Internet - Transatlantic

[CDSMIA]

Does anyone have any experience/information on the internet on transatlantic voyages? We will be sailing on the RCCL Rhapsody from Brazil to Spain in April 2016.

[Keith1010]

I would post this on the RCI board.

 

I've taken many crossings but on other ships.

 

From time to time you might lose the signal or have some minor issues but in general on this type of route there should not be too much out of the ordinary.

 

Keith

[crystalspin]

Have never bought internet on a ship, but have observed many frustrated users complaining to the computer desk person.

 

Satellite internet is slow at best. The communications satellites mostly or all orbit near the equator (why dishes all point south in the northern hemisphere), so the farther you are from the equator, the slower and more likely to drop out the signal will be.

 

If you must be in touch, plan to write off line and upload with copy and paste, in the smallest time possible. Don't plan to Skype or download large files.

[Hlitner]

We have done at least 2 dozen transatlantics and internet service is about as predictable as the sea conditions. As a general rule we do have service on the entire route, but it can be very slow. Keep in mind that most of the time cruise ship internet is still about the speed of an old fashioned dial-up account.

 

Hank

[Scrapnana]

Besides the fact that internet anywhere at sea is going to be slow, the ship's wifi system may make it even slower. Was on Liberty of the Seas recently and the internet was horrendous. I understand that some of the RCI ships have a very good wifi system. As mentioned by another poster, I would ask for personal experiences from those who have been on Rhapsody recently.

[SPacificbound]

On our TA in October the wifi was very slow in our cabin (rear facing aft) so we went to the Centrium and I was able work on my blog and get my pictures up.

I had a lot of pictures so this worked for me. :)

[BlueRiband]

Does anyone have any experience/information on the internet on transatlantic voyages? We will be sailing on the RCCL Rhapsody from Brazil to Spain in April 2016.

 

Been on several TAs with Cunard, and the internet was OK but not great. The worst speeds came just after breakfast and just before dinner: Prime times for everyone to check emails. Any big downloads like podcasts are best done late at night. Forget about uploading videos.

[pris993]

On any cruise the best time to use the internet is when you are in port, when others are not using it.