New internet provider at sea?

[donmimi]

While we were on our last cruise on Celebrity's Infinity (late Feb 2013) , techies were running cable on each deck in anticipation of the new "contract" with the new internet provider "coming soon" - does anyone have any more concrete information on this? For those in the know, the band width so far on their ships has been very limited; and the guys in the internet cafe seemed very excited in anticipation of the new contract. It was openly being discussed so I suspect it was just a matter of implementation but I have not info on which ships and when.

[johhnnyt]

While we were on our last cruise on Celebrity's Infinity (late Feb 2013) , techies were running cable on each deck in anticipation of the new "contract" with the new internet provider "coming soon" - does anyone have any more concrete information on this? For those in the know, the band width so far on their ships has been very limited; and the guys in the internet cafe seemed very excited in anticipation of the new contract. It was openly being discussed so I suspect it was just a matter of implementation but I have not info on which ships and when.

 

 

Bayley did say in late 2012 "with the launch of Celebrity Reflection, which enters service October 10, we are significantly enhancing the bandwidth onboard. And it gets better: By the end of the first quarter of 2013, we will have increased it across the entire fleet!"

So looks like they might be a bit benind but getting there

[Chunky2219]

Well, having go off Solstice at the end of Q1 either they are behind schedule or it didn't work. The speed was poor, even when moored in port.

 

Last year on Constellation they told me that all the Millenium class vessels were being progressively re-wired to get decent wi-fi in cabin. Maybe you saw a version of this?

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[karlth]

So the internet connection on Reflection is upgraded?

[donmimi]

I did indeed see them re-wiring each deck thru the ceiling on the Infinity (M-class) , but my comment/question was actually based on a conversation I had with one of the techs in the apple cafe. Maybe he was just telling me a rumor he had heard - and was hoping was true!! Apparently there is only one supplier of internet capability for the cruise ships - and the staff is just as unhappy with them as we are. Of course they are . . . all we do is complain to the staff. If no-one else has heard anything, I guess I was misinformed.

[ceetee]

Hi all,

Harris Corporation, which is a huge telecommunications outfit located here in Melbourne FL, won a contract with Royal Caribbean this past year.

I saw huge banner with the Royal Caribbean logo, drapped on one of the buildings. Here is a small except from their website. It mentions 34 ships, so more then just under RCCL, which I just counted at 19.

 

Following the close of the quarter, Harris achieved a significant new win in the maritime market, a five-year contract award with Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. to provide global communications services onboard 34 of its ships.

[Redtravel]

I was on the Summit in May, Silhouette in October, and Infinity last week. Internet on Summit and Silhouette worked well. Infinity was very bad. Many days there was no signal. We get free minutes as an elite. Not only were we not able to use most of those minutes, we were charged for additional time while we on the ship ( got removed)....and credit card bill which came yesterday in the mail had a additional internet charge for a day when we did not use it . Had to get that removed also. If they have changed providers, it isn't for the better. I was happy that the internet on the Silhouette worked well. We were away during Hurricane Sandy. We live in NJ. We didn't know anything about the storm when we left home. Luckily, family lived close by. They contacted us and got information that helped them secure our house. We did sustain damage. It would have been a lot worse if we hadn't been able to exchange information via the internet.

[Kevnzworld]

The Eclipse,Equinox and Reflection hav the new service provider....OnWaves.

The Internet is 10x's faster. Pictures get uploaded instantly.

I'm on the Equinox right now, and I sailed on the Eclipse in January.

I HOPE the Infnity upgrades their Internet ......

[Andy]

The Eclipse,Equinox and Reflection hav the new service provider....OnWaves.

The Internet is 10x's faster. Pictures get uploaded instantly.

I'm on the Equinox right now, and I sailed on the Eclipse in January.

I HOPE the Infnity upgrades their Internet ......

 

Amazing how that works. I was on Eclipse's previous sailing, and the service was absolutely horrible, and virtually identical to what I experienced last November. Many others have reported the same. I wouldnt be surprised if they havent fine tuned it yet - but something's not right there.