Internet on Trans-Pacific?

[sciencewonk]

On 6/8/2022 at 1:05 AM, glutenhab said:

On Westerdam 51 day Seattle to Sydney on Oct 2/22 & wondering how the internet connection is while at sea?

Some other questions:

1) Are there room service charges for lunch/dinner etc. (I assume none for breakfast)

2) Can we bring wine/soft drinks aboard on embarkation? (have heard only water now but unsure)

3) Buffet closing times (nothing after 8pm?)

4) Westerdam condition? 

5) Advice/ideas on room VA6091

 

Any other advice is warmly welcomed

We did the San Diego to Sydney on Noordam last year.  The internet was surprisingly good.  I can't remember a single instance of not being able to connect, although there were variations in download speed at times.

 

The only room service charge we incurred was for soft drinks, even though we had the HIA package.

 

We brought 4 bottles of wine onboard.  There was a corkage fee, but I don't remember how much it was.  Less than $20 USD, I think.

 

We chose the cruise because we were relocating from California to Australia.  It turned out to be one of the best experiences of our married life.  I hope you enjoy yours as much.

[robotpony]

On 6/18/2023 at 2:08 PM, BermudaBound2014 said:

FWIW, the review from the gentleman from the UK who showed photos of the Starlink apparatus onboard said that the internet connection was very solid everywhere on the ship and he did the 18 night Hawaii trip right after drydock.

 

We also found the local WIFI access to be good everywhere in the ship. It's possible that some devices have lesser WIFI hardware, which would translate into a different experience for those folks. There are a dozen factors in how well your device behaves on WIFI, but on our newer hardware it was pretty amazing on the Koningsdam in April.

[Btimmer]

We've done multiple trans Pacific crossings (both directions) and never found the internet to be a problem for the most part.  All of our crossings except one were with inside cabins as is our custom.

 

Regarding Starlink, we just got off of a Princess cruise in the British Isles which had Starlink and it was dreadfully slow.  I even asked a deck officer if the Starlink was throttled, and he had no reply.

[BermudaBound2014]

1 hour ago, Btimmer said:

We've done multiple trans Pacific crossings (both directions) and never found the internet to be a problem for the most part.  All of our crossings except one were with inside cabins as is our custom.

 

Regarding Starlink, we just got off of a Princess cruise in the British Isles which had Starlink and it was dreadfully slow.  I even asked a deck officer if the Starlink was throttled, and he had no reply.

 

Wow, that's odd. I've had starlink on 2 RCL cruises and a Celebrity cruise and I was getting speeds very close to what I get at home. It was a real game changer for me. 

[Haljo1935]

1 hour ago, Btimmer said:

We've done multiple trans Pacific crossings (both directions) and never found the internet to be a problem for the most part.  All of our crossings except one were with inside cabins as is our custom...

Hi @BtimmerPreparing for our first Trans Pacific (Yokohama->Seattle) and looking to pick up all the tips and insights possible to get the most out of it. Since you've done several, are you selecting an inside cabin due to the weather? We booked an aft portside verandah and are rethinking that decision based on comments regarding potential weather issues - maybe we should change to a true aft (potentially less impact from wind?) or go with an ocean view as there may likely be little opportunity to use the balcony. Thoughts?

Good to hear you find the internet acceptable; I'll be working throughout the trip, so that's important.

Any other info or tips you'd like to share is appreciated.

[Btimmer]

19 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

Wow, that's odd. I've had starlink on 2 RCL cruises and a Celebrity cruise and I was getting speeds very close to what I get at home. It was a real game changer for me. 

Yes, it was very odd.  Download was under 3mpbs and uploads were under 1.  3 YT vloggers were onboard and they told me that it took hours to upload short 5 minute videos. Our daughter has STARLINK at their home, and it's blazing fast.

[Btimmer]

16 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

Hi @BtimmerPreparing for our first Trans Pacific (Yokohama->Seattle) and looking to pick up all the tips and insights possible to get the most out of it. Since you've done several, are you selecting an inside cabin due to the weather? We booked an aft portside verandah and are rethinking that decision based on comments regarding potential weather issues - maybe we should change to a true aft (potentially less impact from wind?) or go with an ocean view as there may likely be little opportunity to use the balcony. Thoughts?

Good to hear you find the internet acceptable; I'll be working throughout the trip, so that's important.

Any other info or tips you'd like to share is appreciated.

We virtually almost always book an inside cabin as we're never there.  When we are, it's just to sleep and there is no view at night anyway. And way cheaper. On the open ocean, generally there's not much to see.  We really like the Crow's Nest for open water cruising.  There's tables and chairs and great viewing.

 

I've written pages and pages in my daily blogs.  Here's the link to our last cruise from Seattle to Sydney last fall.  It'll give you a flavor of the long cruise.  https://timmer2022du.blogspot.com or our Hong Kong to Vancouver in 2017 at https://timmer2017asia.blogspot.com

 

[Haljo1935]

1 hour ago, Btimmer said:

We virtually almost always book an inside cabin as we're never there.  When we are, it's just to sleep and there is no view at night anyway. And way cheaper. On the open ocean, generally there's not much to see.  We really like the Crow's Nest for open water cruising.  There's tables and chairs and great viewing.

 

I've written pages and pages in my daily blogs.  Here's the link to our last cruise from Seattle to Sydney last fall.  It'll give you a flavor of the long cruise.  https://timmer2022du.blogspot.com or our Hong Kong to Vancouver in 2017 at https://timmer2017asia.blogspot.com

 

Thanks so much; I will certainly check out the blogs. I love the Crow's Nest going through Glacier Bay and wondered if it would be good for a TA or TP. 🤔