Looks like NCL / Regent finally getting Starlink

[captjohn]

Regent to get Starlink but it may take some time to get it installed on all ships.

 

https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/information-technology/latest-adding-starlink-ncl-oceania-regent-aqua-expeditions

[Portolan]

Scheduled for Explorer on its upcoming drydock in Vancouver this spring per conversation with the crew in March.

[labonnevie]

If anyone learns more about the rollout, I would love to hear. 
On Navigator in November. Could expect that might be the last to get it. 

[bookbabe]

5 hours ago, labonnevie said:

If anyone learns more about the rollout, I would love to hear. 
On Navigator in November. Could expect that might be the last to get it. 

We’re on Mariner in November and don’t expect Starlink by then.  But we’d also love to hear more info on timing if anyone hears anything.

[Pcardad]

Regent has not yet publicly announced the date(s).

 

[corinna121]

On 4/9/2023 at 9:44 AM, bookbabe said:

We’re on Mariner in November and don’t expect Starlink by then.  But we’d also love to hear more info on timing if anyone hears anything.

We are also on Mariner in November 25, and Regent rep, though not giving a specific date, said that both Grandeur and Mariner will have Starlink before the end of 2023. So I would say it is likely though not guaranteed that will be able to use Starlink on Mariner in November. Which sailing are you on bookbabe?

[bookbabe]

16 minutes ago, corinna121 said:

We are also on Mariner in November 25, and Regent rep, though not giving a specific date, said that both Grandeur and Mariner will have Starlink before the end of 2023. So I would say it is likely though not guaranteed that will be able to use Starlink on Mariner in November. Which sailing are you on bookbabe?

The November 25th (2023) Mariner sailing…so fingers crossed that Starlink will be up and running well before then.  We’d rather not be the guinea pigs for its first week of operation.

[Pcardad]

19 minutes ago, bookbabe said:

The November 25th (2023) Mariner sailing…so fingers crossed that Starlink will be up and running well before then.  We’d rather not be the guinea pigs for its first week of operation.

It wont be on Mariner first so you are safe.....

[Jim B]

Guess I am a little out of the loop. 

So what is Starlink going to improve on the ship?

Things like TV channels, wi-fi ?

[ILoveMyDogs]

3 hours ago, corinna121 said:

We are also on Mariner in November 25, and Regent rep, though not giving a specific date, said that both Grandeur and Mariner will have Starlink before the end of 2023. So I would say it is likely though not guaranteed that will be able to use Starlink on Mariner in November. Which sailing are you on bookbabe?

 

Edited June 12, 2023 by ILoveMyDogs
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[ILoveMyDogs]

Did the rep mention timeline for Starlink on the other ships 

[BBWC]

2 hours ago, Pcardad said:

It wont be on Mariner first so you are safe.....

 

It will be on Mariner prior to the 2024 WC according to Andrea D. Priority for Regent because of the length of the cruise.

[bookbabe]

59 minutes ago, BBWC said:

 

It will be on Mariner prior to the 2024 WC according to Andrea D. Priority for Regent because of the length of the cruise.

That’ll be handy, so people can post pics of their rundown cabins…. 😉

 

[Jim B]

Well?? Would someone please answer my question?

[A Tucson Guy]

21 minutes ago, Jim B said:

Well?? Would someone please answer my question?

Google is your friend.

[ILoveMyDogs]

Jim It’s high speed internet access 

[pappy1022]

2 hours ago, Jim B said:

Guess I am a little out of the loop. 

So what is Starlink going to improve on the ship?

Things like TV channels, wi-fi ?

It will improve the internet speed and make it more reliable because it is satellite based. The question is how much bandwidth Regent will sign up for and how sharing that bandwidth will work, so we won’t know until we see it installed and get some experience. At home, Starlink provides good internet speed, streaming movies, TV shows, etc. Wi-Fi isn’t impacted by Starlink. Think of wi-fi as the on ship connections that then talk to the Starlink device that then communicates with the satellites. 

[Pcardad]

The ships have satellite based internet right now but they use high earth orbit satellites.  Starlink uses Low Earth orbit satellites and many more of them so they can offer more bandwidth for less money. Regent, as of right now, is only using about 25% of the hardware capability installed on the ships but the current company is expensive. Swapping to Starlink later this year will improve speed, bandwidth and cost.

[Jim B]

Thank you very much  for letting me know.

Very much appreciate it. 

[CurlerRob]

I have been following the Starlink deployment on the boards of multiple lines. Pax reports are still highly variable regarding improved service - for every report of great speed and bandwidth, there seems to be an opposing one of actually degraded service versus the geostationary satellites.

 

There are at least three major factors that will influence how the internet service on cruise ships improves:

 

First is the deployment of Starlink satellites - this continues to improve but is not yet complete. A look at https://satellitemap.space/?constellation=starlink# will show that the higher latitudes in the northern hemisphere are still lacking in coverage - Alaska, Scandinavia, Iceland and northern UK for example. No birds overhead, poor service.

 

Second is how much capacity the cruise line chooses to buy and provide to its pax - and at what price (included or not). I'm not privy to the Starlink commercial pricing but I'd expect the cruise lines to be carefully evaluating how to contract over the longer term in order to avoid major price increases.

 

Finally, pax behaviour will likely change - the provision of faster, more reliable service will cause more people to use more capacity - which then stresses the availability of the existing resource.

 

The good news is that shipboard internet will get better, but there's no magic answer quite yet. If you are on a cruise with great internet service (Starlink or otherwise) - enjoy it! 🍺🥌 

[Bellaggio Cruisers]

We will be on Mariner on December 2nd. 🤞it’s up and running by then!

sheila

[Pcardad]

I was on RCL recently - they had Starlink and 3600 people onboard and it was about 60 times faster than Regent with full streaming. If they can do, NCL can do it.

[slidebite]

I hope they improve the onboard wifi networking at the same time. A good fat internet pipe won't be any better if you can't get a signal in your cabin. People needing to prop open cabin doors to get a solid signal isn't ideal.

[flossie009]

6 minutes ago, slidebite said:

I hope they improve the onboard wifi networking at the same time.

I agree. It always seems to us that Explorer has the worst connectivity around the ship of any of the Regent fleet.

When we were on Explorer earlier this year, we were told by the Internet Manager that the Wi-Fi infrastructure on Explorer would be renewed/enhanced during the May refurbishment.

Was this work completed? Has it made any difference? 

[gb58]

20 minutes ago, flossie009 said:

I agree. It always seems to us that Explorer has the worst connectivity around the ship of any of the Regent fleet.

When we were on Explorer earlier this year, we were told by the Internet Manager that the Wi-Fi infrastructure on Explorer would be renewed/enhanced during the May refurbishment.

Was this work completed? Has it made any difference? 

I doubt it can be any worse than on the Mariner, esp. during our recent WC...