How does Voom compare with other cruise line wifi services?

Hey all ~

Does anyone know how Voom compares, in terms of speed and reliability, to wifi services offered on other cruise lines?

We just sailed on the Harmony and the internet service on that ship far exceeded anything we had encountered while sailing with Disney. But I understand that Voom on the older ships isn't nearly as speedy.

If you were selecting a cruise line based primarily on the speed and reliability of the internet connection, which line would you choose?

For now, I'd choose one of the new RCI ships; but I'm curious hear about the experience of others. We have cruises in 2017 on both Adventure and Explorer and I'm concerned that the family will be expecting to have internet speeds similar to what we saw on Harmony. I know that won't be the case; but I'm wondering whether we would find that level of connectivity on any other boat?

I suspect you'll be hard pressed to find better cruise ship Internet than Voom on the RCI ships, especially the Oasis class.

Since these are among the newest technology configurations and infrastructures, they are a major leap forward in performance from traditional onboard Internet on any cruise line.

Currently on Liberty for two weeks and connectivity has been poor. Surfing is slow and streaming is difficult to impossible.

We have had pretty good weather, so that's not the excuse.

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I got off Oasis last Saturday and used Voom- 1 device, surf only. It's the first time I've used an internet package while on board ship and I was very impressed! I got Wifi all over the ship, it was pretty fast, it loaded photos on the internet quicker than our wifi at the hotel prior to the cruise.

It seemed like alot of people were using the wifi onboard too.

If you were selecting a cruise line based primarily on the speed and reliability of the internet connection, which line would you choose?

You'd have to ask this on the other line's boards - not too many cruisers from other lines would come here and even fewer would have hard numbers to post.

Thanks for your replies, everyone! I've found some interesting articles online regarding this subject, but I am always curious to hear whether anyone has personal experience between the lines. I certainly know from our experience, for example, that Disney is well behind the others in this area.

I suspect that it will be tough for other lines to match the speeds offered on Harmony, but I'm gonna keep an eye out.

I'm afraid Harmony has spoiled me in this regard!

Currently on Liberty for two weeks and connectivity has been poor. Surfing is slow and streaming is difficult to impossible.

We have had pretty good weather, so that's not the excuse.

 

 

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Liberty doesn't have OB3 voom

We were on the Freedom of the Seas in May and used Vroom.....we were impressed with the speed and reliability.

Voom is much better than the wifi on the Norwegian Escape.

We were on the Freedom of the Seas in May and used Vroom.....we were impressed with the speed and reliability.

That's encouraging, thanks!

Voom is much better than the wifi on the Norwegian Escape.

Excellent information! I was especially curious about NCL service, since I have never sailed with them. I know that they did some upgrades to their internet service not terribly long ago, but wasn't sure how it compared.

As the parent of a teen & the owner of a small business, I really appreciate that RCI is investing in equipment that make it easier for me to stay in touch while at sea. It's definitely +5 points for them when we are deciding on a cruise (assuming we are looking to sail on one of the newer ships, which is usually the case.)

Excellent information! I was especially curious about NCL service, since I have never sailed with them. I know that they did some upgrades to their internet service not terribly long ago, but wasn't sure how it compared.

 

 

 

As the parent of a teen & the owner of a small business, I really appreciate that RCI is investing in equipment that make it easier for me to stay in touch while at sea. It's definitely +5 points for them when we are deciding on a cruise (assuming we are looking to sail on one of the newer ships, which is usually the case.)

I'm pretty sure the NCL "upgrades" didn't make any difference, based on reports I've seen.

Excellent information! I was especially curious about NCL service, since I have never sailed with them. I know that they did some upgrades to their internet service not terribly long ago, but wasn't sure how it compared.

 

As the parent of a teen & the owner of a small business, I really appreciate that RCI is investing in equipment that make it easier for me to stay in touch while at sea. It's definitely +5 points for them when we are deciding on a cruise (assuming we are looking to sail on one of the newer ships, which is usually the case.)

Just got off the NCL Escape this past Saturday. Only used the internet for their free site to look at future cruise prices since we were able to use our Iphones to set up a personal hot spot on most islands.

It was excruciatingly slow. They have not contracted for the O3B (over 3 billion) service on any of their ships.

We were the Celebrity Constellation in the Adriatic and Med a few weeks ago and we had their new unlimited Internet package which included email, Internet AND streaming. It was great! We were able to Facetime and use other video programs to "visit" with our children and grandchildren in the States while on the ship. We were also able to use our T-Mobile phones for free calls to the states as long as we were on the ship's wifi.

That's encouraging, thanks!

Freedom has the upgraded O3B service.;)

I'm pretty sure the NCL "upgrades" didn't make any difference, based on reports I've seen.

Just FYI - Was on the Escape 2 weeks ago - it was mostly awful speed and connectivity really was an issue there. And, they did not complete the upgrades they had advised (at least as of yet they have not). ;)

Weird as it sounds, Internet connectivity was one of the factors in my decision to take RCCL cruises next. I need to be connected for work, and it makes a big difference if I'm less frustrated on vacation (hey, I have to work/be available - and fighting the internet doesn't help the mood much LOL).

I'm hoping VOOM works 1/2 as well as people report. I'll be one super-happy cruiser. :D

Just FYI - Was on the Escape 2 weeks ago - it was mostly awful speed and connectivity really was an issue there. And, they did not complete the upgrades they had advised (at least as of yet they have not). ;)

 

 

 

Weird as it sounds, Internet connectivity was one of the factors in my decision to take RCCL cruises next. I need to be connected for work, and it makes a big difference if I'm less frustrated on vacation (hey, I have to work/be available - and fighting the internet doesn't help the mood much LOL).

 

 

 

I'm hoping VOOM works 1/2 as well as people report. I'll be one super-happy cruiser. :D

It's not weird at all ... As much as certain people like to crow about "unplugging", everyone gets to spend their vacation doing whatever they want.

Appreciate the heads up on Escape--will be on her in a few weeks, and after my last experience with the GA's non-functional internet, NCL isn't getting my "unlimited internet" money this time.

Liberty doesn't have OB3 voom

RCI says it's now available on entire fleet?

Does anyone know whether Independence of the Seas has O3B? Is there a current list of which ships have the O3B service? I previously thought it was only available on Oasis and Quantum class. Did not know that it was available on any Freedom class ships.

Does anyone know whether Independence of the Seas has O3B?

This is was from the Independence earlier this month.

RCI says it's now available on entire fleet?

It has regular Voom, not the high bandwidth oasis class and quantum class Voom.

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It's not weird at all ... As much as certain people like to crow about "unplugging", everyone gets to spend their vacation doing whatever they want.

 

Appreciate the heads up on Escape--will be on her in a few weeks, and after my last experience with the GA's non-functional internet, NCL isn't getting my "unlimited internet" money this time.

Guess I'm used to getting "bashed" for being connected on a cruise. :o It is what it is for me.

No problem for the heads-up. I had to keep shutting down, restarting, logging in, etc. I was really cranky at points. :eek:

Does anyone know whether Independence of the Seas has O3B? Is there a current list of which ships have the O3B service?

No, Indy does not have O3B. Yes, there is a thread with all this info but has not been updated for a while since there have been no reports of any other ship getting the O3B upgrade in months. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2351143&page=12&highlight=voom

Guess I'm used to getting "bashed" for being connected on a cruise. :o It is what it is for me.

 

 

 

No problem for the heads-up. I had to keep shutting down, restarting, logging in, etc. I was really cranky at points. :eek:

(Sorry for continued NCL o/t) It was exactly like that on GA in June. Sometimes you couldn't log in at all. I got a partial refund.

Freedom has the upgraded O3B service.;)

Just off Freedom and their internet is nowhere near what is on Allure! In fact, I cant tell any difference from what it has been over the past few years...in other words, no improvement.:rolleyes: (We make at at least one trip on Freedom every year)