Wi-fi speed

[guerchino]

Hello everyone,

 

Will be on the spirit for 24days this fall and would like to access newspapers etc on my I-pad. Could someone comment on download speeds - I'm concerned that it could be so slow that it would become too expensive to use.

 

Thanks

[Nigella]

This is an issue for cruise lines in generaly, not just SS, but this is the official line, from the Silversea website :

 

"

Communications at Sea

 

Communication via satellite is a significantly different experience compared to high-speed connections on shore. The signal travels in a similar manner to radio waves but at much greater distances. That is why onboard Internet access is inconsistent and cannot be guaranteed at all times. Satellite communications are also affected by weather and the ship’s location. As such, there may be temporary outages of any satellite-connected service, including Internet connections, cell phones, in-suite phones, television broadcast channels and world news summaries.

 

Please note that onboard systems do not support 3G technology; the only option for iPad® users to access the Internet on board is via WiFi. Unfortunately, iPads assign little battery power to their internal signal. Unless the WiFi signal is very strong, it is likely you will experience interruptions or may not be able to connect at all. You may notice laptop users have no trouble connecting to the WiFi on board, while an iPad in the same spot drops and reconnects. In addition, the satellite signal fluctuates and iPads are more sensitive to this fluctuation, which may interrupt your iPad Internet session while going unnoticed on other devices."

 

 

So they're admitting that internet may be patchy, and especially using iPad.

 

 

In practice, we've found that it depends on several factors, including time of day, geographical location of the ship, location of suite onboard ship and we've definitely noticed that iPad is slower than a laptop.

 

We tend to buy an unlimited package so we're not fretting about racking up charges with slow access.

 

SS does produce daily newspapers but of course these may not be the ones you would choose to read.

[screwcork]

Watching newspapers onboard is very frustrating - slow connection and very expensive. I don't know where you are going, but in most ports you would probably be able to have free wi-fi access in cafés, bars, restaurants, etc.

Screwcork

[Randyk47]

After paying for a couple of hundred minutes two years ago on the Wind we decided to forego that last month. At a number of ports we just took our iPads with us and found cafes with Wi-Fi to read email and catch up on news, etc. It wasn't a matter of cost as it was the slow connection. Not worth the frustration to us.

[Observer]

I have found download speeds to be quite adequate. This may be because I download first thing every morning. It rarely takes more than 5 minutes to download my email, to browse my local newspaper, and to download that day's NY TIMES, to be read at leisure offline. Downloading magazines (e.g., NEW YORKER or BUSINESS WEEK) takes longer. In any case, I do nearly all of my reading and replying offline (and then upload responses to email messages).

[guerchino]

Thanks very much for your replies. Much appreciated

[UKCruiseJeff]

Hello everyone,

 

Will be on the spirit for 24days this fall and would like to access newspapers etc on my I-pad. Could someone comment on download speeds - I'm concerned that it could be so slow that it would become too expensive to use.

 

Thanks

 

Hi,

 

There are two different types of newspaper download. Many involve being connected live to the net to navigate between pages. Every time you go to a new page that has to download. So you have to be connected all the time. Slow. expensive. This is the less attractive method for reading on a cruise.

 

The other way is where the whole newspaper is downloaded in a few seconds in one go. This is the far better way. Normally this is via an app and by subscription. This obviously also means very small ship connect charges. If you don't normally do this and only want it for your cruise, check whether your paper has a free trial subscription or a monthly scheme.

 

We read The Times and this downloads automatically every day in a few seconds and one go. Several magazines do this as well.

[screwcork]

Hi,

 

There are two different types of newspaper download. Many involve being connected live to the net to navigate between pages. Every time you go to a new page that has to download. So you have to be connected all the time. Slow. expensive. This is the less attractive method for reading on a cruise.

 

The other way is where the whole newspaper is downloaded in a few seconds in one go. This is the far better way. Normally this is via an app and by subscription. This obviously also means very small ship connect charges. If you don't normally do this and only want it for your cruise, check whether your paper has a free trial subscription or a monthly scheme.

 

We read The Times and this downloads automatically every day in a few seconds and one go. Several magazines do this as well.

 

 

Hi,

I have an app and a subscription like that for a Norwegian newspaper. My experience from other ships (than Silversea's) is not "a few seconds and one go"! I would rather say several minutes, and sometimes you have to try several times! Does this mean that Silversea's connection is quicker than e.g. Seabourn's and Azamara's?

Screwcork

[UKCruiseJeff]

Hi,

 

I have an app and a subscription like that for a Norwegian newspaper. My experience from other ships (than Silversea's) is not "a few seconds and one go"! I would rather say several minutes, and sometimes you have to try several times! Does this mean that Silversea's connection is quicker than e.g. Seabourn's and Azamara's?

 

Screwcork

 

My point was simply that once you have downloaded you can disconnect. So although it has taken a few minutes that has all you have paid for. If you browse online live you are connected and pay for connection the whole time you browse the newspaper. With your app you can download and then move to any point of the ship to read whether in a decent hotspot or not.

 

Actual speeds are so variable they are impossible to predict because the main factor is the number of users connected to the router you are sharing at any given moment. Each reduces every other users speed. On top of that you have the connection speed itself. Comparisons can therefore only be for a particular moment on a particular day.

[TLCOhio]

Hello everyone, Will be on the spirit for 24days this fall and would like to access newspapers etc on my I-pad. Could someone comment on download speeds - I'm concerned that it could be so slow that it would become too expensive to use. Thanks

 

As noted, this is not just a challenge with Silversea, but with all cruise ship. Overall, the Internet is far from fast or perfect. But I have done fairly comprehensive live/blogs on each of these recent cruises with lots of pictures, including while sailing Silversea up and down the Norway coast. Plus earlier this year for Australia and New Zealand.

 

My secret is knowing how to log on, get what I need, make any uploads that have been prepared offline, etc., THEN log out quickly!! I can look at many web pages, detailed news articles . . . off-line, saving on that costly time, frustrations and worries. I bring my laptop, making such logging on (and off) much easier with my book-marked pages for my web favorites, etc.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 146,636 views.

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

 

Back from doing a 14-day Celebrity Solstice, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure on this ship and getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for much more information and pictures. Now at 63,466 views.

[Mark_K]

This is an issue for cruise lines in generaly, not just SS, but this is the official line, from the Silversea website :

 

"

Communications at Sea

 

Communication via satellite is a significantly different experience compared to high-speed connections on shore. The signal travels in a similar manner to radio waves but at much greater distances. That is why onboard Internet access is inconsistent and cannot be guaranteed at all times. Satellite communications are also affected by weather and the ship’s location. As such, there may be temporary outages of any satellite-connected service, including Internet connections, cell phones, in-suite phones, television broadcast channels and world news summaries.

 

Please note that onboard systems do not support 3G technology; the only option for iPad® users to access the Internet on board is via WiFi. Unfortunately, iPads assign little battery power to their internal signal. Unless the WiFi signal is very strong, it is likely you will experience interruptions or may not be able to connect at all. You may notice laptop users have no trouble connecting to the WiFi on board, while an iPad in the same spot drops and reconnects. In addition, the satellite signal fluctuates and iPads are more sensitive to this fluctuation, which may interrupt your iPad Internet session while going unnoticed on other devices."

 

 

So they're admitting that internet may be patchy, and especially using iPad.

 

 

In practice, we've found that it depends on several factors, including time of day, geographical location of the ship, location of suite onboard ship and we've definitely noticed that iPad is slower than a laptop.

 

We tend to buy an unlimited package so we're not fretting about racking up charges with slow access.

 

SS does produce daily newspapers but of course these may not be the ones you would choose to read.

Being on a ship at sea, and using satellite, may be a good excuse for slow connections, but it is not a good excuse for poor iPad connections. All that is required to fix that is to add enough, relatively inexpensive, access points that there is a strong signal in all passenger areas of the ship.

 

 

 

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