Has anyone been able to play online games through ship wifi?

[mamasylvia]

I know this is a weird question, but I know I wasn't able to connect to Second Life via Royal Caribbean's ship wifi in 2013, so I'm not even going to try on the Pearl. (And I don't need to.) But it would help if I could connect to Township for a minute or two daily, so I'm curious if anyone has been able to connect to this or any other online games using the ship's wifi. (My provider has cell coverage in Alaska but not data, and one of the days I particularly want to connect is Monday when we will be way out at sea anyway.)

[triptolemus]

Might as well stay home.

 

I know, I know... get off my lawn.

 

Here's the deal. You are going to purchase an internet package and regardless of what anyone here tells you, you are going try to connect to the game. Even if someone says it just will not work, you are going to try anyway.

 

So do us all a favor, and report back after your trip and tell us how it worked out. I say that in jest... no one ever does that.

[mamasylvia]

But knowing what to expect helps me prepare better. For instance, on my first cruise I didn't know whether I'd be able to connect so I left my various projects set up to run without attention while I was gone. Good thing, too, since I wasn't able to connect! And I can do that with the new game too, so my teammates don't suffer from my absence, but it would be more convenient if I could check in, even briefly. (I can multitask - check in occasionally and still enjoy the gorgeous Alaska activities the rest of the time.)

[triptolemus]

I'm old. :(

 

Good luck, my friend. Enjoy Alaska. It's an amazing place.

 

[sanger727]

Were you unable to connect due to a bandwidth issue or it being a banned site? I've not tried to connect to a game but I was able to use the internet to e-mail, check facebook, upload photos to facebook, check cruisecritic, and upload photos to cruisecritic. The time it took to do those things didn't seem significantly different than using data at home... if that helps at all.

[BirdTravels]

Might as well stay home.

 

I know, I know... get off my lawn.

 

Here's the deal. You are going to purchase an internet package and regardless of what anyone here tells you, you are going try to connect to the game. Even if someone says it just will not work, you are going to try anyway.

 

So do us all a favor, and report back after your trip and tell us how it worked out. I say that in jest... no one ever does that.

 

Good job. Just slam the OP for asking a reasonable question.

[Quilting_Cruiser]

I know this is a weird question, but I know I wasn't able to connect to Second Life via Royal Caribbean's ship wifi in 2013, so I'm not even going to try on the Pearl. (And I don't need to.) But it would help if I could connect to Township for a minute or two daily, so I'm curious if anyone has been able to connect to this or any other online games using the ship's wifi. (My provider has cell coverage in Alaska but not data, and one of the days I particularly want to connect is Monday when we will be way out at sea anyway.)

 

 

I had a wifi package on the Pearl, but I don't think I checked in on any online games. Just used it to check FB and IM with my daughter. On the Epic I had about 20 minutes left at the end of the cruise and played one of my games for bit to use up the last of the minutes. It's not something I'd do on a regular basis since it's a slow connection. Mine was just an online word -play game that's single player so I don't know about games like what you're describing and if that would take a faster connection...

[Mistizoom]

My son played some games last year's cruise on Getaway. Not Township, but games that require a similar type of connection. I play Township so I know exactly what you are talking about. :) I personally would turn off participate in regatta just to be safe, but I am not sure if you can collect from the last week on Monday if you do that ahead of time.

[perditax]

Good job. Just slam the OP for asking a reasonable question.

 

Makes me happy the ignore list is unlimited.

[mamasylvia]

> Were you unable to connect due to a bandwidth issue or it being a banned site?

 

I don't know. Thinking about it over the years since then, I started wondering if it was a bandwidth issue because SL is VERY graphics intensive, you actually have to use a special program to play. If so, I would think that Township, which is designed to play on phones and tablets but which also requires using its own proprietary program, would use less bandwidth and might well work on board. Or it might be something else ... I am not techie enough to figure it out.

 

Thanks so much for the responses, Quilting Cruiser and Mistizoom. Sounds like it's at least worth a try. (And yes, I want to collect my regatta prizes! lol But then will uncheck it because I sure don't plan to dedicate the time needed to do tasks for the rest of the week. Just have to make sure there are enough elders to dump tasks, I'm the coop leader.) I am hoping to start and keep up a "Live from the Pearl" thread, so will be spending a lot of time online anyway. Just have to figure out how to upload pictures!

[perditax]

> Were you unable to connect due to a bandwidth issue or it being a banned site?

 

I don't know. Thinking about it over the years since then, I started wondering if it was a bandwidth issue because SL is VERY graphics intensive, you actually have to use a special program to play. If so, I would think that Township, which is designed to play on phones and tablets but which also requires using its own proprietary program, would use less bandwidth and might well work on board. Or it might be something else ... I am not techie enough to figure it out.

 

Thanks so much for the responses, Quilting Cruiser and Mistizoom. Sounds like it's at least worth a try. (And yes, I want to collect my regatta prizes! lol But then will uncheck it because I sure don't plan to dedicate the time needed to do tasks for the rest of the week. Just have to make sure there are enough elders to dump tasks, I'm the coop leader.) I am hoping to start and keep up a "Live from the Pearl" thread, so will be spending a lot of time online anyway. Just have to figure out how to upload pictures!

 

The amount of graphics is usually being handled on the computer end (hence needing a separate game client to play), it doesn't really take up any more actual internet bandwidth, unless we're talking something like World of Warcraft and it has to send data to the client about the positioning of hundreds of other players and mobs.

 

I used to play EverQuest (like second life) on a satellite connection; it worked, there was just a ton of "lag".

 

I know people have successfully played PokemonGo at sea, at least on other lines.

 

The thing about NCL is that they are ruthless about blocking specific ports and applications from working, except perhaps on their brand new Premium deal, which I'll be testing in a few weeks. So usually it's just a matter of 1) is the Internet even working? (Many times for me on the GA and Escape on the past, answer was no). 2) Do they know about the app/game you're trying to play, and have they taken steps to block it?

[OzCanuck]

Was able to play Clash of Clans with no issues on our Sun trip around the horn last year. It is a fairly chatty app, but relatively low on bandwidth.

[mamasylvia]

Thanks for the input. I will certainly post back here on whether I'm able to play Township.