How good is internet service?

[swifty]

DW and I would like to take a cruise.  Functional internet service is very important to us.  Other cruise lines like Princess and Celebrity are experiencing extremely poor service.  Passengers say the internet is very slow and that they have a lot of trouble both sending and receiving emails.  Just wondering if these problems are particular to the individual cruise lines or if they are industry wide. So how is the service on NCL?

[WYB!]

It depends on where the ship is in the world and where in orbit the satellite is that it's connecting to.

 

- WYB

[Laszlo]

8 minutes ago, swifty said:

DW and I would like to take a cruise.  Functional internet service is very important to us.  Other cruise lines like Princess and Celebrity are experiencing extremely poor service.  Passengers say the internet is very slow and that they have a lot of trouble both sending and receiving emails.  Just wondering if these problems are particular to the individual cruise lines or if they are industry wide. So how is the service on NCL?

Too many variables, the ships service is usually pretty good. Like anywhere else in the world the wifi network gets slower the more people join. I've been on at 5am and it was very fast, a few hours later it was half the speed, a few hours after that it was even slower. The ships position also comes into play

[tony s]

Don't depend on it to work remotely. 

[Miker2k]

It depends on the ship and the technology it uses to connect to the Internet.  We just got off the Breakaway which recently had Starlink terminals installed and the service was fantastic.  As we moved further south the ship fell back to a different provider and it was terrible. 

[PTC DAWG]

5 hours ago, swifty said:

DW and I would like to take a cruise.  Functional internet service is very important to us.  Other cruise lines like Princess and Celebrity are experiencing extremely poor service.  Passengers say the internet is very slow and that they have a lot of trouble both sending and receiving emails.  Just wondering if these problems are particular to the individual cruise lines or if they are industry wide. So how is the service on NCL?

You are at sea, it will suck compared to most anything land based.  Let go, cruise anyways, the world will survive. 

[KKB]

Since July I have sailed 7 weeks--on Princess, NCL & Celebrity.

I can say that internet is more alike than different.

Sufficient for checking email, social media or the occasional Google search.

Gave up even trying to read Cruise Critic (FORGET about posting).

Met a couple on the 1st week of my 2 weeks on the Getaway in August. 

They had also planned to do 2 weeks but she was working & said they had to get off as she couldn't do what she needed to do for work.

 

[zqvol]

6 hours ago, swifty said:

DW and I would like to take a cruise.  Functional internet service is very important to us.  Other cruise lines like Princess and Celebrity are experiencing extremely poor service.  Passengers say the internet is very slow and that they have a lot of trouble both sending and receiving emails.  Just wondering if these problems are particular to the individual cruise lines or if they are industry wide. So how is the service on NCL?

The service on NCL is like it is on the lines you describe. Best time to use it is between 2 a.m. and 8 a.m.  

[PTC DAWG]

17 minutes ago, KKB said:

Since July I have sailed 7 weeks--on Princess, NCL & Celebrity.

I can say that internet is more alike than different.

Sufficient for checking email, social media or the occasional Google search.

Gave up even trying to read Cruise Critic (FORGET about posting).

Met a couple on the 1st week of my 2 weeks on the Getaway in August. 

They had also planned to do 2 weeks but she was working & said they had to get off as she couldn't do what she needed to do for work.

 

So it really wasn’t a vacation after all…

[BirdTravels]

11 hours ago, swifty said:

DW and I would like to take a cruise.  Functional internet service is very important to us.  Other cruise lines like Princess and Celebrity are experiencing extremely poor service.  Passengers say the internet is very slow and that they have a lot of trouble both sending and receiving emails.  Just wondering if these problems are particular to the individual cruise lines or if they are industry wide. So how is the service on NCL?

You are sharing a satellite internet link with 4000 of your newest friends. Think about having 4000 people on your home wifi, let alone the latency of every byte going up 23,000 miles to the satellite and 23,000 miles down. Most ships, I can run my zoom meeting with no problems. Email tends to be more problematic since some of my colleagues like to send large files which take a long time to download from the server to my local client. 

 

Consideration 2: On a sea day, people tend to be on the internet, making it even slower.....

[dexddd]

11 hours ago, KKB said:

Since July I have sailed 7 weeks--on Princess, NCL & Celebrity.

I can say that internet is more alike than different.

Sufficient for checking email, social media or the occasional Google search.

Gave up even trying to read Cruise Critic (FORGET about posting).

Met a couple on the 1st week of my 2 weeks on the Getaway in August. 

They had also planned to do 2 weeks but she was working & said they had to get off as she couldn't do what she needed to do for work.

 

We were just on Prima and you could read CC but not post using ship wifi without having to be logged into your plan.

[ECCruise]

12 hours ago, PTC DAWG said:

So it really wasn’t a vacation after all…

Depends on your definition of "vacation."

 

I've been using internet on ships since 1999.  For years, ran 3 businesses (which honestly didn't need heavy internet use but still required say an hour or so a day) but that allowed us to cruise 4 to 8 weeks every year. 

 

So yeah, I would define it both as "work" and "vacation."

[KKB]

3 hours ago, dexddd said:

We were just on Prima and you could read CC but not post using ship wifi without having to be logged into your plan.

Hmmm...odd. Will have to try that next week. Tho I found it slow loading even when logged in.

[KKB]

15 hours ago, PTC DAWG said:

So it really wasn’t a vacation after all…

I dunno. Someone cleaning my room, making me meals. Saw her playing poker during the day & eves.

I believe either she or her husband had a free casino cruise.

I wouldn't mind working a few hours a day that way...

(Oh, wait--just retired, SO I DON'T HAVE TO🤩)

[Nilbog]

Just off the Pearl, and I can say with confidence the standard unlimited plan left a lot to be desired.  Part way through the cruise my wife upgraded to the streaming package and she was getting better Internet service than I was on the standard unlimited plan.  Connection speed was more important to her than it was to me, so I just muddled through.  I was on vacation and not required to be connected to anything in particular, so it was sufficient for me.

[pcakes122]

On 11/30/2022 at 12:19 AM, BirdTravels said:

You are sharing a satellite internet link with 4000 of your newest friends. Think about having 4000 people on your home wifi, let alone the latency of every byte going up 23,000 miles to the satellite and 23,000 miles down. Most ships, I can run my zoom meeting with no problems. Email tends to be more problematic since some of my colleagues like to send large files which take a long time to download from the server to my local client. 

 

Consideration 2: On a sea day, people tend to be on the internet, making it even slower.....

This is not really how that works but I had to jump in and say that I can't imagine an email attachment taking more bandwidth than live streaming video?  Also there are multiple "links" (as you call them 😉.)  The entire ship is not sharing one big home Wi-Fi connection. And the bytes don't have to travel 23K miles back-and-forth like they're in a Honda on a highway.

 

BTW, the bridge also utilizes satellite connectivity and I can guarantee you they are not on the phone with Miami saying "Sorry, boss. Still downloading." The military relies on satellite connectivity, too -  but sometimes people talk about it here as if it's comparable to 1980s dial-up.

 

Internet at sea is not going to be what some people are used to on land but it can actually be better than some rural parts of the US.  There are multiple servers and  connection points but what can really affect it is your location on the ship and WEATHER (including fog and humidity - both common at sea.)

 

I rarely have problems with internet on cruises but I am always on a very high deck (usually 17 or 18) in the very front of the ship (and I always upgrade to streaming!)  If you need good internet on a cruise, those are my recommendations!

[dexddd]

19 hours ago, KKB said:

Hmmm...odd. Will have to try that next week. Tho I found it slow loading even when logged in.

I can tell you Prima included internet was dial up speed over 12 days.  I guess we never got aligned with the correct satellites during that time.

[coldflame]

On 11/29/2022 at 1:11 PM, swifty said:

DW and I would like to take a cruise.  Functional internet service is very important to us.  Other cruise lines like Princess and Celebrity are experiencing extremely poor service.  Passengers say the internet is very slow and that they have a lot of trouble both sending and receiving emails.  Just wondering if these problems are particular to the individual cruise lines or if they are industry wide. So how is the service on NCL?

Good enough to sh*tpost on social media, check stocks and email. Not good enough to work remotely, if that's what you mean. I've yet to set foot on any cruise, regardless of ship or line, where the connection has been dependable for anything other than what I mentioned above.

[mking8288]

Satellite WiFi inTERnet access while on high seas sailing on one of the NCL ships ... best described as usable and functional, definitions varied depending on a variety of factors.  At times, it can be almost like old copper analog, dial-up speed with the Hayes 56k modem days - remember those, but typically at least 2G/Edge to 3G and DSL speed, seldom does it reach anywhere near 4G or LTE cellular speed.  If one is used to fast cable and/or superior FiOS speed at work or WFM, then one would likely be disappointed (if expectations were mis-aligned.)  

 

It also matter as to what the "end users" (that's "me" or "you" and "others") are using - to access those technologies.  Not all laptops, tablets, iPhones and smartphones (Androids) are alike with "identical" radios, features, settings, configurations, and "enabled" capabilities ...  How that tiny transceiver chipset is "connected" (wired, wirelessly) affect the connectivity (802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11ax, etc.)  

 

How is one "connecting" ??  wirelessly via an iPhone 14 Pro Max, Samsung Galaxy 21 or 22 Ultra, or aging iPhone 8, end-of-life (support/update) Google Pixel XL, maybe an iPad Air 2 or old Mac ... as those computer chips inside the Lenovo or Acer/Asus Chromebook do help make a difference to max out broadband usage.    

 

EMC has been partnering with NCL for quite a few years now and unless newer & better partnership come along with superior alliance, like Starlink - the onboard digital experience surfing the inTERnet can be a frustrating and, to some, miserable experience.  Basic email, messaging, VoIP, and catching up on news are generally doable these days on a given NCL ship.  IMHO, unlimited streaming at 720p, let alone 1080p or Zoom/Skype or similar Webex aren't going to be practical as passenger occupancies continue to climb higher toward normal & full again.  

 

Benchmarked speedtest results below ... feel free to decide on how you wish to grade them & whether it's good or not.  Compared to other mass cruise lines ... NCL consistently scored on the bottom in speed, usability & costs (CNN actually reached out & contacted a handful of us via CC then)  Hmmm, disappointed about what's been said about Prima's bandwidth & connectivity issues.  

 

 

These are typical, unlimited basic WiFi speed onboard - streaming "premium" WiFi might, might not be much better & will cost an extra $10 per day per user-account.  Feel free to spent money for it, for your convenience, of course, as @dexddd often joked - if it's worth it or not.  Afterall, folks spent money on those UBP alike onboard ... and NCL doesn't tag on 20% service charge (yet) but it's probably already built-in, someone is supporting that outsourced iCafe manager's payroll cost, room & board, meal costs, etc. 😁

 

Edited December 1, 2022 by mking8288

[Miker2k]

7 hours ago, mking8288 said:

Benchmarked speedtest results below

And here is the results from of a speedtest from the Breakaway last week while in the Gulf of Mexico (aprox 24.534542,-87.740755).