How important is WIFI at sea for Seniors?
I love my smart phone. It goes with me everywhere. It is my alarm clock, calendar, my medical alert device and news source. Cell phones provide diversion anytime waiting is required. Most importantly, it links me to friends and relatives. So, of course, my cell phone goes to sea with me. It serves mostly as an alarm clock because WIFI at sea leaves much to be desired
As the ship leaves the dock, I generally stand on my balcony and send out those last emails and texts. Gradually, the signal becomes weaker and weaker until it is gone. I always get a weird feeling of disconnect at that point. Then again, I know that within a short time I will be in the new reality of the “cruise world” where none of that matters.
Most older cruisers want very much to stay in touch with children and grand-children but are not obsessive about it. Email will do.
Internet Cafe
All ships have an internet café of some type. Tech help is available at designated times. Lines for tech help are often long for the first several days. It is mostly an older crowd in that line. The youngsters are glued to their phones and don’t use the internet cafe. Undoubtedly, they must have purchased large internet packages based on the amount of time they spend on their phones.
Frustrations
Using the computers on the ship can be fraught with difficulty especially for those my age. Some ships have Apple computers and others have PCs. Using an Apple if you are used to a PC can be frustrating until you get the hang of it and vice versa. I know because that happened to me. Struggling to find the location of common keys eats up time and time is expensive depending on the plan you buy. It can cost upwards of 80 – 90 cents a minute. Just signing on can eat up a few minutes especially if you have to ask the tech support person for help. In the photo below you can see the frustration on my face when trying to sign on to an Apple computer on Celebrity Equinox.
Tips
Important tip: It is essential that you sign off the computer when you are finished or the minutes keep ticking and the dollars can add up. I know, as that happened to me.
You do have the option of signing on with your smartphone or tablet and reading your email in the privacy of your cabin but then tech help may be far away if a problem arises.
I generally purchase a small internet package half way through the week on a one-week cruise. I can go for a few days without checking email but after that I get antsy.
Royal Caribbean has sunk a lot of money into expanding their internet service and it shows. They draw a lot of young cruisers who cannot bear to be unconnected to their friends. On their giant Oasis class ships, I found the fastest at sea internet ever. And the pricing was comparable to other lines. It was the only time I have used my phone at sea because the signal was so strong.
Free WIFI
Another thing I have learned to do is to wait until we dock and look for signs indicating free WIFI. Bars and restaurants eager for customers often offer free WIFI with a purchase. They will give you a password after you buy an item. You can generally spot free WIFI in other locations as there will be a crowd gathered. Another option is to keep your eyes on the crew as they disembark. They usually know the location of the free spots.
Loyalty programs on cruise lines are another way to get free WIFI. Be sure to sign up because at a certain level you may be given free internet minutes.
Summary
Pros
- Royal Caribbean’s VOOM internet is the fastest and most reliable at sea
- Tech support is available and utilized by senior cruisers
- WIFI at sea is less important to senior cruisers than younger cruisers.
Cons
- In general, WIFI at sea is unreliable and expensive.
- Most connections are slow and may come and go.
- It is expensive
