Voom Oasis and Work

[momof4_tn]

I've recently received a promotion at work and we leave on Oasis in 44 days. I've purchased Voom on one device with the soda package. Is Voom going to be sufficient for me to connect my work laptop and work remotely? Specifically, how is speed and access on Oasis? Or is there something else I need to be looking at? I haven't worked while cruising previously, and hate to start now but no choice with my current dates. Thanks

 

 

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[Clarea]

I've recently received a promotion at work and we leave on Oasis in 44 days. I've purchased Voom on one device with the soda package. Is Voom going to be sufficient for me to connect my work laptop and work remotely? Specifically, how is speed and access on Oasis? Or is there something else I need to be looking at? I haven't worked while cruising previously, and hate to start now but no choice with my current dates. Thanks

How can we answer this unless you detail exactly what you need to do to be "sufficient"?

[momof4_tn]

Well, I'm not really sure myself but I was hoping someone had experience with working remotely. Basically, I VPN to my work server to access everything as though i was sitting at work. Maybe I need to get with my IT to see what the requirements are.

 

 

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[Clarea]

Well, I'm not really sure myself but I was hoping someone had experience with working remotely. Basically, I VPN to my work server to access everything as though i was sitting at work. Maybe I need to get with my IT to see what the requirements are.

Some VPNs work, some don't. That kind of info is critical. I know that the Microsoft IPSEC/L2TP VPN worked for me on Oasis this past June. However, the PPTP VPN did not work. Those are the only two I've tried, so I can't report on other protocols.

[Hey Tina]

If your job depends on using the internet you might want to re-think this. On our cruise the internet went out for hours on the last night. I have no idea when/if it was fixed because I went to sleep and then woke up in the USA where my phone worked.

[CRUISEFAN0001]

As remote employee for multiple companies the past 20 years...I thoroughly understand the concept of VPN access for work-related tasks.

 

Voom on Oasis class ships is indeed very fast, and even iPhone video via Facetime or Skype works quite well. To answer the original question...the odds are your connectivity will be adequate on board, especially since VPN itself has limits on the bandwidth it uses/required.

 

All that said per the original post...why anyone in their right mind would want to work on a cruise is beyond me...I haven't ever heard of any job worth mandating work on a vacation...it's one of the few places on earth to escape and relax AWAY from work...but that's just me.

[audome78]

As others have noted, there are a variety of factors which will affect your experience. I CAN tell you my experience on Oasis in March of this year was fine. HOWEVER, I found that I had the best online work experience EARLY in the morning.

 

Additionally, switching my work gmail browser to BASIC worked best.

 

I was able to login to our VPN and actually get work done, but only in the early AM when internet demand was minimal.

 

Your experience will be slightly different, I am sure, but you will find that you will be alternating between an excellent connection and utter frustration, depending on the time of day.

 

Thankfully, I have since retired and will only need the internet on my next cruises to see photos of my grandchildren!

[momof4_tn]

As remote employee for multiple companies the past 20 years...I thoroughly understand the concept of VPN access for work-related tasks.

 

Voom on Oasis class ships is indeed very fast, and even iPhone video via Facetime or Skype works quite well. To answer the original question...the odds are your connectivity will be adequate on board, especially since VPN itself has limits on the bandwidth it uses/required.

 

All that said per the original post...why anyone in their right mind would want to work on a cruise is beyond me...I haven't ever heard of any job worth mandating work on a vacation...it's one of the few places on earth to escape and relax AWAY from work...but that's just me.

 

 

 

Trust me, if I had a choice I would not. However, by the time the promotion was awarded we were beyond cancellation period. I won't be connected the entire time, but there are a few reporting deadlines I cannot escape. My hope is I will get most of it done before we leave port on Sunday, but can't count on it.

 

Other than that, thank you for your sharing your experience.

 

 

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[jamesr3939]

You are on the best ship for this. The Voom is blazing fast and I had no issue using FaceTime and uploading videos. It was slow at times and you might get kicked off. But that's not very often.

 

DW had to log on via a VPN for her work and it didn't seem to be an issue. She logs on all the time from hotels, etc to her VPN without an issue. I really don't understand it all, but it didn't seem to be an issue for her.

 

Depending on how flexible it is for when you have to log on you might check on using your cel phone as a hot spot as a backup. That is something you could test before you go. Obviously that will only work when you are in port and can get a cel signal. DW had to do that also a couple times and since work pays for cel phone and 4G tablet cost wasn't a real issue.

 

Congrats on the promo and go enjoy the vacation you will need it.

[CRUISEFAN0001]

Trust me, if I had a choice I would not. However, by the time the promotion was awarded we were beyond cancellation period. I won't be connected the entire time, but there are a few reporting deadlines I cannot escape. My hope is I will get most of it done before we leave port on Sunday, but can't count on it.

 

Other than that, thank you for your sharing your experience.

That's great to hear...my post was empathy for having to leverage your fine vacation for work time.

 

Your "predicament" is totally understandable, and actually demonstrates you were quite worthy of your promotion.

 

We'd all just like to make sure you ENJOY your cruise to the maximum degree possible. Happy Sailing!

[Merion_Mom]

I've recently received a promotion at work and we leave on Oasis in 44 days. I've purchased Voom on one device with the soda package. Is Voom going to be sufficient for me to connect my work laptop and work remotely? Specifically, how is speed and access on Oasis? Or is there something else I need to be looking at? I haven't worked while cruising previously, and hate to start now but no choice with my current dates. Thanks

 

 

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Congratulations on your promotion! :D

[Domino D]

Trust me, if I had a choice I would not. However, by the time the promotion was awarded we were beyond cancellation period. I won't be connected the entire time, but there are a few reporting deadlines I cannot escape. My hope is I will get most of it done before we leave port on Sunday, but can't count on it.

 

Other than that, thank you for your sharing your experience.

 

 

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As the managing partner of a consulting firm, I certainly understand that work often dictates its own schedule, despite our planning or wishes. That said, Bob is correct about the specifics of the VPN connection being very important, and in addition, the on ship internet can be unreliable. If you are not wrapped up by set sail, I would suggest you consider working in the first port of call. You can find much better internet connections, often free (with purchase of coffee), at places in port. The crew usually know good spots near the ship. I have also booked an all inclusive day pass, and spent part of that day catching up on things in the lobby. Congrats on the promotion. Hope you can get done before sailing. Oh, make sure to set proper expectations at work before you leave. Even with the best planning, there will be times you will be out of reach.

[Clarea]

Just to throw more uncertainty into the situation, I've found that the VPN I successfully used on our last Majesty cruise is now being blocked. Have not had a chance to talk with the IT manager yet.

[Merion_Mom]

Yeeesh. They let FaceTime through but block work related stuff. I wonder if the reason they do that is because people might be using VPNs to get to "nefarious" websites that RCI thinks are a no-no.

 

 

 

Maybe Bob's VPN is a porno site. [emoji6][emoji1]

 

 

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[Clarea]

Maybe Bob's VPN is a porno site. [emoji6][emoji1]

Thanks Carol.;p

[SRF]

The multi hour outages may be due to satellite position. We had one a few nights ago on Grandeur.

 

Internet speed was OK, but I did not think it was that great. But a person I met onboard had done some speed testing (professional in the computer world) and he got a 5 megabit speed.

[Biker19]

Internet speed was OK, but I did not think it was that great. But a person I met onboard had done some speed testing (professional in the computer world) and he got a 5 megabit speed.

All you need is a speed test app on your phone - don't need to be a professional. Speed is typically not the issue -latency is and on non O3B equipped ships like Grandeur there's lots of it (which is not good).

[Merion_Mom]

All you need is a speed test app on your phone - don't need to be a professional. Speed is typically not the issue -latency is and on non O3B equipped ships like Grandeur there's lots of it (which is not good).

 

 

 

Please explain "latency" in 25 words or less, as though you were talking to a toddler. ;) :D

 

 

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[Clarea]

Please explain "latency" in 25 words or less, as though you were talking to a toddler. ;) :D

Not a rigorous definition, but think of it as the length of time it takes to get a response to your click.

[Biker19]

Please explain "latency" in 25 words or less, as though you were talking to a toddler. ;) :D

The time it takes for the ones and zeros to get to/from your device to the place where the information is coming to/from. Measured in milliseconds it is usually much less than 100ms at home, about 200ms on an O3B equipped ship and over 600ms on a non O2B ship.

 

ThInk of speed as buckets that carry those ones and zeros. The bigger the bucket the more data can be carried but it does you no good to have a huge buckets (high download speed) if the bucket is slow (high latency).

Edited September 2, 2017 by Biker19

[cstimmons]

This was done on oasis in July. Pretty sure it was the after noon on the pool deck.

 

Good avice I got was to take a picture of you Wi-Fi card so you don't have to carry it around. Also , and I know your using a laptop, but my phone got accidently switched off of airplane mode and on the running track I got about 20 texts that cost me a quarter each lol.

 

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[Clarea]

Majesty, Surf & Stream, docked in Nassau: 3.72Mbps down, 1.76Mbps up, 210ms ping.

[GSOTall1]

The ping is garbage but if you don't mind your mouse pointer lagging behind by half a second or so, you should be set.