Alaskan Cruise - Mariner WIFI?

[czardas]

Just to clarifying things, I need to decide if I purchase data cards before I leave or just rely on the ships WiFi, when I need it. That’s it!

I will not be devoting my holiday to sitting in front of a screen. 

I have decided to buy the data cards and have the WiFi as a nice back up if it’s available .

If my data cards don’t get a signal from the phone carrier, then so be it, I can live with that too. That’s it in a nutshell, just doing my planning and not interested in starting a “he said, she said” exchange here. 

Thank you to the information given from others, that helped me understand what to expect. I can now look forward to our departure, more informed. 

[Gcto]

7 hours ago, UUNetBill said:

I'm still having a hard time loading up my AOL disk (one of the 14,562 they sent me over the years) and those dang newfangled square telephone handsets on board don't fit well in my 300 baud acoustic modem I bring with me.  It takes me 20 minutes of modem screeching to get logged on but it's all worth it when I hear that soothing "You've Got Mail!" voice...

Now now....you are telling us how old you are....that's a no no   

and remember...300 baud acoustic modem sound is not Karaoke 🙂  even though...I've been privy to some....

 

[Gcto]

4 hours ago, flossie009 said:

 

I can just imagine guests' reaction if Regent ships kept running out of alcohol and the excuse given was "We are trying our best but every time we load more cases, people drink it" 🤨

 

 

 

true...but if that happens...there should be more internet bandwidth 🙂  Sorry, couldn't help myself 

[UUNetBill]

On 4/15/2019 at 3:43 PM, flossie009 said:

IMHO, it was a very poor management and marketing decision to offer included internet access for all without first forecasting demand and properly researching & investing in systems that could cope.

Yep - this right here.  It was obviously a case of the marketing department writing a check that IT couldn't cash.

 

On 4/15/2019 at 4:01 PM, Travelcat2 said:

One cannot really compare running out of food or alcohol with Wi-Fi that gets their signal from satellites that are not owned by Regent.

 

Obviously with the internet, such easy fixes are not possible. Both computer guru's onboard Regent have said that there are more passengers online at the same time recently than there has been in the past.  "We" (all of us) seem to breaking all records......... staying online with four log-ins and not signing off is likely a contributing factor.  

TC - you and I agree on a LOT of points, but I disagree with you on this - other cruise lines have reported speeds much higher than Regent, and with a much higher passenger load as well.  The technology exists to provide mo' better internet for passengers, but I'm sure it ain't cheap.  So let's blame the beancounters for that one.

 

I'm not sure exactly how much bandwidth idle devices use - I'm sure that cumulatively it's a noticeable amount...but I'd guess that a few hundred idle devices don't consume as much bandwidth as 2 or 3 video streams.  I don't have any hard numbers - it would be interesting to see some statistics on uplink/downlink speeds, number of logged devices, percentage using streaming services, etc.  Of course, much like Bigfoot, unicorns, and the fabled wine list we'll never see anything like that.

[Bellaggio Cruisers]

I was on the Explorer transatlantic two weeks ago. Miami to Lisbon. Unfortunately, at the last minute, DH needed to cancel. I took the cruise alone. We planned to speak on FaceTime every day. FaceTime did not work. It worked on our last TA. 

The tech expert told me there was not enough (something) to connect it. Fortunately, I had lots of included phone time so we did talk every day. 

My issue was that no one had a satisfactory answer for me. 

Seems like the use of FaceTime went backwards. 

The rest of the internet was slow but acceptable. 

Sheila

Edited April 21, 2019 by Bellaggio Cruisers

[Travelcat2]

FaceTime works sometimes in the middle of the night.  It feels as if Regent does not want passengers to use FaceTime  or do streaming. Most of us would likely be happy if we just could use the internet..

 

Sheila - hope that Herb is feeling better.

[Bellaggio Cruisers]

Jackie.  Thanks for asking. Herb is fine. The tech told me that FaceTime was not available. No matter what time I tried, it did not work. This was on the Explorer. It worked last summer in Norway on the Navigator. 

Sheila

[UUNetBill]

1 hour ago, Bellaggio Cruisers said:

Jackie.  Thanks for asking. Herb is fine. The tech told me that FaceTime was not available. No matter what time I tried, it did not work. This was on the Explorer. It worked last summer in Norway on the Navigator. 

Sheila

I was under the impression that most all streaming services are blocked on the Regent ships - I had previously been able to get the occasional FaceTime or Skype with my mother but was unable to get either to work last January in the Caribbean.  There are possibly ways around it but I didn't bother looking into it; I just used my included phone time.  

[Wendy The Wanderer]

On 4/22/2019 at 1:24 PM, UUNetBill said:

I was under the impression that most all streaming services are blocked on the Regent ships - I had previously been able to get the occasional FaceTime or Skype with my mother but was unable to get either to work last January in the Caribbean.  There are possibly ways around it but I didn't bother looking into it; I just used my included phone time.  

 

I was under that same impression, Bill. Streaming video in general, and video calling apps like Skype, Facetime or Whatsapp.  But didn't I also read somewhere that you could buy these services at a premium onboard?  Or am I thinking of another cruiseline?

[rallydave]

28 minutes ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

 

I was under that same impression, Bill. Streaming video in general, and video calling apps like Skype, Facetime or Whatsapp.  But didn't I also read somewhere that you could buy these services at a premium onboard?  Or am I thinking of another cruiseline?

You are mostly correct Wendy.  Only difference is when you but these services they simply unblock the services but, provide no additional bandwidth or speed so you are at the same bandwidth and speed as those without the services and the services more than likely won't work if the internet is poor.

[Travelcat2]

Have to agree with rallydave - even the computer manager will tell you that you can pay to have streaming, etc. but the internet will not be better than than the included service.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

1 hour ago, rallydave said:

You are mostly correct Wendy.  Only difference is when you but these services they simply unblock the services but, provide no additional bandwidth or speed so you are at the same bandwidth and speed as those without the services and the services more than likely won't work if the internet is poor.

 

Ugh!  Oh well, still going to be stuck using internet cafes I guess.