Regatta "High Tech" Disappointment

[JimandStan]

Carnival in the Carribbean has high speed internet as good as home. It enables you to keep in touch and conduct business as needed. Oceana just does not yet have the technology.

 

How exciting! Now you can skype ALL the details of the best butt contest to your Nana!!

[24theroad]

We just returned from two weeks in the Baltic on Regatta. On the last two days aboard the new internet provider was installing updated equipment and software. I was able to test the new system the last night and found it to be much much faster than the old system. I was getting a bit over 1MB up and down. Not bad for a satellite bounce over over 50,000 miles. Only way to get faster than that would be to string fiber optic cables behind the ship and I dont think that is going to happen.

I was told by the tech that they are redoing all of the Oceania ships and that it should be done by now.

And yes...he confirmed that they block Skype calls but not chat. They also block other programs and games that eat up the bandwidth. There should be some sort of announcement from Oceania soon with all the details.

Harry

[Paulchili]

We just returned from two weeks in the Baltic on Regatta. On the last two days aboard the new internet provider was installing updated equipment and software. I was able to test the new system the last night and found it to be much much faster than the old system. I was getting a bit over 1MB up and down. Not bad for a satellite bounce over over 50,000 miles. Only way to get faster than that would be to string fiber optic cables behind the ship and I dont think that is going to happen.

I was told by the tech that they are redoing all of the Oceania ships and that it should be done by now.

And yes...he confirmed that they block Skype calls but not chat. They also block other programs and games that eat up the bandwidth. There should be some sort of announcement from Oceania soon with all the details.

Harry

 

I knew it! If there is a will there is a way.

Thank you Harry for posting this and thank you Oceania for doing it :)

[orchestrapal]

We just returned from two weeks in the Baltic on Regatta. On the last two days aboard the new internet provider was installing updated equipment and software. I was able to test the new system the last night and found it to be much much faster than the old system. I was getting a bit over 1MB up and down. Not bad for a satellite bounce over over 50,000 miles. Only way to get faster than that would be to string fiber optic cables behind the ship and I dont think that is going to happen.

I was told by the tech that they are redoing all of the Oceania ships and that it should be done by now.

And yes...he confirmed that they block Skype calls but not chat. They also block other programs and games that eat up the bandwidth. There should be some sort of announcement from Oceania soon with all the details.

Harry

Thanks so much for that bit of good news.:D

The big question now is will they lower the costs and maybe give past passengers and large suite occupants a break?:confused:

[emgcruiser]

Do be aware however, that not everything is as advertised. We sailed on the Regatta June 2-16, 2010 and what prompted the new internet for the last 2 days of the cruise was a repair due to the total absence of wifi in the rooms for the first 12 days!!! It was free in the computer room on their computers because it was not available anywhere else on the ship. So just imagine - about 600 passengers and maybe 10-15 computers.

[Mura]

Seems to me we're seeing the signs of the times.

 

My first cruise on an "R" ship was the R2 (now Regatta) with Renaissance. I think the first time I brought my computer with me was for our May 2001 Baltic cruise with Ren and I felt like I was the ONLY one. It is only in the last few years that wifi has been available in your room. (And I didn't really bring the laptop for internet use but mostly for reviewing photos and writing my diary.)

 

Even so, we never had lines waiting for computers in the Internet Cafe. No, I should correct myself there. I don't REMEMBER any lines! Sometimes (before the wifi was more readily available) I would take my laptop to the Internet Cafe and work there.

 

I have to guess that a lot more passengers are using computers than used to ...

 

But I can certainly understand the frustration of having to wait for a computer.

 

I also tend to go in there at off hours -- during dinner or late at night. I remember one night when it was me and about 15 crew members ... who wouldn't stop chatting. It drove me crazy. (It was the chatting I minded, not their presence.)

[beachluvr65]

Just two words of suggestions

 

Air Card

[LHT28]

Was told by the computer girl on Sunday they will be getting upgraded system ...when??

We are in the Keil Canal today & the speed is fine almost like home :D

 

See you soon Mura

 

Lyn

[orchestrapal]

Was told by the computer girl on Sunday they will be getting upgraded system ...when??

We are in the Keil Canal today & the speed is fine almost like home :D

 

See you soon Mura

 

Lyn

 

Thanks Lyn,

That's great news for us since we have to always be connected and are big users of the internet while on board.:)

[Mura]

Great news, Lyn.

 

When I'm at home I live at the computer. When we're traveling I go nomail on most of my email lists but I do always buy a package because I DO check my email regularly. Those slow downloads have been the bane of my existence. When you're used to cable, the satellite transmission is a real trial!

 

I'm off to London on Monday ... see you Friday!

[caribbeansun]

Which won't work unless you've got a land based signal to tap into.

 

Just two words of suggestions

 

Air Card

[hondorner]

Which won't work unless you've got a land based signal to tap into.

A Sprint Air Card worked fine on the Oceania system before this new upgrade. The Air Card uses cell phone data technology which works fine anywhere you can get a cell signal.

 

However, I could not get my Air Card to work on Regent Navigator last January. Regent has been using a different system than Oceania that was fast and smooth. If Oceania has upgraded to the same system as Regent, the Air card technology may not work.

 

I've upgraded from my Air Cards to the Sprint Overdrive mobile hotspot system, which supports up to 5 users on 3G/4G technology, and I'll be trying it out on Regent Voyager in December and Oceania Marina and Regatta next year.

 

When I used the Air Card on Insignia about 1-1/2 years ago, I incurred no more cost than a text message.

[caribbeansun]

I should know better than to make broad statements by now :o.

 

This is just another example how my local provider isn't worth &*#^@ - the Roger's air card which I had on Regatta didn't work off of the ships system. The air card is also cell phone data based but like so many things "Rogers" it didn't work as advertised.

 

I'm very envious of the great plans and options available to our neighbours to the south - we really get the short end in Canada when in comes to this.

 

A Sprint Air Card worked fine on the Oceania system before this new upgrade. The Air Card uses cell phone data technology which works fine anywhere you can get a cell signal.

 

However, I could not get my Air Card to work on Regent Navigator last January. Regent has been using a different system than Oceania that was fast and smooth. If Oceania has upgraded to the same system as Regent, the Air card technology may not work.

 

I've upgraded from my Air Cards to the Sprint Overdrive mobile hotspot system, which supports up to 5 users on 3G/4G technology, and I'll be trying it out on Regent Voyager in December and Oceania Marina and Regatta next year.

 

When I used the Air Card on Insignia about 1-1/2 years ago, I incurred no more cost than a text message.

[hondorner]

I should know better than to make broad statements by now :o.

We're ALL guilty of that at times. Mine come from the fact that my fingers type faster than my brain works -- which is saying something about my brain...:rolleyes:

 

I think you know this about me, but newbies should know that I never have any intention of belittling anyone else, just that if I have some knowledge that I have somehow acquired that is different than yours, I want to put it on record so others can decide.

[Archie's Mom]

We just returned from two weeks in the Baltic on Regatta. On the last two days aboard the new internet provider was installing updated equipment and software. I was able to test the new system the last night and found it to be much much faster than the old system. I was getting a bit over 1MB up and down. Not bad for a satellite bounce over over 50,000 miles. Only way to get faster than that would be to string fiber optic cables behind the ship and I dont think that is going to happen.

I was told by the tech that they are redoing all of the Oceania ships and that it should be done by now.

And yes...he confirmed that they block Skype calls but not chat. They also block other programs and games that eat up the bandwidth. There should be some sort of announcement from Oceania soon with all the details.

Harry

 

 

I noticed this morning that Harry posted good news about internet on Regatta, but I have seen no confirming posts from other cruisers. Has anyone experienced better internet on the Regatta in the last few weeks? Has anyone used the WIFI feature of an ipad on the ship? Any information is most welcomed.