URGENT??? Verizon Aircard On Cruise

[teeredi2cruise]

Hi everyone,

 

I am traveling on the Fascination next week out of Jax Port and have a huge project to do while gone for work. Has anyone used a Verizon aircard on ship before and what type of rates did you incur if you did use one? Any information will be helpful. Thanks

[okgirl]

I was under the impression that most of the "aircards" or similar cards for the cell phone carriers were for use in wifi spots.

 

When you are on the ship you are connected via the ships "Cellular at Sea" service and most major carriers run about $2.49 for calls and .50 for texts.

 

It could certainly be an expensive project for you. You should call Verizon to see if their air card can be used at the much less expensive internet cafe's that you will find at almost every port.

[arush5268d]

I was under the impression that most of the "aircards" or similar cards for the cell phone carriers were for use in wifi spots.

 

When you are on the ship you are connected via the ships "Cellular at Sea" service and most major carriers run about $2.49 for calls and .50 for texts.

 

It could certainly be an expensive project for you. You should call Verizon to see if their air card can be used at the much less expensive internet cafe's that you will find at almost every port.

 

The 'aircards' from cell phone providers connect to the providers wireless data network.

[teeredi2cruise]

So does this mean that it doesn't use Cellular at Sea and Verizon's instead. I am not too much of a teckie, so I think I am confused.

[arush5268d]

Hi everyone,

 

I am traveling on the Fascination next week out of Jax Port and have a huge project to do while gone for work. Has anyone used a Verizon aircard on ship before and what type of rates did you incur if you did use one? Any information will be helpful. Thanks

 

Does your project require you to be constantly connected, or can you do some work, reconnect for a short period, disconnect and resume working?

[teeredi2cruise]

Does your project require you to be constantly connected, or can you do some work, reconnect for a short period, disconnect and resume working?

 

I will need to log into a virtual network and also process through there as but will also be sending email files.

[okgirl]

If you are on the ship you're VPN will work but it will be over the ships network which is Cellular at Sea and a more expensive rate. I think the air card would connect to a Verizon MTSO tower but there aren't any unless you are in port.

[*Mach*]

So does this mean that it doesn't use Cellular at Sea and Verizon's instead. I am not too much of a teckie, so I think I am confused.

 

 

Your card would attempt to connect to the Verizon network through the Cellular At Sea satellite system. If it did connect it would be quite slow and stunningly expensive.

You'll be better off buying an internet package and use it when there's little activity like early morning or late evening.

The onboard connection is only 750k so it can get ploddingly slow at times.

:)

[teeredi2cruise]

Your card would attempt to connect to the Verizon network through the Cellular At Sea satellite system. If it did connect it would be quite slow and stunningly expensive.

 

You'll be better off buying an internet package and use it when there's little activity like early morning or late evening.

 

The onboard connection is only 750k so it can get ploddingly slow at times.

 

:)

 

Thanks Host Mach. I need to find a plan with employer, so is too cumbersome to try and manage onboard.

[*Mach*]

If you are on the ship you're VPN will work but it will be over the ships network which is Cellular at Sea and a more expensive rate. I think the air card would connect to a Verizon MTSO tower but there aren't any unless you are in port.

 

 

Even setting up a VPN over the ship's internet connection is problematic. I tried to set up a VPN from the Dream and the ports I needed were blocked...

[itgeek]

teeredi2cruise,

 

You may need to reconsider your plans. IPSec/PPTP VPNs do not work well, if at all, over satellite - no matter how you connect.

 

At sea, all communications occur via satellite regardless of whether you're using the shipboard WiFi or using cellular roaming on the shipboard cellular known as Cellular at Sea.

 

Your Verizon card will not work over the Cellular at Sea (CAS) system. The only data supported on the system is GPRS (GSM). CDMA/1XRTT/EVDO data is not supported. Only voice mode is supported on CDMA. You will need an AT&T or T-Mobile GSM based data card that supports GPRS mode. Note that GPRS is slow as molasses. GPRS = dial-up modem speed. 52 Kbit/s roughly if you're lucky (channel bonding is not supported). 32 Kbit/s is real world throughput in my experience. Shipboard WiFi is much faster.

 

Data roaming rates on the CAS are high. Data is billed at $.0195 per KB. Meaning 1MB = $19.50. 100MB = $1950.00. [Edit, fixed my math. It's too early.]

 

Regarding VPNs, most IPSec VPNs will fail over the on-board cellular and WiFi due to the latency of the system. MTN's system runs ~800ms latency one-way. This is long enough to time-out most VPNs unless they are specifically optimized for satellite. SSL based VPNs work but they also will time out periodically due to fading of the satellite connection when the ship is moving.

 

If you can get your VPN to work over the ship's WiFi network, expect slow going. The encryption overhead + latency + slow connection will equal a very poor experience. Don't even THINK about trying to do Remote Desktop or Windows File Sharing. Effective latency via VPN will be ~1400-1800ms. I've seen it as high as 2600ms on sea days when lots of people are trying to get online.

 

The MTN satellite internet connection that everyone is sharing on-board is 2mbps x 128kbps. Keep that in mind. That is shared by all the passengers, the crew doing internet in crew quarters and staff on-board doing internet and internet email. (The 128kbps upload speed can burst a little higher but all they're guaranteed is 128kbps.) Voice uses a different set of satellite channels. Carnival's internal network back to HQ, credit card processing, reservations, etc. has a private satellite connection also.

 

I'm an IT executive... I've tried almost every way possible to do internet on-board. There is not a good/economical way to be "always on" when you're on a commercial cruise. (Some of the private/luxury cruise lines have more internet capacity but you pay for it in the price of the cruise.) You likely need to reset the expectations of your employer as to how connected you will be onboard. If you or they are expecting it to be like you're on land, you're both in for a rude, headache filled awakening.

 

You're on a cruise. Take a vacation! :D

 

- IT Geek