Harbour free WiFi....important or not!?

[Curioussailor]

I am trying to understand how important "free wifi" in a harbour may be in you choosing to visit that harbour! Where does it rate for you compared to other services?

[nigel1]

If I had a choice between two harbours, of near to equel services, but one offered free wifi, I'd head for that one, it's nice to be able to check weather, emails, CF etc from the comfort of my own boat.

[janice142]

Ditto nigel1 ... I've moved to be closer to a wifi connection for similar reasons and it is one of the considerations when I shift over to Pensacola later this month.

[nautical62]

It all depends on my needs and desire of the time, and it often relates to other needs as well.

When I cruise the Bahamas, I like to get WiFi access about once every 5 days, but also use that time to do laundry, provision, get fuel, maybe a meal out, etc as well. It's rarely just about WiFi. (Other nights, I might purposely avoid such places in favor of being off the beaten track.)

Often WiFi isn't a harbor free service. Often it's free to customer's at some establishment. I'd rather get two beers and internet for $10, than spend the same $10 for Out Island Internet.

Certainly WiFi availability is something I consider in my route and anchorage choices.

[sww914]

If I'm paying for a slip, I expect it, period. Anchored out, if I can get it one place and not another and they're equal otherwise, I'll take the wifi.

[Vasco]

It's nice to have free wifi but I wouldn't make any cruising decisions based on availability of wifi. Over the years I've become less dependent on it for communication. As I only cruise the Bahamas and the US I've found that 2 cell phones is the answer, one for each country.

[Bash]

Originally Posted by Curioussailor

I am trying to understand how important "free wifi" in a harbour may be in you choosing to visit that harbour! Where does it rate for you compared to other services?

It's more important to me than showers. It's not the most important consideration, however. More important is that I can get from the harbour to places I want to go via bicycle.

I would pass up a harbour with free wifi but where I had to take a taxi or bus to town in favour of a harbour with no wifi but good bikeability.

People developing new harbours often confuse the harbour with the destination. I see this a lot in Baja; great harbours being built on the outskirsts of nowhere. The harbour is not the destination. Rather, it's a place to leave the boat while you visit the destination.

[Curioussailor]

Many thanks for the thoughts, I would most certainly love to hear from more of you folks!

[msulc]

I agree WIFI is great for checking emails, weather, news, etc. However, it is also a time drain too. A few days without internet is a good thing. We have gone to places with free wifi and it is so slow we end up looking at our computers for an hour and actually being able to use the internet for a total of 5 - 10 minutes.

[Tony B]

All things being equal, I will definitely take the wii fi.

I now have a phone with internet and "hot Spot" capability. "Hot Spot" is where your phone becomes a wii fi router. We haven't cruised inland or anywhere yet to see if it will work on rivers. Supposedly, as long as I can get Verizon cell service, the internet will also work. On the 3rd coast, many areas along the beach including some marinas are on the very outer fringes of cell and internet service. In those areas, it may work, and it may not work. I assume a lot of rivers and lakes are the same way.