Yes, the ship offered internet service...through a very slow satellite connection with disclaimers. We had the option of paying 75 cents per minute or just $55 for 100 minutes. In whispers, the “librarian” on board said that most port terminals had free Wi-Fi so if we didn’t mind lugging our laptop around, that would be a much better tightwad solution. And so lug we did.
Actually, the lugging wasn’t bad since we have a tiny netbook (great deal on Amazon!). It’s an awesome little invention that fits in my purse if I take out the lotion and keys. And no, I couldn’t just use my Smartphone to check email and Facebook while we were traveling because, once again, I am a tightwad. I looked into getting a Blackberry a few years ago and balked at the additional $35 per month for the ever-available internet connection. So I got an iTouch instead – an iPhone without the phone – that serves as my iPod, calendar, address book, and when available…free handheld connection to the world. The iTouch eventually took on a key role in our daily adventure, although it took us three ports to figure it out. With that, here is how the adventure played out:
Boston – our embarkation port. We stayed in a hotel literally connected to the airport. They wanted $10 to allow us to ride on their Wi-Fi. Tightening my wad, we wandered Logan airport instead and found free Wi-Fi AND excellent hot dogs.
Bar Harbor – the town boasted free Wi-Fi in its park. Sadly, it was pouring rain and the netbook isn’t waterproof. We wandered all around the tiny terminal and finally found Wi-Fi in one corner. We guarded it fiercely until we were done.
Halifax – the terminal was really just a small shopping center without any place to sit down, so we walked to a restaurant for lunch. We walked far enough away from the ship that the wait staff had not been asked before about whether they had free Wi-Fi. We were stunned that they were about to give us their private access code when we discovered a free link at a nearby business instead.
Sydney – we walked into the terminal and it was clear that free Wi-Fi was present. Practically the entire Indonesian crew from the ship was there in their off-duty t-shirts and flip flops, laptops and netbooks open, Skyping and Facebooking. Apparently there’s no employee discount for internet service on the ship. Tightwads! We sat down to join the cyber party but couldn’t get connected due to all the heavy traffic. We decided to walk around town instead. Somewhere along a Sydney sidewalk, it occurred to us that we could use the Wi-Finder on my iTouch as a spotter, instead of taking the netbook out of my purse to check for connectivity. So there we were, walking along, staring down at a tiny handheld screen when, “BINGO!” We spent the next 10 minutes gleefully sitting on the curb of a hotel, happily riding their free Wi-Fi.
Prince Edward Island – once again, the terminal was overrun with crew members jamming the free connection. So we brought out the dowsing rod and discovered a café/gift store with free Wi-Fi. We bought a couple bottles of water and I checked email while Rob chatted with the store’s owner about how to draw more cruisers to her store. We suggested highlighting her free Wi-Fi.
Québec City – when we docked, our room faced the terminal. I also noticed there was a fancy apartment complex right next to the terminal. Surely someone living there would have neglected to secure their network. Bingo! Thankful for their trust…or noviceness…we were happy to check in with the world from the comfort of our stateroom and leave the netbook behind for the day. As we walked through the terminal, we saw several frustrated cruisers with laptops and scowls…and no crew members. Guess word was mostly out that the terminal didn’t have free Wi-Fi.
Montréal – when we docked, we were able to find a connection through the city as long as we were outside, facing north, and clicked past all sorts of disclaimers and warnings and “are you sures?” from Firefox. The hotel we stayed in after disembarking, sadly, was in that category of insisting for payment for Internet, even in its lobby. Using the iTouch as Toucan Sam, we eventually found a train station with free Wi-Fi and sat among travelers to Canadian towns I’ve never heard of to post a picture of me devouring les poutines.
I know it has been a couple of weeks since we returned from our trip. I meant to post this entry days ago. But I have been busy surfing my free (discounting the monthly EarthLink charge) Wi-Fi at Woodhaven to my heart’s content. Ah, the comforts of home.
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