NCL Encore, Internet, and transatlantic cruises

[rabidstoat]

I have a 12-day transatlantic cruise on the Encore this winter. We have 7 days at sea.

 

Pre-pandemic on a NCL transatlantic the Internet was particularly bad when we were in the middle of the Atlantic. Is this still an issue?

[mking8288]

@rabidstoat  We've done 3 TA on NCL within the past 18 months - Epic & twice on the Prima (east & west bound) from/to NY whereas yours being on the more southerly route ... the fleet has basically nearly completed (if not 100%) converting & upgrading to low orbiting Starlink satellite  WiFi tech.  I've been watching recent reports from other NCL ships doing TA and minimal issues noted with basic WiFi, streaming or premium access have always been more challenging on any moving vessels on high seas subject to external factors (weather) beyond anyone's control.  As you as aren't expecting 99.25% uptime for the entire crossing, you should be fine - we know & were alerted to, while onboard, that there is an area between the Azores & before approaching coastl Portugal & SE Spain with "known" interference (translation - poor coverage w signals fading in & out) that lasted just a few hours.  Starlink continuing to send up additional satellites to expand coverage throughout the year to fill more gaps, is somewhat reassuring on better signals and services ahead.  

 

Data traffic tend to be slower over the same allocated & dynamically shared bandwidth, as NCL does "throttle" the overall satellite signals on the ship, reserving a portion to ship's operations, safety & business needs, etc. - end user's satellite speed not being as fast as one can expect vs. other cruiseline's Starlink ... maybe, NCL will ease up and adjust upward ahead, I won't hold my breath for that to happen; and, satellite plans are pricey as a whole.  

 

The other element is that I always remind & mention to folks, travel & bring along to use the newer hardware & technology or gears, and get them as upgraded as possible within $$ limits - laptops & tablets with radios/transceivers that are still on WiFi 4 or 5 aren't going to take full advantage of the newest triband signals (WiFi 6 & higher)    Enjoy your TA. 

[rabidstoat]

Is there a list of which NCL ships have Starlink? I'm particularly interested in Encore and Getaway.

[genealogyfan]

I was on the Jade from Lisbon to NYC last year. Sometimes the internet was slow (during high traffic time), but nothing major. It is amazing how being out in the middle of the Atlantic we could even get wifi/internet. 

[Ellis1138]

2 hours ago, rabidstoat said:

Is there a list of which NCL ships have Starlink? I'm particularly interested in Encore and Getaway.

Not an official list, but the Encore and Getaway both have Starlink.

 

NCL Ships with confirmed Starlink:

Viva

Encore

Joy

Getaway

Breakaway

Pearl

Epic

Bliss

Sky

Jade

Prima

Escape

Gem

[luv2kroooz]

Basic Internet should be workable. We've  done two TA's on NCL and had no major issues. It is still satellite Internet and is subject to outages. It will not be as fast as your land based Internet. Go in with a reasonable expectations and you should be fine