Is Skype Internet Phone Service available aboard QM2?

[Cruise Liner Fan]

Since using the stateroom phone costs around $5.00 a minute I think, Will Cunard allow skype internet calls over the QM2's wi-fi system? I have read somewhere else that Skype internet calls were allowed aboard Holland America Ships through the passenger's laptop computer.And Holland America and Cunard are owned by the Carnival Corporation. Regards,Jerry

[southwestie]

As your laptop and skype will be using the internet I dont see how they stop it really, even better if your on the free packages from cunard.

 

do you want to use skype on the Laptop or connect a skype phone to the laptop?

[Cruise Liner Fan]

As your laptop and skype will be using the internet I dont see how they stop it really, even better if your on the free packages from cunard.

 

do you want to use skype on the Laptop or connect a skype phone to the laptop?

Thanks for the reply.I want to use skype on the laptop. Regards,Jerry

[southwestie]

Then I am sure its fine, you just use it as normal,it will interesting toknow for sure, I am hoping touse it in october

[Cruise Liner Fan]

Then I am sure its fine, you just use it as normal,it will interesting toknow for sure, I am hoping touse it in october

Are you aboard the QM2 for the Oct. 19th Westbound crossing,the Oct. 25th New England & Canada cruise and the Nov. 1st Eastbound crossing? You see I'll be aboard the QM2 from Nov. 1st to Nov. 16th. And if you're aboard the QM2 for the Nov. 1st crossing, we can meet at the Cruise Critic meeting at the Commodore Club.And also let us know if the Skype connection works during your October Westbound crossing.I have read that Skype does work on some ships but not aboard other ships. Regards,Jerry

[Pemcorgimum]

Yes you can within reason- on the voyage to Norway last month I was surprised on one of the occasions I logged onto the internet on my laptop to hear Skype opening up and I was able to see that my brother was seemingly available-it rang but turns out he had left his computer on and had gone out but he did tell me when i got back that he was sorry to have missed my Skype call.

 

So I say within reason, as that was the only time I heard Skype opening up. Good luck!

[southwestie]

Are you aboard the QM2 for the Oct. 19th Westbound crossing,the Oct. 25th New England & Canada cruise and the Nov. 1st Eastbound crossing? You see I'll be aboard the QM2 from Nov. 1st to Nov. 16th. And if you're aboard the QM2 for the Nov. 1st crossing, we can meet at the Cruise Critic meeting at the Commodore Club.And also let us know if the Skype connection works during your October Westbound crossing.I have read that Skype does work on some ships but not aboard other ships. Regards,Jerry

 

 

Yes we are on all three voyages, 19th to NYC, canada and then back to soton, see you onboard

[SaylorGirl]

Yes we are on all three voyages, 19th to NYC, canada and then back to soton, see you onboard

 

Rob - we will be joining you on the 25th for the New England/Canada segment. I am thinking that skype should work at least in the US ports. I am bringing along my laptop and will defiantly be checking it out.

[southwestie]

Thank you westies I will try it now and saylorgirl, looking forward to meeting you on that segment, have you joined the roll call

[ocngypz]

The problem with Skype and any other voice over internet protocol product is that is uses a great deal of bandwidth.

 

Even over a T-1 cable VOIP has challenges at times. On a ship you're using satellite with not nearly enough bandwidth to support regular internet users.

 

I've found the WiFi on the QM2 pretty poor in most cabins. Suggest you head for the library or computer center.

[CruiserTed]

I used Skype successfully on QV this past January but was blocked from doing so on QM2 this past July.

 

Good luck!

[Pemcorgimum]

I used Skype successfully on QV this past January but was blocked from doing so on QM2 this past July.

 

Good luck!

 

I think I was just lucky on the one time it worked. :confused:

[Cruise Liner Fan]

I think I was just lucky on the one time it worked. :confused:

Since Skype does use a lot of bandwidth maybe the best time to attempt to use Skype aboard QM2 is early morning say 6 or 7 AM when most passengers are either still asleep or having breakfast and during that time hardly any of the other passengers are online so that maybe at that time internet service aboard the QM2 possibly maybe better than at 10 or 11 AM. Regards,Jerry

[Pemcorgimum]

Checked my Skype history and it was 18.43 on the 30th July that Skype was available. That was after leaving Flaam.

[Cruise Liner Fan]

Checked my Skype history and it was 18.43 on the 30th July that Skype was available. That was after leaving Flaam.

Westisbest, Thanks for the information.That time which is almost 7 PM maybe could be another time to try to use Skype on the QM2's Wi-Fi system. Regards,Jerry

[DKNYC]

The problem with Skype and any other voice over internet protocol product is that is uses a great deal of bandwidth.

 

Even over a T-1 cable VOIP has challenges at times. On a ship you're using satellite with not nearly enough bandwidth to support regular internet users.

 

I've found the WiFi on the QM2 pretty poor in most cabins. Suggest you head for the library or computer center.

 

Even the regular connection in connexions is was painfully slow. Especially on the transatlantic (which I expected). Luckily I was using free time.;)

[Aubreysshipmate]

Last year on an eastbound TA aboard QM2 I was able to use Skype after embarkation in NYC. The next day and for the duration of the voyage, when I tried to log into Skype, a screen came up explaining the Skype website was blocked.

 

On the westbound crossing a month later I again had the "Skype blocked" page come up for the duration of the voyage.

 

Eastbound in January aboard QM2, once again I had the "Skype blocked" page come up for the duration.

 

As pointed out there is a bandwith issue which is why the site is blocked.

 

Enjoy your voyage but don't count on Skype usage.

[Never at home]

Two years ago I was on the Victoria in Norway and Skyped daily with no trouble. I have been on many ships since then, including the Allure of the Seas last month and, again, Skyped with no trouble. Now I am aboard the Victoria again, on my way to Hawaii and Skype is blocked!!! *****!!! Are they just trying to get us to use the phone for $5 a minute? I am spending a bundle on this cruise and a bundle on my internet access. What do they care what I do while I am online? I am incredibly pissed right now. If I had known that were blocking the site, I would have made arrangements with my wireless provider to use my iPhone while on board at $2.40 per minute. I guess I'll have to do that when I get to Hawaii. This is very inconvenient.

[capnpugwash]

Jerry

As a matter of course Cunard block the Skype website address, there are however occasions when you can slip through but they are few and far between, as Babette says, the bandwidth required makes it difficult and that is the reason that Cunard give for blocking the site. Cell phones are cheaper than ship to shore but their costs vary, sometimes near land I have picked up an onshore satellite (if that makes any sense) so the costs there are lower. You are on holiday so perhaps you should turn your phone off. :)

[CruiserTed]

I was last able to use Skype on a Cunard ship while in transit through the Panama Canal in January, 2010 on QV. Since then, on our two QM2 voyages (July, 2010 and January, 2011), Skype has been blocked by the sys admin.:(

[Cruise Liner Fan]

Jerry

As a matter of course Cunard block the Skype website address, there are however occasions when you can slip through but they are few and far between, as Babette says, the bandwidth required makes it difficult and that is the reason that Cunard give for blocking the site. Cell phones are cheaper than ship to shore but their costs vary, sometimes near land I have picked up an onshore satellite (if that makes any sense) so the costs there are lower. You are on holiday so perhaps you should turn your phone off. :)

Cap'n, Actually I am not aboard the QM2 now.I started this thread back in August for the upcoming New England/Canada aboard the QM2 on October 25,2010 and I did enjoy that cruise.Someone else resurrected this thread concerning their skype connection problem aboard Queen Victoria.I am next scheduled to be aboard the QM2 on August 22,2011 for a back2back transatlantic crossing :) Regards,Jerry

[StarFlyr]

On my recent QM2 voyage from FLL-CPT, Skype was VERY spotty. Skype is blocked according to the ships tech, but that only seems to be from their terminals. I didn't try any Skype calls from my laptop with the ship's wifi, but I did try several with my iPhone and only a few calls went through. Usually I would hear the phone ring and hear the answering party say "hello", but they couldn't hear me. When this happened, I got a onscreen message saying something like "the connection has very poor quality".

 

The QM2 must have around 25 or more terminals plus all the laptops/cellphones all sharing a relatively low band width satellite signal. I would suggest calling very early in the morning, very late at night or during the dinner hour when usage is probably lower.

 

Texting may be a more reliable method of keeping in touch or email. I found the email service using the ship's wifi worked very well. Before I left on the voyage, I installed Mozilla Thunderbird for email. This program allows off line writing of emails which then get "dumped" when signed on the ship's wifi. Or you can always use the copy/paste for off line writing, but I think this method uses valuable online time, considering that with the 480 minute plan, the cost is 35 cents a minute. If you don't buy a plan, I think the cost is 75 cents per minute. I was able to make the 480 plan work on my 21 day cruise by limiting my time to around 20 minutes per day.

[MomentsNotice]

October 2010 crossing QM2 SH-NYC skype worked great from my own laoptop. I had no idea there were issues with skype on that ship. Last crossing NYC-SH May, 2011 skype was totally blocked from my laptop. I was told by one of the folks working in Connexions that Google Voice works for outbound calls (he uses it to call his partner who works on the QE2) but I was not proficient enough to understand how to get it to work.

 

Does anyone know of another software program which is less well known and may not be blocked by Cunard? I was thinking of trying Line2 but didn't want to pay the monthly fee. I need a program which will allow me to accept calls into voicemail and then return them as outgoing calls.

[palomarboy]

One thing I may try when I'm on the QM2 next week is google phone. It's not as common as skype and I won't use video. In the US at least, you can use it to call other US phones and unlike skype there is no per minute cost. If you have a gmail account, you can access google phone the same place as your mailbox. I did have to install the app.

[BlueRiband]

The problem with these high bandwidth applications is that they suck up the limited bandwidth available on a maritime satellite system. If Cunard didn't block it a handful of people would absorb it all. Last December the internet speed was worse than dialup when at sea. But once within range of land-based communications it improved dramatically.