Surf and Stream Internet now Basic and Premium

[HskrCrsr]

It looks like Celebrity is renaming the internet packages. What were Surf and Stream are now Basic and Premium. That's probably not the improvement you were looking for.

[NutsAboutGolf]

Xcelerate probably demanded X remove their name...lol

 

Anyone know if the Beyond is supposed to have improved internet equipment over the Edge or Apex?

[DaKahuna]

10 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

Anyone know if the Beyond is supposed to have improved internet equipment over the Edge or Apex?

 

 Not sure what you mean when you say "improved internet equipment".   I looked at the wireless access point they were using on Edge in 2020 when we sailed on her and they were new and full-featured.  The same can be said for the ones I look at on Reflection in December. 

 

The issue really comes down to the fact that the bandwidth of RF communications over satellite, while it has improved significantly in recent years, is still shared by all users who are connected at any given time.  The more users connected and communicating at any given time is what determines a good part of how your WiFi experience will be. The ships equipment that your laptop, tablet, or phone connects to is not the bottleneck.  The bottleneck is the speeds between the ship - Satellite - earth terminal.   

Edited February 25, 2022 by DaKahuna

[mfs2k]

Helpful and informative 

[DaKahuna]

1 minute ago, mfs2k said:

Helpful and informative 

Thank you. 

[NutsAboutGolf]

26 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 Not sure what you mean when you say "improved internet equipment".   I looked at the wireless access point they were using on Edge in 2020 when we sailed on her and they were new and full-featured.  The same can be said for the ones I look at on Reflection in December. 

 

The issue really comes down to the fact that the bandwidth of RF communications over satellite, while it has improved significantly in recent years, is still shared by all users who are connected at any given time.  The more users connected and communicating at any given time is what determines a good part of how your WiFi experience will be. The ships equipment that your laptop, tablet, or phone connects to is not the bottleneck.  The bottleneck is the speeds between the ship - Satellite - earth terminal.   

 

The popular VLogger Don posted earlier that the Apex internet is practically unusable.  The Edge started sailing in 2018, the on board equipment is probably from 2016-2017 and who knows about the satellite or "earth terminal" equipment's age.

 

It's inevitable X's internet will improve yet they need to spend $$$ on revolutionary equipment.

 

Virgin and Princess have rave reviews on the internet and Princess decided to make the revolutionary investment during the pandemic.  Here's from Princess's press release:

 

https://www.princess.com/news/news_releases/2021/04/super-charged-medallionnet-redefining-remote-working-on-princess-cruises-medallionclass-ships.html#:~:text=(April 8%2C 2021) –,workstation – an office at sea.

"Wanderlust & Work: Super-Charged MedallionNet Redefining Remote Working on Princess Cruises MedallionClass® Ships

 

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. (April 8, 2021) – In a world where working remotely has become commonplace out of necessity, Princess Cruises is delivering super-charged internet connectivity by leveraging a new constellation of satellites to offer the ultimate remote workstation – an office at sea.

Upon its return to service, every Princess cruise ship in the global fleet will feature land-like connectivity as part of its MedallionNet Wi-Fi service, making remote working, distance learning, and the opportunity to securely conduct important transactions, available all while enjoying the most picturesque video conference backdrop on the horizon thousands of miles from home.

Each Princess MedallionClass ship transmits enough bandwidth per vessel to guarantee a superior connection for each guest and the personal device they are using. MedallionNet’s seamless integration ensures guests can work from their deck chairs as efficiently and effectively as in their office, with access to their cloud-based enterprise applications such as storage, videoconferencing, and email. And because there is an access point in every stateroom, as well as all public areas, guests can move freely around the ship as they work without any frustrating signal drops.

As more than 40% of the American workforce continues to work remotely, and with an expected 36.2 million Americans are projected to telecommute by 20251, an at sea office has never been more feasible and certainly remains very desirable to many.

“As an Internet person who lives her entire life online, I was thoroughly impressed with MedallionNet,” said Chelsea Lankford, creator of fashion and lifestyle blog Truelane. “I’m always impressed by its reliability. I’ve published blog posts, uploaded videos, and streamed Netflix in the middle of the ocean without a glitch.”

In late 2021, Princess connectivity partner – SES – will begin to launch a new constellation of satellites2, O3b mPOWER, that will further super-charge MedallionNet and offer guests the best connectivity possible at sea.

The unmatched bandwidth capacity not only delivers superior Wi-Fi service levels, but also powers the Princess MedallionClass experience onboard. The cruise line’s award-winning OceanMedallion™, the most advanced wearable device in the global hospitality industry, replaces the traditional cruise card to significantly expand touch-free options and personalization on board."

[wrk2cruise]

Probably because people were having trouble surfing with the surf package and streaming with the stream package.

 

While I was able to stream most times.  I had cases on 2 ships where we would try to watch a show after 11 pm and streaming just wouldn't work.   I assume they took most of the bandwidth at that time to do ship's shoreside business.

 

[jelayne]

I’m probably naive but I have trouble understanding the need for 24x7 internet equal to what you would have at home or at the office when you are on vacation.  
 

Yes I get a few are working while on a ship but most aren’t.  We find enough to keep us entertained on the ship that we don’t need to stream movies, face time with everyone we know or try and attach a fire stick or other device to the TV to keep up with whatever shows we watch.  If we can read the local paper , check emails, post on CC and IG we’re happy.  If we want to watch movies or the latest episode of some show we can do that at home. 

[Fly and Sail]

XCelerate Stream was a disaster on EDGE in December and only slightly better in January (less pax). Waste of money, I had it refunded on board.

[keesar]

7 hours ago, jelayne said:

I’m probably naive but I have trouble understanding the need for 24x7 internet equal to what you would have at home or at the office when you are on vacation.  
 

 

 

Look up the word "addiction".  When I walk into stores, the number of people on their cell phones is quite noticeable.  Check out those who are paying for their items and are still talking on their phones.  And don't get me going on those who are driving and texting.  😠

[padgman1]

3 hours ago, keesar said:

 

Look up the word "addiction".  When I walk into stores, the number of people on their cell phones is quite noticeable.  Check out those who are paying for their items and are still talking on their phones.  And don't get me going on those who are driving and texting.  😠

The current generation ( of which my son and daughter and their spouses are a part of) would literally DIE if smartphones ceased to exist...

[Luvcrusn]

11 hours ago, jelayne said:

I’m probably naive but I have trouble understanding the need for 24x7 internet equal to what you would have at home or at the office when you are on vacation.  
 

Yes I get a few are working while on a ship but most aren’t.  We find enough to keep us entertained on the ship that we don’t need to stream movies, face time with everyone we know or try and attach a fire stick or other device to the TV to keep up with whatever shows we watch.  If we can read the local paper , check emails, post on CC and IG we’re happy.  If we want to watch movies or the latest episode of some show we can do that at home. 

I never did either, however our most recent cruise came at a time that even though it wasn't necessary to cancel our cruise there was a family situation that necessitated our being constantly available by phone. 

[keesar]

32 minutes ago, padgman1 said:

The current generation ( of which my son and daughter and their spouses are a part of) would literally DIE if smartphones ceased to exist...

 

When I have asked visitors to please don't text during meals, you should see the looks I get.  They do comply but if looks could.....

[graphicguy]

If I was a “Vlogger” then I probably would think the Basic Internet package wasn’t useable.  Depends on what you’re using it for.  Plain text would be fine.  Sending pics, jpegs, gifs, YouTube, etc?  Unusable for sure.

 

I found the speeds and bandwidth to be more dependent on the ship’s sailing route and position.  I found Premium (formerly Stream) package to be very good on the Edge sailing the Western Caribbean route.  While not terrible, the Eastern Route I sailed on the Edge was not as good.

 

It actually also made a difference where I was on the ship.  Some areas internet speed was very good.  Other areas, not so much.

 

Whatever they call it, all the cruise lines do the same.  Premium package always is better.

[sptrout]

The "Vlogger Don" mentioned earlier, is on the Apex in a Sky Suite so he has the premium wifi package. He has a special video where he blasted the wifi as nearly useless for him, which requires uploading videos for is website, and for communications with his clients. He said it was taking hours to upload his videos and while that was in process he was not able to do anything else. What made his problems even worse for Celebrity than what it normally would have been was that he made a switch from the Sky Princess to the Apex the day same day (14 days total). He noted that the Sky Princess' wifi was blazing fast. He did not understand how the most expensive ship built to date (according to him) would have such poor wifi/Internet.

 

We were on the Reflection in January for two weeks in a Sky Suite (corner aft) and the wifi worked very good for us. But, we did not stream any videos just standard Internet surfing stuff.

[NutsAboutGolf]

1 hour ago, keesar said:

 

When I have asked visitors to please don't text during meals, you should see the looks I get.  They do comply but if looks could.....

 

You must make some incredible meals!  Ha ha

[LGW59]

1 hour ago, sptrout said:

The "Vlogger Don" mentioned earlier, is on the Apex in a Sky Suite so he has the premium wifi package. He has a special video where he blasted the wifi as nearly useless for him, which requires uploading videos for is website, and for communications with his clients. He said it was taking hours to upload his videos and while that was in process he was not able to do anything else. What made his problems even worse for Celebrity than what it normally would have been was that he made a switch from the Sky Princess to the Apex the day same day (14 days total). He noted that the Sky Princess' wifi was blazing fast. He did not understand how the most expensive ship built to date (according to him) would have such poor wifi/Internet.

 

We were on the Reflection in January for two weeks in a Sky Suite (corner aft) and the wifi worked very good for us. But, we did not stream any videos just standard Internet surfing stuff.

The "Vlogger Don" You do know that he sensationalizes EVERYTHING for his own spin.  Seems like a decent enough guy, but always over the top for his click bait videos.

[NutsAboutGolf]

56 minutes ago, sptrout said:

The "Vlogger Don" mentioned earlier, is on the Apex in a Sky Suite so he has the premium wifi package. He has a special video where he blasted the wifi as nearly useless for him, which requires uploading videos for is website, and for communications with his clients. He said it was taking hours to upload his videos and while that was in process he was not able to do anything else. What made his problems even worse for Celebrity than what it normally would have been was that he made a switch from the Sky Princess to the Apex the day same day (14 days total). He noted that the Sky Princess' wifi was blazing fast. He did not understand how the most expensive ship built to date (according to him) would have such poor wifi/Internet.

 

We were on the Reflection in January for two weeks in a Sky Suite (corner aft) and the wifi worked very good for us. But, we did not stream any videos just standard Internet surfing stuff.

 

The Apex is the most expensive CELEBRITY ship (since the Beyond hasn't sailed) yet the Oasis class ships are more expensive.  My fear is that Celebrity is using internet architecture from the Edge possibly designed in 2016-2017 yet it does appear that bandwidth seems to be a limited factor.  Princess claimed to have re-done their internet system/architecture prior to restarting.

 

Whether or not one cares about the internet speed on Celebrity is irrelevant, it's inevitable it will improve.  Following Princesses footsteps to provide fast internet would allow the huge pool of teleworkers to work on sea days and allow them to cruise more often.

[Jim_Iain]

13 hours ago, jelayne said:

I’m probably naive but I have trouble understanding the need for 24x7 internet equal to what you would have at home or at the office when you are on vacation.  
 

Yes I get a few are working while on a ship but most aren’t.  We find enough to keep us entertained on the ship that we don’t need to stream movies, face time with everyone we know or try and attach a fire stick or other device to the TV to keep up with whatever shows we watch.  If we can read the local paper , check emails, post on CC and IG we’re happy.  If we want to watch movies or the latest episode of some show we can do that at home. 

 

I guess we all have our priories and what we enjoy.   I have a hard time understanding why someone would choose to have a drink at 8:00 AM or sit at the bar all day.   But if that's what they like to do on Vacation -  Go for it.   I try not to judge others as we each enjoy a cruise in different ways.

 

I do consider my cruises a vacation but also when I'm on a ship for 30-45 days the "entertainment" and TV offerings by the ship are not something I choose to live with.    I do lots of reading and listening to e-books but also like to see the news in an unbiased  manner which I don't see is available when your choices are Fox or CNBC. 

 

I don't expect internet speeds like at home and enjoy using my internet for the things you listed.

[Jeremiah1212]

10 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

The "Vlogger Don" You do know that he sensationalizes EVERYTHING for his own spin.  Seems like a decent enough guy, but always over the top for his click bait videos.

 

I see his channel pop up on YouTube and that sound effect pops into my head....whompppp whompppp whomppppp. Not sure the guy has had an enjoyable trip or one that met his expectations yet 😳 Alas, while I don't depend on ship WiFi to vlog my trips, I've yet to have 'unusable' WiFi. 

 

I also don't see any reference at all to the packages changing names...

Edited February 25, 2022 by Jeremiah1212

[LGW59]

13 hours ago, jelayne said:

I’m probably naive but I have trouble understanding the need for 24x7 internet equal to what you would have at home or at the office when you are on vacation.  
 

Yes I get a few are working while on a ship but most aren’t.  We find enough to keep us entertained on the ship that we don’t need to stream movies, face time with everyone we know or try and attach a fire stick or other device to the TV to keep up with whatever shows we watch.  If we can read the local paper , check emails, post on CC and IG we’re happy.  If we want to watch movies or the latest episode of some show we can do that at home. 

If we can read the local paper , check emails, post on CC and IG we’re happy.  Interesting that you find what works for you, which is perfectly fine.  Others find what works for them, which is perfectly fine.  No need in trying to understand it, we all just do what works best for each of us.  

[NutsAboutGolf]

6 minutes ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

 

I see his channel pop up on YouTube and that sound effect pops into my head....whompppp whompppp whomppppp. Not sure the guy has had an enjoyable trip or one that met his expectations yet 😳 Alas, while I don't depend on ship WiFi to vlog my trips, I've yet to have 'unusable' WiFi. 

 

I also don't see any reference at all to the packages changing names...

 

In my cruise planner, it appears they changed Stream to Premium but not Surf to Basic (not yet).  My best guess is they are wanting to remove the reference to "Xcelerate" and we'll see if and when it changes to "Basic".

 

Edited February 25, 2022 by NutsAboutGolf

[Dk-cruiser]

20 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

If we can read the local paper , check emails, post on CC and IG we’re happy.  Interesting that you find what works for you, which is perfectly fine.  Others find what works for them, which is perfectly fine.  No need in trying to understand it, we all just do what works best for each of us.  

 

The problem though, is that some people always have a desire to outline how much, they not miss being online or using technology when on vacation. This thread is regarding bad internet service on a specific ship, not what people use their vacation time doing.

No you don't get a award for not have a need for using internet on ship, and if everyone followed your example and went in to all threads writing "I don't get why people pay for a suite " "I don't get why people go to the casino" "I don't get why people buy drink package" this forum would be quiet boring. 

 

Sorry for this rant, but i think we have seen a lot's of comments like your lately, and it adds absolutely no value to the topic.

 

 

[LGW59]

1 minute ago, sgadk87 said:

 

The problem though, is that some people always have a desire to outline how much, they not miss being online or using technology when on vacation. This thread is regarding bad internet service on a specific ship, not what people use their vacation time doing.

No you don't get a award for not have a need for using internet on ship, and if everyone followed your example and went in to all threads writing "I don't get why people pay for a suite " "I don't get why people go to the casino" "I don't get why people buy drink package" this forum would be quiet boring. 

 

Sorry for this rant, but i think we have seen a lot's of comments like your lately, and it adds absolutely no value to the topic.

 

 

And what value does your "rant" add, mom?  Other than to feel better for chastising me, LOL.  I said nothing about how much or little time anyone should or should not spend on the internet on-board, we all do what works best for us.  Go rant someplace else, I have some snow to go out and shovel.

[Dk-cruiser]

2 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

And what value does your "rant" add, mom?  Other than to feel better for chastising me, LOL.  I said nothing about how much or little time anyone should or should not spend on the internet on-board, we all do what works best for us.  Go rant someplace else, I have some snow to go out and shovel.

 

Sorry, i did a wrong Quote.