Balmoral WiFi

Does anyone know how much FO charge for their WiFi? and is it reliable? We're trying to decide whether or not to take the iPad. My mental packing list is approaching 'kitchen sink' level and we still have 11 weeks to go - and time find out what else we absolutely have to take!

Sorry, I think this question is in the wrong place - and I don't know how to move it.

Does anyone know how much FO charge for their WiFi? and is it reliable? We're trying to decide whether or not to take the iPad. My mental packing list is approaching 'kitchen sink' level and we still have 11 weeks to go - and time find out what else we absolutely have to take!

I have no personal experience of using wi-fi on Fred's ships. From what I observed on BW earlier this year, you have to be in certain nominated places in the ship. I recall thinking it was expensive when I saw the price. You have to remember that it's no faster than the normal internet connection which, as you probably know, is via satellite and can be painfully slow.

I would take an iPad with me if I had one, but I reckon I might be better using it in a WiFi cafe on shore. Still considering whether or not to buy one.

Thanks for that. We may just take it anyway, for reading, and try not to rely on getting our daily fix of crosswords from the newspaper - not bothered about the news but we do like our crosswords!

FO do prepare a daily sheet with quiz questions, crosswords, etc. Not sure of the standard, though.

Thanks, worldfamoustravellers, for your input. I can't remember much about the daily crosswords produced by FO other than that they are British and therefore intelligible and do-able. We mostly cruise on American ships and have given up on their crosswords - we're just not on the same wavelength, so to speak!

On their other ships, WiFi is available in the library area, and costs about £10 for 50 minutes. I assume it's the same for the Balmoral (which I'm on in October!)

I took my iPad last year on the Boudicca, and it worked fine, a bit slow though. I used to get my emails then logout to go through and reply to them. When I was ready i'd login back in and all the emails would get sent. Doing it this way meant my £10 went a bit further.

Bernie

You can only get a WiFi signal in and around the Library or the Observatory but your £10 voucher won't last long. A lot of the voucher will be used up by the computer updating antivirus software etc so try and switch off updates wherever you can. It's best to type up your e-mails off line and send them as a batch. Surprisingly, the voucher will allow you to have quite a lot of Skype time and the quality is reasonable considering the speed is poor. But although the ticket says 50 minutes, you may not get anywhere near that length of time. A good tip is to go online when nobody else is using the system as it will be much faster. It also seems to be faster when you are in port.

A lot of the voucher will be used up by the computer updating antivirus software etc so try and switch off updates wherever you can

Not really, the iPad doesn't do software updates in this fashion!

I found that I always got the full 50 minutes, fine for emails etc... but if you're browsing the web, then the slow response times will eat into your minutes.

I must get myself an iPad! ;)

Never mind an iPad - get a Nexus 7 :)

I will take mine for reading on as they provided a free Jeffrey Archer book - haven't read one of his before - but have heard they are good.

Stupid question - but I am new to tablets - what is the proceedure for using an internet cafe? (apart from buying some coffee!)

It's dead easy. You just walk in and buy a drink and ask for the password which they will usually write down on a piece of paper. If you have difficulty getting online just ask a member of staff and they will be only too willing to help you. I've used dozens of internet cafes and so far have only had good experiences. If you intend to Skype, then I might suggest you take a pair of headphones with you because internet cafes can be a bit noisy.

When you use a Android Tablet ,it will pick up the broadband signal and you just log onto the one you want,I took mine to my daughters yesterday,5 BT hubs came up ,only one locked ,so I could have logged onto the other 4.

My tablet runs Ice Cream Sandwich 4 and is a Pulso.Absolutely brilliant ,no lugging my Laptop about, cheaper than a ipad and better.:)