Has anyone used a wireless router in your stateroom?

[POA1]

I've used a TP-Link N300 portable nano router on several cruises. I set up the initial connection using my laptop. After establishing my account, I disconnect from the ship's network.

 

Then, I clone my MAC address to the router. (This is probably unnecessary, but I do it as a safety measure. The ship doesn't "see" a router. It sees my laptop when the router connects.)

 

 

Next, I log on to the admin interface to the router and connect to the ship's network. The router has two radios. One handles connections to the ship. The other handles connections to our devices.The router brokers all the traffic.

 

We've connected a couple of laptops, multiple tablets and phones - all simultaneously. 

 

Some caveats:

• You're sharing a single connection on the ship's shared pipe. The router's not going to make it any faster.
• Figure out how to set everything up at home before the trip. I don't think it's hard, but I'm pretty technical.
• As you move from place to place around the ship, you'll want to used the admin interface to find the access point with the best signal. We used one AP from our room, one from the cabanas, one from BB King's, and another from the dining room. (The AP is USB powered, so I could stick a little lipstick battery in my jacket pocket at night.)

If you don't need to connect multiple devices simultaneously, you probably don't need the hassle.

 

 

[Muechie]

2 hours ago, POA1 said:

I've used a TP-Link N300 portable nano router on several cruises. I set up the initial connection using my laptop. After establishing my account, I disconnect from the ship's network.

 

Then, I clone my MAC address to the router. (This is probably unnecessary, but I do it as a safety measure. The ship doesn't "see" a router. It sees my laptop when the router connects.)

 

 

Next, I log on to the admin interface to the router and connect to the ship's network. The router has two radios. One handles connections to the ship. The other handles connections to our devices.The router brokers all the traffic.

 

We've connected a couple of laptops, multiple tablets and phones - all simultaneously. 

 

Some caveats:

• You're sharing a single connection on the ship's shared pipe. The router's not going to make it any faster.
• Figure out how to set everything up at home before the trip. I don't think it's hard, but I'm pretty technical.
• As you move from place to place around the ship, you'll want to used the admin interface to find the access point with the best signal. We used one AP from our room, one from the cabanas, one from BB King's, and another from the dining room. (The AP is USB powered, so I could stick a little lipstick battery in my jacket pocket at night.)

If you don't need to connect multiple devices simultaneously, you probably don't need the hassle.

 

 

Thank you @POA1for the very thorough and intelligent tutorial. I really appreciate it. They were correct, you were the perfect choice. 🙏

[Seasick Sailor]

2 hours ago, POA1 said:

I've used a TP-Link N300 portable nano router on several cruises. I set up the initial connection using my laptop. After establishing my account, I disconnect from the ship's network.

 

Then, I clone my MAC address to the router. (This is probably unnecessary, but I do it as a safety measure. The ship doesn't "see" a router. It sees my laptop when the router connects.)

 

 

Next, I log on to the admin interface to the router and connect to the ship's network. The router has two radios. One handles connections to the ship. The other handles connections to our devices.The router brokers all the traffic.

 

We've connected a couple of laptops, multiple tablets and phones - all simultaneously. 

 

Some caveats:

• You're sharing a single connection on the ship's shared pipe. The router's not going to make it any faster.
• Figure out how to set everything up at home before the trip. I don't think it's hard, but I'm pretty technical.
• As you move from place to place around the ship, you'll want to used the admin interface to find the access point with the best signal. We used one AP from our room, one from the cabanas, one from BB King's, and another from the dining room. (The AP is USB powered, so I could stick a little lipstick battery in my jacket pocket at night.)

If you don't need to connect multiple devices simultaneously, you probably don't need the hassle.

 

 

 

Will you by any chance be with me on my next cruise? Lol...

[Seasick Sailor]

16 hours ago, Caribbean Chris said:

Yes, sometimes. Lisa  (Laffnvegas) has mentioned in her “Live From” thread (first Alaska cruise on Nieuw Amsterdam) the variance, going out to her hallway to send since it was stronger than in the stateroom. I think she’s getting the best signal from the Crows Nest lounge up top.

 

I think the time of day is the biggest factor. I travel with a service dog who awakens me at 5 a.m. at home and is used to being fed then. Sleeping late on vacation isn’t an option. So I get a great signal until the rest of the ship starts waking up!

 

 

Lisa is also waaaaay in aft deck..

[Muechie]

14 minutes ago, Seasick Sailor said:

 

Will you by any chance be with me on my next cruise? Lol...

I second your wish too 😂

[Hlitner]

We already pack too darn much when we travel to add more electronic stuff.  Many folks may not be aware that many devices (such as most phones) have "wireless hotspot" capability.  Set up properly you can create a wireless hotspot (for multiple devices) by just using a phone, PC, etc.  What is nice about creating a hotspot is that it can easily travel with you when you leave the cabin.  So, for example, if you have an iPhone and activate the hotspot function you could go elsewhere on the ship carrying that phone and perhaps a PC that is logged onto the hotspot.  This can be useful if you have an Internet package that only allows once device to be logged on to the ship's system.

 

Hank

[RGEDad]

17 hours ago, Muechie said:

I was able to snake my arm behind the TV and with the use of a 90 degree adapter could plug in to the TV, all by feel. The USB ports were in the back and they were too close to the wall to allow anything to be plugged into them.

I also use electronic transfer of TV sound to my hearing aid. I use a Cochlear device that hooks up via plug-in (or optical) to the TV and it shoots direct to my BAHA hearing aid. I tried to hook up the last time I was on a ship but could not get to the connect point. This coming cruise(s) I will bring a right angle connector and see if I can reach it.

Thanks for the idea, and after all these months off from cruising - the reminder that I need to fix that problem. 

I have a little Mini-Microphone device that I can place near the TV - and that works...OK, but not nearly as clear as the direct connection.

I do not really NEEEEED  to fix it, as I am not that much of a TV person, but I do like to pick-up the news/weather channels ( Why I want the news channels when cruising...I am not really sure - Just a (Bad) habit I guess). I really only need to hear the captains/ ship announcements - Which I usually miss.).

[RGEDad]

On 7/25/2021 at 9:22 PM, cruisegirl said:

Is the internet stronger if you go into some of the public areas rather than using in your stateroom?

The weak link is typically the link between the ship and the satellite, not between your computer and the ship. This is especially true for the cruises in the far northern or southern latitudes (Like Alaska and northern Norway etc. Lots of people using one teeny-tiny data pipe. But yes - If you are having issues connecting to ship systems - you may want to move under one of the access ports on the ship - Like the lido / Explorers Cafe etc, but that may not help you getting to the WWW internet - just to the ship systems.

[RGEDad]

On 7/25/2021 at 2:37 PM, Muechie said:

successful in using a wireless router inside stateroom in conjunction with your purchased wireless internet package? Or, is it even allowed?

...Need reliable internet access for more than just emails. 

Also interested in using the USB and HDMI ports on the stateroom TV. Do they normally have any accessible ports for connecting a laptop or FireTV?

I have had SOME success - on some ships/lines. Some systems are tied into the computer MAC address - so your router MAY need that capability - as a minimum. 

I do not think it is "Allowed" but they do make it somewhat difficult to get around their sale of additional data collection. I do not think they will make you "Walk the Plank" (Off the ship that is) but they do go to some effort to make it difficult. 

Reliable connection - you can probably get OK (Mostly) connection. Connection is related to ship position (Far Northern/Southern is less good) and how many people are using the connect at the point in time. Most of the lines are improving the Ship to Satellite capabilities - but as more people are living on the internet  - they are not keeping up (IMHO). 

Last time i tried to connect USB//HDMI (HAL Ship) I could not physically get to the ports to connect - nor were any settings available to enable those. I sort of gave up - and watched the waves for a week - did me good. But I do really need to get to the Audio out port - somehow

 

[RGEDad]

1 hour ago, Hlitner said:

Many folks may not be aware that many devices (such as most phones) have "wireless hotspot" capability.  Set up properly you can create a wireless hotspot (for multiple devices) by just using a phone, PC, etc.  What is nice about creating a hotspot is that it can easily travel with you when you leave the cabin.  So, for example, if you have an iPhone and activate the hotspot function you could go elsewhere on the ship carrying that phone and perhaps a PC that is logged onto the hotspot. 

What you describe is how to get data from your Phone to your laptop/iPad, the big ticket item is getting data to your phone. The Hot spot device typically gets a single paid internet connection (Be it from Cell service, or WiFi) into a WifFi server for multiple devices. the TP-Link above provides for multiple devices to connect to a single WiFi account (Not to Cell Service)

Using a cell phone - Well - yes - this works - But can be EXTREMELY expensive - and assumes you have Cell Service set up for your cruise ship. For years we always had Cell Service (while on the cruise ship - (Needed to talk to ailing family member), and I was mostly careful to disable cell phone data service while on the ship. Would re-enable when we got to a port that our phone service supported Cell service/data services (Separate charge of course for Foreign port cell/Data service ~$10/day). Forgot to reconfigure when the ship left port one time - and the next morning I had an $80 data bill for data downloads to my phone. 

[POA1]

Depending on our room's location with respect to the ship's access points, I've played around with hotspot router location. There is a signal strength meter in the web interface for the device. Sometimes closer to the door was better. Sometimes closer to the window. You may even get lucky and get a great signal at the desk of all places.

 

This is where the USB power from a little battery comes in handy. Between the router, shorty cable, and the battery, it is takes up as much room as a deck of cards. The battery runs the thing all day on a single charge.

[Hlitner]

2 hours ago, RGEDad said:

What you describe is how to get data from your Phone to your laptop/iPad, the big ticket item is getting data to your phone. The Hot spot device typically gets a single paid internet connection (Be it from Cell service, or WiFi) into a WifFi server for multiple devices. the TP-Link above provides for multiple devices to connect to a single WiFi account (Not to Cell Service)

Using a cell phone - Well - yes - this works - But can be EXTREMELY expensive - and assumes you have Cell Service set up for your cruise ship. For years we always had Cell Service (while on the cruise ship - (Needed to talk to ailing family member), and I was mostly careful to disable cell phone data service while on the ship. Would re-enable when we got to a port that our phone service supported Cell service/data services (Separate charge of course for Foreign port cell/Data service ~$10/day). Forgot to reconfigure when the ship left port one time - and the next morning I had an $80 data bill for data downloads to my phone. 

We turn off our cell service (when on the ship) and use the ship's WiFi for our phone.   On most cruises we have lots of free Internet minutes (or unlimited) although that has not been the case with HAL which does even give 5* Mariners free Internet.  

 

Hank

[POA1]

If you want to try to use your phone, make sure you test it at home first. Not all phones have two wifi radios. Many can hotspot cellular to wifi, but not all can bridge wifi networks.

 

Go into airplane mode so the radios are off. Then toggle wifi on. See if you can hotspot off your home wifi. A lot of modern phones can do it. However, you'll want to make sure you get things figured out before you cruise.

 

I opted for the little travel router because wanted a firewall and the ability to set my QoS for the various devices. Also, I wanted to be able to operate without my phone being on all the time.

[POA1]

This should give you a good idea of the router's size. It's sitting on the keyboard of my laptop.

 

My PC is connected via the LAN cable. Both our phones, my wife's tablet and my Samsung camera are connected to the hotspot via wifi.

 

This was taken in the Retreat cabanas just off the Crow's Nest. The black cylinder is a high capacity lipstick battery. I have a smaller, thinner battery that I use when I carry the router in my sports coat or suit jacket.

[Muechie]

2 hours ago, POA1 said:

This should give you a good idea of the router's size. It's sitting on the keyboard of my laptop.

 

My PC is connected via the LAN cable. Both our phones, my wife's tablet and my Samsung camera are connected to the hotspot via wifi.

 

This was taken in the Retreat cabanas just off the Crow's Nest. The black cylinder is a high capacity lipstick battery. I have a smaller, thinner battery that I use when I carry the router in my sports coat or suit jacket.

Nice having a visual to see how small they are. Would you please share what you use for your smaller, thinner battery?

[POA1]

1 hour ago, Muechie said:

Nice having a visual to see how small they are. Would you please share what you use for your smaller, thinner battery?

It's a PNY 2250 mAh "lipstick" battery. I picked it up at Staples for about $10 years and years ago.  I carry it to top off my phone, when I need something really lightweight, but it's pretty low capacity. However, for my little router, it's great.

 

I did a quick Amazon search and there's not anything that small that I see for sale right now. This is probably the closest. It's not rounded like the one I have. Since it's a pocket battery, I prefer rounded and less liable to poke me.

 

The one in the photo with my PC is a 5,000 mAh Anker PowerCore. I have similar batteries from PowerAdd. Tip: If you're buying multiple batteries, try to get different colors. It'll be easier to keep track of which one is charged.

[Cocktail613]

13 hours ago, Hlitner said:

We already pack too darn much when we travel to add more electronic stuff.  Many folks may not be aware that many devices (such as most phones) have "wireless hotspot" capability.  Set up properly you can create a wireless hotspot (for multiple devices) by just using a phone, PC, etc.  What is nice about creating a hotspot is that it can easily travel with you when you leave the cabin.  So, for example, if you have an iPhone and activate the hotspot function you could go elsewhere on the ship carrying that phone and perhaps a PC that is logged onto the hotspot.  This can be useful if you have an Internet package that only allows once device to be logged on to the ship's system.

 

Hank

I don’t think that you can use an iPhone to hotspot forward a Wi-Fi signal, you can only forward a cell signal.

[IPB4IGO]

On 7/27/2021 at 8:39 AM, POA1 said:

Depending on our room's location with respect to the ship's access points, I've played around with hotspot router location. There is a signal strength meter in the web interface for the device.

To find the best location, I use an app on my Android phone: "Wi-Fi SweetSpots"

It's simple, intuitive, and quite sensitive.

[HappyCamper49]

On our last cruise before COVID-19 struck, we just purchased the (Celebrity Reflection) ship's Wi-Fi and it was fast and reliable.  No problem calling relatives to check on them in AL & FL while on an eastern Med cruise!    You should be just fine with purchasing the Wi-Fi on your ship!