Princess Blocking Photo Uploads??!!

[TLCOhio]

Departed Tuesday, Feb. 28, from Fort Lauderdale to start a 15-day cruise to San Francisco, transiting the Panama Canal.

 

This is our first cruising with Princess and to explore these areas of Colombia, Central American, Mexico, etc. As detailed below, I have done a number of very popular live/blogs with lots of pictures of the dramatic sights visited, life on the ship, etc. This includes two successful cruises with Celebrity. Two of these live/blogs have had more than 210,000 views. I have used and uploaded pictures on other well-known cruise lines with no major problems in these uploading travel visuals.

 

BUT, this morning, it was impossible even to connect with the Photobucket picture hosting site. Nor, to upload any of the great pictures taken on-board early in this cruise. WOW! You should see some of the visuals from the spectacular ?Encore? show last night, plus the food and other fun experiences on this ship so far. I went to the tech staff, including talking with the department head for the Island Princess. He confirmed that Princess has a policy to BLOCK any and all such access!! I explained my goals and past easy uploading, including the ?good free advertising? for a cruise line from my taking the time to do these postings on Cruise Critic. He understood and ?got it? regarding my frustration. He promised to check with the Princess Central Office bosses to see any solutions are possible.

 

Yes, I understand that some cruise ships do not want Internet uses with big, BIG bandwidth consumption. BUT, most of the pictures I would upload to Photobucket are only 141 KB to 313 KM each in size. In uploading just six pictures at a time, two or three times a day, it is hardly a ?data hog?!! I bought and paid of the larger 680 minute Internet package for this cruise in order to share these visuals and our travel details.

 

Any other reactions or experiences with Princess on these issues??

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Dozens of nice visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc. We are now at 222,153 views for this live/blog re-cap, including much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

[Colo Cruiser]

I have seen this issue since Princess introduced onboard internet.

There have been many sites that Princess blocks. This is nothing new.

Onboard IT has no control over Princess policies.

[RDC1]

Just to be clear Princess blocks access to some sites that could result in large bandwidth use. They do not block picture upload in general. You can, for example, e-mail the pictures to someone.

[Thrak]

Many people have no idea that the pictures they take are freaking huge files. It's good that the OP understands this and changes his photos to small (most likely jpg) files before uploading but many people think that simply "dragging" the picture to a smaller size reduces the file size. I had a woman at work include a photo of her daughter in a monthly newsletter type thing she sent to the staff. In addition to the photo of her daughter being completely inappropriate for the item she was sending she managed to break the inbox for every person who received the newsletter. Her photo was a huge file that exceeded the storage space allotted to staff mailboxes.

 

It's unfortunate that some people cause issues for others but it is understandable that the IT folks may want to block sites used to store photos as there is limited bandwidth available and Internet access onboard is already pathetic.

[NorbertsNiece]

Hi,

 

Whilst I had issues uploading to Photobucket for my blog on board Crown this was more due to the satellite poitioning than anything else. When I did get access it was relatively speedy (I too have changed the size of the original .jpg from previous experience)

[Steelers0854]

I use tapatalk to post on this forum and they have their own hosting system for photos. I know photobucket has many more options and in the long run is a better option, but as others have stated previously it's all about protecting the bandwidth. While you are conscientious in your upload sizes the majority of others won't be thus degrading internet speeds for everyone.

 

Until shipboard internet on Princess improves I can see them restricting access to a multitude of sites, but it could have just been a temporary connection issue and a misinformed crew member.

 

The only good thing is that many ports have free wifi hotspots (just ask the crew where to go) therefore allowing you to upload the photos while in port and you can link them in to the post while onboard. Not an ideal solution, but certainly feasible.

[Colo Cruiser]

Just to be clear Princess blocks access to some sites that could result in large bandwidth use. They do not block picture upload in general. You can, for example, e-mail the pictures to someone.

 

 

Thanks, I should have clarified that in my response. :)

[TLCOhio]

Appreciate these good and helpful follow-ups. Still no word from the home office of Princess where the ?big bosses? dream up these policies and supposedly look out for their customers trying to live in this 21st Century World of technology and connectivity.

 

Sorry, I don?t any handy folks to whom I can e-mail these pictures so that these visuals can be posted by them from their off-ship location. Yes, I could try waiting until getting in a port and uploading from there. But, our first two ports in Aruba and Colombia are very tight in the narrow port time schedules. There would not be any free time to hang there and accomplish what Princess will not allow from the ship.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under? before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 172,262 views for this posting.

[jmelnick]

Maybe a VPN would be a solution. But, you probably would have needed to set it up before you left.

[socaljo]

Looking forward to following along!! Hope you have a great cruise~ keep the fun coming!

Happy Sailing! :D

[WYTinman]

Terry,

 

This is such a disappointment. I was looking forward to your live BLOG.

 

Do you use Flickr?

 

If you can upload there, you can email me with the photo titles. I can download them into my albums, then upload them to CC for you.

 

Let me know.

 

Mark

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Forums mobile app

[floridalover5623]

Hi,

 

Whilst I had issues uploading to Photobucket for my blog on board Crown this was more due to the satellite poitioning than anything else. When I did get access it was relatively speedy (I too have changed the size of the original .jpg from previous experience)

 

 

Is that what you used to post your patters recently?

They were very clear & readable.

[AF-1]

So Princess blocks uploading of any photo's or just certain websites. What I normally do is take pictures; download to my tablet; then upload to facebook and cruise critic.

[caribill]

So Princess blocks uploading of any photo's or just certain websites. What I normally do is take pictures; download to my tablet; then upload to facebook and cruise critic.

 

 

Princess does not block uploading of photos.

 

They block access of anything to specific web sites that usually use a lot of bandwidth.

 

What is blocked can vary by ship.

[TLCOhio]

Princess does not block uploading of photos. They block access of anything to specific web sites that usually use a lot of bandwidth. What is blocked can vary by ship.

 

And the pictures??!! Interesting info above that their policy might vary by ship. Appreciate this comments, insights and support.

 

I got some really great and awesome pictures in Aruba!! Really looking excellent with the sights in and around Aruba.

 

BUT, two days later, still no word or answer back from the Princess central office that the ship’s top tech guy was supposedly writing after my complaint. Will keep you posted if and when Princess ever bothers to respond. Have discovered a number of other websites that are blocked as Princess does not allow its passengers to use certain normal, acceptable Internet locations that we would use at home and on most other ships.

 

From two years ago, here is a link to my earlier pictures from Aruba with my “Pix's, Fun, Experiences Feb./2015!”. You can see more at:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2262154

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

If Venice is one of your future desires or past favorites, look at this earlier posting for many options and visual samples this city that is so great for "walking around", personally seeing its great history and architecture. This posting is now at 66,079 views.

Venice: Loving It & Why??!!

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1278226

[Coral]

Some other lines have committed to provide faster internet. That maybe why you had more success with other lines. They allowed it as their bandwidth allowed for it.

[AF-1]

good luck with your quest to post photos

[TLCOhio]

good luck with your quest to post photos

 

To be fair to Princess on the questions raised earlier in March, here is the update . . . AND . . . the rest of the story!!

 

PRINCESS PIX POSTING FIXED: After requesting a personal meeting with the cruise ship Customer Service Director, Angus Wilkinson, I was able to make the case for why and how Princess needed to be more “flexible”. I explained how certain website were being blocked by their IT people for use by paying customers on the ship. He talked more with the Princess Central Office folks and then he called me back the next morning. His message? Some adjustments had been made. I tried and was able to upload a number of pictures to Photobucket. To post on this Cruise Critic website, you need to have an off-site web location. Success!! I was able to be posting a number of pictures that are shown on the live/blog connected below.

 

Lots and lots of pictures!! And since I have had more time after our cruise finished on March 15 and we got back home from San Francisco on March 18, I have added lots more visuals and details from our cruise, the ports visited, etc.

BUT, the key future question? What is unclear to me now is whether the Princess central office people decide to allow just me to be able to reach Photobucket and post such pictures during this one cruise. Or, did they adjust and loosen conditions in general for all of their paying customers. That's a question if we were to consider sailing with Princess in the future. When this "loosening" was done for me, it also allowed me to access some other of my regular websites, such as to play Solitaire that had been blocked out by Princess.

 

To repeat, I totally understand the need by Princess to keep "Bandwidth Hogs" for doing living streaming and other Internet uses that were excessive. Such limits by the cruise line are fully understandable, including to prevent live video streaming, large movie down-loads, etc. The hypocrisy was that I could send much larger picture files by email, but I could not upload smaller files up to Photobucket during the initial period of this cruise.

 

If others have added info and/or experiences to share, please post here. Don't be shy!! Tell us more!!

 

Clearly Internet uses and technology are changing and evolving. Capacity, speed and services are improving, in general, regardless of the specific cruise line. BUT, customer expectations are growing at times so much faster than what can be satisfied and/or managed. How to make everyone happy????

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Panama Canal? Just completed Feb. 28-Mar. 15, 2017, Fort Lauderdale to San Francisco adventure through the Panama Canal with our first stops in Colombia, Central America and Mexico, plus added time in the great Golden Gate City. Lots of fun pictures!! Those pictures start on the second page, post #26. See more at:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2465580

 

Here are just two quick visual examples from Cartagena, Colombia, when visiting an old monastery that has been turned into a high-end hotel. Here, we visited their chapel for an enjoyable music/dance program. This top highlight was a folkloric program from the Calenda Folclorico Group. Great front row seats!! Super loved the wonderful costumes, dance and music in this historic setting. Do these visual images prove my reasons for such satisfaction?:

(Open your screen/viewer wider to see these pictures larger!)

 

[Essiesmom]

Interesting. I had a similar experience this month on Carnival. they have three levels of internet access, and on the first leg of my B2B I had the most expensive plan. I was able to do a print screen and post it to my blog. The second leg of the B2B I did not buy the premium package, but the value package. Access to Photobucket was blocked at that level. So it's not just Princess, it is Carnival LLC. EM

[Colo Cruiser]

Most doing live threads don't have issues with downloading photos.

Glad the OP got it sorted out.

[caribill]

Interesting. I had a similar experience this month on Carnival. they have three levels of internet access, and on the first leg of my B2B I had the most expensive plan. I was able to do a print screen and post it to my blog. The second leg of the B2B I did not buy the premium package, but the value package. Access to Photobucket was blocked at that level. So it's not just Princess, it is Carnival LLC. EM

Do you know if Cruise Critic posts with Photobucket photos could be accessed with the value package? Or was it just direct access to Photobucket that was blocked.

[Sea Hag]

I think it's ridiculous for a cruise line to block photo uploads or whatever. They sell packages by the minute. As far as I know, they don't limit how many packages a person can buy. So, if a person chooses to spend a lot of minutes and buy more, why wouldn't the cruise line like that? They're all about selling extras, and that's what internet minutes mostly are. I say "mostly" since I've never gone beyond the free minutes that DH and I get.

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

I think it's ridiculous for a cruise line to block photo uploads or whatever. They sell packages by the minute. As far as I know, they don't limit how many packages a person can buy. So, if a person chooses to spend a lot of minutes and buy more, why wouldn't the cruise line like that? They're all about selling extras, and that's what internet minutes mostly are. I say "mostly" since I've never gone beyond the free minutes that DH and I get.

 

The problem is thei nternet band width on board. There is only so much bandwidth, and uploading pictures takes up a large amount of the available bandwidth. This is why the internet can be so slow at times. There is a slowdown caused when people's phones and tablets automatically up load pictures when being used. Many people unaware this is happening or that it can be turned off.

 

This slow down of the internet speed caused by uploading pictures, affects everyone trying to us the internet. This affect is not only in time but money as they have to use more minutes than necessary. So it is not only a matter of selling minutes, but acommodating everyone and trying to keep as many as possible happy with the service.

[yukongold]

Just to be clear Princess blocks access to some sites that could result in large bandwidth use. They do not block picture upload in general. You can, for example, e-mail the pictures to someone.

 

I think you are correct - it is probably a bandwidth issue.

[Times Prince]

I think it's ridiculous for a cruise line to block photo uploads or whatever. They sell packages by the minute. As far as I know, they don't limit how many packages a person can buy. So, if a person chooses to spend a lot of minutes and buy more, why wouldn't the cruise line like that? They're all about selling extras, and that's what internet minutes mostly are. I say "mostly" since I've never gone beyond the free minutes that DH and I get.

I think it is ridiculous that someone "has" to upload all their photos when on a shared bandwidth internet access cruise ship. One or two to a social media site, OK, but it only costs about $10 to get an adequately sized USB key to back up your photos, or a little more to get adequate storage in your photo taking device.

 

Then you can upload your photos after getting back home, and I can get important family email status without waiting many minutes due to clogged internet access channels.

 

(note: obviously, you have hit one of my "hot buttons").