Internet Connection on Cruise Ships
Ryan asks:
What kind of internet services are available? Do you know anyone who has a cell phone service that allows them to use their phone and internet together – and is it worth looking into such a service? I see I will be docked in port a lot – and occasionally in US ports – so I’m guessing I will have my current cell service there – but what about international ports?
Great question Ryan, and one that I think a lot of people wonder about. When I went on a ship in 2004 I didn’t have a cell phone or a computer or anything. I would buy phone cards and call home from pay phones in port now and then.
Now, just 4 years later, it’s of course totally different. I can’t even imagine what it’s like to be off the grid anymore. I’m so plugged in that I probably glow at night.
The internet connection on ships is $.10/min for crew members. You buy $20 cards with 200 minutes on them and you sign in to the system through your web browser. It’s very slow. It’s through a satellite connection on the top of the ship and the fastest it goes is 156k. But that 156k is for everyone on the ship…so you can imagine how slow we’re talking. And considering that you have to pay per minute – a slow connection can be very frustrating. Remember the first AOL dial-up connections that were pay-per-minute? That’s right, welcome to 1997.
Instead, many crew members find internet connections at coffee shops, malls, bars…wherever they can find it. I don’t know personally, but I’m sure Europe and much of Asia is set with wifi connections much like the states. If someone knows more about this, maybe you can put something in the comments.
Finding a fast internet connection in port is an exhilarating experience, but it won’t be long before the place is swarmed with other crew members like ants to honey.
When I got on my current ship, I bought a few crew internet cards. I found that they didn’t sign out correctly when I hit “log out” and they ran my time out. Twice that happened. I ran through nearly $60 worth of internet in the first few weeks. Obviously I had to find something else.
My current gig is a Hawaiian cruise, which means we always remain in the U.S. That’s pretty sweet for me, because it means I can get internet through a wireless provider. I added a data package to my Palm Treo through Verizon (including tethering) and now I use my Treo as the modem for my Mac. It’s an extra $60 a month. It’s still slow, but I don’t care as much because I don’t pay per minute.
If you are leaving the U.S., as most ships do, the cell phone route might not be worth the money. In that situation you might have to rely on the ships internet and whatever you can find in ports. I’m sure that there are international data packages probably available somewhere, but surely they must be too expensive for people like us.
Whatever you do, I recommend bringing a laptop of you have one. Otherwise you have to rely entirely on the ships crew internet lounge and internet cafes off the ship. You can also watch movies on your laptop, work on music, etc., etc., etc.
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Dave,
You have a fantastic resource here =)
I was recently cast on a cruise ship for a four month run. I’m not a musician but I’ll be performing nightly.
I’m already having internet withdrawals due to my crippling internet addiction.
Fortunately, the cruise is only running from Seattle to Alaska and back. Do you think I can expect to get a similar deal to yours? I’m also on Verizon and would really love to be able to tether.
But I guess that’s not something you can do on the open ocean, huh?
3/5/2009
Hi Josh –
I never did the Alaska run, but you might find the tethering route works for you. I would wait until you get out there to sus out the situation. You’ll definitely have trouble getting a signal on the leg between Seattle and Alaska, on the open ocean, and (very likely) while you’re in the inside passage.
One of the things that was convenient for me on my last ship was that I had a cabin with a window, which allowed the cell signal to come into my cabin. You may not be as lucky if you have a crew cabin below decks.
But again, I’d wait until you’re out there to decide which is best for you. If you are doing the Seattle to Oregon run as well as Alaska, that might change things for you.
I’m glad you dig the site – best of luck on your contract!
3/5/2009
Thanks – it’s my first one =D I don’t have all of the details yet so I’m scouring the web looking for them and your site has been a big help =D
3/6/2009
David,
This is a wonderful blog – so, so helpful. My husband is a musician so I’d been considering cruise jobs as an alternate career for us both. I have a real estate business that would allow me to farm out leads to other employees but I would need good internet access.
We recently took a transcontinental cruise with NCL and I was still able to receive/send e-mails on the high seas through my Blackberry data plan and it’s connection through the ship. Of course the fees were astronomical. I would love to see other posts on solutions to this issue. I would think that new technologies might help. Don’t they now make satelite phones that worj anywhere??
Can you speak to the process of getting your spouse onboard? I realize that as a musician he has the more specialzed talent. I would be willing to work wherever needed. I have experience in the hospitality industry that pre-dates my real estate career – though I also have a college degree.
My thinking is that he should apply first and make his contract contingent upon securing a position for myself. Does that sound reasonable? We are older – I’m 32 and he’s 43 with no children or want of them and have been married for three years, together for six.
8/24/2009
Dave
This is a very useful blog, i have also found a article which gives useful information about internet access onboard a cruise ship at http://www.sophiesetssail.blogspot.com/
3/1/2010
I saw something on my last ship that was very interesting and unique in regards to internet connection. A violinist had this make-shift antenna for his wifi signal on his laptop! When we were in port (Eastern and Western Mediterranean cruises), he would go to the mess (had windows on deck 5), set up his gear, and get free internet. With a strong antenna, he could pick up a lot of different networks and usually find some that were not password protected. Granted we went to a lot of “cities” rather than island paradises, but it’s a thought to research if anyone is interested.
Personally, I just had my little netbook and would use an email client like Mozilla Thunderbird to download all of my mail (usually took no more than 1 minute, maybe 2). Then I would sign off. I can then read it, write back, etc. And next time I connect, it will automatically send them. Also for facebook messages, I would copy them into a word document and then read and respond after disconnecting. Next time I sign back on, I just copied and pasted from the word document what I had wrote. If doing “research” of any kind: google search it and open a ton of new windows or tabs then sign off to read them.
Also, my experience with internet has been slightly different in price. I think it worked out to be $0.06 a minute if using the few computers they had in the crew internet cafe. If you used your own laptop, it was $0.12 after 11pm, and from about 8 or 9am-11pm (aka “peak hours”) I believe it was around $0.36 cents a minute. Again, the $0.06 applied to all hours if using crew computers I believe.
3/26/2010
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