Wifi on TA

[bjay3]

Have to say first that I wouldn't normally worry about wifi on vacation but family situation will require it on this trip.

 

Has anyone experienced the wifi recently on a Transatlantic? Is it any good going across or is it intermittent?

 

thanks

[Paul Bogle]

Two factors primarily effect ship wifi; satellite link and service demand. The first should not be an issue on a transatlantic voyage as the ship is at sea and following a straight course the vast majority of the time. Atmospherics can disrupt the link but that is an issue anywhere. The second is onboard demand. I suspect wifi demand may be greater than usual on such a voyage with several sea days in a row and the popularity of wifi packages. It may be that high usage will stress bandwidth at peak times.

[BirdTravels]

The biggest factor on the quality of service is whether you are in the footprint of a satellite operated by NCL's vendor. And the look angle to the satellite. Like a cell phone operator on land who does not put cell towers in every possible remote area just in case someone wants coverage, a satellite provider design their spacecraft with high power footprints on high-revenue areas.

 

Ships use dual tracking antennas. The course of the ship is not as big a factor (since a blockage analysis has been done to locate the dual antennas to minimize interference by the ship's structure, especially at higher look angels). The normal motion of the ship (rock-n-roll) requires the antennas to track the satellite. Along with attenuation from weather in the area.

[SouthLyonCruiser]

If the family situation requires regular monitoring you might want to see if you can get a short term lease on a satellite phone. I don't know if there is such a thing but you might want to try.