Questions about cruise experience

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?

2. Is tipping mandatory onboard? I've heard the ship charges you
'automaticall' on a daily basis.

3. Based on your experience which cruise liners do you like the best?

Many thanks for your feedbacks!

-Joane

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

"Joan M." wrote:

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?

It isn't generally free and what is charged varies both by the cruise
line and by the amount of time you buy (price reductions when you buy
more time).

2. Is tipping mandatory onboard? I've heard the ship charges you
'automaticall' on a daily basis.

Basically it is mandatory and the ship does usually charge per person
per day. You can tip extra.

3. Based on your experience which cruise liners do you like the best?

Not going to touch this one. What is the best for you depends on what
you value v.s. what you want to pay for it.

"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 at www.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=

Joan M. wrote:

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

Almost every ship has an internet cafe, some will have wi-fi access but
not all. All ships charge for internet services and the amount varies
from ship to ship.

2. Is tipping mandatory onboard? I've heard the ship charges you
'automaticall' on a daily basis.

They put the tips on your shipboard account, but if you wanted to remove
them you can do it by going to the pursers desk. The crew depends on
tips for their income, they work very hard and are paid very, very
little by the cruise lines. Out of 17 cruises so far, there has only
been one or two times we haven't given an additional tip for very good
service.

3. Based on your experience which cruise liners do you like the best?

We enjoy cruising on most all the cruise lines and enjoy the
differences. If you tell us a little about yourself and the things you
enjoy, then we can give you an idea of which cruise line might be better
for you.

sue

Sue and Kevin Mullen wrote:

Joan M. wrote:

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

Almost every ship has an internet cafe, some will have wi-fi access but
not all. All ships charge for internet services and the amount varies
from ship to ship.

The short answer is "if you have to ask you can't afford it."

The problem is not that the price is high, although it is, but that
you are likely to get lost in what you're doing and spend much more
than you intended. If you buy a package of connection minutes, you
reduce that risk, but it's still expensive - Celebrity, for example,
charges US$60 for two hours. Other posts in this group have said that
certain cabin classes or loyalty programs provide free internet.

In port, you might be able to find a WiFi hotspot that's either free
or low cost, or use the service in a local library. Some ports
(Ketchikan, for example) have internet cafes you can use for a fee.

Jack Hamilton wrote:
Sue and Kevin Mullen wrote:

Joan M. wrote:

1. Is internet access (wi-fi or port access) free onboard? If not, what's
the charge?
Almost every ship has an internet cafe, some will have wi-fi access but
not all. All ships charge for internet services and the amount varies
from ship to ship.

The short answer is "if you have to ask you can't afford it."

This is not always true. Many people would like to know ahead of time
what certain costs are. Some just to know and others to factor it into
their budget.

sue

"Joan M." wrote in message
...
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?

2. Is tipping mandatory onboard? I've heard the ship charges you
'automaticall' on a daily basis.

3. Based on your experience which cruise liners do you like the best?

Many thanks for your feedbacks!

-Joane

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com


Whatever internet service you do have on any on the cruise lines is
relatively slow which equates to being very expensive to use. It's alright
to use occasionally for checking e mail but surfing the net it's painfully
slow.

On 25 Aug 2007 03:39:09 GMT, "Joan M." wrote:

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?

I only have experience with Carnival and HAL and in both cases
Internet access was definitely NOT free. There was an initial charge
to set up an account (under $5) plus a per minute charge that varied
depending on whether you used it on a pay as you go basis ($0.75/min)
or purchased a contract for 50, 100, or 500 minutes ($0.25 to
$0.50/min). I find this excessive and take my laptop ashore when we're
in port and can generally find a free or low-cost wi-fi hotspot at a
restaurant.

2. Is tipping mandatory onboard? I've heard the ship charges you
'automaticall' on a daily basis.

On HAL and Carnival your account is automatically charged $10/day per
person for tips. This can be adjusted up or down by talking to the
ship's front desk. On our HAL Alaskan cruise this summer we were
assured that 100% of the tips are paid to the Indonesian serving crew
(70% split between the cabin steward and the dining steward and the
remaining 30% distributed to the behind the scenes staff-cooks, etc.).
I suspect that the tips are the only remuneration that the Indonesian
serving staff receives.

3. Based on your experience which cruise liners do you like the best?

Depends on what you are looking for. Families with young kids will
like different cruise lines than retired couples. Some ships have lots
of facilities for energetic youngsters (climbing walls, basketball
courts, etc.) while others focus on more intellectual pursuits with
seminars on photography, natural history, cultural anthropology, etc.

Gerry

"Joan M." wrote in message
...
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?

2. Is tipping mandatory onboard? I've heard the ship charges you
'automaticall' on a daily basis.

3. Based on your experience which cruise liners do you like the best?


Internet is basically never free. Everything has to be done vial satellite.
And that's expensive.

Take thie quick 4 question test to help you pick a cruise line, and see
which one comes up for you. Let us know what answer you get.

http://www.02cruise.com/LineSearch/index.asp

--Tom

On Aug 24, 11:39 pm, "Joan M." wrote:
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?

It's rather expensive ... I usually spend 50 --100 on a plan depending
on the length of the cruise to keep up to date with email, news and
sports ... and a little bit getting info on the previous or next
port ...

2. Is tipping mandatory onboard? I've heard the ship charges you
'automaticall' on a daily basis.


Tipping is not exactly mandatory except in a few places ... some
cruiselines phrase it differently and some upscale lines don't even
allow it ... but on any of the mass market ships ... at least $10/day
per person should be given ... you may find the occasional
slackard ... but invariably you have many low paid people working
their butts off for you ...

3. Based on your experience which cruise liners do you like the best?

I've been on just about all the mass market ships and I've enjoyed
them all ... they cater to slightly different clientel ... but you
will find all types of people on any individual cruise ...
IMO ...RCI stresses a lot of family activities ... Carnival stresses a
fun atmosphere ... Celebrity stresses pampering (I love those
commercials ) ... NCL stresses your way relaxation ... Princess and
HAL refinement and elegance ...
You'll get all of that from each one ... just the way the balance gets
tilted ...


Many thanks for your feedbacks!

TK's 4 question link is actually quite good for being so simple ... It
will tell you where what matters most to you is most likely found ...

we are hooked on cruising ...
best way to island hop the Caribbean ... or see the sites in the
Eastern Mediterranean ... or compare the Norwegian Fjords glaciers to
Alaska ... now that last one will take two cruises ... but hey ...
it's how to do it ...