WiFi included but it’s not really

[DaKahuna]

23 hours ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

The only problem I find is when I am following Jim’s live feeds and he has post 20 pictures of doorways ,

I have to twiddle my thumbs for 5 minutes waiting to download the pictures 😉🤣

 

 Do what I do.  Walk to the nearest bar and grab a fresh drink so you can enjoy Jim's wonderful pictures when you get back. 

 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

1 minute ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 Do what I do.  Walk to the nearest bar and grab a fresh drink so you can enjoy Jim's wonderful pictures when you get back. 

 

But I am already at the Sunset Bar ! 😁

[DaKahuna]

1 minute ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

But I am already at the Sunset Bar ! 😁

 

 Then order a drink and gaze lovingly at the wake of the ship. 

 

[hcat]

I am so lo tech that I hardly follow most of the above posts.. But I have not had any issues with basic ship's wifi ( E Class)  and my new Android cell phone and my ancient Tablet..Lucky I guess!

[realnice46]

On 3/23/2024 at 12:16 PM, Traderboy said:

I was pleased to have a package with WiFi included. 
 Unfortunately this is another trick to take your money. 
While it does include a basic access to the Internet you find that you cannot even send a single photo to your loved ones. 
In order to share even simple photos  you have to pay another 91 dollars for 12 days.

I can understand why they might want to prohibit streaming videos or online video chats. However the banning of sharing a few photos is just a way for Celebrity to make money.

What do others think?

We upgraded during flash sale for $36 each for 12 day cruise.  Still unable to send photos most days.

[PTC DAWG]

On 3/25/2024 at 9:10 PM, NMTraveller said:

I have gigabyte at home and 3 to 5 Mb is just slow...

Agreed, the few times I have tried to use it, just frustratingly slow..not worth my time..I have made a few voice calls when I had the internet included in an AI rate just for kicks,,that seemed to work..friends just love to hear about how much fun you are having while they are at work. 🙂

[DaKahuna]

4 hours ago, PTC DAWG said:

..friends just love to hear about how much fun you are having while they are at work. 🙂

 

 They love you joining video conferences from you balcony with a tropical drink in your hand even more.    #truestory 

 

[NutsAboutGolf]

16 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 They love you joining video conferences from you balcony with a tropical drink in your hand even more.    #truestory 

 

“I bet it LOOKS like I’m really on a cruise ships balcony with a tropical drink in my hand, doesn’t it?  These filters are getting so realistic”

[NMTraveller]

6 hours ago, PTC DAWG said:

Agreed, the few times I have tried to use it, just frustratingly slow..not worth my time..I have made a few voice calls when I had the internet included in an AI rate just for kicks,,that seemed to work..friends just love to hear about how much fun you are having while they are at work. 🙂

For me it varied between OK and very slow.  I might have to try the router recommendation...

Edited March 28 by NMTraveller

[DaKahuna]

18 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

For me it varied between OK and very slow.  I might have to try the router recommendation...

 

 I would check from different locations and settings.   I find proximity to a wireless access point and whether I am connected a 2.4Ghz or 5Ghz (5GM is faster) makes a difference. 

 

[NMTraveller]

2 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 I would check from different locations and settings.   I find proximity to a wireless access point and whether I am connected a 2.4Ghz or 5Ghz (5GM is faster) makes a difference. 

 

I think that it varied more depending upon the time of day.  I could find the strongest signal,  but I would do that only if I really needed it.  The speed seemed to be at 5 on most places on the ship in the morning when most were asleep.

Edited March 28 by NMTraveller

[billc23]

3 hours ago, NMTraveller said:

I think that it varied more depending upon the time of day.  I could find the strongest signal,  but I would do that only if I really needed it.  The speed seemed to be at 5 on most places on the ship in the morning when most were asleep.

It could be related to proximity to an access point but usually not. Celebrity has a cap at 5Mbps on the internet download speed for premium internet and it may be slower during peak load times or starlink connectivity issues. Streaming/downloads may be fine, but ping times will slowdown web surfing - especially if ads are frequently loading. There are many factors involved. Keeping multiple web pages open will also decrease your effective speed because those other pages and ads are competing with what you are trying to do with your limited 5Mpbs. At home I have a consistent internet speed of 1440Mbps, so keeping web pages open has no noticeable effect, but on the ship at 5Mbps speed it sure does.

 

The router AP transmit rate is 400Mbps and that is the wifi speed: 

 

The internet speed transmitted over wifi is capped at 5Mbps as shown on various speed tests.  

[abbydancer2003]

On 3/23/2024 at 7:32 PM, DaKahuna said:

 

 I use a similar device.  It works great while we are in the room.  I normally have my iPhone with me everywhere so we set mine up on my Wi-Fi account and use my DW's account for the travel router. 

 

 

 It is not impossible.  MSC appears to be blocking travel routers using MAC address and / or deep packet inspection.  By looking at the source MAC address on the outgoing packets they can detect the device manufacturer and block based on manufacturer.  The same can be said for use of deep packet inspection.   I am glad Celebrity does not do this.  

 

We got a travel router and it was working great until we got on the Connie in January and DH couldn't connect.  He thought that maybe Celebrity was doing this too, so we just ended up buying a second device each (we had a lot of OBC).

 

We tested it when we got home, and that wasn't it at all.  The router was broken, since it didn't work at home either.  The new one has a way of bypassing this problem.  We just got on the Solstice yesterday, and we get 4 devices each with our moved up RS.  We'll see what happens when we go to a sky suite on April 9.

 

 

[Traderboy]

I’m amazed at how some of you are prepared to defend what is essentially a total rip-off.

They want you to pay $8 extra per day to even send a single photo .

They call it Premium WiFI when it is not.

It is akin to the internet of the 1990s

 

Edited March 28 by Traderboy
Mistake

[d9704011]

1 minute ago, Traderboy said:

I’m amazed at how some of you are prepared to defend what is essentially a total rip-off.

They want you to pay $8 extra to even send a single photo .

They call it Premium WiFI when it is not.

It is akin to the internet of the 1990s

 

And I'm amazed you continue to bang on about needing to pay for a premium package to send a photo.

[phoenix_dream]

On 3/23/2024 at 11:21 AM, d9704011 said:

I think you're exaggerating the problem.  I have been on Celebrity with basic wifi and had no problem sending a few photos.

I disagree.  On basic I could not send photos,  could not text, could not open comments on Facebook,  could not open links sent to me via email. 

[d9704011]

6 minutes ago, phoenix_dream said:

I disagree.  On basic I could not send photos,  could not text, could not open comments on Facebook,  could not open links sent to me via email. 

How can you disagree with my experience?  All you can say is that you had problems.

[OysterD]

13 minutes ago, Traderboy said:

I’m amazed at how some of you are prepared to defend what is essentially a total rip-off.

They want you to pay $8 extra per day to even send a single photo .

They call it Premium WiFI when it is not.

It is akin to the internet of the 1990s

 

Your comparisons are getting more ludicrous by the day lol.

 

1. 90s speeds were 0.014mbs

2. If the equivalent price of one beer per day is going to break the bank, maybe cruising and being in the middle of the ocean away from mobile phone towers isn't right for you.

3. Use your phone when the ship is at port or close to land and use your roaming if abroad. If you don't want to pay for roaming, why not, presumably because its more than $8/day. Have you moaned at your network provider the same way you've moaned about Celebrity? I can tell you it costs more for Celebrity to provide Internet on a ship than it costs your mobile network provider to have you roaming abroad. 

4. You're on a ship at sea, sharing one satellite internet connection with up to 4000 other people. Seriously what do you expect? 

 

[NMTraveller]

Well when Carnival has been speeds than Celebrity and real balconies 🤣,  perhaps the OP has a point.

 

Who is Celebrities competition?  

[Rick&Jeannie]

17 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

Who is Celebrities competition?  

I would say Princess Medallion Net

[gold1953]

Sharing internet with up to 3000 at a time is the issue! Try early morning or during evening dinner times. Plus people at home can wait for the photos. 

[Traderboy]

You are quite right Rick.

Princess Medallion net is a far better system .

I’ve never had a problem with their WiFi

[Mike981]

 

Remember that kids show back in the 90's, Lamb Chop? I feel at this point when it comes to WiFi it is "The Song That Never Ends. It's an interesting study into human behavior, "my experience was ___, so everyone has ___."

 

I have learned so much from @Jim_Iain and how he deals with the internet. The workarounds and the planning ahead.

 

When it comes to WiFi on cruise ships one persons experience might be different from others for so many reasons. We all use the internet in different ways/wants, different locations of the world, different times of the day with different equipment.

 

Ever do a speed test at home? In today's world it is hard to get a true reading at home because of how connected we are. Computers, tablets, phones, watches, streaming shows, connected appliances and so on. And who knows what software is updating when you do your speed test.

 

Maybe we need to use the old adage on food, for the internet on ships. WiFi is 'so subjective'.

 

Edited to add:

I have never used the Princess Medallion, but when I was searching Princess for a cruise, I saw many people complaining on many levels on how frustrating it was.

Edited March 28 by Mike981

[NutsAboutGolf]

7 minutes ago, Mike981 said:

 

Remember that kids show back in the 90's, Lamb Chop? I feel at this point when it comes to WiFi it is "The Song That Never Ends. It's an interesting study into human behavior, "my experience was ___, so everyone has ___."

 

I have learned so much from @Jim_Iain and how he deals with the internet. The workarounds and the planning ahead.

 

When it comes to WiFi on cruise ships one persons experience might be different from others for so many reasons. We all use the internet in different ways/wants, different locations of the world, different times of the day with different equipment.

 

Ever do a speed test at home? In today's world it is hard to get a true reading at home because of how connected we are. Computers, tablets, phones, watches, streaming shows, connected appliances and so on. And who knows what software is updating when you do your speed test.

 

Maybe we need to use the old adage on food, for the internet on ships. WiFi is 'so subjective'.

 

Edited to add:

I have never used the Princess Medallion, but when I was searching Princess for a cruise, I saw many people complaining on many levels on how frustrating it was.

 

I'm curious how it works with Starlink, it def had problems in the past

[Honolulu Blue]

34 minutes ago, Mike981 said:

I've never used the Princess Medallion, but when I was searching Princess for a cruise, I saw many people complaining on many levels on how frustrating it was.

I have done some cruises on Princess and monitor the board here. All their ships have Starlink now, which helps. Most of the past complaints were about the Medallion app, which has been replaced. The speed is usually good, by cruise ship standards.

Edited March 28 by Honolulu Blue