WiFi on Viking Saturn

[formernuke]

I think the point is those users are already there- Viking is simply trying to reduce the numbers who use so much bandwidth, thus (hopefully) improving service for everyone. I remain skeptical...

[bison2013]

NNN

Edited December 6, 2023 by bison2013
duplicated info

[CurlerRob]

10 hours ago, Tom.in.nc said:

However, unless Viking segregates the “paid streamers” from the general population, they will bring the system to a crawl.

I am waiting to see how this “experiment” works on the current Saturn sailing.

 

The experiment is not fundamentally different than has been done elsewhere. For example, HAL blocks streaming sites for the base internet package, but opens them if you pay additional fees - that's the equivalent of buying your way past the data cap, and results in overall slower service for many.

 

Segregation can be done, although it introduces additional complexity and expense for the cruise line. However, it falls into the category of "beware what you ask for". Consider the impact to the general population if 99% of the fixed capacity was to be allocated to the pax paying more - who enjoy excellent service, but leaving the rest to contend for totally insufficient capacity.

 

That's an exaggeration, but an example of one more issue that arises when a fixed resource has to somehow be allocated across pax with different desires on how to use it. (something like lounge chairs around the pool, but slightly higher tech 😈). The reality is that meeting expectations of internet service that have been formed from land-based systems continues to be extremely expensive for cruise ships and does not appear to be saleable to the general client at this point.

 

In any event, it will be interesting to hear back from Saturn pax to see if any impact is noticeable. 🍺🥌

[TayanaLorna]

We really haven't heard from many Saturn folks using the paid service or using the limited one.  Saturn has been sailing on port intensive cruises so maybe no many are spending a lot of time streaming.  It would be interesting to hear how it goes on sailings with many sea days.  We are going to be on Saturn in February-March with 15 days in ports.  We don't stream when traveling.  About all we do besides WhatsApp messages, check the weather or email is put up a photo or 2 on FB or send to friends.  Will report on the basic usage.  

[bison2013]

Probably unpopular opinion but we choose to work while travelling. This sometimes means using online tools like Zoom etc.

 

The option to 'pay more to get more' is not a problem and I expect this will be the norm shortly.  Much like we see with the excursion offerings. I don't see this as a nickel/dime issue as long as those who want to use minimal bandwidth have that opportunity.

 

Thank you Elon and your army of satellites for giving me an office with a view!

[LindaS272]

4 hours ago, bison2013 said:

I don't see this as a nickel/dime issue as long as those who want to use minimal bandwidth have that opportunity.

Yowza! Nobody wants to use “minimal bandwidth”! Viking needs to up their game in regards to internet access because it was the worst we’d ever experienced on a Viking ship on our cruise on the Saturn last July.

 

I surely hope they have it figured out by charging more for adequate access because the way it is now, those of us who only want internet for online reading—not streaming or zooming or FaceTiming—have lousy access. It doesn’t sound like those who want to chew up bandwidth will cut back just because they have to pay.

Edited December 9, 2023 by LindaS272

[TayanaLorna]

11 hours ago, LindaS272 said:

Yowza! Nobody wants to use “minimal bandwidth”! Viking needs to up their game in regards to internet access because it was the worst we’d ever experienced on a Viking ship on our cruise on the Saturn last July.

 

I surely hope they have it figured out by charging more for adequate access because the way it is now, those of us who only want internet for online reading—not streaming or zooming or FaceTiming—have lousy access. It doesn’t sound like those who want to chew up bandwidth will cut back just because they have to pay.

Apparently this new pay plan was just rolled out on Saturn recently.  Hopefully it will improve service for for those of us who use it minimally.  1.5 gb per day is more then enough for us when travelling.  

[Baron Barracuda]

We're currently on our 20th sea day as we near the end of the 33 day Grand Polynesian.  As we head back from Tahiti to LA internet has been spotty, even at 4am when dw starts her day.  Haven't had live tv (yeah, different satellites) for several days.  If Viking plans to charge for  higher internet usage they need to deliver a more reliable product.

[SJD117]

22 hours ago, bison2013 said:

Thank you Elon and your army of satellites for giving me an office with a view!

I’d be hesitant about thanking Elon for anything these days.

[bison2013]

14 minutes ago, SJD117 said:

I’d be hesitant about thanking Elon for anything these days.

 

Without this man's vision and investment, any areas of rural NA would have no access to stable internet...  and now apparently the same goes for while at sea. So, thanks are indeed offered.

[crusintwo]

As long as we can do the basics -- such as check and respond to emails, do banking, etc., this all sounds fine.  But if the social media bandwidth hoggers destroy the free WiFi provided by Viking, this will be upsetting.  

[kcpvwill]

We had the same problem as Baron Baracuda when on Viking Venus in October in the Mediterranean.  Most days the live  TV  was down and we had no sea days.  Not sure why this happened.  We were able to access news most of the time on our tablets so it wasn’t a big issue, just surprising as we’d not had this problem so much on previous cruises with Viking (11 ocean and 8 river) 

 

Looking forward to our 20th Viking cruise next year and hoping some new itineraries will be announced in Europe soon. 

[CDNPolar]

8 hours ago, crusintwo said:

As long as we can do the basics -- such as check and respond to emails, do banking, etc., this all sounds fine.  But if the social media bandwidth hoggers destroy the free WiFi provided by Viking, this will be upsetting.  

 

 

With all due respect intended in this statement - for so many today -  social media is "The Basics" that is expected.

[PasadenaDave]

On 12/8/2023 at 3:03 PM, bison2013 said:

Probably unpopular opinion but we choose to work while travelling. This sometimes means using online tools like Zoom etc.

 

The option to 'pay more to get more' is not a problem and I expect this will be the norm shortly.  Much like we see with the excursion offerings. I don't see this as a nickel/dime issue as long as those who want to use minimal bandwidth have that opportunity.

 

Thank you Elon and your army of satellites for giving me an office with a view!

I pondered the idea of doing some work while on a cruise, I am retired but my consulting is about 90 days of billing spread through the year.  I had a zoom meeting scheduled for what would have been 9:00 pm Montenegro time.  Those involved with the meeting knew that I might not make it.  I did a test run and at that time two years ago the bandwidth would not support a zoom call, but it was  a moot point as when the zoom was to occur (meeting in California) I was getting ready for bed and there is no way that I could have lasted until after midnight.

 

We will be off the South Island of New Zealand on Christmas Day and we wonder if the next day which is Christmas in North America when we will be between New Zealand and Tazmania if an internet call will work....we are not counting on it so Christmas wishes to family will have to wait.

[Reaniel]

1. The 1.5 GB quota is actually per person.  This means each stateroom actually gets 3 GB.  You can switch over to the other person's "account" if you've exhausted your quota.

 

2. The system is still glitchy, in that,  there had been 3 instances for our 15-day sailing where our quota was exhausted even though we were out in port for the most of the day.  Guest Service told us it's a known issue, but there's nothing they can do except to take note and report it.  The only solution they had was for the person who exhausted their quota to switch over to the other person's access.  (Or, well, pay for extra data)

 

3. I was specifically told that the new system allows for 4 devices per "account".  So there's no long any issue with your phone being forced off the internet when you connect your tablet/laptop, and vice versa.

 

The data was more than enough for us.  Even though my mom enjoyed watching YouTube for an hour or so before bed each night, we never exhausted our quota except for the glitched instances.

[Reaniel]

2 hours ago, PasadenaDave said:

I pondered the idea of doing some work while on a cruise, I am retired but my consulting is about 90 days of billing spread through the year.  I had a zoom meeting scheduled for what would have been 9:00 pm Montenegro time. 

 

Zoom would probably be fine in the new system.  Youtube was running just fine, and we also did FaceTime and Facebook Messenger video calls.  Bandwidth wasn't an issue for us.

[Baron Barracuda]

Royal Caribbean has all their ships using Starlink with reportedly good connectivity.  They have thousands of passengers per ship while VO only has hundreds, so why does Viking have a capacity issue, is it hardware or software?

[minka34]

Is wifi free on Royal Carib?  If not, could it be that there are fewer people trying to use it at the same time?  On NCL, we never pay for extra wifi minutes.  Since we have a limited number of wifi minutes, we "save our minutes" for when we REALLY need them.  Then we end up having to use them all while we are waiting to get off the ship because we saved them for too long. 🙄

[farmecologist]

On 12/10/2023 at 2:42 PM, Reaniel said:

1. The 1.5 GB quota is actually per person.  This means each stateroom actually gets 3 GB.  You can switch over to the other person's "account" if you've exhausted your quota.

 

2. The system is still glitchy, in that,  there had been 3 instances for our 15-day sailing where our quota was exhausted even though we were out in port for the most of the day.  Guest Service told us it's a known issue, but there's nothing they can do except to take note and report it.  The only solution they had was for the person who exhausted their quota to switch over to the other person's access.  (Or, well, pay for extra data)

 

3. I was specifically told that the new system allows for 4 devices per "account".  So there's no long any issue with your phone being forced off the internet when you connect your tablet/laptop, and vice versa.

 

The data was more than enough for us.  Even though my mom enjoyed watching YouTube for an hour or so before bed each night, we never exhausted our quota except for the glitched instances.

 

Bandwidth is a precious commodity on a satellite system like Viking uses.  Unfortunately, some bad apples likely took advantage of the "unlimited wifi" situation and were chewing up horrendous amounts of bandwidth.  As with anything, this always happens...some folks have no self control. 🤷‍♂️ Pretty sure Viking was forced to put these changes into place to make wifi better for all.

 

With that said, 1.5 Gig per person a day is a LOT of data for normal usage, even some low bandwidth streaming like YouTube, as you said.  The issues arise when people start streaming high bandwidth movies, using Zoom, and things like that.  I think it is more than fair to have people pay a small fee if they wish to work from the ship, etc... 

 

 

Edited December 12, 2023 by farmecologist

[bison2013]

2 hours ago, farmecologist said:

 

I think it is more than fair to have people pay a small fee if they wish to work from the ship, etc... 

 

 

Agree with this- as a user who would be in the category to pay more for additional band width if that was an option. 

 

As a rural user, we know the tricks to keep band width demands as low as possible and yet still function with tools like Zoom etc.