Internet access on liveaboards

[vadiver1]

Hi,
I'm trying to plan my first proper dive trip with my husband (I'm doing all the planning....)
I have 8-9 days and planning to go the last week in Nov/1st week in Dec. We're not very experienced divers so I'm considering Honduras.
Anyway, I would like to consider a 7-day liveaboard, but my other half will only consider it if there is internet access (something to do with him working )
Does anyone know of any Caribbean liveaboards with internet access? Would a liveaboard be suitable for inexperienced divers?, Honduras?

Thanks,

Dee

 

[Wookie]

Dee, you don't have to dive every dive. Many liveaboards (including mine) have internet access available, but it is VERY expensive, like $15.00 per megabyte. An option is to rent a sat phone from an irriduim dealer, but at 9.6 kbps, it's not much good for anything but e-mail. You've gotta remember here, you're on vacation. If he is that critical to the proper operation of his company, he needs to train someone who can take over in his absence anyway. What if he gets hit by a bus on the way home from church Sunday morning?

All that aside, you might want to give a place like Cocoview resort a try. They offer unlimited diving every day, so you can see if you really want 5 per day or if 2, 3, or 4 will suit you better. They have unlimited internet as long as their connection is up (remember, it is a third world country, and undergoing some kind of coup at the moment). You are a little late planning only 6 weeks out, so you may not get exactly what you want, but should be able to get great pricing if you are willing to look for last minute specials.

Frank

 

[RJP]

Consider landbased, somewhere like Bonaire where the diving is easy - and plentiful - and you can still get on the internet at night back in your room.

 

[DiveMaven]

I have to agree that if your husband needs computer/internet access while on vacation, you should look at a land-based trip. Places like Roatan and Bonaire would be perfect places that would meet all your needs, with both guided boat dives and beach diving, with internet access as well. In addition, there are other things to do besides dive, dive, dive, so if you want to dive a lot but not go crazy, these islands would be perfect. Or you could do like some of us do, and simply dive, dive, dive!

 

[Doc]

Internet access from a liveaboard is limited to WiFi signals they can pick up while laying offshore at anchor. At least that had been my only experience to date on a liveaboard.

From a liveabaord, you aren't going to get WiFi access near Roatan. You're very close to shore on most all Caribbean liveaboards, but WiFi is very limited range.

Many liveabaords can be a great experience for beginners, and the ones that ply the waters of the Bay Island to Belize would certainly fit that bill. Look for liveabaords that are in areas that "drift diving" is not on the menu... you should take the ones where the diving begins and ends at the ship itself- no pick-up boats. Work your way up from there.

CoCoView is as about as simple as Roatan diving can get.

 

[Uraluni]

On a liveaboard no matter where you go, you're not likely to be in touch with internet access. It's a boat...you're many miles out at sea...plus you're working out of a third-world coutry. No offense to Honduras, but it's not realistic to expect internet access via wireless connection on a boat miles off the shore.

 

[Wookie]

Internet access from a liveaboard is limited to WiFi signals they can pick up while laying offshore at anchor. At least that had been my only experience to date on a liveaboard.

On a liveaboard no matter where you go, you're not likely to be in touch with internet access. It's a boat...you're many miles out at sea...plus you're working out of a third-world coutry. No offense to Honduras, but it's not realistic to expect internet access via wireless connection on a boat miles off the shore.

Well, actually, most liveaboards have internet of some sort. Did you guys think I was jacking the OP? they might not all make it available to passengers due to the expense. I happen to have BGAN on the Spree that works anywhere in the Atlantic ocean, and in the Pacific out to about the International Date line. I assure you, I am not limited by some WiFi signal from shore. As I explained earlier, it is VERY expensive. I have had some sort of internet access since 2003 when I bought the boat. When Globalstar all but tanked, I had to choose another service provider. I happened to choose an Inmarsat antenna provided by Thrane and Thrane with service from Stratos. We have standby service of 128kbps, and can set up streaming of 256 kbps. Last winter we needed true high speed, so we leased an antenna that gave us 100 mbps. I'd call that something other than WiFi from shore. Oh, unlimited 100 mbps access runs in the neighborhood of 3 grand per day. The phone on such installations is VOIP. The Aggressor fleet vessel specifications I looked at include satellite internet for a fee.

Frank

 

[Doubler]

The one liveaboard that I know of that gets WIFI is the Kona Aggressor. They dive in areas that you will get a signal at sea but it is dependent on location. I believe they actually refer to it as the "Internet Liveaboard". But that aside why would you want to take your work with you on a vacation. I go on vacation to get away from work not to be interrupted by it.

 

[diversteve]

There's only two liveaboards that I'm aware of in Honduras. One is the Utila Aggressor:

Computer station with email access. For a fee, emails may be sent via satellite phone.

May want to clarify this with them. They do moor close to town both off Utila and also Roatan's West End so it would probably be possible to get shuttled into town. I believe I saw guests being transferred to the West End one night - our house was just a couple hundred yards from where they moored. When they're traveling between islands, I think you'd lose any connectivity except via satphone.

Neither island had what I'd call blazing fast connectivity though. Good enough to send e-mails but we tried Yahoo msgr. on Utila and it was painfully slow.

The other one is this one: Divers At Play - Roatan Live Aboard Diving, Roatan - I know nothing about it.

 

[DeputyDan]

I agree with the COCO View recommendation.

Very good diving, internet access.

Relaxing locale.