Can you use iCloud.com on basic Wifi package?

[zitsky]

Pretty technical but new to iPhone.  I wonder if you can access iCloud.com using the basic wifi package, or do you need to update to streaming?  I plan mostly to read documents, maybe make a few edits.

[cruisestitch]

So much depends on where you are, at the time of day, how many other people are on the system, so you probably will be OK with the basic but don’t be surprised if once you are on the ship and you are working with it that you decide to upgrade

[zitsky]

I just checked and they are asking $29 a day for streaming.  Not sure if that is the upgrade price from basic?  Or full price for people without a plan.

[Ken the cruiser]

2 minutes ago, zitsky said:

I just checked and they are asking $29 a day for streaming.  Not sure if that is the upgrade price from basic?  Or full price for people without a plan.

We are Elite+ and it was $11.70 per day for each of us to upgrade from Basic to Premium, if you upgrade prior to boarding. At least that was the upgrade charge on our upcoming 12 day cruise on the Summit.

[zitsky]

5 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

We are Elite+ and it was $11.70 per day for each of us to upgrade from Basic to Premium, if you upgrade prior to boarding. At least that was the upgrade charge on our upcoming 12 day cruise on the Summit.

Was that upgrade through the planner, the website?

[Ken the cruiser]

2 minutes ago, zitsky said:

Was that upgrade through the planner, the website?

We called the Captains Club number as we weren't able to do it online. We also upgraded my drink package to Premium as well while we were on the phone with them.

[jelayne]

The cost to upgrade is the difference between the basic plan and the premium plan.

Normally after final payment the option to upgrade with the correct cost will show up in the Cruise Planner.

 

If you are eligible for a Captains Club discount on the internet upgrade you have to call to purchase it with the discount.

[zitsky]

I just called and got someone right away.  I paid $132.89 for an 11 day cruise.

[-Lew-]

17 hours ago, zitsky said:

I just called and got someone right away.  I paid $132.89 for an 11 day cruise.

 

IMHO you paid for something you will not need for accessing your files on iCloud.

 

The iCloud website is like any other site you might want to access in Mobile Safari.  But you don't need to login to the iCloud website to access your files.  I use two apps for accessing files on my iPhone and iPad...

 

• Documents by Readdle
• Files by Apple

 

I suggest you install one or both to learn whether they'll work for you onboard.  Again they not bandwidth hogs and both will allow you to access your files on iCloud.

Edited August 5, 2022 by -Lew-

[zitsky]

19 minutes ago, -Lew- said:

 

IMHO you paid for something you will not need for accessing your files on iCloud.

 

The iCloud website is like any other site you might want to access in Mobile Safari.  But you don't need to login to the iCloud website to access your files.  I use two apps for accessing files on my iPhone and iPad...

 

• Documents by Readdle
• Files by Apple

 

I suggest you install one or both to learn whether they'll work for you onboard.  Again they not bandwidth hogs and both will allow you to access your files on iCloud.

 

Thanks.  Yes I asked specifically about iCloud which I've started to use a lot for trip planning.  But I can see other uses for the streaming package.  Like posting on Facebook.  Or even Cruise Critic.  Why should I need it, I don't know and I'm a PM in IT.  But people report having trouble posting CC photos and trip reports using the basic wifi plan.

[-Lew-]

22 minutes ago, zitsky said:

I asked specifically about iCloud which I've started to use a lot for trip planning.

 

iCloud can be used for storing your travel plans; however, there are some apps that work much better.

 

I used to use the free Evernote app (I now use DEVONthink) for planning and storing travel documents.  Evernote offers clients for just about every device and operating system and syncs data automatically in the background.  If you check your devices before you leave for your travel and everything has synced you don't need to access your data on the internet as it will already be within the app on your devices. This is especially convenient when off the ship traveling in a foreign country and need to check something; this can be done without using cell data or searching for Wi-Fi.

 

I have friends who use the Apple Notes app that's already on your iOS devices and Mac.  Notes also syncs among all your Apple devices. 

[zitsky]

Ok thank you.

[LB_NJ]

As one data point, we had basic internet on a Summit cruise to Bermuda and the internet service was horrid.  Most of the time could not do basic email or basic web surfing.  

 

Worse then back in the days of modems, for those who remember.

[duncrieviedude]

Just back off Connie. Basic wifi was good enough for what I needed. I could still access one drive and although pics won’t download on WhatsApp I just asked my daughter to send pics on my gmail account which worked albeit slowly. I certainly wouldn’t  pay the exorbitant daily price to upgrade, but then I’m tight.

[Ken the cruiser]

2 minutes ago, LB_NJ said:

As one data point, we had basic internet on a Summit cruise to Bermuda and the internet service was horrid.  Most of the time could not do basic email or basic web surfing.  

 

Worse then back in the days of modems, for those who remember.

We have definitely gotten spoiled over the years. I remember my first experience using a 2400 baud modem back in 1984 to dial up to a Terminal Access Controller (TAC). Then came my first experience with a 9600 bps modem a few years later! Wow! Talk about increased throughput capability!! I remember when it would take less than a second for each character to appear on the screen when I was trying to log onto a USAF mainframe computer 4000 miles away! Ah, the good old days!! 😂

[keesar]

Much depends on where you are in the world or even in the ship itself.  This affects all internet services on the ship.  I can recall the first night leaving FLL.  Service made dial up look good!  Fastest service was usually in port or late evening/early in the morning.  On our last cruise on Equinox, basic service was very good from our room for basic internet functions like e-mail and checking weather, flights, etc.  

 

 

[zitsky]

When you and your partner have different streaming plans, how do you sign up for the right one, when you are on the ship?  I want him to have basic and I will have streaming.  But sometimes he would use the streaming account.  I know you create a name and password but how does the system know that one name/password is for basic and the other for streaming?

[Jeremiah1212]

16 minutes ago, zitsky said:

When you and your partner have different streaming plans, how do you sign up for the right one, when you are on the ship?  I want him to have basic and I will have streaming.  But sometimes he would use the streaming account.  I know you create a name and password but how does the system know that one name/password is for basic and the other for streaming?

 

It's tied to the folio number that you can find on the seapass. You enter the folio number when creating your WiFi access account. 

[zitsky]

Ok thank you for that answer.

[Covepointcruiser]

In the day of modems there was no internet on the ships.   Now people cannot live without their faces glued to internet or cell phones.   Even on vacation, the cord can’t be cut, as everyone they know has to know exactly what they are doing.   Might even stream a show to pretend they are somewhere other than on a ship.

[zitsky]

19 minutes ago, Covepointcruiser said:

In the day of modems there was no internet on the ships.   Now people cannot live without their faces glued to internet or cell phones.   Even on vacation, the cord can’t be cut, as everyone they know has to know exactly what they are doing.   Might even stream a show to pretend they are somewhere other than on a ship.

Do you ride your horse to the grocery store?

[bill0021]

On 8/4/2022 at 4:11 PM, zitsky said:

Pretty technical but new to iPhone.  I wonder if you can access iCloud.com using the basic wifi package, or do you need to update to streaming?  I plan mostly to read documents, maybe make a few edits.

If there are only a few docs you will be looking and editing, you could just download those into your device before you leave.  They will sync when you have a good connection.   The files do not have to exclusively live on The Cloud, they can be on the cloud and your device, eliminating the need to download them while on the ship.

 

[zitsky]

Ok thanks.   Haven’t tried syncing while offline but I will try it.