Carnival Magic Internet

[barriechris]

I will be looking at getting an internet package to make sure we still have contact with our son at home.   Supposedly the Magic was upgraded to starlink so was wondering if anyone as been on board recently and what they thought of the internet?  Not sure which one of the 3 packages I will be going with but would need somewhat reliable either imessage or whats app service.

[mz-s]

The social package is fine for WhatsApp. In some cases you are able to iMessage without buying a plan at all, but your mileage may vary.

 

Carnival's website does a good job explaining what each package is good for - did you read it?

 

Reliable satellite internet is an oxymoron.

Edited August 28, 2023 by mz-s

[Just1Wonder]

Just got off the Magic yesterday.  I thought the internet was horrible.  I received the Social Plan for free and upgraded to Value because you can't access any common websites to read the news with the Social Plan.  One of the Internet people onboard said it was not worth it to get the Premium Plan because I would not see any difference. When it worked, it was just okay.  When it didn't, it was annoying. I had to keep logging on and / or restarting my Wi-Fi. 

[barriechris]

34 minutes ago, mz-s said:

The social package is fine for WhatsApp. In some cases you are able to iMessage without buying a plan at all, but your mileage may vary.

 

Carnival's website does a good job explaining what each package is good for - did you read it?

 

Reliable satellite internet is an oxymoron.

Yes I read the descriptions but was looking for people who have actually used it and not people you have read it. 

[john91498]

Starlink seems to be hit or miss. I was just on the Panorama and the Starlink was horrible while at sea. It was ok when we were in port.

[groundloop]

On 8/28/2023 at 5:27 PM, john91498 said:

Starlink seems to be hit or miss. I was just on the Panorama and the Starlink was horrible while at sea. It was ok when we were in port.

 

That's interesting, I just got off the Greenland cruise on Legend and the internet was consistently very good.  I measured download speeds ranging from around 15 Mbps up to 75 Mbps, and never had any issues (as compared to 0 to 3 Mbps pre-Starlink).  I was really expecting problems when we got far to the north but that never happened.

 

My only gripe is that normal streaming services (Direct TV etc.) were blocked, there were a couple of sporting events I'd hoped to watch but wasn't able to.

 

 

 

 

Edited August 30, 2023 by groundloop

[john91498]

Like I said, it seems to be hit or miss. I read reports where the Starlink was very fast on the Panorama, but that was not my experience.

[barriechris]

13 minutes ago, groundloop said:

 

That's interesting, I just got off the Greenland cruise on Legend and the internet was consistently very good.  I measured download speeds ranging from around 15 Mbps up to 75 Mbps, and never had any issues (as compared to 0 to 3 Mbps pre-Starlink).  I was really expecting problems when we got far to the north but that never happened.

 

My only gripe is that normal streaming services (Direct TV etc.) were blocked, there were a couple of sporting events I'd hoped to watch but wasn't able to.

 

 

 

 

Which category did you purchase?

[StephPS79]

I was on the Magic in May, I had the premium package.  For the difference in cost between the lower tier plans and the premium, I always just get the premium.  I thought it worked great, no issues.  I was on the Magic in June of 2022, and it stunk then, wouldn't work at all in the cabin.  Not the case this time, so I think Starlink was definitely an improvement.  

[mz-s]

I continue to refer folks to my last sentence in post #2 of this thread.

[john91498]

My neighbor has Hughes Satellite and it's faster and more reliable than my AT&T fiber.

Yes, it costs twice as much, but his work pays for it, so why not.

[balcony bound]

I was on the Magic twice in the last year, bought premium internet both times.  Had an aft cabin both times.  Very iffy in that area, frustrating to say the very least.  I had to go midship for better connection.

[skywalkr2]

17 hours ago, balcony bound said:

I was on the Magic twice in the last year, bought premium internet both times.  Had an aft cabin both times.  Very iffy in that area, frustrating to say the very least.  I had to go midship for better connection.

I was on in April out of Port Canaveral and it was abysmal.  Hopefully its better now after the "upgrade"

[mz-s]

21 hours ago, john91498 said:

My neighbor has Hughes Satellite and it's faster and more reliable than my AT&T fiber.

Yes, it costs twice as much, but his work pays for it, so why not.

 

There is something seriously wrong with your AT&T Fiber if satellite is beating it. It's actually impossible for that to be true if the fiber connection is working properly. But we are trailing off topic of this thread - there's tons of places on the internet where folks can help you troubleshoot that.

[john91498]

I got the 500 and my neighbor has a gig. The best I can get is 300 down on wifi. 

I've had AT&T come out to trouble shoot my connection. They found that 500 is coming down to the house hardwired, but the wifi is slowing it down. I'm pretty sure no one on the ship is hardwired.

But, yes, we're getting off subject...