Internet prices

[jtl513]

I've learned to buy the fewest minutes first (even though it may be more costly per minute) just to see how that particular ship's internet access seems to be…

You can test the speed for free by going to hollandamerica.com and trying a few things.

 

My typical "login/logout" time from the time the timer began to my end (just downloading/uploading emails that were pre done) was typically 8 minutes average.

Many people use a fairly complex home page which takes a minute or two to load at ship speeds, and isn't even needed for email. Before you leave home change your home page to the very plain page http://www.google.com

.

Edited May 27, 2014 by jtl513

[POA1]

You can test the speed for free by going to hollandamerica.com and trying a few things.

 

Many people use a fairly complex home page which takes a minute or two to load at ship speeds, and isn't even needed for email. Before you leave home change your home page to {your ISP}/mail (for example http://aol.com/mail or http://att.yahoo.com/mail) and your download will start ASAP. Typically I can download/upload and disconnect in 2 or 3 minutes.

 

If you can't figure out what your email home page is, at least change it to the very plain page www.google.com

.

 

You can also use a blank page. You can't get any faster than that. To set a blank page in Internet Explorer, Firefox, or Chrome, see this page:

 

http://blog.laptopmag.com/set-blank-browser-home-page

 

Safari is a little more complicated, since the mobile and desktop versions work differently. You'll need to search Safari help for "Select Your Homepage" and you should see the instructions there.

[cruz chic]

Since we have been Elite for years, we truly have not kept up with the Platinum benefit. They might have received the same amount. We were doing a 14 day-12 day back to back and they simply gave each of us 500 min. Platinum's used to get the same and not sure if that has changed. Our cruise had about 800 Elites on the crossing (or so we were told) which dropped to about 400 on the British Isle segment. Of course we could take a 200 day HAL cruise and would still qualify for zero minutes. As we previously mentioned, we could cruise nearly any mass market line (and some higher end lines) and get lots of free internet. It is only HAL who is stingy with benefits.

 

Hank

 

I just turned elite so I was curious. It didn't look like there was any extra. I've always found Princess internet to be no better or worse than HALs and you would think more people would be using it.

[jtl513]

You can also use a blank page. You can't get any faster than that.

As I told you once before, the last time I tried a blank home page on a ship it would not work for some reason. Have you used one there? Google.com is quick enough for me.

 

I edited my post while you were typing to eliminate the web-based mail home page suggestion because I remembered that the janmcn said her mails were "pre-done", meaning she is probably using a mail handler app.

[POA1]

As I told you once before, the last time I tried a blank home page on a ship it would not work for some reason. Have you used one there? Google.com is quick enough for me.

 

I edited my post while you were typing to eliminate the web-based mail home page suggestion because I remembered that the janmcn said her mails were "pre-done", meaning she is probably using a mail handler app.

 

Sorry. I didn't remember that you were the one with the problem. I use a blank page on IE, Firefox, Chrome & Safari. These are the default pages on every browser I use. This is the case whether or not we are home or away. I have not tried changing to a blank page on the ship because our default pages were already set to blank. We didn't have any problems with the blank page, though. To connect to the authentication server on the ship, you just had to type in a website address and hit enter. The authentication server intercepted the DNS call and redirected us to the login page. As a general rule, we try to go to a page that we don't normally visit so that we don't pull up a cached page.

[sapper1]

Another quirk of the new internet service----I do FB check ins when travelling to let the family know we are where we are supposed to be and are OK.

 

When you do a check in on the Zuiderdam , it doesn't matter what port you are in, FB says you are in Fort Lauderdale. When you go ashore and do the check in it says you are located where you actually are.

[POA1]

Another quirk of the new internet service----I do FB check ins when travelling to let the family know we are where we are supposed to be and are OK.

 

When you do a check in on the Zuiderdam , it doesn't matter what port you are in, FB says you are in Fort Lauderdale. When you go ashore and do the check in it says you are located where you actually are.

 

It uses the geolocation of the IP address to figure out where you are. The IP address block for the satellite has location coordinates of Fort Lauderdale. This is pretty common. You often see a different location when you use hotel networks. You also see quite a bit if you use a mobile network but turn off your phone's location tracking.

 

http://www.whatismyip.com/

 

For instance, my office shows a location of Miami. My mobile phone IP shows me in Oak Ridge, FL. I had to look up Oak Ridge. It's way up near Orlando. Neither of those is correct, although Miami is only off by 20 miles or so.

 

If you want to be tracked more accurately, use your phone. The Facebook app will pull your GPS data.

 

http://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/view/30625/facebook-will-track-you-even-when-youre-not-looking/

[RuthC]

It uses the geolocation of the IP address to figure out where you are.

Interesting. Confusing to this non-geek, but interesting.

 

Perhaps you can 'splain what I noticed on my recent Oosterdam cruise from Sydney, Australia to Seattle, Washington. Every time I signed in to my Verizon account (using ship's computers), it said I was in New Jersey. No, I don't live in New Jersey, nor have I ever signed in to Verizon when I was in that state. Closest I can come is that I have driven through that state, but not in years.

Thanks. Oh, and remember---I AM NOT A GEEK! ;) Dumb it down, please.

Edited May 27, 2014 by RuthC

[POA1]

Interesting. Confusing to this non-geek, but interesting.

 

Perhaps you can 'splain what I noticed on my recent Oosterdam cruise from Sydney, Australia to Seattle, Washington. Every time I signed in to my Verizon account (using ship's computers), it said I was in New Jersey. No, I don't live in New Jersey, nor have I ever signed in to Verizon when I was in that state. Closest I can come is that I have driven through that state, but not in years.

Thanks. Oh, and remember---I AM NOT A GEEK! ;) Dumb it down, please.

 

Which site? MyVerizon? Verizon webmail? Something else?

 

Odds are that when the site couldn't resolve your location, it defaulted to New Jersey. If it had done a geo-lookup and you were using the MTN service, you would have had a location of Miramar, FL.

[sapper1]

It uses the geolocation of the IP address to figure out where you are. The IP address block for the satellite has location coordinates of Fort Lauderdale. This is pretty common. You often see a different location when you use hotel networks. You also see quite a bit if you use a mobile network but turn off your phone's location tracking.

 

http://www.whatismyip.com/

 

For instance, my office shows a location of Miami. My mobile phone IP shows me in Oak Ridge, FL. I had to look up Oak Ridge. It's way up near Orlando. Neither of those is correct, although Miami is only off by 20 miles or so.

 

If you want to be tracked more accurately, use your phone. The Facebook app will pull your GPS data.

 

http://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/view/30625/facebook-will-track-you-even-when-youre-not-looking/

POA1. I was using my iPad which has a GPS function.

[POA1]

POA1. I was using my iPad which has a GPS function.

 

I know that the mobile version of the Facebook app uses the GPS. The web version doesn't. It uses IP geolocation. Are you using the app, or do you just login from your browser? (Safari, I assume.)

 

It's a little hard to diagnose without actually seeing it in action. I do know that servers saw me as being in Miramar, FL when I used the Noordam Internet. When we were in port and I used my phone as a hotspot, the location was generally correct. The exception was Curacao, which showed up as Aruba. (Even though I was using the phone for connectivity, my computer browser is blissfully unaware of the phone's GPS.)

[RuthC]

Which site? MyVerizon? Verizon webmail? Something else?

:confused: Questions? I didn't know there was going to be a test! I didn't study! :eek:

 

I went to Verizon.net, which got me to my usual sign-in page (the one I get on my laptop at home). When I signed in, it recognized me, but listed my location as New Jersey. At home it recognizes my hometown. It was strange to be in the South Pacific and see NJ!

[sapper1]

I know that the mobile version of the Facebook app uses the GPS. The web version doesn't. It uses IP geolocation. Are you using the app, or do you just login from your browser? (Safari, I assume.)

 

It's a little hard to diagnose without actually seeing it in action. I do know that servers saw me as being in Miramar, FL when I used the Noordam Internet. When we were in port and I used my phone as a hotspot, the location was generally correct. The exception was Curacao, which showed up as Aruba. (Even though I was using the phone for connectivity, my computer browser is blissfully unaware of the phone's GPS.)

 

I use the FB app for iPad. I had no problem doing check ins on the Prinsendam in the Baltic last year on the old system.

[POA1]

:confused: Questions? I didn't know there was going to be a test! I didn't study! :eek:

 

I went to Verizon.net, which got me to my usual sign-in page (the one I get on my laptop at home). When I signed in, it recognized me, but listed my location as New Jersey. At home it recognizes my hometown. It was strange to be in the South Pacific and see NJ!

 

My guess is that NJ is the fail over location when they can't figure out where you are. Gimme a few minutes and I'll warp on over to Europe (on a proxy server) and check.

 

Please hold...

[POA1]

I use the FB app for iPad. I had no problem doing check ins on the Prinsendam in the Baltic last year on the old system.

 

Without getting into too much under the hood stuff, head over to this page and see if your location services are turned on for Facebook.

https://m.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150605458825392

 

When iOS 7 came out, some apps that used to have location services enabled in iOS 6 required the user (you) to specifically opt in. If location services (GPS) is indeed turned on for FB on your iPad, it's possible that you didn't have enough of a GPS signal to get your location fix.

[POA1]

My guess is that NJ is the fail over location when they can't figure out where you are. Gimme a few minutes and I'll warp on over to Europe (on a proxy server) and check.

 

Please hold...

 

Verizon.net thinks you're in NJ when it can't locate you. Ironically, Verizon wireless thinks you're in New York. Go figure.

 

Too bad the Nieuw Amsterdam cruise you choose wasn't the one DW and I are on in the fall. She would have definitely made me provide tech support for you. :)

[RuthC]

Verizon.net thinks you're in NJ when it can't locate you. Ironically, Verizon wireless thinks you're in New York. Go figure.

Thanks for getting to the bottom of my little question. It wasn't terribly important, but was niggling at me.

Too bad the Nieuw Amsterdam cruise you choose wasn't the one DW and I are on in the fall. She would have definitely made me provide tech support for you. :)

I can't switch cruises, as I have friends joining me. But it would be neat to meet up with you---and pick your brain some.

Maybe someday???

[POA1]

Maybe someday???

 

No trouble at all. I'm a big fan of figuring out why things work the way they do. :)

[BruceMuzz]

We did the $149 unlimited plan. Service withe the new provider doesn't seem as strong in Alaska as MTN was. Several times in port there was no signal. I had no signal in Skagway mid day and called Guest Services- they said it was due to the mountains or weather. Two hours later a full signal-nothing had changed in our location or the weather.

 

It was nice not to have to worry about minutes and fighting to get minutes back that had "disappeared".

 

I miss having a dedicated Internet person aboard. Everything is now handled be the Librarian and Front Office- seems like they just had canned answers to read when a problem happened. My only complaint on my post cruise survey was the internet- very unreliable and usually slow.

 

Irregardless of the ship you are on in Alaska, you will encounter signal problems. The internet satellites orbit around the equator, creating a very steep angle for reception so far North.

 

If you sail from Vancouver, the terminal building will block the signal all or part of the day, depending on the height of the ship and your location on the pier.

 

At Skagway, the mountain next to the railway pier will block the signal for most ships at least part of the day. If you are on a very big (tall) ship, the afternoon tide will usually raise you up enough to get an OK signal by midday. If you are on a small ship, you may get no signal at all.

But if your ship is moored all the way out at the ocean end of the railway pier, the earth's ratation will sometimes get you lined up with the satellite by mid to late afternoon.

 

Glacier Bay has frequent outages and interruptions due to the high cliffs in certain areas.

 

Tracy Arm, Hubbard Glacier, and a few of the other fjords sometimes have similar challenges.

 

Alaska is famous for dense fog banks. These are more common later in the season, but already this year we have seen quite a few. Dense fog will often seriously slow or completely wipe out the internet signal.

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

Irregardless of the ship you are on in Alaska, you will encounter signal problems. The internet satellites orbit around the equator, creating a very steep angle for reception so far North.

 

If you sail from Vancouver, the terminal building will block the signal all or part of the day, depending on the height of the ship and your location on the pier.

 

At Skagway, the mountain next to the railway pier will block the signal for most ships at least part of the day. If you are on a very big (tall) ship, the afternoon tide will usually raise you up enough to get an OK signal by midday. If you are on a small ship, you may get no signal at all.

But if your ship is moored all the way out at the ocean end of the railway pier, the earth's ratation will sometimes get you lined up with the satellite by mid to late afternoon.

 

Glacier Bay has frequent outages and interruptions due to the high cliffs in certain areas.

 

Tracy Arm, Hubbard Glacier, and a few of the other fjords sometimes have similar challenges.

 

Alaska is famous for dense fog banks. These are more common later in the season, but already this year we have seen quite a few. Dense fog will often seriously slow or completely wipe out the internet signal.

 

Glad to have confirmed what I have long thought to be the case in Alaska. Experienced it all last week on the Zuiderdam.

[mococay]

Verizon.net thinks you're in NJ when it can't locate you. Ironically, Verizon wireless thinks you're in New York. Go figure.

 

Too bad the Nieuw Amsterdam cruise you choose wasn't the one DW and I are on in the fall. She would have definitely made me provide tech support for you. :)

 

NJ is the location of the MTN earth station.

 

http://www.mtnsat.com/mtn-news/signal-sea

 

"MTN has several earth stations, including its largest in Holmdel, N.J., which covers most of the Western Hemisphere. Earth stations receive and respond to data requests that first hit a satellite."

Edited June 2, 2014 by mococay

[mococay]

Glad to have confirmed what I have long thought to be the case in Alaska. Experienced it all last week on the Zuiderdam.

 

Some ships (I know Princess has it already) will now switch from sattelites to a terrestrial network when in certain ports (Alaska for sure and possibly home ports as well). This will offer a much better bandwidth and a more reliable service as it is no longer obstructed. This is an MTN project, called Nexus:

 

http://www.mtnsat.com/mtn-nexus/nexus-access

 

The problem now is that MNT lost some cruise line contracts (HAL is one of them) who switched to Harris and ditched the Internet Manager altogether. :)

[RuthC]

"MTN has several earth stations, including its largest in Holmdel, N.J., which covers most of the Western Hemisphere. Earth stations receive and respond to data requests that first hit a satellite."

Strange then, isn't it, that it referenced NJ when I was in the eastern & southern hemispheres (South Pacific)?

[POA1]

Strange then, isn't it, that it referenced NJ when I was in the eastern & southern hemispheres (South Pacific)?

 

When I ran my little test, I picked a proxy server that I knew would give me an IP address that wouldn't resolve geographically. The Verizon portal showed my location as being NJ. Generally speaking, if a web server can't figure out where you are at, it just makes an assumption. It might affect the weather forecast you see or the ads. It's not usually critical to the functionality of the site. If it is, you are typically presented with a "Not Your Location?" link that lets you change location.

 

I check my IP location when I travel. I've always seen a location in S. FL. It's usually Miami, Miramar, or Fort Lauderdale. That might be because the MTN Network Operations Center (NOC) is in Miramar. It might be because of where we were sailing. You have to remember that your physical location and your Network location don't necessarily match up. For example, back in the heyday of AOL, the geolocation of practically every AOL user appeared to be Reston or Herndon, VA. AOL knew what modem pool a user dialed into, but all their traffic routed through Virginia before hitting the rest of the web. When I worked for AT&T and Bell Labs, my IP location appeared to be in Ohio, even if I was in England or Scotland. Our gateway was in Ohio. Bottom line: Your IP address' geolocation might not match your physical location.

[RuthC]

I appreciate the completely thorough explanations. At my end it was mostly a curiosity, and hadn't quite reached the level of puzzlement. Just one more thing to take a glance at, and go "hum, that's strange" when on board.

 

Thanks for the attempts to educate me.