In Stateroom Internet Access on NCL Joy

[billco]

I have an upcoming cruise on the NCL Joy. According to the NCL website, the Joy is not on the list of NCL ships with in stateroom internet access.

https://www.ncl.com/about/staying-connected-sea-internet-access

In Stateroom Access

- currently available on: Norwegian Bliss, Breakaway, Dawn, Epic, Gem, Getaway, Jade, Jewel, Pearl, Sky, Spirit, Star, Sun and Pride of America.

According to NCL Chat, in stateroom internet access is available on all NCL ships. Would someone on this forum confirm in stateroom internet access is available on the NCL Joy?

[shof515]

i was on the joy and i had wifi internet access in my room. depending on the time of date, wifi signal strength was weak causing both ncl app and the internet not to load

[billco]

3 minutes ago, shof515 said:

i was on the joy and i had wifi internet access in my room. depending on the time of date, wifi signal strength was weak causing both ncl app and the internet not to load

Thanks. I thought it was available, but just wanted to make sure after reading the website. This is a Panama Canal cruise, so hopefully internet should be fairly good.

[Sailing12Away]

Was on the Joy in September and I had internet in my room without problem. I was able to use my free minutes to check in on FB, CC, random websites, etc with no problem.

 

We'll be on a PC trip on the Joy again this coming February and plan on using those free minutes in the room again.

[mking8288]

On the Joy in May (Bermuda) and again in September (Canada & New England) - no problems accessing WiFi from Deck 10 and Deck 15, where our staterooms were ... and everywhere else.  Access Points (dual band, WiFi 5 and 6) strategically located throughout the ship's hallways & corridors, etc. - coverage isn't a problem ... LATENCY, bandwidth & speed were the problem, just barely usable with unlimited plan (non-streaming)  YMMV ... Starlink would be nice.

 

Refer to Semi-Live reviews below for additional details. 

[victory2020]

Has anyone done internet calling on the Joy?

[pcakes122]

10 hours ago, victory2020 said:

Has anyone done internet calling on the Joy?

I have with no issues (from Decks 17 & 18 Haven - front of ship.)  Not sure Wi-Fi signal is the same strength everywhere on the ship, though.

[phillygwm]

I was Deck 15 mid last month.  Never had a huge issue with Internet.  Yes, it's slow, but I didn't notice any black holes.

[BirdTravels]

On 11/27/2022 at 3:03 PM, victory2020 said:

Has anyone done internet calling on the Joy?

We had no problems Deck 14. 

[mking8288]

These are industrial, hospitality-grade dual band WiFi hotspot (Access Points) strategically located throughout the ship, everywhere, bow to stern, easily seen if you look up as they are mounted high on the walls, to provide overlapping coverage and multi-channels; plus, different AP with unique SSid's for crew/other usage - suffice to say, WiFi 5 (ac band) and WiFi 6 (ax) are well covered from what I checked, inTRAnet "speed" was excellent - robust signals to/from onboard (Cisco/Lenovo) servers.  

 

InTERnet coverage access, in terms of speed, latency & ping time, that's a different story in itself.  Short answer specific to the question asked, inTERnet access is "available" and offered.  Of course, can't wait to see if NCL will partner with and deploy the superior "Starlink" satellite coverage ... while holding down prices, haha.

 

 

 

 

 

These were some of the "best" WiFi speed onboard the Joy on 2 different sailings - current provider/partner is / was "EMC" on the unlimited WiFi (non-streaming) plan.  Stats/numbers speak for itself ... 

Edited November 29, 2022 by mking8288

[desherry]

On 11/27/2022 at 10:26 AM, billco said:

Thanks. I thought it was available, but just wanted to make sure after reading the website. This is a Panama Canal cruise, so hopefully internet should be fairly good.

Be aware that the satellite position will cause poor connections as you approach Panama. When I last went through the canal, the ship had very poor connections  from Cartegena, Columbia to Puntarenas, Costa Rico. Even the crew had issues contacting corporate offices because of the satellite position..

[victory2020]

49 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

These are industrial, hospitality-grade dual band WiFi hotspot (Access Points) strategically located throughout the ship, everywhere, bow to stern, easily seen if you look up as they are mounted high on the walls, to provide overlapping coverage and multi-channels; plus, different AP with unique SSid's for crew/other usage - suffice to say, WiFi 5 (ac band) and WiFi 6 (ax) are well covered from what I checked, inTRAnet "speed" was excellent - robust signals to/from onboard (Cisco/Lenovo) servers.  

 

InTERnet coverage access, in terms of speed, latency & ping time, that's a different story in itself.  Short answer specific to the question asked, inTERnet access is "available" and offered.  Of course, can't wait to see if NCL will partner with and deploy the superior "Starlink" satellite coverage ... while holding down prices, haha.

 

 

 

 

 

These were some of the "best" WiFi speed onboard the Joy on 2 different sailings - current provider/partner is / was "EMC" on the unlimited WiFi (non-streaming) plan.  Stats/numbers speak for itself ... 

Haha, I wish I knew what al this means......

[RockinCruiser]

Starlink has been spotted on the NCL Breakaway.  Hoping it's soon added to all their fleet!

[victory2020]

No Starlink on the Joy. Slow internet & could not make internet calls like I could on Princess.

[mking8288]

Starlink is going to bring relief but it is NOT a complete nor foolproof solution to maritime broadband access at sea.  External factors such as cloud cover, rain, line of sight obstructions, etc. will result in signals being dropped and/or interrupted.   

https://marinedatasolutions.com/starlink-faq/

 

Starlink, according to this article, is licensed for shore use when ships are docked, in about 20 countries ... to be expanded; and only 10% of the low orbit satellites are currently deployed and operational to provide optimal coverage in "most" part of the world, at sea and over land.  

 

Back to OP's question - we had zero problems accessing the internet in our staterooms on the Joy; both in the Family Inside Suites and on the balcony (open deck) on the 15th floor.  NEC's industrial grade WiFi hotspot routers are strategically deployed onboard, bow to stern, starboard to port.  End user's devices & hardware (iPhone, Android and OS versions as well as the "radio" receiver itself, i.e. WiFi 6 and 802.11.ax or 802.11.ac specifications do and can affect connectivity and speed achieved over the cached & shared network access. 

[Sailing12Away]

On the Joy now, on the outside deck 19 here's my speed test results. I personally would never pay for this, the free stuff is fine while it lasts for me.