New Internet rates

[tallcruiser2]

1 hour ago, POA1 said:

 

I did the same thing. I needed the Internet access for business and wanted it to be accounted for as a business expense for tax purposes. I bought $130 in OBC on my business credit card before leaving. If a person knows the lenghth of their voyage, there's a chart that tells the cost. You can call HAL and get a quote. (I think the Grand Voyages and anything over 31 days are priced a little differently.)

For the GWV it is $599/$699/$799 for the full voyage

 

Glen

[POA1]

Just now, tallcruiser2 said:

For the GWV it is $599/$699/$799 for the full voyage

 

Glen

 

That's really reasonable, IMO.

[tallcruiser2]

1 minute ago, POA1 said:

 

That's really reasonable, IMO.

 

It is significantly less than I was expecting. I recently retired so I don’t have to worry about keeping in touch for work but I plan to have internet so I can upload pictures for family & friends to view and keep an eye on financial and home status

 

Glen

[kazu]

33 minutes ago, tallcruiser2 said:

For the GWV it is $599/$699/$799 for the full voyage

 

Glen

 

Wow, that's pretty decent IMO compared to what I pay for a 24 or 30 day.

 

good deal indeed 😄 

[kazu]

1 hour ago, POA1 said:

 

Middle on should be fine. You can always upgrade as needed. As Kazu mentioned elsewhere, the top plan isn't faster.

 

Thanks for confirming Brian.  I didn't want lead the person astray with the question.

 

 

[richwmn]

1 hour ago, POA1 said:

 

I did the same thing. I needed the Internet access for business and wanted it to be accounted for as a business expense for tax purposes. I bought $130 in OBC on my business credit card before leaving. If a person knows the lenghth of their voyage, there's a chart that tells the cost. You can call HAL and get a quote. (I think the Grand Voyages and anything over 31 days are priced a little differently.)

Here is the chart. It seems to be accurate at this time, but things have been known to change.

[crystalspin]

7 hours ago, POA1 said:

 

Yes. I weighed it again. It's 2.25" square and 0.75" thick.  If you add in the weight of the travel bag, included LAN cable and included USB cable the whole package weight 3.25 ounces.  Amazon items often show the shipping weight, which would include the box, the little manual and the A/C adapter. I didn't pack the A/C adapter because I travel with an 8 port USB charger so I only need one outlet.  The charger is $16.99 on Amazon. I pack an A/C 3 prong splitter, $5.99 so I can keep my PC and the USB charger plugged in. 

...

If you look at the specs on the TP-Link site, you'll see that the one I have is slightly smaller. However, in all honesty, I doubt that the fractional weight or size difference will matter that much - even for travel.

Thanks for weighing again, and for the GREAT data and TP links! All these years and I did not know you were a tech guru! I have a four-USB brick and also this "donut" that will serve as both multi USB and splitter (it is non-surge protected). I'm thinking the donut and maybe one quick charger for the phone(s) if quick is needed in an airport.

 

This last trip, flying Norwegian without a checked bag, I really did pack down to the ounce. Spent more on laundry than a checked bag ($45), so learned a lesson there! We hate checking bags in general, but will do so in April -- while still carrying everything we NEED with us. As long as the one bag comes off the plane, we'll be comfortable with redundancies. (Tech stuff will be in the carry-ons!)

[POA1]

Just now, crystalspin said:

Thanks for weighing again, and for the GREAT data and TP links! All these years and I did not know you were a tech guru! I have a four-USB brick and also this "donut" that will serve as both multi USB and splitter (it is non-surge protected). I'm thinking the donut and maybe one quick charger for the phone(s) if quick is needed in an airport.

 

This last trip, flying Norwegian without a checked bag, I really did pack down to the ounce. Spent more on laundry than a checked bag ($45), so learned a lesson there! We hate checking bags in general, but will do so in April -- while still carrying everything we NEED with us. As long as the one bag comes off the plane, we'll be comfortable with redundancies. (Tech stuff will be in the carry-ons!)

 

You're welcome. Here's a photo of what the "whole network" looked like in operation.  The "lipstick" rechargeable battery is 5,000 mAh and I estimate that it would power the router for several days. In this configuration, I would use my cell phone to connect to the device's web interface. I'd use the web interface to find the nearest access point, and then connect to it. Since all our devices were already configured to connect to the SSID "PoohbyNet", they'd connect automatically once PoohbyNet was up. The Pro Bowl hat is there for scale and is not required to use the network. It does keep the sun out of your eyes when reading though. The red USB cable is used for power and is not the one that ships with the TP-Link. The red cable is a 6 inch shorty that's great for carrying in your pocket or purse. I have a smaller lipstick battery for "concealed carry." (I have a lot of cables, batteries, and gadget junk. That's why living a stone's throw from the port is so convenient.)

 

[TAD2005]

We have used the new 3-tier plans on other HAL ships and we selected the premium plan because we needed to use Skype.   We only use Skype for calls to landline or cell phones.   We do not use Skype video calls.   Does anyone know if HAL actually blocks all Skype connection on the Surf package, or do they just limit you by limiting your bandwidth ?   If it's just a bandwidth limit, then regular VOIP calls on Skype would work.  But if they block all Skype by disabling the port numbers that Skype uses, then it may not.   Has anyone tried Skype voice calls on the Surf (middle) plan ?

[POA1]

Just now, TAD2005 said:

We have used the new 3-tier plans on other HAL ships and we selected the premium plan because we needed to use Skype.   We only use Skype for calls to landline or cell phones.   We do not use Skype video calls.   Does anyone know if HAL actually blocks all Skype connection on the Surf package, or do they just limit you by limiting your bandwidth ?   If it's just a bandwidth limit, then regular VOIP calls on Skype would work.  But if they block all Skype by disabling the port numbers that Skype uses, then it may not.   Has anyone tried Skype voice calls on the Surf (middle) plan ?

 

The blocking is on the server level. There's no appreciable bandwidth (speed) difference between the middle and top tiers.Based on our experience, you would have had sufficient bandwidth for VOIP almost all the time. There were two big slowdowns: the second to last day and the last day. That's when all the one-day people were firing up their phones and computers for the first time, and most people leave their auto-update on, so you had hundred of people, updating apps and OSes all at once.

[TAD2005]

3 minutes ago, POA1 said:

 

The blocking is on the server level. There's no appreciable bandwidth (speed) difference between the middle and top tiers.Based on our experience, you would have had sufficient bandwidth for VOIP almost all the time. There were two big slowdowns: the second to last day and the last day. That's when all the one-day people were firing up their phones and computers for the first time, and most people leave their auto-update on, so you had hundred of people, updating apps and OSes all at once.

Skype uses port 443 for it's initial handshaking.  Then is uses a port range of 3478-3481 UDP, and a wide range of 5000-6000 UDP for the actual connection.   The server cannot block all of those ports because they are used by many other services.  Does HAL (or Carnival's) server block the range of IP addresses that Skype uses ?  Also, there are many other VOIP services.  Does HAL block them if you use the Surf plan ?

[POA1]

Just now, TAD2005 said:

Skype uses port 443 for it's initial handshaking.  Then is uses a port range of 3478-3481 UDP, and a wide range of 5000-6000 UDP for the actual connection.   The server cannot block all of those ports because they are used by many other services.  Does HAL (or Carnival's) server block the range of IP addresses that Skype uses ?  Also, there are many other VOIP services.  Does HAL block them if you use the Surf plan ?

 

I didn't do a port scan, but they definitely block certain hosts.  For the Social Plan, they have a list of allowed services, which I assume they manage with someting akin to a hosts-allow directive at the gateway. They also seem to employ some blacklisting of certain domains/hosts. I'm guessing it's a subscription list because I couldn't reach one of my client's sites on their normal URL, but I could on an alternate URL that points to the exact same IP address. (They sell jewelry, but somehow wind up on a naughty list once in a while.)

 

. @richwmn might know more, since he used VOIP to make calls from the ship. (He told me. I;m not a creepy stalker guy.)

[richwmn]

4 minutes ago, POA1 said:

 

. @richwmn might know more, since he used VOIP to make calls from the ship. (He told me. I;m not a creepy stalker guy.)

I have a Vonage VoIP account and app on my phone. I have used it to make calls on both the per minute plan and the high tier of the current unlimited plans. The quality was ok to good on both, depending on time of day,

[POA1]

Just now, richwmn said:

I have a Vonage VoIP account and app on my phone. I have used it to make calls on both the per minute plan and the high tier of the current unlimited plans. The quality was ok to good on both, depending on time of day,

 

Do you know if the top tier was a requirement for VOIP?

[richwmn]

8 minutes ago, POA1 said:

They also seem to employ some blacklisting of certain domains/hosts. I'm guessing it's a subscription list because I couldn't reach one of my client's sites on their normal URL, but I could on an alternate URL that points to the exact same IP address.

my personal web address was also blocked on th VoV, but I was never given a good reason why.

 

[richwmn]

1 minute ago, POA1 said:

 

Do you know if the top tier was a requirement for VOIP?

No I don't, but I suspect it might work on the middle tier since it worked on the per minute plans which were said to not allow streaming.

[POA1]

Just now, richwmn said:

my personal web address was also blocked on th VoV, but I was never given a good reason why.

 

 

Your bookmarks page?

[richwmn]

3 minutes ago, POA1 said:

 

Your bookmarks page?

It does have bookmarks for me on the main page, but also has two trip reports as sub folders

 

[faerievert]

If you buy the middle tier and find that something is blocked, can I upgrade to the top tier by just paying the price on the ship when it comes up? I'm not sure I'll need it, but I might.

[richwmn]

11 minutes ago, faerievert said:

If you buy the middle tier and find that something is blocked, can I upgrade to the top tier by just paying the price on the ship when it comes up? I'm not sure I'll need it, but I might.

Yes you can, friends did just that on the VoV.

[cruisin'mama]

12 hours ago, POA1 said:

 

Just a word of warning: You're not going to be the only person with this idea. The internet speeds slowed down considerably at the time everyone was checking in for flights. The speed was great all cruise for us, and then slowed down a lot at then end of the voyage. You'll get better speeds when everyone starts going to dinner or after 10 PM.

Thank you, that’s wonderful information to have!

[Btimmer]

12 hours ago, TiogaCruiser said:

Being this is becoming a tech/ internet thread, I’d like to ask about VPN for my iPhone and iPad ( especially for travel). Is it really “safer” for all usage? My understanding is your (encrypted) traffic goes to the VPN network, then your carrier? Is that close???

To be safer, would you prefer contracting through your cellular carrier? (For me, AT&T)

I have both a paid and free VPN software on our phones and PC's.  Generally I don't use them unless circumstances indicate it is needed.  Traveling in China is a good example.  With a VPN one can access Google and FB; however, one needs the ability to change the VPN connection point and my paid VPN software provides me that ability as the Chinese network managers can and do block certain connections and/or websites.  If anywhere I'm doing any banking or financial transactions (except for BofA which won't work on a VPN connection), I use my VPN connection.

 

[TiogaCruiser]

12 minutes ago, Btimmer said:

 If anywhere I'm doing any banking or financial transactions (except for BofA which won't work on a VPN connection), I use my VPN connection.

 

Bolding mine.

Thank you both (POA and Btimmer) for the info. 

Part of the reason I’m interested is to be able to do banking in an emergency if we need to from Europe. We’re both traveling to together this time. It would have been BofA we would use.... guess not now.

[Btimmer]

Just now, TiogaCruiser said:

Bolding mine.

Thank you both (POA and Btimmer) for the info. 

Part of the reason I’m interested is to be able to do banking in an emergency if we need to from Europe. We’re both traveling to together this time. It would have been BofA we would use.... guess not now.

When I tried to use a VPN and BofA software, it froze my account and I had to call in to get it unfrozen.  I was not a happy camper while traveling overseas.  BofA told me that connecting to their server was as good as a VPN connection (I remain unconvinced).

 

[POA1]

21 minutes ago, Btimmer said:

When I tried to use a VPN and BofA software, it froze my account and I had to call in to get it unfrozen.  I was not a happy camper while traveling overseas.  BofA told me that connecting to their server was as good as a VPN connection (I remain unconvinced).

 

 

VPNs are often used to spoof location. That's why you'll find financial institutions blocking them.