Inconsistent Internet Firewall Policy

[eschew]

I am a bit frustarted with the Princess Ships' internet service. I am okay with the price. I am even okay with the "slow" speed. What I am frustrated is teh inconsistency of their "firewall" policy.

 

Here is an example: On some ships, SKype phone works. On some other ships, Skype phone doesn't work. I asked the manager in charge of teh Internet Cafe and the last one (Pacific Pricness) told me they block it as it uses too much bandwith. yes, on oteh rships, I sawe people walking around with a laptop, with Skype video on, via webcam, sending video images home. I personally care about using Skpe but since I was in Europe, using Skype phone is a lot cheaper than cell phone.

 

Second example: I use a VPN/SonicWall to access my office network. I never have any problem anywhere, be it ship, internet cafe, Starbucks, airports, library, hotel etc as it is access through a web browser. On the last trip, I cannot connect to the office. Again, I spoke to the internet Manager and he said it is "non-standard" use and so it is blocked. It worked fine on all other ships, including the rest of the Princess ships that I had been on.

 

To make a long story short, I complaint and after a few days, they had it fixed. The internet manager claimed the "older" equipment on the ship (which really shoudln't make any difference) is what caused teh problem. It worked fined until the last day of the voyage.

 

I really don't care if it works or not work, as long as there is some sort of consistency or policy on what will work and what is not allowed. I can see Skype being a problem, but connecting to an office network via VPN?

 

Is it only me? or someone else had similar problems as well? Does anyone know what is the policy?

[Pam in CA]

A lot has to do with using bandwidth, and Skype is a bandwidth hog. If you're using Skype, others aren't able to get an Internet connection. No matter what, there's never any guarantee of any Internet connection. Also a factor is where the ship is located within the satellite area. If the ship is getting close to the edge of the satellite coverage, you'll have inconsistent and dropped connection.

 

IMHO, there are too many variables to be able to pinpoint one problem or issue, or how to "fix" it.

[jtmalt]

Second example: I use a VPN/SonicWall to access my office network. I never have any problem anywhere, be it ship, internet cafe, Starbucks, airports, library, hotel etc as it is access through a web browser. On the last trip, I cannot connect to the office. Again, I spoke to the internet Manager and he said it is "non-standard" use and so it is blocked. It worked fine on all other ships, including the rest of the Princess ships that I had been on.

 

I had the same problem with a SonicWall VPN on both Princess and Carnival. Very frustrating indeed. For my next cruise, I'll temporarily set up TeamViewer as a backup plan, since it's pretty secure and won't get flagged as a non-standard use.

[Loonbeam]

They may be using adaptive routers/firewalls on some ships as well. Adaptives can track if one channel is using an excessive percentage of available bandwith and throttle or block accordingly. If not, they really should be.

 

Although its more likely the engineer on a given ship got tired of speed complaints and banned hi-bandiwth apps.

[ONT-CA]

The deterioration of this service over the years is appalling. With the world communications being developed today it is high time for Princess to join the 21st century. As this company boasts the construction of two new 4,000 passengers ships now underway, perhaps it’s time for them to think of how these potential passengers are going to communicate with the world upon sailing. And to those who will eagerly say it is not necessary to have such communication, in today’s world, projected new passenger sales could not materialize if such service is denied. And service denied is the best description we could place on our recent sailing experience.

[itzmered]

Both Skype and VPN's use high bandwidth. As far as the consistency from ship to ship as with any large corporation the implementation of standards is up to each individual IT manager. So I imagine it does vary from ship to ship.

[kaybeeeeeee]

Both Skype and VPN's use high bandwidth. As far as the consistency from ship to ship as with any large corporation the implementation of standards is up to each individual IT manager. So I imagine it does vary from ship to ship.

 

As an IT professional this is not an acceptable answer, IMHO. Princess is one company and should have a standard policy company wide. If skype & VPN are allowed then say so and keep them available. If not, that's their perogative but we should the policy so appropriate communication arrangements can be made prior to setting foot onboard.

[NJRonbo]

I don't know if the Internet service has

deteriorated or if too many people have

access to the limited bandwidth.

 

I think it's the latter -- especially with those

trying to use Skype while onboard.

 

Back in the day when I was one of the

few that owned a laptop, I would get

pretty good download speeds. Then again,

I was using a phone jack in the cabin.

 

Now everybody has a laptop and everybody

wants ship access. Satellite access is bad

enough but when you share that broadband

across an entire ship using WiFi and then

you have people using Skype -- I can see

why there is a lot of frustration out there.

 

These days I try to log on to the ship's Internet

very early in the morning or when everyone is

out at port. That's about the only time I get

decent speed (if you want to call it that).

[pablo222]

sailing. And to those who will eagerly say it is not necessary to have such communication, in today’s world, projected new passenger sales could not materialize if such service is denied. And service denied is the best description we could place on our recent sailing experience.

 

Blocking skype is no different that preventing people

from bringing liquor on board.

 

And, if the original poster is concerned about 'inconsistency' -- when he observes people using

Skype, complain to the internet manager that is

isn't blocked. That would probably be much more

productive than vice-versa.

[Loonbeam]

Although there have been developments in land and mobile based tech, satellite capacity is pretty much fixed as to how much can travel through a single channel. The only way to expand mobile broadband at sea right now is to install more dishes/routers/etc. Not only is it very expensive, there are limits to what the ships systems can support without interference, power restrictions, etc..

 

And even if Princess were to install more transcievers, there is no guarantee there will be sufficient available satellite capacity in range to support them all at any given time.

 

In my mind, the deterioration is not a Princess issue as much as more passengers consuming a limited resource.

 

The deterioration of this service over the years is appalling. With the world communications being developed today it is high time for Princess to join the 21st century. As this company boasts the construction of two new 4,000 passengers ships now underway, perhaps it’s time for them to think of how these potential passengers are going to communicate with the world upon sailing. And to those who will eagerly say it is not necessary to have such communication, in today’s world, projected new passenger sales could not materialize if such service is denied. And service denied is the best description we could place on our recent sailing experience.

[Loonbeam]

This is part and parcel of a larger issue. Like it or not, Princess allows its on board management a wide amount of discretion in operational decision making. While there are pluses to this, it also leads to inconsistencies across the fleet (not just regarding internet, this is in all operational areas).

 

I don't see Princess changing that model anytime soon, so its just one of those things to take into account.

 

As an IT professional this is not an acceptable answer, IMHO. Princess is one company and should have a standard policy company wide. If skype & VPN are allowed then say so and keep them available. If not, that's their perogative but we should the policy so appropriate communication arrangements can be made prior to setting foot onboard.

[Times Prince]

As anyone who tried to use the limited bandwidth to print out airline boarding passes on the next to last day would observe, there simply is not enough system bandwidth to support the casual internet users and higher traffic volume Skype and VPN users.

 

I would support consistency in network implementations limiting high bandwidth applications while at sea. I would also support connection to land line internet facilities when docked, in the same manner as cruise lines are connecting to land based power.

 

As far as my own workplace is concerned, if they need my input while I am on vacation, they can email me.

[aikensbest]

I should mention, yes I am older, that when I started cruising, few people owned any computers, went on cruises and had a great time without either cell phones or laptops .

Gosh folks...enjoy the sunrise and sunset

[itzmered]

As an IT professional this is not an acceptable answer, IMHO. Princess is one company and should have a standard policy company wide. If skype & VPN are allowed then say so and keep them available. If not, that's their perogative but we should the policy so appropriate communication arrangements can be made prior to setting foot onboard.

 

It may not be an "acceptable" answer but it is reality. Look at all the other policies that people complain that are not consistent from ship to ship.

[kruzinon]

As an IT professional this is not an acceptable answer, IMHO. Princess is one company and should have a standard policy company wide. If skype & VPN are allowed then say so and keep them available. If not, that's their perogative but we should the policy so appropriate communication arrangements can be made prior to setting foot onboard.

 

You are referring to a company that can't even get its low tech embarkation lunch in the MDR sorted out and you think they should/could be consistant with an IT issue? Good luck with that! LOL

[salukigrl]

OP – thanks for the heads up! I had not even thought that using a VPN might not be allowed. Is there a way to confirm prior to a cruise if a specific ship will allow me to connect to my VPN?

[bhopal21]

The word consistency is not even found in Princess' vocabulary.

 

I have found that each ship is its own world.

 

Mike:)

[salukigrl]

Well, I did find this on the Princess site, at least they do state that high bandwidth applications might be restricted.

 

"Please note high bandwidth consuming applications such as voice over IP telephony, peer-to-peer file sharing and streaming media may be restricted onboard Princess vessels."

[DMRick]

We cruise and vacation often. We are able to do that, because we keep our business going and earning money while away. So, while we enjoy the sunrise and sunset (ok, maybe not the sunrise) we also like the money being brought in, thanks to the internet. I also like to stay in contact with family, especially on longer cruise and vacations. I'm also older, if 60 is older. I love all the wonderful technology that allows me to be away, yet still at the helm of things because of the computer age.

 

I should mention, yes I am older, that when I started cruising, few people owned any computers, went on cruises and had a great time without either cell phones or laptops .

Gosh folks...enjoy the sunrise and sunset

[eschew]

If skype & VPN are allowed then say so and keep them available. If not, that's their perogative but we should the policy so appropriate communication arrangements can be made prior to setting foot onboard.

 

My sentiment exactly. As long as I know ahead of time, I will use web mail if I have to. At least I can plan around it and not have to make changes last minute.

[eschew]

Both Skype and VPN's use high bandwidth. As far as the consistency from ship to ship as with any large corporation the implementation of standards is up to each individual IT manager. So I imagine it does vary from ship to ship.

 

I didn't know that VPN use high bandwidth. I use a 3G conenction on my laptop and I typically uses less than 1Gig a month.

 

I am surprised at the discussion so far, it was a much hotter topic than I thought it would be. I have learned through the years that I connect to the internet on the ship only late at night, after most people have gone to bed, or very early in the morning.

 

During the day, I saw people trying to upload pictures to the internet or email pictures to their family and friends. Those are not small files. When it took forever to load up my webmail home page, I know it is time to quit.

 

I am an early riser. I got up, enjoyed the sunrise, took some pictures, go to my laptop, log-in to the office via VPN, check a few things, and then log-out. No more than 15 minutes to half an hour a day. Save me hours and hours of work when I get back to the office. Well worth it.

 

No one is on the internet at 5 am in the morning. Bandwidth is not an issue at that particular hour (exception: last day when they are sending in the ship's billing to the credit card company?)

 

I have no problem using the VPN until the last cruise (Pacific Princess Holyland). After my "complaint", and I told the IT manager what time I logged in, he fixed it. Maybe he openned up the bandwidth between certain hours for me. I guess I should be thankful.

 

I fully understand the satellite technology and the limited bandwidth and the cost etc. I am not compalining that I can't use it, I just wish there is more consistency and they should publish a list of "don'ts". I can see Skype, VOIP, peer to peer and video streming etc. on the ban list.

 

Great discussion and thank you for all the insights.

[Loonbeam]

The VPN is not a bandwith hog by itself but it ads to the overall load as each data packet is now combined with authentication and possibly encryption information. So a page that might be 100K could be 110K of data over a VPN. Plus, the VPN software is constantly sending small packets of data to keep the connection active. For a single user, it doesn't mean much but in a shared situation if a number of people are using them it can add up quick.

 

I didn't know that VPN use high bandwidth. I use a 3G conenction on my laptop and I typically uses less than 1Gig a month.

 

I am surprised at the discussion so far, it was a much hotter topic than I thought it would be. I have learned through the years that I connect to the internet on the ship only late at night, after most people have gone to bed, or very early in the morning.

 

During the day, I saw people trying to upload pictures to the internet or email pictures to their family and friends. Those are not small files. When it took forever to load up my webmail home page, I know it is time to quit.

 

I am an early riser. I got up, enjoyed the sunrise, took some pictures, go to my laptop, log-in to the office via VPN, check a few things, and then log-out. No more than 15 minutes to half an hour a day. Save me hours and hours of work when I get back to the office. Well worth it.

 

No one is on the internet at 5 am in the morning. Bandwidth is not an issue at that particular hour (exception: last day when they are sending in the ship's billing to the credit card company?)

 

I have no problem using the VPN until the last cruise (Pacific Princess Holyland). After my "complaint", and I told the IT manager what time I logged in, he fixed it. Maybe he openned up the bandwidth between certain hours for me. I guess I should be thankful.

 

I fully understand the satellite technology and the limited bandwidth and the cost etc. I am not compalining that I can't use it, I just wish there is more consistency and they should publish a list of "don'ts". I can see Skype, VOIP, peer to peer and video streming etc. on the ban list.

 

Great discussion and thank you for all the insights.