Taking Laptop to use Skype?

[donscomp]

Using Skype eats up a lot of bandwidth. There is only so much to go around on a ship. When you do this you slow everyone else down. Same with uploading or sending pictures from the ship unless you have resized them to not be such hogs. And as mentioned Skype doesn't work all that well.

 

Please be considerate of others trying to use the Internet and don't Skype, and don't send huge picture files. We thank you!

 

 

Couldnt agree more. The ship Internet is slow enough.

[chubbypiggy]

Sorry, the base price is 75 cents per minute. I am not sure if they charge the setup fee if you just pay by the minute.

 

Also, the internet connecton is via satelite and very slow - think dial-up.

 

Thank you.:)

[BigGuy25]

Couldnt agree more. The ship Internet is slow enough.

 

Couldn't disagree more. Skype worked perfectly on the Ruby last summer ... basically the same as at home ... which tells me that others on-line at the time were experiencing no timing issues because of my use.

[donscomp]

Yes I can use skype, Magic jack or what ever. But you cant tell me it does effect other peoples bandwith. It's the same reason the try to block gotomypc. But whatever. LOL

[marypat01]

Yes I can use skype, Magic jack or what ever. But you cant tell me it does effect other peoples bandwith. It's the same reason the try to block gotomypc. But whatever. LOL

 

 

I never bothered trying to use my magicjack on the ship, but I did in the various ports (Caribbean) - there always seems to be some places just outside the terminals that have free wifi. I just used a microphone and earphones through the computer and did not lug around a handset.

[pelicanbaygirl]

We tried using skype on the Tahitian and it was blocked. They said it took up too much bandwidth. Even with blocking skype, internet was very slow. Buy an international phone card in the US and use it on shore or hit a internet cafe--they usually have skype and internet use was very cheap compared to the ships.

[BigGuy25]

We tried using skype on the Tahitian and it was blocked. They said it took up too much bandwidth. Even with blocking skype, internet was very slow. Buy an international phone card in the US and use it on shore or hit a internet cafe--they usually have skype and internet use was very cheap compared to the ships.

 

I do agree, when the connections are slow you shouldn't try to use Skype. It will frustrate you and everyone else trying to get access. But, some of the newer ships, like the Ruby, seem to now have technology that makes the connection much better. I was surprised how fast (relative term) it was. Clearly not like at home, but MUCH better than I had experienced onboard in the past.

 

Also, if you're an early riser, and you happen to be traveling in Europe, getting online early in the morning (when most folks are still sleeping) is really effective. And, 6 in the morning is only 9 o'clock in the evening on the west coast back in the states ... a great time to attempt to connect using Skype.

[fairstars]

Hi Everyone,

We are currently on the Diamond Princess and up until yesterday we have been able to use Skype, (computer to computer), quite well with the family back home and most of the time good video etc.

 

As of yesterday we can no longer log in and when I went to the internet cafe they informed me that all VOIP is blocked. We have used it for the last 23 days but apparently no longer:mad: You can't even download the program, it looks as though anything concerning Skype is blocked.

 

I don't know if this is connected or not but I can no longer log on to my work Microsoft Exchange Server either!

 

I am sure Princess will make an awful lots of people very unhappy, not being able to keep in touch with family members or work.

 

Happy Cruising

Chris

[bob brown]

Lots of ports have free wifi (just ask any crewmember;)). Use your laptop with skype there.

[Charles4515]

I am sure Princess will make an awful lots of people very unhappy, not being able to keep in touch with family members or work.

 

Happy Cruising

Chris

 

Bandwidth on a ship is limited. Cruise ships are not hooked up to fiber lines. They use a satellite connection. If some are hogging the bandwidth with applications like Skype none will be able to use the internet.

[-Lew-]

As a follow up to my earlier post on this thread, I was able to use Skype on our Grand cruse in September '09. I made two calls while we were at sea in the Med on my iPhone; one using Fring, a Skype client; and one using the Skype app.

 

Both calls were made in the evening from my cabin. With the Fring app there was a slight delay; with the Skype app there was no delay at all.

 

Lew

[alberta_cruiser]

In February, I was able to Skype DW & DD on the Ruby Princess in the Carribean on 2 occasions from a satellite connection in northern Alberta. The voice and video were normal without any delay. This spring on the Eurodam transatlantic, Skype was supposedly blocked but their interrnet connection in general was so terrible that we eventually gave up. From my experience using satellite internet on a regular basis at work, performance is a function of how much bandwidth the provider buys. Most are very cheap ( and greedy), and limit the amount of bandwith. From comments on this thread, it seems that the Ruby has good Skype capability. Hopefully, it is good on the Island Princess in April.

[Buddy604]

I don't really get the vilification of skype users, let alone "bandwidth hogs" who "refuse to downsize their pictures" - Princess sells internet access by the minute. While it would be considerate for folks to use skype during low demand periods, they are hardly evil for using internet time for which they have paid. It's nice when people are thoughful and considerate, but kind of ugly to demand it.

 

That said, I'm amazed folks have had success with it at all - I find the internet on board very hit or miss. I tend to tether to my cellphone in port instead if I'm somewhere where I get a good data package.