Oasis - Using the internet for work

[PGPVA72]

Hi all! It has been a few years since we cruised on Royal Caribbean, and we're looking forward to sailing on Oasis of the Seas at the end of August. I will need to be able to keep an eye on email and perhaps do a little bit of work during the week (saving my covering person's help for a longer and more remote cruise later this year). We've signed up for The Key, so have the included surf/stream package for one device each. If anyone has any insights on the following that would be super helpful:

 

• Ideally I would be able to have my work phone on the wifi to keep an eye on email as I move around the ship, and then use my laptop I need to do any work.  I've been told I can switch my one surf/stream device between the phone and laptop - has anyone done this? Is is a quick process, or am I going to be fiddling with it for 10 minutes to get it to work? If that strategy will be a pain and I get a second device on a surf plan will it be a headache to get both devices enrolled? I understand there's a help desk - will the device stay on the wifi, or will the wifi kick me off from time to time?
• How is the wifi coverage as I move around the ship? Will I be able to sit somewhere (Trellis bar? Solarium?) and fire up my laptop to get through some emails? 

 

Thanks in advance for any insight on this! 

[Biker19]

3 minutes ago, PGPVA72 said:

I've been told I can switch my one surf/stream device between the phone and laptop - has anyone done this? Is is a quick process, or am I going to be fiddling with it for 10 minutes to get it to work?

Welcome to CC

 

With a one device package, the second device bumps the first device off - it takes seconds. Coverage is pretty good around the ship, but may be iffy in the cabin depending on the location.

Edited August 5, 2022 by Biker19

[twangster]

Switching devices is easy.  You can elegantly log out the first or use the next device to kick off the previously connected device.

 

As far as coverage like any wifi environment this can vary.  Most places have decent wifi coverage but certain cabins can have weak wifi if the access point in the hallway is too far away.  

 

[PGPVA72]

Thanks All! That sounds like it will work out fine. 

[BirdTravels]

49 minutes ago, PGPVA72 said:

Thanks All! That sounds like it will work out fine. 

Just remember that this is satellite internet shared by 6000 of your newest friends. It will take 10 times longer to do anything requiring network access. And if you have a big file…. Go and have lunch and come back if you are trying to open it on a network file store. 

[robmtx]

While internet at sea has improved greatly over the past 10 years, keep in mind you're on a shared satellite link that is dependent on positioning and weather (think: fog banks).

 

If you have critical business to do, try to schedule your time early in the morning. I can get thru some Email no problem, but Teams meetings are hit or miss. 

 

Last time on Oasis was not great (June 2022) - so I just kept it simple with work email only. 

[atricks]

Internet is mixed, it works well sometimes, others not, and very susceptible to rainy weather.  As long as you aren't trying to remote or do any heavy activity online remotely it's doable.   Starlink will help this quite a bit, but its still a bit away from being implemented across the board.

[LeeW]

Different places in the same cabin can have different connectivity.  You can't control the other people online or the weather, but you can move to a spot with the strongest wifi signal.  This reduces drops and bad packets.

[deedeela]

Just back from 9 days on Oasis -- my husband and I both had to do a bit of work every day. We had the one device each surf/stream package and it worked out pretty well. As mentioned above, switching devices is easy enough, so we didn't have any real connectivity issues. I even did an hour-long Zoom call on the morning we were docking in Puerto Rico and it was perfect. 

 

There was just once when I needed to be on my laptop and phone, so I just signed in on one with my husband's credentials and used mine on the other.