VPN use on ship and in ports

[STANCPA44]

I am considering purchasing the Nord VPN for my iPad.  The company states that there is a 30% slow down in speed.   I am wondering since the ship internet is by satellite it may not be routed thru the VPN.   I am also concerned about the Caribbean ports.   I know that the VPN covers Mexico but what about the various ports.  

I would like input for these two situations.   

I  highly doubt that my iPad would be hacked on the ship but in pre stay hotel, airport and the various ports are a different story.

[Tony O]

7 minutes ago, STANCPA44 said:

I am considering purchasing the Nord VPN for my iPad.  The company states that there is a 30% slow down in speed.   I am wondering since the ship internet is by satellite it may not be routed thru the VPN.   I am also concerned about the Caribbean ports.   I know that the VPN covers Mexico but what about the various ports.  

I would like input for these two situations.   

I  highly doubt that my iPad would be hacked on the ship but in pre stay hotel, airport and the various ports are a different story.

You should be able to use your VPN anywhere. But to be sure you should check their website for a list if countries.

I would not think that your iPad won't be hacked on the ship if it's a public network it could be hacked .

[1025cruise]

I thought RCCL  blocked VPN.

[FLACRUISER99]

2 minutes ago, 1025cruise said:

I thought RCCL  blocked VPN.

I have Nord VPN and could not get it to connect on Voom.

[Tony O]

I use Pure VPN and had no problems

[QueenofEverything]

3 hours ago, 1025cruise said:

I thought RCCL  blocked VPN.

I have tried to use 2 different types of VPN and neither would work on the Liberty of the Seas

[Wine-O]

VPN won't work on RCCL.  I had to disable mine on both Brilliance and Anthem in order to connect with both my laptop and iPhone.

[Expat Cruise]

It really depends upon the VPN the free and common ones RCCL & other cruise lines have found and blocked. But that doesn't mean all of them. I have about 15 loaded  on my lap top and always seem to find at least one of them will work. 

[QueenofEverything]

Why do they block them?

 

[Expat Cruise]

22 minutes ago, QueenofEverything said:

Why do they block them?

 

 many reasons cruise lines block them. But I believe the main reason is so guests cannot use programs that take a lot of bandwidth. Things like calling programs and video chats, requiring a lot of bandwidth. The second reason is they want to keep you off many sites and have these sites  blocked. If you use a VPN you control what you view and how.  I like F! racing and when I travel I use live streaming but the cruise lives block these sites, so I use a VPN.  On Princess  this year I wanted to contact a lawyer office, his website was blocked, so I need to use a VPN. When I asked him about it he said Princess did it after he won a multi million dollar lawsuit against them.   I want control of my internet.

[Cyclone99]

Does RCI block VPNs by the domain/IP address or by the port? Or both? Would a VPN on port 443 still be blocked?

[Biker19]

2 hours ago, Cyclone99 said:

Does RCI block VPNs by the domain/IP address or by the port? Or both? Would a VPN on port 443 still be blocked?

I don't think anyone has done that kind of details analysis of what gets through but some VPNs do work.

[Biker19]

On 11/5/2018 at 9:41 PM, Expat Cruise said:

 But I believe the main reason is so guests cannot use programs that take a lot of bandwidth. 

This would not be it as you can't get anymore BW via a VPN vs. without one.

[Biker19]

On 11/5/2018 at 4:59 AM, Wine-O said:

VPN won't work on RCCL.  

We have had several reports of VPNs working; it's just that some do not work, others do.

[Expat Cruise]

33 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

This would not be it as you can't get anymore BW via a VPN vs. without one.

The cruise lines block sites like streaming video, if you use a VPN you can access these sites and therefore use more bandwidth than the cruise lines want you to use. So the statement "the main reason is so guests cannot use programs that take a lot of bandwidth."  is absolutely correct.

 

[Biker19]

9 minutes ago, Expat Cruise said:

The cruise lines block sites like streaming video, if you use a VPN you can access these sites and therefore use more bandwidth than the cruise lines want you to use. So the statement "the main reason is so guests cannot use programs that take a lot of bandwidth."  is absolutely correct.

 

You may not realize how the VOOM packages work - it doesn’t matter what kind of data you are accessing (even via VPN), you can’t get around the overall download limits of 5 Mbps for Stream and .5 Mbps for Surf. 

 

BTW, very few if any streaming sites are blocked. 

Edited November 12, 2018 by Biker19

[Clarea]

On 11/12/2018 at 4:18 AM, Cyclone99 said:

Does RCI block VPNs by the domain/IP address or by the port? Or both? Would a VPN on port 443 still be blocked?

 

I have read here that people have had better luck with SSL (443) VPNs.  RC blocks protocols and ports.

[amix]

On 11/13/2018 at 2:19 AM, Clarea said:

 

I have read here that people have had better luck with SSL (443) VPNs.  RC blocks protocols and ports.

 

Using only port 443 or specifically also SSL to avoid identification?

 

 

[BirdTravels]

58 minutes ago, amix said:

 

Using only port 443 or specifically also SSL to avoid identification?

 

 

Avoid bumping very old posts.

 

You are asking a question to someone who made a post over 4 years ago and Royal is/has changed their wifi since then.

[Ret MP]

I used to use Express VPN, it was very good at not slowing things down.  But, I found that there were a lot of sites that wouldn't let me in with, at least, that VPN.  So, I ditched VPN all together.  So, I now use PCMatic, Duckduckgo and Brave.  Not sure if they provide the same security as VPN but I'm happy.  

Edited January 15, 2023 by Ret MP

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

I use NordVPN at our condo in MX installed on a Night Hawk router and it drops my speed by at least 30% if not a little more.  I did a speed test on the Wonder during our Thanksgiving cruise and it was terrible and I can't even imagine putting it through a VPN.  

[Cigar King]

This is a 4 year old post...let it die in peace.

 

 

[JupiterTwo]

NordVPN has a feature called Obfuscated Servers which is supposed to hide the fact that you are using a VPN. This is supposed to get around wifi implementations that block VPN access.

[Biker19]

18 hours ago, amix said:

 

Using only port 443 or specifically also SSL to avoid identification?

 

 

The kind of traffic being blocked/allowed may have changed slightly with the install of Starlink and may vary slightly by ship. You’ll have to try it on your sailing. 

[Ret MP]

Just as a side note:

 

First, I understand that not everybody can or wants to do what I do!  The following is ONLY stating what I do.  Any suggestions are welcome.

 

When I leave my home, I turn off my Wi-Fi, on my mobile device(s). If I'm going to my daughter's homes or my buddy's in Texas, I turn them back on when I get there.  I do not use public Wi-Fi, period.  If I want to use my Laptop in a Hotel Room, for example, I use my phones Hotspot using my phone carrier's (Verizon) data. The only exception is on a cruise, no alternatives on a cruise.  But, like I stated earlier, I use PCMatic, Duckduckgo, and Brave.  Again, I'm no IT Geek.  So, I'm not sure if I'm all that safe on a ship or not.  But, I have not had issues with bugs and can't tell you if I've had info stolen.