WiFi on Sirena?

[BigIslandersFan]

How is the WiFi on the Sirena? I have read that it is basically unusable. Any difference when you are docked? I just need it for email and web surfing. 

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 minute ago, BigIslandersFan said:

How is the WiFi on the Sirena? I have read that it is basically unusable. Any difference when you are docked? I just need it for email and web surfing. 

With the ship's public servers apparently back in Miami, the latency of electronic communication onboard is outrageously bad (do a speed test once onboard). And that, I am told, makes the often hogged onboard broadband even worse. 

 

I trust that most folks will agree that the best times to use the Internet onboard is middle of the night! Very early and very late waking hours can also be okay (and best if you're in a location where the network is strong (e.g., near the control booth in the showrooms). Mealtimes can also bring some relief.

 

And remember that, depending where you are in the ocean, there can be dead spots that last quite some time.

 

AFAIK, the only way to make things better in port is to get off the ship's wifi and use a different TRUSTED wifi or your own land based cellular data (of course, only if you've got a good international roaming package or something like AT&T's ($10 day pass), which uses your own data allowance from home (remember that land and ship roaming packages are different things)

.

Speaking of AT&T: Oceania has AT&T Cellular@Sea and if you're an AT&T subscriber, it will appear on your phone (and act as a regular cell tower at VERY expensive rates without requiring you to sign in or agree to anything). I haven't checked it out but, it is my understanding that, if Cellular@Sea is available/active, it will not allow use of "wifi calling" (maybe someone else can weigh in on this). So,  you may want to keep your phone on "airplane mode" when away from land (which will still allow you to turn on the ship's wifi).

 

Finally, don't bother with the extra cost premium Internet unless you want to stream content. It's exactly the same network though the streaming block is removed.

[Paulchili]

47 minutes ago, BigIslandersFan said:

How is the WiFi on the Sirena? I have read that it is basically unusable. Any difference when you are docked? I just need it for email and web surfing. 

I have no trouble using the wifi for emails and occasional surfing. I have also used wifi for occasional phone calls, banking and booking flights - sometimes it’s faster than other times. Best time is very early AM or late night when others tend not to be online.

I suspect most people have problems with uploading lots of pictures, FaceTime,  streaming and such.

That said, Oceania is not known for excellent wifi - many lines have better internet service but O’s is sufficient for my needs.

Edited January 1, 2020 by Paulchili

[Mura]

Like Paul, I really haven't had problems with WiFi on any of the ships.  BUT ... I don't stay logged on as long as possible (as I suspect a fair number at least do) ... I'll download my mail, go offline to answer, and then go back online to send.  Maybe we've been in better cabin locations than those who complain, I don't know.

 

Much of what I do is offline anyway.  I don't need wifi to transfer photos to my laptop, for example.  And I don't really surf the net while on a trip.  Okay, sometimes I'm booking a cab to the airport or something like that ... but that doesn't happen very often!  And we're probably in port when that happens.

 

True, my cable service at home is MUCH faster!  But I don't expect that kind of speed while traveling.

 

There have ALWAYS been complaints on Oceania (and Renaissance before that) about the speed of internet, but I do think complaints have increased since it became free to everybody.  That doesn't surprise me...

 

Mura

 

[susiesan]

When something is free, people tend to take advantage of it. Most people log on to the wifi at the beginning of their cruise and just stay logged on all day whether they are using it or not. O needs to find a way to kick people offline after a certain amount of time of non useage. I am not a techie but I am sure this can be done.

[Flatbush Flyer]

18 minutes ago, susiesan said:

When something is free, people tend to take advantage of it. Most people log on to the wifi at the beginning of their cruise and just stay logged on all day whether they are using it or not. O needs to find a way to kick people offline after a certain amount of time of non useage. I am not a techie but I am sure this can be done.

Not sure how long the activity needs to be idle but, rest assured that folks are kicked off.

Edited January 2, 2020 by Flatbush Flyer

[sunlover12]

15 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Not sure how long the activity needs to be idle but, rest assured that folks are kicked off.

I’ve been on Marina and was not kicked off the WiFi automatically after a long period of being idle. I clicked on the log off button, it looked as though it had logged me off and 12 hours later when I went back to it, I was still logged on.  12 hours of being idle did not cause it to log me off. That is crazy.   I don’t know if this is the norm, but if it is, O needs to figure out a way to solve it.  It’s probably contributing to the slow internet problem. 

[Flatbush Flyer]

20 minutes ago, sunlover12 said:

I’ve been on Marina and was not kicked off the WiFi automatically after a long period of being idle. I clicked on the log off button, it looked as though it had logged me off and 12 hours later when I went back to it, I was still logged on.  12 hours of being idle did not cause it to log me off. That is crazy.   I don’t know if this is the norm, but if it is, O needs to figure out a way to solve it.  It’s probably contributing to the slow internet problem. 

I'm the first to admit that the log on/off can be glitchy. My understanding is that, by design, the system is supposed to dump you if you're inactive (and I have seen that happen).

That your cabin mate may/may not be trying to get on/off that single account can also cause anomalies.

Whatever the case, wouldn't it be great if folks did logoff when done?

[susiesan]

15 minutes ago, sunlover12 said:

I’ve been on Marina and was not kicked off the WiFi automatically after a long period of being idle. I clicked on the log off button, it looked as though it had logged me off and 12 hours later when I went back to it, I was still logged on.  12 hours of being idle did not cause it to log me off. That is crazy.   I don’t know if this is the norm, but if it is, O needs to figure out a way to solve it.  It’s probably contributing to the slow internet problem. 

 A lot of people of the older demographic, like my husband, are not very computer savvy and don't even know what long off means or how to do it. I know of fellow O cruisers who plug their computer in the cabin, log on to the wifi on day 1 and keep the computer on and logged in the whole cruise. Since the wifi is free they don't care. If they were being billed for time online when they did not log off you can be sure they would log off the wifi.

Maybe O can start billing for wifi if someone is logged on for an hour of after no activity. Or give a few hours a day of free wifi and then anything over that amount gets billed. I am platinum on Princess and I get a certain amount of free minutes, shows on a meter that counts down. If I forget to log off and use all my minutes that's on me and I will get charged for the extra time. I'm sure the IT people at Oceania can figure this out.

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 minute ago, susiesan said:

 A lot of people of the older demographic, like my husband, are not very computer savvy and don't even know what long off means or how to do it. I know of fellow O cruisers who plug their computer in the cabin, log on to the wifi on day 1 and keep the computer on and logged in the whole cruise. Since the wifi is free they don't care. If they were being billed for time online when they did not log off you can be sure they would log off the wifi.

Maybe O can start billing for wifi if someone is logged on for an hour of after no activity. Or give a few hours a day of free wifi and then anything over that amount gets billed. I am platinum on Princess and I get a certain amount of free minutes, shows on a meter that counts down. If I forget to log off and use all my minutes that's on me and I will get charged for the extra time. I'm sure the IT people at Oceania can figure this out.

FWIW, cabin attendants have been directed to unplug unattended devices that may be charging.

As for billing for the wifi: absolutely not!!! It took quite awhile to get O to offer the single unlimited account.

[Mura]

In MY experience -- I was logged off after a period of time even when I was technically "on".  (Sometimes you download your email, then go elsewhere and come back ... and you can lose track of time.  But if I were kicked off in that situation I would NOT object.)

 

However ... that was before the "universal" wifi came into play.  I agree that if someone is inactive for even 20 minutes, the system should kick them off.  I wouldn't mind if that happened to me!  It's easy enough to log back on.

 

And I think it IS important to eliminate unnecessary usage ... perhaps if this happened you wouldn't have all these constant complaints about "lousy internet".

 

[jaga04]

On 1/1/2020 at 6:47 PM, Paulchili said:

I have no trouble using the wifi for emails and occasional surfing. I have also used wifi for occasional phone calls, banking and booking flights - sometimes it’s faster than other times. Best time is very early AM or late night when others tend not to be online.

I suspect most people have problems with uploading lots of pictures, FaceTime,  streaming and such.

That said, Oceania is not known for excellent wifi - many lines have better internet service but O’s is sufficient for my needs.

Last summer on Sirena in Europe, I also found that wifi was adequate for emails and surfing.