New Wifi packages

Somewhat shocked to find that the wifi setup on the Wind is both completely new and no longer matches what we have had for the last year or so.

There is still one hour per guest per day free BUT minutes are no longer accumulated for the voyage, any unused minutes expire at midnight and there is no mechanism for tracking how much you have used unless you log out.

The instructions state that disconnecting your wifi also logs you out, but it doesn't. There are no detailed instructions for using the system in the suites.

The portal page has disappeared and there are no longer streaming movies available via the internet (to be replaced by the new interactive TV system - but its not installed yet on the Wind).

If you need more than 1 hour of wifi, then there is a premium unlimited package, $39 per day (!!!!!) or $437 for a 17 day voyage.

Unlimited standard wifi is $25 per day or $300 for a 17 day voyage.

Pretty unimpressed with this and cannot see it being anything other than another money making opportunity for SS.

So far have seen many guests either confused by this new system at reception or complaining about it.

Oh and the online instructions that show on the new login page are still for the previous system.

Mr Silver,

If one wants to read the newspaper, it requires PressReader...does that count towards Internet use?

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Thanks for sharing this breaking Silversea wifi news Mr. Silver.

Now, the WindSS internet/wifi system sounds very user unfriendly and for fellow guests/u problematic (and costly) as it is currently configured.

Unfortunate SS rolled this new wifi out w/o advance notice and it appears they did not do a beta test of this new wifi either.

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Is this on all SS ships now?

It's certainly on The amuse.

Jane

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How has the service been?

We know we were very very fortunate on our Wind sailing in March. They had a new system in place and not only was it good, we had unlimited access (not just the usual 60 minutes.) The next voyage (TA) they seemed to have removed it along with the great access and was nigh unusable from the reports posted.

I'd certainly be wary of not being logged out and running up a bill. They should have something in place that cuts the service due to no interaction.

You are right though. Not allowing minutes to roll is simply a nickel and dime exercise, though sums involved a bit more than that!

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We certainly liked the system when they gave you 60 minutes a day that they rolled into one block and you used as much or as little each day. We found the you could use say 30 minutes one day but if you logged on again the same day it was either finished or gave you a very short time. We did wonder if we were on longer than we thought and double checked how long we were logged on and we were correct. Not such a good system. And yes you have to download your newspaper from Press reader within your allotted 60 minutes. We have our own subscription to a national and downloaded that. I have been telling SS for years that Internet is a must not an extra and I did think they were listening. The accountants have been at it again!!

Jane

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It's actually not a completely new system. At the end of last year SS tried out a couple of new providers so for a while internet was free and unlimited on the Wind and the Spirit, but then they settled on the current provider and the internet packages have been as you describe for some months now. They were definitely like that on the Spirit for the TA in April.

The 60 mins a day free not being rolled over after each 24 hours is really irritating, and indeed unless you time it yourself you have no way of knowing how much you've used till after you log off which is just ridiculous.

I bought the unlimited standard package for the voyage which worked out at about $17 a day I think, but I regretted not buying the premium ($29?) because the speed was so useless - I seem to recall that I mostly got about 600 Kps, the premium was maybe 2 Mps download. You can buy the unlimited in 24 hour packages but it is much, much cheaper to buy it for the full voyage on the first day. Also, I think the longer the voyage, the cheaper the per diem.

You can only have one device connected at a time but the handoff between them is really smooth; it can be difficult to find the log on / log off pages sometimes.

One trick I learned is that the free minutes and the paid minutes are considered as separate packages so I usually had my iPad on the unlimited package - no need to log off - and I could use my 60 mins at the same time if I needed to do a bit of work on my laptop.

This being said, I strongly agree that since connectivity is such a part of normal life now, on a luxury line it should just be freely available all the while without playing around with packages - SS, ARE YOU LISTENING??

Not being able to rollover the minutes from day to day is a nuisance. Our next cruise starts with a number of ports more or less one after the other then ends with a number of sea days in a row. It would have been nice to have those daily minutes from the port days to use on the sea days. :(

We certainly liked the system when they gave you 60 minutes a day that they rolled into one block and you used as much or as little each day. We found the you could use say 30 minutes one day but if you logged on again the same day it was either finished or gave you a very short time. We did wonder if we were on longer than we thought and double checked how long we were logged on and we were correct. Not such a good system. And yes you have to download your newspaper from Press reader within your allotted 60 minutes. We have our own subscription to a national and downloaded that. I have been telling SS for years that Internet is a must not an extra and I did think they were listening. The accountants have been at it again!!

Jane

 

 

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A small correction, you have to have wifi turned on, but do not need to be logged on to use the Pressreader to download newspapers. So no loss of the free minutes.

Thanks for clarifying regarding the press reader.

There is still one hour per guest per day free BUT minutes are no longer accumulated for the voyage, any unused minutes expire at midnight .

. You can buy the unlimited in 24 hour packages but it is much, much cheaper to buy it for the full voyage on the first day. Also, I think the longer the voyage, the cheaper the per diem.

That is unfortunate. We will be on the Muse from Sept 28 to Oct 12 this year. If we purchase unlimited high speed internet for the entire voyage, how much will it cost? Thank you.

.

That is unfortunate. We will be on the Muse from Sept 28 to Oct 12 this year. If we purchase unlimited high speed internet for the entire voyage, how much will it cost? Thank you.

.

Check out the first post and pro rats the cost.

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Is the $300/$437 charge for any length total cruise charge or just for a 17 day cruise? We have a 28 day cruise.

For the included 6o minutes a day, is it at the slow transmission rate or the faster one? Besides, is it 60 minutes per day per person or per cabin? If per cabin, can the two passengers in the same cabin combine their 2 x 60 minutes into 120 minutes?

And just for curiosity do those in Silver suite and up get unlimited free?

.

Somewhat shocked to find that the wifi setup on the Wind is both completely new and no longer matches what we have had for the last year or so.

 

There is still one hour per guest per day free BUT minutes are no longer accumulated for the voyage, any unused minutes expire at midnight and there is no mechanism for tracking how much you have used unless you log out.

 

The instructions state that disconnecting your wifi also logs you out, but it doesn't. There are no detailed instructions for using the system in the suites.

 

The portal page has disappeared and there are no longer streaming movies available via the internet (to be replaced by the new interactive TV system - but its not installed yet on the Wind).

 

If you need more than 1 hour of wifi, then there is a premium unlimited package, $39 per day (!!!!!) or $437 for a 17 day voyage.

 

Unlimited standard wifi is $25 per day or $300 for a 17 day voyage.

 

Pretty unimpressed with this and cannot see it being anything other than another money making opportunity for SS.

 

So far have seen many guests either confused by this new system at reception or complaining about it.

 

Oh and the online instructions that show on the new login page are still for the previous system.

I am assuming standard is pretty bad since they offer premium-anyone know?

I think suites get unlimited free but as a solo cruiser a suite has not been in my experience. I expect it's the slow speed; the free 60 mins are definitely at the slow speed.

Checking regularly with speedtest because I wondered why I was struggling, I found the slow speed to be between 100 and 600 Kbps; I was told the premium was more like 2 Mbps. It also drops out frequently.

I think suites get unlimited free but as a solo cruiser a suite has not been in my experience. I expect it's the slow speed; the free 60 mins are definitely at the slow speed.

 

Checking regularly with speedtest because I wondered why I was struggling, I found the slow speed to be between 100 and 600 Kbps; I was told the premium was more like 2 Mbps. It also drops out frequently.

When they were doing the trials on the Wind in March (I didn't know it was trials and thought it was the new norm!) ... I was able to stream video... ok it was glitchy at times, but on a ship at sea it was pretty decent. (And unlimited at the time too!)

I'll post later what the speed on the Muse is like.

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Is the $300/$437 charge for any length total cruise charge or just for a 17 day cruise? We have a 28 day cruise.

It's done by the length of the cruise - as I suggested I think the per diem gets cheaper for the longer cruises but for a 28 day I'd guess at something like $450 / $700, could be less.

The new standard wifi package is still nearly twice the cost of the old one, both daily and full voyage. The speed is perfectly usable and it is possible to stream video using the standard package if the app or website has decent buffering.

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Buffering is primarily a consequence of download speed and occurs on the device on the ship, not the host website. Speeds that are intended to download emails will rarely cope with streaming.

Buffering is primarily a consequence of download speed and occurs on the device on the ship, not the host website. Speeds that are intended to download emails will rarely cope with streaming.

Well I stand corrected, you obviously have more direct experience of using the current internet system on the Wind.

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Well I stand corrected, you obviously have more direct experience of using the current internet system on the Wind.

 

 

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I have no knowledge whatsoever about the internet system on the Wind and never said so. However I do know that whether on the Wind or in SW18 or Ohio or Prague, buffering is not a consequence of the app or the web site uploading streams as you incorrectly stated, but is a consequence of the download speeds.

Most streaming sites warn customers that to stream requires an absolute constant minimum from around 3.5mbps upwards. The operative word is constant. However it is possible to provide an adequate email system on 0.5mbps. That is why hotels and ships often offer two flavours of service. One for emails and one premium service at extra charges for everything else.

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I am a 600 day cruiser on SS, and for the first time I am not looking forward to my already booked future cruises, because of my dependence on the internet for business and pleasure.

On my last Spirit "adventure" the "Premium" internet was an exasperating expensive disaster! (Slow,Disconnect, slow,slow, Disconnect). After these booked cruises that's it for me.

A Regent Titanium member may be returning to the fold!