Speed of Internet on Royal Caribbean ships

[Rencruzr]

Hi there.

 

from what I have read the new Quantum class ships will have the fastest internet with their own satellite dish.

 

I am going on Voyager of the Seas here in Australia on a cruise on the 18th of November, that is next month. I know it has been refurbished but does anyone know if it has faster internet or the same old internet that is familiar to cruising?

 

The cost at $200 for internet for a 10 day cruise is ridiculously high and if this is for bad service that would really annoy me. You would think with the amount we pay for a cruise it would be complimentary, especially when it is as bad as dial up speed.

[Clarea]

So far, only Oasis and Quantum class ships have the fast O3b internet.

[TxKroozer]

Recently off the Navigator last few weeks. We signed up for one device unlimited internet and we are pleased with performance. I work with Internet at home and I am aware of what decent wifi speed is. The ship is by far not the same, but it is acceptable. You will notice faster speeds in the morning and late venting which is logical as more people are using it during the day.

 

Other points:

 

1. You will find spots on the ship with faster performance such as around Guest Services and some bars.

 

2. Surprised that we were even able to connect while in our inside cabin at times. Not better performance there, but we connected.

 

3. Performance of course not great for streaming services like Video Chats or streaming movies for sure, but basic browsing of websites, emails and such are OK.

[Rencruzr]

Recently off the Navigator last few weeks. We signed up for one device unlimited internet and we are pleased with performance. I work with Internet at home and I am aware of what decent wifi speed is. The ship is by far not the same, but it is acceptable. You will notice faster speeds in the morning and late venting which is logical as more people are using it during the day.

 

Other points:

 

1. You will find spots on the ship with faster performance such as around Guest Services and some bars.

 

2. Surprised that we were even able to connect while in our inside cabin at times. Not better performance there, but we connected.

 

3. Performance of course not great for streaming services like Video Chats or streaming movies for sure, but basic browsing of websites, emails and such are OK.

 

thanks for the detailed reply. They have an offer that you can do a second device for half price but do you think it would be worth that or just use one device as a hot spot for another? Only problem with that is you have to be in the same place as your travelling companion.

[Clarea]

thanks for the detailed reply. They have an offer that you can do a second device for half price but do you think it would be worth that or just use one device as a hot spot for another? Only problem with that is you have to be in the same place as your travelling companion.

I would just do the two device plan. Not sure what you plan to use as a hotspot, but a phone would not work.

[roquejo]

Hi there.

 

 

 

I am going on Voyager of the Seas here in Australia on a cruise on the 18th of November, that is next month. I know it has been refurbished but does anyone know if it has faster internet or the same old internet that is familiar to cruising?

 

 

I've just got off Voyager of the Seas yesterday and used the ship's internet for 24 hours continuous as part of my Diamond coupon benefit.

 

It's workable for email, uploading photos via FB app seems also at reasonable upload speed but don't expect too much...browsing sites are slow.

 

Viber text messaging works.

 

I've done SpeedTest and can only come up with .1 Mbps download.... but uploads speed is faster maybe that is the reason why uploading photos to Facebook is reasonable.

[goodycruising]

We spoke to friends on Explorer yesterday via Facebook messenger and for a short time we even had a little bit of video calling. That is a lot better than we have experienced in the past, so it sounds like they have improved it somewhat compared to a couple of years ago. (We gave up after a couple of cruises and get a prepaid roaming pack)

 

There would have been a lot of people using it on Explorer at the time also, as they missed a port due to unrest in the area and they gave some free wifi time.

 

The worst thing with RCI internet in the past has been the charge per minute system they used to have. Don't know how it is currently charged, but we might even have a look next trip.

 

I know you are talking Voyager, but Explorer & Voyager should be pretty similar I would expect.

Edited October 15, 2015 by goodycruising

[Clarea]

... The worst thing with RCI internet in the past has been the charge per minute system they used to have. Don't know how it is currently charged, but we might even have a look next trip.

Royal has gone to unlimited internet plans. I believe you have to buy a minimum of 24 hours.

[Biker19]

I've done SpeedTest and can only come up with .1 Mbps download.... but uploads speed is faster maybe that is the reason why uploading photos to Facebook is reasonable.

Speed tests vary wildly with a satellite connection.

 

Though everyone usually complains about the internet speed on older ships, when I was on the Legend TA last fall, a neighboring cabin was hosting an NFL game and was streaming a very good looking NFL game (from his Sunday ticket subscription) - I would assume that had to be at least 1 MBps (given the quality). Other than disconnecting for halftime, there were no breaks in the streaming. The ships have many known/popular sites either not reachable at all or very BW limited - not so with the NFL Sunday ticket.:cool:

Edited October 16, 2015 by Biker19

[Diplomacy]

Hi there.

 

from what I have read the new Quantum class ships will have the fastest internet with their own satellite dish.

 

I am going on Voyager of the Seas here in Australia on a cruise on the 18th of November, that is next month. I know it has been refurbished but does anyone know if it has faster internet or the same old internet that is familiar to cruising?

 

The cost at $200 for internet for a 10 day cruise is ridiculously high and if this is for bad service that would really annoy me. You would think with the amount we pay for a cruise it would be complimentary, especially when it is as bad as dial up speed.

 

In port, the internet is great!!!

 

At sea YMMV.

[roquejo]

Speed tests vary wildly with a satellite connection.

 

Though everyone usually complains about the internet speed on older ships, when I was on the Legend TA last fall, a neighboring cabin was hosting an NFL game and was streaming a very good looking NFL game (from his Sunday ticket subscription) - I would assume that had to be at least 1 MBps (given the quality). Other than disconnecting for halftime, there were no breaks in the streaming. The ships have many known/popular sites either not reachable at all or very BW limited - not so with the NFL Sunday ticket.:cool:

 

Hmm.. that's good, I'm sailing Legend in 2 weeks in Asia and hoping the speed is what you said.

[Brandon B]

Recently off the Navigator last few weeks. We signed up for one device unlimited internet and we are pleased with performance. I work with Internet at home and I am aware of what decent wifi speed is. The ship is by far not the same, but it is acceptable. You will notice faster speeds in the morning and late venting which is logical as more people are using it during the day.

 

Other points:

 

1. You will find spots on the ship with faster performance such as around Guest Services and some bars.

 

2. Surprised that we were even able to connect while in our inside cabin at times. Not better performance there, but we connected.

 

3. Performance of course not great for streaming services like Video Chats or streaming movies for sure, but basic browsing of websites, emails and such are OK.

 

 

Hi, were you able to use your phone's "Wifi Calling" feature for calls or texts? (we're on NOS in Feb '16 out of FLL)

Thanks!

[rakes5]

On the Allure. Just did a speed test. Left Bahamas for St Maarten 5 hours ago

 

[Brandon B]

On the Allure. Just did a speed test. Left Bahamas for St Maarten 5 hours ago

 

[ATTACH]368037[/ATTACH]

 

 

...Yes that's awesome. We were on Allure last year and wifi calling worked great...But that's because it has the new Ob3/Voom technology....Navigator of the Seas does not :-(

 

I have a trip on NOS in Feb. '16 so was hoping to be able o use 'WiFi-calling' on my Galaxy to at least be able to get text messages...

 

Anyone off NOS recently who can answer this?

 

Thanks! :-)

[mollybb]

Just returned from a 7 nite on the Freedom. During a Next Cruise presentation the Sales Mgr. told us that RCCL was hoping to have upgraded internet service on all ships and that it would be "free". Timetable for completions fleetwide was estimated to be late year 2017 (if you can believe that)

[Mnamom1105]

we were on Freedom a few weeks ago and it SUCKED. Plain and simple. They do NOT have the new VOOM on there. DH works in IT and went to the desk and had a "discussion" with them about the atrocious excuse for internet.....we were told that when we got a survey in the coming days (got it the day we got home) we should do it and be sure to comment on the internet or lack thereof....so we did. *sigh* Don't know about it with boats with VOOM....

[Brandon B]

we were on Freedom a few weeks ago and it SUCKED. Plain and simple. They do NOT have the new VOOM on there. DH works in IT and went to the desk and had a "discussion" with them about the atrocious excuse for internet.....we were told that when we got a survey in the coming days (got it the day we got home) we should do it and be sure to comment on the internet or lack thereof....so we did. *sigh* Don't know about it with boats with VOOM....

 

 

...good news is you'll have it on Oasis in April....it's really nice, comparable to what you would find at an average Starbucks...

[RalBeck]

DOWNLOAD. 0.17 Mbps. UPLOAD. 0.16

 

Really poor service. Can only do email.

[blackshirt]

Hi, were you able to use your phone's "Wifi Calling" feature for calls or texts? (we're on NOS in Feb '16 out of FLL)

Thanks!

Wifi calling worked on Explorer to my surprise since we were sailing in Australia. I did not make any calls, just texts. I would presume Navigator's internet is equivalent to Explorer's.