keeping in touch with me family back home?

[lana.m]

I have a question. My sister and I are leaving on sunday on the royal princess for a 7 day cruise. My husband gave me this for valentines day. He is staying behind to take care of our 5 kids. My question is ( is there any way to keep some type of contact with them?) I have a lap top I also have a iphone. I have read you can buy internet time but how does that work? What is the cost? where do you purchase it on the ship or before? do you take your own laptop or go to an internet type bar onboard? Any info would be great. I know that I am going to miss them a great deal. Also any info on the must do's on this ship would be great. thank you ahead of time...

[chrysalis]

This should help....

 

http://www.princess.com/learn/faq_answer/onboard/in_touch.jsp

 

The ship has its own computers but you can use your own laptop.

 

The Princess website also shows the costs of internet under gifts and services, should you wish to pre-pay

[Hoosier-Cruiser]

I have a question. My sister and I are leaving on sunday on the royal princess for a 7 day cruise. My husband gave me this for valentines day. He is staying behind to take care of our 5 kids. My question is ( is there any way to keep some type of contact with them?) I have a lap top I also have a iphone. I have read you can buy internet time but how does that work?

 

Internet access is on a per-minute basis.

 

What is the cost?

 

There are different packages with different costs. The more minutes you purchase, the cheaper the rate per minute is. You can see the pre-purchased rates are the following link:

 

http://www.princess.com/learn/onboard/gifts_services/communications/index.jsp

 

where do you purchase it on the ship or before?

 

 

You can buy onboard or you can buy before by gifting it to yourself. Just call Princess and tell them you would like to purchase some gift items. Make sure you have your booking number.

 

do you take your own laptop or go to an internet type bar onboard?

 

You can use your own laptop or iPhone. There are computers available, but they are limited in number and rather slow.

[CruiseGirlKS]

This should help....

 

http://www.princess.com/learn/faq_answer/onboard/in_touch.jsp

 

The ship has its own computers but you can use your own laptop.

 

The Princess website also shows the costs of internet under gifts and services, should you wish to pre-pay

 

Thanks!!

[Soccer Mom 96]

If you are using your laptop, ipad or iphone, it is very important to follow the instructions for logging off at the end of each session to avoid draining the minutes in your package. If you are on the ship's computer, it is a little easier to remember to do so since there is a logoff button.

[GweninTX]

You can also send a free postcard every day to your family. You access these on the computers in the Princess Computer room on their computers. There is a link on the Princess home page and if you do not see it, ask the internet manager where it is!

[Pam in CA]

You get more "bonus" minutes by pre-purchasing the package than you would if you bought it on the ship. Keep in mind that the Internet is satellite based and there's limited bandwidth so if a lot of people are using it, or someone is Skyping, it's extremely slow and feel a lot slower because you're used to land speeds. Best times to get the fastest speeds are early in the morning (before 7:30am or so), in the morning on port days when most people have gotten off, during the dinner hours (6-8pm) or very late at night (after Midnight.)

[Kamloops50]

I have a question. My sister and I are leaving on sunday on the royal princess for a 7 day cruise. My husband gave me this for valentines day. He is staying behind to take care of our 5 kids. My question is ( is there any way to keep some type of contact with them?) I have a lap top I also have a iphone. I have read you can buy internet time but how does that work? What is the cost? where do you purchase it on the ship or before? do you take your own laptop or go to an internet type bar onboard? Any info would be great. I know that I am going to miss them a great deal. Also any info on the must do's on this ship would be great. thank you ahead of time...

 

Remember to keep your Iphone turned off. Cellular costs are high on ships.

Cellular at sea is international roaming on board . Without a international plan you'll pay a bundle in charges ( up to $7.50/minute or more) even if you never even use it once. Power it down and leave it in the room safe.

[Nan_Sea]

Just wanted to say what a nice guy you married!

[sunsetbeachgal]

You can also send a free postcard every day to your family. You access these on the computers in the Princess Computer room on their computers. There is a link on the Princess home page and if you do not see it, ask the internet manager where it is!

 

These are lots of fun and kids love receiving them but be aware that people cannot respond to them.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Definitely look at the link given above, as well as read the cruise answer book that's on the Princess website, and check out the features about your ship.

 

I had called Princess and ordered a package before our last cruise, and received extra minutes for doing so. There are times that are better than others to use the ship's Internet, as noted above.

 

I gave people my yahoo email address, and was able to access my email about 80 per cent of the time (one of my friends and I both had trouble with Yahoo at one point, but not sure if it was due to the ship or due to Yahoo).

[kylea_s]

Check with your cell phone carrier. Texts for Verizon are 50 cents sent, 5 cents inbound. You can also add international time for calls. Its $1.99 a minute but if you want a quick call it might be more cost effective than using email. Contact your company and tell them where you are going, you might be pleasantly surprized. They will also tell you exactly how to turn off any features that would add a lot of cost.