Internet/Email?

[alligood2000]

We are traveling on a 7-day Mexican Riviera cruise at the end of this month.

We are soooooo very excited!

However, DH has a crazy job and there is a good chance he will need to work at least some on our trip (I know, I know, I don't need to hear any 'but you're on vacation, let it all go...... sort of comments).

We have two toddlers who will need to have a rest in the afternoons, so that will be DH's 'work time'.... and my 'have fun in the grown up areas of the ship time'.

So, HELP, for those of you that also have needed internet or email access, what is the best way to go about it?

We plan on purchasing the internet on board, and DH has spoken with his service provider (T-Mobile provides his Blackberry service).

Just wondering if anyone has a great system that works while on the ship and isn't too expensive. Even though DH will get reimbursed, we still don't want to end up with a $3,000 bill!!

Thanks!

-Allison

 

[TDC Nala]

There's no great system that I know of. Only thing you can do is buy the onboard internet, which is expensive and often very very slow. They also block streaming sites and Skype so I would think he shouldn't plan any web conferencing.

 

[DisneyOHFan]

I always work while on vacation and the internet connection is very, very slow and he may get kicked out occasionally. But it at least helps to get work done and it is expensive.

Also, I use my blackberry and also have T-mobile. You just need to make sure that he has international access. I did add it on our first cruise only to discover they did it incorrectly and I didn't have blackberry (e-mail) access for the entire cruise. We tried it again for our last cruise in January and I called and got a supervisor who said you have to put in an "extra code" (not sure what that meant) but it worked.

 

[kcashner]

The ship's internet is slower than slow and expensive. It starts at 75 cents per minute not in a package, and can get as low as 30 cents per minute in a large package.

We found much better service in almost every port. It ranged from free to $3 for "all day" use to $5 per hour. Most places we found by googling "free internet service" plus the name of the port; others the CMs told us about (the servers and room hosts know everything!)

 

[alligood2000]

He wouldn't be doing any conferencing or anything.

Mostly just answering emails and perhaps editing documents (he's an attorney).

I will DEFINITELY have him call and double check with T-Mobile and make SURE they set it up correctly for International. Thanks for that heads up.

Any other tips?

-Allison

 

[kcashner]

I suspect he knows this, but...
It will save a lot of time and money if he goes on line and downloads his e-mail. Then do all the answers, and log back on to send. You don't have to pay for time while you constructing answers. Ditto for the documents. Download them, log off. Do the work, log back on, and hit "send."

 

[Brumbie13]

I suspect he knows this, but...
It will save a lot of time and money if he goes on line and downloads his e-mail. Then do all the answers, and log back on to send. You don't have to pay for time while you constructing answers. Ditto for the documents. Download them, log off. Do the work, log back on, and hit "send."

This is the way to go for sure. Why pay for the time you spend writing emails?

 

[DisneyOHFan]

I suspect he knows this, but...
It will save a lot of time and money if he goes on line and downloads his e-mail. Then do all the answers, and log back on to send. You don't have to pay for time while you constructing answers. Ditto for the documents. Download them, log off. Do the work, log back on, and hit "send."

Or respond to the majority of his e-mails via the blackberry which won't cost anything.

 

[tvguy]

Or respond to the majority of his e-mails via the blackberry which won't cost anything.

You would have to pay for Cellular at Sea service, which last time I checked was $2.50 a minute. There is no free on a cruise ship.

 

[DisneyOHFan]

You would have to pay for Cellular at Sea service, which last time I checked was $2.50 a minute. There is no free on a cruise ship.

Above she mentioned he is getting the international service for his blackberry. Then there isn't a charge if you are only using the e-mail portion of it. You get charged a monthly fee. I do it all the time. It's a sweet deal.

 

[CoolHandsGirl]

Any chance his firm would get him or loan him a Blackberry Playbook? He'd be able to use the bluetooth connection from his Blackberry to sync with the playbook (super easy to set up) and could use the playbook to review/edit any documents in addition to seeing emails, calendar, BBM. Also, the playbook would be able to sync via bluetooth with his blackberry browser - giving him a bit of internet access that way too.

 

[MPS516]

Above she mentioned he is getting the international service for his blackberry. Then there isn't a charge if you are only using the e-mail portion of it. You get charged a monthly fee. I do it all the time. It's a sweet deal.

This is curious, in order for Blackberry to populate it must receive a digital cell signal. In port, if your plan has international data and texting you do get the service as part of that plan, at sea you still have to connect to a cell signal. I know each plan is different but when I used my Blackberry with AT&T I would have incurred a cell at sea per minute fee.

 

[TLSnell1981]

Good info!

 

[alligood2000]

You guys are fantastic!

This is our first cruise, so NOTHING 'goes without saying'.

Thanks for the tips. Super helpful! Any others to add will be very much appreciated.

-Allison

 

[DisneyOHFan]

This is curious, in order for Blackberry to populate it must receive a digital cell signal. In port, if your plan has international data and texting you do get the service as part of that plan, at sea you still have to connect to a cell signal. I know each plan is different but when I used my Blackberry with AT&T I would have incurred a cell at sea per minute fee.

No, the e-mail is free. I just got my bill last week for the cruise we did in January and the only fee assessed was the monthly international fee. Now I did access the internet on my blackberry twice and was assessed a $.74/min charge for that. Texting is not included since that is using the phone.

 

[MPS516]

Great info, blackberry e-mailing it is from now on

 

[Evenean]

No, the e-mail is free. I just got my bill last week for the cruise we did in January and the only fee assessed was the monthly international fee.

This does not hold true for all carriers. Though Blackberry's Push e-mail works differently from the other phone models, you really need to ask your carrier. I would speak with a Supervisor or a Service Technician (not a phone technician) to be sure. And make sure you get names, just in case.

Normally, if they are getting charged by another company for anything that you use out of network (or on a partnered network) and you have nothing in your plan that covers it, they will charge you. Sometimes it's just as simple as making sure that your account is coded correctly.

 

[DisneyOHFan]

This does not hold true for all carriers. Though Blackberry's Push e-mail works differently from the other phone models, you really need to ask your carrier. I would speak with a Supervisor or a Service Technician (not a phone technician) to be sure. And make sure you get names, just in case.

Normally, if they are getting charged by another company for anything that you use out of network (or on a partnered network) and you have nothing in your plan that covers it, they will charge you. Sometimes it's just as simple as making sure that your account is coded correctly.

Yep, I agree. I have T-mobile and the first cruise they said we were all set with the international bb ability, only to find out, it wasn't "coded" correctly and I didn't have access. When I returned, a supervisor had to make the adjustment and it has worked perfectly ever since.