WiFi on Escape: Experiences, Speeds, Stability, etc.

[BeachBum777]

Worst yet 8 hours out of Tortola towards Bahamas

 

[perditax]

Yikes. Yeah, they obviously don't have any better connection than they did before.

[fredflint]

RCL's internet is different than others in that they do not use geosynchronous satellites so they are not 22,500 miles away they are much closer so the ping is much better. They can also beamform and follow the ship delivering more bandwidth much like beamforming on some home routers. The satellites are about 5,000 miles up. Other companies will need to either really up their infrastructure or sign up with the same company. I am sure the employees on RCCL ships are much happier being able to stay in touch with families. http://www.o3bnetworks.com/technology/

 

I am sailing on EPIC in November the internet will be part of my decision to try NCL a second time or not.

[perditax]

RCL's internet is different than others in that they do not use geosynchronous satellites so they are not 22,500 miles away they are much closer so the ping is much better. They can also beamform and follow the ship delivering more bandwidth much like beamforming on some home routers. The satellites are about 5,000 miles up. Other companies will need to either really up their infrastructure or sign up with the same company. I am sure the employees on RCCL ships are much happier being able to stay in touch with families. http://www.o3bnetworks.com/technology/

 

I am sailing on EPIC in November the internet will be part of my decision to try NCL a second time or not.

 

I've heard stuff to this effect, and that RCI has taken up all the resources on that particular satellite(s). I have no idea now accurate this is. If so it's not technically NCL's fault they can't match RC's tech, but possibly they shouldn't be attempting to sell an allegedly similar class of service for $250/wk.

 

(I should also add...this is probably a reason I'll be trying RC next.)

 

I'd been planning on trying this premium package in a few weeks on GA, but based on these speed tests so far I think I may just go with "disconnect".

[BeachBum777]

To be clear the lowest speed was just once

 

 

Just outside the Bahamas

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

Worst yet 8 hours out of Tortola towards Bahamas

 

 

 

 

That's more like it (what I've experienced on virtually all ships except Oasis/Allure) -- :(

 

Tom

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

To be clear the lowest speed was just once

 

 

Just outside the Bahamas

 

 

So - I see you have have Airplane Mode "on". I usually don't, and just turn off Mobile Data.

 

Can you, or anyone, enlighten me as to the ins/outs with regard to using Airplane Mode (or not) while onboard - and connected to Wi-Fi? Specifically how it might impact text messaging.

 

THANKS

[BeachBum777]

I have att they offer WiFi calling and texting at no additional charge depending on the software in your phone , I use a galaxy s5 Android software 6.01

 

So I can call and text unlimited, as long as I am on wifi.anywhere in the world.

 

If your in airplane mode you have essentially severed your connection with your cellular carrier so you will not receive texts unless you're using magicJack or Skype or some other software over-the-top with a Wi-Fi connection.

[BeachBum777]

Check out the WiFi calling icon is on

[BeachBum777]

I also keep location on- this way with a clear path to the sky you can always see exactly where you're at in the water

 

[perditax]

To be clear the lowest speed was just once

 

 

Just outside the Bahamas

 

But this is 7am, when most people are probably still asleep?

 

Have you had more outages since the first one you reported?

 

Have you pretty consistently been able to stream video if you tried?

[BeachBum777]

Could always stream when attempted buffering a little if the pipe was congested

 

When you don't use it for a long time and walk off ship and come back on sometimes you have to do the horse and pony show to sign back on.

 

And the only major outage was that one day for four hours they said that they were receiving the signal perfect but for some reason they weren't able to send back out whatever that is

 

Promised me a credit and never gave it

[BeachBum777]

 

This will conclude my testing over a five-day period

[perditax]

Could always stream when attempted buffering a little if the pipe was congested

 

When you don't use it for a long time and walk off ship and come back on sometimes you have to do the horse and pony show to sign back on.

 

And the only major outage was that one day for four hours they said that they were receiving the signal perfect but for some reason they weren't able to send back out whatever that is

 

Promised me a credit and never gave it

 

Thanks again for the info and the detailed reports. I was about to ask if the IT mgr on board was still the dark-haired guy, but I keep forgetting you're on Escape (right?) not GA. :) The GA guy definitely got me a refund (partial) when he said he would, for one cruise when the whole system was down many nights on a 7 night. I'm not sure when the refund showed up though, might have been towards the end of the cruise.

[lilyen311]

Sailing on the Jade in June from Hamburg...if we buy one of the $269 unlimited packages we can share the package, as long as we are not attempting to be on 2 devices at the same time...is this correct?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[BeachBum777]

Yes can be on a hundred devices as long as it's one at a time.

 

They did give me a half-day credit which I thought was fair. Had to ask twice which I don't appreciate

[BeachBum777]

[BeachBum777]

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

Thanks for the regular updates as to the quality of your connection.

 

It seems to me that, if they can't deliver a reliable product, there should be some system in place for prorated refunds.

 

Clearly if you're paying for a level of internet (at quite the premium) which includes the purported ability to "stream", then the bandwidth should allow that.

 

On most all ships which I've been on (except, again, Oasis and Allure), there's a noticeable drop in the usability of the internet on the last day or so, as everyone is either getting in touch with friends/family, checking in for flights, etc. I say "noticeable" because when you're starting off at 30-40Meg and drop by 50-75%, you're still able to function quite well. The same can't be said for situations where you're starting point is just a few Meg, and drops down to practically dial-up speeds. Many pages simply don't function when surfing at a turtle's pace - they freeze. Especially in my case, where I've got several pinned tabs that open each time I start my browser... I have to go in and stop loading each page, tab by tab, in order to hopefully get one or two to work properly on their own.

 

Frustrating

 

Tom

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

 

The visual definition of serenity !

 

Tom

[BeachBum777]

Hey look I just walked 9 miles in 30 minutes.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

Hey look I just walked 9 miles in 30 minutes.

 

 

Extra portions for you today !! :D

 

Tom

[BeachBum777]

Haha

[BeachBum777]