VOOM on RCI Ships

[LasVegasAngel]

We're traveling on Harmony next week and there is a possibility that I will need to login to my work laptop and take care of some business :confused:. Has anyone used VOOM to VPN into a network while on a ship? If so, has connectivity been an issue?

 

Thanks in advance for your input.

 

Angela

[Clarea]

We're traveling on Harmony next week and there is a possibility that I will need to login to my work laptop and take care of some business :confused:. Has anyone used VOOM to VPN into a network while on a ship? If so, has connectivity been an issue?

 

Thanks in advance for your input.

 

Angela

I've used VOOM to establish VPNs. Some VPNs work, and some don't. Microsoft PPTP has not worked for me. However L2TP/IPSEC has worked. I've not tried others.

[LasVegasAngel]

I've used VOOM to establish VPNs. Some VPNs work, and some don't. Microsoft PPTP has not worked for me. However L2TP/IPSEC has worked. I've not tried others.

 

 

My VPN is Cisco AnyConnect using IKE. I am hopeful that it will work. Thanks for your reply.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Clarea]

My VPN is Cisco AnyConnect using IKE. I am hopeful that it will work. Thanks for your reply.

See if you can configure it to work with UDP, that seemed to be the key for me.

[Psycopuppy]

Glad to see this. Not that I want to use VPN, but I use OpenVPN which is an SSL based product on port 443 that should be open.

[Clarea]

Glad to see this. Not that I want to use VPN, but I use OpenVPN which is an SSL based product on port 443 that should be open.

Sometimes it's not the port being blocked that causes a problem, but the high latency of the satellite connection.

 

If you do get a chance to test OpenVPN on VOOM, please report back.

[Cruisin'4Us]

For what it's worth, on Anthem we found that we could connect to Private Internet Access (PIA) with our Android smartphones. I believe PIA uses Open VPN as part of their application. In order to connect, we had to turn off PIA, connect to VOOM, and then turn on PIA. The connection was more reliable without the VPN, so I only used it when needed.

[Psycopuppy]

Sometimes it's not the port being blocked that causes a problem, but the high latency of the satellite connection.

 

If you do get a chance to test OpenVPN on VOOM, please report back.

 

Will do, we only have 1 sea day, so hopefully any issues that arise I can take care of either local internet or via ATT or Verizon access. I might also see if I can tweak any firewall settings to allow for a slightly better connection.

[reedl]

On Serenade in Nov 2016, I was able to use OpenVPN with their internet service. I have an OpenVPN Server in my router at home and was able to connect without issue.

[Clarea]

On Serenade in Nov 2016, I was able to use OpenVPN with their internet service. I have an OpenVPN Server in my router at home and was able to connect without issue.

Appreciate the info. What router do you use with the embedded OpenVPN server?

[reedl]

Appreciate the info. What router do you use with the embedded OpenVPN server?

Asus RT-AC87

 

The high end routers that they have all have a OpenVPN server built in. I use it to access my home network, and also surf the net through my home internet connection so I am not blocked, nor monitored.

[Clarea]

Asus RT-AC87

 

The high end routers that they have all have a OpenVPN server built in. I use it to access my home network, and also surf the net through my home internet connection so I am not blocked, nor monitored.

Thanks.

[Biker19]

I use it to access my home network, and also surf the net through my home internet connection so I am not blocked, nor monitored.

 

What kind of slow down, if any, have you noticed doing this vs. a direct net connection?

[reedl]

What kind of slow down, if any, have you noticed doing this vs. a direct net connection?

 

Maybe 10% of a slowdown. On the cruise ship it is not noticeable, but in real life for surfing the net the slowdown is OK since my connections are secure between my device and my home. I have a WiFi sniffer which I have used in places with free WiFi, and have seen some pretty private stuff go across the wire unencrypted.

[Psycopuppy]

So far, I tried to connect via my OpenVPN and it won't connect to either server. Keeps timing out, I might see if I can get a better package.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Clarea]

So far, I tried to connect via my OpenVPN and it won't connect to either server. Keeps timing out, I might see if I can get a better package.

See if you can configure OpenVPN to use UDP instead of TCP. I've had better luck with UDP.

[robandlil]

Recently back from 18 day Hong Kong to Brisbane Australia on legend of the seas. I had vpn thru surf easy as we did 2 weeks in China. VPN Was wonderful for China. Able to Facebook and FaceTime every evening.

VOOm on the ship worked better when I logged off the VPN. VOOm was pretty good for sending emails, Facebook and FaceTime.

During the day the VOOm was insufficient for streaming and would buffer every couple of sentences. However from about 11:00 pm until 5:00 am, VOOm was excellent and I could watch Netflix with almost no buffering.

Worth the $10 a day and allowed me to leave my mini in the cabin during ports as I had already done my mail, etc.