Transatlantic - WiFi Call - Stream Internet

[HBDave]

Can anyone share their experience using WiFi Calling using the Stream Internet while on a Transatlantic sailing? If not Wifi Calling, how was your internet performance crossing the Atlantic. Thanks!

[goofysmom99]

I've used wifi calling on Transatlantics for many years.  Even called emergency dentist 2 days out from Boston for an appointment to reseat a crown when we arrived Sunday morning.  

[upwarduk]

Hopefully the internet is better now than it was on our TA on Infinity in 2013, especially as the ships Wi-Fi was upgraded when Silhouette was revolutionised.

On Infinity, there was a notice on the desk in the iLounge, apologising for the poor Wi-Fi signal, as we were mid Atlantic and were relying on a Satellite, hundreds of miles away.

[Alakegirl]

I would expect that experiences from 2013 won’t be very applicable to 2022,although the dependence on satellite reception still remains, of course

[Jim_Iain]

We have done quite a number of TA and have always had the premium internet.    I've only occasional had a dead spot and most of the time the service is adequate.     I've done Zoom Conference Calls, FaceTime, WhatsAPP and WiFi calling.    I've also been able to stream YouTubeTV.   Many report that speeds are often dependent on cabin location and proximity to the router.     Many also report that the internet is laggy at prime times. 

 

It helps if you have your expectations set.   Internet is nothing close to your internet at home.    Think back to the old dial up modems at 2400 baud rate and you won't be disappointed. 

[Andover 5125]

14 hours ago, HBDave said:

Can anyone share their experience using WiFi Calling using the Stream Internet while on a Transatlantic sailing? If not Wifi Calling, how was your internet performance crossing the Atlantic. Thanks!

I have used Wifi calling but not on a Transatlantic crossing. Make sure you have that feature enabled on your phone. From what I was told a few years ago on a Celebrity ship, I had to have enabled the

feature from my home. I just checked mine again!

[HBDave]

2 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

We have done quite a number of TA and have always had the premium internet.    I've only occasional had a dead spot and most of the time the service is adequate.     I've done Zoom Conference Calls, FaceTime, WhatsAPP and WiFi calling.    I've also been able to stream YouTubeTV.   Many report that speeds are often dependent on cabin location and proximity to the router.     Many also report that the internet is laggy at prime times. 

 

It helps if you have your expectations set.   Internet is nothing close to your internet at home.    Think back to the old dial up modems at 2400 baud rate and you won't be disappointed. 

Thank you for your input. Yes, I'm aware of the slow internet. We just returned from a 10-day Millenium sailing. We had the Surf Package and I told my wife it was like 1200 baud dialup rate from the old days. The difference back then was, the internet pages were basically text based and did not contain graphics, animation, popup windows, advertisements, etc.. With modern web pages, 1200 baud has no chance.  In fact the Wi-Fi connection was constantly failing on our two iPhone's and disabling the use of iMessage and defaulting back to SMS. Doing anything on the laptop, was out of the question.  I was really disappointed in it's performance and it was nothing like I had experienced on my previous Celebrity Sailings. If It had not been bundled with the All Included, I would have canceled it on the first day.

 

We'll be sailing the transatlantic on the Apex, so maybe I'll purchase the Stream upgrade, give it a try, and if it's no better, I can cancel the upgrade and request a refund.

 

Thanks

[HBDave]

1 hour ago, Andover 5125 said:

I have used Wifi calling but not on a Transatlantic crossing. Make sure you have that feature enabled on your phone. From what I was told a few years ago on a Celebrity ship, I had to have enabled the

feature from my home. I just checked mine again!

Thanks, I have T-Mobile and iPhones and by default T-Mobile activates Wi-Fi calling on the phone. I'm not sure about other carriers or phones. 

[goofysmom99]

I was able to wifi call on TAs in 2017, 18, and 19.  Those were before AI so I paid for internet which then equated to streaming version is now.

[Margarita Jane]

We did a TA on Princess in November, 2021and had several days with no internet connection. Another Princess ship was a couple days behind us, and they had the same issue. Princess gave us OBC, but I would have rather had the internet.

[Jim_Iain]

3 hours ago, HBDave said:

Thank you for your input. Yes, I'm aware of the slow internet. We just returned from a 10-day Millenium sailing. We had the Surf Package and I told my wife it was like 1200 baud dialup rate from the old days. The difference back then was, the internet pages were basically text based and did not contain graphics, animation, popup windows, advertisements, etc.. With modern web pages, 1200 baud has no chance.  In fact the Wi-Fi connection was constantly failing on our two iPhone's and disabling the use of iMessage and defaulting back to SMS. Doing anything on the laptop, was out of the question.  I was really disappointed in it's performance and it was nothing like I had experienced on my previous Celebrity Sailings. If It had not been bundled with the All Included, I would have canceled it on the first day.

 

We'll be sailing the transatlantic on the Apex, so maybe I'll purchase the Stream upgrade, give it a try, and if it's no better, I can cancel the upgrade and request a refund.

 

Thanks

Your other option might be to select the basic package and try out both the slower speed and use your CC minutes to try out the higher speed to see which work for you.  

[Jim_Iain]

3 hours ago, HBDave said:

Thanks, I have T-Mobile and iPhones and by default T-Mobile activates Wi-Fi calling on the phone. I'm not sure about other carriers or phones. 

 

I also have T-Mobile and an iPhone and it is seamless including their free international roaming while ashore.   Everything is activated by default unlike the other carriers.   Just remember to put phone back on airplane mode when back at sea.   Good thing is T-Mobile will usually send you a reminder if you forget to turn on airplane mode.

 

I text our kids numerous times a day and usually speak to one of my daughters voice every day or two while cruising via WiFi Calling or Facetime.

[canderson]

The satellites in use for this service are spread across the equator rather evenly, so coverage on a TA no different from land.  

[DCPIV]

I've done some wifi calling when internet was slow (not on Celebrity and not on a TA, but I don't think either of those circumstances would make much difference).  It went pretty well, but it did drop off a couple of times.

[cltnccruisers]

Do the "Always Included" Drink-Wifi-Gratuities packages apply to TransAtlantics?  We're planning one for 2023 and that little nagging voice in the back of my head keeps saying they might not.

[canderson]

TA no different from any other cruise in this regard.

[HBDave]

9 minutes ago, cltnccruisers said:

Do the "Always Included" Drink-Wifi-Gratuities packages apply to TransAtlantics?  We're planning one for 2023 and that little nagging voice in the back of my head keeps saying they might not.

I recently booked an October 2022 Transatlantic and it included the Always Included as well as an upgrade to the Enhanced Package. I think there was a time when Transatlantic cruises were so heavily discounted, they did not include the Always Include. Currently, the Transatlantic cruises are a little cheaper than an equivalent cruise (based on number of nights) but, are no longer discounted like they once were.