Internet Speed

[Divetripnow]

I’m traveling on the Riviera in December. I was told that internet connectivity has been upgraded. Will I be able to work on my laptop? How about conference calls?? I’d appreciate anyone that has cruised recently to let me know their experience. Many thanks!!

[Hokulea]

The biggest issue will be timing. There is a single pipe that everybody shares, so the number of other people and what they are doing is the key determinant on your bandwidth. There were times when I could stream a movie with no problems. Other times Mail would timeout sending a simple text email. While I was able to do work (download/upload documents, access shared drives) at times it was really painful. I wouldn't try to schedule any interactive sessions unless you are doing it in the middle of the night. The enhanced internet just opens up ports, it doesn't give you any more bandwidth.

 

 

[RPen63]

Similar experience in September on Regatta.  Losing the satellite on an important document was rather frustrating.  If you try, bring your patience and save often.  
 

On Riviera in February, I was able to attend Zoom calls but MS Teams would not work.  Tried it on a port day.  Im sure trying it on a sea day would not likely be feasible.

Edited October 22, 2022 by RPen63
Added timing

[HiFi43]

They are doing a Riviera upgrade right before your cruise and hopefully the internet will e further upgraded as well. We have been on a few cruises on Riviera and Marina since the restart and we’re able to use the internet successfully for calls if we timed our calls outside the heavy. use hours. Laptop also worked.

[Nol2929]

Currently on the Riviera and over the past 9 days have found the basic free package to be ok for what I need (email Whatsapp) but it is slow.  Not able to view any videos.  The upgrade packages should work for you and hopefully it all will improve by the time you arrive.

[Dourobert]

On Marina now. I can email, access some web sites, but not all.  Semi-amusingly I've had the most trouble accessing the Oceania website reliably.  I bought a data eSim and do most of my video calls, and photo syncing when we are in port.  Travelling with two iPhones, two iPads, and on Mac Air!

[Divetripnow]

17 hours ago, Hokulea said:

The biggest issue will be timing. There is a single pipe that everybody shares, so the number of other people and what they are doing is the key determinant on your bandwidth. There were times when I could stream a movie with no problems. Other times Mail would timeout sending a simple text email. While I was able to do work (download/upload documents, access shared drives) at times it was really painful. I wouldn't try to schedule any interactive sessions unless you are doing it in the middle of the night. The enhanced internet just opens up ports, it doesn't give you any more bandwidth.

 

 

Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I was afraid this would be the case.

[roberts2005]

On Marina now.   Almost Impossible to send an email with with multiple photos attached

[the more ports the better]

Does anyone know if O plans to upgrade their internet to today’s standards.  People have been complaining about this for years and now they are probably last in the bandwidth department of any cruise line.  It really is unacceptable.  Every other line, even with the COVID shutdowns and cut backs, has continued to update internet speeds as technology improves.  O just ignores the entire situation.

 

I was on Symphony of the Seas with a few of my kids and 5000 people can all stream Netflix at the same time.  Honestly, the technology is everywhere.  Even on the Paul Gauguin, the middle of the Pacific on our way to the Cook Islands, in one of the most remote parts of the world, the internet speeds put O to shame.  Infuriating!!!

[the more ports the better]

Holy Cow, Just maybe this is true and O will upgrade to starlink.  Kind of a wonky webpage in the link below but I searched a few others and it looks like NCL is testing Starlink on the Breakaway.  I hope they upgrade O as well.  Celebrity is rolling it our fleet wide as is RCCL, and Hurtigruten already completed their entire fleet.

 

https://driveteslacanada.ca/spacex/norwegian-cruise-line-adds-spacex-starlink-to-one-of-its-ships/

[LHT28]

looks like speculation from some cruise pax 🤔

[the more ports the better]

Not speculating at all.  That why I said “hoping”.  Obviously, they are testing it on Breakaway.  Would be nice if NCLH would implement it in all their brands.  Not holding my breath though.  

[sunlover12]

I’m just off Sirena a few days ago and I will say that the internet was slow at times and sometimes it was non-existent.  It was the worst in the late afternoon, when people were coming back from excursions. I will say that it has improved since 2019 when it was truly awful. Still has a long ways to go. 

I use it for checking e-mail, Facebook and reading the news. Simple things but it can be mind-numbing and it doesn’t have to be that way in today’s world. I don’t use it for streaming or attaching photos to an email. I’m sure that would be an exercise in frustration. O’s policy of only one person in the cabin using the Wi-fi at a time is ridiculous. We mentioned that in the end of cruise survey. 

Some people do need the internet for their jobs and businesses and Oceania is not making it easy for them. They should step up to the plate, understand the needs of their clients and be competitive. 

 

[PaulMCO]

Just get to the facts and no speculation.  The internet has not been upgraded in last two years.  In fact the upgrade did not add satellite bandwidth but added additional capacity when a ship was located at a certain port via terrestrial links.  The NCL family still uses the archaic systems from EMC (formerly MTN) located in Florida.  System uses high orbit satellites similar to those being used home internet companies like Hughes Net or Viasat.  NCL is not alone -- but others have EMC contracts with higher bandwidths.

 

Yes Starlink is a great idea and RCL is doing trials.  Starlink has other issues including bandwidth limits and needs more upgrade satellites to allow it to service ships that are not with line of site of land based terminals.  That will happen soon.

 

Carnival uses another system that uses low earth orbit satellites that provides better service with better latency.

[tigerfan75]

I agree that internet is terrible.  Sitting now on my balcony on the Marina in Trieste, Italy, and using T-Mobile instead of O’s Wi-Fi.  Access internet only in ports using cell service.  😞

[piedpiper99]

1 hour ago, tigerfan75 said:

using T-Mobile instead of O’s Wi-Fi

 

Always use cell service when in port.  

[pete_coach]

2 hours ago, tigerfan75 said:

I agree that internet is terrible.  Sitting now on my balcony on the Marina in Trieste, Italy, and using T-Mobile instead of O’s Wi-Fi.  Access internet only in ports using cell service.  😞

Is Marina refurbished yet? Or is it after Rivieria?

I am hoping that the internet system will be upgraded during refurbishment.

[1985rz1]

2 hours ago, pete_coach said:

Is Marina refurbished yet? Or is it after Rivieria?

I am hoping that the internet system will be upgraded during refurbishment.

The Riviera goes into dry dock this month for the NEXT upgrade, and the Marina goes in next year.

 

I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for any major improvement on the internet capabilities.

Edited November 7, 2022 by 1985rz1

[osandomir]

Hopefully, better internet is coming to the NCL ships.
 

https://www.thestreet.com/travel/norwegian-follows-royal-caribbean-in-fixing-passenger-pain-point

[toolworker]

@Divetripnow, how was the internet on your trip? We'll be on Riviera soon and are hoping to keep up with our weekly zoom.

 

We do have T-Mobile, with free international 4G roaming, so can fall back on that in port. But we'd rather zoom on sea days - like everyone else on the ship. Sigh.

[ak1004]

It almost seems like the more luxury the cruise line, the worse is the internet. We had our best internet on Princess and RCI in 2015-2018. Just returned from SS and the internet was probably the worst we had in our 20 cruises. Oceania was probably second worst. This is really unacceptable, but as many mentioned, for many O guests it's really a very low priority. 

[bob brown]

I just did an online speed test aboard the Insignia, while many passengers were ashore, and the results were 6.5 mbps download, 1.7 mbps upload…a bit better than old “dial-up” speed, I suppose…🤷‍♂️

[toolworker]

7 minutes ago, bob brown said:

I just did an online speed test aboard the Insignia, while many passengers were ashore, and the results were 6.5 mbps download, 1.7 mbps upload…a bit better than old “dial-up” speed, I suppose…🤷‍♂️

 

And enough to zoom.

 

Thanks for this. But in port cellular data is available. What's the speed away from land, before dinner when everyone's checking email?

 

On 10/21/2022 at 1:34 PM, Divetripnow said:

I’m traveling on the Riviera in December. I was told that internet connectivity has been upgraded. 

 

I have been told by several phone agents that it has not. They often don't know (although the last one checked.). And they always mention the expensive upgrade to "more bandwidth" which doesn't give more bandwidth, just unblocks streaming sites so the bandwidth can be further degraded.

 

35 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

It almost seems like the more luxury the cruise line, the worse is the internet. We had our best internet on Princess and RCI in 2015-2018. Just returned from SS and the internet was probably the worst we had in our 20 cruises. Oceania was probably second worst. This is really unacceptable, but as many mentioned, for many O guests it's really a very low priority. 

We had great internet on Viking Sky in October.

 

And as @the more ports the better said, "internet is a huge deal for many people who sail on O." The proof is that there are enough users to drastically affect the bandwidth, as mentioned in several posts above.

[LHT28]

2 minutes ago, toolworker said:

 

And enough to zoom.

 

Thanks for this. But in port cellular data is available. What's the speed away from land, before dinner when everyone's checking email?

 

 

DH  had zoom chats with a friend that was on Insignia over the holidays  it was fine when most were ashore  but when people were returning to the ship or sea days it  was pretty bad 

[ak1004]

It's hard for some people to understand, but maybe some people need to stay in touch with the family?? We have elderly parents who are alone, and staying in touch with them is critical for us. Also have a new grandson and a daughter who really needs our support. Also, I know that most O guests are in their 70s and 80s, but some of us are still working or having their own business?? So maybe Oceania should start listening to those guests if they want to attract and retain a new generation of cruisers.

 

Everyone is different. Don't judge people if you don't know their situation.