Internet on Breakaway

[bones774]

We are planning on having our son take his college final for a summer session course online onboard the ship. Its approved by his instructor already. Does anyone forsee any problems or issues that may arise? This is kinda important to us and him so we want to have all issues addressed pre-cruise. Thanks

Edited July 28, 2016 by bones774

[nanc765]

As a professor, I see a few issues that could arise technically. If the internet connection drops or is unstable, will he be able to resume the exam where he left off? He needs to talk to the professor about that and make a contingency plan. Also, depending on the learning management system, he may need a special browser to take the test. I would check with the professor prior to him leaving to see if the test is set up that way, so he can download any special browsers or software before leaving. Have a great trip!

 

Nancy

Edited July 28, 2016 by nanc765

[bones774]

As a professor, I see a few issues that could arise technically. If the internet connection drops or is unstable, will he be able to resume the exam where he left off? He needs to talk to the professor about that and make a contingency plan. Also, depending on the learning management system, he may need a special browser to take the test. I would check with the professor prior to him leaving to see if the test is set up that way, so he can download any special browsers or software before leaving. Have a great trip!

 

Nancy

 

If the internet connection at home were to drop or become unstable he would be in same position? The special browser is a good point. That's why I'm asking now.

Thanks

 

Anyone else???

[queenschick9b]

But unlike at home the ship's connection goes in and out all the time. My connection at home almost never goes offline and on the breakaway at Christmas it was almost impossible to get a good connection for more than 10 minutes at a time.

 

My recommendation is to use the computers in the Internet cafe (or whatever they call it) because in my experience they are better connections there, but that is also basically in the atrium where it is very noisy.

 

Best of luck!

[nanc765]

If the internet connection at home were to drop or become unstable he would be in same position?

 

Yes, if the internet connection drops anywhere he might be in the same position, but at sea, it is a bit harder. I would have a pre-arranged way to contact the professor just in case, either by phone or email to be able to work something out should he be able to not complete the exam on the ship.

 

Nancy

Edited July 28, 2016 by nanc765
clarity

[bones774]

Yes, if the internet connection drops anywhere he might be in the same position, but at sea, it is a bit harder. I would have a pre-arranged way to contact the professor just in case, either by phone or email to be able to work something out should he be able to not complete the exam on the ship.

 

Nancy

 

You're right, it can't hurt.

 

Nancy, as an instructor how would you feel if worse came to worse he took the test off hours, say waiting till we got to Bermuda for a stable connection? Does it matter at what time or day he takes it? How will the test be scheduled?

Will the connection be more stable docked in port?

Edited July 28, 2016 by bones774

[queenschick9b]

In port there are usually way faster, cheaper Internet cafes that are probably better for this. not sure about Bermuda specifically, but i bet someone here can tell you some place near the dock that they have used. In the past I have asked crew members because that used to be the quickest cheapest fastest way for them to connect to home.

[mking8288]

We cruised on the BA in late May to Bermuda and used both ship's ("free" promo 250) WiFi satellite internet and while on the islands, Fi Network roaming international on DigiCel at 3G (cellular) speed - you can follow my review link review (post #150, etc.).

 

Between the Nexus device (Android 6.0.1) and laptop running Windows 10, as well as iPad Mini (iOS 9) - we didn't experience any major downtime, if any - server will timed out the device due to inactivity to free up the bandwidth ... did not notice any issues with block "ports" or browser functions (Firefox & Chrome) - although, that was before the summer with fewer people signingon & using it, 5 GHz band was definitely less crowded and less congested.

 

Are you planning to take the test on a specific day - while at sea and/or Dockyard ? I was online while riding the SeaExpress out to St. George's b/c we had a solid signal and not counting on WiFi @ the nearest hotspot by the pier, and hardly costing us anything extra with our Google plan (now 10X to 20X faster)

 

BA has the faster connectivity within the fleet but it's still satellite-based, but with more folks hitting the beaches & going ashore - the WiFi remained active and on, so it should be a little easier. However, keep in mind its service commitment, no guaranteed or warranted - have a backup plan and discussed that with the "examiner" on "what if's"

 

My caution would be, what if NCL decided to upgrade the promised SpeedNext plan and roll it out during your cruise and/or while docked - and shut down the network for 24 or 48 hours to complete the changeover.

 

The paid WiFi plan by TBi is $15 for 3 days, unlimited use and valid at about 40 hotspots island-wide; and, the public library in downtown Hamilton is said to have free WiFi access ( ?? anyone else used it & can reaffirm, as my info is indirectly sourced) - how long is this exam & online time needed for completion ?

 

CellOne is another ISP on the island - and they have prepaid Sim and can activate & setup the device in their Hamilton Store, it's another option.

[bones774]

It looks very doable, thanks all.

[shecky4185]

Just want to add my personal experience, on the Dawn though, not Breakaway. My family had booked a cruise the first week my online classes were starting and I figured that between my smart phone and the ships computers i would be able to get my work done. However, there were some pages not compatible with my smartphone and the internet cafe's computers blocked out a lot of content and did not have the proper internet explorer extensions that I needed to be able to access my schools websites. I was not able to get any actual work done except finding the teachers email addresses to explain my situation.