Streaming services--what country IP onboard RC caribbean cruises?

[Thoenix]

When I log into Netflix in America, I get American Netflix.  In Canada, Canadian.  It's IP address based.  Some streaming services don't have any international use.  

When on a Royal Caribbean cruise in the Caribbean on ship wifi, what country will my Netflix/HBO Max/other streaming services think I'm streaming from?  Trying to figure out how much stuff I'll want to have downloaded in reserve or if I can just stream my comfort shows like normal.

Thanks!

[GJustice]

I haven't had any trouble with any streaming in the Caribbean.

 

IF you have room on your device, I'd still download, as the WiFi+Casting MAY get flaky depending on how good a signal you have in your stateroom.

[Thoenix]

Just now, GJustice said:

I haven't had any trouble with any streaming in the Caribbean.

 

IF you have room on your device, I'd still download, as the WiFi+Casting MAY get flaky depending on how good a signal you have in your stateroom.

There's enough room for some things and not others, so I'll definitely take the core things I know I need, but just wondering if I should download the more peripheral shows.  We'll be on Enchantment and I've heard the wifi isn't stellar in the staterooms.

[steveru621]

It's not the IP address for all streaming services.  Some use your GPS location.  

[Tree_skier]

1 hour ago, steveru621 said:

It's not the IP address for all streaming services.  Some use your GPS location.  

With Netflix I know from personal experience that it is IP based.

[steveru621]

8 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

With Netflix I know from personal experience that it is IP based.

 

Those streaming services that offer local channels and networks like the NFL channel are almost all  GPS-based.  Netflix should not need your location unless your service is country-dependent.

[Tree_skier]

I know that Netflix in Canada vs. Netflix in the USA and Netflix UK are all different. Each regions offerings vary by location. I know this because I have used them in each region and I am able to bounce back and forth between them from here in the US by using a VPN.  

 

I don't know how the NFL network works but I know my ESPN+ Subscription locks me out of watching NHL games if I forget to change my VPN from Canada to USA. So you are correct it varies by service.

[RobInMN]

Get a VPN, then select a location in the US.

 

For streaming services with locals (like YoutubeTV):

I have YTTV, when I try to use my phone or tablet, yes, the app requires me to enable the location services (GPS) in order to do anything, and then I am locked to that location. Typically, anything from any "cable" service is fine, as well as anything from the national network feeds. I'm from the Twin Cities area, and no VPN has a server here, so I use Chicago. I have had some issues attempting to watch local content claiming I'm out of area, but usually I don't. Haven't figured out the why on that yet. Anyway, I can't remember what it did when I tried to use it on my laptop browser.

 

However, we always travel with my Firestick. It has no GPS or location services. We we travel, I use a VPN on it. As long as I turn on the VPN before launching YTTV, I have not had any issues. The only issues I have had is when I forgot to make sure the VPN was on first. 

 

[Biker19]

4 hours ago, Thoenix said:

When on a Royal Caribbean cruise in the Caribbean on ship wifi, what country will my Netflix/HBO Max/other streaming services think I'm streaming from? 

That varies a bit by location of the ship but most of the time it will be a US based IP address.

[Ret MP]

5 hours ago, Thoenix said:

There's enough room for some things and not others, so I'll definitely take the core things I know I need, but just wondering if I should download the more peripheral shows.  We'll be on Enchantment and I've heard the wifi isn't stellar in the staterooms.

One good reason to have a 1, 2, 3, or 4 TB external HD.  Load it up with hours and hours of shows and movies and no buffering.  

[djvcr]

I was just on a Florida and Bahamas cruise on Oasis and was able to download from Paramount+ and it didn't ask for country, I assume it thought I was in the US.

[Thoenix]

4 hours ago, Ret MP said:

One good reason to have a 1, 2, 3, or 4 TB external HD.  Load it up with hours and hours of shows and movies and no buffering.  

Ours are largely hardwired into our home network, and we don't travel that often. I have my small 1TB drive, but I'm trying to pack light if possible and my electronics get pretty heavy to lug around during boarding. I have the key so I understand that I can leave my carry on to be brought to my room, but my electronics will probably be going in my backpack because I don't really trust anyone else with them. I can't really live without them. 

[gmerick]

9 hours ago, Thoenix said:

Ours are largely hardwired into our home network, and we don't travel that often. I have my small 1TB drive, but I'm trying to pack light if possible and my electronics get pretty heavy to lug around during boarding. I have the key so I understand that I can leave my carry on to be brought to my room, but my electronics will probably be going in my backpack because I don't really trust anyone else with them. I can't really live without them. 

4Tb portable drive -- 1/2 inch x 2" x4".  

[orville99]

What we have found is that if we follow RCL's instructions and turn off "Limit IP Tracking" that our streaming apps switch to whichever country is closest. If we leave Limit IP Tracking on our apps seem to stay with the U.S. version.

[Ret MP]

20 minutes ago, gmerick said:

4Tb portable drive -- 1/2 inch x 2" x4".  

I've got an 8TB Seagate.  It's much bigger than the 4TB pictured and it does require being plugged into a 120 v outlet.  But, I'm a little top-heavy with electronics (laptops, cells, tablets) and camera stuff when I cruise anyway.  So, the 8 TB isn't an issue for me.  I video and photograph a lot while cruising.  The 8 TB gives me the flexibility to, at the end of each day, transfer video and photographs from the camera to the external drive AND still have plenty of room for all our entertainment needs.  To be honest, I really don't load up much with movies and shows when I go on a cruise.  I just like to experience the ship, sea, and all of the activities onboard.  

 

The Sandisk pictured is a perfect primary alternative to filling up hard drives for those who want to bring along movies, music, and shows.  Another alternative is the 2TB thumb drives.

[Thoenix]

2 hours ago, Ret MP said:

So, the 8 TB isn't an issue for me.  I video and photograph a lot while cruising.  The 8 TB gives me the flexibility to, at the end of each day, transfer video and photographs from the camera to the external drive AND still have plenty of room for all our entertainment needs.  To be honest, I really don't load up much with movies and shows when I go on a cruise.  I just like to experience the ship, sea, and all of the activities onboard.  

I hadn't thought of photo storage, to be honest, but that's a great point and one I should consider that might tip me over to a larger portable hard drive. We're trying to strike a balance on our media consumption during the cruise, but all three of us are autistic and sometimes autistic people in new and strange environments struggle, so we're also trying to be prepared that we might be overwhelmed and need television or films to re-regulate. 

[Seville2Cabo]

21 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

I know that Netflix in Canada vs. Netflix in the USA and Netflix UK are all different. Each regions offerings vary by location. I know this because I have used them in each region and I am able to bounce back and forth between them from here in the US by using a VPN.  

 

I don't know how the NFL network works but I know my ESPN+ Subscription locks me out of watching NHL games if I forget to change my VPN from Canada to USA. So you are correct it varies by service.

We have a US Netflix account.  When we are in Mexico, we use a VPN to show we are in the US.  Netflix somehow figures it out and our VPN company has me make some changes and it will work again for about a month.  It's an ongoing battle.  The apps like NFL network do not work as they require you to use your GPS.  

[Kalliamo]

So, when you're on a Royal Caribbean cruise, the Wi-Fi runs through satellites, so your IP might look like it's from the U.S., but sometimes it could be from somewhere else. It's kinda random. To avoid issues, just download your fave shows beforehand in case your streaming apps don’t work or have less stuff because of the IP. It's better to have backups than deal with bad Wi-Fi and geo-blocking!

Oh, and not all streaming services are great for international stuff. Netflix is cool for downloads, but if you wanna know more about which ones are best, check this article: https://cashyeah.com/blog/what-are-the-best-streaming-services

Edited Wednesday at 01:40 PM by Kalliamo

[RobInMN]

2 hours ago, Kalliamo said:

So, when you're on a Royal Caribbean cruise, the Wi-Fi runs through satellites, so your IP might look like it's from the U.S., but sometimes it could be from somewhere else. It's kinda random. To avoid issues, just download your fave shows beforehand in case your streaming apps don’t work or have less stuff because of the IP. It's better to have backups than deal with bad Wi-Fi and geo-blocking!

Oh, and not all streaming services are great for international stuff. Netflix is cool for downloads, but if you wanna know more about which ones are best, check this article: https://cashyeah.com/blog/what-are-the-best-streaming-services

Or use a VPN. Not all streaming services allow you to download content to your device for offline playback.

Geo-blocking by using your devices GPS (YoutubeTV does this), is one reason to use a Firestick (or Roku?) that doesn't have a GPS 🙂 All though, someone else mentioned a GPS spoofer. I haven't looked into that.

[twangster]

Recently on Grandeur out of Tampa we retained the Starlink Miami gateway city for the whole cruise including while at Cozumel and Costa Maya.

 

Last year I was on Radiance out of Tampa.  Itinerary was Cozumel and Costa Maya.  A pinnacle friend was on Mariner out of Canaveral with the same itinerary on the same days.  We met at each port. 

 

Radiance changed to Starlink Mexico City as the gateway city once we were near the top of Cuba.  Mariner stayed on Starlink Miami as the gateway city for the whole cruise.

 

Since that time Starlink has launched many more v2 mini satellites which may be facilitating more satellite-to-satellite hopping so that more ships might retain Miami as their gateway city.  I think they also beefed up the Miami gateway site so more ships can use it as opposed to Atlanta as a gateway city.  If you start on Atlanta you may run into a distance limitations forcing the switch to Mexico gateway cities along the way. 

 

The point is that Starlink continues to build out the constellations and ground sites.  What someone experienced in 2022 or 2023 may not be what will be experienced in 2024 or 2025. 

 

Despite that some itineraries, South America, Panama Canal, etc, will not always stay on US Starlink gateway cities.  So you may at times appear to be in another country.  

[orville99]

3 hours ago, twangster said:

Despite that some itineraries, South America, Panama Canal, etc, will not always stay on US Starlink gateway cities.  So you may at times appear to be in another country. 

On Southern Caribbean cruises and on Panama canal cruises, every one of our streaming services switches to Spanish once we approach the area, and the Starlink uplink/downlink shows as whichever country we are closest to at the time.

[chfenton]

THis past summer on Harmony in gulf of mexico and down to Honduras had no issues with youtube tv so assume it thought I was in the US.

[RobInMN]

18 minutes ago, chfenton said:

THis past summer on Harmony in gulf of mexico and down to Honduras had no issues with youtube tv so assume it thought I was in the US.

phone/tablet or Fierstick/Roku?

[chfenton]

Website on laptop 

[RobInMN]

9 hours ago, chfenton said:

Website on laptop 

Ah! yes, that probably doesn't have a GPS either.

Edited 22 hours ago by RobInMN