Branding Internet as Xcelerate is an oxymoron

[Blockschip]

We’re currently on Summit and purchased internet service. I expected slow service, but this achingly slow (constantly drops out). I’ve tested the speed with Speedtest a few of times over the past two days. Usually it fails because the ping takes over 1500 ms. Attached are the results of the three that succeeded. They were run in stateroom 8th deck, theater, cafe al bacio. 

 

2-3 mbps consistently. That speed is beyond appalling. I talked to the guy down by guest relations and he said that’s the way it is. I asked him how slow the surfing package is, because I can barely load email and look at CC. He said the speed is the same, they just block YouTube, fb videos, Snapchat, streaming services, etc. 

 

At the price celebrity charges for the internet, I expected higher speed. Not the speed I get at home, but at worst a quarter of that. I’m getting about 2% of my speed at home. 

 

No, I don’t need the internet to watch movies, etc. I need it to check and respond to emails from work once or twice a day. The Xcelerate Internet is pretty close to unusable and incredibly expensive at that. A complete ripoff. 

 

Addendum: took 3 tries to post this response!

[Luvcrusn]

Is the Summit before or after Revolution? I wonder if the speed will be "Revolutionized?" I'd also be curious about comparable tests done on S-Class ships pre and post revolution and tests done on the Edge class ships.

[ScubaDo]

I too was on the Summit recently and mostly I could get emails until the last day and then nothing.  

[Tourist1292]

If they are just blocking some sites or services without setting a speed limit for the basic surf package, they are simply stupid. This is inconsistent with the previous report on the surf package. As the cost is lower with the surf package, there will be a lot more users. There are many sites and protocols that would use high bandwidth and outside their blockade.

Edited April 16, 2019 by Tourist1292

[TeeRick]

The OP said currently on Summit.  That would be disappointing if WiFi was not improved post revolution.  On Edge the WiFi was generally excellent all over the ship.  We had a router in our cabin as part of ship design.

[yorky]

16 minutes ago, Blockschip said:

We’re currently on Summit and purchased internet service. I expected slow service, but this achingly slow (constantly drops out). I’ve tested the speed with Speedtest a few of times over the past two days. Usually it fails because the ping takes over 1500 ms. Attached are the results of the three that succeeded. They were run in stateroom 8th deck, theater, cafe al bacio. 

 

2-3 mbps consistently. That speed is beyond appalling. I talked to the guy down by guest relations and he said that’s the way it is. I asked him how slow the surfing package is, because I can barely load email and look at CC. He said the speed is the same, they just block YouTube, fb videos, Snapchat, streaming services, etc. 

 

At the price celebrity charges for the internet, I expected higher speed. Not the speed I get at home, but at worst a quarter of that. I’m getting about 2% of my speed at home. 

 

No, I don’t need the internet to watch movies, etc. I need it to check and respond to emails from work once or twice a day. The Xcelerate Internet is pretty close to unusable and incredibly expensive at that. A complete ripoff. 

 

Addendum: took 3 tries to post this response!

Welcome to the world of Celebrity “Xcelerate” ha ha. Yep it’s pretty appalling next to anything you are going to be used to, you can sit in the average high street and blow its performance away. Personally I just find it so frustrating I no longer bother with it, I don’t need it for work ( I go on holiday to get away from that aspect of my life) and don’t need to keep in touch with anyone so i’m happy to save the crazy prices asked for an inferior product and purchase a speciality dining package instead.

[Tourist1292]

33 minutes ago, Blockschip said:

We’re currently on Summit and purchased internet service. I expected slow service, but this achingly slow (constantly drops out). I’ve tested the speed with Speedtest a few of times over the past two days. Usually it fails because the ping takes over 1500 ms. Attached are the results of the three that succeeded. They were run in stateroom 8th deck, theater, cafe al bacio. 

 

2-3 mbps consistently. That speed is beyond appalling. I talked to the guy down by guest relations and he said that’s the way it is. I asked him how slow the surfing package is, because I can barely load email and look at CC. He said the speed is the same, they just block YouTube, fb videos, Snapchat, streaming services, etc. 

 

At the price celebrity charges for the internet, I expected higher speed. Not the speed I get at home, but at worst a quarter of that. I’m getting about 2% of my speed at home. 

 

No, I don’t need the internet to watch movies, etc. I need it to check and respond to emails from work once or twice a day. The Xcelerate Internet is pretty close to unusable and incredibly expensive at that. A complete ripoff. 

 

Addendum: took 3 tries to post this response!

By the way, the previously reported speed with the basic package was much much lower than yours.

[travelpeon]

It sounds like the overall surfing experience is frustrating if you can't post to a web forum in a single try.  That said, at 3:11 PM, that's kind of what I'd anticipate for download as the satellite is shared among the ship and lots of people are using the shared satellite connection at that time.  It makes sense to start throttling accounts as logins increase as a preventative measure.  Ping times are going to be high on a ship based satellite system unless they are in port with fiber to the ship (which I've never heard of but would welcome, as there's several undersea cables linking the Caribbean) or shifting the satellite to cellular connections.  Cruise route also matters as satellites don't have uniform coverage and service over the globe.  There was also an outage on Intelsat 29e satellite in early April which may not have been restored.

 

Sad as it is, it is a decent improvement.  I also find Celebrity internet packages expensive compared to the similar RCCL offerings.  There are certain ships & sailings I keep an eye on primarily for internet connectivity if I'm thinking of taking a vacation when I'll need good internet access with VPN for work.  Anthem class was decent to Bermuda in my experience.  Can't speak for Edge, yet.

 

My suggestion is to try accessing necessary stuff late at night, early in the morning, and sometimes around dinner during early or late seating.  Most cruisers seem to be able to put down their phones for dinner still (unlike on land).

 

I also follow some internet connectivity tech news in consumer aviation and it is getting better.  

 

 

[Cpatti8]

On 4/18/2019 at 12:52 PM, travelpeon said:

It sounds like the overall surfing experience is frustrating if you can't post to a web forum in a single try.  That said, at 3:11 PM, that's kind of what I'd anticipate for download as the satellite is shared among the ship and lots of people are using the shared satellite connection at that time.  It makes sense to start throttling accounts as logins increase as a preventative measure.  Ping times are going to be high on a ship based satellite system unless they are in port with fiber to the ship (which I've never heard of but would welcome, as there's several undersea cables linking the Caribbean) or shifting the satellite to cellular connections.  Cruise route also matters as satellites don't have uniform coverage and service over the globe.  There was also an outage on Intelsat 29e satellite in early April which may not have been restored.

 

Sad as it is, it is a decent improvement.  I also find Celebrity internet packages expensive compared to the similar RCCL offerings.  There are certain ships & sailings I keep an eye on primarily for internet connectivity if I'm thinking of taking a vacation when I'll need good internet access with VPN for work.  Anthem class was decent to Bermuda in my experience.  Can't speak for Edge, yet.

 

My suggestion is to try accessing necessary stuff late at night, early in the morning, and sometimes around dinner during early or late seating.  Most cruisers seem to be able to put down their phones for dinner still (unlike on land).

 

I also follow some internet connectivity tech news in consumer aviation and it is getting better.  

 

 

What ships & sailings do you consider as having good internet connectivity?  

[Bruin Steve]

I just got off the Emerald Princess yesterday...and I only wish I could have had Celebrity's internet!!!

 

First off, being Platinum Captain's Circle members, even for this short 3-night cruise, we got a free 150 minutes each...Good, huh?  Not if they are completely unusable...

 

First thing one discovers is that just logging onto the internet is a confusing two -step process...You have to log in to Princess at Sea, then click on a button that says "Connect to Internet"...While you're doing this (and slowly), your minutes are ticking away.  Logging off is even worse...it's at least a two step process...and one of the links is hidden under a pull-down...Click in the wrong order and your minutes just keep disappearing--because you haven't really logged off...I lost about 85 of my 150 that way!

 

Then, once on the internet, you find out that Princess has censored a whole lot of websites...

 

For example:  247 Sports--owned by CBS--runs fan pages and fan message boards for college and pro teams.  For me, it's the "Bruin Report Online" site--the go-to place to get news, interviews and recruiting info, etc. as well as fan message boards to discuss sports.  Guess what?  BLOCKED by Princess.  Apparently, someone at Princess thought it must be a gambling site...and they have decided to be everyone's protector against all internet vices and evils--real or imagined...

 

Of course, you don't get a message telling you it's blocked...You just get a message that it didn't load...so, you try again, waiting through a blank screen each time...and burning those valuable minutes...

 

On my June 26 Reflection cruise, I'll get my Captains Club Elite Plus 240 minutes (so 20 minutes per night)...and...At least on my July 8 cruise on Reflection, I've got the Unlimited Internet perk...