Questions about cruise experience

On 8/24/2007 11:39 PM Joan M. exclaimed:
We're pondering on our first cruise experience and would like to know the
following details:

1. Is internet access (wi-fi or port access) free onboard? If not, what's
the charge?


The only time internet access was free was when I sailed on the
inaugural cruise of HAL ms Zuiderdam. On all other occasions it's too
expensive to bother. There are so many other activities on the ship
that don't cost extra. If my cruise itinerary includes a Mexican port
I head for an internet cafe they are cheap and the connections are
fast. I type fairly quickly so I can send group emails back to the
important people. For everyone else, my ISP provides a vacation
auto-response. If there's a storm overhead, I duck into a cyber cafe.
I usually wind up paying $8.00 and that includes a cup of Mexican Coffee.

My philosophy is a cruise is a time to get away from it all. So if it's
not raining when I'm in Mexico, I pass up the internet cafe.
2. Is tipping mandatory onboard? I've heard the ship charges you
'automaticall' on a daily basis.

To me it is more convenient to have $10.00 a day added on my ship board
account then bring lots of single dollar bills on board. So I like the
autotip policy. As others said you can go to the ship's pursers office
and have the autotip removed. If you plan to cruise again it's a good
idea to tip. Some cruise lines shift personnel amongst their fleet.
If you tip nicely, someone will remember you the next time you sail.
Likewise, if you stiff the help - you'll be remembered for that too.
3. Based on your experience which cruise liners do you like the best?

Many thanks for your feedbacks!

-Joane


I have to go with the consensus here. Much depends on what your
interests are and where you want to sail. Come back with some of your
interests and some destinations and I am sure you'll find lots of folks
willing to share their cruising experience.


--
________
To email me, Edit "blog" from my email address.
Brian M. Kochera
"Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once!"
View My Web Page: http://home.earthlink.net/~brian1951

For Internet access, look at this article on "how to make the best of
your onboard Internet usage:

http://www.cruisemates.com/articles/...ernet-tips.cfm

Tips for optimizing your online time during your onboard time will cut
your bill in half or more, with just a few simple tricks.



On Aug 25, 8:32 am, "Rog'" wrote:
"Joan M." wrote:
We're pondering on our first cruise experience and...

Answers to these and other first-timer questions about cruising
can be found atwww.cruisecritic.com/ftc/with pages entitled:
First-Timers: Fun Facts
Best Ships for First-Timers
Hidden Costs of Cruising
Common Cruise Questions
Note: I am not affliatied with cruisecritic.com, just a fan.
=R=

On Mon, 27 Aug 2007 03:31:41 -0400, Brian K
wrote:

If you plan to cruise again it's a good
idea to tip. Some cruise lines shift personnel amongst their fleet.
If you tip nicely, someone will remember you the next time you sail.
Likewise, if you stiff the help - you'll be remembered for that too.

Hi Brian,

Why in the world would you only tip nicely if you planned to cruise
again? If you get service that is not poor, it should not matter
whether you ever plan to go on another cruise, IMO.

Best regards,
Ray
LIGHTHOUSE TRAVEL
800-719-9917 or 805-566-3905
http://www.lighthousetravel.com
--

"Brian K" wrote in message
...
On 8/24/2007 11:39 PM Joan M. exclaimed:
We're pondering on our first cruise experience and would like to know the
following details:

1. Is internet access (wi-fi or port access) free onboard? If not, what's
the charge?


The only time internet access was free was when I sailed on the inaugural
cruise of HAL ms Zuiderdam. On all other occasions it's too expensive to
bother. There are so many other activities on the ship that don't cost
extra. If my cruise itinerary includes a Mexican port I head for an
internet cafe they are cheap and the connections are fast. I type fairly
quickly so I can send group emails back to the important people.

Brian... why on earth would you keep the internet connection open while
typing?

On the ship, write what you want using Word for free... then open the
connection, copy/paste into e-mail, and hit send. Uses less than 2 minutes
of actual internet time.

You can even open all incoming e-mails one shot... then close the
connection. Then read the e-mails once your off line.

--Tom

What did you dorks due before the internet?(I am a senior)
"Tom K" wrote in message
...

"Brian K" wrote in message
...
On 8/24/2007 11:39 PM Joan M. exclaimed:
We're pondering on our first cruise experience and would like to know
the following details:

1. Is internet access (wi-fi or port access) free onboard? If not,
what's the charge?


The only time internet access was free was when I sailed on the inaugural
cruise of HAL ms Zuiderdam. On all other occasions it's too expensive to
bother. There are so many other activities on the ship that don't cost
extra. If my cruise itinerary includes a Mexican port I head for an
internet cafe they are cheap and the connections are fast. I type fairly
quickly so I can send group emails back to the important people.

Brian... why on earth would you keep the internet connection open while
typing?

On the ship, write what you want using Word for free... then open the
connection, copy/paste into e-mail, and hit send. Uses less than 2
minutes of actual internet time.

You can even open all incoming e-mails one shot... then close the
connection. Then read the e-mails once your off line.

--Tom

How many times are you going to tell us that you are a senior? Makes us
wonder what else you are! Before the internet, we just sat around,
hoping to get real mail from you. LOL

clint wrote:

What did you dorks due before the internet?(I am a senior)

"Tom K" wrote:


"Brian K" wrote in message
...
On 8/24/2007 11:39 PM Joan M. exclaimed:
We're pondering on our first cruise experience and would like to know the
following details:

1. Is internet access (wi-fi or port access) free onboard? If not, what's
the charge?


The only time internet access was free was when I sailed on the inaugural
cruise of HAL ms Zuiderdam. On all other occasions it's too expensive to
bother. There are so many other activities on the ship that don't cost
extra. If my cruise itinerary includes a Mexican port I head for an
internet cafe they are cheap and the connections are fast. I type fairly
quickly so I can send group emails back to the important people.

Brian... why on earth would you keep the internet connection open while
typing?

On the ship, write what you want using Word for free... then open the
connection, copy/paste into e-mail, and hit send. Uses less than 2 minutes
of actual internet time.

You can even open all incoming e-mails one shot... then close the
connection. Then read the e-mails once your off line.

I bring my laptop along to download photos, so I type emails in there
and just hit send when I get onto the internet. I wouldn't use Word
for email - it puts too many funny symbols in the text - if I was
going to use something other than my email/news reader, I use notepad.

I do type trip reports offline, and download incoming email and the
answer offline, but sometimes, the connection is so slow that I can
type while the rest of the messages are downloading.

I don't care to spend time on shore looking for an internet cafe. If
something comes up and I need to go to some internet site, I can't
remember all the URLs and their browsers are not usually secured.

On 8/27/2007 7:07 PM Tom K exclaimed:
"Brian K" wrote in message
...

On 8/24/2007 11:39 PM Joan M. exclaimed:

We're pondering on our first cruise experience and would like to know the
following details:

1. Is internet access (wi-fi or port access) free onboard? If not, what's
the charge?


The only time internet access was free was when I sailed on the inaugural
cruise of HAL ms Zuiderdam. On all other occasions it's too expensive to
bother. There are so many other activities on the ship that don't cost
extra. If my cruise itinerary includes a Mexican port I head for an
internet cafe they are cheap and the connections are fast. I type fairly
quickly so I can send group emails back to the important people.


Brian... why on earth would you keep the internet connection open while
typing?

On the ship, write what you want using Word for free... then open the
connection, copy/paste into e-mail, and hit send. Uses less than 2 minutes
of actual internet time.

You can even open all incoming e-mails one shot... then close the
connection. Then read the e-mails once your off line.

--Tom



This is true if you are using dial-up. At the Internet Cafe's I've
visited in Mexico, they have DSL. Once I even went somewhere with
cable. These connections are *always on*. Besides you aren't timed by
your internet connection. The clock starts ticking from the minute you
sit down in front of the computer.

--
________
To email me, Edit "blog" from my email address.
Brian M. Kochera
"Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once!"
View My Web Page: http://home.earthlink.net/~brian1951

On 8/27/2007 8:45 PM Rosalie B. exclaimed:
"Tom K" wrote:


"Brian K" wrote in message
...

On 8/24/2007 11:39 PM Joan M. exclaimed:

We're pondering on our first cruise experience and would like to know the
following details:

1. Is internet access (wi-fi or port access) free onboard? If not, what's
the charge?


The only time internet access was free was when I sailed on the inaugural
cruise of HAL ms Zuiderdam. On all other occasions it's too expensive to
bother. There are so many other activities on the ship that don't cost
extra. If my cruise itinerary includes a Mexican port I head for an
internet cafe they are cheap and the connections are fast. I type fairly
quickly so I can send group emails back to the important people.

Brian... why on earth would you keep the internet connection open while
typing?

On the ship, write what you want using Word for free... then open the
connection, copy/paste into e-mail, and hit send. Uses less than 2 minutes
of actual internet time.

You can even open all incoming e-mails one shot... then close the
connection. Then read the e-mails once your off line.


I bring my laptop along to download photos, so I type emails in there
and just hit send when I get onto the internet. I wouldn't use Word
for email - it puts too many funny symbols in the text - if I was
going to use something other than my email/news reader, I use notepad.

I do type trip reports offline, and download incoming email and the
answer offline, but sometimes, the connection is so slow that I can
type while the rest of the messages are downloading.

I don't care to spend time on shore looking for an internet cafe. If
something comes up and I need to go to some internet site, I can't
remember all the URLs and their browsers are not usually secured.






As I mentioned to Tom, your method works ok if you are on dial-up at
home. On a ship, the clock starts ticking the moment you are given a
logon and log into the ships network. The ship has a satellite up link
to the internet. There is no off. Likewise at the cyber cafe's I use,
the method of billing is from the time you sit your but down to the
computer. Internet access is via either DSL or sometimes Cable. Again
there is no off. So it really doesn't matter, how or with what you
compose your email. Besides, I type 80 wpm. It's a lot easier for me
to use my ISPs online web interface to read and compose or send mail.
That way my friends or relatives don't have to figure out who that
strange email address from Mexico is mailing them.

$8.00 was the most I paid in Playa del Carmen Mexico. That was during a
rather lengthy storm. And, I did have coffee and some chilly included
for the price. You won't find a shipboard deal like that anywhere.

--
________
To email me, Edit "blog" from my email address.
Brian M. Kochera
"Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once!"
View My Web Page: http://home.earthlink.net/~brian1951

In article , Brian K
wrote:

As I mentioned to Tom, your method works ok if you are on dial-up at
home. On a ship, the clock starts ticking the moment you are given a
logon and log into the ships network. The ship has a satellite up link
to the internet. There is no off.

If you log out you are off. I take my laptop on the ship and use the
Wi-Fi. I log on, then download e-mail and some web pages. Also
newsgroup messages. I log off and read everything offline. I compose
any e-mail replies offline. Then I do a short log-on to upload my
replies and log right off.

--
Charles