Mariner Internet

[Spender Nui]

We get free internet minutes when we sail Princess and Celebrity. Free minutes vary depending on the length of the cruise. Shouldn't HAL be doing something along these lines for their mariners?

[kazu]

We get free internet minutes when we sail Princess and Celebrity. Free minutes vary depending on the length of the cruise. Shouldn't HAL be doing something along these lines for their mariners?

 

It would be nice - but in all honesty, there are so many Mariners, they would probably lose money. If you get on the Prinsendam, they have something like a repeat passenger ratio of 90-95% - I don't think it would be economically possible. I'm guessing free laundry is more reasonable for them?

[CruiserBruce]

Personally, I don't think HAL should imitate other cruise lines. HAL is HAL, and is not Princess. If HAL imitates other cruise lines, and other cruise lines imitate HAL, by, for example installing cabanas on their ships, what sets the cruise lines apart?

[rkacruiser]

While I would enjoy and use free Internet, I think HAL needs to do something to make the Internet now available much more user friendly. Getting a connection and finishing whatever you are trying to do takes far too much time. The current world cruisers have been complaining about the connection situation and just recently it seems to be improving. They wonder, and I do so as well, will the improvement last and why cannot it be improved?

[CruiserBruce]

While I would enjoy and use free Internet, I think HAL needs to do something to make the Internet now available much more user friendly. Getting a connection and finishing whatever you are trying to do takes far too much time. The current world cruisers have been complaining about the connection situation and just recently it seems to be improving. They wonder, and I do so as well, will the improvement last and why cannot it be improved?

 

Given the satellite nature of the broadband, what might you think would happen if many people were given increased and free access?

[jtl513]

Having some free internet time would be nice, but I think a lot of people having a lot of free time would lead to abuse, and make the current slow speeds even worse.

 

The current world cruisers have been complaining about the connection situation and just recently it seems to be improving. They wonder, and I do so as well, will the improvement last and why cannot it be improved?

The satellite link quality will vary greatly depending on where the ship is in the world, and it could be simply that they are now in a better area.

 

Spender Nui - or anybody - how does the internet speed compare on Princess and Celebrity? And what company runs it, MTN/Seamobile like on HAL? I'm wondering if HAL has inferior equipment or are they pretty much the same?

 

edit: I just looked and found this: SeaMobile is the leading provider of at-sea communications, bringing satellite-based wireless voice, data and content services to most of the world’s major cruise lines, including Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Norwegian, Princess Cruises and over 200 vessels.

[Stakeout]

Personally, I don't think HAL should imitate other cruise lines. HAL is HAL, and is not Princess. If HAL imitates other cruise lines, and other cruise lines imitate HAL, by, for example installing cabanas on their ships, what sets the cruise lines apart?

 

every major cruiseline imitates one another... if one of them starts a new thingy within a short time they all do it... some just do it better than others..

[Stakeout]

While I would enjoy and use free Internet, I think HAL needs to do something to make the Internet now available much more user friendly. Getting a connection and finishing whatever you are trying to do takes far too much time. The current world cruisers have been complaining about the connection situation and just recently it seems to be improving. They wonder, and I do so as well, will the improvement last and why cannot it be improved?

 

we were on the Oct-Dec 45 day roundtrip to Europe on the Maasdam a few months ago.. a day after we left St Martin heading across to the Canaries the internet went belly-up... it was so bad they got an engineer onboard in Tenerife... he couldn't fix it.. they replaced a transmitter in Casablanca after flying the part in along with another engineer... in the meantime HAL refunded any/all internet money any passenger paid for internet packages...and let you use what internet minutes was left in the package... HAL has to be commended for doing the 'right thing' ... I couldn't do my blog as I had planned to do uploading pictures even just a few a day... was a waste of time... the connection was bogged down and so slow if it w*rked at all.. even at 4am when very few if any passengers are using the internet

 

my guess is that most of the internet problems besides what happened with the broken transmitter on our cruise is the result of the company that runs it on most cruiselines-- MTN Satellite Communications.. in this day and age satellite internet access onboard should not be problematic but it constantly is.. at higher than normal prices ...

 

I like their logo on this page... Quality..Reliability..Excellence... I think not.. just ask a lot of the people onboard cruiseships

http://www.mtnsat.com/about-mtn/mtn-30-year-timeline

[Spender Nui]

Having some free internet time would be nice, but I think a lot of people having a lot of free time would lead to abuse, and make the current slow speeds even worse.

 

The satellite link quality will vary greatly depending on where the ship is in the world, and it could be simply that they are now in a better area.

 

Spender Nui - or anybody - how does the internet speed compare on Princess and Celebrity? And what company runs it, MTN/Seamobile like on HAL? I'm wondering if HAL has inferior equipment or are they pretty much the same?

 

edit: I just looked and found this: SeaMobile is the leading provider of at-sea communications, bringing satellite-based wireless voice, data and content services to most of the world’s major cruise lines, including Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Norwegian, Princess Cruises and over 200 vessels.

 

Actually I don't notice any difference between any of the 3 lines. Service can vary from day to day on all of them.

 

It is a nice benefit though:

 

Calebrity 90 free minutes.

 

Princess 7 day cruise 150 free minutes

8-20 day cruise 250 free minutes

21 day plus cruise 500 free minutes

[rafinmd]

edit: I just looked and found this: SeaMobile is the leading provider of at-sea communications, bringing satellite-based wireless voice, data and content services to most of the world’s major cruise lines, including Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Norwegian, Princess Cruises and over 200 vessels.

 

I think they have pretty much a monopoly on at sea internet. I know they also serve Crystal, Cunard, and Windstar. The basic transmission quality is pretty much the same on all lines (IMHO ship size doesn't seem to make much difference, probably because the satellites serve several ships and the combined traffic from all those ships is the likely choke point) but each line provides their own support and interface. In that respect, Crystal is the best I've seen and Windstar is the worst. HAL is pretty close to Crystal in that regard.

 

With respect to free internet for mariners, I have the equivalent on Cunard and it's nice but pretty small in overall scheme. It's nice to offer perks to your repeat customers, but how far to cruise lines want to go to make newcomers feel left out.

 

Roy

[jtl513]

There's been a rumor swirling for about a year now that the internet pricing will be changed to a per-Mb basis rather than minutes. Or possibly a combination. If that gets implemented, at least when things are really slow we'll pay less. It may mean that bandwidth-hogging Skype may be allowed, if people are willing to pay the price. When I asked an MTN manager he would "neither confirm nor deny".

[sail7seas]

Great so those who hog bandwidth will make it impossible for the rest of us to simply read and send e-mail. Groan........

 

[djg541]

How did we survive as a species BEFORE the internet?

I use it frequently and used it to the point of dependancy when working, but we're supposed to be on vacation! Not hunched over a keyboard.

I know its nice to keep in touch,and its there for emergencies or travel arrangements, but please, lighten up and enjoy the cruise!

A few extra minutes isnt the end. Your at sea,on the ocean. Its great we can connect at all.

relax, disconnect and enjoy!

[sail7seas]

I am responsible for the care of a senior person and I must be able to communite while away. DH is not retired and being able to be contacted is the only way he can travel. We would not be able to go as frequently or as long if he did not have internet access, ability to receive or send Fed Ex and Fax capability. Whether we like it or not this form of communication exists some of us must have access or we must stay home.

[josie724]

How did we survive as a species BEFORE the internet?

I use it frequently and used it to the point of dependancy when working, but we're supposed to be on vacation! Not hunched over a keyboard.

I know its nice to keep in touch,and its there for emergencies or travel arrangements, but please, lighten up and enjoy the cruise!

A few extra minutes isnt the end. Your at sea,on the ocean. Its great we can connect at all.

relax, disconnect and enjoy!

 

 

Come on, dontcha just love to log onto CC while you're on your cruise and share the experience. I know I wanted to, but the slow service made it impossible. Instead I chatted with my kids while we were at sea.

[jtl513]

... relax, disconnect and enjoy!

I enjoy sending "blog" type emails to family and a few friends, sometimes with a picture, so it's an important part of my enjoyment of the cruise.