What VOIP phone services does Princess block??

[cruisinsince75]

My wife and I are just a few weeks from our TA cruise from Venice on the Ruby. I have an elderly mother and work stuff that I will need to check on periodically, but it can be extremely expensive doing so through the ships satellite.

 

I have used Skype before when we were in Europe and planned on doing the same thing this time, to stay in contact. However, I understand that Princess blocks Skype over the internet, saying that is slows down their systems.

 

Does anyone have experience with a VOIP service, that Princess doesn't block? I am planning on using Google Voice combined with GrooVe IP, which makes it VOIP when hooked up to a wifi signal. Has anyone tested this yet? I have an Android phone EVO 4G from Sprint and it works quite well on 3G/4G service and even better on wifi. I just need to be cautious to make sure my roaming is turned off.

[Pam in CA]

Some ships block it, others don't. If you do plan to use it, it would be better to do so at odd hours or when few are using the Internet. The reason being that VoIP is a bandwidth hog and you'll slow down everyone else, costing them time and money.

 

If it were me, I'd plan on turning on international roaming and making brief calls when in port. I can do that with my ATT plan for $5.99/month and discounted international rates. While more expensive than VoIP, I can time it exactly and it's more consistent, not to mention more considerate of my fellow passengers. The onboard Internet is never guaranteed and can be extremely slow or non-responsive.

[Loonbeam]

If Princess engages the block, they will block all ports used for VOIP connections. It's up to the ships engineering team as to when/if that happens.

 

As noted, VOIP can take up to 20-30 times the bandwith as loading basic web pages, so please be mindful of your fellow cruisers.

 

My wife and I are just a few weeks from our TA cruise from Venice on the Ruby. I have an elderly mother and work stuff that I will need to check on periodically, but it can be extremely expensive doing so through the ships satellite.

 

I have used Skype before when we were in Europe and planned on doing the same thing this time, to stay in contact. However, I understand that Princess blocks Skype over the internet, saying that is slows down their systems.

 

Does anyone have experience with a VOIP service, that Princess doesn't block? I am planning on using Google Voice combined with GrooVe IP, which makes it VOIP when hooked up to a wifi signal. Has anyone tested this yet? I have an Android phone EVO 4G from Sprint and it works quite well on 3G/4G service and even better on wifi. I just need to be cautious to make sure my roaming is turned off.

[ibethenanya]

Some ships block it, others don't. If you do plan to use it, it would be better to do so at odd hours or when few are using the Internet. The reason being that VoIP is a bandwidth hog and you'll slow down everyone else, costing them time and money.

 

If it were me, I'd plan on turning on international roaming and making brief calls when in port. I can do that with my ATT plan for $5.99/month and discounted international rates. While more expensive than VoIP, I can time it exactly and it's more consistent, not to mention more considerate of my fellow passengers. The onboard Internet is never guaranteed and can be extremely slow or non-responsive.

 

 

Pam,

With your AT&T plan @ $5.99 mo + discounted International rates what does your average call from say Italy cost to our neck of the woods in California? Curious since we are on a 31 day TA in Nov.

 

Any advice is helpful. We are Elite but still want to talk not just email the grandkids.

 

Connie

[cherylandtk]

Italy rates with the World Traveller plan are 0.99 per minute. If you are on a port intensive itinerary, calling from port is reliable and clearer than trying to use VOIP or the ship cell tower at 2.49 per minute.

Edited September 5, 2011 by cherylandtk

[cruisinsince75]

Some ships block it, others don't. If you do plan to use it, it would be better to do so at odd hours or when few are using the Internet. The reason being that VoIP is a bandwidth hog and you'll slow down everyone else, costing them time and money.

 

If it were me, I'd plan on turning on international roaming and making brief calls when in port. I can do that with my ATT plan for $5.99/month and discounted international rates. While more expensive than VoIP, I can time it exactly and it's more consistent, not to mention more considerate of my fellow passengers. The onboard Internet is never guaranteed and can be extremely slow or non-responsive.

 

If Princess engages the block, they will block all ports used for VOIP connections. It's up to the ships engineering team as to when/if that happens.

 

As noted, VOIP can take up to 20-30 times the bandwith as loading basic web pages, so please be mindful of your fellow cruisers.

 

Our phones are not quad band, so not an option on Sprint to use for international calls. We are usually calling at off hours due to time difference to call back home, so we won't be calling at peak internet usage times. It is fairly port intensive on the front end, so will have to take advantage of internet cafes, etc where we can. My big concern is the six sea days at the end as we get closer, then timing will become more of an issue and I definitely want to be mindful of the other passengers.

[robsaw]

The nature of the internet connection onboard (via relatively slow satellite transponders) is such that pretty much ANY and ALL streaming connections are essentially useless and are therefore blocked because they chew-up bandwidth that is just a waste anyway. You simply won't get a good streaming app working over a cell connection onboard so if you really need to stay in touch onboard use normal voice cell or the room phone, both of which are expensive but at least generally reliable and effective.

[jkocpa]

On our spring TA on the Emerald we found that on those sea days we had literally no internet connections. Not just slow -no connection whatsoever. So using something like Skype would have been impossible.

[paul929207]

I have never used any of the VoIP providers, but some have said that at best it worked sporaticly.

[Pam in CA]

When considering "prime" times, don't forget that the crew also use the Internet to stay in touch with their families. I've found that just like LA traffic, there is no good time; usage can be high from morning until late at night (Midnight.) When passengers aren't using it, the crew is. The one time I've found that is pretty reliable is 6-8-am.

 

Instead of email, I sometimes use texting. It's free incoming and $.50 outgoing. As long as you don't send short messages, it's a relatively inexpensive way to stay in touch. Even on the ship. However, if phone calls are all you want to do and your phone isn't international, then your options are limited. You can't count on using VoIP on the ship; because of your phone, you can't call when in port. You might consider getting a Mobal phone. You pay a one-time charge for the phone (very reasonable) and pay only for actual minutes used; no contract or other service fees. Depending on the phone you get, you can use it either in port or on the ship.

Edited September 5, 2011 by Pam in CA

[floridarob]

When considering "prime" times, don't forget that the crew also use the Internet to stay in touch with their families. I've found that just like LA traffic, there is no good time; usage can be high from morning until late at night (Midnight.) When passengers aren't using it, the crew is. The one time I've found that is pretty reliable is 6-8-am.

.

 

 

I use to tell passengers that complained about bandwidth....yeah, it is like LA traffic, think when no one is on the road.....on a ship, when is EVERYONE working and Passengers busy too.....dinner time!

 

They would always come back and thank me because at that time it's like high speed internet at home,lol

[Roses2]

The bandwidth "pipe" is limited on board all cruise ships.

 

VOIP uses a great deal of bandwidth. Therefore (depending on the use at the time), the use of VOIP on board a cruise ship may slow other internet use by others.

[CZEE]

Some ships block it, others don't.

 

True. They were not blocked on the Grand British Isles TA last year. I cannot tell you how annoying it was to sit in public areas and hear people yelling at their computers--entire families talking to folks back home. The connections weren't great--so I guess yelling helped. LOL They were everywhere.

 

If Princess is going to block cell phones in public areas, why can't they block VOIP stuff? IMO, that should be available only in cabins.

 

I was not able to monitor e-mail very well on the sea days. I received short texts from the woman managing my horses while I was away and the bill wasn't extravagant.

 

Even though I have a quad band phone with ATT and signed up for the international traveller (I think that's their overseas plan to call back to the states), I was thinking of getting a European phone--for the TA on the Crown next year--but haven't fully decided yet. It seemed to me that our friends who brought their own computer had better bandwidth than computers in the ship's internet cafe.

 

Lani

[Pam in CA]

I use to tell passengers that complained about bandwidth....yeah, it is like LA traffic, think when no one is on the road.....on a ship, when is EVERYONE working and Passengers busy too.....dinner time!

 

They would always come back and thank me because at that time it's like high speed internet at home,lol

True, but what is "dinner time"? :) For some, that's 5:30pm, for others, it's 9pm. I've tried that because at 5:30pm, I'm usually starting to think about getting showered and dressed for a pre-dinner cocktail and often try using the Internet. I haven't found it any better than earlier in the day.

[Sapphire723]

I would try to find a free wifi spot in port and set up there for a little bit. It will be cheaper, faster, and you won't bother any passengers or crew... if you can find a quiet area where you're not bothering anyone.

[PescadoAmarillo]

I was successful getting two audio only calls out on Skype last year on the Emerald. One was while we were in Princess Cays and many people were off the ship. The other was about 10pm. We use Skype a lot in ports, whenever we have WiFi. At less than 5 cents a minute, $10 lasts a longtime.

 

Several crew members told us they made Skype video calls daily from the ship. I still can't figure that out. They must have a bigger pipeline than the passengers use.

[OldSeaDog]

This past August, the internal WiFi on Ruby was abysmal. The wireless connection was so slow (or non-existent) I finally gave up and just used the ship's computers. The internet speed was fine, it was entirely a wireless system issue. Based on that experience, I wouldn't count on being able to use Skype at any time of day on the Ruby.

[thisislou]

I use my MagicJack without problems on all Princess cruises - never blocked.

[PunkiC]

You can almost always find reliable, and often free or at least very cheap, wifi in the ports. Just ask a crew member where the crew center is in the port you are visiting and go there. It is also an opportunity to get to meet some of the crew members in a non-work related environment.

 

We have also found that there are quite a few ports where there is free wifi right at the dock where you will see lots of crew members sitting around talking with their families on their laptops.

 

If you have top hotel status with any international chain, they will most likely let you visit the executive lounge and use the wifi there, or in the lobby. We have frequently done that when traveling internationally.

[beg3yrs]

 

If Princess is going to block cell phones in public areas, why can't they block VOIP stuff? IMO, that should be available only in cabins.

 

Lani

 

Please don't start more rumors. Princess blocking cell phones in public areas? Almost impossible to do from a technology standpoint without eliminating cell phone service from the cabins as well. Do you have facts or just conjecture?

 

As an aside regarding AT&T World Traveler, be careful, check the AT&T (or your own provider's) web-site for country by country rates and discounts. The ship's cell-phone rate is $2.59 per minute (at sea of course) which in a few cases lower than the discounted AT&T rates in some countries.

 

Calling from your cabin using the ship's own phone system is even more expensive, around $10 per minute.

[BruceMuzz]

Princess doesn't block any telephone or internet services.

That's because they do not offer any telephone or internet services.

 

There is an independent vendor on Princess ships, called MTN.

MTN offers satellite telephone and internet services to Princess passengers.

MTN frequently blocks VOIP access on Princess and many other cruise lines.

[AlaskaGolden]

Princess doesn't block any telephone or internet services.

That's because they do not offer any telephone or internet services.

 

There is an independent vendor on Princess ships, called MTN.

MTN offers satellite telephone and internet services to Princess passengers.

MTN frequently blocks VOIP access on Princess and many other cruise lines.

 

They may have changed their name recently. Services are now offered by Maritime Communications Partner (MCP):

http://www.mcp.com/customers/ships-in-operation/

[caribill]

The one time I've found that is pretty reliable is 6-8-am.

 

 

I have found speeds close to broadband between 2 and 3 AM.

[6pack]

We always Skype from our state room and it works well. If bandwidth isn't available just drop video. I will say we have been pretty lucky with the video being available.

[BruceMuzz]

They may have changed their name recently. Services are now offered by Maritime Communications Partner (MCP):

http://www.mcp.com/customers/ships-in-operation/

 

MCP is owned by MTN