Just read article that said Internet on NCL ships was upgraded after July 2016

[wizdiz]

I am going on the Breakaway in June, and just read that internet was recently upgraded. I just never saw any mention of this. Anyone know if this is correct? "Norwegian Cruise Lines has tried to stay ahead of the game, working to quadruple its internet connectivity. By July 2016 all 23 of its ships will be upgraded to a faster service called SpeedNet." from CNN travel.

Anyone used the internet since and noticed an upgrade? I always found the internet really bad on NCL. Would be nice in the internet didn't suck for the few times I use it.

[BirdTravels]

NCL actually did another upgrade after that. They have just rolled out their tiered internet service last month offering a Social Media, Unlimited WiFi, and Unlimited WiFi with Streaming.

[mugtech]

Hard to believe it used to be worse.

[AusQueen]

We always bought the package that covered the whole term of the cruise. The internet with the Star and Pearl were quite good. The one in the Jewel was so slow and always disconnected. I am referring to cruises taken from mid 2016 to just last month. Also with the Star and the Dawn we were at the front rooms ( suites) on the 12th floor. With the Jewel - we were in a mini -suite ( aft) on the 11th. Not sure if that made a difference BUT we were not impressed with the connection and speed at the Jewel.

[wizdiz]

I understand they have new tiers. Just want someone who has used and can say if the internet has actually improved since last year.

[zqvol]

I am going on the Breakaway in June, and just read that internet was recently upgraded. I just never saw any mention of this. Anyone know if this is correct? "Norwegian Cruise Lines has tried to stay ahead of the game, working to quadruple its internet connectivity. By July 2016 all 23 of its ships will be upgraded to a faster service called SpeedNet." from CNN travel.

Anyone used the internet since and noticed an upgrade? I always found the internet really bad on NCL. Would be nice in the internet didn't suck for the few times I use it.

 

I was on Getaway in March and the Internet was fine for me. I had no problem connecting to web sites or accessing e-mail etc. I ran a speed test and it was not what you would call fast, (about 3 Mbs) but unless you are trying to stream something or download large files that is more than sufficient for most uses.

[mking8288]

I understand they have new tiers. Just want someone who has used and can say if the internet has actually improved since last year.

What is the "hardware" you are using (and others commenting their individual experiences, which clearly varied with the same ship, different sailings - around the same time ... even most recently) ? On NCL ships and even with other mass cruiselines, WiFi & hotspots with SSiD's are the only way to connect, even their own "public" iCafe desktop PC's are connected wirelessly only, no Cat-6 or Cat-5 ethernet to cut the duplex overheads - and, not to expect GigaBit quantum fiber speed ... it is always going to be satellite speed.

 

A 2 or 3 years old iPhone and/or Android that only support 802.11 "n" and not configured optimally for dual band or use only 5Ghz will yield results that's subpar - IMHO - compared to the newer mobile devices that support dual-band and 802.11 "ac" protocols and tweaked.

 

Suffice to say, it has improved dynamically within the last 2 to 3 years, on most of the ships in the fleet - over the SHARED satellite speed ... performance varied a bit by usage peaks, and it is cached by their DNS server(s) and throttled, if warranted - ship's navigation & safety, business functions, etc. that also access the same satellite trunked link(s) will always have priority ... ditto for cellular connectivity that's on the same antenna towers on the top deck.

 

The 2016 upgrade was partially done but incomplete, there was a newer pledge & rollout announced in 2017 - started with 2 or 3 ships: Escape, Getaway & Epic (if I am not mistaken, memory not as great as it was 30 or 40 years in the IBM System 370/42xx eras ... sorry) The newest is this 3-tiered WiFi plan with the "least" costly social media option, which apparently is functional, results varied as in YMMV.

 

On the opposite end, the unlimited premium plan supports streaming and while some confirmed success, i.e. Netflix while others stated they couldn't even connect & ran into buffering ... not knowing what "hardware" they're running & how it was configured ... my I.T. or tech help desk response from a "geek" standpoint, would default to something like ... time to buy & upgrade to a newer & faster one first, come back and we will see.

 

It isn't as easy as simply saying it has "improved" - that alone is meaningless & subjective. Compared to years ago, it surely did as in those days, it was just barely better than dial-up modem speed. Our Fios home connection is "only" 75/75, used to be 25/25 but we've move up to 50/50, 100/100 and even 150/150 and settled on this tier for now - and on weekend's extended family gatherings, not unusual to see 30 to 40+ devices' IP/Mac addressed on DHCP - but with a tripled speed upgrade, it is most definitely, still very noticeable. Expensive to boost satellite speed - NCL has yet to catch up or match RCL's Voom technologies, but for basic needs - I am satisfied with the current tiers being offered, last used on the Breakway in Nov. 2017 - it was "free" to us, can't complain too much about it nor cheering ... it is pricey if one has to pay and/or upgrade it.

[Rsavtechcruise]

Question about the new tiers

 

1) social media

Does anyone that has used this know what all apps from phone might work like I assume Facebook and iMessage what about like either the mail app or gmail app from my iPhone

 

2) unlimited

i assume this works like cheap hotel internet

 

3) unlimited streaming

 

I assume this would be like upgraded hotel WiFi

 

I am mostly interested in social media for the price if I could at least get email via apps