WiFi Device Count

[housemartin71]

If you're allowed one device per suite, does this mean one device can be logged in at a time (i.e. you can use different devices at different times) or that you can only use one device?  

[DaveFr]

 You can use multiple devices but only one device can be logged in at a time.  Hope this helps. 

 

Dave

Edited October 24, 2018 by DaveFr

[Wendy The Wanderer]

You're talking about the (fairly new) included internet I presume.  I also assume that the status-gained free internet that we earned in the past is still grandfathered.  I.e., any number of devices at the same time.  We're Gold SSS members, and that's how it was when last we cruised, and I would presume it will continue?

[DaveFr]

Wendy,

 

 Golds and above can use up to four Internet devices simultaneously. 

 

Dave

Edited October 24, 2018 by DaveFr

[Paul Bradley]

Suites of Concierge level or above have "Unlimited WiFi includes up to four logins, four devices, per suite"

[Paul Bradley]

...and to quote the policy in full from the website:

 

"FREE Unlimited WiFi is included in the cruise fare and guests may access the internet throughout the entirety of all of our ships, including all suites, public rooms and outdoor decks. Guests may enjoy general web browsing, post photos to social media or check their email to stay seamlessly stay connected with friends and family. One login is provided per suite, which may be used on one device at a time. The login may be used across a variety of devices, from smart phones to laptops. Guests sailing in Concierge Suites and higher, as well as Seven Seas Society members who have reached Gold-level status and higher, receive up to four logins, four devices, per suite."

[FlyerTalker]

All of which just contributes to even more congestion on the insufficient satellite link.

[jeb_bud]

For those of us who are not Gold status yet, and are in a G, H or F suite, is there an extra charge add-on WiFi plan for a second login?

 

 

[DaveFr]

16 minutes ago, jeb_bud said:

For those of us who are not Gold status yet, and are in a G, H or F suite, is there an extra charge add-on WiFi plan for a second login?

 

 

 Unless things have changed since April, you can purchase an additional Wi-Fi plan. If you want unlimited Wi-Fi, it costs  $29.99 per day or $34.99 per day if you want the additional streaming option. I don’t remember if you can purchase packages for less than unlimited Wi-Fi but you probably can. Hope this helps. 

 

Dave

[jeb_bud]

4 minutes ago, DaveFr said:

 Unless things have changed since April, you can purchase an additional Wi-Fi plan. If you want unlimited Wi-Fi, it costs  $29.99 per day or $34.99 per day if you want the additional streaming option. I don’t remember if you can purchase packages for less than unlimited Wi-Fi but you probably can. Hope this helps. 

 

Dave

 

Thanks Dave. We booked our first three cruises in Concierge primarily for the early dining and excursion reservations. We will be Silver on our cruise in April so we can reserve lower suites and still get the early reservations.

 

DW and I like to be on our iPads at the same time so sharing one login would lead to strife. It might still be worth it to book Concierge for the additional login vs paying $30 per day.  

[DaveFr]

17 minutes ago, jeb_bud said:

 

Thanks Dave. We booked our first three cruises in Concierge primarily for the early dining and excursion reservations. We will be Silver on our cruise in April so we can reserve lower suites and still get the early reservations.

 

DW and I like to be on our iPads at the same time so sharing one login would lead to strife. It might still be worth it to book Concierge for the additional login vs paying $30 per day.  

 You’re welcome. When you’re doing your cost-benefit analysis, don’t forget to consider the hotel night you get with concierge suites or the credit you get for not using the included hotel night. Usually the credit works out to $200-$300 for two people.

 

Dave

[Wendy The Wanderer]

On 10/24/2018 at 7:02 PM, FlyerTalker said:

All of which just contributes to even more congestion on the insufficient satellite link.

 

I thought they had increased their bandwidth fairly recently.  Still not sufficient I'm guessing--just can't keep up with the increasing demand.  I'm a bit worried about that since if we do this WC in 2021 I'll be depending on internet access to do things like pay bills, although intermittent will be okay.  In 2017 on Mariner we found it okay.

[Sharle]

internet varies with time and location but works well enough for most uses, including wifi calling. we are gold and had ability for 4 logins. previous cruise we were still sliver and they let us use multiple logins. I didn't complain.

[UUNetBill]

I'm not sure what all of the factors are, but we did two Explorer cruises in '17 (Baltic and Med) and the internet was horrible.  To the point of being virtually unusable most of the time.  In addition to incredible sat delay and hideously slow speeds, we were frequently disconnected and/or logged out.   We showed a strong signal in our suite so I don't think that was the issue as I had the same problem using my iPad & iPhone throughout the ship.  I also had issues using the computers in the computer room.  It was incredibly frustrating.

 

But last month on Voyager, the internet was pretty darn good.  Not super fast, but always usable and the connections were reliable.  Streaming services were blocked, of course, although one could probably find a way around that if they wanted.      I had several people complain about how terrible the internet was but it turned out that they had been logged out and didn't know to go back to the iCafe main page and reauthenticate.  Once they figured that out it was much smoother sailing, so to speak.

 

So maybe the Caribbean is just better for sat comms than the Baltic, I don't know...but if all of our cruises were at least as good as our recent Voyager cruise, I'd be happy.

[Travelcat2]

On 10/24/2018 at 4:02 PM, FlyerTalker said:

All of which just contributes to even more congestion on the insufficient satellite link.

 

Agree with you 100%.  Have no clue why some passengers are too darn lazy to log off when they are finished using the system instead of causing congestion for everyone!  In my opinion, one log-on per person is perfect.

 

Wendy, included internet for everyone is not that new.  Regent upgraded their bandwidth at least a year ago and it didn't do much good.  Interestingly, Oceania also upgraded their bandwidth a few months ago and, once again, it seems that what they thought they were getting isn't what they got.  Slow internet on there as well.

 

Being on a world cruise, you will likely find different speeds - from nothing to fast.  

 

 

[JMARINER]

On 10/25/2018 at 9:48 AM, DaveFr said:

 Unless things have changed since April, you can purchase an additional Wi-Fi plan. If you want unlimited Wi-Fi, it costs  $29.99 per day or $34.99 per day if you want the additional streaming option. I don’t remember if you can purchase packages for less than unlimited Wi-Fi but you probably can. Hope this helps. 

 

Dave

This is a huge misconception.

 

The Streaming option does not provide faster speeds. It only "unlocks" the most common streaming services such as Youtube, Vimeo, Hulu, Netflick, etc. But no faster speed nor bandwidth is included. The internet operations and the onboard internet manager are 3rd party contractors and not Regent.  You can confirm this information by asking the on board internet manager.

 

So, basically, buying the upgraded streaming internet is useless, unless you don't mind waiting all day for your video to finish buffering.

 

Lastly, the very best speeds you will ever see on a Regent ship are 7 Mbps down and 3 Mbps up. However normally the speeds are much, much slower like 1.5/0.5 Mbps. Again you can ask the manager to confirm as I did on my last cruise last month on the Mariner Australia.

 

J

[FlyerTalker]

6 hours ago, UUNetBill said:

 We showed a strong signal in our suite so I don't think that was the issue as I had the same problem using my iPad & iPhone throughout the ship. 

 

All of which reinforces - folks need to recognize that "WiFi" is not the same as "internet access".

 

The old saying that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link truly sums up the issue of shipboard internet services.  It doesn't matter how good the onboard WiFi signal is if the sat link is the bottleneck.  Or if you have plenty of sat signal, but the WiFi is hampered by all the steel around you.  And that's not even considering connections from the sat ground station to your desired website location.

 

I just suggest a big prayer to Siliconis...the god of electrons.