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New 2018 Wavenet high speed internet WiFi fail expectations


AZjohn
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In May 2018 Oceania released a press release stating they will be offering a New "high-speed" service called Wavenet that will offer low bandwidth for free and an option of "Prime" for $10/day specifically for streaming video at high speed.

 

Laura posted a New thread about this:

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=8494

 

We are currently on the Rivera doing a Med cruise and wanted to report our experience so future cruisers will not have expitations like we did.

 

Yes, you get one free access per cabin (not per guess) of the standard WiFi. We paid the $10/day extra fee to have the higher speed for streaming per what press release stated. Sadly, this option is not for higher speed or greater bandwidth. It is the exact same speed as the free. Only difference is streaming sites are not blocked.

 

Going to different sites onboard getting as close to the WiFi routers the highest speeds were as follows:

4:15am 1.99 Mbps

5:15am 1.49Mbps

All other times (when other passengers were up using internet) the speed was so slow speed couldn't be measured (less than 1.0Mbps)

 

For those that don't understand speed readings, the minimum speed needed for video streaming is > 3Mbps. What the low speeds resulted in was watching a movie for 5 seconds then it would freeze for 30 seconds to buffer and then start again for 5 seconds then repeat the freeze for another 30 seconds.

 

My opinion, stating that their "high-speed internet" can be used for video streaming is false and find it very wrong to advertise it is.

 

We were able to get our money back for the Prime Wavenet halfway through the cruise and this is when I learned there is no difference in speed between the free low bandwidth and extra cost of Prime.

 

Just passing on my own personal experience. For those of you that planning on watching anything onboard with personal devices should lower expectations now.

 

Cheers,

John

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Are there places on the ship where you can get faster speed compared to other places? I'm not planning to stream anything, but I do love my internet, so I'm hoping to be able to do a little surfing when I wake up (or whenever/wherever I get the strongest Wifi).

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Are there places on the ship where you can get faster speed compared to other places? I'm not planning to stream anything, but I do love my internet, so I'm hoping to be able to do a little surfing when I wake up (or whenever/wherever I get the strongest Wifi).
Public areas are the best place to get a good signal. Signal strength varies from 0-2 bars in our cabin, where 3 bars is full strength. Most public areas are 3 bars. Your cabin is made out of metal and cuts down on the signal strength from the access points which are in the hallways.

 

FWIW, I'm in the same cruise with John - Bob

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Thanks. And does Oceania still have pc's people can use? I'm not crazy about tablets and phones for Internet browsing.

I only have 2 bars right now on my phone inside my house, so I'm not exactly used to fast and mighty internet! I think I'll be fine with the free stuff.

Edited by roothy123
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Thanks. And does Oceania still have pc's people can use?

in the computer room or do you mean in the cabins?

I find sitting near Barristas on the O class ships has a better signal or on the pool deck on the R ships works also

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+1

Thank you John for the info - no need to upgrade IMO.

Go Warriors :D

Hi Paul,

And all I wanted streaming for is to watch the Warriors (wife was different story). Though I was very happy about reading the results of game one, it sounds like I missed one hell of a game!

Cheers,

John

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Public areas are the best place to get a good signal. Signal strength varies from 0-2 bars in our cabin, where 3 bars is full strength. Most public areas are 3 bars. Your cabin is made out of metal and cuts down on the signal strength from the access points which are in the hallways.

 

FWIW, I'm in the same cruise with John - Bob

Hey Bob,

I just found the best signal. It's on the spa terrace:)

See you for a double cappuccino in the morning :)

Cheers,

John

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Are there places on the ship where you can get faster speed compared to other places? I'm not planning to stream anything, but I do love my internet, so I'm hoping to be able to do a little surfing when I wake up (or whenever/wherever I get the strongest Wifi).

Hi Roothy ,

We have a WiFi box right outside our cabin so signal strength has not been a issue. The speed tests I did were in the public area by the computer room (hoping this would be a good place to measure)

 

For those that just plan to use WiFi for email, general web browsing, or voice chats, I don't think the slow internet will be much of a issue. It takes my wife maybe a minute or two to send a photo to her friends or face book (just one photo).

 

I was trying to share that video streaming is the real problem which tends to be more common for folks in 2018 if a TV is not available (talking US live channels specifically),

 

We have an Xfinity DVR at home and there is an app through them which allows streaming of any show we have set to record. This is what is impossible to watch with current speeds here on the ship.

 

Cheers,

John

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Yes, sorry to sidetrack the thread a little. I know you were reporting on high speed (thanks, just in case I want to pay for it) and I was asking about regular speed! And yes, I was asking about the pc's to use near Baristas on O class ships, and I forget where (separate room still?) on the R class ships. Guess I'll just walk around and try the pool deck, etc. if I'm looking for more bars (of the phone type!). Is the spa deck the place outside that's only usable if you have a reason to be there (i.e., paid for spa treatment)?

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Yes, sorry to sidetrack the thread a little. I know you were reporting on high speed (thanks, just in case I want to pay for it) and I was asking about regular speed! And yes, I was asking about the pc's to use near Baristas on O class ships, and I forget where (separate room still?) on the R class ships. Guess I'll just walk around and try the pool deck, etc. if I'm looking for more bars (of the phone type!). Is the spa deck the place outside that's only usable if you have a reason to be there (i.e., paid for spa treatment)?

 

AFAIK the computer room was still on Regatta 2 yrs ago so do not imagine it has changed on the other ships

yes Spa deck is at the front of the spa ..

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Guess I'll just walk around and try the pool deck, etc. if I'm looking for more bars (of the phone type!).
I was referring to the WiFi bars in my previous post, not mobile network signal strength bars which I believe goes up to 4 bars. See attached image of WiFi bars. The WiFi strength image is used on phones, PCs, tablets, etc. Now as long as you have signal, you'll have WiFi. When liganl gets down to 0-1 bars then the signal can drop out and you lose connectivity when it drops to 0. We usually have 0 bars in our bedroom and balcony (no signal), which occasionally goes to 1 bar. Rest of the cabin is usually 2 bars.

 

 

Is the spa deck the place outside that's only usable if you have a reason to be there (i.e., paid for spa treatment)?
Spa terrace access is included for concierge cabins and above, and a day pass can also be purchased by others.

1729914499_WiFiBars.JPG.e88d6e1d07c8ad4137cbbb2d4a09282e.JPG

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On Regatta now. It's 7 am, no service in cabin, but by pool it's fine.

Great; thanks. I'll be on her next week, Alaska bound. Please leave her in good shape for me, and hope you enjoyed those warm places like Havana. If I can't get good reception in my room (middle of ship, inside cabin - probably way too much metal) I'll put on a fleece and head to the pool!

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Have to remember wifi and internet are two completely different things. Wifi is simply the signal that carries the internet connection to your device. You can have maximum bars of wifi and no internet connection as well as low bars of wifi and excellent internet connection.

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Had the Grandkids on NCL Epic last month (NCL is the parent company of Oceania). They also touted the "New, Improved" internet. FALSE! Same speed as regular. This apparently is the same set up now on O. Very disappointed in this deception by FDR.

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Just got back from nautica and the following is true:

 

1. Speed is almost acceptable between midnight and 5 am.

2. Internet is unusable and at times won’t connect in the back of the ship ( buffet for example)

3. There are frequent outages with poor response by technicians

4. Email and simple internet is all that’s reliable for most of the day and even worse on sea days.

 

They need to buy more satellite speed and their tech people even agree with that if u ask them quietly. Wavenet as currently deployed is a failure.

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Just got back from nautica and the following is true:

 

1. Speed is almost acceptable between midnight and 5 am.

2. Internet is unusable and at times won’t connect in the back of the ship ( buffet for example)

3. There are frequent outages with poor response by technicians

4. Email and simple internet is all that’s reliable for most of the day and even worse on sea days.

 

They need to buy more satellite speed and their tech people even agree with that if u ask them quietly. Wavenet as currently deployed is a failure.

 

Did you pay the $10 a day?

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Just got back from nautica and the following is true:

 

1. Speed is almost acceptable between midnight and 5 am.

2. Internet is unusable and at times won’t connect in the back of the ship ( buffet for example)

3. There are frequent outages with poor response by technicians

4. Email and simple internet is all that’s reliable for most of the day and even worse on sea days.

 

They need to buy more satellite speed and their tech people even agree with that if u ask them quietly. Wavenet as currently deployed is a failure.

 

Just more marketing hype. The only places were you will get enhanced speeds are the few ports in the Med and Caribbean with landside connections and not through the small pipe that O buys. There is only so much compression you can do to get more data into the small bandwidth.

 

Oceania for several years has removed WiFi access from the Terrace area.

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Just off the infamous Regatta cruise.

 

On our last cruise in nov 2015 on Nautica the Internet was impossible to use unless between midnight and 5 am. On Regatta recently it worked fairly well.

 

Our room was on 7 slightly forward. Worked most of the time. No internet on terrace or in GDR. Never went on pool deck ever so can’t comment. Worked in Horizons. It’s not high speed, but it is so many times better than since it was made free. You can load FB. You can post/email photos most of the time. Not so in 2015.

 

The improvement was definitely apparent. For me I don’t need to stream tv on vacation. Your mileage may vary.

 

Mo

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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