Wireless Internet Now Available Fleetwide

[jayevee44]

Click here.

 

Jim

[CruiseFever]

....and it was very easy to use on our Star Princess cruise in October.

[bhopal21]

Great News Jim!

 

Thanks for the info.

 

Mike :D :D

[Psee]

Thanks for the update! :)

 

Looks like they are using the 802.11b standard which is compatible with most laptops. If you don't have a wireless PC card for your laptop you may want to purchase one at your local electronics retailer since it will probably be a lot cheaper. ;)

[MNYTRPS2GO2]

Will I be able to access my AOL account? When I used my wireless laptop on the Carnival Spirit last year I was able to do so. Although I spend quite a bit of time on my computers I am technically challenged.

I was planning on leaving it home this trip, but with the winter weather approaching it may come in handy if I need to make alternate travel arrangements.

[bhopal21]

Yes, AOL is supported by Princess.

 

Happy Cruising

 

Mike

[Casey12]

I wonder if it is free for Platinum people?

[CMHF]

Wireless is not free to platinum or elite. Too bad.

[donna5]

Giving it free to Elite would be an incentive. Is Princess listening?

[allpoints]

It doesn't make sense not to allow Platinum & Elites to have free access. The ship's computer terminals are at such a premium most of the time, why not just let me use my on equipment and free up theirs???

[Coral]

It is kind of strange that they are charging Platinum people for this. On the Dawn, Sun and Grand Princess - I was able to check out THEIR laptop and use wireless in the atrium for free being a platinum person.

 

Now that I can use my laptop - I can not get it free????

[CMHF]

I brought my own laptop, because I needed a VPN connection on the Coral 10/31 sailing. I am Elite, I checked with 2 different people at the pursers about this and they each said even though I was elite, I would still have to pay $10.50 for 30 minutes. Which was just enough time to get my 87 E-mails half way through the cruise. BTW, almost everyone of my E-Mails have attachments.

Harvey

[cactusrose]

Even with the charge. This will make it easier for us to provide on the spot reviews to those waiting back home. I like this a lot!

[Artemis]

I'm glad the cruise lines are (finally) getting more competitive with the mainline hotel industry, which has made Wi-Fi available for a while now. However, the pricing needs to get way more competitive. T-Mobile charges $6/hour (or $29.99/mo.) for hot spot connects, the average hotel access charge is $10/hour, which gives you a fair comparable of what a land-based travel supplier is doing to make Wi-Fi a profit center. I don't care what "it costs more to do this on a cruise ship" argument Princess makes, it doesn't cost that much more, and certainly not enough to gouge us to the tune of $21/hour.

 

Yes, I agree, they should afford free Wi-Fi to frequent cruisers.

 

Like many cruisers, we really need to remain wired while cruising, and laptop access is the most desirable means of staying abreast of business & personal matters in a way that does not intrude on vacation time. It chaps me that to "boycott" Princess' exorbitant pricing, we'd have to lug the laptop ashore, find a net cafe, and take time out of our precious port day to deal with stuff Princess should make it easy for us to address...they're pretty smart, we're unlikely to do this.

[jsea]

However, the pricing needs to get way more competitive. T-Mobile charges $6/hour (or $29.99/mo.) for hot spot connects, the average hotel access charge is $10/hour, which gives you a fair comparable of what a land-based travel supplier is doing to make Wi-Fi a profit center. I don't care what "it costs more to do this on a cruise ship" argument Princess makes, it doesn't cost that much more, and certainly not enough to gouge us to the tune of $21/hour.

 

Uhh... the problem is there is NO competition at sea. Therefore I don't see why Princess will feel the need to compete with hotels or T-Mo. $0.35/minute is quite reasonable, IMO, at least compared to what some of the other lines charge you (Celebrity, for example, at $0.75).

 

 

It chaps me that to "boycott" Princess' exorbitant pricing, we'd have to lug the laptop ashore, find a net cafe, and take time out of our precious port day to deal with stuff Princess should make it easy for us to address...they're pretty smart, we're unlikely to do this.

Exactly. Princess is making it convenient for you. You have to pay for convenience.

[gatour]

There is competition at sea. Disney allows you to buy length of cruise access using their computers. That is unlimited minutes. Other cruiselines have "packages" where you can buy blocks of minutes at a discount to the per minute charges, with 100 minutes and 250 minutes being common. With Princess, from my understanding, the closest you can do with buying blocks of minutes at a discount is in 30 minutes increments, and the process in using them can be a hassle.

 

To me Princess, is the most restrictive pricing wise, and I am in the mode of "shopping" for a "home" cruiseline. I have taken Holland America, Carnival, RCCL, Disney, and Princess in the last few years and to me current Princess' Internet pricing is a negative.

[CMHF]

Artemis,

You mentioned that it does not cost princess much more for internet connections compared to land base. Question, do you know how much more it cost for a satellite connection with enough band width to handle multiple computers? I don't know myself, but I would figure that it would MANY times more expensive than a hard wired internet cafe type. Princess in many ways is alot less expensive for on-board expenses (ie: Soda Cards & Drinks). Internet access is free to Platinum & Elite Cruisers, just wireless is not.

Harvey

[Murphey]

Why would I use my laptop if internet access is free to me on their terminals??

[CMHF]

Murphey,

 

The ship's computers don't allow any attachments to be downloaded, and don't allow a VPN connection.

Harvey

[taxatty]

Why would I use my laptop if internet access is free to me on their terminals??

One big reason is e-mail--you can compose all of them offline and then connect and send--a big time /$ saver. And--the reasons Harvey mentioned.

 

 

Les

[bjboothman]

Thanks for the update! :)

 

Looks like they are using the 802.11b standard which is compatible with most laptops. ;)

 

Mine is an 802.11g - any idea if that will work on the ship?

[bhopal21]

i'm sure that what they have onboard is 802.11g since that is the later technology and also encompasses 802.11b.

 

Mike :D

[CMHF]

The G speed is (I believe) 10x faster than B, it is compatible with G but will work at the lower B speed.

Harvey

[Coral]

I am editting this because I found the article in the Captain Circle - here is the text:

 

Your network card should be 802.11b wireless standard (note that most 802.11 "a" and "g" cards will support the "b" service). If not, you can purchae one onboard. Or leave your laptop at home and access the Internet through the Internet cafe.

 

--------

 

So I am not sure if they are using "b" or "g". The above statement is only accurate for "a" cards if they are "a/b" cards.

[jsea]

There is competition at sea.

There's not competition in the sense that you have an option once you are out at sea. You can't hop over to the HAL or RCI ship to use their connection.

 

It's not like you are on a highway and you see a billboard for a Best Western and then one for a Holiday Inn Express offering free high-speed Internet. Obviously, if price is the same and you want free Internet you are going to go with the Holiday Inn.

 

But who out there picks a cruise based off their rates for accessing the Internet? I am guessing absolutely nobody.