A Few Onboard Internet Questions...

[LastUsernameEver]

I'll be on the Star Princess in 8 days...and I have a few questions about Internet access.

 

- First of all, I know that there is supposedly Wireless internet access in rooms now, but, since the internet use is measured in minutes and not bytes, it seems like it would make the most sense to find a place on the ship with the strongest signal. One would assume that the best signal would be found in the internet cafe, or horizon court, or some other public space. But then there is the possibility that since so many people go on their computers in those areas that maybe in-room internet use might be fastest. Any thoughts computer-genius-types?

 

- do we know which ships have been upgraded to the faster internet yet? And is the Star one of those lucky ships?

 

- Is using an Android tablet a possibility, or do I need to bring a Mac or windows computer to get online?

 

- Lastly ... is it possible to sign on, retrieve email, then sign off to read it, then sign back on to send responses?

 

I'm sure there are some other threads that have some of this information, but I haven't been able to find them.

[DrivesLikeMario]

I'll try to help with some of your questions:

 

I'll be on the Star Princess in 8 days...and I have a few questions about Internet access.

 

- First of all, I know that there is supposedly Wireless internet access in rooms now, but, since the internet use is measured in minutes and not bytes, it seems like it would make the most sense to find a place on the ship with the strongest signal. One would assume that the best signal would be found in the internet cafe, or horizon court, or some other public space. But then there is the possibility that since so many people go on their computers in those areas that maybe in-room internet use might be fastest. Any thoughts computer-genius-types?

IME, I've found the fastest connection in my cabin. With some inside cabins, you may need to prop open your door to get connected.

- do we know which ships have been upgraded to the faster internet yet? And is the Star one of those lucky ships?

I think my earlier post (direct quote from Princess) said all ships would have it by the end of the year, but I'm not positive on this.

- Is using an Android tablet a possibility, or do I need to bring a Mac or windows computer to get online?

No idea, sorry.

- Lastly ... is it possible to sign on, retrieve email, then sign off to read it, then sign back on to send responses?

YES! That is the very best way to do things and use less minutes!

I'm sure there are some other threads that have some of this information, but I haven't been able to find them.

 

Expect it to be pretty darn slow - like dial-up speed or worse. In the Med., surrounded by land, it took 20-25 mins. for page loads. Usually, it's not quite that bad, but do pack your patience. ;)

[Pam in CA]

Princess has had full WiFi, including in cabins for years. It's been so long that I can't remember.

 

Location is a factor but more important (IMHO) is time. Speed is more dependent on how many people are online at the same time and what they're doing. I've found that before 7:30am and between 6-8:00pm are good times. If you find it slower than usual, open the cabin door.

 

You can use any device with WiFi. I use AOL mail, download email, sign off, take my time responding, re-login and send, using perhaps 3-4 minutes total.

[bendar06]

- Lastly ... is it possible to sign on, retrieve email, then sign off to read it, then sign back on to send responses?

.

 

The ability to do this will depend on how your mail is setup; web-based or downloaded to your device. The easiest way to find out if this will work is to try it at home.

1. Get on the net.

2. Retrieve mail.

3. Get off net.

4. Look at mail and prepare reponse.

5. Get back on the net.

6. Send reponse(s).

 

HTH

[trbarton]

I used a I Pad on the Grand in May for an Alaska cruise and posted a daily blog. I used pages before I went on line and then went on line after doing a copy and past. Since I was doing a blog I signed off and signed back on to post answers to questions. I had a good internet connection and maybe it was because I had a balcony cabin although I was inside while going on line.

 

Tom:)

[LastUsernameEver]

Thanks for the thoughtful responses.

 

These boards are so valuable for our cruise experiences.

 

#Gratitude :-)

[Mom33]

I concur with all of the above with one more comment. Using your own, latest model device, be it a laptop, smart phone, or pad, will get you better service.

:)

[fishin' musician]

Android tablets work fine, I've been using a Samsung Galaxy for over 2 years on 6 or so cruises. Most recently on the Coral in Alaska I had zero signal in my stateroom which was all the way aft, Emerald deck. The Horizon Court area seems to provide consistent strong signal on all ships I've tried.

[spyro1952]

The best internet connection I've ever had on a ship was the window suite on the Caribbean. The worst connection was on the North Cape trip on the Crown, only because we were so far north - 150 mi from the North Pole at one point. since I work on line, the connection is very important. In the morning after breakfast is probably the worst time to try and connect. I usually awake early (before 7) and don't have many problems.

If I'm having problems connecting in my room, I'll take my laptop down near the Internet cafe and log on. Most of the ships now have routers throughout so if there is a good signal, you should be able to connect in your room. Of course, it can be very slow as it is SAT.

[gooch47]

I wasn't aware that any ships we're getting "faster internet."

 

They are all at the mercy of the satellites.

[Pam in CA]

I wasn't aware that any ships we're getting "faster internet."

 

They are all at the mercy of the satellites.

Internet service has been upgraded with new technology. While it's still at the mercy of the satellite, there are ways that speed can be improved. Technology is constantly evolving.

[caribill]

Most of the ships now have routers throughout so if there is a good signal, you should be able to connect in your room.

 

The closer your cabin is to this router on the hallway ceiling, the better the signal.

 

[DrivesLikeMario]

Is there one of those on every deck? That's interesting. I've never heard that but will look for them in the future.

[paul929207]

Is there one of those on every deck? That's interesting. I've never heard that but will look for them in the future.

There are a number of them on every passenger deck & probably down with the crew too. I am just guessing, but I would say their is a router every 6 to 10 cabins or so.

[beg3yrs]

The closer your cabin is to this router on the hallway ceiling, the better the signal.

 

 

There are a number of them on every passenger deck & probably down with the crew too. I am just guessing, but I would say their is a router every 6 to 10 cabins or so.

 

On our last cruise I discovered something very interesting about the multiple wifi routers. I used a sniffer program on my laptop to see just what channels were being used as well as the signal strength of each channel.

 

To my horror (techno geek here), all the wifi routers everywhere I went were on the same channel. If you're in an area where multiple routers are receivable (and there are many), having them all on the same channel causes collisions of the transmitted and received packets. Collisions are like everyone talking at once on the old fashioned party lines. It's very hard to get your information through and usually multiple retries are required. Don't confuse this with multiple people using the same router, that's similar but not as bad. The Princess IT folk could easily reconfigure the adjacent routers to use non-overlapping wifi channels and that would certainly help with reliability, connectivity and throughput all over the ship.

 

BTW, there's nothing suspicious, bad or evil here, it's not hacking. You typically use this program at home to keep your own router's channel away from your neighbor's.

[DrivesLikeMario]

There are a number of them on every passenger deck & probably down with the crew too. I am just guessing, but I would say their is a router every 6 to 10 cabins or so.

 

Thanks. I'll have to look for them next time.