When we talk here about Internet at sea, the topic comes up one of two ways; someone is either complaining or offering tips on how to get the most out of it.  Sure, connectivity at sea has come a long way from the days that sailing away from shore meant zero communications with the folks back home.  Wireless service is nearly standard on all ships.  New technology is being put into place about as fast as it is being developed.  Value, what we get out of what we pay for Internet access, is increasing.  Ushering in many of these improvements is the Maritime Telecommunications Network (MTN),  a provider of communications and content services for remote locations around the world. Recently,MTN launched a new web site with answers to many of the questions cruise travelers have about connecting.

MTN’s Connect At Sea website is a great place to stop by for answers to your Internet At Sea questions right now, and in the future.  We like that the site has good information needed before sailing, like:

• How To Connect at Sea
• Your Cell Phone at Sea
• Packing Tips for Connected Cruisers
• How Much Data Passengers and Crew Really Need
• Traveling Smart by Traveling Connected
• Yes, You Can Skype!
• Crew Connectivity With Family
• Is At-Sea Internet Really Faster Today?
•  Satellite Vs. Terrestrial Connectivity at Sea
• Ways To Stay In Touch on a Cruise

The MTN Connect At Sea site also asks and helps answer a question that we should have an answer for before boarding any cruise ship:  What’s Your Budget for Connecting at Sea?  Cruise travelers who want to be connected (some don’t) can pay a fortune to make that happen if they don’t have a plan, a strategy if you will, for doing so efficiently.   The MTN Connect At Sea website helps formulate that plan.

For example, Disney Cruise Line recently switched how they charge from per-minute pricing to usage pricing. An interesting idea, heavy Internet users loved the thought of not waiting for slow onboard internet to upload a photo, burning up prepaid minutes.  Instead, paying by usage the user would theoretically not care how long it took, as long as it was eventually uploaded. An improvement.  Still, the MTN Connect At Sea site goes into a full explanation of ‘Best Ways to Pay – MB Vs. Minute’ so cruise travelers can make an informed decision.

No clue what 10MB of data represents?  On Disney Cruise Line that will be $1.90 to do any of the following, details the MTN Connect At Sea site, using Disney Cruise Line’s 100MB plan that sells for $19.00.

The MTN Connect At Sea site also has a downloadable .pdf file of Things To Know Before You Go that every cruise traveler should have, especially first-timers.  Travel Agents:  The MTN Connect At Sea site is a great one to pass along to your clients before sailing.

Odds are if you take photos of open decks on your cruise ship, you have a photo with the MTN logo in it.   That would be on the side of those big white globes you see on the top deck of a cruise ship.  While technology has changed over the years, the satellite globes have been there all along.

This year, MTN launched plans for its next-generation communications system, MTN Nexus™, that is delivering through the convergence of satellite and terrestrial broadband network access, cloud computing infrastructure and software development.

A collection of real-life knowledge from their users, customers and cruise crew, the MTN Connect At Sea web site is one to check now and before each sailing for the latest information on this rapidly evolving topic.

Ever wonder how the Internet works?   This video explains it