Free Wifi in Alaska?

[mariakitty]

I'm looking at purchasing a mini laptop and plan to take it on our Alaska cruise in August. Has anyone successfully found free wifi in any of the Alaskan ports? We are computer nerds who actually find pleasure in being online so we don't think our platinum internet package is going to be enough!

 

As an aside, if anyone has a recommendation or review on a mini laptop I would love to hear it. I am currently looking at the Mini 9 from Dell with Windows, but I hear the Acer is pretty decent as well.

 

Maria

[san diego sue]

there was a very long thread on Hal board about this. It made me want the little Acer mini, which I just purchased. Taking it on our cruise. Easy to use, and even though keyboard is small, was comfortable to use.

[Pia1913]

I'm looking at purchasing a mini laptop and plan to take it on our Alaska cruise in August. Has anyone successfully found free wifi in any of the Alaskan ports? We are computer nerds who actually find pleasure in being online so we don't think our platinum internet package is going to be enough!

 

As an aside, if anyone has a recommendation or review on a mini laptop I would love to hear it. I am currently looking at the Mini 9 from Dell with Windows, but I hear the Acer is pretty decent as well.

 

Maria

 

Juneau and Ketchikan each have a Starbucks, so perhaps you can log on there. There are several in Anchorage, and if you stop by to visit Sarah, there are two in Wasilla. :D

[Quenby]

I have a little pink Acer mini. I've traveled twice with it - I love it! :D

[Quenby]

Here's a link to a company which I've used several times. You buy minutes (very reasonable) and use them in the different ports.

 

http://www.seaportel.com/email4.htm

[mariakitty]

Thank you! The Acer is definitely under consideration, especially in pink :)

[cattolica]

http://www.wififreespot.com/

This website gives you a list for all states in the U.S, plus places throughout the world. I gave this link to a friend who was a crew member on a ship for several years and he found it very helpful.

 

 

I'm looking at purchasing a mini laptop and plan to take it on our Alaska cruise in August. Has anyone successfully found free wifi in any of the Alaskan ports? We are computer nerds who actually find pleasure in being online so we don't think our platinum internet package is going to be enough!

 

As an aside, if anyone has a recommendation or review on a mini laptop I would love to hear it. I am currently looking at the Mini 9 from Dell with Windows, but I hear the Acer is pretty decent as well.

 

Maria

[Ula]

I just got the little pink Acer, did have to send in for service since it would not load windows. It was fixed and returned in a week and works well and is darn cute. Have the version with the 6 hour battery. Also have an older Acer laptop that works well but weighs a ton. Am going to pass that one on to a nephew.

[Lynda90]

I absolutely love my baby acer! I took it with me on the Ruby and it was just perfect. Have had it since November and have had no problems whatsoever. Mine is midnight blue. I was able to connect to the ship's wifi in my cabin very quickly. It was great being able to type things up before I actually logged on and not use any extra internet time to do this. Just did a copy and paste. Will be taking it with me to Alaska in May.

[bellebaby]

Juneau has a McDonalds. I think wifi is free there.

 

B

[Off2China]

I'm looking at purchasing a mini laptop and plan to take it on our Alaska cruise in August. Has anyone successfully found free wifi in any of the Alaskan ports? We are computer nerds who actually find pleasure in being online so we don't think our platinum internet package is going to be enough!

 

As an aside, if anyone has a recommendation or review on a mini laptop I would love to hear it. I am currently looking at the Mini 9 from Dell with Windows, but I hear the Acer is pretty decent as well.

 

Hi, Maria - After reading the lengthy thread over on HAL: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=916012 , I was planning to post something similar here on Princess. You beat me to it! We didn't take a laptop when we went to Alaska last year so I can't answer your questions about that.

 

I've done quite a bit of research on the minis and at the moment am leaning toward the Acer 10-inch even though every computer I've ever owned has been a Dell. The Dell 10-inch was just released this past Thursday (2/26) so I haven't found any consumer reviews on it yet. Fortunately I'm not in a huge hurry to buy yet, so will probably wait a few months to see what people say about the Dell, and to see if prices come down any. The main reasons I'm leaning toward the Acer is because it's less expensive than the Dell, and Acer is a pretty reliable & trusted company.

 

As several people on the HAL thread commented, take the time to go to a store and try out the keyboard before you buy. The 8.9-inch Acer I tried at Wal-Mart just wasn't a good fit for me, but others have it and love it. Definitely not a one-size-fits-all situation.

 

Deb

[windsor26]

In Alaska asked at the information centres and was directed to either the local hotel where you can sit free in their lobby and use the wifi or to the library etc. plenty of places to use wifi FREE regards

[EJ'S MOM-MOM]

I'm looking at purchasing a mini laptop and plan to take it on our Alaska cruise in August. Has anyone successfully found free wifi in any of the Alaskan ports? We are computer nerds who actually find pleasure in being online so we don't think our platinum internet package is going to be enough!

 

As an aside, if anyone has a recommendation or review on a mini laptop I would love to hear it. I am currently looking at the Mini 9 from Dell with Windows, but I hear the Acer is pretty decent as well.

 

Maria

Maria,

I just spent about a week & 1/2 researching these mini's & last night I purchased one. I bought the Acer Aspire One with a SSD drive & ordered an extra 6 cell battery. The whole purchase computer, extra battery, carry case & 3 yr. extended warrenty came in at $387..My grandson who is a computer nut helped me with my decision. He said for what I wanted to use it for the 16GB was more than enough & the SSD was better for carrying around a lot. But here are a couple of links to help you decide:

A whole thread on here about them.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=18323946&highlight=#post18323946

 

A comparsion between SSD & Hard Drive

An explanation & comparision between a SSD & Hard Drive

http://www.micropctalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1766

 

Hope this helps you, happy shopping

[palolake]

We purchased our Samsung NC10 a few months ago and are very happy with it. We went with it after reading lots about poor battery lives, different brands getting very hot, etc. Read reviews!

[long cruiser]

Try your verizon store to see if you can rent a mini modum for a month.The cost is about $60.00.

long cruiser

[Donald&Margaret]

You should really check out the Asus 1000he Netbook. They have just been released and there are great reviews on this one. It has a 9.5 hour battery life and 802.11n wireless connectivity. Amazon has them for $374.00 and they come in Black or Blue. I just ordered one and will get it on Tuesday.