Opinion: WI-FI on ships

[NancyN]

I was just reading a trade article that indicated Carnival is hoping to lure business travelers to the cruise market by providing Wi-Fi access on their ships. Just curious, Question for the Cruise-Chat community: Do you think that this online accessibility will actually attract the business sector to cruising?
Nancy

[Oggy Boy]

If it were stable, fast and dependable, it would be a consideration for me. After this last cruise on the Century with poor access, it seems somewhat more important.

However, I think that the cruise line that comes out with free wi-fi access will win the war.

Just my opinion.

Tom

Tom

[oppis]

Hi Tom,

do you really need constant internet acces on a cruise?
When I am on a cruise, and business on the internet is my every day work (I have an agency for vacation homes in the Netherlands) I dont wont to know what is going in the world and will forget everything, that has to do with my life at home.

But maybe its good for those families, to get the husband or father with them on a cruise, when he can do some work on the ship.

Marita

[NancyN]

Tom,
I hadn't thought of that particular aspect of it - but I have to agree. If wi-fi access was free that could be huge in attracting more conventions, business conferences, the casual business traveler - I know that many businessmen make it a point of selecting their hotels based on free and accessible internet service.
Nancy

[Kate Ashlock]

We have a laptop with a WiFi card and I think it would be nice to have access to it on the cruise. For getting in touch with home, surfing at night if we need a quiet activity ... it's nice to be connected. I'm not sure that a business traveller though, would be likely to take a cruise? That would have to be a pretty specific trip to match the cruiseline itinerary.

[Giventofly]

As a realtor, Internet access and connectablility is very important. That said,I don't think I would be drawn to CRUISING any more or less than now, if they offered wifi, however, if I was torn between 2 ships, and one had Wireless and the other did not, I probably would go with the wiresless ship.

-Dan

[Oggy Boy]

Yes, connectivity is very important to me. I would avoid a ship that did not offer stable connectivity.

Tom

[swimmersonboard]

I have to agree with the above post that whether or not there was access would not attract me to cruising BUT that said if I am choosing between two I two would consider the one that has it just b/c of getting in touch with home.

[Stanj]

Although I tend to forget all about work the moment I close to door on the taxi heading to the airport, having wireless certainly would be an attraction. With cruises that are port intensive, being able to research activities, customs, maps,and reviews when the fancy strikes is a pretty compelling reason to want W-Fi.....I am sitting in an outdoor cafe on Nevsky Prospekt at the Grand Hotel Europe in city center St Petersburg, Russia enjoying the eye-candy( the best girl watching in the world) and a Baltica #3 .8 ltr brew. All brought to you by a high speed Wi-Fi connection in the hotel. I just booked reservations at my favorite restaurant tonight via that same connection and last night ordered ballet tickets and selected the seats via an on-line map. So I guess this thing has been well intigrated into my life....and maybe yours.
Stan

[Larry in Miami]

Wi-Fi is a plus. I tried to post pictures to my website from the Victory back in May and could never get a good enough connection.

Carnival's Valor has ship wide Wi-Fi, that is my next cruise. That was one of the reasons I picked the ship.