Internet on HAL and Transatlantic Cruises

[Atlanta_Cruiser]

Hello:

 

I will be taking my first Transatlantic Cruise on the Noordam April 3, 2009. I will need to do some work while traveling, and I know that HAL has updated their technology and has put "boosters" on their ships for quicker internet speed.

 

I have two questions:

 

1. Have they installed it on the Noordam?

2. How is using the internet while in the middle of the Atlantic ocean?

 

Thank you.

[cruiseing marly]

Last april on our our transatlantic it was slow it made no differance where you where. We are on the same cruise suspect it will be the same. The speed is like the old dialups.

[RuthC]

There are antennae all over the ship, so you aren't restricted to the library/Internet area. As a matter of fact, the was a "cone" right outside my cabin on Main Deck on my recent Noordam cruise.

I used the Internet Center, and service was s-l-o-o-o-o-w. It took about 10-11 minutes to log on, connect to my e-mail, determine there was nothing I had to read or reply to, sign out, and log off. The times I had to read/send took substantially longer.

[itec]

Does anyone know how much it costs for using the Internet on a 10-day cruise on Noordam?

 

Thanks

[innlady1]

Hello:

 

I will be taking my first Transatlantic Cruise on the Noordam April 3, 2009. I will need to do some work while traveling, and I know that HAL has updated their technology and has put "boosters" on their ships for quicker internet speed.

 

I have two questions:

 

1. Have they installed it on the Noordam?

2. How is using the internet while in the middle of the Atlantic ocean?

 

Thank you.

 

I'm just home from the Noordam, too. I spent $300 or so for minutes on our 20 day cruise. It was slow as cold molasses, as my mother used to say. I used it to keep in touch with our kids and friends, our dog sitter, and to answer inn emails.

 

I love doing "live from" reports, but everytime I tried to post what I'd written, I lost the post....a lot of $$ down the drain...I haven't mastered the writing in notepad/then logging on thing yet.

[jtl513]

1. Have they installed it on the Noordam?

Timing tests I ran in Dec showed it to be about 4 times dial-up speed. An improvement over the past, but still pretty poor.

2. How is using the internet while in the middle of the Atlantic ocean?

It shouldn't be any different than anywhere else unless you get into high latitudes. It was terrible in the Baltic!!

Does anyone know how much it costs for using the Internet on a 10-day cruise on Noordam?

$3.95 to sign up

$0.75/min OR

$55 for 100 min OR

$100 for 250 min

Plus bonus minutes for signing up on the first day.

[don1933]

I was on Zaandam for 15-day cruise to Hawaii in January .I am a long-time internet user and remember when dial-up was the only means of getting on the internet - so here's a few thing to remember about ship internet:

 

Frankly the speed is a bit slower than dial-up - and it usually will take about

5-7 minutes before you can read your first email. Beyond that the more users you have on the system the slower it gets. If you must use the system best to do it very early in the morning or late at night.

 

It's expensive! The sell blocks of 100 or 200 minutes - and if you go beyond you alloted time it's $.75 per minute.

 

I suggest that if you really need to use the internet wait until you arrive in port and find and internet cafe - very inexpensive and very fast. If you carry your own laptop find a Starbucks.

 

In Europe or Asia you can find internet cafes on almost every block.

 

Hope this helps.

[YXU AC*SE]

... have wireless, and are able to connect in off-peak hours (evening / overnight / early morning) your speed increases substantially. I was on the MS Amsterdam over Christmas for the SCL - Antarctica - GIG itinerary, and found speeds to best then. Ship-based Internet via satellite is really just a large shared connection, so the more users online, the lower throughput for all.

 

Scott.

[altosax]

Hello:

 

I will be taking my first Transatlantic Cruise on the Noordam April 3, 2009. I will need to do some work while traveling, and I know that HAL has updated their technology and has put "boosters" on their ships for quicker internet speed.

 

I have two questions:

 

1. Have they installed it on the Noordam?

2. How is using the internet while in the middle of the Atlantic ocean?

 

Thank you.

 

 

Last March on the Zuiderdam about 5 days out of FLL heading east towards Madeira, so truly in the middle of the Atlantic, I participated in a live fantasy baseball draft on Sandbox at about 10PM or 11PM for about 2 1/2 hours.

 

Access to the site was quick and smooth. Time between picks was 2 minutes a player and I only missed one round due to losing the connection completely. Everytime I made made my picks, they were instantly registered.

 

I had been dreading doing this on ship's computers in the middle of the Atlantic, but all went smoothly. I got lucky. The late hour may have helped.

[mrblack]

My husband is a lawyer and had to keep in touch with his practice while away on our transatlantic cruise. He found the speed of the internet was very slow and the more people online the slower the connection so what he used to do was download all his email and save it to read later on his laptop. Then he composed all his responses in word on the laptop and uploaded. he also used to go down to do his online work at about 5:00 a.m. to 7:00a.m. when there was no one online. He did find there were a few days when there was no internet period. We were on the Zuiderdam in March. He also used internet cafes. We went to a great little internet cafe in a Souk in Casa Blanca cost $1.00 per hour or 3 hours for $2.00. My DH says to tell you though, forget about the internet and enjoy your holiday :D Mel

[catl331]

Then he composed all his responses in word on the laptop and uploaded.

If you use Word you still have to copy-and-paste once you go online. If you use Outlook Express (or similar) you can compose normally (off line) and click "send later". Then when you do connect, everything can be sent in a batch without any further time-using interaction online.

[Atlanta_Cruiser]

Thank you to everyone who took time to reply. I was on the Caribbean Princess in June 2008 and it was either down or working at a snail's pace. I was on RCI - Enchantment of the Seas in November 2008 and the internet was super fast, almost like home. I was impressed and hoping it would be the same on this ship. That's okay. I will make the best out of it and try to not cry while attempting to work. Note to myself: order a Belini before sitting down behind the computer.

 

Again, thank you for your replies. :)

 

-Cory in Atlanta