WiFi@Sea - New Technology

[kiwijohn]

Carnival Corporation have announced that they are rolling out a new internet system across the fleet which includes HAL. The system combines land based broadband system with satellite technology and is called Wifi@Sea. It is supposed to give speeds equivalent to what you get in Starbucks cafes. Carnival said it is already installed in one HAL ship. Does anybody know which one it is and if you have experienced it, how does it compare with existing satellite systems???

[POA1]

It might be on the Nieuw Amsterdam. We got some crazy fast speeds our second week. I typically run a speed test and was clocking DSL speeds. Understand that crazy fast for a ship isn't the same as crazy fast on land.

[jenp123]

Not on the nieuw Amsterdam in November. I purchased a large package and used up 100 minutes just trying to log in. It worked in fort Lauderdale while we were docked and the 2nd to last day. I had to fight to get a credit back. They kept explaining that on day 5/7 the internet was fine and I could use the minutes. I had to repeatedly explain that I would not have bought such a large package if I could only use it for 2 days. They finally reimbursed me some money

[taxmantoo]

Not on the nieuw Amsterdam in November. I purchased a large package and used up 100 minutes just trying to log in. It worked in fort Lauderdale while we were docked and the 2nd to last day. I had to fight to get a credit back. They kept explaining that on day 5/7 the internet was fine and I could use the minutes. I had to repeatedly explain that I would not have bought such a large package if I could only use it for 2 days. They finally reimbursed me some money

 

Something is definitely wrong here. Your minutes only start getting used up AFTER you are logged in :rolleyes: The system can't use up your minutes if it doesn't know who you are !

[Himself]

I hope it is on the Nieuw Amsterdam in a few weeks, when I am on her!

[xlxo]

Please post back some speed results. I got 24Mbps on the Disney Wonder last summer.

 

Here's possible site to check for speed... if the internet is quantity based.... this site consumes 10mb each test.

http://rimouski.speedtest.telus.com/

[POA1]

I hope it is on the Nieuw Amsterdam in a few weeks, when I am on her!

We were on the Nieuw Amsterdam for three weeks. One in the middle of November. Then off the week of Thanksgiving, and back on the first two weeks of December. It didn't get speedy until our last week.

 

I check speed against my own servers. It gives me consistent results, and since it's not a regular public speed test, I don't have to worry about caching messing up the results. (I do check public speed test sites on occasion.)

 

Not to be argumentative - he says getting ready to argue - but that 24Mbps reported data speed on the Disney ship is more than double the speed of 4G LTE and faster than almost all residential "fiber like" services, such as Verizon FiOS and AT&T U-Verse. Since a ship's bandwidth is shared by all the passengers, Mickey must trail one big ol' honkin' spool of cable behind those ships. :D

[xlxo]

that 24Mbps reported data speed on the Disney ship is more than double the speed of 4G LTE and faster than almost all residential "fiber like" services, such as Verizon FiOS and AT&T U-Verse. Since a ship's bandwidth is shared by all the passengers, Mickey must trail one big ol' honkin' spool of cable behind those ships. :D

 

To clarify... that test was done at 1am departing Vancouver for Alaska. Guessing we would have been somewhere around the inside passage.

 

I'm sure I would have gotten different results at different times of the day. But I wanted a base line for maximum reading during a low traffic period.

 

I welcome hearing others "measured" experiences at different times on different ships. Having good internet can make a difference on who I cruise with in the future.

[POA1]

To clarify... that test was done at 1am departing Vancouver for Alaska. Guessing we would have been somewhere around the inside passage.

 

I'm sure I would have gotten different results at different times of the day. But I wanted a base line for maximum reading during a low traffic period.

 

I welcome hearing others "measured" experiences at different times on different ships. Having good internet can make a difference on who I cruise with in the future.

OK, but it still exceeds the average max throughput of 802.11g WiFi, which is 22Mbps. (The oft quoted 54Mbps is exclusive of error correction.)

 

It's basically 1/2 of T3 speeds without a wire, through a satellite connection.

Edited February 5, 2015 by POA1

[jenp123]

Something is definitely wrong here. Your minutes only start getting used up AFTER you are logged in :rolleyes: The system can't use up your minutes if it doesn't know who you are !

 

I guess I should have said that it always logged me in but never actually worked beyond that. My history showing my usage was lines and lines of 1 min intervals where I logged in and logged out as the internet wouldn't work. I tried it on multiple devices. It was kind of amusing one day when I was at the front desk complaining about no service and the lady told me it was fine...at the same time, the agent beside her was telling a guest they couldn't help them at the moment as all ships internet was down

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

I hope they do all the ships this year ..

[Hlitner]

"New Technology" and HAL are a total contradiction in terms when it comes to passenger services. So one can surmise that every cruise ship on earth will have high speed internet before HAL discovers that the option exists. It is kind of like interactive TV on many cruise lines (where you can check your onboard statement and even do transactions) which is something that HAL is reportably considering....more then a decade after it has been widely used on other lines (some in the Carnival family).

 

But in a more serious vein (which bleeds on HAL) we do hope HAL does install decent WiFi. That being said, when we cruise on Princess, RCI, Azamara, Celebrity, (and some others) we pay zero for internet access (with some limitations such as only 1000 free minutes on Princess). But on HAL .......oh well...will not go there.

 

Hank

Edited February 5, 2015 by Hlitner

[xlxo]

OK, but it still exceeds the average max throughput of 802.11g WiFi, which is 22Mbps. (The oft quoted 54Mbps is exclusive of error correction.)

 

Was not aware of the 802.11g limitation. Then again... could DCL be using 802.11n to get more performance through all the ship metal?

 

When I hear about poor performing internet, I assume that speed is 1Mbps or lower. I think it's wrong to be charging by time on slow internet. DCL charges by "quantity" and thus is interested in speed. On DCL, I've only read about one person dissappointed by the speed. I made the mistake of updating my iPad on DCL and quickly blew through 300mb of my 1gb package.

 

Having "measured" speed results by cruisers would clarify discussions.

[sail7seas]

I guess I should have said that it always logged me in but never actually worked beyond that. My history showing my usage was lines and lines of 1 min intervals where I logged in and logged out as the internet wouldn't work. I tried it on multiple devices. It was kind of amusing one day when I was at the front desk complaining about no service and the lady told me it was fine...at the same time, the agent beside her was telling a guest they couldn't help them at the moment as all ships internet was down

 

Please, please share with us what the front desk lady you were working with said when her colleague said all the ship's internet was down. :D :) That's a hard one to wiggle around. :eek:

 

[xlxo]

that 24Mbps reported data speed on the Disney ship is more than double the speed of 4G LTE and faster than almost all residential "fiber like" services, such as Verizon FiOS and AT&T U-Verse.

I guess that depends on where we live and what package we subscribe to.

 

Just did a speed test on my 4G LTE and got 27.44Mbps. I think I've seen 36Mbps in my travels when I'm close to a cell tower.

 

My home internet is tested at 25Mbps because I pad for a 25Mbps. There's a 50Mbps package if I wanted to pay more.

[Hlitner]

We think some are confusing WiFi speed with internet speed (and they are not the same). One can have very fast WiFi (which is simply the throughput to the router) and have zero internet. One problem we have had on HAL is that the WiFi routers are spaced in such a way that not all of our cabins could even get WiFi. One HAL Communications Officer told us (2 years ago) that HAL was upgrading their WiFi service to eliminate these "holes in coverage" but not sure if this has yet been accomplished.

 

We have found internet on HAL to be sporadic (at best) but this is pretty similar to what we experience on other cruise lines (we have been on 14 lines). On our most recent 38 day Oosterdam cruise (from Seattle to Auckland) we were pleasantly surprised to have internet service for the entire crossing. We were always able to log-on, d/l our e-mails, and quickly log off (this is how one can use very little internet time) and do all of our reading and responses off-line. But the internet was still very slow (about the speed of an old dial-up account).

 

Hank

[eldercruser]

On the Eurodam over New Years' the down load was quite good, especially compared to past experiences.

[detroit70]

I was on the Zuiderdam in January for a Panama Canal cruise. As we boarded the ship, we learned of a situation at home with which we needed to stay in contact so we bought the $149 unlimited access package. To my surprise, I found the connection to be very good in our cabin on the laptop, and throughout the ship on my iPad and cell.

 

There were occasional times, such as on a sea day, when it slowed some which I assumed was due to higher traffic, but otherwise I was pleased.

[take us away]

Have heard that it was the Amsterdam that got the 1st install. Jeff, who is daily blogging with photos from the Amsterdam, has said the internet is sooooo much better that it has been in the past. Hopefully it will be fleet wide very soon so we can all enjoy!

[Mosaic]

I will be on the N A on Sunday, will report with speed test results on Monday

[Stakeout]

got off the Maasdam Jan 23.. then right on to the Zuiderdam same day... internet was horrendous if it was working at all.. first 4 days on the Maasdam NO Internet and all it was doing was the regular Caribbean route.. Captain on the Maasdam said it was because the Internet antenna was mounted behind the Radar antenna blocking the view of the Satellite... my question is.. if you believe that I can sell you a nice bridge from my old home town in Brooklyn.. internet on HAL's ships is a disgrace..was on the Maasdam for 42 days Oct-Dec it was just as bad back then..

Edited February 13, 2015 by Stakeout

[holacanada]

Hi fellow cruisers !

 

When on Oosterdam ?

 

Holacanada

[POA1]

Captain on the Maasdam said it was because the Internet antenna was mounted behind the Radar antenna blocking the view of the Satellite... my question is.. if you believe that I can sell you a nice bridge from my old home town in Brooklyn.. internet on HAL's ships is a disgrace..was on the Maasdam for 42 days Oct-Dec it was just as bad back then..

 

Stupid question - Why was the Captain telling you about the Internet?

[DaveOKC]

got off the Maasdam Jan 23.. then right on to the Zuiderdam same day... internet was horrendous if it was working at all.. first 4 days on the Maasdam NO Internet and all it was doing was the regular Caribbean route.. Captain on the Maasdam said it was because the Internet antenna was mounted behind the Radar antenna blocking the view of the Satellite... my question is.. if you believe that I can sell you a nice bridge from my old home town in Brooklyn.. internet on HAL's ships is a disgrace..was on the Maasdam for 42 days Oct-Dec it was just as bad back then..

 

Was the Zuiderdam any better? We were on her in Nov and it was terrible some days and great others - go figure.

[catl331]

Have heard that it was the Amsterdam that got the 1st install. Jeff, who is daily blogging with photos from the Amsterdam, has said the internet is sooooo much better that it has been in the past. Hopefully it will be fleet wide very soon so we can all enjoy!

Amsterdam was the first to switch from MTN to Harris, and you're saying that they are now the first to switch from Harris to WiFi@Sea? Or that the Harris system is better than it has been in the past?