Connectivity in the Baltic on Explorer

[allison12]

We are leaving in two weeks on the Baltic Cruise (on Explorer) for my parent's 50th Anniversary.  My lawyer husband is going to be in the middle of a deal when we leave.

 

Please tell me your HONEST opinions of connectivity.  He is specifically wondering if he can get a connection good enough to make internet phone calls from his laptop.  Send and Receive emails, etc.  Paying an extra fee is not an issue as the firm will reimburse us for that if needed.

 

 

 

[Bellaggio Cruisers]

I had no success with with phone calls on FaceTime on the Explorer in March - Transatlantic.   

Fortunately, I had three hours of complimentary phone time from the ship. Always worked fine. If money is not an object, that’s your best bet. 

Also, I suggest you check with your cell phone carrier for package rates. 

Emails mostly worked. 

Sheila

Edited June 18, 2019 by Bellaggio Cruisers

[bissel]

We were in Norway last summer on the Explorer and used FaceTime heavily. There never was a problem. I guess we were lucky and didn’t realize it.

our next cruise to Alaska this summer might be more difficult actually.

[UUNetBill]

Our experience in the Baltic has been bad, mostly.  Our experience on Explorer has been bad, mostly.  I highly recommend looking at alternate communication methods if possible.  I was able to get FaceTime audio calls to go maybe 20% of the time, and got dropped on occasion.  Email will work grudgingly.  Streaming services are like winning lottery tickets - enjoy them if you get them but don't count on them.

 

I'm sorry to sound so negative as we love Explorer and the Baltic both, but it's been my experience that Explorer's internet is marginal at best, and adding the higher latitude isn't going to help.  I'm a system administrator and my father-in-law is a CPA and he was going nuts on his last cruise with us as he was barely able to function.

 

Look into other options or plan on using the ship's phone (not inexpensive) or maybe VPN in from a port somewhere.

 

It may be better now but it's better to be prepared for slow speeds, no streaming, and dropped connections.

[Balian65]

I will be on that cruise well and I am happy not be in that situation this time. But knowing that situation quite good from past experiences I would recommend thinking about package rates from your provider and not to rely on the ship’s WiFi connection. You will need an EU Package for all countries except for Russia and a second one for Russia. That should work most of the time except for the time at sea. When you are more than 10 miles away from land it will be getting difficult.

 

I am from Germany and I do use Vodafone as provider which works pretty well in that region. To be on the safe side I use cell phone and laptop independently. Otherwise it can be a hassle dealing with markups. 

 

What did not really work to my experience was participating in all hands phone calls or large group calls. Too many connection problems and background noises.

 

Good luck and see you then.....

[CruisetheCs]

I wouldn't rely on Regent's internet access anywhere in the world.  While guests can usually connect to internet onboard, the times when the internet doesn't work are not predictable. And when it works it usually is slow.  If you need reliable access to the internet it is best to rely on cellular connections in ports via an international cell plan.  

 

Regent offers a daily-fee plan that is suppose to prioritize connections (whatever that means).  I was given  access to it last year for a few days. I couldn't tell that it was any better or faster than the included internet.  It also was annoying because it only permitted one device to be online at a time so there was annoying signing on and off if I switched between my phone and tablet.

[jeb_bud]

On Explorer in the Med in April if I needed a good connection I tethered my iPad to my cell phone using a Truphone international data plan. Explorer WiFi ranged from unreliable to poor. The only downside was we needed to be in port to connect to the cellular network. 

[JMARINER]

On 6/18/2019 at 6:03 PM, CruisetheCs said:

Regent offers a daily-fee plan that is suppose to prioritize connections (whatever that means).  I was given  access to it last year for a few days. I couldn't tell that it was any better or faster than the included internet.  It also was annoying because it only permitted one device to be online at a time so there was annoying signing on and off if I switched between my phone and tablet.

The extra cost daily fee "streaming service" plan does NOT prioritize connection, nor offer any speed advantage.

 

This service is only to allow access to sites like Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, etc, that are normally blocked on the free internet services. It is just as slow and if you are trying to watch a movie or video, it will buffer forever.

 

J

[CruisetheCs]

2 hours ago, JMARINER said:

The extra cost daily fee "streaming service" plan does NOT prioritize connection, nor offer any speed advantage.

 

This service is only to allow access to sites like Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, etc, that are normally blocked on the free internet services. It is just as slow and if you are trying to watch a movie or video, it will buffer forever.

 

J

 

I was only repeating something I was told onboard by one of the staff.  As far as I could tell the steaming service plan did nothing for me except to complicate the process for switching devices and the download speed remained awful.  (I was given this "benefit" as compensation for a wifi access problem in my suite;  I wasn't interested in streaming Netflix or any other site, even if it was possible which I doubt that it was most of the time.)  

 

Regent needs to fix its unreliable internet service and be honest with guests about the quality of the service.  Remember when Regent advertised "fiber-optic" speeds not so long ago?  

[UUNetBill]

10 hours ago, CruisetheCs said:

Remember when Regent advertised "fiber-optic" speeds not so long ago?  

Yeah, that didn't last long, did it?  More like dial-up speeds with the added fun of getting dropped every 4 minutes...

[JMARINER]

13 hours ago, CruisetheCs said:

 

I was only repeating something I was told onboard by one of the staff.....

One of the communication problem on board is that most staff don't know, and assume that if is cost more, it must be better. But in fact Regent has little to do with the internet onboard. The only true source is the IT manager. He is an independent contractor that works for the third party that supplies the whole ships internet.  

 

J

[Ladys Mom]

We were on the Explorer from Barcelona to Southhampton last month.  This was our first experience with Explorer, although our fourth with Regent.  We were able previously to FaceTime from Asia, Europe, and Iceland.  But this time, we were never able to FaceTime at all.  It was very disappointing because we had promised our grands that we would talk with them from the different ports.  I loved the cruise and I love the Explorer but I would not depend on its Internet for any serious communications.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

If your husband just needs to talk on the phone, just use the phone service that Regent provides, and let his company reimburse him.  Presumably it's reliable, at least.  If you have any status on Regent, you may get some free hours.

[Bellaggio Cruisers]

2 hours ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

If your husband just needs to talk on the phone, just use the phone service that Regent provides, and let his company reimburse him.  Presumably it's reliable, at least.  If you have any status on Regent, you may get some free hours.

 

Yes - the ship’s phone service is very reliable. I agree with Wendy if your husband’s company will pay for it. Check the rates before you leave. 

Sheila

[JMARINER]

For several years now I have been using the Phone/Text/Data plan from Google. It is called "Project FI" or Google FI .  Works well all over the world wherever there is cell coverage. $20. 00 per month for Voice/Txt and $10.00 per gig/data. It will work with most Android phone and some Iphones. But it is maximized with special Google proprietary cell phone they sell. The phone are relatively cheap. Service can be turned off once you are back in US.

 

J

[Travelcat2]

Keep in mind that Regent is having another internet upgrade before the end of the year.  I do not agree that the Explorer always has poor internet.  It depends upon where in the world you are.  

 

It was not Regent's intent to support FaceTime.  To be honest, I wish that FaceTime was blocked.  While this is not a popular view, people can be rude and talk on the phone in dining venues and other places that are very disruptive to other passengers.  IF FaceTime was only permitted in your suite, I'd be for it.  

 

I would recommend the telephone as others have suggested but it sounds as if some people have the need to see who they are speaking with.  Keep in mind that you are on a ship in the middle of the ocean somewhere.  Having any type of reliable communication is a good thing (and, IMHO, Regent is reliable but sometimes slow).

 

We will be on Explorer again in November and will see how the internet connection is at that time.  In my opinion, staying off of the computer when everyone is onboard during the day is the worst time to try to get access.  However, when you are in port and a lot of passengers are ashore, the internet is quite good (and it is also good during meal time and very late at night).  

[1982CruzStart]

On our cruise last Nov/Dec on Explorer along the west coast of Africa the internet service was good, the phone was not. i tried many days to phone my Mom and wasn't able to get through even once. 

[GmanJeff]

Procure a satellite phone in advance, since the expense will likely be billable to the client or absorbed by the firm as overhead.  You will thereby not be subject to the ship's bandwidth or equipment limitations or the vagaries of local providers, albeit at a cost.  

Edited June 23, 2019 by GmanJeff

[jeb_bud]

14 hours ago, Travelcat2 said:

.  Keep in mind that you are on a ship in the middle of the ocean somewhere.

 

Not just in the middle of the ocean. I was in the computer center docked in Venice and couldn’t get a connection good enough to check in and print boarding passes for our flights home. 

[CruisetheCs]

 

Regent has hyped various upgrades to the internet over the years and basically little has changed in the speed and reliability as far as I can tell. Management's fantastic promise of fiber-optic speeds never came close to fruition.  (Maybe that was the start of all the fake news claims floating about today. )  So whether anything will change with more promised updates, who knows. 

 

And the internet connection isn't always "quite good" when in port.  I have been in ports where there has been no internet access, e.g., one time in Sydney and more recently in a Mediterranean port.  Bottom line is that the internet speeds and access are not reliable onboard.

[Travelcat2]

Our experience with the internet while docked has been worse than when we are in the middle of the ocean somewhere.  However, I need to stress that in 33 cruises, the longest time we have been without internet was in Alaska (about 24 hours).  

 

I do not believe that Regent's upgrades have been "fake news".  What I believe is that Regent did upgrades and then permitted most passengers to have 4 log-ons and people do not log off.  And, while some people on CC know a lot about the internet, I question how much they know about internet at sea.  I have had long discussions with Internet Managers.  They can see how many people are online and they uniformly claim that the slowness is due to the number of people online.  This makes sense since the internet is generally fine when people are at dinner, at the show at night or are asleep.

 

Time will tell how the latest upgrade will work.  In the meantime, suggest that everyone log off of their devices when you are not using them!

[commodore2010]

If it would improve connectivity, they should just limit it to two devices per cabin until they can upgrade to handle more. 

I would rather have two devices work than none.