Wi-Fi on an upcoming Alaska cruise on the Emerald Princess

I have a question about Wi-Fion an upcoming Alaska cruise on the Emerald Princess. There are two of us traveling and we have aVerizon family cell phone plan.

What are the differencesbetween these plans (it does not mention any minute limit)? Can you text and email people back home? Whatdoes, “May not allow foraudio/video calling” mean?

According to Princess’sweb site these are my options:

PrincessCONNECT — Premium Package $109.99

From e-mailto streaming, enjoy truly premium, unlimited access!

All Internet usage subjectto Princess Cruises' standard policies, which may limit browsing of sites dueto network security and bandwidth usage. Applications that use high bandwidthmay be blocked and offerings subject to change.

PrincessCONNECT — Surf Package $79.99

Surf yourfavorite sites from e-mail, news, sports and more.*

*May not allow foraudio/video calling and streaming.

PrincessCONNECT — Social Package $59.99

Unlimitedaccess to the most popular social websites and applications.*

*May not allow foraudio/video calling and streaming.

Cell phone plan won't work on the ship. WiFi onboard is only as good as the satellite signal. In Skagway the ship normally don't have wifi/internet.

We usually don't use the phones and internet aboard ships, especially in Alaska where WiFi on board is satellite based and often not available. However, Verizon and AT&T phones work perfectly in the port cities you will visit - just like at home. Years ago we also used a Sprint phone in Alaska and it worked well also.

All internet service on cruise ships is via satellite no matter they are cruising. I usually don’t have time to search for WIFi when on shore.

The plans are wifi, not cellular. Think e-mail and wifi calling, not text and cellular calling. Turn your phone to airplane mode while on board. Alaska ports have normal U.S. cell service, but make certain you are connected to a U.S. not Canadian tower.

Thank you for your replies. I am still unsure of what wi-fi plan I need when I am on the ship to have some contact with those at home via emails or wi-fi calling?

The Princess web site lists three options what are the differences between options?

 

The Princess web site lists three options what are the differences between options?

Good question to which there may not be a good answer yet.

Reading the descriptions, it would appear that the surf package would be suitable to your needs. One assumption here is that it is for unlimited use, but that some features of the premium package such as movie streaming would not be feasible with the surf package.

However, on one thread there is posted the pricing as shown on board the Grand and the difference between the three levels of service was how many MB you were allowed each day with the higher the price meaning more MB were allowed. There has not been enough feedback from those who had these plans to figure out what types of use it takes to reach the daily MB limit.

Social 200 MB

Surf 300 MB

Premium 500 MB

By the way, the package is good for one device at a time. So if you have no need for two devices to be used at the same time, one package is all you need.

Satellites hang low in the Alaskan sky, if not below the horizon and unusable: Depending upon

where you dock in Juneau or Skagway (maybe other places, too), no internet. No internet while

in Glacier Bay, either.

Princess has been trying different flavors of unlimited-minutes internet lately.

My best information on Emerald for her Dec Hawai'i offerings is:

• "Social" = Walled garden allowing access only to Facebook, etc.

• "Surf" = All access, with QoS priority over "Social" folks

• "Premium" = All access, with QoS priority over the "Social" and "Surf" folks

That's Dec and Hawai'i. YMMV in Alaska

Thx again,

If we get a wi-fi plan while we are on the ship, do you know if can connect to someone back home using face time (we have iphones) and i messages?

If not what would be the best way to communicate with people back home while we are on the ship?

We have used WhatsApp on board using the wi-fi. Texting and calls aren't bad but using video calls was terrible. I doubt that facetime will work with any of the wi-fi plans. The wi-fi is spotting and unreliable at best. Your best bet would be to wait until you are in port to facetime.

Dear MPicchioldi,

Do you if i messages will work while on the ship? I really don't need video while on the ship. Is the WhatsApp the best way to go while on the ship?

Most phones have an option to turn of data roaming. If you're heading to Alaska I strongly encourage people to do so unless their plans include Canada. I know some of the higher package VZW and ATT plans now include Canada roaming though, so ymmv.

We used ATT in all of the Alaskan ports and had pretty good service in general. Alaska was an itinerary where we actually used very little (Princess) wifi data because we could turn the cell phones on whenever we were in US ports.

Most phones have an option to turn of data roaming. If you're heading to Alaska I strongly encourage people to do so unless their plans include Canada. I know some of the higher package VZW and ATT plans now include Canada roaming though, so ymmv.

 

We used ATT in all of the Alaskan ports and had pretty good service in general. Alaska was an itinerary where we actually used very little (Princess) wifi data because we could turn the cell phones on whenever we were in US ports.

Uhh…. I hope you meant "turn off"? Generally wise, indeed.

BTW, many (most?) cellphone carriers support "WiFi calling" to deliver calls and texts via an

unlimited-minutes package at sea, bypassing the ship's cellphone tower and Cellular-At-Sea's

piratical rates.

For Android: Settings -> Connections -> Advanced Calling -> Wi-Fi Calling.

For iPhone: You've got it, too, and it's reported superior to FaceTime, but "I don't do Apple" ;)

YMMV, of course.

Uhh…. I hope you meant "turn off"? Generally wise, indeed.

 

BTW, many (most?) cellphone carriers support "WiFi calling" to deliver calls and texts via an

unlimited-minutes package at sea, bypassing the ship's cellphone tower and Cellular-At-Sea's

piratical rates.

 

For Android: Settings -> Connections -> Advanced Calling -> Wi-Fi Calling.

For iPhone: You've got it, too, and it's reported superior to FaceTime, but "I don't do Apple" ;)

 

YMMV, of course.

Yes, turn off. Thanks!

The wifi calling is plan specific, I can't use it on my att plan since I have an older grandfathered pkg fwiw.

Dear MPicchioldi,

Do you if i messages will work while on the ship? I really don't need video while on the ship. Is the WhatsApp the best way to go while on the ship?

I have an Android phone and when I get on the ship I place my phone in airplane mode to avoid the high charges from Verizon. We use WhatsApp to call and text back home. WhatsApp is a cross platform app that allows a person with an Android phone to connect with someone with an iPhone and vice versa. Even worked great in Italy to contact back to the USA. You just have to have wi-fi to use it. The wi-fi on the last two ships I was on supported it pretty well (Carnival Dream and RCCL Liberty of the Seas).

I send a telegram while in port, I used to use pony express, but the last horse recently “retired”

Enjoy you cruise.

Thx again,

If we get a wi-fi plan while we are on the ship, do you know if can connect to someone back home using face time (we have iphones) and i messages?

 

If not what would be the best way to communicate with people back home while we are on the ship?

the best way to communicate with people back home is in person on your return. put the phone down and enjoy Alaska, I am ;)

As of today, only minutes are available on the Emerald Princess, not the one price package. This is only currently offered on a few ships. I would check your cruise personalizer.

Sent from my 2PYB2 using Forums mobile app

As of today, only minutes are available on the Emerald Princess, not the one price package. This is only currently offered on a few ships. I would check your cruise personalizer.

 

Sent from my 2PYB2 using Forums mobile app

Uhh… Make that "only buy-the-minute packages are available on Emerald for my cruise"

Emerald got the hardware to connect with the wide-bandwidth satellites in June, and has

already sold me an unlimited-minutes plan for my voyage. It's that business about those

satellites' coverage not extending north of Seattle yet, and my voyage stays south of

Seattle.

the best way to communicate with people back home is in person on your return. put the phone down and enjoy Alaska, I am ;)

(y)(y)Good Answer!!!

As of today, only minutes are available on the Emerald Princess, not the one price package. This is only currently offered on a few ships. I would check your cruise personalizer.

 

Sent from my 2PYB2 using Forums mobile app

I checked for a cruise on the Emerald this December. Both unlimited options and packages of minutes are being offered.

Sent from my laptop using MTF

I spoke with Princess today. The princess rep told me regarding the three packages they offer is that if I am interested in texting and emailing only to take the social package. If I wanted wi-fi calling and downloading stuff to take the premium package. All the packages are unlimited it is just what they let you do.

I spoke with Princess today. The princess rep told me regarding the three packages they offer is that if I am interested in texting and emailing only to take the social package. If I wanted wi-fi calling and downloading stuff to take the premium package. All the packages are unlimited it is just what they let you do.

The only thing hung they disn’t say , is that each level has a daily dTa limit.

The only thing hung they disn’t say , is that each level has a daily dTa limit.

There's a reason he didn't say it. :D

(Princess is experimenting with different internet-at-sea offers on different ships and different voyages.)

Turn your phone off when on the ship the charges are outrageous. We have T-Mobile . They recommend we not have phone on at all turn it on in ports in Alaska we had no extra charges on land