Is internet fast enough to actually work on?

[nutterbutter818]

I am want to plan a cruise and be able to work so I don't burn up as much PTO. Anyone know if the internet is good enough and fast enough to work on on any ship?

[Clarea]

I am want to plan a cruise and be able to work so I don't burn up as much PTO. Anyone know if the internet is good enough and fast enough to work on on any ship?

Please define "work".

[reallyitsmema]

I am want to plan a cruise and be able to work so I don't burn up as much PTO. Anyone know if the internet is good enough and fast enough to work on on any ship?

 

No, not on any ship, some are really great, others are terrible.

[jamesboat]

Speed tests Ive seen indicate 3mb/s

[Biker19]

It may work but you could be in for a frustrating experience. Recent reports from Liberty don't paint a rosy picture for internet use.

[Biker19]

Speed tests Ive seen indicate 3mb/s

 

on a good day with few folks on at the same time if you have the Stream package. The latency will still be bad (600+ ms ping) and even casual surfing will be sluggish.

[Beachcampin]

I would only try it on Oasis class. On now and have been getting consistent ping less than 200 MS. I was even able to use the native Wifi calling function on my iPhone successfully.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[robtulipe]

The internet is only good on ships with OB3 satellite service like Oasis and Quantum class. Rest even if they call it VOOM is really sad.

We just completed a two weeks TA cruise on Brilliance and it was the worst I've ever experienced.

Speed test below were early in the cruise when performance was at its best. It got worst once we left Europe.

Edited November 1, 2016 by robtulipe

[audome78]

I have "worked" from the following ships over the last 6-8 years....

 

Freedom

Adventure

Brilliance

Majesty

 

none of them had VOOM when I sailed...most recently on Freedom B2B in March, 2016. All of them were B2B, from 7 to 14 days each. Each time I had a laptop and a cell phone to connect with.

 

My experiences have been varied. It worked, but here are my tips:

 

1. if you are simply going to be keeping up with and answering email, it should work fine. I set my Gmail web interface for the slower speed setting.

2. sending data files may work, depending on their size.

3. Using a net extender of some kind to log on to a remote server to access files/programs can be a crap shoot.

4. this is obvious...be an early riser! Passenger internet traffic is at its lowest early in the morning. I do most of my work by 6AM and don't try to be connected all day. Then I'll log in around noon and then again around 6PM.

5. if it's just email contact you need, logon, download, logoff. Answer emails, logon, send, logoff. Rinse and repeat.

6. The service also varies GREATLY with where you login. On Freedom, it wasn't too bad in my cabin, but awful on my balcony ( bummer....office room with a view!) On Brilliance, I literally had to be somewhere in the Centrum to connect.

7. I have also had fairly good luck buying the all the time package and leaving my phone connected. That way, I can monitor emails coming in and even send a quick reply. Of course, when that happens on the ship, I am usually in a lounge chair up on deck...

 

It can be done, but there are limitations on the non OB3 ships. Your mileage may vary, but I was able to do it for years. I am looking forward to retiring this year so I don't have to worry too much about the connectivity at sea!

[Pratique]

Remote Desktop via NetExtender was usable for me on Allure, and no problems streaming Netflix. Strong WiFi signal everywhere on the ship, although in a few places the connection was consistently slower than others.

[mattg43]

I've seen speed tests on the Oasis' "Surf and Stream" at 2.5Mbps. I purchased the "Surf" and saw 0.5Mbps. 0.5Mbps was enough for Facebook, web browsing, and streaming on low quality.

Edited November 4, 2016 by mattg43

[Biker19]

I purchased the "Surf" and saw 0.5Mbps. 0.5Mbps was enough for Facebook, web browsing, and streaming on low quality.

 

It seems like all ships are capped at about .5Mbs on Surf, but the experience is much better on a ship with O3B (like Oasis) vs. one without.

[serialcruiser48]

Do a search for "Voom roll call" and get the list of ships which have O3b. I'm on the Liberty and Voom is high orbit garbage. Sail an O3b ship and work away.