How to Get Free Wi-Fi on a Cruise

[Jason]

Internet access on cruise ships can be expensive—often $1 per minute—and excruciatingly slow. So when ships pull into port, passengers often go in search of cheap or free Wi-Fi. Because it's not always easy to suss out in advance where in port the Wi-Fi will be, I thought it would help to share the story of how I found free Wi-Fi in Aruba last week.

I watched for crew members leaving the ship carrying laptops and followed them. They ended up in the Renaissance Mall at a Starbucks just below the lobby of the Renaissance Aruba Resort & Casino. The free Wi-Fi extended beyond the Starbucks to the hotel's open-air lobby, bar, and pool. More free Wi-Fi could be found across the street at Renaissance Marketplace, a set of shops with plenty of outdoor seating with a harbor view.

There was Wi-Fi inside the cruise terminal building too—a convenience that is not the norm for most cruise piers—but it cost $5 an hour. Since I had to spend the whole day on my laptop, and I liked the idea of drinks with a view, I opted for the Renaissance complex.

When you’re headed on a cruise and you'll need Internet access, do your homework and research in advance where there’s convenient Wi-Fi, either free or affordable, in each port on your itinerary. Although it's normally good source for sussing out Wi-Fi spots, JiWire’s global Wi-Fi finder is often not so good for Wi-Fi options near cruise piers. x’s Ports of Call boards sometimes have this information. When all else fails, in the Caribbean the local Margaritaville usually has free Wi-Fi and plenty of electrical outlets.

Anyone have other suggestions for how to find convenient, fast, and free Wi-Fi hot spots in cruise ports globally? Please share them below!

By Wendy Perrin, Conde Nast Traveller

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Re-posted on CruiseCrazies.com - Cruise News, Articles, Forums, Packing List, Ship Tracker, and more

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[Sarge6870]

When visiting Cozumel,Mx, Paradise Beach has free WiFi with connections from 2 separate locations. One is at the beach bar and one is at the pool bar. I got full bars throughout Paradise beach on my tablet. And if you forget to take your device, they have 2 PC's at the bar (I'm using one in my profile picture when I did the CHAT) that are free to use. They just ask you keep your usage to a 15 minute max on the bar computers so others can have access to them as well.

[DebbieandJerry]

And it's always good to check out this information right before leaving on any vacation as what is free today might not be by the time you get to your destination.

Thanks for posting the article.

[WeCruiseToo]

I watched for crew members leaving the ship carrying laptops and followed them.

We like to be a little less stalker-y and ask. Every crew member knows all the free Wi-Fi spots in every port. It’s a real easy question to ask and sometimes you’ll get even more information about the port; different crew members like different Wi-Fi spots because it’s near a favorite beach or restaurant or bar – also sure to have the best prices on food and drink!

[WeCruiseToo]

Oops! The way the quote shows in our previous post makes it look like we think Jason is stalker-y. Not so! Just the original author of the article a little bit, but I’m sure she’s really very nice.

[Roger25375]

In Cozumel we found free wifi outside of Los Cinco Soles in Puerta Maya where Carnival docks. In Barbados there is free wifi in the cruise center.