Azamara Internet (Wi-Fi) with Starlink - How well does it work?

[Mercruiser]

Now that Azamara has installed the new Starlink satellite internet on several ships, assorted posts are asking how well it performs compared to the previous internet. Maybe it makes sense to have a thread where folks report the speeds they are experiencing. 

 

I am particularly interested on how it does in remote areas such at Trans-Atlantic crossings and polar regions (Iceland, Norway, Alaska, Antarctic). 

 

The easiest way to do this, while on ship, is open speedtest.net on your phone, run the test, and post a screen capture. See example in my next post.

Edited March 15, 2023 by Mercruiser

[Mercruiser]

Ship: Onward

Cruise: Feb 12, 2023 Lima to Miami

Location: Cozumel

Time: 8:32 pm

 

We recently were on Onward's Feb 12 Lima Peru to Miami (Panama canal) cruise. I thought the internet speeds were consistently great. Here is one screen capture from speedtest.net showing 6 Mbps down and 15 Mbps up, as recorded at the dock in Cozumel. 

 

 

 

15 Mbps upload is faster than what I have at home! This is significant, because your phone will attempt to upload all the pictures you took, whenever it has Wi-Fi. Imagine what happens when 600 cruisers all return to the ship after a day of sightseeing. All those phones will try to upload photos to Google Photos or Apple iCloud.

 

For comparison, the slowest home internet package from Xfinity (Comcast) is 75 Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload. But, on a ship, you are sharing the internet with the other passengers.

Edited March 15, 2023 by Mercruiser

[lenoirm]

On our recent transatlantic,on Onward, we had very few problems with the internet.

Even in the middle of the Atlantic we watched Netflix and  Prime with no or few short interruptions.

We used  WhatsApp and Face Time to connect to family.

My husband used Zoom for a work meeting  and was not too happy as it was interrupted a few times (He should not work on vacation to start with…)

 

This is one of the best improvements on the new Azamara .

 

 

Micheline

[Mercruiser]

Here is another report from a different thread.

 

94 Mbps down, 8 Mbps up

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2870465-internet-question/?do=findComment&comment=64859055

 

[Mercruiser]

 

And another:

 

"Internet on trans-Atlantic Onward has been great for us. Not perfect, but WAY better than the internet on Nov. trans-Atlantic!"

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2812089-anybody-onboard-currently/?do=findComment&comment=64980717

 

[kent4489]

7 hours ago, Mercruiser said:

 

And another:

 

"Internet on trans-Atlantic Onward has been great for us. Not perfect, but WAY better than the internet on Nov. trans-Atlantic!"

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2812089-anybody-onboard-currently/?do=findComment&comment=64980717

 

Yes, this was from me. We were on Onward on the Nov. trans Atlantic and internet was pretty bad. On this crossing, it was great. We stayed on for another week and currently in the Canary Islands. Internet is great. The ship is full now and I’m sure a lot of passengers are online, but still great.

[Mercruiser]

I'm glad to be seeing some first-hand reports of Starlink performance on a TA. It is sounding very good.

 

Now it will be interesting to see how it does at extreme northern (Norway, Alaska, Iceland) and southern (Patagonia, Falklands, South Shetlands Islands Antarctica) latitudes.

[Marylebone37]

Any reports from other ships (other than Onward)?  Is there a Starlink rollout schedule anywhere?  Thank you.

[Georgeven]

Thanks for these updates... we are sailing on Onward next month and I was wondering about this, basically because will have to work a little and attend a Zoom meeting... 

[federalexpress]

18 hours ago, Mercruiser said:

I'm glad to be seeing some first-hand reports of Starlink performance on a TA. It is sounding very good.

 

Now it will be interesting to see how it does at extreme northern (Norway, Alaska, Iceland) and southern (Patagonia, Falklands, South Shetlands Islands Antarctica) latitudes.

 

I was on the Falklands and Chilean Fjords cruise a couple of months ago. While the speeds could be variable and there was the odd outage, speeds were much better than I expected on a ship in remote locations, at times really quite fast, close to 100MB at best. Streaming was not out the question though not always certain, as I say it was variable. It seemed to work worst in port, ironically enough. Down for many hours on at least two occasions, from recollection. 

[Riocca]

From the following article it looks like Starlink’s maritime coverage was only completed at the end of February.

 

https://smartmaritimenetwork.com/2023/02/20/starlink-announces-global-coverage-for-maritime-service/

[Mercruiser]

1 hour ago, federalexpress said:

 

I was on the Falklands and Chilean Fjords cruise a couple of months ago. While the speeds could be variable and there was the odd outage, speeds were much better than I expected on a ship in remote locations, at times really quite fast, close to 100MB at best. Streaming was not out the question though not always certain, as I say it was variable. It seemed to work worst in port, ironically enough. Down for many hours on at least two occasions, from recollection. 

100Mbps is pretty amazing anywhere, but especially is such a remote location. Thanks for reporting on this!

Edited March 16, 2023 by Mercruiser

[Mercruiser]

55 minutes ago, Riocca said:

From the following article it looks like Starlink’s maritime coverage was only completed at the end of February.

 

https://smartmaritimenetwork.com/2023/02/20/starlink-announces-global-coverage-for-maritime-service/

The technical breakthrough for middle-of-the-ocean communications is the space lasers installed on the newer satellites. Yes, I know this sounds like something from James Bond's Moonraker, but it's true. Lasers are used create a space-based mesh network between satellites, while radio is used for satellite-to-ground (or ocean) communications. (Sorry to nerd-out here.)

 

Source: https://www.inverse.com/science/spacex-starlink-launch-mission-details

(Red emphasis mine.)

Starlink blasted its first satellites in May 2019, and as of December 2022 had conducted 67 successful launches. In 2021, Starlink began equipping satellites with lasers that ping data around the constellation rather than sending it back and forth to Earth, reducing the need for ground stations.

“Laser links in orbit can reduce long-distance latency by as much as 50 percent, due to higher speed of light in vacuum & shorter path than undersea fiber,” Musk tweeted in July 2021.

These nifty lasers allow the company to serve all seven continents — in 2022, Starlink ran a test in Antarctica with the United States National Science Foundation’s McMurdo Station.

Edited March 16, 2023 by Mercruiser

[Host Jazzbeau]

1 hour ago, Mercruiser said:

lasers that ping data around the constellation

Sounds like Elon Musk’s brain — ideas pinging around and bouncing off each other. 😅

[DS]

Onboard the Journey now, coming up the west coast of Africa.   StarLink is apparently installed, but not in use--yet-- because there is no service to any African country.   BUT, we are told that by the time we get to the Canaries early next week, the switch over will occur.   Stay tuned...

[Mercruiser]

18 minutes ago, DS said:

Onboard the Journey now, coming up the west coast of Africa.   StarLink is apparently installed, but not in use--yet-- because there is no service to any African country.   BUT, we are told that by the time we get to the Canaries early next week, the switch over will occur.   Stay tuned...

We look forward to hearing how it works in the Canaries. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

Starlink coverage is apparently available worldwide on ships as of Feb. 1, 2023:

https://smartmaritimenetwork.com/2023/02/20/starlink-announces-global-coverage-for-maritime-service/

[Grandma Cruising]

On Pursuit now having left Cape Verde last night and now heading for the Canaries. Just did a speed testWifi has been mush better this cruise than previously.

 

[Mercruiser]

4 hours ago, Grandma Cruising said:

On Pursuit now having left Cape Verde last night and now heading for the Canaries. Just did a speed testWifi has been mush better this cruise than previously.

 

Thanks for the report, especially from such a remote location.  Glad to hear the WiFi is improved

[Marylebone37]

1 hour ago, Mercruiser said:

Thanks for the report, especially from such a remote location.  Glad to hear the WiFi is improved

Yes, thank you!  Will be joining the Pursuit in late May.

[lisiamc]

On 3/16/2023 at 9:58 PM, DS said:

Onboard the Journey now, coming up the west coast of Africa.   StarLink is apparently installed, but not in use--yet-- because there is no service to any African country.   BUT, we are told that by the time we get to the Canaries early next week, the switch over will occur.   Stay tuned...

I hope this is the case! We are on Journey now too, and while the internet has been mostly present, it has been pretty feeble. Having experienced StarLink on Onward, I will be thrilled to have it on Journey.

[Mrs Skip]

Apologies if I’ve missed this, does anyone know if Starlink is on Quest yet. I recall it may have been last in the queue, have vested interest as we board on 18 April from Tokyo. Thanks

[Host Jazzbeau]

Someone on Silversea just reported that after making a bank payment they got a text from their bank to verify a strange charge from Nigeria. So Starlink is working in some African countries. 

[Baynanno1]

10 hours ago, Mrs Skip said:

Apologies if I’ve missed this, does anyone know if Starlink is on Quest yet. I recall it may have been last in the queue, have vested interest as we board on 18 April from Tokyo. Thanks

 

We cruised on Quest from 6 to 19 February, Sydney to Perth.

Starlink was expected to be installed during the following cruise, Perth to Hong Kong.

[Drebay]

Posting from the Quest Japan Intensive. Starlink shows as the provider in my Speedtest. Just shy of 2mbps on Speedtest. Doesn’t seem like a lot when testing but pretty great to use. Clear;y not land based but so much better than any previous cruise. Just FaceTimed with home and it worked just fine!