Can I Bring a VZ Jetpack Aboard the Ship to Provide My Internet Service?

Hi Everyone,

My employer requires that I do some work while I'm on vacation. Can I bring my VZ Jetpack onboard the ship, and use it to provide me with internet service while the ship is docked in port within the US? If so, will I incur any internet or other charges from Princess? I have done this on Celebrity in the past without any issues, but not sure if all cruise lines work the same way.

I believe we will receive a small amount of complimentary internet from Princess due to our loyalty status (this will be the first time we qualify), but from other boards it sounds like their internet is too slow if you're trying to quickly get some work done.

Thanks in advance for any input or advise.

If you're in port in the US, the ship's cellular service is turned off and you'll connect via local cell service. Whether you'll have roaming charges will depend on your service plan. You won't have Internet charges as you won't be connecting via the ship's WiFi.

Your complementary Internet package applies only to the ship's WiFi, not cell service, which you wouldn't use while in port. You could but why would you since you could connect via your cellular plan.

Ditto. Just in case though make sure roaming is turned off in your Jetpack - it is likely off anyway - but one would want to avoid surprises.

Ship Internet is Satellite based and if you need to use a VPN to connect to work then it won't work anyway (too much round trip delay for the VPN).

Look into the Verizon Travelpass. For $10/24 hour period ($2 in Mexico) you can use your phone to text/call/data in many foreign ports. Worked great for us, speed was about what you would expect from home. Don't know specifically about your Jetpack if it's included or not. Might be worth looking into.

Jet packs work off of a cellular signal so you would need that type of service to use it. Cellular service at sea is expensive and it may not connect to cellular services in other countries. Sounds like a very expensive way to do work. I do hope the company is going to pay the costs of doing this.

Ditto. Just in case though make sure roaming is turned off in your Jetpack - it is likely off anyway - but one would want to avoid surprises.

 

Ship Internet is Satellite based and if you need to use a VPN to connect to work then it won't work anyway (too much round trip delay for the VPN).

Thanks for mentioning that -- I do have to use a VPN, and didn't realize I wouldn't be able to use that with Princess's wifi.

Look into the Verizon Travelpass. For $10/24 hour period ($2 in Mexico) you can use your phone to text/call/data in many foreign ports. Worked great for us, speed was about what you would expect from home. Don't know specifically about your Jetpack if it's included or not. Might be worth looking into.

I don't even turn my cell phone on when I go on vacation. But my employer doesn't give vacation time, so if I want to get paid, I have to get some work done on my laptop. Do you know if I would need the Verizon Travelpass to use the Jetpack to connect to the internet?

Look into the Verizon Travelpass. For $10/24 hour period ($2 in Mexico) you can use your phone to text/call/data in many foreign ports. Worked great for us, speed was about what you would expect from home. Don't know specifically about your Jetpack if it's included or not. Might be worth looking into.

If you're in port in the US, the ship's cellular service is turned off and you'll connect via local cell service. Whether you'll have roaming charges will depend on your service plan. You won't have Internet charges as you won't be connecting via the ship's WiFi.

 

Your complementary Internet package applies only to the ship's WiFi, not cell service, which you wouldn't use while in port. You could but why would you since you could connect via your cellular plan.

Thanks for mentioning this. I'll need to check with our company IT guy, who set me up with the Jetpack. As you can probably tell, I'm technologically challenged.

Jet packs work off of a cellular signal so you would need that type of service to use it. Cellular service at sea is expensive and it may not connect to cellular services in other countries. Sounds like a very expensive way to do work. I do hope the company is going to pay the costs of doing this.

I hope so too. I thought the combination of the complimentary minutes from the cruise line and use of my Jetpack in port had me covered. Glad I checked in with you guys! Thanks so much for your input.

I don't even turn my cell phone on when I go on vacation. But my employer doesn't give vacation time, so if I want to get paid, I have to get some work done on my laptop. Do you know if I would need the Verizon Travelpass to use the Jetpack to connect to the internet?

Not sure if the jetpack is allowed with the travelpass but I don't see why not but you need to check directly with Verizon.

You also don't need the travelpass but if you use it and it's covered by the Travelpass you get access to your domestic plan data back home. So for an extra $10/24 hr you connect to the cell towers in St. Kitts for example, and you are only billed an extra $10 and just use your plan minutes like you were back home.

If you don't have a travelpass roaming data charges can very high.

Keep in mind a travelpass only works while in port, not at sea with the ships cell service.

Ship Internet is Satellite based and if you need to use a VPN to connect to work then it won't work anyway (too much round trip delay for the VPN).

I have used a VPN on board with no issues. Yes it does slow down an already slow connection but it was still more than usable and I was even uploading photos.

There seems to be a lot of very confusing posts here that stray away from you original question.

Yes, while you are in a US Port you will be able to use your jet pack to connect to your laptop without any additional setup or charges. Just make sure your wifi on your laptop is connected to your jet pack.

While outside of a US Port your jet pack would incur roaming charges. If you only plan on using it in the US don't worry about it, otherwise check with Verizon on options outside the US. Since you are using a VPN for work you can take advantage of a lot of free wifi hotspots in port if you need to get work done while you are there.

Princess onboard wifi is minute based. It looks like you may be Platinum so you would get 150 minutes. If you have a spouse that is also platinum cruising with you they too will get 150 minutes and you could in theory use that as well. The connection is very slow, think dial up. And if you are using a VPN it will get slower. Not sure what kind of work you do but this could present a problem for you or it could be no issue. Also, there is always the chance they could block your VPN. I have cruised several times and never had an issue with a VPN on the wifi. Most important part is to make sure you log out of the wifi the second you are done working so you aren't charged for minutes you are not using.

Hope that helps.

I have used a VPN on board with no issues. Yes it does slow down an already slow connection but it was still more than usable and I was even uploading photos.

Interesting! Were you using a commercial VPN service (like ACE VPN) or a connection to work network (like cisco AnyConnect)? My knowledge of the latter is that the VPN will drop due to large RTT. Maybe your work has tweaked the defaults.

I hope so too. I thought the combination of the complimentary minutes from the cruise line and use of my Jetpack in port had me covered. Glad I checked in with you guys! Thanks so much for your input.

Many times in port I have had limited or no local cell service, especially inside the ship and on some outside decks.

All that steel can wreak havoc with cell signals.

Interesting! Were you using a commercial VPN service (like ACE VPN) or a connection to work network (like cisco AnyConnect)? My knowledge of the latter is that the VPN will drop due to large RTT. Maybe your work has tweaked the defaults.

It’s a commercial service using IPSec.

Interesting! Were you using a commercial VPN service (like ACE VPN) or a connection to work network (like cisco AnyConnect)? My knowledge of the latter is that the VPN will drop due to large RTT. Maybe your work has tweaked the defaults.

You clearly know a lot more about this than I do:p. All I know is that I turn on the Jetpack, log into SonicWALL for the VPN, then do my work. I thought the Canadian part of the cruise might present a problem, so I only planned to work while the ship is docked in port. I don't have to put in a 40 hour week, just keep up with the higher-priority stuff. Maybe 15-20 hours for the week.

There seems to be a lot of very confusing posts here that stray away from you original question.

 

Yes, while you are in a US Port you will be able to use your jet pack to connect to your laptop without any additional setup or charges. Just make sure your wifi on your laptop is connected to your jet pack.

 

While outside of a US Port your jet pack would incur roaming charges. If you only plan on using it in the US don't worry about it, otherwise check with Verizon on options outside the US. Since you are using a VPN for work you can take advantage of a lot of free wifi hotspots in port if you need to get work done while you are there.

 

Princess onboard wifi is minute based. It looks like you may be Platinum so you would get 150 minutes. If you have a spouse that is also platinum cruising with you they too will get 150 minutes and you could in theory use that as well. The connection is very slow, think dial up. And if you are using a VPN it will get slower. Not sure what kind of work you do but this could present a problem for you or it could be no issue. Also, there is always the chance they could block your VPN. I have cruised several times and never had an issue with a VPN on the wifi. Most important part is to make sure you log out of the wifi the second you are done working so you aren't charged for minutes you are not using.

 

Hope that helps.

Thank you -- this is very helpful!

There seems to be a lot of very confusing posts here that stray away from you original question.

 

Yes, while you are in a US Port you will be able to use your jet pack to connect to your laptop without any additional setup or charges. Just make sure your wifi on your laptop is connected to your jet pack.

 

While outside of a US Port your jet pack would incur roaming charges. If you only plan on using it in the US don't worry about it, otherwise check with Verizon on options outside the US. Since you are using a VPN for work you can take advantage of a lot of free wifi hotspots in port if you need to get work done while you are there.

 

Princess onboard wifi is minute based. It looks like you may be Platinum so you would get 150 minutes. If you have a spouse that is also platinum cruising with you they too will get 150 minutes and you could in theory use that as well. The connection is very slow, think dial up. And if you are using a VPN it will get slower. Not sure what kind of work you do but this could present a problem for you or it could be no issue. Also, there is always the chance they could block your VPN. I have cruised several times and never had an issue with a VPN on the wifi. Most important part is to make sure you log out of the wifi the second you are done working so you aren't charged for minutes you are not using.

 

Hope that helps.

Not sure if the jetpack is allowed with the travelpass but I don't see why not but you need to check directly with Verizon.

 

You also don't need the travelpass but if you use it and it's covered by the Travelpass you get access to your domestic plan data back home. So for an extra $10/24 hr you connect to the cell towers in St. Kitts for example, and you are only billed an extra $10 and just use your plan minutes like you were back home.

 

If you don't have a travelpass roaming data charges can very high.

 

Keep in mind a travelpass only works while in port, not at sea with the ships cell service.

I'm only going to try to use the Jetpack while the ship is docked in US ports. Do you think Princess will try to confiscate my Jetpack?

Look into the Verizon Travelpass. For $10/24 hour period ($2 in Mexico) you can use your phone to text/call/data in many foreign ports. Worked great for us, speed was about what you would expect from home. Don't know specifically about your Jetpack if it's included or not. Might be worth looking into.

The boss says don't worry about working while in the 2 foreign ports, so I'll save myself the $$ this time out. This is good info for future reference, though.

Do you think Princess will try to confiscate my Jetpack?

Absolutely not. You will have nothing to worry about. Just be absolutely sure you turn your jet pack off as soon as your done and before you leave port, otherwise you will be in a lot of trouble with roaming charges.

Enjoy!