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WiFi on Escape: Experiences, Speeds, Stability, etc.

solo_cruiser_85

By solo_cruiser_85,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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solo_cruiser_85

solo_cruiser_85

Posted
Posted (edited)

I'm considering cruising on Escape, but having reliable Internet access is mandatory for me. It will not help if you try to convince me that I don't need Internet on a cruise; I get some work done on my cruises in order to conserve vacation days and travel to the max. Plus, I love my work to an extent that I prefer not to spend much time away from it. My needs beyond the basic email and light web browsing include occasional photo uploading/downloading, VPN, and ideally I'd use remote desktop.

 

I've done a lot of research into exactly how fast and reliable Norwegian wifi is, and I've come up pretty empty-handed. Their customer support is clueless about the topic, leaving me trying to find first-hand experiences from people like you out on the great World Wide Web. Some passengers claim to have used FaceTime, while others claim that it took them an hour just to send a plain-text email. Some say the wifi worked only in lounges, while others say it worked great in their cabins. Some say that it worked well on other ships, but not very well on Escape, which is surprising if you assume that the newest ship would be the most technologically advanced.

 

As a software engineer, I know that the limitations of the technology will result in variable download speeds; however, it is hard to tell whether the variations in passenger reports are a result of the wireless infrastructure on the ship, or rather from outside factors such as the user's mobile device (including lack of knowledge about how much total data the device is actually consuming in background processes), ship being docked, or user being in a distant corner where a signal would be understandably weak.

 

In the past, I've had great success with wifi on RCI Allure, which boasts high-speed/broadband and did not disappoint. I was able to VPN into my work network and even stream video with little interruption. In fact, the service was even better in my cabin than in the lounges. I don't expect that kind of service on NCL, but I'd like to get a larger sample of first-hand experience from those who have bought the wifi package on Escape, so that I can derive some kind of "average" experience. Can you describe the wifi speed in as much detail as possible, including such things as:

  1. Location on the ship
  2. Ship's location, relative to shore
  3. Device used
  4. Whether you had trouble connecting or were frequently disconnected
  5. Type of online activity, such as FaceTime, email, web browsing, VPN, video, internet/IP phone calls,

 

I'd love to sail on Escape, but if I can't depend on the wifi, then I'll have to stick with one of the RCI ships that have advanced satellite broadband (only the Oasis and Quantum classes, as far as I know).

Edited by solo_cruiser_85
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Coastalbreezes

Coastalbreezes

Posted
Posted

Sadly, NCL does not have the advanced satellite broadband as on RCI. Connectivity is for the most part, painfully slow (as you mentioned it can take a very long time just to LOAD your email, never mind send one).

 

It sounds like you need a much faster connection and you won't find it (yet) on NCL.

 

Tracy

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Demonyte

Demonyte

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Posted

NCL is testing next generation technology comparable to Royal's Voom on Breakaway, not on the two newer ships. What you'll experience on Escape will be the same as on most other cruise ships - slowish (not good for streaming) and depending on the stack used, VPN will probably not work at all.

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BirdTravels "Live from...." Rare

BirdTravels

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We have been on 10 NCL cruises over the past 2 years and always purchase internet service.

 

NCL uses MTN Communications as its satellite internet provider. This is satellite internet. Every byte of data has to travel 22,236 miles up to the satellite and back down,,,, with the associated latency.

 

Ship location is the Eastern Caribbean, so satellite coverage should be good. The ship was built to provide good wifi coverage everywhere on board.

 

Ship's location relative to shore has no effect on internet. Total internet speed would be the same. That being said, most people hop off the ship's internet to cell towers once you are very close (within 2 miles) of shore or while in port, so there is more bandwidth available)

 

Devices used: No effect

 

Connecting: We were on one of the inaugural voyages of the Escape, and there were a lot of people uploading pictures and video. For that cruise, we experienced higher-than-normal (i.e. based on 10 cruises in 2 years) stability issues (dropped connections, etc.) That probably has gone away now that the ship is on a regular itinerary and not oversold.

 

Online Activity: If you have done a lot of satellite-based internet on cruise ships, you would know that it is o.k. if you log on and let your email client receive/send email at its own pace. Works great if you are iMessaging to other iMessage users (internet based texting). Not so good for a lot of web surfing (satellite latency slows response time, and you are sharing limited bandwidth). Unusable for streaming video like facetime. Unusable for any downloading (videos, books, etc.).

 

VPN to get to your email server should be o.k. Downloading large documents (either from a server or email),,,, not so much.

 

If you are from the U.S., you have a full day in St. Thomas (which is the United States) and have full coverage by your normal phone data plan there.

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kneught77

kneught77

Posted
Posted (edited)
Thanks for all the feedback. I'll hope for the best with simple tasks like email and IP-based messaging.

 

I was just on the escape 2 weeks ago.. my dad purchased the unlimited package.

 

My answers in red

 

Location on the ship I used it everywhere on the ship.. but mostly in the stateroom.. and none of us had many issues with it

 

Ship's location, relative to shore Again.. used it throughout the entire cruise.. it didn't seem to change much whether we were close to a port.. or in the middle of the ocean

 

Device used I used my iphone 6 most of the time.. but did use my iPad a couple times with it

 

Whether you had trouble connecting or were frequently disconnected Really had no issues.. and the weird thing was.. when I disconnected.. I was still able to use iMessage for a couple hours after at least 3/4 of the time. Which was really nice! (I was definitely not using data.. data roaming was turned off)

 

Type of online activity, such as FaceTime, email, web browsing, VPN, video, internet/IP phone calls, Mostly email and messaging.. but did use periscope a couple times.. as well as watching youtube.. both worked fine.. not great.. but fine. Youtube took a while to load sometimes. I did try Netflix once.. and it worked for a second.. and then could not get it working again.

 

The wifi isn't like at home.. or even as good as RCCL.. but it is still reliable.. and more than enough to do basic tasks like email.. surfing the web.. and messaging. :)

Edited by kneught77
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  • 1 year later...
Demonyte

Demonyte

Posted
Posted

Completely normal, ping is large because of the distance the signal has to travel to/from the satellite. It's not like there is a cell tower with a cable connection within a mile from you like on land. :D

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christopherfar

christopherfar

Posted
Posted
e29ab01697e31fefc4a9490b5e1204ef.jpg

 

Something's weird about these speeds check the ping

 

Please keep these coming throughout the trip if possible! This is the first I've seen of the new packages, and those speeds look promising! Once the ship leaves port and more people start eating up bandwidth, I'm interested to see how it changes.

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christopherfar

christopherfar

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It would appear they have rolled out the new plans to the Escape:

 

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Pbwong

Pbwong

Posted
Posted
I bought the premier unlimited for 7 Days $240. ( this must be brand new) Turned on airplane mode fired up Wi-Fi making sure all cellular data is off here are my results

 

63d38f0b587eb33fb934fb74c34f07b9.jpg

 

We are still in Port in Miami haven't left yet

 

Was it $240 for every device in the room or just a single device? Do you remember an additional device charge? We're bringing our two kids on the Escape in the future and I don't know if we'll survive with just one of their Ipads up and running.

 

Thanks!

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perditax

perditax

Posted
Posted
19 miles out of Miami

 

 

 

 

Yep, once you're away from Florida that's when the real test begins (first night around dinner time is usually when the Internet on GA and Escape has died a fiery death for me).

 

PLEASE let us know if these alleged streaming speeds continue. I suppose you might be able to manage YouTube on the 3-ish Mbps you were showing at the end there.

 

Would also like to know if VPNs work now

 

I'm going to be the GA's guinea pig in a few weeks if no one else speaks up sooner. :)

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BeachBum777

BeachBum777

Posted
Posted
Yep, once you're away from Florida that's when the real test begins (first night around dinner time is usually when the Internet on GA and Escape has died a fiery death for me).

 

PLEASE let us know if these alleged streaming speeds continue. I suppose you might be able to manage YouTube on the 3-ish Mbps you were showing at the end there.

 

Would also like to know if VPNs work now

 

I'm going to be the GA's guinea pig in a few weeks if no one else speaks up sooner. :)

442e26a86c932a2daea9c395653ee1cd.jpg

 

I came solo on this Cruise so I paid for one device

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