Is Premium WiFi fast enough for Zoom

[sarleo]

I’ll be on the Constellation 11/28/23 from Tampa to the Panama Canal and may have to attend a meeting via zoom. Is premium WiFi fast enough for it to work? I figure probably not, but I was hoping. Thanks for your response. 

[upwarduk]

It may depend where you sit on the ship.

We once had problems accessing the internet, so went to the iLounge. There was a notice that said there were problems with the satellite.

I also spoke to one of the people in the iLounge and he said that being in your cabin was the worst place for a good signal, because you are in a metal box.

Edited August 9, 2023 by upwarduk

[NutsAboutGolf]

Will there be consequences if you experience hiccups, get disconnect and cannot reconnect?  If you're chatting with friends or family, no problem.  If you're trying to present an hour long sales pitch to "close the big deal", don't rely the ships internet

[dadofjessie]

With the new Starlink wifi, Zoom/Facetime will work no problem.

[RTShaker]

36 minutes ago, dadofjessie said:

With the new Starlink wifi, Zoom/Facetime will work no problem.

Except in some stretches of a Panama cruise. There were some poor/ non-existant reception areas in April, but moreso on the west side.

[phoenix_dream]

1 hour ago, dadofjessie said:

With the new Starlink wifi, Zoom/Facetime will work no problem.

I respectfully disagree.  While Starlink has significantly improved the Wi-Fi on the ship, there are times when reception isn't good enough for Zoom.  I don't know about this itinerary, but I know on my Alaska sailing there were times when the internet was pretty bad.  I suspect in the Panama location that might be a concern as well.  

So my opinion is that it will probably work, but there is a chance it may not.

[mahasamatman]

1 hour ago, RTShaker said:

Except in some stretches of a Panama cruise. There were some poor/ non-existant reception areas in April, but moreso on the west side.

 

Or the South Pacific where we were totally without Internet for a full day.

[terrydtx]

We were on the Equinox in June in a Sky Suite and had no problems with making video calls from our cabin. The Starlink internet Wi-Fi is a huge upgrade over previous cruises.

[PTC DAWG]

IF you absolutely have to have good internet, a cruise is not for you.  IMHO.  

 

Thankfully, I do not..and cruises are for me.  

[sarleo]

I tutor someone in need of English as a second language in Eastern Europe. I will possibly, have one session to go. I didn’t know this when I started. If I am docked in Columbia for two days, do you think the internet would be better? Thank you all for your responses! 😊

[keesar]

8 hours ago, dadofjessie said:

With the new Starlink wifi, Zoom/Facetime will work no problem.

FaceTime did not consistently work in the Caribbean.  This was with the Premium service.  A cruise ship is not the ideal place to use Zoom.  

[tigervixxxen]

1 hour ago, sarleo said:

I tutor someone in need of English as a second language in Eastern Europe. I will possibly, have one session to go. I didn’t know this when I started. If I am docked in Columbia for two days, do you think the internet would be better? Thank you all for your responses! 😊

It tends to be better while docked, also more people off the ship helps bandwidth. I have personally streamed hockey games in the middle of the ocean so I do think you could give it a shot. No guarantees of course. 

[NutsAboutGolf]

9 hours ago, phoenix_dream said:

I respectfully disagree.  While Starlink has significantly improved the Wi-Fi on the ship, there are times when reception isn't good enough for Zoom.  I don't know about this itinerary, but I know on my Alaska sailing there were times when the internet was pretty bad.  I suspect in the Panama location that might be a concern as well.  

So my opinion is that it will probably work, but there is a chance it may not.

 

Was considering an Alaska, would you mind sharing specifics of "pretty bad"?  Also did you have Premium or Basic?

[DCPIV]

15 hours ago, sarleo said:

I tutor someone in need of English as a second language in Eastern Europe. I will possibly, have one session to go. I didn’t know this when I started. If I am docked in Columbia for two days, do you think the internet would be better? Thank you all for your responses! 😊

 

It sounds like you can schedule your time.  If so, I'd definitely schedule your time while in for for all the reasons stated above.  Keep in mind that, no matter what, you're relying on a satellite connection.  Quality can vary for all sorts of reasons, including weather.

 

I hope it all works out and you enjoy your cruise!

[BuckeyeMark]

Anybody done Norway and tried the Internet?  How is it in the fjords and ports in Norway?

[NutsAboutGolf]

5 minutes ago, BuckeyeMark said:

Anybody done Norway and tried the Internet?  How is it in the fjords and ports in Norway?

 

Just a relatable datapoint, did it on Carnival which used starlink and it worked great

[Jim_Iain]

On 8/9/2023 at 2:47 PM, sarleo said:

I tutor someone in need of English as a second language in Eastern Europe. I will possibly, have one session to go. I didn’t know this when I started. If I am docked in Columbia for two days, do you think the internet would be better? Thank you all for your responses! 😊

 

Not sure of the reason but in a number of ports for some reason we lost internet connectivity while in port.   A couple ports where I've experienced this is Ensenada and Catalina Island.    In Ensenada I was able  to used my cellphone connection with T-mobile and tethered top PC.     Catalina I was on a B2B and happened both times and even though you can see LA no connection via phone either.

 

In the past year I've done  a B2B to Iceland and back, B2B Mexican Rivera and Caribbean, TA and British Isle cruise.   For all of these cruises I had no problems with doing Zoom calls.

[Traveling Fools]

On 8/9/2023 at 5:47 PM, sarleo said:

I tutor someone in need of English as a second language in Eastern Europe. I will possibly, have one session to go. I didn’t know this when I started. If I am docked in Columbia for two days, do you think the internet would be better? Thank you all for your responses! 😊

 

Back in the day when there was no internet onboard we would have to find a internet provider on shore during port calls.  Perhaps that is something to consider if you are docked.

[keesar]

2 hours ago, Traveling Fools said:

 

Back in the day when there was no internet onboard we would have to find a internet provider on shore during port calls.  Perhaps that is something to consider if you are docked.

In discussing the quality of the Internet, they consistently told me that they wait until we are in a port and they use shore based Internet for reliable service.