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If needing access at almost any time any place during the cruise & it needs to be as reliable as possible too (e.g. for scheduled business calls, or something urgent is happening at home; & even need access when ocean cruising mid-Atlantic or mid-Pacific): might need the priciest cruise line option then; OR
- If on this trip you have non-urgent needs, then low cost or even free (if a public network is okay) & whenever available might do it (which will usually be on a port day, on land, maybe at a coffee shop or a hotel lobby which extends free WiFi).
If you might not “need” to pay for the best/expensive cruise line communications package, there are lots of other creative ways to communicate. The Internet is full of alternate ways that have worked for travelers. These vary quite regularly as different apps & methods come into vogue. Since many of the lowest cost ways utilize public networks, one should enquire/read up on Dos & Don’ts for maintaining adequate security for your travel device(s) of choice). And might be able to turn on a VPN, e.g. the laptop I take traveling has VPN ability both thru the Brave browser & thru LiveSafe security software.
Alternate ways ocean cruisers have used recently to access lower cost communications include:
- using various offline apps; using WhatsApp;
- using the free public WiFi at coffee shop/restaurant on land, or sometimes it’s provided somewhere outside in the Cruise Port itself;
- using a cruise ship’s most limited (most low cost) option, for the most basic of communications; and/or
- sometimes (I hear) just between two phones e.g. if both are iPhones with this capability built in.
Methods are often changing through recent years. Examples of some of the internet searches that might net current info.:
- offline phone communications while traveling;
- free WiFi opportunities during travel;
- maps [of major cities] showing free WiFi opportunities.
It is also considered classic advice that the crew will usually know where the free or lowest cost WiFi is, close to the docked ship. Try asking them as they leave the ship (extra clue if you see them heading off the ship with a laptop or tablet).
You might even choose a cruise itinerary that stops in a port city almost every day (rather than trans-Atlantic or trans-Pacific), for lower cost communications on this trip.
And on the ship, the internet cafe manager may be helpful for asking more travel communications questions.