LAN/CAT-5 connection in suite

[snuggarelli]

I searched for this topic and could not find it in the Regent threads...

We’re sailing on Voyager next June, and I was wondering if there was a direct connect port (LAN/CAT-5) available in the suite. We upgraded to the concierge suite (mainly for the 4 logins and pre-cruise hotel, which after reading the boards, I’m kind of regretting). The suite doesn’t talk about what kind of connections are in the suite.

 

Also, if anyone has the latest wireless in-suite ping/ download/ upload speeds (such as from Speedtest.net - there’s an app for that) for Voyager, could you share? Thanks!

[Emperor Norton]

I've never seen in suite RJ45 connectors on any cruise ship (definitely weren't any on my last Voyager or Explorer cruises). It's still WiFi which isn't too bad as the bottleneck will be the ships router/s > satellite/microwave.

[FlyerTalker]

Crystal cruises used to have an Ethernet port in the area of the television, but that has been removed.

 

As for speeds, any data would be irrelevant on a practical basis, given that so much depends on the satellite uplink and the overall bandwidth demand on the overall system generated by guests and crew and ship operations. Plus, specific locations relative to WiFi access points can vary depending on distance and the amount of steel in the way.

 

Suffice to say....it's a lot slower than even DSL at home, unless all the stars align at once.

[snuggarelli]

I've never seen in suite RJ45 connectors on any cruise ship (definitely weren't any on my last Voyager or Explorer cruises). It's still WiFi which isn't too bad as the bottleneck will be the ships router/s > satellite/microwave.

 

Thanks for confirming Emperor Norton.

[snuggarelli]

Crystal cruises used to have an Ethernet port in the area of the television, but that has been removed.

 

As for speeds, any data would be irrelevant on a practical basis, given that so much depends on the satellite uplink and the overall bandwidth demand on the overall system generated by guests and crew and ship operations. Plus, specific locations relative to WiFi access points can vary depending on distance and the amount of steel in the way.

 

Suffice to say....it's a lot slower than even DSL at home, unless all the stars align at once.

 

Thanks for confirming FlyerTalker. Sometimes it’s nice just having the LAN connection available as Wi-Fi is so unreliable. It sounds like it’s going to be really, really slow for me and my DH as we have 250 Mbps on Comcast. I think someone mentioned that they gave up and simply updated their AT&T data plan. Being on AT&T ourselves, that might be a great option for when we are near port. We were grandfathered in for Apple’s unlimited data, but that didn’t cover overseas.

[mrlevin]

On Voyager, depending on cabin location, you may have to prop door open to get wifi connectivity. We used either a trash can or pillow. We were in a concierge Cat D but what really matters is where you are relative to repeaters in passageway.

 

Marc

[snuggarelli]

On Voyager, depending on cabin location, you may have to prop door open to get wifi connectivity. We used either a trash can or pillow. We were in a concierge Cat D but what really matters is where you are relative to repeaters in passageway.

 

Marc

 

Thanks Marc! Will keep that in mind.

[gnomie1]

Some areas of the ship have a much stronger signal than others - as mentioned before, the signal in some of the suites is not as strong as in other areas of the ship so it may benefit to wonder around if you cannot get a signal in a specific location.

 

Another tip - using the internet during "off hours" may provide a stronger connection.

 

gnomie :)

[snuggarelli]

Some areas of the ship have a much stronger signal than others - as mentioned before, the signal in some of the suites is not as strong as in other areas of the ship so it may benefit to wonder around if you cannot get a signal in a specific location.

 

Another tip - using the internet during "off hours" may provide a stronger connection.

 

gnomie :)

 

Thanks gnomie. Haha- it puts a whole new meaning to “roaming.” :D

[Jonoro7]

I did post some quantitive results, see post 110 https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2612219&page=6

But the results are so variable.

Best were d of 5Mb/s, u 2Mb/s and ping of 1.2 seconds (yes seconds)

 

But speeds are often down to a few Kb/s.

 

Unfortunately normal statmux parameters do not apply, as the majority of pax behave in a similar manner - off the ship together and little traffic or all back on board and all online. Plus the unwiting hogging with megapixel photographs being sent.

 

Dont believe the talk of some ship locations being good and others poor. I measured signal levels in many locations and virtually all were better than -50dbm (Navigator).

 

The real issue is integrity due to contention.

 

Oh and as for RJ45 LAN connection yes there is one in suite BUT not much use to you as it's on a private LAN and used for iptv.

 

Enjoy your cruise but don't plan on relying on an intetnet connection. Many times it will be >0.5Mb/s but other times connection dropout will render it useless.

[CruisetheCs]

Crystal cruises used to have an Ethernet port in the area of the television, but that has been removed.

 

As for speeds, any data would be irrelevant on a practical basis, given that so much depends on the satellite uplink and the overall bandwidth demand on the overall system generated by guests and crew and ship operations. Plus, specific locations relative to WiFi access points can vary depending on distance and the amount of steel in the way.

 

Suffice to say....it's a lot slower than even DSL at home, unless all the stars align at once.

Could you elaborate on why you are saying that speed test data would be irrelevant on a practical basis? There is a lot about technology that I don't understand. I understand that a speed test doesn't explain what is slowing things down or speeding things up, but isn't the result still a valid measure of data speed to and from the device that runs the test?

[FlyerTalker]

Could you elaborate on why you are saying that speed test data would be irrelevant on a practical basis? There is a lot about technology that I don't understand. I understand that a speed test doesn't explain what is slowing things down or speeding things up, but isn't the result still a valid measure of data speed to and from the device that runs the test?

 

Yes, it is. For that particular point in time, with that particular traffic travelling through the overall available bandwidth AT THAT TIME.

 

But, and this is the important part....you won't have those conditions again. You can't say that satellite conditions today will be like tomorrow or the next day or the next week. You won't know what the overall demand on that bandwidth will be. And today's great results are NOT reproducable.

 

At home, you have a defined transmission parameter, be it wired/wireless in the home, and then cable/fiber/telco to the world. You also have a relatively stable load on your system.

 

So, you are comparing apples and oranges to think that a ship-based system would be like a home-based system.

 

I suggest studying up on how "The Internet" and networking works. It's enlightening and can help every layman understand why things are the way they are when it comes to electrons flying through fiber, wire or the air.

[RustyRollock]

Or we could just accept that internet connectivity on the ship, any ship, cannot always be as sophisticated, fast or reliable as what we perhaps take for granted at home or the office these days. Yes, you’ll be able to do the basics, but if everything in your life is predicated by instant online accessibility then cruising can sometimes be a frustrating experience. Maybe brush up your Morse code as a backup?

[FlyerTalker]

Or we could just accept that internet connectivity on the ship, any ship, cannot always be as sophisticated, fast or reliable as what we perhaps take for granted at home or the office these days. Yes, you’ll be able to do the basics, but if everything in your life is predicated by instant online accessibility then cruising can sometimes be a frustrating experience. Maybe brush up your Morse code as a backup?

 

An absolute +1 to that. If you have built your online expectations around continuous streaming "anything", instant response websites, and constant interactivity, you are setting yourself up for great disappointment onboard.

 

In many ways, POP3 text email (without HTML) can be quite liberating.

[JMARINER]

Thanks for confirming FlyerTalker. Sometimes it’s nice just having the LAN connection available as Wi-Fi is so unreliable. It sounds like it’s going to be really, really slow for me and my DH as we have 250 Mbps on Comcast. I think someone mentioned that they gave up and simply updated their AT&T data plan. Being on AT&T ourselves, that might be a great option for when we are near port. We were grandfathered in for Apple’s unlimited data, but that didn’t cover overseas.

 

250 Mbs......I am jealous. I have never had better than 90.

 

Sorry to say you will be very disappointed in the Ship speeds. Think of speeds more like dial up or early DSL. If your real lucky and late at night you might see 3Mbs Down and .5 Mbs up. The Ping and latency are horrid so you get a lot of packet losses too. Have never seen a LAN port on any ship.

 

 

Me, I use my Google FI phone when in or near port. I get consistent 4G or LTE. Off Norway last month, I always had signal at sea at least 3g speed. I tether to laptop when needed as it is much better than the ships wi-fi in that event.

 

J

[Travelcat2]

On Voyager, depending on cabin location, you may have to prop door open to get wifi connectivity. We used either a trash can or pillow. We were in a concierge Cat D but what really matters is where you are relative to repeaters in passageway.

 

Marc

 

Agree that the internet is slow but we have never had to prop a door open to get wifi connectivity (on the Voyager or any other ship).

[Jonoro7]

TC

Door propping and other tales such as port better than s board are just myths

[Brownie54]

I'm not terribly tech savvy, but on the 2017 World Cruise we were in a Navigator suite with a repeater outside our door. We would often open the door to the hall and find our hall mates standing under the repeater with their devices. We got better reception in the hall, or with our cabin door open. It was definitely easier to get better reception by signing on during non-peak hours.

[TravelnAl]

I needed to keep my door open to get reception on the Explorer in June. And the repeater was just outside the door.

[FlyerTalker]

One other factor that has not been mentioned is the WiFi connectivity capability of your device. The WiFi adapter portion of devices can vary widely, so it is possible that two different devices sitting side by side willl have differing connections. It could even be that one will connect and the other will not.

 

Blanket answers and assumptions are, at best, generalizations and anecdotal reports. As another poster here on CC says in his signature "The plural of "anecdote" is not "data"

[IndiTravler]

 

Blanket answers and assumptions are, at best, generalizations and anecdotal reports. As another poster here on CC says in his signature "The plural of "anecdote" is not "data"

 

OMG I love that!!!!

[snuggarelli]

250 Mbs......I am jealous. I have never had better than 90.

 

 

 

Sorry to say you will be very disappointed in the Ship speeds. Think of speeds more like dial up or early DSL. If your real lucky and late at night you might see 3Mbs Down and .5 Mbs up. The Ping and latency are horrid so you get a lot of packet losses too. Have never seen a LAN port on any ship.

 

 

 

 

 

Me, I use my Google FI phone when in or near port. I get consistent 4G or LTE. Off Norway last month, I always had signal at sea at least 3g speed. I tether to laptop when needed as it is much better than the ships wi-fi in that event.

 

 

 

J

 

 

 

J-

I think I’ll end up using my phone’s data whenever possible. It sounds like it has to be faster than dial-up.

 

Do you have the Speedtest.net app on your phone? You can always check (whether you are on Wi-Fi or using AT&T data) your speeds using that app.

[FlyerTalker]

I think I’ll end up using my phone’s data whenever possible. It sounds like it has to be faster than dial-up.

 

And unless you are in a port, and have cellular service that is covered by your plan, where does that "phone's data" travel through? Yep, that same satellite link. In addition, foreign data traffic may not give you the same as what you get at home.

 

 

Suggest you VERY carefully research your phone plan details regarding data roaming. Especially if you keep it running 24/7. You could end up with a nasty surprise.

[JMARINER]

There are various apps for both Iphone and Android that will "sniff out" and display the best or optimal wifi signal location. Works kind of like an old Geiger counter with both visual displays and audible tone.

 

 

J

[snuggarelli]

250 Mbs......I am jealous. I have never had better than 90.

 

Sorry to say you will be very disappointed in the Ship speeds. Think of speeds more like dial up or early DSL. If your real lucky and late at night you might see 3Mbs Down and .5 Mbs up. The Ping and latency are horrid so you get a lot of packet losses too. Have never seen a LAN port on any ship.

 

 

Me, I use my Google FI phone when in or near port. I get consistent 4G or LTE. Off Norway last month, I always had signal at sea at least 3g speed. I tether to laptop when needed as it is much better than the ships wi-fi in that event.

 

J

 

I was thinking about tethering too if tests conclude that I'm better off with my phone vs. the ship. Just gotta figure out how to make it cost-effective. Every time my husband goes to India, he forgets to set up the International package which is for the month. So, I get a notice for a $300 charge. We freak out, and then he sets up one of the International packages which is significantly cheaper.