Cruise Ship Wifi Gets a Boost on Norwegian, Regent and Oceania

[Queen of DaNile]

FWIW

 

http://www.cpapracticeadvisor.com/news/12244055/cruise-ship-wifi-gets-a-boost-on-norwegian-regent-and-oceania

[KT Freeman]

Can't wait to test it out on our February 2017 cruise! Thanks for sharing.

[Carol From California]

That is fantastic news! Anyone on the ships now who can report a noticeable difference? The article states it went in to effect in July. We are going to be on the Marina next month. Love the idea of having faster Internet speed!

 

Thanks for sharing this article!

[Paulchili]

Great news if it proves to be a difference maker. Let's hope so :)

[silkman]

That is fantastic news! Anyone on the ships now who can report a noticeable difference? The article states it went in to effect in July. We are going to be on the Marina next month. Love the idea of having faster Internet speed!

 

Thanks for sharing this article!

 

We got off the Insignia on July 29th. Trust me , the internet was NOT EVEN CLOSE to "lightning fast"..when it was working. I noticed no perceptible difference from my previous cruises on Insignia, Oh, one more thing.. None of the computers worked in the suites...Not that anyone mentioned it until I reported to the computer guy that my comp in the room was not working.

He said ,oh yes, none of the comps in the rooms were working due to when they changed software it caused the problem , and they were waiting for a "fix" from Miami.I suggested that it might be helpful that they inform the guests that they were not functional He agreed, but of course nothing was done in that regard. I don't know if this is the same situation on the other ships.

[ginabab]

I agree, silkman On the July 2016 Insignia cruise it seemed like the Internet was lacking big time

 

I wonder if the Insignia upgrade is set for late summer

[ORV]

On Marina right now, Internet is much better than in the past. As usual it depends on time of day you use it. Certainly not as fast as my cable at home, but better than cruises past.

[JVNYC]

No internet anywhere is perfect when 1200 people are downloading and uploading large photos, downloading songs, newspapers & magazines, playing games, watching movies, videos, etc. all at the same time all the time. People don't disconnect either. C'mon guys, be realistic here.

Edited August 13, 2016 by JVNYC

[silkman]

No internet anywhere is perfect when 1200 people are downloading and uploading large photos, downloading songs, newspapers & magazines, playing games, watching movies, videos, etc. all at the same time all the time. People don't disconnect either. C'mon guys, be realistic here.

 

according to the article"the speednet program delivers popular websites at speeds that mimic high speed fiberoptic networks, similar to those available in homes and offices." "our guests can consume content,post to social media and stay in touch with family and friends on the ship's network just as they are used to on land" ...NOT EVEN CLOSE!

 

I can only assume that the new system on the Insignia is not yet operable. It was far more like "dial-up" than a high speed fiber optic network.

There is no improvement in the internet from 5 or six years ago.

Edited August 13, 2016 by silkman

[JVNYC]

according to the article"the speednet program delivers popular websites at speeds that mimic high speed fiberoptic networks, similar to those available in homes and offices." "our guests can consume content,post to social media and stay in touch with family and friends on the ship's network just as they are used to on land" ...NOT EVEN CLOSE!

 

I can only assume that the new system on the Insignia is not yet operable. It was far more like "dial-up" than a high speed fiber optic network.

There is no improvement in the internet from 5 or six years ago.

 

You've completely missed my point.

[Meldrum]

I am on Insignia now and yesterday (a Sea day) it took 45 minutes to download a digital newspaper of 36Mb. The connection was lost several times.

We are currently docked in Bordeaux (France) and I just performed a speedtest. Download speed is 0.37Mb/s which is very slow. When using cellular (4G), download speed was 3,06. Mb/s. Quiet a difference!

[JVNYC]

I am on Insignia now and yesterday (a Sea day) it took 45 minutes to download a digital newspaper of 36Mb. The connection was lost several times.

We are currently docked in Bordeaux (France) and I just performed a speedtest. Download speed is 0.37Mb/s which is very slow. When using cellular (4G), download speed was 3,06. Mb/s. Quiet a difference!

 

It's satellite! There is no way around that for a cruise ship. Ships are not hard wired like a hotel or home. One should not expect the same service. Best to download everything you will want to watch & read before you sail.

Edited August 13, 2016 by JVNYC

[Meldrum]

Off course, but you cannot download tomorrows newspaper in advance. The best thing you can do, when onshore, is to go to a pub or café with free WiFi. Here in Europe, there are plenty of them. On a Sea day, you have to use the onboard WiFi and a bit of patience. The onboard WiFi is paid per minute, so for the cruise company it is better slow than fast :-). We have 500 minutes of free internet, but with only 2 Sea days, we might not need it all.

[PaulMCO]

Lots of NCL spin. The article uses info from the NCL press release of May. So there is nothing new.

 

https://www.ncl.com/press-releases/norwegian-cruise-line-holdings-deliver-high-speed-wifi-across-companys-three-brands

 

EMC's "new" product uses additional compression to give more bandwidth. The biggest increase comes from connectivity to the terrestrial systems when in port. However you can go to EMC's web page to see that there are many ports that O uses that will not have these gateways.

 

http://emcconnected.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/TWN-Map-6-2-16.jpg

 

Will free unlimited internet for all -- O has to do something to increase the pipe in/out. Unfortunately the increase users only keeps up with the increase in bandwidth.

 

What O needs to do is to modify their software to automatically disconnect users after a period of inactivity. Other cruise lines do this.

Edited August 13, 2016 by PaulMCO

[silkman]

You've completely missed my point.[/quote

 

To the contrary, I did not miss your point at all, but I believe you missed mine.

No one expects perfection from a ship's internet. and hopefully some passengers have other things to do on the cruise other than being online so hopefully 1200 passengers are not on line at the same time, That being said , my point was that the internet on my Insignia cruise was No better than a year ago, 2 years ago , or 5 years ago.The article referenced by the OP

stated that the bandwidth was quadrupled and would be operative for all NCL ships as of July.Also says that they have "moved beyond the decade old problem of slow data speeds from satellite to deliver a much more efficient and faster internet experience". My comment was that despite these supposed enhancements, there was NO improvement at all in the internet speed. Since it was reported that there was some improvement on the Marina, that probably the new enhancements are not yet installed on the Insignia.I was just trying to answer a poster's question as to if the internet showed any improvement after the supposed enhacements.

Is that clearer?

Edited August 13, 2016 by silkman

[JVNYC]

You've completely missed my point.[/quote

 

To the contrary, I did not miss your point at all, but I believe you missed mine.

No one expects perfection from a ship's internet. and hopefully some passengers have other things to do on the cruise other than being online so hopefully 1200 passengers are not on line at the same time, That being said , my point was that the internet on my Insignia cruise was No better than a year ago, 2 years ago , or 5 years ago.The article referenced by the OP

stated that the bandwidth was quadrupled and would be operative for all NCL ships as of July.Also says that they have "moved beyond the decade old problem of slow data speeds from satellite to deliver a much more efficient and faster internet experience". My comment was that despite these supposed enhancements, there was NO improvement at all in the internet speed. Since it was reported that there was some improvement on the Marina, that probably the new enhancements are not yet installed on the Insignia.I was just trying to answer a poster's question as to if the internet showed any improvement after the supposed enhacements.

Is that clearer?

 

 

Clearer :)

[globevest]

Lots of NCL spin. The article uses info from the NCL press release of May. So there is nothing new.

 

What O needs to do is to modify their software to automatically disconnect users after a period of inactivity. Other cruise lines do this.

 

Exactly....

[travelglobetrotter]

This was the poorest Internet we've ever had. Granted, we were in the Arctic Circle in Norway and Russia, then in Iceland and Greenland, and the ability to even connect was sporadic to non-existent. We will not have unlimited Internet on our next cruise, and see no reason to spend $ for something that may or may not work. Supposedly this was after an upgrade, too.

[happytalk44]

This article is dated Aug 12, 2016. To me it is saying this does not go into effect until July 2017.

[Carol From California]

This article is dated Aug 12, 2016. To me it is saying this does not go into effect until July 2017.

 

Hopefully it is this year, according to this article:

http://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/14815-norwegian-and-emc-ink-deal-for-speednet-upgraded-internet-offering.html

[PaulMCO]

This article is dated Aug 12, 2016. To me it is saying this does not go into effect until July 2017.

 

The article was written from the NCL press release of May and stated July 2016.

 

 

https://www.ncl.com/press-releases/n...s-three-brands

[newbie60]

What for what it's worth....

 

Just back from 21 days on Sirena which consisted of two cruises of 10 and 11 days respectively. The first 10 days, the ship was filled with folks, who for some reason or other, needed to have their cell phones in their hands and online constantly! They were at the pool, in Horizons, in the MDR, in hallways and staircases. The internet speed, while tolerable, was slow at times.

 

The second portion of the cruise had a totally different demographic and few phones and ipads were evident in public areas. The speed was dramatically faster - except for one day in a port location that had some sort of blocking taking place.

 

Assuming that Sirena got the upgraded system when she was refitted. And, we used our personal laptop which I believe gave us enhanced performance and speed over my tablet.

[Hawaiidan]

In reading all of the posts, it looked like the most important thing to those going on on a O cruises was to to devote most of their time and energy to being on the internet and performing all sorts of work....

 

Honestly, is it that important,? It sounds like people are obsessing , or even addicted to feeling they need constant connection and feeling they have to be on line for everything every day... How about enjoying the cruise that your paying to relax on rather than feeling this self imposed urgency and pressure to perform on your computer like it was a job your expected to do. Yes I use the internet, On a cruise I may check e-mail once a week,...dont take a computer or phone with me and in 20 years never needed one or obsessed over not having one.

 

Seriously I dont understand how regular people make this a major part of their lives and happiness... I dont get it..what drives people to feel they have this as part of their lives.. ????

 

Remember when people went to sail the sea and enjoy travel, Let the folks back home know...well mail a post card, Downloading daily a whole newspaper...? Showing pictures ...do you really need to show others what your doing as fast as possible? Why.. cant it wait a week or a month?

 

If you have to have steady,internet stuff why would you spend thousands to go on a cruise instead of staying home with all the comforts of electronics if you think you have to be in constant communication everywhere because of job, health, national security.. maybe travel anywhere is not good.

 

This is not to criticize any one but just an observation of what appears to me as people pressuring themselves and feeling threatened of fearful of life without their internet things... Is it worth it or are you making Internets a necessity for daily living and happiness?

[Fam_Cruise]

In reading all of the posts, it looked like the most important thing to those going on on a O cruises was to to devote most of their time and energy to being on the internet and performing all sorts of work....

 

Honestly, is it that important,? It sounds like people are obsessing , or even addicted to feeling they need constant connection and feeling they have to be on line for everything every day... How about enjoying the cruise that your paying to relax on rather than feeling this self imposed urgency and pressure to perform on your computer like it was a job your expected to do. Yes I use the internet, On a cruise I may check e-mail once a week,...dont take a computer or phone with me and in 20 years never needed one or obsessed over not having one.

 

Seriously I dont understand how regular people make this a major part of their lives and happiness... I dont get it..what drives people to feel they have this as part of their lives.. ????

 

Remember when people went to sail the sea and enjoy travel, Let the folks back home know...well mail a post card, Downloading daily a whole newspaper...? Showing pictures ...do you really need to show others what your doing as fast as possible? Why.. cant it wait a week or a month?

 

If you have to have steady,internet stuff why would you spend thousands to go on a cruise instead of staying home with all the comforts of electronics if you think you have to be in constant communication everywhere because of job, health, national security.. maybe travel anywhere is not good.

 

This is not to criticize any one but just an observation of what appears to me as people pressuring themselves and feeling threatened of fearful of life without their internet things... Is it worth it or are you making Internets a necessity for daily living and happiness?

Simple answer: Other people aren't you, nor live by your rules, find technology to be useful for a variety of reasons. Some for work, some for pure pleasure, and others somewhere in between or not at all.

 

Most of the people you see probably don't devote most of their time and effort to being on the internet or doing work. They just happen to be doing that when you see them. Internet is just another tool in our arsenal. The people that amaze me are the ones that bring checked luggage including the kitchen sink; I travel with a carry-on and backpack for a 7-9 week around the world trip, a portion of which is a cruise. But others don't live by my rules either. ;) That's an entirely different topic, so I digress...

 

Yes internet is important to some. It is a part if today's life except for those who insist on staying in the past, and that's OK too. For some like you checking email once a week works, for others it doesn't. Life would be really boring if everyone was like you, or like me, or anyone else for that matter. The variety of folks we meet traveling makes the journey that much more interesting.

 

With today's technology it's not that it can't wait a week or a month, but that it doesn't have to wait a week or a month. Why does it matter to you that others take advantage of this capability and find its real-time aspect useful?

 

I travel and cruise to see new places and meet new people and in the case of cruises, relax, eat well and be pampered. At home I eat, sleep, exercise, check email, chat with friends, and work. I do the same when I travel, just to different degrees, along with exploring the world.

 

I work for a software company and have telecommuted full time since 1996; wow 20 years. At first I would do this from home and take my 2-3 weeks of vacation/holiday each year.

 

I soon realized that technology enabled me to work from anywhere in the world, and in the past 5 years or so, cruises now offer the same capability. I take about 3-4 months of holiday/vacation each year, with the past 5-6 years having included 2-3 weeks cruising on O. Yes, thank you technology!

 

I'm sure other people have their own reasons for why they use technology.

 

Some chat with family, kids, grand kids. That's cool, and if I had family I would probably do the same but all my family are dead, so I don't have that opportunity (without a miracle).

 

As far as my technology uses, you will rarely see me actually talking on the phone (except when Qantas First Class Lounge calls to arrange my spa appointment), text messages are very infrequent to non-existent except when others are traveling with me as that is the easiest and most expeditious way to communicate, and the vast majority of email and other work is done in my cabin or hotel room. I will regularly check email (once every hour) from my iPhone and if there is an urgent email will address it using my iPhone if I can do so quickly; otherwise it will wait until I return to the cabin or hotel room.

 

Those you see with iPads out by the pool are probably reading the news, sports or a book, or listening to music, or watching a video. Also not me, as I like old fashion books from the O library, but kudos to those that use iPads or other e-readers. I do use my iPhone for music, but that is generally only on flights.

 

I'm single so I also upload pics to FB to share with friends, some of which have joined me previously on my travels. We chat online and that is some of my social interaction since I am single. Not all my friends are fortunate to have the flexibility to travel as much I do. While I am lucky in that regard, I am unlucky with respect to not having a boy friend or husband to join me on my travels, or knowing that when I return home there will be other family with whom I can share my experiences. So if my use of technology bothers you, tough; go kiss your wife or husband, or hug your kids, and consider yourself very fortunate.

 

Now you or others may say, well you have good reasons for using technology and mainly use it your cabin. True, but beating up on others who choose to take advantage of technology is rather childish or curmudgeonish at best. Live and let live.

 

Everybody is different and that's what makes meeting new people on these cruises so interesting.

[Mura]

+1 for your comments

 

I don't abandon the internet when I'm traveling anymore. That'sw why I bring my laptop with me. But I don't just use it for the internet -- I upload the day's photos, not to edit them but to remind me of where I was when. I type up my diary, FAR easier than in the days when I had to write it down and then transcribe it later. And yes, I check email. I turn off most of my message boards (which are rather numerous) but want to be available. And sometimes I get "urgent" messages from our Coop in NYC needing information ...

 

That doesn't mean I'm married to the computer but I do like reasonable access.

 

That being said we were on Nautica from June 25-July 15 and yes, up in the arctic we didn't always have access. I just waited for access to return ... which it always did. (Once it was my fault that it was gone, I forget what I had done that I shouldn't have. I just assumed it was because of our location, only it wasn't.)

 

This cruise wasn't the only time we've lost internet access because of the ship's location.

 

Mura