One of the shocks for first-time cruisers, at least in the era when we were rookies, is that you have to pay for soda pop. Today’s surprise for first-time cruisers is the Internet.
Nobody expects Internet access for free on cruise ships, but the cost can sometimes seem outrageous. So as a public service, this is to prepare you for connecting your laptop — or the cruise ship’s — when you’re away from civilization for a week or so.
The actual fee seems to vary from cruise line to cruise line, but a ballpark figure is you can expect to pay between 50 cents and a dollar a minute. The more you spend on a “package” the less your per-minute fees will be.
But here’s the kicker…
Connections to the Internet from a cruise ship can be slow. Excruciatingly slow sometimes. As near as we can determine, it’s seldom the fault of the cruise line. The satellite signal can be sketchy, depending on the location of the ship…or the weather.
So when your planned two-minute connection to check email turns into 15 or 20 minutes, it can be a shock to the system. And the budget, of course.