Celebrity should seriously consider upgrading their WiFi equipment.

[mkkao924]

Just finished our first Celebrity cruise with Solstice in Alaska.

 

While I enjoy the cruise completely, I think Celebrity’s WiFi is overdue for an upgrade, especially inside the cabin.

 

I have used Starlink service with NCL Envore (Alaska) and Carnival (Mexico), and this is by far the worst experience.

 

We stayed on deck 6, and the WiFi inside the cabin is simply unusable. It’s not a satellite coverage issue because the WiFi works fine as soon as I step outside to public area. Not that it’s blazing fast, but it’s usable.

 

When I step out to the balcony, I can also disable WiFi and reconnect, and it will find a different AP (access point) and then it will connect. This shows their AP is not capable of handing off device to the best possible AP.

Not sure if that’s because Solstice is an older ship, but I will definitely reconsider ordering their WiFi again.

 

For comparison, I was able to use Zoom video meeting for two hours on Carnival Panorama without any interruption.

 

 

[dctravel]

Interesting. We were on the Solstice July 28-Aug 4 (so right before you, I think?) and had no issues with WiFi EXCEPT on the balcony. It just would not work (never thought to connect and reconnect). Otherwise, I thought it worked fine in the cabin, but we never tried to Zoom or use FaceTime. For some reason I thought it was Starlink, but maybe i'm mixing up my brands!

[mkkao924]

2 minutes ago, dctravel said:

Interesting. We were on the Solstice July 28-Aug 4 (so right before you, I think?) and had no issues with WiFi EXCEPT on the balcony. It just would not work (never thought to connect and reconnect). Otherwise, I thought it worked fine in the cabin, but we never tried to Zoom or use FaceTime. For some reason I thought it was Starlink, but maybe i'm mixing up my brands!

what deck were you on? My suspicion is that because deck 5 has open area, so when I am in the balcony, it picked up signal from the public area AP on deck 5. Just my guess though.

[leaveitallbehind]

35 minutes ago, dctravel said:

For some reason I thought it was Starlink, but maybe i'm mixing up my brands!

Celebrity does use Starlink, which is is relatively new to them. Not sure why the OP had issues with this. Perhaps it is due to the location or the level of service - Standard v Premium?  But I can say we have had no issues with it basically anywhere on the ship in our experience.  Our most recent June experience was with Premium utilizing WiFi calling, etc.

Edited August 13 by leaveitallbehind

[mkkao924]

3 minutes ago, leaveitallbehind said:

Celebrity does use Starlink, which is is relatively new to them. Not sure why the OP had issues with this. Perhaps it is due to the location or the level of service - standard v premium?

 

I had the premium package (2 device).

 

I don't think it's the package, because I am happy with the service in public area, including theater, buffet, dining room (probably the best service), and other places. The most troublesome area is in the stateroom. Now I will say that we had the connecting room, and we keep both doors closed. Not sure if that blocked some signal. My brother stayed in the room next to us that is NOT a connecting room (we had three rooms together), and he also had WiFi issue, so I don't think it's just the double door issue.

[PTC DAWG]

I think they should upgrade, charge the folks that have to have it 4-5 times more and leave those of us on vacation out of the rat race, 

[NMTraveller]

I have found that the speeds tend to vary quite a bit around the ship ...

[leaveitallbehind]

26 minutes ago, mkkao924 said:

 

I had the premium package (2 device).

 

I don't think it's the package, because I am happy with the service in public area, including theater, buffet, dining room (probably the best service), and other places. The most troublesome area is in the stateroom. Now I will say that we had the connecting room, and we keep both doors closed. Not sure if that blocked some signal. My brother stayed in the room next to us that is NOT a connecting room (we had three rooms together), and he also had WiFi issue, so I don't think it's just the double door issue.

You may be right.  I don't recall any particular issues in the stateroom, which is where we did some WiFi calling.  But we also tend to use it more elsewhere.

 

In part my response was to your thought of them needing to upgrade their equipment when they only recently converted to Starlink.  So I wanted you to be aware of that as I don't think that is the issue.

[NutsAboutGolf]

Unless something recently changed, you can ask for a wifi extender.  Sucks they don't fix the issue by permanently installing them somewhere.  Premium is throttled to 5Mbps

[Georgia_Peaches]

It’s such a treat when I have access to cruise wifi because it’s night and day better than what I have here at home in cow country. It’s all relative… 

Edited August 13 by Georgia_Peaches

[markeb]

We were on Equinox in 2023 and 2022 (in a Sky Suite, which may matter). We had an access point in our cabin both times and had excellent internet access.

 

On Summit in June, we were also in a Sky Suite and did NOT have an access point in our cabin. Wi-Fi was hit and miss and frequently very slow.

 

I think they have the equipment; they just don't use it in all cabins on all ships. As others have said, they apparently will bring an extender (didn't ask on Summit but should have). Unfortunately it's not something they advertise. The Starlink itself is very fast.

[mkkao924]

1 hour ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

Unless something recently changed, you can ask for a wifi extender.  Sucks they don't fix the issue by permanently installing them somewhere.  Premium is throttled to 5Mbps

 

Thank you. I didn't know that, but will consider that next time.

 

It's unfortunate Celebrity throttles at 5Mbps. I didn't have any other speed test screenshot except this one took on March 2022 when we embarked from Long Beach on Carnival Radiance. You can see I turned on airplane mode and only used ship WiFi.

 

 

Edited August 13 by mkkao924

[PTC DAWG]

1 hour ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

It’s such a treat when I have access to cruise wifi because it’s night and day better than what I have here at home in cow country. It’s all relative… 

What part of Georgia?  I’m on 1 gig ATT fiber here..  I rarely even go online while cruising..the Wife did find a live UGA game on YouTube 2 years ago sailing back from the ABC’s…we had basic I believe..sitting by the pool.  🙂

Edited August 13 by PTC DAWG

[Iamcruzin]

2 hours ago, PTC DAWG said:

I think they should upgrade, charge the folks that have to have it 4-5 times more and leave those of us on vacation out of the rat race, 

With remote work there are some who would rather work from a cruise ship than from home. I wish this was an option during my working years. Honestly why should anyone be concerned with others who need to be connected for one reason or another. Not to mention more money doesn't mean better service. It just means more pissed off passengers paying for a service they aren't receiving.

[DaKahuna]

 

@mkkao924 I suspect the issue is the proximity of you and your brother's cabins to the closest access point(s).  Given that the ship's cabins are basically made of metal, unless you are very close to a wireless access point there will be a lot of attenuation of the signal. 

 

 As mentioned, Celebrity for an unknown reason does throttle their WiFi speeds even though their satellite service is from StarLink.  Other cruise lines do not appear to do this.  Hopefully word will eventually get to Celebrity management and something will be done about it. 

 

I am going to be on Solstice next year and if the WiFi service is as bad as you experienced, I will be talking directly with the IT folks onboard until they fix it.  I can be a PITA when I want to be !!

 

 

 

[the penguins]

7 hours ago, mkkao924 said:

Just finished our first Celebrity cruise with Solstice in Alaska.

 

While I enjoy the cruise completely, I think Celebrity’s WiFi is overdue for an upgrade, especially inside the cabin.

 

I have used Starlink service with NCL Envore (Alaska) and Carnival (Mexico), and this is by far the worst experience.

 

We stayed on deck 6, and the WiFi inside the cabin is simply unusable. It’s not a satellite coverage issue because the WiFi works fine as soon as I step outside to public area. Not that it’s blazing fast, but it’s usable.

 

When I step out to the balcony, I can also disable WiFi and reconnect, and it will find a different AP (access point) and then it will connect. This shows their AP is not capable of handing off device to the best possible AP.

Not sure if that’s because Solstice is an older ship, but I will definitely reconsider ordering their WiFi again.

 

For comparison, I was able to use Zoom video meeting for two hours on Carnival Panorama without any interruption.

 

 

Provided the WiFi connects a couple of times a day to send the odd email (all messages prepared off line ) and download any incoming we are happy. No streaming, no video calls - we are on vacation.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

7 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

 

@mkkao924 I suspect the issue is the proximity of you and your brother's cabins to the closest access point(s).  Given that the ship's cabins are basically made of metal, unless you are very close to a wireless access point there will be a lot of attenuation of the signal. 

 

 As mentioned, Celebrity for an unknown reason does throttle their WiFi speeds even though their satellite service is from StarLink.  Other cruise lines do not appear to do this.  Hopefully word will eventually get to Celebrity management and something will be done about it. 

 

I am going to be on Solstice next year and if the WiFi service is as bad as you experienced, I will be talking directly with the IT folks onboard until they fix it.  I can be a PITA when I want to be !!

 

 

 

By next year they will have super premium wifi at 10 Mbps for an extra $10 a day and for $20 a day the will ultra super premium wifi at 30 Mbps 

🤣

[Georgia_Peaches]

9 hours ago, PTC DAWG said:

What part of Georgia?  I’m on 1 gig ATT fiber here..  I rarely even go online while cruising..the Wife did find a live UGA game on YouTube 2 years ago sailing back from the ABC’s…we had basic I believe..sitting by the pool.  🙂

I’m about 20 miles outside Athens. Definitely Bulldog country…and deer…and cows…lol

 

Services outside of satellite are slowly crawling our way. 

[TeeRick]

10 hours ago, markeb said:

We were on Equinox in 2023 and 2022 (in a Sky Suite, which may matter). We had an access point in our cabin both times and had excellent internet access.

 

On Summit in June, we were also in a Sky Suite and did NOT have an access point in our cabin. Wi-Fi was hit and miss and frequently very slow.

 

I think they have the equipment; they just don't use it in all cabins on all ships. As others have said, they apparently will bring an extender (didn't ask on Summit but should have). Unfortunately it's not something they advertise. The Starlink itself is very fast.

I think this is the key.  Particularly with older ships - and particularly non-revolutionized ships.  On E-class we had an access node in our cabin.  Newer ships were built with much more access and upgrading an older ship to Starlink does not help if too far from an access point.  

 

I wish they would put the map of Wifi access nodes on the deck plans.  It would be very helpful when choosing a cabin.

[DaKahuna]

1 hour ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

By next year they will have super premium wifi at 10 Mbps for an extra $10 a day and for $20 a day the will ultra super premium wifi at 30 Mbps 

🤣

 

Please don't give Celebrity any new ideas.  

 

[DaKahuna]

12 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

I wish they would put the map of Wifi access nodes on the deck plans.  It would be very helpful when choosing a cabin.

 

 That is a great idea ... I think I'll take a note to try and remember to do that on our upcoming Solstice cruise, at least for deck 12 where our room is.  

 If I remember correctly on Millennium on deck 6 they were spaced about every 4 - 5 staterooms apart down the passage way.  There was one directly outside our cabin, 6100, door.  

 

[TeeRick]

Just now, DaKahuna said:

 

 That is a great idea ... I think I'll take a note to try and remember to do that on our upcoming Solstice cruise, at least for deck 12 where our room is.  

 If I remember correctly on Millennium on deck 6 they were spaced about every 4 - 5 staterooms apart down the passage way.  There was one directly outside our cabin, 6100, door.  

 

I guess we could have some sort of spreadsheet and track this on CC here.

 

Of course if Celebrity published a map- they might be tempted to charge more for the premium cabins that have access nodes!

[PTC DAWG]

10 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

With remote work there are some who would rather work from a cruise ship than from home. I wish this was an option during my working years. Honestly why should anyone be concerned with others who need to be connected for one reason or another. Not to mention more money doesn't mean better service. It just means more pissed off passengers paying for a service they aren't receiving.

Getting pissed off about internet working at sea..certainly not my jam. I wouldn’t even mention if it wasn’t bundled with AI..I have said before, I would rather have included room grats..

Edited August 13 by PTC DAWG

[PTC DAWG]

31 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

 

Please don't give Celebrity any new ideas.  

 

Some folks can’t get enough, and would gladly pay..I wouldn’t blame them. 

[Iamcruzin]

4 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

Getting pissed off about internet working at sea..certainly not my jam. I wouldn’t even mention if it wasn’t bundled with AI..I have said before, I would rather have included room grats..

Included grats comes off their bottom line. Internet doesn't cost them anything and they can make money if passengers want to upgrade. I'm waiting for Princess to drop the gratuities. They were late to the party offering an all inclusive experience. They were probably forced to step up when loyal passengers like myself jumped over to Celebrity when they were offering Pick your Perk and 123 Go. As it turned out we liked Celebrity better. Had we fallen into the loyalty program trap we might have still been sailing on Princess.