On Regal now WiFi blocks sites

[tampadee]

Front desk says it’s my Apple phone’s fault!  

[memoak]

They say upfront on the WiFi package details that they will block sites that suck up a lot of bandwidth.  No big surprise. 

[Hlitner]

2 minutes ago, tampadee said:

Front desk says it’s my Apple phone’s fault!  

The Front Desk (Guest Relations) has little clue when it comes to that kind of IT issue.  A quiet visit to the Internet Manager will get you an accurate answer.   We know they had previously been playing around with some sophisticated site blocking software but were not aware they had actually implemented anything at this time.  The software would allow them block just about anything from VOIP and streaming sites to porno.  Not sure what the future will be on Princess but there are some other cruise lines that actually vary their Internet packages (based on pricing) to allow certain things.  So, for example, a cruise like could choose to block music streaming sites unless one paid for a higher category of Internet coverage.  We had a long chat with the Internet manager on another major cruise line and he explained that with unlimited Internet packages and limited bandwidth there was a potential problem.  One solution would be to charge a lot more money for streaming sites to discourage its use.  Imagine the bandwidth needed if 2000 passengers were all streaming music, videos, and even movies at the same time.

 

Hank

[voljeep]

8 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

One solution would be to charge a lot more money for streaming sites to discourage its use.  Imagine the bandwidth needed if 2000 passengers were all streaming music, videos, and even movies at the same time.

well, it's MY cruise and Princess has advertised the best internet at sea … and I still can't flawlessly stream MY hockey game tonight !!!

[skynight]

It's in the terms.

*All Internet usage subject to Princess Cruises' standard policies, which may limit browsing of sites due to network security and bandwidth usage. Applications that use high bandwidth may be blocked and offerings subject to change.

[kywildcatfanone]

Internet on the sky has been poor this week compared to last week.  Can't even watch youtube clips without buffering.

[Colo Cruiser]

Some things never change.  🙄

[sunnytag]

Sad,so sad and who cares/enjoy the cruise.

[Wehwalt]

Anything's better than internet by the minute.

[MissP22]

The crew doesn't have problems streaming video but of course it's between 2 AM & 5 AM. 

[kywildcatfanone]

I'm sure the crew internet is set up differently for video calls, etc.

[MissP22]

Just now, kywildcatfanone said:

I'm sure the crew internet is set up differently for video calls, etc.

I'm not sure.

On some ships they said it's not worth the price (Crown) because it's so slow & other ships they seem happy with it. (Regal where lots of them use Netflix) 

[cruzsnooze]

I wanted to check my California lotto numbers and that site is always blocked. 

[Celeste_SM]

36 minutes ago, cruzsnooze said:

I wanted to check my California lotto numbers and that site is always blocked. 

That’s actually done by the site for legal reasons.

[ghstudio]

If you are looking to get to sites that are "blocked", try installing a VPN and use their lowest security option....you don't need security, you just need to get through a firewall.

 

Unfortunately, there's not much you can do about network speed....

[pablo222]

On 12/26/2019 at 12:31 PM, skynight said:

It's in the terms.

*All Internet usage subject to Princess Cruises' standard policies, which may limit browsing of sites due to network security and bandwidth usage. Applications that use high bandwidth may be blocked and offerings subject to change.

I think it would be helpful to passengers to know before they purchase ... which sites are considered 'high bandwidth'.

 

And, the "PrincessCONNECT — Social Package -- Unlimited access to the most popular social websites and applications."

 

It would sure be good to know if what I was interested was include in 'popular', to know which package to purchase.

'

And, "PrincessCONNECT — Surf Package - Surf your favorite sites from e-mail, news, sports and more."

 

How can they know which sites are my favorites?  🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Tatka]

well, it's MY cruise and Princess has advertised the best internet at sea … and I still can't flawlessly stream MY hockey game tonight !!!

 

 

How fast your device?

We are watching hockey game now on the latest iPad mini, but it wasn’t streaming as well on iPad mini 2.

 

We are on Crown.

 

Overall WiFi I think is even better than VOOM on RCI newer ships which is amazing!

[satxdiver]

I would not take any answer from the PSD as they probably don't have a clue what you are even talking about.  If you have problems with the internet or even intranet, go to the internet cafe and talk to the ship's experts.  Older devices (smart phone, tablet etc) may well be running older operating systems while the newest will be running the newest version of the operating system.  Either could have a problem with some small mismatch with what the ship's internet or intranet is expecting.  Most public accessed internet routers will limit the bandwidth available for the user to keep one from using up the entire bandwidth.  Medallion Net is new to Princess and I expect changing conditions as well as pricing tiers.  

 

Carnival and RCI offer different packages to their cruisers.  Carnival has three tiers available so to access your email you need the second tier but if all you need is access to facebook and other social media the first tier (less $$) would suffice.  I expect Princess will eventually adopt this pricing structure. 

 

[Tatka]

Princess Medallion net is so cheap and fast ... I doubt they will take away it.

 

RCI offers

Surf

Surf & Stream

 

A bit difference in speed, but on newer ships surf allows some streaming I believe.

 

NCL offers 5-6 different packages and with the most expensive ($34.99 minus discount a day!!!) I was not able to stream most of the time.

[LeeW]

Sky had unlimited internet but was blocking virtually all Powerball and Megamillion sites, both the main sites and the state lottery sites.  

[geoherb]

On the Crown's transatlantic this fall, the internet speed was so slow that I could not use it to download my hometown newspaper. Photos were taking several minutes to load. The internet manager gave us a partial refund. Earlier this month, the internet was down one night totally. Another day, the speed was too slow for me to stream a hockey game--a day I was quarantined in my cabin. Passenger services gave me a partial refund. Princess advertises, "Access the internet everywhere on board so you can text, post photos, video chat and stream your favorite shows, movies, music and sports with ease." Whenever it does not live up to this promise, I will continue to ask for partial refunds.

[Steelers0854]

Have you tried using a VPN?  This will impact the internet speed but in all likelihood will bypass the block they have on certain sites (likely done via proxy) and allow you to access what you would like.  I would stay away from the free ones, they will degrade the speed even more than a paid one, but a number of paid ones will offer a free week trial.  

[Peckishpixie]

On 12/28/2019 at 6:08 PM, LeeW said:

Sky had unlimited internet but was blocking virtually all Powerball and Megamillion sites, both the main sites and the state lottery sites.  

They block them because of racketeering laws. I'm not sure of the exact law but it has something to do with foreign ships gambling in US ports.