New Unlimited Internet Perk

[Ken the cruiser]

Just got this email from Seabourn. Sounds pretty cool!

 

Dear Seabourn Guest,

We have some exciting news to share about enhancements to the onboard Wi-Fi service available on our Seabourn ships. Starting July 1, Seabourn will now provide complimentary Wi-Fi service with unlimited minutes for all bookings on every ship in our fleet, making it easier for you to stay connected while you travel with us.

Under this new system, two tiers of Wi-Fi packages will be available for guests:

• Surf Wi-Fi Package: allows 1 device per guest with unlimited minutes of access for general web browsing, email, and checking or posting to social media accounts.
• Stream Wi-Fi Package: this upgraded package allows up to 4 devices per guest with unlimited minutes of access to web services offered in the Surf package PLUS access to video streaming, internet telephony as well as VPN/cloud storage services.

The standard level of service for most bookings is the Surf Wi-Fi package. Guests booked in Penthouse and Premium suite categories, as well as Seabourn Club members who have reached Diamond-level status or above, will automatically receive the upgraded Stream package. Those who are booked in Ocean View and Veranda suites can also upgrade to the Stream package at a daily rate of $19.95USD per day.

[brittany12]

Day late and dollar short.

[Ken the cruiser]

46 minutes ago, brittany12 said:

Day late and dollar short.

OK, I'll bite. Has this new SB perk already been posted here on CC. If it has, I sure didn't see it.

[hoosier74]

I was wondering about the Sebourn club wifi available benefit....as clunky as the web site can be, that item has disappeared from the list of choices and the Stream benefit is listed on Diamond level.  Do you think they will replace it with another benefit for the lower point total levels? 

[RetiredandTravel]

16 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

OK, I'll bite. Has this new SB perk already been posted here on CC. If it has, I sure didn't see it.

 

 

I think Brittany is talking about Seabourn.

 

 

[Covepointcruiser]

I for one am happy to hear about this benefit.   

[Ken the cruiser]

20 minutes ago, Covepointcruiser said:

I for one am happy to hear about this benefit.   

Us too. We're on a 24 day cruise on the Quest in December and had 900 free minutes because of a booking perk. But now, each of us has unlimited internet in our veranda suite which is a much bigger plus for us, especially since we'll be on an Antarctica cruise and I find it hard to believe internet service will be blistering fast down there! 😎

[Thecat123]

Ken we were on the Quest to Antarctica 2014 and found the internet worked much the same as other cruises we have been on with Seabourn which surprised us.  We used the internet mainly for emails, no down loading big files etc

Still one of the best cruises we have ever done and you will love the way Seabourn handles everything. Also we had good weather and fairly smooth crossing the Drake.

[Ken the cruiser]

15 minutes ago, Thecat123 said:

Ken we were on the Quest to Antarctica 2014 and found the internet worked much the same as other cruises we have been on with Seabourn which surprised us.  We used the internet mainly for emails, no down loading big files etc

Still one of the best cruises we have ever done and you will love the way Seabourn handles everything. Also we had good weather and fairly smooth crossing the Drake.

We are definitely pumped about our Antarctica cruise which includes going to South Georgia Island. We were on the Zaandam on a "driveby" cruise back in Jan 2018 and were wowed by it all, but have always dreamed one day to do an Antarctica expedition cruise. Hopefully, all will continue to move in a positive way in the SA countries we're scheduled to visit regarding COVID and this cruises will happen. 😎

[Thecat123]

Ken just remember it will be colder on your face area going ashore on the zodiacs due to the wind chill than standing on a deck outside

[tv24]

I was happy  to read of this new perk.  However, indulge me as I whine about the slow internet speed.  Seabourn and other Carnival lines really do need to invest in better satellite service.  The current service is just plain clunky and old fashioned.

[jenidallas]

1 hour ago, tv24 said:

I was happy  to read of this new perk.  However, indulge me as I whine about the slow internet speed.  Seabourn and other Carnival lines really do need to invest in better satellite service.  The current service is just plain clunky and old fashioned.

Hopefully one of our sailors onboard for Greece can confirm whether it’s still the same service or if it was upgraded over the past 16 months.  I had understood that Seabourn had already planned to upgrade onboard internet capabilities prior to the pandemic so my hope is that this is something they took the time to do while the ships were passenger-free.  

Certainly if they are rolling out and encouraging mobile app use plus offering everyone free internet then they’ve done this, but I’ve leaned never to assume!

[markham]

The internet on Ovation is easier to use. That said, we are on the “stream package” which automatically uploads our photos to the cloud. I am not so familiar with the technology but I am happy with the speed for what I do: reading my daily newspaper, emails and cc etc. Download speed is up to 50 mbps according to Speedtest I just ran. I hope that helps!

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

[SLSD]

1 hour ago, markham said:

The internet on Ovation is easier to use. That said, we are on the “stream package” which automatically uploads our photos to the cloud. I am not so familiar with the technology but I am happy with the speed for what I do: reading my daily newspaper, emails and cc etc. Download speed is up to 50 mbps according to Speedtest I just ran. I hope that helps!

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

Do I understand correctly that there are two levels of service?  One that is free for any guest  (and is much like previous speed of service) and another faster service that you can pay for---or comes included if you are at a certain level of the Seabourn Club?

Edited July 4, 2021 by SLSD

[markham]

Yes, I believe that is the case related to 2 service levels. I don’t know what the speed etc is of the other service.

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

[Covepointcruiser]

The higher level of service also comes with the Penthouse or higher cabins.   I hope we don’t have a lot of streamers on our cruise as I bet there is only a limited bandwidth available.

[Thecat123]

On 7/4/2021 at 11:24 PM, markham said:

The internet on Ovation is easier to use. That said, we are on the “stream package” which automatically uploads our photos to the cloud. I am not so familiar with the technology but I am happy with the speed for what I do: reading my daily newspaper, emails and cc etc. Download speed is up to 50 mbps according to Speedtest I just ran. I hope that helps!

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

I just ran a Speedtest at home and got 42.4 download which is probably why I think the Seabourn internet is okay especially being on a ship in the middle of the ocean.  Wonder what you are getting at home?    Is NZ way behind the rest of the world with the download speed and do we need new wires and a bigger tin can ? 😀

 

[M&PGermany]

42.2 😱 Dear Christ. Are you still sending telegrams as well? 🤪

250 here in Berlin.... and even more in other cities like Frankfurt...

 

[Isklaar]

1 hour ago, M&PGermany said:

42.2 😱 Dear Christ. Are you still sending telegrams as well? 🤪

250 here in Berlin.... and even more in other cities like Frankfurt...

 

71.3 at my home in England.
3.2 at one of my offices which is on an dedicated business park! At peak times it can't handle more than two of us online at the same time.

[Isklaar]

I'm concerned about how this will affect speeds on some ships.
Only one  cruise on Ovation but IIRC the speed was fine.

Last cruise was on Sojourn and it was awful in the suite, although not too bad elsewhere. Most of the time I could take my laptop  and work elsewhere, but sometimes I need to be in the suite to work effectively. 

I do hope there's been a ship wide upgrade.

[Ken the cruiser]

On the bright side at least the minutes won't be ticking away during the slow times anymore! 😎

[Isklaar]

Just now, Ken the cruiser said:

On the bright side at least the minutes won't be ticking away during the slow times anymore! 😎

Excellent point!

[mraven]

6 hours ago, Isklaar said:

I'm concerned about how this will affect speeds on some ships.
Only one  cruise on Ovation but IIRC the speed was fine.

Last cruise was on Sojourn and it was awful in the suite, although not too bad elsewhere. Most of the time I could take my laptop  and work elsewhere, but sometimes I need to be in the suite to work effectively. 

I do hope there's been a ship wide upgrade.

If I remember right, Ovation was the fist ship to get the service with a dedicated satellite. I wonder if they upgraded all the ships in the past 18 months.

 

I would think ships are the perfect place for Starlink service, which should be much cheaper for the cruise lines.

[Isklaar]

16 minutes ago, mraven said:

If I remember right, Ovation was the fist ship to get the service with a dedicated satellite. I wonder if they upgraded all the ships in the past 18 months.

 

I would think ships are the perfect place for Starlink service, which should be much cheaper for the cruise lines.

 

Yes I believe you're correct about Ovation. I do remember the speed being a marked improvement over the other ships. 
What is Starlink.? 

[mraven]

Starlink is the Spacex satellite constellation that will cover the entire planet, except for the poles. It's in beta now. It's meant for people in the under or unserved markets, not large cities with high-speed internet already available. Costs $99/month plus a one-time $500 base station install. Testers have shown that it works while being mobile.

 

There's a couple other competitors out there, but Spacex has the lead due to their ability to lanuch the satellites themselves.