Russ_MT

Good advice and thank you.

 

What router do you recommend? Hootoo, TP-Link....... there are many.....

That N300 seems like it needs to be externally powered.

I bought a HooToo router and love this little thing. It's self-contained and self powered and even provided a USB power port if you need to charge something. You can plug in another drive (eg: USB Flash) full of movies/photos and view them from any device. The RAVPower looks similar, but I've never used one.

Originally I bought it because it's an obscure device whose MAC address isn't likely to be blocked. I doubt that's true now. If they are blocking routers, I'm sure they have all of them blocked. Although maybe spoofing the MAC address would overcome this.

On Royal, we each had our own WiFi account, so I didn't use it. On Norwegian Escape, they only gave us one WiFi account and we took this little guy with us around the ship. The HooToo was THE logged in device all week and our iPhones/laptop/iPad shared it all over the ship because it's self-powered. It lasted about 2 days between charges.

We never had to log back in and it felt like being at home with a constant WiFi connection.

I changed the SSID to something official-looking (eg: ROYAL 3B or BOBS iPhone) so as not to attract too much attention. Turnin off the SSID broadcast created connect issues with our devices.

We've used it on airplanes to share a paid connection to check email etc.

I'd feel guilty streaming video and high bandwidth stuff, but we mostly check email, surf, post photos to social and checkin airlines.

But really, you are on a cruise, watch TV at home. How often do you get to look out at the ocean?

Royal has 2 packages. The Surf and Surf & Stream which I assume is faster bandwidth.

• Surf & Stream Voom
  
  • 1 device: $19.99 per day, per device
    
  • 2 devices: $18.99 per day, per device
    
  • 4 devices: $16.99 per day, per device
    
  • Single Day Pass: $29.99 per day, per device
    

  [*]Surf

  • 1 device: $15.99 per day, per device
    
  • 2 devices: $14.99 per day, per device
    
  • 4 devices: $12.99 per day, per device
    
  • Single Day Pass: $22.99 per day, per device
    

I guess they need to pay for that O3B satellite link. I'm just not going to pay $15/day more so I can avoid logging out/in to each device to check our email.

If you are watching videos, buy the extra account.

Royal uses the O3B network and has TONS of bandwidth. This network was designed to serve small countries. A ship with 5,000 people is nothing. On Allure, we were amazed at how solid the WiFi infrastructure was and the ample bandwidth and low latency. VOIP calls were perfect. Sending video was a breeze. I've heard older ships with older infrastructure may have problems.

New to MSC. So what kind of speed can one expect? Enough for VOIP calls?

Happy to chip in !

 

For comparative purposes - here's the same test I conducted on the Allure last year (loved that connection)!

 

Tom

Nothing beats Royal's Voom (O3b) connection.

Escape speeds were adequate for us. We were able to surf/check email fairly fast and make/receive phone calls over IP. I wouldn't even bother with video, but I was able to email some video clips.

I was a little annoyed that they were stingy with it. We were in a loft suite on Allure and they gave each of use in the cabin our own login. We could call/text each other from anywhere onboard.

On Escape, we had an Owners Suite and they gave us ONE login of 120 minutes. I upgraded to unlimited and used my HooToo router to share the connection. But honestly, they gave us UDP, UBP, excursion credits and $1000 onboard credit and only 120 minutes of Internet with one login.

Not sure RCI cares much - an unlimited VOOM package is just that; if you choose to split that paid pipe x ways via a router, there's probably not much diff.

Probably right. Voom has so much bandwidth it's insane. However, if they wanted to be jerks, they could and make you pay for another login if they found you sharing.

It is technically wrong to share and many have made a case as such. I would agree if everyone is streaming netflix, you are abusing it. However, we mostly used it for checking email and making phone calls. All of which we didn't do concurrently. Sharing via the router simply saved us from logging out/in all the time to use the account. And allowed incoming texts/calls on all our phones.

We were in a suite on Allure and they gave each guest their own login, so my guess is they aren't stingy with bandwidth. It was nice because we could walk around the ship and text/call each other.

Windows 10 allows creating a hotspot. But who wants to keep your laptop turned on and carry it around.

iPhone has hotspot for sharing Celluar. It won't natively share WiFi. There may be apps out there that do the same thing. I haven't checked.

Android tends to be more flexible with their apps. I bet they have a WiFi sharing app. The key is you don't want to share Cellular (on a ship), you want to share WiFi. So the "router" needs to have 2 connections. A WAN and a LAN connection.

This sharing needs to be able to login via the provider webpage portal and enter credentials. Then share the LAN side of that connection.

The Hootoo also works with any WiFi account, in an airport, airplane or in this case a ship to share an Internet account.

I think RCCL was getting smart about blocking MAC addresses of routers for this reason. However, I've heard the Hootoo was obscure enough of a manufacturer that they didn't have it on their list.

An alternative might be to spoof the MAC address on the router to get past this. I'm sure the lines aren't thrilled, but as long as folks don't abuse it, I doubt it will become an issue.

You walked around the ship with the router? :eek: That's hard core.

It’s small. The size of a pack of cigarettes. Fit in my wife’s purse and allowed us to receive calls from work (ugg) or family back home on both of our phones.

Yea I know. Cruise to get away from all that. But we had family at home that were in poor health and my major clients need to have access to me.

It was nice that we both could check mail, make calls on one login

TIP for others:

We need to stay in touch for work etc. via Internet so we bought the unlimited plan. NCL gives you ONE login that is shared. So if someone else wants to use it, you have to bump the other person off.

I used my HooToo Tripmate portable router. It worked great. It has a battery to power it while walking around the ship and can also charge your devices.

The Internet on Escape was not fast (like Royal Carribean) but fast enough. We made phone calls (turn on WiFi calling on iPhone), received phone calls and called each other on the ship over WiFi.

We were able to share 2 iPhones, and iPad and a laptop simultaneously over the same login.

Walking around the ship it sometimes would lose connection (probably from handing off to other hotspots) butresetting the router (one button) reconnected it.

https://www.amazon.com/HooToo-Wireless-10400mAh-External-Streaming/dp/B074LHG47K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1511879596&sr=8-1

Onboard Credit:

We had a large onboard credit plus all the other perks. So we didn't spend much of it.

All the machines in the casino will allow you to draw money off your cabin for a 3% fee. So we took the cash less the fee rather than lose it it at the end of the cruise.

When we were on Allure, we had a login for each of use onboard so I never tried the router.

We just got off NCL Escape and had only 1 login. The Hootoo worked great. It is small enough to carry around and we used 2 smart phones,an ipad and a laptop sharing the single connection.

Occasionally while walking around it lost connection. Probably during handing off to different hot spots. Resetting the router automatically reconnected and we were back in business.

https://www.amazon.com/HooToo-Wireless-10400mAh-External-Streaming/dp/B074LHG47K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&

You can get money off your stateroom card for a 3% fee from any machine. You'll have to authenticate with details like your birthday.

We had a large onboard credit perk. It's use it or lose it, so we took the credit out as cash and ate the 3%.

We would like to participate in the Escape room circus (I think that is what it is called). From my reading on the boards you can only sign up for it when on board the ship, would you know which days this event is offered and where do you sign up for it ? Guest services ? Haven concierge ?

You are correct, you can't sign up until onboard. It's called "Escape from the big top" and has a circus/magic theme.

We used the Haven concierge. I think any guest services would be able, but make Haven do it as they may have more clout (reserved space). We signed up on day 2 and got a spot on the last night of the cruise. So you should probably sign up as soon as possible.

They hold it at the Supper Club. It's not an "escape room" but a series of puzzles to solve and compete against other teams in a timed event. They teamed us up in groups of about 8. I enjoy puzzles, but man this thing was hard. Before it starts, get your team into sub-teams to solve the different puzzles.

In our session, the winners were either geniuses or have played before. Most of us left scratching our heads.

Thank you, great info. We are in the Haven and from what I have seen the pool is inside and downstairs from the sun deck. Do you think Vibe would be a good thing to purchase? It sounds like the Haven should be.

I don't see a need for Vibe if you are in Haven.

I wouldn't bother with the race for Vibe tickets. Leave that for those who aren't in Haven.

Haven's sun deck is right in front of Vibe. You can see Vibe from it. Haven's sun deck is like a library it's so quiet. No loud music or belly flop competitions. Same comfy loungers with towels on the cushions. A separate hot tub. Haven does NOT have a bar on the sun deck. You'd have to walk down one level for the private bar.

Haven's pool area is one flight down from the sundeck indoors and outdoors when the skylight is opened up. And they actually open it. In here you will find waiters for drinks and special snacks. One day we saw a guy who's only job was to cut up fresh fruit for Haven guest fruit bowls.

And if you are in Haven, you won't be able to go back. It even has its own pleasant fragrance. I heard they put something in the vacuums to make it.

thanks for all the info!

mking, thanks for all ur pics too... as for the geek stuff, would a bought 'hotspot' work on the ship? thanks.

What about a Wireless Travel Router? I have a HooToo that allows sharing of a single WiFi login with multiple devices.

Wouldn't that work to allow multiple users share one Internet package?

Although I heard that some lines (eg: RCCL) block MAC addresses from known router companies. Requires spoofing the MAC address of the router.

On my cruise a few weeks ago I had $253 left on my account in OBC when I went to the casino. I took 200 out and saw, nearly immediately on the iConcierge app, that I had $47 left of OBC (200+3%)

Where did the OBC originate? Was it part of your package or did you pre-load it?

I just spoke with an NCL agent about onboard credit in the casino. He said, "No you can't do that. Where did you hear that?"

Now the agent didn't instill confidence in me for many reasons, so I'm still searching for a definitive answer.

Now I’m really confused. I thought you couldn’t use OBC from ncl giving at time of booking in the casino at all?!

The above link is the NCL blog. NCL could claim the blog writer was mistaken or leaving out the fine print. I need to find someplace more "official".

But it would seem that onboard credit is onboard credit. I'm not sure they can tell the difference how it got there.

We have a few hundred dollars of onboard credit from the promotional fare (part of the package). We did not ADD money to get it.

So according to NCL website, you can use it in the casino.

From the NCL blog

If you're a savvy traveler, chances are you keep up with Norwegian's cruise deals and promotions. These special offers often come with incentives like "onboard credit" or "onboard spend" to help you treat yourself to some perks aboard the ship. So just how should you spend your onboard credit? The possibilities are seemingly endless.

Feeling lucky? Use your onboard credit towards your favorite casino games. Let Lady Luck guide you through as you put your OBC to good use.

https://www.ncl.com/travel-blog/how-to-onboard-credit

Those are potatoes? Interesting presentation. Looks like scallops. It all looks yummy.

Thanks for all you've done Chris. Great review and great photos.

Thanks Tom for the update.

That speed is certainly acceptable for most Internet purposes. The latency (ping) is horrendous. However, expected as it needs to bounce off a satellite that's over 500 miles away. This might become an issue for those requiring VPNs and SSL connections that require more back and forth handshaking.

How do you book this? Before cruise? First day? After? How?

Sounds like bandwidth OUT has improved, but internal IT has not.

By comparison, our Royal cruise on Allure we stayed logged on the entire time without ever having to log back in and had enormous bandwidth. Twitter Periscope out at will. Video, no sweat. Granted, this is the O3B network that has ample bandwidth for for 5k passengers. ALL cruiselines should adopt this network. Why on earth use 20th century satellite tech?

NCL needs to hire RCCL IT folk and get the shipboard stuff worked out. There is no reason for short DHCP lease timeouts. Reset them all when ship returns to home port.

Does NCL block any ports? Ports like those that the iPhone (and others) use for WiFi calling.

It would seem the most transparent method of calling would be to turn on airplane mode, WiFi on and WiFi calling on. Then folks (back home) could call your cell directly. That is, if NCL doesn't block those ports. Seems like it would be wise for them to block them and upsell you the iConcierge and keep bandwidth hogs off their pipe.

Royal's O3B has such a big connection, they don't seem to block anything. However, a prudent IT director would limit onboard internet traffic.

This is our first NCL cruise and staying in the Haven. I hope we each get our own login. Royal gave each of us our own login so we didn't have to share.

I bought a wireless travel router in case we needed to share the login.

Cool little device. Allows sharing a WiFi connection (Hotel/Airport/Ship) and even has USB charging port when your phone runs out of gas. It's small (size of 2 D cell batteries) and can be carried around to share the WiFi connection with all your devices.

https://www.hootoo.com/hootoo-tripmate-ht-tm05-wireless-router.html

I was on the Escape I June and had no problem with most calls. We has some bad weather and during it we lost all wifi for about 30 minutes bit beyond that was as good a cellular on land

Good to hear. So you used WiFi calling back to land?

It would be expected that bad weather knocks out sat comms.

Was the WiFi on the ship consistent? Did you have to keep logging in?

Royal was exceptional. Login once and we had WiFi the entire ship the entire cruise. Also used it for skype calls on the ship to call our son. The call never left the ship. Was phone to phone.

We are on the Escape in Nov.

Wondering is there is enough WiFi bandwidth to make a VOIP call via an iPhone WiFi phone settings.

Voice doesn't take up as much bandwidth as video.

I heard promises to add more bandwidth on NCL, yet haven't seen it. My guess is their strategy was to throttle hogs and sell premium to those willing to pay.

Royal Caribbean has fantastic bandwidth. Wish NCL would use the O3B satellite system Royal does.