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iPad On Queen Mary 2 Transatlantic


Terrence Richards

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If you brought your iPad 2 on board the Queen Mary 2 for a crossing, how did it work for you?

 

Is there WiFi available in the staterooms and public rooms other than the computer center?

 

Thanks for your help.

 

Terrence

 

Hi Terrence.

 

Good question. Thanks for posing it. I am on the fence about buying one and had wondered the same thing. I know there are a lot of techies out there. I am certainly not one of them and trying really hard to learn/understand. Two of my questions would be: Can I hook it up in the cabin and get my free internet without having a subscrption with an internet provider, i.e. Verizon or AT&T?; Can I use it in a wi fi spot in, say, St. Kitts? I saw many crew members at the little 'hut' bar in St. Kitts with their phones getting wi fi.

 

Regards, your neighbor in White Plains.

 

Jeanne

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Hi Terrence.

 

Two of my questions would be: Can I hook it up in the cabin and get my free internet without having a subscrption with an internet provider, i.e. Verizon or AT&T?; Can I use it in a wi fi spot in, say, St. Kitts? I saw many crew members at the little 'hut' bar in St. Kitts with their phones getting wi fi.

 

 

All Ipad 2's come with Wi-Fi, so you can use it on ship or shore as long as there is an available Wi-Fi signal. Even if you have Ipad 2 with 3G coverage (where you need an ISP), which may or may not work at sea or overseas, you can still use Wi-Fi. I love my Ipad 2. Compact and FAST!

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The QM2 staterooms have WiFi, but on a December Caribbean voyage the bandwidth was very limited. Once we were out of range of land based communications the internet service was limited to a maritime satellite system. I don’t remember is being so bad unless the almost universal proliferation of wireless devices is sucking up everything available. The Cap’n posts twice daily when he is at sea, so maybe he knows when to best log in. Or maybe file downloads havd since been capped at 10MB or such.

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Hi, Terrence, on QM2's 7/20 westbound crossing, we used our iPads to access the Internet via the ship's Wi-Fi in a wide variety of locations, including our stateroom. I can't recall any particular place we couldn't connect--those instances seemed random and transient. I also can't recall any particular place that stood out in terms of signal strength or weakness...it seemed slooooow everywhere! You will become very efficient at logging on, downloading email and logging off to read and compose replies offline (it usually took us 5-8 minutes each such on/off session, about half of which was simply wait time).

 

Cheers!

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Used an iPhone last year transatlantic and agree that the wifi signal was pretty samey wherever I was on the ship. Slow but better than nothing. There will be 2 iPads forming part of my family's party on the westbound crossing next week so we'll see how that pans out. I'm optimistically hoping to be able to FaceTime :D

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The QM2 staterooms have WiFi, but on a December Caribbean voyage the bandwidth was very limited. Once we were out of range of land based communications the internet service was limited to a maritime satellite system. I don’t remember is being so bad unless the almost universal proliferation of wireless devices is sucking up everything available. The Cap’n posts twice daily when he is at sea, so maybe he knows when to best log in. Or maybe file downloads havd since been capped at 10MB or such.

 

Not suprisingly the best times to use the on board wifi is early morning or late at night when other more sensible people are in their beds not returning from G32 or similar. Then it can be quite quick, obviously quick is a relative term. To send and receive a bunch of pre composed emails may take 4 minutes from start to finish which on a pay as you go scheme is only $3 so it isn't too bad for mid atlantic

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I love my iPad and take it everywhere. Although I took it on QM2, I didn't try and connect to the internet due to the high charges (I can't go online for a few minutes....I would be on there for hours :)).

 

What I did do was take it ashore with me and connect using free WiFi in bars and cafes. One of the best places to go is McDonalds as they always have a free WiFi facility. Either be cheeky and just sit there and buy nothing or be polite and grab a coffee.

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How do you download to read later with the IPad?

 

----------------------

 

I already had a Kindle, and just added the Kindle app to my iPad. Can now access the "library" already on Kindle also now on my iPad. There is also a similar option for the Nook. Just load it before you leave. You can also download magazines, either using therir own app or through Zinio. This is the extent of my knowledge on this, but there may be other options. ;)

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Once you've logged in how do you download the messages to view later?

Thanks

 

Hi, Travel Happy Lady, I hesitate to say for sure that you're already "good to go," but I'll bet you are! The best way to test it now is to simply pick up your iPad, open Mail* in the usual fashion and allow new messages to download into your Inbox. As soon as the stream of incoming new mail has ended, exit Mail, go to your iPad Settings (the gear box) and turn Airplane Mode "on." You've now disabled all connectivity (Wi-Fi and any cellular data service). This mimics your general QM2 situation while not connected to the ship's Wi-Fi. Return to Mail and try opening those new messages. Can you read all of the content? Obviously, you can't follow hyperlinks, and you'll notice that web-based images will not display. But you should be able to see all text and embedded images, as well as any attachments.

 

If this test is successful, while you're still offline, take it one more step and open one of the emails, forward it to yourself with the message "This is a test," and hit Send. Now, return to Settings, turn Airplane Mode "off," open Mail, you should hear/see that message being sent and shortly see that test forward in your Inbox. Voila! You have now mastered composing messages offline and performing a quick logon to send them. (When I need to compose lengthy messages, I find it easier to type them in Pages or other word processor, then copy the text, logon, open a new email message and paste in the text.)

 

*Mail - This discussion assumes you use the native Mail program on your iPad. If, instead, you access a web-based email account via Safari, then I am not sure whether you will enjoy the same success, as I'd guess the downloading and offline viewing behavior could vary from one email client to the next. However, there's an easy way to find out: Put it through the same Airplane Mode test!

 

Hope this helps. :) I have to say, the iPad makes everything so easy, I don't anticipate you'll have a bit of trouble. Just practice patience, as the time lag between logging onto the ship's Wi-Fi and seeing your Inbox come to life with new activity can be several minutes.

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Strange, as it already works perfectly well throughout the ship.

 

 

I gather it is not as good as it could or should be. I was privileged to see some of the plans for the refit so can assure peeps it isn't a rumour.

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Unless you're loaded or have a company that will pay your internet charges on the Cunard Queen ships, forget about doing ANY serious web surfing. The access fees start at around 75¢ a minute. IF you signup for their largest plan (8 hours), you can reduce the charge to around 35¢ a minute. Eight hours sounds like a lot, but it's only around 25 minutes a day on a 21 day trip I took in January.

 

Yes, WC members do get some free minutes. I'm now Gold and got 200 minutes on a recent cruise (14 day). As other has already stated, it's best to have an email program that you can read OFF LINE. I used Mozilla's Thunderbird on a Windows computer. I believe the stock email program on my Apple can be used offline. If you want to save minutes, write all your messages offline and then dump them as soon as you log on.

 

Almost every port I've stopped in while on a Cunard cruise has internet access in or around the terminal. However, the price to use these hotspots is not cheap either.

 

I found the following article which is an interesting read about wifi on Cunard vessels.

 

http://www.computerworlduk.com/in-depth/networking/2463/how-the-queen-mary-got-wi-fi/

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Unless you're loaded or have a company that will pay your internet charges on the Cunard Queen ships, forget about doing ANY serious web surfing. The access fees start at around 75¢ a minute. IF you signup for their largest plan (8 hours), you can reduce the charge to around 35¢ a minute. Eight hours sounds like a lot, but it's only around 25 minutes a day on a 21 day trip I took in January.

 

Yes, WC members do get some free minutes. I'm now Gold and got 200 minutes on a recent cruise (14 day). As other has already stated, it's best to have an email program that you can read OFF LINE. I used Mozilla's Thunderbird on a Windows computer. I believe the stock email program on my Apple can be used offline. If you want to save minutes, write all your messages offline and then dump them as soon as you log on.

 

Almost every port I've stopped in while on a Cunard cruise has internet access in or around the terminal. However, the price to use these hotspots is not cheap either.

 

I found the following article which is an interesting read about wifi on Cunard vessels.

 

http://www.computerworlduk.com/in-depth/networking/2463/how-the-queen-mary-got-wi-fi/

But the article is dated August 27,2009 and it is about the wi-fi problems aboard the first Queen Mary that is no longer Cunard owned since 1967 and is permanently docked in Long Beach,California and is not about the wi-fi service aboard Cunard's current ships QM2,QV and QE. Regards,Jerry
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Thank you everyone for your useful responses. Some of the information given here is very good but sometimes a little to techy for me. My general impression is to bring along the iPad 2, I can not go wrong with connecting to the WiFi on the QM2. Being I am a diamond member, I receive additional free minutes over the standard package of time I purchase.

 

I will continue to keep reading all of your responses, and I know in time I will understand everything.

 

Thanks again.

 

Terrence

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Thank you everyone for your useful responses. Some of the information given here is very good but sometimes a little to techy for me. My general impression is to bring along the iPad 2, I can not go wrong with connecting to the WiFi on the QM2. Being I am a diamond member, I receive additional free minutes over the standard package of time I purchase.

 

I will continue to keep reading all of your responses, and I know in time I will understand everything.

 

Thanks again.

 

Terrence

 

No you don't. Normally anyone who purchases a plan on day 1 or perhaps 2 will receive bonus minutes. It has absolutely nothing to do with your status. You will get your free 8 hours of Internet plus any bonus on offer.

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