serialcruiser48

18 hours ago, Biker19 said:

I assume the ship is on their backup geo sync sat connection due to some issue with O3B - very likely a temporary issue.

The person I was talking to said he'd been on the ship since June and it hasn't had 03B since then. That doesn't sound temporary, but I'm on again next week.

2 hours ago, twangster said:

 

If you see the Voom specialist on the promenade suggest you inquire why. 

 

I did ask why, but he had no idea.

Looks like 03b is being replaced with high orbit garbage on Freedom class. Currently on the Independence and 03b is replaced with 700-800 Ms ping rate high orbit garbage. 

11 hours ago, twangster said:

Enchantment and Majesty have O3b so be careful with that but in general terms you are correct.   

Enchantment does have O3B, but it has very limited bandwidth. So you’re not going to get the same experience as you get on oasis class or freedom class.

It's my understanding Voyager class and below is not getting 03B.

On 8/23/2019 at 12:47 PM, joshuamg said:

@serialcruiser48 Thanks so much for your additional feedback here and the lovely "gloom" lingo. I'm totally stealing that! 😉 I worked 3 B2Bs from the Brilliance last fall on Gloom and it actually worked out ok for what I needed but of course I'd rather have O3B to ensure better stability for my video meetings (I do 6 hrs of Zoom Video mtgs a day, surprisingly, Gloom on the Brilliance squeaked by!). From your experience, would you suggest a ship with Gloom over a ship with Capped Voom O3B (60mb Enchantment)?

 My preference would be capped 03b over Gloom.  Gloom ships have the same bandwidth as capped 03b.

4 hours ago, joshuamg said:

Updated

 

SHIP

Adventure--NOT REAL Voom (as of Jan 2019 Thanks @John&LaLa)

Allure--REAL Voom (as of Nov 2017)

Anthem--Coming Soon (Sailing Aug 2019)

Brilliance--NOT REAL Voom (as of Jan 2019)

Empress--NOT REAL Voom (Thanks @Ourusualbeach and @John&LaLa!)

Enchantment--REAL Voom but potentially slower--ship pipe/bandwidth more limited (Thanks @twangster and @serialcruiser48)

Explorer--

Freedom--REAL Voom (as of Dec 2018)

Grandeur--NOT REAL Voom (as of April 2019 thanks @h20skibum)

Harmony--REAL Voom (Thanks @Ourusualbeach!)

Independence--REAL Voom (as of April 2019)

Jewel--

Liberty--REAL Voom (Thanks @Biker19)

Majesty--REAL Voom (Thanks @Ourusualbeach!)

Mariner--NOT Real Voom (as of July 2019)

Navigator--

Ovation--REAL Voom (except when in Alaska, then terrible internet)

Oasis--REAL Voom (Thanks @Ourusualbeach)

Quantum--

Radiance--

Rhapsody--

Serenade--NOT Real Voom (Thanks @John&LaLa)

Spectrum--

Symphony--REAL Voom (Thanks @Ourusualbeach!)

Vision--NOT REAL Voom (Thanks @Ashland)

Voyager--

 

@serialcruiser48 I'm considering a B2B2B in Jan on the Enchantment. Any first-hand experience on how low the Enchantment internet would dip in terms of bandwidth with the limited pipe?

On sea days it slow considerably. What makes matters worse is the Key program which includes WiFi so there are more WiFi users than before the Key program. I was 9 days b2b in July and quite familiar with it’s WiFi. But, that said it’s still much better than ships with Gloom (non 03b). Gloom ships have high orbit garbage and 60 Mbps for the whole ship.

I really like the Enchantment and cruising it again Sep 11. I’m going to miss it when it leaves Galveston. We are getting the Adventure with Gloom and would like to know why this ship did not get 03b during it’s $116000K Amp Up??

2 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

 

I've not heard of Enchantment having O3b, the ping times would show it.

 

Majesty also has O3b.

I meant to say Majesty, not Empress.  I just sailed on the enchantment in July and the  Enchantment does have 03b with ~=250 ms ping.  But, as I said the enchantment only has 60 MB for the whole ship so if everybody’s using the Wi-Fi, it’s going to be slow .

The Enchantment has 03b, but bandwidth is limited to 60 mb’s for the ship. Compare that to Oasis Class which has 500 mb’s per ship. Freedom class and above has 03b, Voyager class and below do not have 03b except for the Enchantment and possibly Empress.  The voyager class ships are undergoing re-amplification but unfortunately 03B Wi-Fi is not included  which is a shame since the adventure is coming to Galveston  and we’re losing the enchantment . 

Thanking of nice lounges with windows, I remember when I was on the Celebrity Equinox I would pass by Michael’s club  several times a day on my way to the Blu restaurant.  I remember two things about Michael’s club. First there was no one there, second it had no windows. Thinking back, that’s probably why there was no one inside Michael’s club .  To get into Michael’s club you either had to have a grand suite or be Zenith level . 

 I was told during my three weeks on the Oasis that most likely they will put cabins where the diamond club is now.  I would guess they could probably put at least three nice loft suites  within the space of the two-story diamond club .  But, they would have to replace the plastic windows with Glass so the view would be much better .

I love the Oasis of the Seas and I've been cruising on it for the last 3 weeks. One of its main features I've enjoyed as a diamond, diamond plus and now Pinnacle is the beautiful diamond club on deck 11. When it goes into refurb the diamond club will relocated on deck 4.

Once you loose O3b the ship’s infrastructure also uses the same network since it’s the only game in town. 

Once Ovation looses O3b in the northern hemisphere, it probably switches to Harris Caprock (garbage). High orbit garbage is the backup.

The ping rate will tell you. Above 600ms you are on high orbit garbage. O3b is ~250 ms.

2 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

 

I think what happened was that Royal intended to deploy O3b to all their ships, and Majesty was the next in line and got completed.  Then the price of O3b skyrockted and Royal changed their plans and ended up purchasing more bandwidth for those ships still on the geosync service.

It’s time for RCL to deploy its own 03b and cut out the middleman. I bet if RCL would start making inquiries about starting their own 03b service, the folks who currently sell 03b would get wind of it and RCL would suddenly see a significant price drop.

19 hours ago, Host Clarea said:

 

I believe Enchantment and Majesty are the only ships with O3b other than Freedom class and newer.

I’m surprised an older ship like the Majesty has 03b. Don’t know why RCL would spend the money on an older ship like the Majesty and skip newer bigger ships of the Freedom class???

I thought the Mariner had 03b. However, I’ll find out in Aug.

The Enchantment has 03b but the bandwidth is very limited compared to Oasis Class. On sea days Voom on the Enchantment slows down considerably, but having 03b is a big step above the Vision or similar class that are still stuck with high orbit garbage. Hopefully by now Voyager Class and above have 03b.

I was on the Enchantment in Aug ‘18 and it does have 03b. But, the bandwidth is very limited compared to the Harmony. Don’t expect Oasis Class performance as you won’t get it.

Here's a picture of the nice Pinnacles that are currently on the Harmony September 19th. Get to know us.

Maybe they are considering new tech. I’m on the President’s cruise in Sep and that’s a question I’d like to ask.

Does the Adventure have 03b true Voom service or the usual high orbit garbage? If you don’t know just ping any website and the ping rate will be ~=250 ms. Anything higher than 650 ms is garbage.

Thanks

I hope bandwidth is increased and performance is improved. As far as I know RCL's O3b WiFi service is still the best in the cruise industry while the other lines employ outdated high orbit garbage.

I’m currently on the Vision and I really enjoy this ship with it’s amazing crew. No crowds in the Jammer, fast service in the MDR and delicious food. For Pinnacle and Suites, the party in Chops has the best food with melt in your mouth steaks and any drink you want made to order.

Thanks for posting the notes about the Freedom’s WiFi. I’m scheduled to sail it on Saturday. The last time I was on the Freedom it did not have O3b and the WiFi was very slow with high ping rates; the usual Harris Caprock experience (I.e. sucked). Saves me posting a rant, which usually occurs when I experience bad WiFi.