Carnival Improving Internet

[Lee Cruiser]

In the midst of all the news over the last couple of days, I had missed this article about Carnival greatly enhancing internet bandwidth and access.  This is good for the many of us who like to have internet when we cruise.  May come with another internet price increase before long though 😀.

 

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/27925-carnival-cruise-line-rolls-out-it-updates-more-bandwidth.html

[BlerkOne]

Despite some minor issues that some seem obsessed with, not all is doom and gloom with Carnival.

[Deathloks]

12 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

Despite some minor issues that some seem obsessed with, not all is doom and gloom with Carnival.

I think the whole cruising industry is suffering.  When someone says they don't like something Carnival is doing it doesn't mean other companies are all perfect.  We have 6 cruises booked with Carnival at this point.  We intend on having the best of times for well deserved vacations on all those cruises.  Regardless, it would just be unfair to claim cruising is the same as it was before the pandemic.  I do remember and miss the times we had nasal bands and other stuff in our cabin upon arrival, the cigar lounge for relaxing, quiet conversations with strangers, and so many other things.  The hairy chest contest we never participated in but we knew when we were boarding and it was happening that we were on a Carnival ship and that it was the beginning of a fun week.  Some of us, just miss those things that made Carnival so special for us.  But at the same time, we're ready for new adventures.

[BlerkOne]

1 minute ago, Deathloks said:

I think the whole cruising industry is suffering.  When someone says they don't like something Carnival is doing it doesn't mean other companies are all perfect.  We have 6 cruises booked with Carnival at this point.  We intend on having the best of times for well deserved vacations on all those cruises.  Regardless, it would just be unfair to claim cruising is the same as it was before the pandemic.  I do remember and miss the times we had nasal bands and other stuff in our cabin upon arrival, the cigar lounge for relaxing, quiet conversations with strangers, and so many other things.  The hairy chest contest we never participated in but we knew when we were boarding and it was happening that we were on a Carnival ship and that it was the beginning of a fun week.  Some of us, just miss those things that made Carnival so special for us.  But at the same time, we're ready for new adventures.

Of course cruise is different since the pandemic, and I don't believe it will ever be the same again. The Breathe Right strips and other goodies were donated by the corporations who stopped doing that. The cigar lounges were usually wasted space which is wasted money on a cruise ship.

 

The whole industry (and many others) are suffering. You can see whining on all the cruise boards.

[Pellaz]

Glad to hear of improvements coming!  The incredibly slow connectivity on my Sunrise cruise in February was the only major problem I had with that sailing.   (Meanwhile service was lickety-split on the Mardi Gras last October.)  

[Illbcruzn4life]

14 hours ago, Lee Cruiser said:

In the midst of all the news over the last couple of days, I had missed this article about Carnival greatly enhancing internet bandwidth and access.  This is good for the many of us who like to have internet when we cruise.  May come with another internet price increase before long though 😀.

 

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/27925-carnival-cruise-line-rolls-out-it-updates-more-bandwidth.html

 

[Illbcruzn4life]

Looks like RCI was ahead of the curve on this.

[ray98]

That's good....can't get much worse.  I had the middle plan on the last month and it was worthless probably 60% of the time just trying to load simple web pages.

[Joebucks]

But can I get pizza at 5 AM?!

[Mr305]

I just got off Horizon, horrible internet experience.  Paying for anything higher than the social plan is throwing money away.  Even that was a waste this last cruise.

[BlerkOne]

7 hours ago, Illbcruzn4life said:

Looks like RCI was ahead of the curve on this.

Internet (Voom or whatever) on Vision of the Seas was worse than anything I've had on Carnival. When I asked the Internet Manager about it, he indicated the best fix was to scrap the ship.

[tallnthensome]

Have the internet improvements already taken place on most of the ships since this announcement? 

[CruiseBro16]

2 hours ago, tallnthensome said:

Have the internet improvements already taken place on most of the ships since this announcement? 

Maybe. I know internet can vary based on location, etc, but I was on the Valor last month with premium plan it it worked fine. For comparison, the same premium plan was useless on the Breeze earlier this year. 

[Lee Cruiser]

1 hour ago, CruiseBro16 said:

Maybe. I know internet can vary based on location, etc, but I was on the Valor last month with premium plan it it worked fine. For comparison, the same premium plan was useless on the Breeze earlier this year. 

Glad to hear that about the Valor.  I had the premium plan on the Valor back in January and it was worthless.  On the Mardi Gras in April the internet was great.  Hopefully it will be good on Vista next month.

[cruisingguy007]

They need to allow VPN's as well as increase speeds. Some may take more cruises if they can work onboard and then enjoy the rest of the evening on the ship. 

[WKUTopperFan]

3 hours ago, cruisingguy007 said:

They need to allow VPN's as well as increase speeds. Some may take more cruises if they can work onboard and then enjoy the rest of the evening on the ship. 

I look forward to the day this is a possibility.  My company's work from anywhere culture would allow me to do just that. Work from my suite during the day (and some of that time enjoying the balcony when I can be offline...as internet never works out there) and enjoy the ship in the evenings. My director has made it a point a number of times that I am welcome (encouraged) to take a cruise and work. My schedule would allow me to pop up on the lido deck and get some sun everyday too. I look forward to being able to do this. It will arrive eventually.

[Pellaz]

19 hours ago, Illbcruzn4life said:

Looks like RCI was ahead of the curve on this.

 

One thing Royal allows that Carnival doesn't is wi-fi phone calling.   Granted, it would probably be a hot mess with Carnival's usual internet connectivity anyway, but I felt like royalty when I got a phone call from home while walking through the Windjammer on the Indy back in 2020.  😄  

[BlerkOne]

It really doesn't matter how much bandwidth they add, it will be consumed and then some. All the live streaming, vlogging, blogging, etc., etc., etc. More and more people every cruise. And cruise ships getting bigger and bigger.

[jerseyjjs]

6 hours ago, Pellaz said:

 

One thing Royal allows that Carnival doesn't is wi-fi phone calling.   Granted, it would probably be a hot mess with Carnival's usual internet connectivity anyway, but I felt like royalty when I got a phone call from home while walking through the Windjammer on the Indy back in 2020.  😄  

 

 

Carnival's wifi is also more restrictive than Royal's.   Try making a sports wager on Carnival.

[CarolSW]

10 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

It really doesn't matter how much bandwidth they add, it will be consumed and then some. All the live streaming, vlogging, blogging, etc., etc., etc. More and more people every cruise. And cruise ships getting bigger and bigger.

I applaud the effort to improve the internet experience for us, but I also recognize it will probably never be enough.  Kinda like getting a raise in pay…..it will never be enough. 

[BlerkOne]

5 hours ago, jerseyjjs said:

 

 

Carnival's wifi is also more restrictive than Royal's.   Try making a sports wager on Carnival.

Ahem...

 

https://www.bettingusa.com/carnival-cruise-ships-sports-betting/

 

 

[jerseyjjs]

 

 

    If that's the case, then that should presumably answer my question of whether they'll be showing the games onboard.  And, I'd have to open a BetUSA account, though they've had quite a bit of customer service complaints in the past from what I've heard and seen.

[BlerkOne]

51 minutes ago, jerseyjjs said:

 

 

    If that's the case, then that should presumably answer my question of whether they'll be showing the games onboard.  And, I'd have to open a BetUSA account, though they've had quite a bit of customer service complaints in the past from what I've heard and seen.

In the meanwhile, there are VPNs that work on Carnival WiFi and you can bet that way. And likely continue to do so in the future.

[Wennfred]

Freedom of the Seas (Royal) is beta testing Starlink which will be a game changer, a few videos on that already.

[BlerkOne]

55 minutes ago, Wennfred said:

Freedom of the Seas (Royal) is beta testing Starlink which will be a game changer, a few videos on that already.

While it sounds good, Starlink has outages, incomplete coverage, and I think throughput could be an issue once stressed.