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Internet Friendly Cruise Lines?

Posted by Cliff on from the for-those-that-can't-exist-10'-from-their-browsers dept.

ttyp0 asks: "The team of upper management at my company, including myself want to take a week long cruise vacation together. Unfortunately, being away from the office and unable access the Internet is terrifying in the case of an emergency. Are there any cruise lines that provide internet access in the cabins (ethernet jack)? If you've been on a cruise recently, who do you recommend?" Those boats are big enough, you figure at least one of the larger cruise lines have thrown a modest satellite and a small Internet cafe on one by now.

5 of 43 comments (clear)

  1. Google says... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    http://cybercaptive.com/cruise.shtml

    Try that.

  2. When I went on a cruise.... by Alpha27 · · Score: 4, Informative

    I decided to go to Alaska/Vancouver this past summer and enjoyed it. The lack of net access was a plus, but I did want to at least have access on board. The good thing, the cruise line, Royal Carribean, does have net access.

    The downside of their net access be listed:
    - slow access, similar to a 56k modem.
    - has to use their equipment setup, could not use my laptop.
    - had to use their intergrated desktop envirnoment which is designed to charge the used by the minute, using your cabin card.
    - i could only use an older version of IE at the time which did not have java support.

    The way I got around this was to use VNC viewer to connect to my office machine, and use what software I needed to on that side such as my email and instant messengaging clients.

    Another thing to note is that some ports of call do have net access. I can recall 3 cities on my trip with their own net access. There could have been more, but I wasn't looking for them. They were usually in near plain site, because of the tourists.

    If this is not up to your liking, then I would say bring your own satellite hardware. But if you're on vacation, then keep it that way. Enjoy the vacation and pretend you don't have access. That's pretty much what I did.

  3. Princess - Their Grand Boat by mfos.org · · Score: 3, Informative
    From Princess' web site

    AOL Internet Cafés

    Aboard the Sun, Dawn, Sea, Ocean, Royal, Regal, Grand and Golden Princess you can keep in touch while you're at sea. Extended hours are available allowing you to send and receive email, browse the Internet and utilize the Center's computers for word processing. Programs available include Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, etc.), Corel Suite (WordPerfect, Corel Draw, etc.), Lotus Suite (Lotus 1, 2, 3) and AOL. Printing and photocopying services are also available. We encourage you to contact your ship's Computer Officer to discuss your specific needs and the charges that apply for these services.



    I have been on 4 princess cruises, and they are a very nice way to travel.
  4. Geeky Cruise Line by TechSam · · Score: 2, Informative

    Check out http://www.geekcruises.com.
    It's neat.

    1. Re:Geeky Cruise Line by _hAZE_ · · Score: 5, Informative
      I thought I'd expand on Geek Cruises a bit, since I've been drooling over the opportunity to attend one of their cruises for a long time.

      Linux Lunacy II - Western Caribbean - October 20-27, 2002

      Ft. Lauderdale, FL - Cozumel, Mexico - Georgetown, Grand Cayman - Ocho Rios, Jamaica - Half Moon Cay, Bahamas - Ft. Lauderdale

      Seminars include: Learning Perl, Introduction to the Linux Kernel, Introduction to Python, Application Development with Python, More Than You Ever Wanted to Know About Filesystems, User Interface Programming and Architecture using Embedded Linux, Programming without Perl, Introduction to Zope 3, Building Ad Hoc Serverless Communities, Integrating Linux into a Small Business, Code Inspections and Reviews, Bullet Proofing, Paranoia, and Mucking Out, Vim for Vi Users, The Open Source Revolution, The Zen of UNIX, Twenty Years Among the Hackers, The Great Brain Race, Graphical User Interfaces using Embedded Linux, Web Application Attacks and Countermeasures 101, Web Application Attacks and Countermeasures 202, Digital Forensics Using Open Source Tools, and Preparing for Incident Response and Forensics.
      • Inside Cabin - $849
      • Better Inside - $899
      • Outside Cabin - $999
      • Better Outside - $1,149
      • Mini Suite - $1,399
      • Conference Fee - $995

      On board, what Net connections will be available?
      Holland America has equipped its ships for Internet connectivity. Called the "Internet Cafe," this room (which is open 24 hours a day) has six to 12 PCs with realtime browser access to the Internet.

      Will my PC work aboard ship?
      Each stateroom is equipped with 110-volt, 60-cycle alternating current. So most hair dryers, electric shavers, portable computers, and other small appliances not exceeding 500 watts (110 volts) may be used in the stateroom outlets. Having said that, many staterooms have only one outlet, so we suggest you bring a power strip!

      My significant other is doubtful about cruising with a ship full of geeks, but I want him/her to come along with me.
      The ship holds about 1,400 people and only about 300 of that number will be Geek Cruisers, including their non-geek spouses, friends, and family members. So, actually, it's the geeks who will be in the minority. Your spouse will have plenty of company.

      There's a lot more at their website, but that should sum it up really well.
      --

      Don Head
      UNIX/Linux Administrator