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All things wi fi

NorbertsNiece
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wscott52

wscott52

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Okay, we are halfway between Nassau and St. Thomas so this is about as far at sea as we are going to get. Speed does appear to be dependent on load. After dinner in Nassau I saw 2.96 mps. This is from just a few minutes ago, around 8:30 AM:

 

2533297068.png

 

 

I'm not a big Skype user but was unable to connect. Not sure if it's a speed or port issue.

 

I will continue to check in on this thread and try to answer questions.

 

I will say so far it's been a good cruise, good to great food, beautiful room (deck 12 JS), friendly and helpful crew, and good weather so far.

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Clarea

Clarea

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Okay, we are halfway between Nassau and St. Thomas so this is about as far at sea as we are going to get. Speed does appear to be dependent on load. After dinner in Nassau I saw 2.96 mps. This is from just a few minutes ago, around 8:30 AM:

 

2533297068.png

 

 

I'm not a big Skype user but was unable to connect. Not sure if it's a speed or port issue.

 

I will continue to check in on this thread and try to answer questions.

 

I will say so far it's been a good cruise, good to great food, beautiful room (deck 12 JS), friendly and helpful crew, and good weather so far.

Still really good speed, I am encouraged. The way the IT people explained the new satellite system to me, there are multiple paths now, so guests can be segregated from video (some TV channels are via internet) and ship operations.

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Hlynur

Hlynur

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Those updates are very interesting, the speed is quite a bit higher than I expected given the previous snail-pace speeds I've had on cruise ships. A significant drop when out of port as expected, but still not too bad.

 

I'd be delighted if the Radiance will be able to reach those speeds in late March/early April, since I think that has had the internet upgrade done a little while ago.

 

Nice to hear you're enjoying the cruise also; I would've forgotten to ask in all the discussion over internet speeds :D

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Cotswold Eagle

Cotswold Eagle

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"Speed", as perceived for example by the time it takes a web page to load, is a function of bandwidth and latency. There's a danger of focusing too much on the bandwidth figure, which is great, but missing the latency issue (satellite networks are renowned for having high bandwidth AND high latency). Look at that ping number - it's 20x what you are probably used to on an earthbound network.

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91354guy

91354guy

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Remember that typical connections via satellite carry a built-in lag of 1/2 second (500 milliseconds) uplink (connection from YOU to the satellite) and then another 1/2 second back down to the land-based station....then you will need to add whatever lag the ground-station has in relation to the closest backbone. Therefore, the typical minimum overhead is likely 1500 milliseconds (1.5 seconds) up and then the similar connection overhead on the return connection (total of approx. 3 seconds...3000 milliseconds). While that may not seem like a great deal of time, keep in mind that this will be compounded by the loading of multiple "frames" that come from different locations (e.g., small windows with adds)...therefore each of these would add to the total amount of time that YOU are waiting for the web site to load (each minute costing you $$).

 

(Yes, I do this kind of stuff for a living...)

 

Scott

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91354guy

91354guy

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Interesting....I'm REALLY looking forward to this upcoming vacation for a number of reasons.

 

I do have a question although it is a little off-topic for this thread...the previous two RCI cruises (the last being June 2012 on Allure) we were able to rent iPhones to keep in touch with eachother (instead of using our own cells or those noisy hand held walkie talkies). I have not been able to confirm that this service is still offered...does anybody know? Perhaps point me in the right direction?

 

Scott

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91354guy

91354guy

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Not sure of your data plan but mine is something like 50 cents per received message. Depending on how verbose the conversations can be, that could be expensive at the end of a week. That's why I was asking about those rented iPhones. The cost was something like 20 bucks for the week and besides text messages you could call the other phones and use it for various things while on board the ship.

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NorbertsNiece "Live from...." Rare

NorbertsNiece

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Not sure of your data plan but mine is something like 50 cents per received message. Depending on how verbose the conversations can be, that could be expensive at the end of a week. That's why I was asking about those rented iPhones. The cost was something like 20 bucks for the week and besides text messages you could call the other phones and use it for various things while on board the ship.

 

Hi. Not all the ships have the phones for rental. Don't believe Freedom does but someone with recent knowledge will be able to advise. If your own phones are not in airplane mode they could be downloading Data and that would be a very unpleasant welcome home gift..... unlimited data packages will not include roaming.

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Cotswold Eagle

Cotswold Eagle

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Thanks for the link. There is (at least) one inaccuracy in the article, the O3b satellites have not "just launched", they are still in pre-flight testing :)

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1cat4jan

1cat4jan

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Posted (edited)

Off topic here - but...

 

I carry my I-pad and COPY my photos daily. That way, I have two copies of my photos incase my media card glitches or I lose my camera. Besides, it's fun to look at my photos in a larger size.

 

Note - you will need a camera connection kit if you want to transfer photos to your I-pad. They are currently around $25 in the States.

 

NOTE: If you have never used the camera connection kit, the process will give you the option of deleting the photos from the media card - be sure to say NO - or you won't have the protection of backup.

 

I would carry an I-pad for internet usage because it seems faster to me, but I'm too cheap to buy the package, so it's a moot point for me.

 

The I-pad sometimes fits in the ship's safe, but on the Oasis, it does not.

 

On Oasis they had some kind of I-phone rental - wasn't interested so I did not investigate, but I'm sure you can find the info on the website. I was surprised to hear of an option like that. It sounds like a great idea. I assume they have a limited amount of rentals, so if you are interested, that would be my first stop after boarding.

Edited by 1cat4jan
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Clarea

Clarea

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I'm going on the Liberty of the Seas on Monday March 11, 2013. Can I use my iPad on the wifi or should I take my laptop with me?

The iPad will work fine on the WiFi. You will have to first go to one of the guest computers and create a wireless account and password. Once that is done, you can connect to the wireless with the iPad.

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Rockfordite

Rockfordite

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The iPad will work fine on the WiFi. You will have to first go to one of the guest computers and create a wireless account and password. Once that is done, you can connect to the wireless with the iPad.

 

Thank you so much!!! :)

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Clarea

Clarea

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I had thought that FOS had the unlimited wifi package, but I'm disappointed that they apparently do not.

 

That being the case, does anyone have a link to the most recent price list for wi-fi on Freedom?

This is courtesy of Patti (cruisenfever) from a December 2012 Freedom cruise:

 

Per Minute Rate is $.75 per minute

 

Packages of bundled minutes:

$ 25.95 for 38 minutes (66 cents per minute)

$ 49.95 for 90 minutes (56 cents per minute)

$ 99.00 for 208 minutes (48 cents per minute)

$199.55 for 555 minutes (35 cents per minute)

$399.95 for 1666 minutes (25 cents per minute)

Edited by clarea
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fletch1027 Great Review Rare

fletch1027

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This is courtesy of Patti (cruisenfever) from a December 2012 Freedom cruise:

 

Per Minute Rate is $.75 per minute

 

Packages of bundled minutes:

$ 25.95 for 38 minutes (66 cents per minute)

$ 49.95 for 90 minutes (56 cents per minute)

$ 99.00 for 208 minutes (48 cents per minute)

$199.55 for 555 minutes (35 cents per minute)

$399.95 for 1666 minutes (25 cents per minute)

 

Thanks for the info, although what I see is depressing:-(.

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DaNana

DaNana

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Sure, but you will be paying big time for data roaming. Check with Verizon to confirm data rates on the ship. With AT&T it was $20/MB.

 

On my iPhone under Settings, General, turn off Cellular and there are no roaming charges. You can use the WiFi w/o an issue once you sign up for it:).

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