Laptop Use... Do I need to stop Cruising???

[PH8]

RCI's top cruiser, known as Super Mario, does all of his work (I believe that he's a financial advisor) onboard. He pretty much lives onboard the ships. If he can manage it, I imagine that anybody can.:)

Somehow I can imagine he does not have to pay for internet use..;)

[oneputt18]

Hopefully internet service will improve,

Royal Caribbean has selected managed communications specialist Harris CapRock Communications to handle its fleet-wide communications.

The five year deal provides hybrid satellite and terrestrial communication systems that will enable Royal Caribbean to improve overall communications performance while enhancing guest experience and crew morale.

For its part, Harris CapRock will deploy a fully managed VSAT and terrestrial communications system that will enable access to Royal Caribbean's corporate network and business applications, broadband internet, and telephony services.

The hybrid service combines Ku-band, C-band and shore mobile connectivity, designed so that the ships can switch from one preferred platform to another to maximise service availability and avoid downtime. Each ship will be equipped with two or three of Harris CapRock's stabilised VSAT antenna systems.

[sherilyn70]

If you need VPN you can run into many issues. You really haven't told us how you connect to the applications you need. Are they just open to all internet users or restricted by network connectivity (ie VPN via client, ssl website, citrix, etc). The more layers of safety protocols you toss in the lower your odds get of being able to do what you need. My company had an outing for the high level execs/sales people on the Allure last year and we ended up with a lot of people calling to us that we could not get online due to firewall issues.

[ksuds]

Hopefully internet service will improve,

Royal Caribbean has selected managed communications specialist Harris CapRock Communications to handle its fleet-wide communications.

The five year deal provides hybrid satellite and terrestrial communication systems that will enable Royal Caribbean to improve overall communications performance while enhancing guest experience and crew morale.

For its part, Harris CapRock will deploy a fully managed VSAT and terrestrial communications system that will enable access to Royal Caribbean's corporate network and business applications, broadband internet, and telephony services.

The hybrid service combines Ku-band, C-band and shore mobile connectivity, designed so that the ships can switch from one preferred platform to another to maximise service availability and avoid downtime. Each ship will be equipped with two or three of Harris CapRock's stabilised VSAT antenna systems.

 

Sounds complicated and expensive.......there goes the cost of internet usage on the ship. :eek:

[critterchick]

Somehow I can imagine he does not have to pay for internet use..;)

 

Quite possibly, but he stil has the same crappy connection as we mere mortals do.

[lakelorain]

Hopefully internet service will improve,

Royal Caribbean has selected managed communications specialist Harris CapRock Communications to handle its fleet-wide communications.

The five year deal provides hybrid satellite and terrestrial communication systems that will enable Royal Caribbean to improve overall communications performance while enhancing guest experience and crew morale.

For its part, Harris CapRock will deploy a fully managed VSAT and terrestrial communications system that will enable access to Royal Caribbean's corporate network and business applications, broadband internet, and telephony services.

The hybrid service combines Ku-band, C-band and shore mobile connectivity, designed so that the ships can switch from one preferred platform to another to maximise service availability and avoid downtime. Each ship will be equipped with two or three of Harris CapRock's stabilised VSAT antenna systems.

 

There was a technician from Harris CapRock on the Explorer with us in April. He had never been on a ship before and knew nothing about cruising. He had trouble finding his cabin. Didn't give me the feeling that things would improve anytime soon.

[WeighAnchor]

I do not need to be on continuosly however I need access to email and most importantly a loan processing system that is on my laptop where I take loan applications and qualify borrowers when they call

 

I have seen some ships block access to financial institutions. Plus, I wouldn't recommend accessing anything sensitive without a VPN connection on a public network. I am not sure how well VPN works on RC. It is slow a lot of the time and instead of charging by the kb/mb of data, they charge by the minute which at their speeds, can be quite expensive.

[martikus]

I know this isn't what you asked but your employer is very short sighted not having a backup for you? There are plenty of scenarios besides vacation where you might be out of the office. Also, how does this even classify as vacation if you're required to do specific functions?

 

Agreed! No employee is irreplaceable. While the higher up I go the harder it is to "unplug" I refuse to work 52 weeks a year. They should let you take a few vacation days without requiring you to plug in!

 

What if you had to be out for a funeral? Would they be calling then?

[klingoncruiser]

In general, internet is fairly reliable on board, all be it slow. I buy a package to bring the price down. I always bring my laptop, and rarely have a problem any more. It can happen, but I would not worry about it much. As other said, there is wifi in the port area's but I am a bit leery of anything that could be compromised in a foreign country. :rolleyes:

[truffles2]

Compare the speed to dial up!;)

 

Dial up would win!:eek:

[tigger-ttfn]

If you have to do that much work while on vacation then it is not a vacation

[Plut0]

OP,

I have also successfully used my laptop to connect. I buy the largest package and usually used up all the minutes. For two years, I was taking online classes and I had to be online to get assignments, post assignment and participate in discussions. It was a slow connection, but manageable. Depending on the ship, sometimes I had to go to a ship hotspot and sometimes I could work from my room. I tried to do some work offline to minimize connection time. I also used a VPN connection for work and on some ships it worked great and others I could not connect at all.

 

I would try it once and see how it goes, but talk with a co-worker who could back you up if you have connection troubles.

 

Good luck.

[newcrew42]

My husband has to be reachable for his work. He would do as others have done here, buy the largest package, download email, (he somehow gets voicemail through his email,) answer offline, connect, upload, and begin again.

 

So it is doable. It is expensive. But a small price to pay to remain employeed.

[Iluvcruising2]

Royal ought to do something to greatly improve the reliability and speed of Internet connection.

 

Unfortunately, in this day and age, some of us may have to be connected to work in order to deal with urgent matters that may arise. Increasingly, this may become a job requirement.

[S.O.C.I.O.C.A.T.s]

My husband has to be reachable for his work. He would do as others have done here, buy the largest package, download email, (he somehow gets voicemail through his email,) answer offline, connect, upload, and begin again.

 

So it is doable. It is expensive. But a small price to pay to remain employeed.

Amen. Small price to be able to cruise while you work

[mking8288]

[quote name='Iluvcruising2']Royal ought to do something to greatly improve the reliability and speed of Internet connection. [/quote]

Unlike land-based broadband solutions, the limitations of satellite communications for marine services are a given for VSAT, the background behind the overlapping coverage beams (in C-band and Ku-band, etc.) on locking in a signal 300+ miles (or whatever) above the earth's orbit over a moving flatform - and, there are only so many # of them above in the sky.

Sooner or later, advanced military satellite technologies will filter down to civilian applications - and/or the providers will need to deploy hundreds, if not thousands of satellites to the orbit to boost speed and provide redundancy, thus reliability at a "reasonable" cost to the end users. It's not as simple as running a cat-6 ethernet cable, coaxial runs or Fios wire down the side of the structure. Latency will remain high - short of any major breakthrough for the distance of travel for the connectivity, uninterrupted ...

I recalled reading something about satellite phone with broadband access - as a standalone or backup to the ship's communication infrastructure & broadband - $$ pricey - OP might want to look into it - but as is NOW, RCL's internet is 2G/Edge or GPRS-based (i.e. refreshing the typical graphics-intensive webpage took 2 minutes per page, some failed to load at all ... I would NOT count on it with a good contingency plan (if there is one, aside from staying on dry land.) There's also a disclaimer that tethering isn't supported nor availabile for cruising.