New Wifi packages

[spinnaker2]

Oh no English! The end of a trivia team winning streak...

 

Seriously, is anyone telling Mr. Sansone or Mark Conroy about their experiences?

 

When I first started cruising with Silversea, I did rely on the Internet for business. It was very pricey then...and looks to be even more so now!

[UKCruiseJeff]

Oh no English! The end of a trivia team winning streak...

 

Seriously, is anyone telling Mr. Sansone or Mark Conroy about their experiences?

 

When I first started cruising with Silversea, I did rely on the Internet for business. It was very pricey then...and looks to be even more so now!

 

If your memory is good you might recall that when free wifi was announced I suggested that unless they build in contention allowances ie all these new people not paying using the service, then people would down the line follow up their joy of free wifi with complaints about low speed ... and that without extra instalolled bandwidth SS would have to throttle back by having charges or two simultaneous services ie email or streaming.

 

I predicted they would create dissatisfaction by not delivering what people had expected when they announced it.

[jollyjones]

Oh David, no no say it ain't so!

 

If, as is rumored, SS does read these boards, I made it pretty clear in this thread a few posts ago but I'll say it again - SS, ARE YOU LISTENING???

 

What I can't understand is that, when I was on the Wind during the trial period, the internet was quite fast and mostly reliable - much, much better than the current offering. I wonder what happened? Did SS go with a cheaper offer? Or was it that we were in the Caribbean so reception was better? I dunno, but if they don't improve the current offering, it's going to join dining on the Muse as a constant source of complaint.

[UKCruiseJeff]

As it is satellite based it wouldn't make any difference to the service depending on where you are. Weather is a possbile factor, but available bandwidth is the major factor.

[spinnaker2]

Jolly,

Not sure Silversea reads the posts, but if they do, who knows if it gets up the food chain.

I suggest emailing the top echelon directly.

 

And yes, there is no really good reason for the poor reception and quality, according to my PhD son who is a computer geek nerd. It's all satellite based as Jeff says.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

[UKCruiseJeff]

Spins, I'm extremely nervous about "clarifying" such a learned son's opinion but there are indeed good reasons why broadband will be slow.

 

It is easier to think of all the people using the service as switching on a tap of water. If only one does so the rate at which the water pours will be fast. If everyone does so at the same time then it slows for everyone. Oddly it is also faster the closer you are to the tank. That explains why people showering in hotels often feel there is insuffient pressure at certain times. That is also why internet performance is not just based on the number of people using it but also their relative distance from the connection node ie wifi repeater or wall socket to main head unit. That is called contention. So when you switch a service from chargeable to free you should expect much greater contention unless you install the structure. However even if there is only one user, the service offered will define a maximum download speed and it will always normally be preset. So the email service will be a speed upto a relatively low limit and the streaming ie premium service will be set considerable higher. The email system should never be as fast as the streaming offering unless someone has c*cked it up when setting it up. If for example they set the email limit too high it will impact those using streaming. Think of it as offering people on the email offering bigger taps. That reduces the speed of those who have paid extra for larger taps. Hope all this is clear ....;)

 

The other main factor is the service you buy and the contention controls built in and that is largely set by the price you are willing to pay.

 

Not saying a Phd is wrong ... just adding a little .....:)

Edited June 17, 2017 by UKCruiseJeff

[spinnaker2]

Jeff,

I think you have expanded technically. Son has explained it to me in a similar manner as to the sharing aspect etc.

[UKCruiseJeff]

Spins,

 

Your son deserves his Phd .... send him my regards. :)

[spinnaker2]

And just FYI, on the TA last November, we were able to stream two college football games on our way to the Azores. At that time our wifi was unlimited and we were on the Wind. The first game we watched at night in our suite on an iPad.

The next game we watched at the panorama lounge, in the day time, sitting at the bar close to the router, on the same iPad. I was frankly amazed we could watch those games LIVE!

I recall however that the Internet service was in general only fair to middling. That was before the planned testing to get better service.

Last April on the Spirit, the Internet was again not consistent.

 

I have cruised on other lines and actually was able to skype with my office from the Med without any problems.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[UKCruiseJeff]

A possible explanation is that the service spec. SS has bought for both boats is identical but the number of users on Spirit is obviously much greater than Wind.

[carefreecruise]

Just to add a little explanation, behind the counters in hospitality, a Voucher is created for each guest and can be customized for length of stay, upload and download limits. I created one below for a one year term that nine devices can log-on. (its just a quick creation to show how it works and will delete this voucher in the system after posting this)

 

[carefreecruise]

Sorry for the bad picture above will try again:

[carefreecruise]

I am always in such a hurry and never get to sit down for more than a few minutes....

 

I forget to describe how it works: When your in the hotel or ship, you click on a browser on your devise, you are re-directed to the hotels (splash Page). You would enter your room number or Voucher number with password. You are then connected to that voucher created above and will have the limits outlined in the voucher. Vouchers also have the capabilities to lock-out pages (Skype, YouTube or Adult content)

 

Local management or IT also has all MAC address (your device seral number) logged onto the system and can track you as you move from one access point to another. Also each devices usage. Some people give their device a name and we then can see that name appear in the tracking.

 

Your actual connection speed may very due to distance from closest access point, satellite connection and total users if outside connection is experiencing spikes or bandwidth slowdown.

 

Sorry I did not just put this info on the above post, just got pulled away.

Edited June 17, 2017 by carefreecruise

[Silver Spectre]

As a regular traveler on SS, just wonder why there is so much spurious rubbish posted on these threads by people who do not cruise on the ships.

[tgh]

Spurious rubbish.. really??

I thought it was an interesting and informative conversation that is of particular interest to me as I board the wind in the near future.

[les37b]

A possible explanation is that the service spec. SS has bought for both boats is identical but the number of users on Spirit is obviously much greater than Wind.

 

 

 

Silversea have bought the package company wide and as such set the bandwidth per ship but they also vary depending on the time of day.

 

In other words, there is no need to give full bandwidth to the Wind at 4 am and deprive the Spirit of the under utilised bandwidth on the Wind because people are asleep. It works well when ships are spread over the globe and not in similar timelines.

 

When they are in the same place, all guests s will be competing for the same overall bandwidth, but SS ultimately decide who gets what on each ship which will obviously take into account number of passengers on each ship and peak times.

 

This was explained how it was purchased and shared when I was on the Wind in March and doubt anything has changed though I have no idea if they've used the same company we trailed under. It makes sense though if they would use that scheme as there is no point of them paying for the same capacity per ship when at night it's hardly used.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[hlsess]

I am planning to just use the daily hour for wifi and just use cell towers when in port.... now my daughter will need the unlimited package for work ...

[Silver Spectre]

I am planning to just use the daily hour for wifi and just use cell towers when in port.... now my daughter will need the unlimited package for work ...

 

We are managing ok on the one hour a day each.

[hlsess]

I just talked to Silversea and they said for the 7 day it is $140... so not $30/day- I told my daughter that maybe she could check in at work while in port but these kids think they need internet 24/7

[Stevanb]

I am happy when i do not have to use the internet . I am on vacation. No social presence at all . But have to for business Last time we sailed we had 1 hour each I used about 10 minutes for each day . I log in down load my email get off read them off line then respond to them send them off line log back in they get sent and back off . Normally get around 200 -300 emails per day . They are service calls really do not have to see them but some i do . I ma on a mail server that can do that . On the other hand the minimum cabin is about 800.00 per day can we not afford 20.00 per day ????

[Silver Spectre]

I am happy when i do not have to use the internet . I am on vacation. No social presence at all . But have to for business Last time we sailed we had 1 hour each I used about 10 minutes for each day . I log in down load my email get off read them off line then respond to them send them off line log back in they get sent and back off . Normally get around 200 -300 emails per day . They are service calls really do not have to see them but some i do . I ma on a mail server that can do that . On the other hand the minimum cabin is about 800.00 per day can we not afford 20.00 per day ????

 

Struggling to understand what your point is?

[MLeh]

Struggling to understand what your point is?

 

 

 

"First world problems" maybe?

 

 

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[txtoby]

We are departing a 10day Baltic Sea trip in a week 1/2. Superexcited, but I have a couple of tech questions that relate to this thread. The SS cabin $10/minute to call home isn’tgoing to cut it. Verizon (onboard) is $2.99/minute. I have several VOIP /softphone options, but couldn’t get a solid answer from the (nice) SS customerservice representative I just called. He said one place said, “Skype is blocked” “another said “it wasn’t”. He didn’t know the answers from the following:

Does SS Whisper block phone / communication applications like, Skype, Vonage,Fonality? Or do they just throttlebandwidth? What is the most used digital communications method (ie: NOT $2.99/minute ;)

Do they block any IP addresses? I’m confident some of the USA SS cruisershave accessed corporate VPNs?

It sounds like bandwidth and intermittent spotty accessmight make all of the above mute points.. but I’m just trying to figure outwhat techno-reality I can truly expect on the Whisper (shhhhhhh....) 😊

 

Thank you for the information!

[txtoby]

We are departing a 10day Baltic Sea trip in a week 1/2. Superexcited, but I have a couple of tech questions that relate to this thread. The SS cabin $10/minute to call home isn’tgoing to cut it. Verizon (onboard) is $2.99/minute. I have several VOIP /softphone options, but couldn’t get a solid answer from the (nice) SS customerservice representative I just called. He said one place said, “Skype is blocked” “another said “it wasn’t”. He didn’t know the answers from the following:

 

Does SS Whisper block phone / communication applications like, Skype, Vonage,Fonality? Or do they just throttlebandwidth? What is the most used digital communications method (ie: NOT $2.99/minute ;)

Do they block any IP addresses? I’m confident some of the USA SS cruisershave accessed corporate VPNs?

 

It sounds like bandwidth and intermittent spotty accessmight make all of the above moot points.. but I’m just trying to figure outwhat techno-reality I can truly expect on the Whisper (shhhhhhh....) 😊

 

Thank you for the information!

 

"Moot point"

[UKCruiseJeff]

"Moot point"

 

 

No ... you were right first time. If skype and VOIP is blocked it would be a "mute point". :D