Access to email on Oasis of the Seas?
 

taking the Dec 24 - 31 cruise on Oasis. how easy/costly is it to access my email? dont need to surf the web, just be able to receive and send emails without costing a fortune. also, any idea on cost once in port at local internet cafes? ports include jamaica and mexico

Sorry but it WILL cost you a fortune. You can sign up for a block of minutes to reduce the cost but it is expensive. Haven't tried cafes in Jamaica but Mexico is reasonably cheap depending on the location.

But HEY, you are on vacation! On a cruise! On a great ship! Let the email go for a week. All the messages will still be there when you get back.

The costs are as follows, though usually if you buy a block on the first day there is a discount or some additional minutes. It's still pricey though:

The cost is $.65 per minute or you can choose a prepaid package:
$35 for 60 minutes
$55 for 100 minutes
$75 for 150 minutes
$100 for 250 minutes
$150 for 500 minutes

Internet cafes are of course going to be considerably less expensive, probably $5 to $10 us an hour at the tourist shops. If you have a laptop, you may find free wifi at some restaurants and bars too. They probably will be crowded with ships employees.

Ask some of the people working on the ship, they may steer you to less expensive not so much tourist places that have internet access without a wait or anything.

Absolutely! I consider a cruise to be a failure if I return remembering any of my passwords :)

Also keep in mind that any internet access at sea will be though a satellite, so it will likely be slower than you are accustomed. Email should be fine, but bandwidth-heavy things might... take... a... while...

In my experience (although I haven't been on that ship), even email can load extremely slowly on a cruise ship. After you have successfully downloaded your messages, sign off the internet, compose all of your outgoing emails and then sign back in to sent. Or, just do it in port-- faster and cheaper.

its usually faster ~ 5 am.....you can check your cell roaming charges for the ports & use it for mail if its cheaper.....

It is very costly not to mention slow when using service on the ship which is satellite based.

Pre-set your email filters so only the important, absolutely needed ones are received.

Log in, Download, Log out of the internet connection. Reply off line, Then log in to send.

Very important to log off - and get the log off confirmation screen.

If you have time in the ports to keep in touch, the best choice is wifi in a cafe with your own computer and security.

I know people who has setup a different email address just for the trip for important messages. Some email server like my organization's has SMS notification service.