Is there Wi-fi on board? Internet access?

I'm reading about internet minutes and apps and all sorts of things and I'm wondering if there is free wi-fi on board the ship (Regal to Canada, if it makes a difference). If so, is it throughout the entire ship or does it only work in limited places? Finally, how is the signal on mobile carriers? We have Verizon and Sprint and were wondering whether we can use our regular service much of the time? Thanks in advance for any info!

No free wifi on ship. You have to pay for minutes. It is available throughout the ship.

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Answers here: https://www.princess.com/learn/faq_answer/onboard/in_touch.jsp

Internet access is available on all Princess vessels through our 24-hour onboard Internet Cafe and wireless network -- which is available in some staterooms and various public areas including our world famous Piazzas.

It is not free.

Internet access via satellite is significantly slower than high-speed connections on shore. Princess Cruises reserves the right to filter content accessed via the ship's Internet services. Please note high bandwidth consuming applications such as voice over IP telephony, peer-to-peer file sharing and streaming media may be restricted onboard Princess vessels.

As to cell phones:

Every Princess ship is equipped with an advanced cellular communications network. This network allows you to send as well as receive voice calls, text messages and data services on your personal mobile device. Mobile device service is available for use when the ship is at sea, in international waters and in other areas where such use is permitted. All charges will be conveniently billed to you by your mobile device provider.

For questions about your service, pricing or billing please contact your mobile device provider's customer service department prior to sailing.

Thanks for the info. Would be great if my cell phone carrier network works.

You can access the ship's intranet via a Wi-fi connection which allows you to view the list of daily activities and your stateroom folio, plus communicate with other phones that are logged on, for no charge.

To access the internet you must purchase a plan, or pay by by the minute.

Internet Access

 

Perfect for those who like to stay in touch or need to manage their affairs on a daily basis in order to put their minds at ease. Help a passenger relax and fully enjoy their Princess vacation by giving them Internet access for news, information and web-based email.

120 minutes

Item #6038 – $69.00

(This package includes 100 minutes for the purchased plan and an additional 20 bonus minutes)

240 minutes

Item #6039 – $99.00

(This package includes 200 minutes for the purchased plan and an additional 40 bonus minutes)

460 minutes

Item #6302 – $159.00

(This package includes 400 minutes for the purchased plan and an additional 60 bonus minutes)

680 minutes

Item #6301 – $199.00

When the ship is not in port its own cellular towers will be active. If you use your phone on that network you will pay roaming charges; there are no carriers whose international plans include cellular-at-sea. Likely you will be able to catch onto your carriers' networks when the ship is docked and its towers are off.

Very expensive and very slow. :(

While using the ship's cell service is crazy expensive you may well have another option. I have the ability on my phone to make calls using WiFi rather than cellular service. If you don't know about that look into it. I've used it recently when in Canada where I don't have any sort of cellular plan and actually couldn't even connect to a roaming service. I used the WiFi in a hotel to make phone calls and it works perfectly. I had data turned off but WiFi turned on and just called like I would normally do. No charges at all. :cool:

Thrak, How would this work, since wi-fi is not free on board?

Thrak, How would this work, since wi-fi is not free on board?

I think he might have meant while in port, at one of the many free Wifi restaurants. The ship's crew always knows of the good places for free Wifi because they also use to make phone calls.

Also wanted to comment that wifi on board is very slow and unreliable. I have wasted lots of minutes trying to do a mundane task. Very late at night and very early in the morning are the claimed better times. I have had to resort to 2 am internet duties for important emails I need to address but it is not my favorite time to be doing these things, especially on vacation.

Thrak said he used it in a hotel.

I think he might have meant while in port, at one of the many free Wifi restaurants. The ship's crew always knows of the good places for free Wifi because they also use to make phone calls.

 

Also wanted to comment that wifi on board is very slow and unreliable. I have wasted lots of minutes trying to do a mundane task. Very late at night and very early in the morning are the claimed better times. I have had to resort to 2 am internet duties for important emails I need to address but it is not my favorite time to be doing these things, especially on vacation.

There are less & less places where WiFi can be had for free although as you say the crew know where they all are.

Thrak, How would this work, since wi-fi is not free on board?

If you do this onboard (at sea) you would have to pay for the internet service.

Fyi ..... Just came back from a Baltic cruise. And the hop on hop off buses and any private tour buses we booked had free wifi while on the bus. And of course cafes and restaurants typically had free wifi. So put your phone on airplane mode for the trip and use free wifi where available.

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If you do this onboard (at sea) you would have to pay for the internet service.

What Thrak refers to is called "Voice over IP". See below for Princess' statement regarding Voice Over IP

Internet access via satellite is significantly slower than high-speed connections on shore. Princess Cruises reserves the right to filter content accessed via the ship's Internet services. Please note high bandwidth consuming applications such as voice over IP telephony, peer-to-peer file sharing and streaming media may be restricted onboard Princess vessels.

Forget using your cellular service while at sea. Turn your cell phone on airplane mode. Cellular at Sea is very expensive, something like $2.50/min for voice and $1.50 for text. Use the wi-fi system.

Thrak, How would this work, since wi-fi is not free on board?

If you have an iPhone, click on settings then phone, then enable wifi calling. Then if you make a call, you are using Internet minutes instead of occurring roaming charges.

What Thrak refers to is called "Voice over IP". See below for Princess' statement regarding Voice Over IP

 

Internet access via satellite is significantly slower than high-speed connections on shore. Princess Cruises reserves the right to filter content accessed via the ship's Internet services. Please note high bandwidth consuming applications such as voice over IP telephony, peer-to-peer file sharing and streaming media may be restricted onboard Princess vessels.

One would have to have an Internet package but it would be far less expensive than cellular at sea and, yes, there is free WiFi in most ports. The Princess disclaimer about voice over IP is generally not aimed at this type of access as it is fairly recent that carriers implemented this on most cell phones. They are mainly concerned about Skype and things of that type which is bandwidth intensive. Standard WiFi calling isn't bandwidth intensive like Skype is.

WiFi calling worked for us in the Adriatic last November. You do use wifi minutes for the call but we used our complementary Platinum minutes.

On a Canadian cruise you can probably connect to Canadian cell service providers even while on board if you are near the coast. Check with you cell provider to determine your cost for roaming with a Canadian provider. Just don't connect to the ship's cell tower!! On a cruise many years ago out of San Juan we cruised up the west and north coasts of Puerto Rico on our return to San Juan and could connect to AT&T towers all along the coast.

I'm reading about internet minutes and apps and all sorts of things and I'm wondering if there is free wi-fi on board the ship (Regal to Canada, if it makes a difference). If so, is it throughout the entire ship or does it only work in limited places? Finally, how is the signal on mobile carriers? We have Verizon and Sprint and were wondering whether we can use our regular service much of the time? Thanks in advance for any info!

You can check with your cellular provider if your plan covers free text and calls when in Canada ports. My T-mobile plan has free text and data outside the US and $0.20/min for calls.

If you want to use free wifi in Canada port, there is a free wifi inside the port terminal in St. John. In Halifax, there is free wifi in a grocery (have a bench outside) along the stretch of the terminal builiding.