OVATION May 13-24 *LIVE* in ALASKA w/lots of photos

[AlanF65]

2 hours ago, twangster said:

 

Agreed.  Millennium, Radiance and Explorer in Alaska all had better internet and we've had better weather overall here on Ovation so rain fade or cloud loss isn't the root cause.

 

In Juneau I re-boarded early afternoon and it was a standard Alaska internet experience (okay but not great).  Gradually through to sail away time it became slower and slower as more guests returned.

 

It's compounded by hundreds of smart phones all trying to upload hundreds of pictures to "The Cloud", either Google Photos or Apple iCloud once they connect to the wifi signal onboard.  Combined with an increased appetite for being connected and the old geostationary technology can't handle it.  

 

I suspect the limited bandwidth on a per ship basis for the older geostationary satellite technology can't handle the volume of passengers on these larger ships.  This legacy technology has a finite capacity on a per-transponder basis while O3b uses beam forming technology that provides greater aggregate bandwidth on a per-ship basis.  

Is there any tuning they can do?

 

Last year I remember EOS had my location in Ohio, when I tried speed test on the way up last week it kept looking to Hawaii.

Is that relevant to any of the connection issues?

 

[AlanF65]

Looked in the peephole at fish and ships. It looks like it will be ready for the next sailing. I couldn't get my phone on the hole for a picture.

 

A

[dubldeck]

17 hours ago, Biker19 said:

Not sure how they'll handle 7 day sailings, but try app, then Seaplex, then GS.

as far as the app goes, can you only access it on-board? or will I be able to access during embarkation at the pier?

[twangster]

26 minutes ago, AlanF65 said:

Is there any tuning they can do?

 

Last year I remember EOS had my location in Ohio, when I tried speed test on the way up last week it kept looking to Hawaii.

Is that relevant to any of the connection issues?

 

 

Transponders on older satellites are mostly fixed without a pretty significant effort to re-work them that would likely impact operational lifecycle of the bird.   These satellites are likely multi-function providing other communication needs so major changes in the mission could impact other use cases.  In other words it's unlikely the companies that own them will bother.  The future may be with polar orbiting satellites or other low earth orbiting variations.  

 

The problem is that Alaska and Northern Canada have a low population density so the business model is hard to make work for better coverage in the far North.  

 

I spoke to the Voom specialist.  She indicated she didn't think we would switch back to O3b.

 

My speedtest history:

 

 

Speedcast and O3b perform some pretty significant traffic shaping and internet packets are tunneled to one of their land gateways.  In the case of Royal as a customer they seem to tunnel everything back to their Miami terrestrial gateway. 

 

Why your app is picking Hawaii is a question for the app dev team.  Miami would be a better choice.

Edited May 23, 2019 by twangster

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Just now, dubldeck said:

as far as the app goes, can you only access it on-board? or will I be able to access during embarkation at the pier?

I wasn't able to access it until I boarded. 

[twangster]

Fog protocol...  ship's whistle sounding every two minutes.  

[Hoopster95]

19 minutes ago, twangster said:

Fog protocol...  ship's whistle sounding every two minutes.  

 

Yep... just started the horn while on bridge tour. 

 

The has certainly been dumbed down the last few years, and specifically to my Quantum tours which were out of this world. We were roped off to one wing, could get close to the Center area not the back control room where all the very cool stuff is (charts, cameras, etc).

 

Total Time approx 20min.

 

Entrance to the bridge area is deck

13, but to actually get to the bridge you have to walk down to deck 12... wheelchair person taken by security via staff elevator 

 

 

 

1st officer James is currently the youngest in the fleet at 20 years of age

 

 

Ever wonder where the the cameras are for your interior virtual balconies?

 

 

No helipad, winch only.

No public access

 

Edited May 23, 2019 by Hoopster95

[SacCaliCruiser]

13 hours ago, AlanF65 said:

So helpful, thank you!

 

[tcmagnum]

Very much enjoyed this review!!  Great pictures and lots of info.

Thank you for taking the time!!

[AlanF65]

12 minutes ago, SacCaliCruiser said:

 

I can't read the size age here but this is enclosed kids and beyond parents with kids.

[Trixie21]

Amazing review - so looking forward to 14th June.

We have purchased Voom S&S - we will see how it goes - might be a visit to guest services!

 

[cottonballs99]

Random question - on another thread, someone mentioned how nice it would be to have a blanket to use while sitting out on the balcony (all weather dependent, of course).  Can you get a blanket like this from your room steward?  Or should we plan to bring one?  Someone mentioned that they give them out on movie nights, so maybe?  Any info on this is appreciated, as always.

[drusierdmd]

Just ask you room steward for another set of bed blankets. We sailed with our 3yo who slept on the pullout and I used her bedding multiple time to take naps on the balcony. Shhhh don't tell.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

[Hoopster95]

Anyone have photos of Thriller? 😎🕺🏻

[AlanF65]

Room service menus, I have been meaning to post for the last week. I asked if he had updated menus thinking the selection would be different,  the are English only with same selections 

[CruiseKeeper]

We’re going 7.5 knots, anyone know why?

[twangster]

15 minutes ago, CruiseKeeper said:

We’re going 7.5 knots, anyone know why?

 

I think we are early and holding just outside territorial boundaries so casino and shops can stay open.  We’re basically stopped or at a crawl. 

Edited May 23, 2019 by twangster

[CruiseKeeper]

2 minutes ago, twangster said:

 

I think we are early and holding just outside territorial boundaries so casino and ships can stay open.  We’re basically stopped. 

 

That could be.   Marine traffic says we arrive at 11:30.  

[AlanF65]

32 minutes ago, CruiseKeeper said:

 

That could be.   Marine traffic says we arrive at 11:30.  

There is a 11PM lotto draw in the Casino so probably open until at least 1130

[drusierdmd]

Got Verizon 3g back at this location.

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[JessyCruises]

Thanks to all for the great photos and details!  Did you hear any discussion from anyone that may have rented a car in Juneau and did it on their own?  We are a party of 4 adults and currently have a car rented for about $100 and are planning on winging it. (Mendenhall Glacier etc). I was just wondering if you heard of anyone having issues with the large ship in port getting their rentals.

 

thanks!

Jess

[CruiseKeeper]

Maybe we should have taken a few extra spins at Endicott.  I’m missing our snow covered mountain range views.  

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Just now, Hoopster95 said:

Anyone have photos of Thriller? 😎🕺🏻

At your service! 😎

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 23, 2019 by Sunny AZ Girl

[CruiseKeeper]

2 minutes ago, Canadian Disney Mom said:

Thanks to all for the great photos and details!  Did you hear any discussion from anyone that may have rented a car in Juneau and did it on their own?  We are a party of 4 adults and currently have a car rented for about $100 and are planning on winging it. (Mendenhall Glacier etc). I was just wondering if you heard of anyone having issues with the large ship in port getting their rentals.

 

thanks!

Jess

 

We rented from Avis and went to Mendenhall and the Shrine of St. Theresa.  The car rental was uneventful, the office is about 2 miles from where we docked.  We were the furthest ship away.  We took a cab back costing around $8.  We did not see one other person renting a car while we were there.  We went to lunch while we were out there too.  I’m glad we did it.  

[JessyCruises]

4 minutes ago, CruiseKeeper said:

 

We rented from Avis and went to Mendenhall and the Shrine of St. Theresa.  The car rental was uneventful, the office is about 2 miles from where we docked.  We were the furthest ship away.  We took a cab back costing around $8.  We did not see one other person renting a car while we were there.  We went to lunch while we were out there too.  I’m glad we did it.  

 

Thank you!!