Internet in Stateroms ..Ryndam?

[gojo]

Does anyone know if there is Internet access in the staterooms on the Ryndam? I thought I read that ona post somewhere, but cant find it now?

[jtl513]

Does anyone know if there is Internet access in the staterooms on the Ryndam? I thought I read that ona post somewhere, but cant find it now?

You may be lucky enough to pick up a usable wi-fi signal, if you are near one of the the antennas: near the atrium, under the Lido, above the Explorations Cafe, near the Neptune Lounge, etc. Lately on R&S class ship some people have been getting usable signals where theoretically they should not, like the ends of the Lower Promenade deck. I think you would not get a usable signal on the Main or A decks.

 

Are you usually lucky?

[kakalina]

We just got off her yesterday and others were able to get on in their cabin if they left the door open. There are plenty of other areas where one can pick it up.

[Krazy Kruizers]

On the Ryndam's sister ship, Maasdam, I was able to go on the internet from oo4 and 001 without leaving the door open.

[cruisinjudy]

I think if your cabin is near a stairwell you have a better chance. We were a few cabins from the stairwell this summer on Ryndam and we could access the internet from our room.

[viccruiser]

We were on the Volendam in May/June this year and after going to the Atrium for a few days to use the wi-fi, I tried to get it in our room and I got a great signal with the door closed.

viccruiser

[AECrowell]

When wireless internet service is available in staterooms - or in various places throughout the ship - is this something you have to pay for in advance? February will be my first time onboard with a wireless laptop and I was wondering whether this is a service provided by HAL or whether it costs extra?

 

Thanks,

 

AECrowell

Reno, Nevada

[trubey]

When wireless internet service is available in staterooms - or in various places throughout the ship - is this something you have to pay for in advance? February will be my first time onboard with a wireless laptop and I was wondering whether this is a service provided by HAL or whether it costs extra?

 

My question too, but I want to go a little further. I know internet access used to be a pay-for option in the internet cafes. Do they give you a network password now, or do people just piggyback on the ship's network? We use Airport on our home network, and elsewhere (in the Mall, for instance) our machines just find the signal automatically. Is it the same on the boats?

 

Does anybody have any links from HAL about their wireless network? Love to see what they say is the official policy.

 

Where's Dakruser now that we need you, Dave?:D

 

Lane

[sail7seas]

Dave hasn't posted here for quite a while now.

 

Sorry......can't help with your technical questions,Tubey.

 

But, as to charges, you can purchase internet packages.

 

My memory is you can buy 100 minutes for $55 plus a one time start up charge of $3.95. You can also buy 250 minutes for $100 plus the same start up charge. Sometimes if you sign up the first day, you get 10 bonus minutes or other times if you give your Mariners number, you get extra minutes. Ask if they have any specials like that.

 

You can also pay by the minute if you wish.

[1particularharbor]

I recently used the internet on the Westerdam ...I also used it about 6 months ago on another ship ...the way the payment and adding extra minutes etc has changed ...and I was charged for extra minutes at the end of my plan without ever getting a "warning" that I had or was near the end of my package minutes ...I was told that the way the service is offered now you do not get a "warning" that your package will end but instead goes into the "by the minute" rate of 75 cents per minute ...I like being notified that I was at the end of my time.or near the end (like a minute or two left) ..I was also told this was changed due to some people complaining they were "cut off" while doing an email and therefore lost connection ...I must say I prefer the notification warning and then given options of changing my approach to using minutes be it a package or by the minute option.

 

Just IMHO remark that I am making here ..

 

Anyone else have this occur with them

[sail7seas]

When I log off each time, I print out the page that tells me how many minutes I have left in my package and pay attention to those 'ticking minutes' when I'm on line. I have not had what you describe happen to me but our last cruise(s) were on Maasdam end of August and when we left the ship, we had about 7 minutes left in our plan so it would not have happened.

 

However, I definitely do NOT like that system and agree there should be a warning and we should be told it will be converting to 'by the minute'.

 

[jtl513]

My question too, but I want to go a little further. I know internet access used to be a pay-for option in the internet cafes. Do they give you a network password now, or do people just piggyback on the ship's network? We use Airport on our home network, and elsewhere (in the Mall, for instance) our machines just find the signal automatically. Is it the same on the boats?

 

Does anybody have any links from HAL about their wireless network? Love to see what they say is the official policy.

When you are within range of a usable signal, in a hotspot or in your cabin, your laptop will detect it. Usually the server or router name will be "mtndsi", but could also be 'mtnatrium" etc. Simply start a browser and you will get a pop-up window and be told how to create an account. Your username will be composed of your first initial, last name, and four-digit cabin number, as in jjones0123. You choose your own password, and select whether you want the $0.75/min or one of the block packages described above.

 

THIS IS ALL that HAL has to say about internet access on their site. What do you mean by "official policy"?

 

1particularharbor: I'm not 100% sure about this, but I seem to recall that there is now a way to get a "real time" reading of remaining time ... like in the logoff window maybe? I'll check in 6 weeks!

[1particularharbor]

1particularharbor: I'm not 100% sure about this, but I seem to recall that there is now a way to get a "real time" reading of remaining time ... like in the logoff window maybe? I'll check in 6 weeks!

 

 

Each time I signed off the internet I received an accounting of minutes I used and had left which is the way it worked in the past

..however the last time I used the internet on a ship (and for years too) ..once you get within the last minutes left on your package, there was a pop-up type warning letting you know your package plan would soon be used up ...I did not get this warning last week when on the Westerdam ...and I was charged extra minutes as I went over the package minutes ...I was watching the screen for the notification ..as well as keeping up with the time on my watch of the minutes I knew I had left ...although I only went over a few minutes ..I was still charged 75 cents for those minutes ...and as I noted in my last posting I was told this is a new procedure that has been put in place recently ...

 

For those of us that use the internet when we cruise and I have cruised about 30 times now and have used the internet on many ships each time I cruised when it was available ..this is the first time I did not get the "warning" at the end of my "package minute plan" ....I always buy either the 100 minutes or 250 minutes (think that is the plans offered now) ..I have never agreed to or purchased use of the internet by the .75 per minute plan... I remember on several cruises you could buy unlimited for about 100.00 and that was great ..but did not last long :)

 

Also, I would like to add that the internet manager never could give me an answer on how I could avoid this occuring ...I am somewhat confused what the motive is for the change ...as I see many of us regular cruisers using internet in the past getting charged these extra minutes the first time we encounter this "new approach/change" ...

 

Anyone else have comments on this ..or experiences with the new approach ?

 

I will be cruising again soon and I want to educate myself on this ...as I did not have the time to do so on this past cruise as I did not know I was charged the extra minutes until I got my statement the morning we got off the ship ...and the internet manager was not available to discuss except for a few minutes on the phone

 

BTW...when I signed off I only saw I had zero minutes left in the area of the sign off page that shows your "remaining minutes" ...and don't recall seeing anything about extra minute charges ...wonder if there is a way to check this especially once you have zero minutes left on your purchased plan ?

[RuthC]

..however the last time I used the internet on a ship (and for years too) ..once you get within the last minutes left on your package, there was a pop-up type warning letting you know your package plan would soon be used up ...I did not get this warning last week when on the Westerdam ...

 

Anyone else have comments on this ..or experiences with the new approach ?

I find this interesting, as I didn't have this experience on my July Prinsendam cruise. I had the same experience that you used to have. :confused: Curious.

I had the 250-minute package, and when my time wasn't even nearly up I got a pop-up warning about buying a new package. I did purchase another 250-minute package about half-way through the cruise, and got a similar pop-up again long before it was gone.

The only difference I can think of is that the Westerdam Internet is the "powered by the New York Times" version and the Prinsendam is not. I can't imagine why this would make a difference, though.

[richwmn]

On my Volendam cruise 2 weeks ago, I was aware that it would automatically roll into a per minute plan, although I don't remember where I saw the notice. I did get a running accounting of minutes used with each logout.

 

Rich

[jtl513]

... the Westerdam Internet is the "powered by the New York Times" version and the Prinsendam is not.

 

Ruth - did you notice in the "Sig of Excellence" press release that prescott bob posted:

"When ms Prinsendam leaves dry dock Dec. 16 with remodeled staterooms and a new Explorations Cafe, ...

and

... a scheduled dry dock to refurbish staterooms, expand the shopping promenade, replace carpeting and flooring, and add an Explorations Cafe and new meeting spaces. "

[RuthC]

Ruth - did you notice in the "Sig of Excellence" press release that prescott bob posted:...

Yes, I noticed it; that's the future. What I'm questioning is whether or not the apparent difference in end of Internet time is a function of the "Powered by NY Times". As of right now the Prinsendam does not have the Explorations Cafe, and it still (at least as of July/August '07) gives an opportunity to purchase a new plan without reverting to the per minute charge.

I'm wondering if it's the NY Times change that generates the lack of the pop-up. I can't see why it would be so, but I don't know that much about how it all works, either.