Hi Speed Internet on All other Cruise lines Except Holland America

[esquire20]

Hello Folks, a veteran cruiser that has cruised with all the cruise lines including Holland America. I was fascinated by the new KDam and how HAL is trying to be innovative and appeal to a younger demographic. RCCL has Voom, Celebrity has XCellerate, NCL just announced they will have hi speed internet for all their ships by July 2016. What does HAL have? From what I read, HAL does not even provide unlimited packages for the passengers. How can this be innovative and be appealing to a demographic that is driven by social media? The Cruise lines themselves are on Facebook and Twitter, how can you roll out a new ship with an antiquated internet system and claim to be innovative?

[dakrewser]

Evidently you don't read enough.

[CruisinHarvey]

Evidently you don't read enough.

 

LOL well said.

[canadianbear]

Hello Folks, a veteran cruiser that has cruised with all the cruise lines including Holland America. I was fascinated by the new KDam and how HAL is trying to be innovative and appeal to a younger demographic. RCCL has Voom, Celebrity has XCellerate, NCL just announced they will have hi speed internet for all their ships by July 2016. What does HAL have? From what I read, HAL does not even provide unlimited packages for the passengers. How can this be innovative and be appealing to a demographic that is driven by social media? The Cruise lines themselves are on Facebook and Twitter, how can you roll out a new ship with an antiquated internet system and claim to be innovative?

 

I'd be tempted to ask them that on Facebook!

[POA1]

Hello Folks, a veteran cruiser that has cruised with all the cruise lines including Holland America.

 

Would you be so kind as to post your speed tests from all the cruise lines? Up/Down and latency would be awesome.

 

You are aware that Voom is only on the Oasis and Anthem Class RCCL ships and only in certain areas, right?

 

From the Royal Caribbean website:

 

Q: What ships have VOOM (High Speed Internet)?

A: Oasis Class and Quantum Class all have high speed internet in the Caribbean, Mediterranean or Asia.

High speed internet is not available during transatlantic crossings and repositioning sailings.

 

That's a whopping 4 out of 22 ships.

 

Xcelerate, Celebrity's version of parent company RCI's Voom is available on a mere 1 ship in the fleet: The Reflection, and only in the Caribbean. (See this article from 17 days ago.)

 

NCL just signed their deal with EMC (formerly MTN) today. Carnival signed a similar agreement last September. With the same company. For the same technology. Perhaps NCL will use a combination of pixie dust and unicorn farts to get to full deployment by July 2016, but I'd be inclined to bet against it.

 

I have no idea what having the cruise lines on MyTweetySpaceBook has to do with high speed internet deployment. Carrier Pigeon Magazine (http://thecarrierpigeon.co.uk/) is on both Facebook and Twitter. You don't see them strapping rockets onto the birds just because of social media. #getafrigginclue :D

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Would you be so kind as to post your speed tests from all the cruise lines? Up/Down and latency would be awesome.

 

You are aware that Voom is only on the Oasis and Anthem Class RCCL ships and only in certain areas, right?

 

From the Royal Caribbean website:

 

Q: What ships have VOOM (High Speed Internet)?

A: Oasis Class and Quantum Class all have high speed internet in the Caribbean, Mediterranean or Asia.

High speed internet is not available during transatlantic crossings and repositioning sailings.

 

That's a whopping 4 out of 22 ships.

 

Xcelerate, Celebrity's version of parent company RCI's Voom is available on a mere 1 ship in the fleet: The Reflection, and only in the Caribbean. (See this article from 17 days ago.)

 

NCL just signed their deal with EMC (formerly MTN) today. Carnival signed a similar agreement last September. With the same company. For the same technology. Perhaps NCL will use a combination of pixie dust and unicorn farts to get to full deployment by July 2016, but I'd be inclined to bet against it.

 

I have no idea what having the cruise lines on MyTweetySpaceBook has to do with high speed internet deployment. Carrier Pigeon Magazine (http://thecarrierpigeon.co.uk/) is on both Facebook and Twitter. You don't see them strapping rockets onto the birds just because of social media. #getafrigginclue :D

 

Just to be clear, currently what NCL is offering with MTN is most definitely better than what HAL is currently offering. I was able to stream the Live broadcast of the Inaugural of the NCL Escape via Periscope while having lunch on a sea day in the Pacific this past November. They offer unlimited through MTN at a price that was less than I paid for HAL's best bargain per minute price. Unfortunately I did not test the speed but being able to stream a Live broadcast and be on line 24/7 currently is several steps above what HAL already offers. HAL has been running behind for several years what other cruise lines have been offering, with the recent upgrade that the other lines are going to be doing they will blow past HAL's attempt.

[Cruiser Bruiser]

Just to be clear, currently what NCL is offering with MTN is most definitely better than what HAL is currently offering. I was able to stream the Live broadcast of the Inaugural of the NCL Escape via Periscope while having lunch on a sea day in the Pacific this past November. They offer unlimited through MTN at a price that was less than I paid for HAL's best bargain per minute price. Unfortunately I did not test the speed but being able to stream a Live broadcast and be on line 24/7 currently is several steps above what HAL already offers. HAL has been running behind for several years what other cruise lines have been offering, with the recent upgrade that the other lines are going to be doing they will blow past HAL's attempt.

 

It seems like HAL really missed an opportunity with its slow Internet. One wonders at the logic, or lack thereof.

[iancal]

Marketing bumph.

 

There is a HUGE difference between claiming you are innovative, as HAL had done, and actually being innovative-which HAL is anything but.

 

We don't use the internet very much on any cruise ship-only to the extent of the free minutes based on our status on a few lines. But certainly from an on board information systems perspective HAL is most definitely light years behind some of their competitors.

[esquire20]

Would you be so kind as to post your speed tests from all the cruise lines? Up/Down and latency would be awesome.

 

You are aware that Voom is only on the Oasis and Anthem Class RCCL ships and only in certain areas, right?

 

From the Royal Caribbean website:

 

Q: What ships have VOOM (High Speed Internet)?

A: Oasis Class and Quantum Class all have high speed internet in the Caribbean, Mediterranean or Asia.

High speed internet is not available during transatlantic crossings and repositioning sailings.

 

That's a whopping 4 out of 22 ships.

 

Xcelerate, Celebrity's version of parent company RCI's Voom is available on a mere 1 ship in the fleet: The Reflection, and only in the Caribbean. (See this article from 17 days ago.)

 

NCL just signed their deal with EMC (formerly MTN) today. Carnival signed a similar agreement last September. With the same company. For the same technology. Perhaps NCL will use a combination of pixie dust and unicorn farts to get to full deployment by July 2016, but I'd be inclined to bet against it.

 

I have no idea what having the cruise lines on MyTweetySpaceBook has to do with high speed internet deployment. Carrier Pigeon Magazine (http://thecarrierpigeon.co.uk/) is on both Facebook and Twitter. You don't see them strapping rockets onto the birds just because of social media. #getafrigginclue :D

 

Apparently some of the people posting do not read enough, as of 5/2/16 RCCL Voom is now fleet wide and NOT just on the Quantum class ships, as for Celebrity, XCellerate is now fleet wide and NOT just on the Reflection as I just sailed a TA on the Silhouette 13 days FLL to SouthHampton and it was available unlimited for 13 days at a reduced rate of $179 total. My point is, HAL is slightly behind in this area, and that it is unusual to see a New class of ship being launched to have such an antiquated Internet system and offering.'

[SilvertoGold]

Apparently some of the people posting do not read enough, as of 5/2/16 RCCL Voom is now fleet wide and NOT just on the Quantum class ships, as for Celebrity, XCellerate is now fleet wide and NOT just on the Reflection as I just sailed a TA on the Silhouette 13 days FLL to SouthHampton and it was available unlimited for 13 days at a reduced rate of $179 total. My point is, HAL is slightly behind in this area, and that it is unusual to see a New class of ship being launched to have such an antiquated Internet system and offering.'

 

The way you put it makes sense.

 

HAL cruisers are just so used to mediocrity in some respects. I used to think this was because HAL offered good value (other than internet). Now, not so much.

 

You have a good question, although I would say there is more to it than a newbuild and poor internet. How can HAL offer such poor internet service for so long (years and years) without any real improvement?

[TheEmerson]

The value placed on having super fast Internet access, middle of the road to slow access is what each person needs to decide.

 

Now why HAL has slower access as compared to other ships or to other lines has many factors.

• The cost of the hardware on the ship. Owned by HAL, leased to HAL, or does the provider buy space and power. Is there a profit sharing agreement.
  
• Low Earth Orbit Providers vs Near Shore Providers. How long will a ship be in a service area for Near Shore.
  
• Do some of the higher speed providers have exclusivity contracts.
  
• What is the profit margin on offering the service. Does faster mean more revenue?
  

 

Since the Koningsdam is spending half the year in Europe and the Med is there vendor infrastructure to support high speed near shore? HAL may have said it was not worth it at this time. For that we will not know.

[POA1]

Apparently some of the people posting do not read enough, as of 5/2/16 RCCL Voom is now fleet wide and NOT just on the Quantum class ships, as for Celebrity, XCellerate is now fleet wide and NOT just on the Reflection as I just sailed a TA on the Silhouette 13 days FLL to SouthHampton and it was available unlimited for 13 days at a reduced rate of $179 total. My point is, HAL is slightly behind in this area, and that it is unusual to see a New class of ship being launched to have such an antiquated Internet system and offering.'

 

I linked to current pages on both Celebrity and Royal Caribbean. Are you saying that they are both wrong on their websites? That's messed up. Click the links in my post and then contact them so they can fix it.

[POA1]

Just to be clear, currently what NCL is offering with MTN is most definitely better than what HAL is currently offering. I was able to stream the Live broadcast of the Inaugural of the NCL Escape via Periscope while having lunch on a sea day in the Pacific this past November. They offer unlimited through MTN at a price that was less than I paid for HAL's best bargain per minute price. Unfortunately I did not test the speed but being able to stream a Live broadcast and be on line 24/7 currently is several steps above what HAL already offers. HAL has been running behind for several years what other cruise lines have been offering, with the recent upgrade that the other lines are going to be doing they will blow past HAL's attempt.

 

To be clear, I said that Norwegian announced their new Internet partnership/offering today. Here's the link to NCL's own press release on PR Newswire:

 

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/norwegian-cruise-line-holdings-enters-a-long-term-strategic-agreement-with-emc-to-deliver-a-faster-internet-experience-for-guests-300264086.html

 

The deal is for the same technology that Carnival signed a similar strategic arrangement for last September.

 

I'm happy that you got pleasing speeds on your trip in the Pacific. It would be nice to have some actual speed test results. Here are some actual measured results from the Nieuw Amsterdam in December 2014. They're from the ship at sea and Speedtest.net's New York test site:

 

Download Speed: 3872 kbps (484 KB/sec transfer rate)

Upload Speed: 411 kbps (51.4 KB/sec transfer rate)

Ping/Latency was around 150-180 ms.

 

Results were reported in my Live From thread:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2132818

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=44941853#post44941853

[POA1]

Apparently some of the people posting do not read enough, as of 5/2/16 RCCL Voom is now fleet wide and NOT just on the Quantum class ships, as for Celebrity, XCellerate is now fleet wide and NOT just on the Reflection as I just sailed a TA on the Silhouette 13 days FLL to SouthHampton and it was available unlimited for 13 days at a reduced rate of $179 total. My point is, HAL is slightly behind in this area, and that it is unusual to see a New class of ship being launched to have such an antiquated Internet system and offering.'

 

Here's what I found on Royal Caribbean's website right now:

 

I made a point of grabbing some PDFs as well in case there are any questions. While it may be possible that this information is incorrect, I got it right from Royal Caribbean's site. I can't be responsible for their errors.

 

As far as Xcelerate is concerned, here's what it says on Celebrity's website right now:

 

The red highlights are mine. You mentioned "XCellerate" in your post. I think that's a typo on your part. (Note my ability to read. ;))

 

To back up my point, here's an article from April 2016 that appeared in SeaTrade Cruise News. I screen capped it today, but it mateched the Celebrity site's messaging exactly:

 

It's quite possible that Royal Caribbean's site and X's site are wrong. Again, that's not on me. I read what I read, and I posted what I read. If that's wrong, then please contact the cruise lines. If you're right, then they need to fix their sites, retract their press releases, etc. Because it's pretty easy to read these screen caps and see where I got the impressions that I did.

 

Images above are Fair Use under Title 17 and are for illustrative, educational purposes only.

Edited May 6, 2016 by POA1

[LAFFNVEGAS]

To be clear, I said that Norwegian announced their new Internet partnership/offering today. Here's the link to NCL's own press release on PR Newswire:

 

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/norwegian-cruise-line-holdings-enters-a-long-term-strategic-agreement-with-emc-to-deliver-a-faster-internet-experience-for-guests-300264086.html

 

The deal is for the same technology that Carnival signed a similar strategic arrangement for last September.

 

I'm happy that you got pleasing speeds on your trip in the Pacific. It would be nice to have some actual speed test results. Here are some actual measured results from the Nieuw Amsterdam in December 2014. They're from the ship at sea and Speedtest.net's New York test site:

 

Download Speed: 3872 kbps (484 KB/sec transfer rate)

Upload Speed: 411 kbps (51.4 KB/sec transfer rate)

Ping/Latency was around 150-180 ms.

 

Results were reported in my Live From thread:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2132818

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=44941853#post44941853

 

Sorry but you are not getting MY POINT, What NCL already has been offering for the past SEVERAL Years is ALREADY Far Superior to WHAT HAL Has Been Offering, what they just announced is improving on what they have now which again is already much better and at a much lower price than what HAL offers. I know from personal experience from sailing on NCL.....What is your RECENT Experience with these other lines???????

[Bill S]

On our most recent (Feb/March) 14-day cruise on the Nieuw Amsterdam Caribbean cruise, they offered unlimited internet for $249. Given that both my very dear wife and I brought our iPads, we opted for it. We made good use of it.