Is WiFi good enough to stream sporting matches

[tillys mom]

We will be on a Fall TA(🤞), and I wondered if anyone has experience trying to watch a game while at sea. I have managed in the Caribbean, but never tried on a transatlantic. 
Thanks

[jondfk]

You won't like this answer . . .

 

Maybe.  During our cruise on Grand a year ago, before we were sent to cabins to quarantine, I was truly surprised at how robust and stable WIFI was.  You tube and Prime video worked well with few glitches or freezes.  Presumably however most folks were out of their rooms most of the time and aggregate load on the available bandwidth was within planned loads.

 

However, once the entire ship was locked down, nothing streaming was possible, at least not in our cabin.  In fact nothing that required a live duplex connection was possible, even things like mobile banking were only possible pre 7AM and after midnight when most folks were asleep.  That was an extraordinary situation undoubtedly never planned for in the specification.  Still, streaming worked well most of the time when the ship was operating in a normal mode so, as I said, maybe (perhaps I should have said probably).  I should also note that bandwidth is parsed on the ship in ways that aren't obvious to me.  Wifi nodes are spaced a bit randomly, especially in the cabin spaces, your ability to connect and stream may be limited by how far your cabin is from the nearest wifi node.  If this happens you are likely to get better service in the public areas which are much more fully populated with wifi nodes and have less obstructions (like walls, doors and other interference. 

 

Medallion internet remains a satellite based system so, assuming the ship has a good view to the satellite(s) is should work on your TA. 

[Thrak]

Maybe... We did a TA from Barcelona to FLL on Emerald Princess with MedallionNet WiFi. The connectivity was truly abysmal. You may have better luck depending on where your cruise travels.

[SinbadThePorter]

The closer to 45 degrees north latitude the ship gets, the worse the internet speeds. Then it drops off a cliff.

 

MedallionNet connectivity includes both Medium Earth Orbit satellites (fast) and Geosynchronous orbit satellites (slow).

 

If for any reason the MEO connection isn't working, then internet access will be GEO and hence abysmal.

Edited March 1, 2021 by SinbadThePorter

[tillys mom]

Thank you all for your help. I think I’ll just check the score the next day and watch the tape when I get home.

[leck57]

4 hours ago, tillys mom said:

Thank you all for your help. I think I’ll just check the score the next day and watch the tape when I get home.

 

I would at least try to stream as you have nothing to lose. I have streamed sport and had many video calls on my Princess cruises with few problems. Even Skype calls from Alaska worked well most times. As others have said, it depends where you are and how many people are using it but worth a shot in my opinion. Of course depending on what sport you are referring to, the game might be on your stateroom tv or I have found the tv's in the Casino often have sports on.

[SinbadThePorter]

On Ruby Nov 2019 in the South Pacific I seem to recall that NFL was often on the TVs in Skywalkers.

 

 

[d9704011]

Chess matches usually work well.

[tillys mom]

2 hours ago, d9704011 said:

Chess matches usually work well.

How long does it take to learn chess? Do they have quarterbacks and cheerleaders?🤣🤣

[AF-1]

depending on your ship;  one of the bars may carry your game. Also your route will determine how fast your wifi works.  When you get into countries like Norway and Sweeden,  the wifi slows down.  

Edited March 2, 2021 by AF-1

[chef Brian]

when i was on the regal before covid, i watched a college football game. streamed just fine and watched the whole game.

[Thrak]

On 3/2/2021 at 4:41 AM, d9704011 said:

Chess matches usually work well.

 

We were once sitting in a pub having lunch and there was soccer on the TV. We don't follow the sport so weren't paying much attention but were really surprised when it ended and the broadcast changed to Dominoes. We never would have guessed that Domino matches were covered on TV...🤪

[Thrak]

On 3/2/2021 at 8:44 AM, AF-1 said:

depending on your ship;  one of the bars may carry your game. Also your route will determine how fast your wifi works.  When you get into countries like Norway and Sweeden,  the wifi slows down.  

 

I have sometimes seen sporting events on the televisions behind the bar in Club Fusion. Of course not all ships have that venue...

[jennybenny]

With all this “working from home” stuff, I wonder if people will try to “work” from a cruise!

I wouldn’t recommend it. My experience has not been positive with Princess Wi-Fi, but I have not attempted anything of note when on a medallion net cruise.

 

With the BSE including Wi-Fi for all who book it, I’m not sure how it will be when cruising does restart. Will people actually be able to stream games With so many using unlimited Wi-Fi? 
I have my doubts.

 

[caribill]

13 hours ago, jennybenny said:

With all this “working from home” stuff, I wonder if people will try to “work” from a cruise!

I wouldn’t recommend it.

 

 

If your business depends upon working Internet on a cruise ship, do not take the cruise. Even if MedallionNet is super fast, availability of Internet connectivity is not guaranteed. Also, shipboard equipment might break during the cruise and there may not be needed replacement parts on board.

[jennybenny]

10 hours ago, caribill said:

 

If your business depends upon working Internet on a cruise ship, do not take the cruise. Even if MedallionNet is super fast, availability of Internet connectivity is not guaranteed. Also, shipboard equipment might break during the cruise and there may not be needed replacement parts on board.

Agreed. 👍🏼I would not! In fact, I use vacation as an opportunity to disconnect. I don’t even take a laptop 

[suers515]

On 3/4/2021 at 11:07 AM, jennybenny said:

Agreed. 👍🏼I would not! In fact, I use vacation as an opportunity to disconnect. I don’t even take a laptop 

 

I agree for the most part.  I have a corporate 9-5 that I will definitely be on vacation from.  Work laptop staying home.  I also have a home based business and a longer cruise without any connection to my clients may not be a good thing.  If I am out of contact for 2 weeks than it will take at least 2 weeks after to build up momentum.  A 1/2 hour to 1 hour a day isn't a big deal. 😃😎

[toescat]

That would be a NO, the speed to just open Google is slow and loading Yahoo is like watching the clock move.  

 

[jennybenny]

1 hour ago, toescat said:

That would be a NO, the speed to just open Google is slow and loading Yahoo is like watching the clock move.  

 

That has also been my experience unless I hopped on super later or super early (2AM-6 AM) when people weren’t on. Painful! 

[caribill]

2 hours ago, toescat said:

That would be a NO, the speed to just open Google is slow and loading Yahoo is like watching the clock move.  

 

 

1 hour ago, jennybenny said:

That has also been my experience unless I hopped on super later or super early (2AM-6 AM) when people weren’t on. Painful! 

 

Although I have not experienced MedallionNet yet, there have been a number of posts saying MedallionNet (when available) is super fast.

[jennybenny]

14 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

 

Although I have not experienced MedallionNet yet, there have been a number of posts saying MedallionNet (when available) is super fast.

Fingers crossed ☺️

[brisalta]

On 3/3/2021 at 10:19 AM, Thrak said:

 

We were once sitting in a pub having lunch and there was soccer on the TV. We don't follow the sport so weren't paying much attention but were really surprised when it ended and the broadcast changed to Dominoes. We never would have guessed that Domino matches were covered on TV...🤪

 

I would think there is more action in Dominoes than in American Football with all the standing around in that game. 😉

[Thrak]

4 minutes ago, brisalta said:

 

I would think there is more action in Dominoes than in American Football with all the standing around in that game. 😉

 

One of our sons decided to play football one year in high school. He was in for every play except kickoffs and field goals/extra points. He agreed with you about the standing around. (And, of course, pro football has all the "TV timeouts".) He told several of his team mates that football was easy and, if they wanted a workout, to join him on the swim team. They mostly laughed at that but one of them took him up on it. He dropped out of swim team because it was too hard. European football doesn't have all the standing around. Those guys are maniacs.

[tillys mom]

Medallion net is MUCH better than the old method- I’ve just never tried to use it to watch live on a TA.

Hope we all get to use it soon! Three cruises cancelled for this year,  so we are planting a garden.

Edited March 11, 2021 by tillys mom
Add to comment