jules181

I did the NYC to Rome transatlantic in 2023 on the Escape. I was not planning to work on the trip but had some emails come in that needed attention using my phone only. The internet was completely unreliable for approximately 2 days in the middle of the Atlantic. It might work better if you're using it off hours, but even refreshing my email or downloading a voice only podcast was virtually impossible. The internet was much better outside of that time. We were able to stream MLB baseball to our stateroom TV and watch Netflix at other times. It was just those 2 out of the 16 days that nothing could be accomplished. I'm not sure of the exact timing of your cruise, but the middle of the Atlantic could be a dead zone, be aware of how that would impact your work activity. I did upgrade to the premium package as I had to teach a class and needed zoom to work. The internet was good enough to support zoom calls and I have been on the Epic before and on southern Carribean itineraries I've been able to connect to the corporate VPN. And there is no way as a manager I would allow an employee to expense cruise ship internet. It looks like the OP has asked for something exceptional which is being allowed so long as they're connected. In my mind, the costs of connection are the employees responsibility. I would only consider allowing the expense if, on a pre-approved vacation where there was no expectation of connectivity, I need the employee to do something urgently. (but I can't see a situation where that would actually happen, nothing is that important and no one is that irreplaceable.). I would, however, write it off on my taxes as a remote working expense. (Costs of internet are allowed in my jurisdiction) With all the tech speak in the post above, cruise ship internet is so slow at the best of times that you will see no difference between wifi 5, wifi 6 or even the older standards. Sure, the newer standards allow you to connect to the internal network at breakneck speeds, but what good is that when your connection to the external internet is slower than a third world country.

Your router connects to the ships wifi. The user facing device connects to the router.

I've paid for a single device worth of bandwidth. And I'm getting just that, and using it how I please within the terms of my purchase. If there were subterfuge I wouldn't be telling cruise critic about it.

That works for you. It's no extra work. A person of moderate intelligence and low tech-savvy can figure it out...I've taught a few. But some of us need to stay semi-connected while away. If the choice was between a trip I can't take (a vacation where I'm not connected) versus a trip where I have to open the laptop a couple of times, I'll take the one I can. I'm sure many others are in the same boat.

Italy is still a very cash based society. It's not unheard of for the credit card machine to be 'broken' when you go to pay. I would plan to have all the cash on hand you're looking to spend in Italy. You never know what you will encounter. I think Greece is better, but still would prepare to deal in cash over card.

I plug the Chromecast device into the HDMI slot on the Tv. The key to make sure that you don't have input selection issues is to disconnect the HDMI cable in that brings the ships data feed (i.e. tv cable) and use that port. And always remember the campsite rule. When you leave, make sure it's in the same condition you found it.

In theory you can. But you're at the mercy of the ships connection to the internet. I've been on board where the connection was so bad, Spotify was unusable and I couldn't stream the daily news podcast I listen to. (and it's not bandwidth intensive). While it can work in theory, it may not in practice. Make sure you download everything you want to listen to is downloaded before you board or while in port.

With regards to point #1 the travel routers are designed to both connect to wifi and broadcast it. I have never connected via ethernet on the cruise ship but I have in hotels and other locations. If it were the case that bandwidth is cut in half, and I don't believe it is, with the amount of bandwidth modern wifi has, you definitely wouldn't notice it on the cruise ship. Your bottleneck is the connection to the external internet. On point 2, we'd trade off devices when outside of the stateroom. But when in the stateroom, everyone could connect via the router. Honestly, outside of the stateroom, was very easy to disconnect. Listen to downloaded podcasts and read downloaded books. I found it most impactful in the stateroom as that's when when we wanted to connect and touch base with those at home. I still view the cruise as a way to disconnect, however I like to stay abreast of the news while I travel.

I have a GL-iNet Beryl that I travel with. It is fantastic for the cruise as it allows me to chromecast to the TV (which is next to impossible otherwise) At the end of the day, you are restricted to single device bandwidth caps. If you want to share your very low bandwidth amongst multiple devices, more power to you. The internet just gets worse and worse the more devices you ad. But 100% agree you are accessing the NCL external gateway through a single device as per the terms and conditions. If that single device happens to be a private wifi network, then so be it. 🤷‍♂️ NCL is very quick to bring up the terms and conditions when it benefits them. Contra proferentem.

You shouldn't notice any difference in connecting to ships wifi with starlink. The wifi infrastruce onboard is staying the same, they're just changing which antennas they're using to connect to the internet.

Well yes. That's how wifi works. It's not a perfect solution but works for many. I have a plug in one for the stateroom but have seen people with portable ones they're able to take out and about on the ship.

Buy a travel router. The router is the 'one' device and acts as a gateway to all your other devices.

Just remember you need to also book transfers to the pier from NCL. NCL air does not include transfers to pier unless specified.

OP got the room they paid for, at the price they expected. Upgrades aren't guaranteed. Mistakes happen.

Was on the dawn British Isles a few weeks ago. Food is the same as every other NCL ship I've been on. Los Lobos was a welcome addition that was fantastic. It's a smaller ship, doesn't have all the amenities and options of the newer ships. But it has the standard cruise experience, definitely cant complain. Was a pleasant cruise. Book for the itinerary not the ship.

It's a BOGO and it meets guidelines. There's no choice.

You're exactly right. We don't have enough information. My assumption is based on a single ticket where all flights are on the same airline or on airlines with connection agreements. (Most likely Air France/KLM/Alitalia and Delta at CDG)

What is the MCT? No one has stated that this flight is below it. It seems entirely reasonable based on my flying experience. So far it only 'feels' too short for some people. You give up control of your flights when you book BOGO, if a short layover concerns you, you should book your own flight.

That is not the MCT. That's the recommended minimum connection from the airport. The airline won't let you book a connection that is less than their minimum allowed connection time. Despite what a group of random people on the internet are telling you, you'll be fine. I find the quick connection more beneficial. Either a) I make my flight and get home sooner or b) I have to wait until the next one (which I would've had to wait for regardless).

The airline won't let you book connections they deem to short. It has nothing to do with NCL. I don't know what airline you're coming in on, assuming Air France/KLM/Delta. If so, they run the airport and you shouldn't have any problems. European airports with the exception of FCO are quite efficient. My last experiences with passport control in the EU have all been through the 'e-gates' and it hasn't taken any real time. Rememeber it is just 'passport control' not immigration. If the airline allows it, it's fair game. They know what the airport is like and they don't want to create the domino effect of people missing flights.

I've been on the epic 3 times and did a TA on the Escape. 10000000% you Escape. Was just on the epic last week. It's showing its wear. Lots of mechanical issues. Also the layout on the escape is much better.

If you're quarantined, it's because you self report. I don't know why you'd self report if you didn't intend to respect the quarantine.

I was on an NCL week long cruise last week. Started feeling tired and weird on day 4, figured I was just drinking too much and got more sleep. Worst day was a few days later then started getting better. The cruise lines don't care beyond what they're mandated to by law. If the local government doesn't care, they don't care. They will facilitate a quarantine in your room if you want to, but only if you volunteer. Most people don't. I didn't, I didn't test until I got home. Didn't even know I had it until I was already home. Started out as a cold. By the time you realize you have it, it's too late and it's already spread, there's nothing we can do about it. It will be a reality of cruising for some time to come. Cant test positive if you don't test. Best thing to do is go find a lounger in the sun and rest with plenty of fluids.

Also the differences are in the details. The similarities are the core. You could put me on any ship on any of the major lines and I guarantee you I'll have a good time. There are plusses and minuses to each line and ship. But remember, you're on vacation, on a floating resort. You are pampered beyond belief and don't have to worry about a single thing. If you fail to enjoy it, that's on you. Not the cruise line.

I went on my first celebrity cruise in November, I'm platinum on NCL. Generally cruise solo, and they had a really good solo deal. Was on the Solstice. Ship design and aesthetics, celebrity won. Very ornate and oppulant, the observation lounge was amazing. Food NCL hands down. Comparing MDR to MDR, celebrity seems to be anchored to the traditional cruise menus which use ingredients that are not cheap (and you can tell they're sacrificing quality just to keep the menu). Celebrity tends to do really cool and interesting things because they aren't anchored to the traditional menu. There's no lobster night, but I'd rather have something else done well as opposed to a mushy, small lobster tail, just to have lobster. The one thing I loved on celebrity was the escargot. And the rack of lamb on celebrity was out of this world. But aside from those two dishes, everything else was boring. NCL has a varied menu, that I've never been disappointed with, the daily rotations are consistently prepared well. Also, celebrity has a more traditional aka stuffy vibe around the MDR. They wouldn't let me in wearing shorts, I didn't mind dressing up for formal nights. Working from home has a collection of suits that have gone neglected. But I do much prefer the liberal attitude you find on an NCL ship. Entertainment, NCL hands down, there's no question. On celebrity it's just the theatre. No duelling pianos, no nightly comedy club. No production show. There weren't even a lot of musicians/singers in venues around the ship. Drink package, NCL wins. I had an 'everything included' fare and the menu of drinks I could order without an upcharge was pathetically small. I ended upgrading on day two to burn some OBC. Even common drinks you would expect to be included like am Aperol spritz had an upcharge. The plus for celebrity, specialty coffee included in the base drink package and it's better than the Starbucks swill served on NCL. Also, on celebrity there are entire bars that don't carry liquor included in the base package so you're charged $6 extra for any drink on the menu. Service was comparable NCL seems to recruit from different third world countries than celebrity. But the standard of service is there. Also, and this is the biggest one, I'm in my mid-thirties. I found celebrity to be an older crowd. 50s-70s. Not HAL, tripping over walkers in the hallway old, but definitely on the older side. Where as NCL tended to have more people around my age. I appreciate the vibe on NCL more because of that. I'd do another celebrity cruise if the price is right, I thoroughly enjoyed it, but my preference will be NCL.