents/min ..... $250 for 1000min 25cents/min

So the rate on Silversea is just about half that on Oceania!

meow!,

 

If I remember correctly, I think you're comparing apples and oranges unless you use your personal computer on Silversea. As the Silversea web site notes: "Minutes will be calculated from the moment a guest logs on to the computer. It doesn't matter if they are on Word, Excel, Solitaire, Internet or email they are being charged by the minute." So unless you can go offline and online on your own computer, every second you use a shipboard computer on Silversea is considered online and is being charged at $.25 to $.50 per minute. For many people, Silversea's price advantage would disappear because they would log significantly more online time on Silversea than on Oceania or some other cruise line.

 

Silversea has great rates if you have your own computer. If you don't have your own computer on board, internet usage on Silversea may be very expensive.

 

Dave

[tak2]

I read one post on this board that the final tally was based on his/her total minutes used, i.e. the person in charge gave the best rate without the passenger having first committed to the 100 min or 200 min or 500 min package. For example, if the passenger initially signed up for the 100 min package but ended up using 250 min, the 200 min package rate applied.

 

I'm not sure if this was an isolated incident, or a general policy.

Any comments from people who've had similar experience?

[LHT28]

I'm not sure if this was an isolated incident, or a general policy.

Any comments from people who've had similar experience?

 

If you buy a 100 minute package & use over 200 minutes they will adjust the rate to the next level but I always go to the computer lab & make sure they have done so.

[LHT28]

So the rate on Silversea is just about half that on Oceania!

 

Your point is????????

 

The person asked about Oceania rates not what other lines are charging.

[PVCruiser]

Just so there is no confusion, the inbound/outbound "flat rate" messages are $2 for the first 100K of data and $1 for each additional 100K. The added dollars are only significant if you send pictures since 100k of text is about 17 pages.

 

The Internet rates are separate from the above. When you login, you choose between the Internet or the non-Internet (flat rate e-mail plus free use of the computers for image processing and Microsoft Office).

 

For longer and back-to-back cruises, there are also 800 minute packages at $.50 per minute and 1200 minute at $0.45 per minute. The packages will carryover on B2B cruises.

 

(-: Jack

 

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/T_MainContentPage.aspx?PageUID=89f3a518-78a5-4b1b-af0d-8a6f236defa2&Secure=True

Internet Pricing

• 0.95 per minute with no package
  
• Inbound messages up to 200K are $2 per message

Package Pricing:

• 100 minutes for $80
  
• 200 minutes for $140
  
• 500 minutes for $300

* Note: Rates are subject to change without notice

[Aussie Gal]

I took my laptop (new) with me when we cruised on the Hong Kong to Athens cruise on Nautica (35 days) in April/May. The wireless is best in the library, Card Room and down on Deck 4 where the Reception Desk is situated.

 

It is extremely slow and it took many minutes for Hotmail to download, in fact I used up my 200 odd minutes ($140) very quickly. Of course once we reached our quota, we were then charged at the same rate for all the minutes that we used over the limit.

 

After awhile I realized that the cheapest way to send and receive emails on the ship is to use your Oceania@sea account where it only costs $2 to send and $2 to receive.

 

The best way is before you leave home, make a list of everyone you want to send emails to and just send one email home to a family member who can then forward the email on. This way, you are not wasting valuable minutes trying to connect to Yahoo, Hotmail or who ever is ISP. You can type as much as you want and it will still only cost $2.

 

I must admit, that Oceania's charges are the highest we have experienced on any cruise line.

 

Jennie

[meow!]

If I remember correctly, I think you're comparing apples and oranges ...

Are you inferring that Oceania only charges for the on-line time, or the transmission time (presumably not the log-on time)?

 

 

Pricing

We offer 4 different rate packages, which include the following:

 

 

Rates

$.95/minute with no package

100 minutes for $80. Extra minutes are $.80/minute

200 minutes for $140. Extra minutes are $.70/minute

500 minutes for $300. Extra minutes are $.60/minute

800 minutes for $400. Extra minutes are $.50/minute

1,200 minutes for $540. Extra minutes are $.45/minute

 

 

 

Package amounts are charged upfront and no refunds will be made for unused minutes. All additional minutes are charged at the same rate level.

 

The above is copied and pasted from Oceania's own website. It does not say how the minutes are defined.

[Aussie Gal]

They charge the minute you open your computer and log on. From that moment every minute is charged, and it can take up to 10 minutes or more just get on line!! I think I went through my 200 minutes in about 3 sessions and I had already typed out my email into word and was just wanting to send it through Hotmail.

 

We found Oceania does charge a lot for all the extras such as Internet, Excursions, mark up on drinks and wine etc. Anything that is not included in the cruise price.

 

Jennie

[meow!]

If Aussie Gal is right, then I am not comparing apples and oranges. Also, from my reading of Oceania's paragrapgh, overtime minutes is charged at the original rate, not the next level of lower rate! Perhaps someone representing Oceania can clarify here.

[Aussie Gal]

Meow,

 

The overtime minutes are charged at the package rate that you originally purhased. We bought the $140 200 minute package and every minute I used over the 200 I was charged at the same rate of 0.70.

 

Hope this answers your question.

 

Jennie

[meow!]

Aussie Gal: Thank you for your clarification.

 

DaveFr: Do you have any comment on Aussie Gal's information (re: how the minutes are calculated -- log-on / on-line / transfer time, "apples and oranges"?)

[nparmelee]

We found the internet rates applied from when we logged on to the internet system, yes that included download time. To help deal with that, we would compose emails, etc. in Word offline and copy/paste the info to the email once we logged on. They offer two ways of logging in with the computers in the classroom area, online and offline. Log in in offline mode, get any emails you want to send ready, then go online only when you need to. We also usually have one laptop with us, same thing, we compose what we want to send before logging in to the ship system. We also have one email address we only use when traveling and just forward certain types of emails from our other email accounts to that one and let people we want things from know to use the travel email and to not send us any attachments on that email account. If you receive an email you want to reply to, same thing, log off of online mode, compose the reply and then log back on. No need to pay for your typing time, especially if you want to send a longer reply back or think about what should be in a reply. Same thing for reading time, if there is a longish email you really want to read, copy/past it to another app and then read it offline.

[DaveFr]

Aussie Gal: Thank you for your clarification.

 

DaveFr: Do you have any comment on Aussie Gal's information (re: how the minutes are calculated -- log-on / on-line / transfer time, "apples and oranges"?)

 

We found the internet rates applied from when we logged on to the internet system, yes that included download time. To help deal with that, we would compose emails, etc. in Word offline and copy/paste the info to the email once we logged on. They offer two ways of logging in with the computers in the classroom area, online and offline. Log in in offline mode, get any emails you want to send ready, then go online only when you need to. We also usually have one laptop with us, same thing, we compose what we want to send before logging in to the ship system. We also have one email address we only use when traveling and just forward certain types of emails from our other email accounts to that one and let people we want things from know to use the travel email and to not send us any attachments on that email account. If you receive an email you want to reply to, same thing, log off of online mode, compose the reply and then log back on. No need to pay for your typing time, especially if you want to send a longer reply back or think about what should be in a reply. Same thing for reading time, if there is a longish email you really want to read, copy/past it to another app and then read it offline.

Meow,

 

I won't repeat nparmelee's explanation above; it accurately summarizes the online/offline setup on Oceania's computers. Again, since you can do things offline, such as composing emails, that would be charged for on Silversea, using Silversea's shipboard computers may end up costing more than on Oceania notwithstanding the much less expensive per minute charge on Silversea.

 

Dave

[hondorner]

I logged in to my account on the ship's system, but not onto the internet, every day to check if any messages had been sent to my ship's email address. Before leaving home, I had given my ship email address to several key people among family and friends, but had explained to them that it cost me $2 to read each message, and please not use it unless they had at least $2 worth to say ;) .

 

Only once did I receive a message -- an important message about a real estate closing. I responded to it. My total email cost for all 41 days I have spend aboard Oceania is now $4.

 

My family and friends do not expect updates from me while cruising; they know they are going to have to endure an entire evening of slide shows and comments when we get home, and that is enough for them. At the same time, we are relieved from the "normal" barrage of email we get when we're home. After all, we're on vacation!

 

You get your ship's email address with your documents, in plenty of time to let others know what it is (it is generally yourname at shipsname.oceaniaatsea dot com, or something very close to that, if I recall correctly. The first time you use the computer, you create your onboard account by logging in with the ship's email name as your username and choosing a password for yourself. You will be taken to a screen where you can remain offline (and not be charged) or go online (and start the charges flowing). This screen resembles your desktop at home, with the familiar Windows icons for Outlook Express, Word, etc.

 

I always used the library computers and never went to the computer room, but if you need assistance creating the account, the computer room folks will be glad to help you.

 

Based on DaveFr's description of the Silversea system, this is a vast difference in the way the minutes are charged. You can spend all day on an Oceania computer (or log in to your shipboard account on your own laptop) and never spend a penny as long as you stay off the internet. One reason for doing thios would be to create a daily journal on Word on the ship's computer, then save the journal to a flash drive before leaving the ship. I use my own laptop for this purpose, so the only time I log on to the ship's system is to check my onboard email account.

[LHT28]

We take our laptop & I first check the webmail site & delete those messages with attachments ( I have already informed my friends not to send them):mad:

Then I D/L my mail to Eudora (mail reader program) go offline & read /reply to any messages. Next time I log back on to the internet I just send them.

We will also check our other email accounts (yahoo) but just see if anything important if not it can wait till in port and use the internet cafe

 

Usually my sessions are 10-15 minutes only.

[LHT28]

Meow,

 

The overtime minutes are charged at the package rate that you originally purhased. We bought the $140 200 minute package and every minute I used over the 200 I was charged at the same rate of 0.70.

Jennie

 

If you had gone over the 500 minute level they would have reduced the rate.

I usually use over 200 but not up to 500 minutes ...they need one level in between;)

[Wineart]

I don't know about the other 2 ships, but Insignia has wi-fi available in the cabins. Just be aware that the connection speed is very slow, about the same as dial-up.

 

You do not have to select a package upfront. Since I had no way of knowing how many minutes I was going to use, on my recent cruise I went to the computer center and they told me to just log on and at the end of the cruise they would total the minutes and convert it to the best package. I did receive a letter in my cabin after a few days advising me that I should select a package because of the number of minutes I had used by that point, but I ignored it and the computer center calculated the best package at the end of the cruise and adjusted the billing accordingly. Additional minutes were billed at the package rate, not the non-package rate.

 

If you will need to send or receive attachments, don't even think of doing it on board. The connections are too slow, and most of the emails I either received or sent with attachments froze during transmission, so it ended up being a waste of time and money. I need email access for business purposes, and did a combination of using the Oceania internet and internet cafes in port. I brought my laptop with me because I need to access various files and applications.

 

If you only need internet access for casual use, Oceania's system may be sufficient. However, if you need to handle large files or a lot of emails, then research the location of internet cafes in the various ports before you leave home. This is the one thing I would do differently next time. I wasted time in a few ports trying to find internet cafes, and could have saved some precious vacation time if I had done my homework before I left.

[tak2]

........research the location of internet cafes in the various ports before you leave home. ...... I wasted time in a few ports trying to find internet cafes, and could have saved some precious vacation time if I had done my homework before I left.

 

I feel the same way, yet it's difficult to find these internet cafes. Lonely Planet books have internet cafes marked on their city centre maps, a great feature, but (a) not every port is featured in Lonely Planet, (b) those maps are great if you stay in the city centre, but often ships dock a fair distance away.

 

Have you found useful websites listing locations of internet cafes?

Thanks.

[nowornever]

try cybercafes.com

[Wineart]

Another one is easyinternetcafe.com

[spindrift]

Appreciate all the answers. Interesting. I recall someone onboard our last trip was making a list of the internet centers in each port. What a help. As I see the rates we did the $140, and we wished that we had just gone ahead and used the $2 Oceania e-mail option, which we might do this time.

 

You all are great. Love the "back-and-forth." Gives me a lot of info. Anyone on this thread that is doing the Istanbul to Athens trip? We hope to meet in Horizons. Let me hear from you all.

[PurpleCow]

We take our laptop & I first check the webmail site & delete those messages with attachments ( I have already informed my friends not to send them):mad:

Then I D/L my mail to Eudora (mail reader program) go offline & read /reply to any messages. Next time I log back on to the internet I just send them.

We will also check our other email accounts (yahoo) but just see if anything important if not it can wait till in port and use the internet cafe

 

Usually my sessions are 10-15 minutes only.

I do the same thing! Wait . . . I think you're the one who educated me to that process! :D