Calling All DCL Techies

[kiford]

They will want to post "as they go" pics to Instagram but if it's that kind of connection it is not worth it, unless I am by the pool with some kind of adult beverage in my hand.

As others have said, it can be painfully slow, even just logging on, checking e-mail, responding to a couple, and logging off. I wouldn't even try to post a picture. It was better on the Magic than the Dream - just numbers of people I guess. Having said that, DH has had to check and respond to work e-mail every day on the last couple of cruises and while he was able to do it in the stateroom, it was much nicer to do it in the Cove Café with a "coffee" in hand. Gave me an excuse to order a second such beverage waiting on him.

 

[aan1701]

One thing I like to do when sending a email from the ship is type it out before I log on. This way I can save it in my drafts. Just log on, and then send from my drafts. It normally only takes a min of my time.

Sent from my iPhone 5 using DISBoards

 

[bumbershoot]

I for one prefer my girls do not post tons of updates while on vacation because I fear it announces we are not home. No need to help plant ideas in the less than honest so to speak.

Such a good point!

For me, it's one thing if my friends know I'm going, and I know my friends, and I know how I have my FB set up, etc. (and we live in a doubly secure building not a standalone house and have nosy neighbors) But with a teen's account and their friends...no.

 

[klepton]

The connection was always so painfully slow for me that I gave up after a few cruises and now cruise completely disconnected. And I can tell you that it's made a wonderful change in my vacations, the feeling of being away from all that for a week is pretty magnificent, and after the first time it doesn't bother me not knowing what's going on.

That said, on the Magic in January I was floored by how good the wifi connection was for a guy I met who bought some minutes. He bought 500 minutes, and used on his ipad. The internet was screamin', as fast as wifi in a coffee shop it seemed. He was doing video chat (facetime), streaming videos from YouTube, streaming music from Pandora, and uploading all his photos to facebook as he went. He even facetimed the fireworks show to his wife at home so she could see it live. Even on sea days his connection seemed rock solid.

The guy next to me sat on his balcony every night with his laptop checking in on the day's activities, and he said the connection was better than he's ever had before. He had no issues, even commented that it was like working on his wifi at home.

So, at least on that cruise, the connection seemed to be fine for the people I talked to.

I agree with some PPs, if your kids want it to post instagram pics as they go, let them know what it costs and let them pay for it if they think it's worth it. That's obviously a personal decision for you and your family, but for something that's so expensive and not really necessary I think it's a good opportunity to teach your kids the value of money.

 

[friedrich2010]

We used the wifi on the Dream in 2011 and it was a little slower at times but we were able to view live streaming video of our dog while she was in doggy daycare.

 

[Fatshe Leso]

I for one prefer my girls do not post tons of updates while on vacation because I fear it announces we are not home. No need to help plant ideas in the less than honest so to speak.

I'm glad someone brought this up and others have concurred as I think this is a great point. Much safer to post all the pics/updates once you are back home IMO but to each their own.

 

[thdarragh]

I'm glad someone brought this up and others have concurred as I think this is a great point. Much safer to post all the pics/updates once you are back home IMO but to each their own.

This is not an issue for us for various reasons, but thanks for bringing it up. It might affect some people. You assume that the house has to be empty because we are on vacation.

 

[su_A_ve]

one word: "UNPLUG!!!"

Not going to hurt anyone to do so for a few days.

 

[Four Swampers]

Are you old enough to remember 56K modems? Where you would dial, the phone for the server would ring, then answer, then there would be 30 seconds of beeping and squeaking, then your computer and the server would connect, then 3 minutes later a small page of text would download to your computer?

If you take 1000 miles of telephone extension cord and a 56K modem, you will have a faster internet connection then what DCL sells you for a ridiculous fee.

Mind you, I love cruising with DCL, I enjoy every bit of the cruises. I have been on 7, my wife has been on 10, we are going on another this summer and another in the fall. Do not mistake my comments for some bad attitude about DCL. I just feel that their internet is horribly slow and horribly overpriced. For my family, it works best to gather together all the photos as we go along, then upload them the moment we get home.

 

[DznyCrzy11]

Just reading through this thread trying to figure out what to do. My DH and I discussed buying the Wifi and having family, if they needed to contact us in an emergency, to call us through a program similar to Facetime but it's for the Android phones, and yes, our family members who would need to contact us also have this feature on their phone. We especially want to have it available for my SIL because she will be keeping our dog, we will of course leave the vet's number as well as the vet emergency hospital number with her but just in case something happens.

So anyways, if we buy the Wifi minutes I'm guessing we would be able to use the Google Talk through Wifi, it would just be VERY slow, huh? We've tested it out here at home and we use our Wifi when using the Google Talk. What does everyone think? Any ideas and/or suggestions? We won't be checking email, uploading pics, or using our phones for anything else while on the cruise.