Using skype while on a cruise

[cruiser429]

I have a friend who will be cruising the Inside Passage with her daughter in June. Since her daughter's husband and son will be home, they want to keep in touch--she wants to be able to touch base with her son each night. Has anyone used SKYPE while on board? They will be on HAL Zuiderdam. What kinds of fees is she looking at?
Any other suggestions for keeping mom and son in touch?

Thanks.

[janmcn]

Bandwidth seems to be the problem. We had hoped to do it also, but no way. Even getting "normal" email was a pain. If they can, better to take their laptop (or whatever) off the ship and try in a port internet cafe, etc.

[jtl513]

It is blocked on some ships because it is a bandwidth hog, but I don't know about the Zuiderdam specifically. If allowed, performance will be bad - probably unusable. The ship's satellite link is always slow, and the latitude of AK makes it worse.

If email or IM isn't good enough, I suggest you use a cell phone.

The rates for internet on board are $0.75/min, or a 100 min block for $55, or a 250 min block for $100. There is also a $3.95 start-up fee.

[surfgram]

Does your friend have a cell phone? If the family is in the US, that might be the best.

US cell phones work in most all the ports and Alaska is included in most cell plans. Be careful when you are on the ship- it's usually $2.49 a minute. And if you're in a Canadian port, there will be roaming charges.

If the family is outside the US, then Skype from an internet cafe on shore would be the least expensive.

[Niele da Kine]

How far do you have to be away from the ship with your cell phone before the signal doesn't go through their system anymore? If one is standing next to the boat in port, does that go through their system at $2.49 per minute?

[maxout]

How far do you have to be away from the ship with your cell phone before the signal doesn't go through their system anymore? If one is standing next to the boat in port, does that go through their system at $2.49 per minute?


The ships system is not active when in port.

[maxout]

It may be a little more primitive but I use yahoo voice to make calls from my Laptop while onboard. It is not blocked, bandwidth does not seem to be an issue and the quality is fair.

[esther e]

In January I used SKYPE on Regent, in ports and at sea, and had no problems. It was like my friend was right in the same room with us.

[ranger-cruiser]

Just got off Zuiderdam. As others have said; not a chance of using skype on ships connection. Used my cell phone: just open your phone and it should tell you what system is available. In Vancouver, when I opened my phone it would say "Rogers", on ship "Cell at Sea", in Alaska "AT&T". So I always knew when it was safe to call.

[knitlady037]

While you are in port, the ship cell phone tower is turned off. I called NY from my verandah while docked in Puerto Rico which is in my calling plan. Called on a Sunday morning and stayed on the phone for 45 minutes with no charges. I think you might have to call Verizon and activate your international calling to be able to do this though. There is no fee for this.