Is there wirless internet on the Magic

[nordkin]

I heard rumors that this was being added to the Magic. Has this been done yet? We would love to be able to bring one of our laptops to stay connected and not have to worry about availability in the internet cafe on board.

 

[kcashner]

It is being tested. Not sure when it will be "officially" up and running.

 

[tvguy]

They crew apparently uses it. Unless Kcashner has new information, there are no announced plans to offer it to passengers.
Other lines offer it, but the fee to use it is exactly the same as using the ships terminals, so no point to lug a laptop.

 

[SandraLee]

Other lines offer it, but the fee to use it is exactly the same as using the ships terminals, so no point to lug a laptop.

Other than you may actually get a chance to use it without waiting in line. Or, you could surf and read mail while sitting in those wonderful chairs our on Deck 4. Now, that would be nice. Or, you could use it on your own balcony. We didn't have wireless available when we sailed and still got good use out of our laptop. We would have paid more for wireless service, but don't tell DCL that.

 

[jel0511]

From what we heard, WiFi is currently installed on the Magic, but won't be rolled out to passengers until after the drydock.

 

[Verandah Man]

Just read this on the "Live from the Magic" thread from the July 17-23, 2005 cruise.


Okay - here is the scoop!!! If I had a laptop that I could use with wireless I would BRING IT! Talked to a guy this morning who opened up his laptop to do work on the first day and found he had an internet signal He still needed to register and get a user name & password.
The guy I talked with signed a couple papers got his internet name & password and has been on lline through his own laptop the entire cruise!!!! A few glitches though he can only get a signal on deck 9 & 10, Promenade Lounge (Right next to internet cafe) and Atrium area. But he is on his own laptop. So far this is not an advertised service, CM Danielle offered it to me also but I didn't bring a laptop with me.CM Danielle at the "prebooking for your next cruise booth" is also the internet person.

I actually don't mind the internet cafe since it is open 24 hrs and if you want a kids free zone the Cafe Cove is open until 12:00AM. You can print on the printer for 25 cents a page, but I wasn't able to use to plug into a USB to recharge my Shuffle. But really that wasn't that big of a deal.

The only gripe I have is that we were on a 6 day cruise and had to pay the same $89.95 as a 7 day cruise had to. We could have been given a bit of a break from this IMO. The wireless internet guy didn't pay anything...BUT my feeling is that this was simply because it was being tested. I would think in the future there will be a charge for Wireless , but who knows how much???

Exciting news though, HUH????!!!!

 

[mickey2000]

Just read this on the "Live from the Magic" thread from the July 17-23, 2005 cruise.


Exciting news though, HUH????!!!![/b]

Not really, until they have it set up for all cruise passangers like other modern ships! Disney needs a new ship now thats bigger and uo to date!
Flat Screen TV's, Internet in all rooms,etc. and new ports! If they started a new ship today it takes an average of 3 years to build making the Magic old. IMO Its time to build now before its too late. Wish I knew how to post a poll to see how many others think we need a ship ASAP! Do you know how to post a poll Verandah Man??

 

[tvguy]

Not really, until they have it set up for all cruise passangers like other modern ships! Disney needs a new ship now thats bigger and uo to date!
Flat Screen TV's, Internet in all rooms,etc. and new ports! If they started a new ship today it takes an average of 3 years to build making the Magic old. IMO Its time to build now before its too late. Wish I knew how to post a poll to see how many others think we need a ship ASAP! Do you know how to post a poll Verandah Man??

As has been posted before, Disney has the perfect balance between supply and demand with 2 ships. They can keep prices up. A 3rd ship not only would be a big expense, but likely would force Disney to lower their fares and profits on the two other ships. I think the West Coast experiment has shown Disney another way to keep fares up, hit a new group of passengers, and offer new ports, at little or no additional expense.
So, I wouldn't hold my breath for a 3rd ship.
As for the age of the Magic and Wonder, well, they are beautifully maintained and I suspect that the age of the ships isn't an issue with Disney's core customers. My first 4 cruises were on ships that were 16 years old, 24 years old, 26 years old and 15 years old. We were lucky enough to sail next on the Soverign Of the Seas 3 months after her maiden voyage. So while the industry has many newer mega ships, at 7 years old, the Magic is still young.
I also think that Disney's core customers don't care about flat screens, internet access and such, and definately don't want to pay extra for it.

 

[mickey2000]

As has been posted before, Disney has the perfect balance between supply and demand with 2 ships. They can keep prices up. A 3rd ship not only would be a big expense, but likely would force Disney to lower their fares and profits on the two other ships. I think the West Coast experiment has shown Disney another way to keep fares up, hit a new group of passengers, and offer new ports, at little or no additional expense.
So, I wouldn't hold my breath for a 3rd ship.
As for the age of the Magic and Wonder, well, they are beautifully maintained and I suspect that the age of the ships isn't an issue with Disney's core customers. My first 4 cruises were on ships that were 16 years old, 24 years old, 26 years old and 15 years old. We were lucky enough to sail next on the Soverign Of the Seas 3 months after her maiden voyage. So while the industry has many newer mega ships, at 7 years old, the Magic is still young.
I also think that Disney's core customers don't care about flat screens, internet access and such, and definately don't want to pay extra for it.

What a good point that I never thoughyt of before! Guess Disney doesn't have to build a new modern or larger ship as it would hurt their profits!
As you said they might have to lower profits and thus they wouldn't have the pride of being the most expensive! Just hope the core customers don't get tired of the same two ships. Sorry but I still think they need a third ship. People might enjoy lower prices, like ALL THE OTHER cruise lines have. This could help all people to enjoy DCL not just core customers......... I guess Disney stock holders may feeel this way , not to build, just line my pockets with cash!

 

[bwvBound]

Not really, until they have it set up for all cruise passangers like other modern ships! Disney needs a new ship now thats bigger and uo to date!
Flat Screen TV's, Internet in all rooms,etc. and new ports! If they started a new ship today it takes an average of 3 years to build making the Magic old. IMO Its time to build now before its too late. Wish I knew how to post a poll to see how many others think we need a ship ASAP! Do you know how to post a poll Verandah Man??

I don't think they need a new ship as they could simply update the existing to offer services such as WiFi, better in-room entertainment options (DVD players, support for game machines), solid paper/audio/video libraries, etc.

Granted, for shorter cruise itineraries (3n/4n) these aren't deal breakers -- but should the Magic continue to take longer (10n, 14n) journeys then DCL should consider upping the shipboard features as well as adding new locations. The upgrades may not have much influence on their existing customer base -- but would go a long way in wooing travelers who enjoy these features on other ships.

 

[kecall]

Just hope the core customers don't get tired of the same two ships. Sorry but I still think they need a third ship. People might enjoy lower prices, like ALL THE OTHER cruise lines have. This could help all people to enjoy DCL not just core customers......... I guess Disney stock holders may feeel this way , not to build, just line my pockets with cash!

I don't think anyone will be getting "tired" anytime soon! You would think that people could "put their foot down" and make demands to Disney, but generally speaking everyone loves Disney so much that they are willing to go with their "flow"! -- Look at Disney World and Disney Land. People (myself included) have gone back time after time to see exactly the same thing...and still love it! I imagine the Disney Cruises will be the same way....By changing very little (maybe a show or 2), they will continue to draw people back time after time....

You can also see that the high prices at DW are not scaring people away! They don't need to lower their prices to draw people in...Why, even after 9/11 they didn't change much! They are so confident that we will keep coming back that they have even cut back their "value season"! Used to be October/November was part of "value season", but Disney has discovered they were losing too much money during a beautiful time of the year and so have eliminated that!!!

I agree that it would be nice to see lower prices and more updates/changes....but I'm not going to hold my breath!

karen

 

[pamkass]

We are on the repo cruise. I am bringing my laptop to download ALL my pictures after I take them, so I can take a whole lot of pictures. Now my question: I have a wireless card for my laptop that I need to install, but the service I us is dial up. Do I have to change internet previders to use my wireless card? I am savey on the internet but know nothing on wifi. Please help.
Pam

 

[GoofyontheHiSeas]

Hi All
I too was on the July 17 cruise with Bethany. I brought my laptop along for pictures. We were on deck 2 and every so often my 80211 would tell me that there was a network available. When I checked sure enough there was a secure network, but only about one bar on signal strength. I kept thinking that it might have been from the crew quarters below. Had I know about using mine on Deck 9, you all would have had pictures all week.
roger

 

[drizzt117]

We are on the repo cruise. I am bringing my laptop to download ALL my pictures after I take them, so I can take a whole lot of pictures. Now my question: I have a wireless card for my laptop that I need to install, but the service I us is dial up. Do I have to change internet previders to use my wireless card? I am savey on the internet but know nothing on wifi. Please help.
Pam

No, the WiFi has nothing to do with your internet provider. Look at it as dialing in to another ISP that has given you permission to do so (with a username and password).

Thomas

 

[pamkass]

Thanks Thomas!!
Pam

 

[tvguy]

Other than you may actually get a chance to use it without waiting in line. Or, you could surf and read mail while sitting in those wonderful chairs our on Deck 4. Now, that would be nice. Or, you could use it on your own balcony. We didn't have wireless available when we sailed and still got good use out of our laptop. We would have paid more for wireless service, but don't tell DCL that.

We were on the packed NYE cruise, and everyone in the family commented that the Internet terminals in the Promenande were always unused, unlike our previous cruise on the Amsterdam where there were always people using them. I never made it to the Quiet Cove, I understand there are terminals there too?
Don't get me started on WI-FI and laptops all over the ship, the darn walkie talkies were bad enough!!!!

 

[DrCavin]

Maybe during dry-dock they will add some more access points to provide more area of coverage. I would be SHOCKED if it continues to be free....

The only thing DCL risks by not having additional ships is loosing repeat customers. IMO they will continue to have 10 day cruises ever so often, maybe another round to the left coast in '07, maybe a different port here & there... I dont think they are going to build a new ship until the demand begins to drop & based on pricing always increasing I dont think they are even near that point...