Internet on Equinox

[stevetod]

I will be on the May 6th sailing and have the streaming internet. I will need to use it each day and hoping it is decent enough speed wise. Can you please advise from your experience if it is okay.

[Jim_Iain]

I was on Equinox in October and had no problem with the Streaming internet with one exception.   We were on an B2B and each time we were anchored off of Catalina I couldn't get either a Celebrity Internet Connection or a T-Mobile connection on the ship or on Catalina Island.     Before and after no problems.   Really strange as you can actually see LA from Catalina and Catalina is part of LA County.

 

I was able to stream Netflix and hold Zoom Conference Calls with no Pixelization or stutter.   Depending on location on the ship I spoke to some that had problems with dead spots but I didn't experience any.

 

 

 

[AlbertaCruisers]

9 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

I was on Equinox in October and had no problem with the Streaming internet with one exception.   We were on an B2B and each time we were anchored off of Catalina I couldn't get either a Celebrity Internet Connection or a T-Mobile connection on the ship or on Catalina Island.     Before and after no problems.   Really strange as you can actually see LA from Catalina and Catalina is part of LA County.

 

I was able to stream Netflix and hold Zoom Conference Calls with no Pixelization or stutter.   Depending on location on the ship I spoke to some that had problems with dead spots but I didn't experience any.

 

 

 

Jim, weren’t you on the millennium? I was on the Equinox in Oct in the Caribbean. 
 

We had streaming internet on the Equinox in Oct and it was terrible. It was almost unusable in our room. They ended up putting a hub of some sort on our desk and it made it a bit better. Streaming anything was still not great. 

[Jim_Iain]

Just now, AlbertaCruisers said:

Jim, weren’t you on the millennium? I was on the Equinox in Oct in the Caribbean. 
 

We had streaming internet on the Equinox in Oct and it was terrible. It was almost unusable in our room. They ended up putting a hub of some sort on our desk and it made it a bit better. Streaming anything was still not great. 

Your right.... actually on both the Equinox in late September and Millennium in October.    At times they all seem to blend into one.

 

Correction--   No problem in the Caribbean on Equinox for us.    The problems above were on Millennium. 

 

Sorry to hear you had problems with the Internet.    I have noticed that problem on the S-Class ships.   We were in a RS  right about the Hidaway.   I couldn't get any access and would have to sit in the chair overlooking the Hidaway to get and send email.   When I complained they installed a router in my room and things were good. 

[NutsAboutGolf]

I was on the 'Nox very late Oct-early Nov, went to the ABC islands.  Most of the time it was acceptable, I wouldn't be surprised if on an one hour zoom call that it drops a few times.

 

I just got off the Millie this past Monday, it was FLL, Key West then Nassau, best internet I've ever experienced sailing yet am guessing that's because that we were never that far from the US and due to the short duration, people were enjoying themselves and not using the internet.

 

I do speed tests on every cruise, for the 'Nox:

Download range:    .4 - 2.24Mbps

Upload range:         4.61 - 4.66Mbps

[GottaKnowWhen]

Just off three weeks on Equinox. My wife stuck with Surf, barely adequate for email, but mostly worked. I upped to Stream, little fuss uploading images, etc. But I never tried anything like a FaceTime conversation or the like, so I don’t know how far you can push it.

[stevetod]

Thanks for the input.

[keesar]

17 hours ago, stevetod said:

I will be on the May 6th sailing and have the streaming internet. I will need to use it each day and hoping it is decent enough speed wise. Can you please advise from your experience if it is okay.

 

The first 2 days it was extremely frustrating as there were many using the service.  After that, things got better.  I had god service in port and late at night or early in the morning.  Good luck!  (Our best service was using the complimentary computers at Diamond International in port.)

[Oceansaway17]

well right now a very well known You Tuber is on APEX and he says for such an advance ship and expensive ship, the internet is VERY SLOW. He was only able to open and reply to 8 emails in 4 -5 hours and his video uploads took several hour as well.  

[NutsAboutGolf]

2 minutes ago, Oceansaway17 said:

well right now a very well known You Tuber is on APEX and he says for such an advance ship and expensive ship, the internet is VERY SLOW. He was only able to open and reply to 8 emails in 4 -5 hours and his video uploads took several hour as well.  

 

To be fair, he could only muster 8 email replies WHILE his videos were rendering/uploading.  Entirely separate debate to whether he should pay extra for another device.

 

I've been on 3 X sailings since the restart and in the survey have always said to keep the staff served buffet going forever and to become the leader in internet speed; give them top marks on everywhere else

[Oceansaway17]

4 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

To be fair, he could only muster 8 email replies WHILE his videos were rendering/uploading.  Entirely separate debate to whether he should pay extra for another device.

 

I've been on 3 X sailings since the restart and in the survey have always said to keep the staff served buffet going forever and to become the leader in internet speed; give them top marks on everywhere else

i have no idea if he was uploading videos at the same time as doing emails.  But another friend onf the cruise as well said they were having long waiting times as well.  they both felt Princess had better internet.

 

i am lucky, I never use the internet while on ships.  If i want news, I turn on tv.   anything else can wait. I like to enjoy the ship and emails can wait.  Good to be retired

[NutsAboutGolf]

2 minutes ago, Oceansaway17 said:

i have no idea if he was uploading videos at the same time as doing emails.  But another friend onf the cruise as well said they were having long waiting times as well.  they both felt Princess had better internet.

 

i am lucky, I never use the internet while on ships.  If i want news, I turn on tv.   anything else can wait. I like to enjoy the ship and emails can wait.  Good to be retired

 

Yup!  Many of us, myself included, have been able to telework due to the pandemic and if we can get some work done on sea days we could cruise more often.

[GB08]

Just got off the Equinox on Sunday.    Internet was not great.   Sometimes opening email or websites was easy, other times extremely slow.        One night at 9:00 pm no service at all.  I gave up.

 

As a frequent cruiser I will honestly say the Equinox had the worst internet I have ever experienced.    We were in the Caribbean.

Two + years ago we were on the Reflection in the Baltic and had absolutely no issues with internet.
 

 I would suggest if you absolutely must have consistent service upgrade to the highest level they offer.   

[keesar]

A comment we have heard was "Thank goodness I am not paying for this (internet)."  An option is to move around the ship and you may find an area that works for you.

[stevetod]

I went for the indulge package since I had enough FCC to cover it all. So I have the streaming internet. Hopefully it's enough. I will not be on a lot of time but when I need to I need it to function.

[TeeRick]

On 2/23/2022 at 7:57 PM, Jim_Iain said:

I was on Equinox in October and had no problem with the Streaming internet with one exception.   We were on an B2B and each time we were anchored off of Catalina I couldn't get either a Celebrity Internet Connection or a T-Mobile connection on the ship or on Catalina Island.     Before and after no problems.   Really strange as you can actually see LA from Catalina and Catalina is part of LA County.

 

I was able to stream Netflix and hold Zoom Conference Calls with no Pixelization or stutter.   Depending on location on the ship I spoke to some that had problems with dead spots but I didn't experience any.

 

 

 

Hi @Jim_Iain we will be on Equinox in a week (Caribbean).  It appears that you have (or had) T-Mobile on an Equinox cruise.  We previously had Verizon and never got any charges on the ships or in ports using WiFi Calling (and texting). Just kept our phone on Airplane mode and used WiFi.  However we recently switched to T-Mobile.    I checked yesterday with T-Mobile and they warned me about charges even using WiFi calling.  Our cellular plan (Magenta 55+) is 0.25 cents/min for international calls from the islands we visit but I thought we could avoid this on ship with WiFi calling.  What is your experience?  Maybe I made a mistake switching from Verizon?  Thanks!

[NutsAboutGolf]

46 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

Hi @Jim_Iain we will be on Equinox in a week (Caribbean).  It appears that you have (or had) T-Mobile on an Equinox cruise.  We previously had Verizon and never got any charges on the ships or in ports using WiFi Calling (and texting). Just kept our phone on Airplane mode and used WiFi.  However we recently switched to T-Mobile.    I checked yesterday with T-Mobile and they warned me about charges even using WiFi calling.  Our cellular plan (Magenta 55+) is 0.25 cents/min for international calls from the islands we visit but I thought we could avoid this on ship with WiFi calling.  What is your experience?  Maybe I made a mistake switching from Verizon?  Thanks!

You were in airplane mode, made a Wi-Fi call and T-Mo gave you a $$$ warning?

[TeeRick]

9 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

You were in airplane mode, made a Wi-Fi call and T-Mo gave you a $$$ warning?

No.  I am not boarding for a week.  But I called them in advance to understand the rules and charges of international calls and texts.  We always had Verizon until recently.

[NutsAboutGolf]

4 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

No.  I am not boarding for a week.  But I called them in advance to understand the rules and charges of international calls and texts.  We always had Verizon until recently.

I have T-Mo but a different plan.  As long as you’re connected to Wi-Fi with the  airplane mode on, I don’t see how they could charge you.  Perhaps there was a misunderstanding 

[TeeRick]

Just now, NutsAboutGolf said:

I have T-Mo but a different plan.  As long as you’re connected to Wi-Fi with the  airplane mode on, I don’t see how they could charge you.  Perhaps there was a misunderstanding 

That was my thought too.  Maybe I got the wrong T-Mobile rep on the phone yesterday.  So I am seeking out actual experience from those that used WiFi calling with T-Mobile on Celebrity ships.

[NutsAboutGolf]

6 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

That was my thought too.  Maybe I got the wrong T-Mobile rep on the phone yesterday.  So I am seeking out actual experience from those that used WiFi calling with T-Mobile on Celebrity ships.

I have T-Mo and have used it on X’s ship Wi-Fi, no charges for me when airplane mode is on.  Also, fyi, you need X’s premium Wi-Fi to make Wi-Fi  calls 

[TeeRick]

1 minute ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

I have T-Mo and have used it on X’s ship Wi-Fi, no charges for me when airplane mode is on.  Also, fyi, you need X’s premium Wi-Fi to make Wi-Fi  calls 

Yes we are in a suite and will have premium WiFi.

[Betsynh]

Just off the Equinox and it said the service is provided by Starlink if that helps any. We had 90 minutes of free basic Wifi as Elite while was reasonably fast for checking emails, and opted to cough up $10/day for Verizon’s International Travel Pass while we were in Martinique and St. Kitts to connect back home (talk/text) with ease. That’s not an option for sea days, though.

[hellokittyluver]

Just off the Equinox on Thursday, January 12, 2023. We started with the all included  basic wifi. This is only good for checking emails or quick iMessages to people. No sending photos, etc. to your friends back home. On the last two sea days my husband and I upgraded to the premium wifi for $25 per person each day since we are elite. Wow...we could stream, FaceTime with our family back home, see YouTube videos, etc. What a difference it made!!!! 

[terrydtx]

We had the streaming Wi-Fi last year on the Equinox and it worked great for me. I was able to make Wi-Fi calls and steam Netflix on my laptop.