Marina Internet

[NCHPcruiser]

Our first Oceania cruise is booked for next August 2020 (previous post mistakenly said 2021).  After reading about the “almost unusable internet” on the Marina I am concerned that it might not be the ship for us.  My husband will need to work during the 22 days we will be onboard, perhaps not daily but an hour or two every couple of days.   He works for himself, loves what he does and is fortunate that he is able to work remotely if planned ahead.  (I see no end in sight and am perfectly happy with that as long as it includes trips of increasing length!)     Payroll is critical (and it unfortunately can not be planned ahead).  His emails include large files (mainly drawings).     We are accustomed to very good (if not great) internet.   Our trip last February to Australia and NZ for four weeks (16 days on a cruise)  did not present a problem as he was always able to quickly do what he needed to do so work really didn’t overly intrude.  

 

I’m sure we would love Oceania but ...

 

I would appreciate any honest feedback concerning the internet on the Marina (or on Oceania ships in general).  

 

Thank you!

 

Martha

 

Edited November 15, 2019 by NCHPcruiser
Addition

[Flatbush Flyer]

4 minutes ago, NCHPcruiser said:

Our first Oceania cruise is booked for next August 2020 (previous post mistakenly said 2021).  After reading about the “almost unusable internet” on the Marina I am concerned that it might not be the ship for us.  My husband will need to work during the 22 days we will be onboard, perhaps not daily but an hour or two every couple of days.   He works for himself, loves what he does and is fortunate that he is able to work remotely if planned ahead.  (I see no end in sight and am perfectly happy with that as long as it includes trips of increasing length!)     Payroll is critical (and it unfortunately can not be planned ahead).  His emails include large files (mainly drawings).     We are accustomed to very good (if not great) internet.   Our trip last February to Australia and NZ for four weeks (16 days on a cruise)  did not present a problem as he was always able to quickly do what he needed to do so work really didn’t overly intrude.  

 

I’m sure we would love Oceania but ...

 

I would appreciate any honest feedback concerning the internet on the Marina (or on Oceania ships in general).  

 

Thank you!

 

Martha

 

Hubby needs a new job! (Just kidding [or am I😎]).

 

As I understand it, the issue with any cruise ship's internet is not the network speed. Rather, it's mostly to do with "latency," which is the time lag in communication with the ship's network servers which are located shoreside (Miami for Oceania).

 

As for signal strength, our experience is that the strongest wireless internet signal is located close by the control booth of the Showroom.

 

BTW, the optional $$ "better" internet, is no faster/stronger. The only difference is that streaming blocks are removed.

 

That said, the recent NEXT upgrades, at least on the R ships, has improved signal strength. But, of course, if you find yourself in some ocean "dead spot," the "best" Internet in the world  wouldn't matter.

[pinotlover]

His best option is plan to do his computer work between 12:00 am - 5:00 am. 

 

We have found the the most reliable internet service to be in the Executive and/or Concierge Lounge if your cabin status allows entry. This isn’t often listed as an advantage of paying the extra for those cabins on O ships , but if your really required service, one of the best places for it.

[Haboob]

13 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

⋮

As I understand it, the issue with any cruise ship's internet is not the network speed. Rather, it's mostly to do with "latency," which is the time lag in communication with the ship's network servers which are located shoreside (Miami for Oceania).

⋮

Uhh...  Usually not.

 

Shipboard internet is routed over satellites.  If you play "first-person shooter" games, then the extra quarter-second "latency" that radio waves take to go up and down to geosynchronous orbit is an issue, but otherwise the big issue is cost of uplink bandwidth = how many bytes per second a ship will buy and dole out to each passenger.

 

What has changed in the last couple of years, is that there is now one satellite constellation whose uplinks cost a tenth (yeah, a tenth) of the others, so my question is "Does Oceania buy those O3b uplinks?"

 

[lj77346]

I just got off the Marina on Nov. 11 and the internet as we sailed around the Mediterranean ranged from mediocre (at best) to very poor.  There were numerous days when I was constantly losing the internet connection.  As I was just checking email, it was just a bit frustrating, but if I needed to get work accomplished it would not be a good situation.  On a few occasions I tried to do a speed test, but the ping was so slow that the test would not run.

[NCHPcruiser]

Thanks everyone for your responses.   

 

I do not understand the technical jargon and will have my husband take a look at what has been said.  Though the bottom line seems to be that he shouldn’t expect very good internet.   We would have access to the lounge so that sounds like a great place for him to get some work done IF he had good internet.  

 

Ij77346, I appreciate your first hand recent report!  I am disappointed and discouraged though!  I know Oceania appeals to an older demographic that is not as addicted to constant communication through instagram, FB and twitter though eventually that group will begin to look at premium cruise lines and will expect consistent internet.  I can easily do without checking my accounts for days at a time  (at least on a cruise) but unfortunately good, reliable internet is a deal breaker for Charles.    I’m glad we have not booked our flights yet!  

 

Oceania please update your internet service!  I doubt we are the only potential customers that expect reliable internet service (with locational exceptions) though most will not have been on Cruisecritic so will be unaware until they board.  I’m glad I inquired.  

 

Martha

 

 

[LHT28]

at the risk of being  rude

What ever happened to going on a cruise  for  a "VACATION"   not taking your work to different locations around the world?

Yeah Yeah  I know  you cannot leave your business  for something  so silly  as a  vacation 🙄

 

That said  I did not find the internet  bad  but then I am not face timing  sending documents  etc  all over the world

JMO

 

[clo]

19 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

What ever happened to going on a cruise  for  a "VACATION"   not taking your work to different locations around the world?

 

I think there is frequently a corporate expectation of being 'on call' 24/7.  And I think some companies are actively trying to not do that.  One of our daughters and her husband have their own company and they don't look at email at night or on weekends but I think at this point they're the exception.

 

BTW I thought I remembered here that some people said the internet was 'fine.'

[sunlover12]

I was on Marina in June of this year and I found the internet service to be poor. I was only trying to use it for basic things like checking emails and reading the news. I wasn't trying to upload photos or files or FaceTiming. The internet was non-existent in our cabin.  We had one sea day and I tried using one of the ship's computers in Oceania@Sea and it was non-existent there too but I suppose that's because many people were trying to use it at the same time. The only places on the ship where I found it to be fairly reliable was in Baristas and the library.  It's definitely something that Oceania should improve on, IMO. 

 

I've been on one other cruise line (Royal Caribbean) and their internet service is far above Oceania's. 

[NCHPcruiser]

23 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

at the risk of being  rude

What ever happened to going on a cruise  for  a "VACATION"   not taking your work to different locations around the world?

Yeah Yeah  I know  you cannot leave your business  for something  so silly  as a  vacation 🙄

 

That said  I did not find the internet  bad  but then I am not face timing  sending documents  etc  all over the world

JMO

 

I understand what you mean but if he enjoys what he does and I certainly don’t care why shouldn’t he do what makes him happy.  It is not stressful to him (or me) though leaving it all at home for others to do would be.  He is able to work from an office about three days a week and the rest we spend at the beach or traveling.  He worked very hard to get to this point and for us it’s perfect!  

[pinotlover]

Two important things taught to you as Army Officers1. Delegation of responsibilities, and 2, delegation of authority so that those assuming the responsibility can get the job done.

 

If the owner is the only person that can run payroll, I think that internet service levels is the least of the problems! 

 

I was a small small business owner and having learned those two important things went a long way in making us a successful business for over 23 years before we sold to a large national firm.

[LHT28]

I do not recall any problem in April on the crossing  

we were on Deck 8 & reception was fine in the cabin

I used to have to go up to the computer  area but not on recent cruises

In Norway Fjords  there was an issue  ..understandable

 

WOW thank goodness for  internet  workaholics  can work 24/7 if they choose 😁

[NCHPcruiser]

Just now, pinotlover said:

Two important things taught to you as Army Officers1. Delegation of responsibilities, and 2, delegation of authority so that those assuming the responsibility can get the job done.

 

If the owner is the only person that can run payroll, I think that internet service levels is the least of the problems! 

 

I was a small small business owner and having learned those two important things went a long way in making us a successful business for over 23 years before we sold to a large national firm.

 It’s great that delegation worked for you!  My husband is a freelance furniture designer with a small multi-tasking creative staff.  It would not work well for anyone in the office to do payroll though he has in the past  had his accountant’s staff do it for him.  It’s actually simpler for him to do it himself since most peoples paycheck is different every month.    If payroll were the only issue though he wouldn’t have a problem having someone else do it.  

[LHT28]

Crystal  may be  a better fit

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2710379-computerbusiness-services/

 

[KS&JW]

If he really needs to be on the internet for a few hours every couple of days then it could easily be an issue.  We travel a fair amount, not so much on cruises, but we are only able to do this because DH has the ability to deal with business obligations by having good internet.  Our Norway cruise this summer we ended up using the free internet at the port terminal on more than one occasion.  This was fine for exchanging emails and making a Skype call or two.  However,  processing payroll would require a higher level of security than you can expect on a public open internet connection.   

Sadly, Oceania is aware they have bad internet and it is not a priority of theirs to fix it. Many guess as to the reasons, but they are just guesses.  

[carlsbadguy]

In the middle of the night when people were sleeping it worked fine. In the afternoon when people got back from shore excursions and before dinner it was useless

[clo]

Day 5 and we've had not issues. We're on deck 9, starboard, very aft. Two men were sitting on the steps in front of the elevator cause that's where they can get on anywhere close to their cabinet. I don't have an IT vocabulary but they were talking about routers, cables? What IS kinda funny is that the majority of the time my computer will show I'm not connected but I am. Go figure. But again we've had zero problems. (cabin 9141!).

[Queen of DaNile]

1 hour ago, clo said:

Day 5 and we've had not issues. We're on deck 9, starboard, very aft. Two men were sitting on the steps in front of the elevator cause that's where they can get on anywhere close to their cabinet. I don't have an IT vocabulary but they were talking about routers, cables? What IS kinda funny is that the majority of the time my computer will show I'm not connected but I am. Go figure. But again we've had zero problems. (cabin 9141!).

We did the crossing and got off Marina as you boarded and found the internet to be very s l o w. It was almost impossible to use during our overnight in Rio and frustrated many who were trying to confirm return flights. Go figure.

[clo]

4 minutes ago, Queen of DaNile said:

We did the crossing and got off Marina as you boarded and found the internet to be very s l o w. It was almost impossible to use during our overnight in Rio and frustrated many who were trying to confirm return flights. Go figure.

Where were you on the ship?

[Queen of DaNile]

10 minutes ago, clo said:

Where were you on the ship?

10021. Also tried their computers in Oceans at Sea and Executive Lounge with varying success.

[Mrs f.]

We were in 11072 on the same leg.....some days we couldn't  get on at all. Tried in different locations 

[clo]

23 minutes ago, Mrs f. said:

We were in 11072 on the same leg.....some days we couldn't  get on at all. Tried in different locations 

I was just in Horizons (15) and no problem. I have a Chromebook. Can't imagine that would make a difference. A mystery 🙂