Internet

[ivanidea]

We purchased the Premium Internet package prior to boarding.

 

I brought my travel router, so my wife and I could share the internet, only to discover that the internet is accessed by logging in through the app.  It's no longer possible to use a router to create your own hotspot.

 

Not a problem, she should be able to access the internet through the app, since our accounts are linked?  Wrong.  Pre-purchasing did not give me the option for multiple devices, which you get when purchasing on board the ship, so restricted to accessing with one account.  It seems like the only way my wife can get internet is to logon using my Mariner credentials in the app.

 

Rant over.

[Ken the cruiser]

5 hours ago, ivanidea said:

We purchased the Premium Internet package prior to boarding.

 

I brought my travel router, so my wife and I could share the internet, only to discover that the internet is accessed by logging in through the app.  It's no longer possible to use a router to create your own hotspot.

 

Not a problem, she should be able to access the internet through the app, since our accounts are linked?  Wrong.  Pre-purchasing did not give me the option for multiple devices, which you get when purchasing on board the ship, so restricted to accessing with one account.  It seems like the only way my wife can get internet is to logon using my Mariner credentials in the app.

 

Rant over.

We just got off the Maasdam and our RavPower travel router worked great. Here's what we did just so we're on the same page.

 

1. We first used the RavPower Wizard loaded on our iPad to connect via the predefined ip address to the travel router to tell it to bind to the nearby HAL router.

 

2. After closing the wizard after a successful connection, we pulled up the iPad network settings and told the iPad to connect to the our TR listed in the active connection list and entered the TR's password.

 

3. Then we launched the Navigator app on our iPad and purchased the desired HAL premium unlimited internet package. In our case since it was prepurchased, the cost showed $0 when we looked later at our account.

 

One lesson we learned was to put the travel router in the closet closest to the door so it could maintain a solid connection to the HAL router in the hallway. Our devices were able to then select our TR listed in their active connection list as long as they were within 50 ft of the TR. 

 

At least it worked great for us.

Edited December 1, 2019 by Ken the cruiser

[crystalspin]

We were on the Zuiderdam last April (northbound transAtlantic) with one Premium subscription and a travel router. Despite exhaustive notes from @TechPotato, we were never able to get the router to work. We needed two connections for my husband to get verification/validation#s on his phone to log in to his physician's prescribing program (on the computer) concurrently! He has one minute to enter the number sequence so it's not like he could log on and off the computer...

 

So this was very strange -- despite the router not connecting and in fact being unplugged and off -- he was still able to get the verification numbers on the phone repeatedly! It was of course sitting right next to the computer. We are not tech-savvy enough to know if is possible that the computer was acting as its own hotspot? It worked and that was all that mattered!

 

He was also able to make a VOIP conference call from north of France! Hoohah. 

 

I would use the same pre-purchased plan when he was not working. Logging in was never a problem; I think it just used the room number. Coverage was available in the room or the Crows Nest (or anywhere I tried it). Big step up from the old days!

Edited December 1, 2019 by crystalspin

[TechPotato]

11 minutes ago, crystalspin said:

We were on the Zuiderdam last April (northbound transAtlantic) with one Premium subscription and a travel router. Despite exhaustive notes from @TechPotato, we were never able to get the router to work. We needed two connections for my husband to get verification/validation#s on his phone to log in to his physician's prescribing program (on the computer) concurrently! He has one minute to enter the number sequence so it's not like he could log on and off the computer...

 

So this was very strange -- despite the router not connecting and in fact being unplugged and off -- he was still able to get the verification numbers on the phone repeatedly! It was of course sitting right next to the computer. We are not tech-savvy enough to know if is possible that the computer was acting as its own hotspot? It worked and that was all that mattered!

 

He was also able to make a VOIP conference call from north of France! Hoohah. 

 

I would use the same pre-purchased plan when he was not working. Logging in was never a problem; I think it just used the room number. Coverage was available in the room or the Crows Nest (or anywhere I tried it). Big step up from the old days!

Different ships have different compatibility issues. That's why I travel with a bag of travel routers to find one that works. It is unlikely that your computer can share a wifi connection (a rare few can have two simultaneous connections), but is is possible for some computers to share the network to a phone via bluetooth. 

 

I prefer to get the 3-device plan and use one for my cell and one for Helen's cell and one for the router. On Rhapsody I used the 2-device plan with one for my phone and one for the pocket router and Helen connected to the pocket router when she was near me.

 

The Internet package is a business expense anyway and the difference between 2 device and 3 device is only about $3-4/day when they have a promo. 

[Wehwalt]

I would be curious to know if HAL has addressed the question of travel routers in their internet terms of use.

[MarKandi]

10 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

One lesson we learned was to put the travel router in the closet closest to the door so it could maintain a solid connection to the HAL router in the hallway. Our devices were able to then select our TR listed in their active connection list as long as they were within 50 ft of the TR. 

 

At least it worked great for us.

Curious how you got power to the device in the closet? I’m thinking of doing this but leave in 2 weeks on a 22 day.

[Ken the cruiser]

13 minutes ago, MarKandi said:

Curious how you got power to the device in the closet? I’m thinking of doing this but leave in 2 weeks on a 22 day.

Our travel router has an internal battery that lasts pretty much all day with a full charge. Then when we went to bed, we moved it over to the desk where the plug was and let it charge up all night.

[81Zoomie]

We have been following the Internet forums since we will be sailing in a few weeks.  We have never an issue signing on and off with different devices.  I was curious so I looked up the internet offering for our cruise.  There is only one offer for one device.  It clearly states it is for one device at a time, not just one device.  Has HALs policy changed?