Internet service is rather pricey on the Island Princess, or on any cruise ship for that matter, .75 cents per minute. It is also very slow. Like one click every two minutes.
We brought our laptop computer with us to download the photos from our camera but we also tried to find Wifi at our ports of call. Difficult or non-existent is the best way to describe that endeavor.
Aruba: When you disembark from the cruise ship and walk through the secure port area to get to the street, turn right. Walk down about a block or so, staying on the same side of the street. Look for a building where Dunkin Donuts is on the second floor. They have free Wifi here. To be fair go in and buy a snack. We bought 2 iced coffees, cost about $4. We were able to download our email but could not send out any emails. This was pretty much our last Internet Wifi opportunity for 2 weeks until we docked in Los Angeles.
Cartagena, Colombia: Nothing that we could find but we spent the few hours we were there on an excursion and had no time for finding an Internet cafe. A taxi driver may be able to help. There are also some shops at the port, notably Juan Valdez coffee shop. I recall someone saying there was a shop nearby that offered Internet.
Panama Canal and anchored off Fuerte Amador: This might be a good time to try to find free Wifi from a nearby ship that has unsecure Wifi. You'd have to be out on your balcony or on one of the upper decks to make this happen. If you stay inside your cabin the only thing your laptop wants to connect to is the Princess service. In the marina there are a few shops. I don't know that there was Wifi offered anywhere but there were some computers with pay as you go Internet service. I noticed that they were out of order when we walked past them. There are lots of taxi drivers in the marina and just outside the fence on the street. I'm sure any of them can take you to an Internet cafe. We were away for several hours on an excursion and didn't have time to look for Internet service.
Puntarenas, Costa Rica: We were gone for several hours on an excursion but our guide did tell us there were several places in Puntarenas to purchase Wifi or use the Internet and pointed out a couple to us on the way back to the wharf. We returned to the Island Princess to pick up the laptop and went out to find one. We chose the one that was just down the street straight from the wharf, a couple of blocks away. $2/hour. It appeared this little shop was pirating Internet from the two cruise ships in port, Princess and Carnival. Hit and miss. In my case, miss. I moved over on to one of their computers and got access but it wasn't much use to me and left well before my hour was up.
Huatulco, Mexico: this is a small town with only a couple of streets near the dock. We did see a shop with an Internet sign out front. It was closed. This was a Sunday in port so its possible its open the other days of the week. However its my opinion that at the end of cruise ship season and no passengers for several more months that most businesses should make an effort to be open for the few hours a cruise ship is in town.
Acapulco, Mexico: Inside the secure port area, in the building, upstairs there is Internet service. I walked up there and a few people were using computers. There was a desk where one would expect to see an attendant but no one was there. There was no one standing/hovering at any of the people using a computer as if providing assistance. I was unable to determine if Wifi was available here. However I did see several Wifi places around town, including about a block away from the port, while we were out on our excursion. There are many taxis lined up around the port so I think it would be easy to ask one of them to drive you to an Internet cafe.
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico: There were several restaurants around the marina that offered Wifi. But I would think that means you have to go in and buy drinks and nachos. Not such a bad idea!
Los Angeles, California: This was the best place to get Wifi. In the port its free. We all had to disembark and wait a bit and then embark again. We took our laptop off with us and while in the waiting area had no problem checking our email and surfing the Internet. There is also a shop in the port that offers Internet service on their computers if you don't have a laptop. The best thing is that back on the Island Princess we were still able to connect to the Port of Los Angeles free Wifi. Now, we had to go up to Deck 15 to pick it up but saw down at a table above the Lotus Pool and enjoyed Internet for awhile until it became slower and slower and we put it away.
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