RC request for Starlink

[RedIguana]

Wish I had seen that video before, would have saved me some google time 😄. According to video, they only have 200 Mbps now (so my guess from previous post was pretty close).  Apparently they have 12 of the 100-500 Mbps dished installed, so even at the low end that is a 6X increase. From what I have seen the newer rectangular premium dished do 200-500 Mbps, seen prices from $500-625 a month (still a work in progress I guess).  I am not sure of the actual individual satellite bandwidth limitations though. Although I would assume the cruise lines would get a volume discount, even if they end up paying a premium over the current price guess, 1000 passengers at $10 a day covers that cost (per ship) in 1 day. Obviously there is hardware and maintenance to pay for, and salaries for people to run it. Even if it costs Royal 100K a month per ship, at $10 a day that is some pretty extreme profit.

[Biker19]

14 minutes ago, RedIguana said:

Even if it costs Royal 100K a month per ship, at $10 a day that is some pretty extreme profit.

The prices RCI charges may have little to do with costs - they will charge whatever folks are willing to pay, which recently seems to much more than pre-COVID.

Edited July 7, 2022 by Biker19

[twangster]

In somewhat related news another 53 Starlink birds went up yesterday.  I was boarding Mariner at terminal 5 and with a 10:20am launch the parking garage provided a great view the ~15 miles to the launchpad just before check in.  If you are cruising from Port Canaveral it pays to keep on eye out for launches from the Cape.

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately we had low cloud cover and rain moving through in waves so it didn't take long until the rocket was gobbled up by the clouds.

 

 

Here on day 2 I ventured up to Mariner's mini golf area on deck 13 forward.  I found some poles with shielded cable I don't recall seeing before.  They are on the outside of the glass so unlike the Freedom test these mounts are out of reach from passengers.

 

 

 

There are four of them, two on starboard, two on the port side.

 

 

 

 

Unconfirmed but I'm guessing they could be prep for something like Starlink antennas.  The forward location would yield less potential blockage from the stacks providing pretty much unobstructed views to the sky in all directions.

 

They may not be for this purpose at all.  Maybe she is getting a navigational upgrade for better GPS/GLONASS accuracy.  Time will tell.  Something to keep an eye on.

 

 

 

Edited July 18, 2022 by twangster

[John&LaLa]

32 minutes ago, twangster said:

In somewhat related news another 53 Starlink birds went up yesterday.  I was boarding Mariner at terminal 5 and with a 10:20am launch the parking garage provided a great view the ~15 miles to the launchpad just before check in.  If you are cruising from Port Canaveral it pays to keep on eye out for launches from the Cape.

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately we had low cloud cover and rain moving through in waves so it didn't take long until the rocket was gobbled up by the clouds.

 

 

 

We had a sunny launch just after noon on Indy several weeks ago. Great benefit of sailing from the Space Coast. This was from deck 12 forward.

 

Damn bird 🤣

 

 

 

Edited July 18, 2022 by John&LaLa

[twangster]

1 hour ago, John&LaLa said:

Damn bird 🤣

 

Fixed it for you.

 

 

 

[Ozark_Kid]

2 hours ago, twangster said:

 

Fixed it for you.

 

 

 

Glad you got Herr first.   I was about to fix it and saw you already did.  👍 

[John&LaLa]

3 hours ago, twangster said:

 

Fixed it for you.

 

 

 

 

Thanks, I need to learn more Sensai

[John&LaLa]

41 minutes ago, Ozark_Kid said:

Glad you got Herr first.   I was about to fix it and saw you already did.  👍 

 

Et tu Brutus

 

I feel so inadequate now

[Ozark_Kid]

12 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Et tu Brutus

 

I feel so inadequate now

We got your back.

 

I sure hope RC gets going on other ships quickly to get this service going.

[John&LaLa]

Just now, Ozark_Kid said:

We got your back.

 

I sure hope RC gets going on other ships quickly to get this service going.

 

May have mentioned earlier, the Serenade world cruisers are salivating over this like Pavlov's dogs

[Ozark_Kid]

1 minute ago, John&LaLa said:

 

May have mentioned earlier, the Serenade world cruisers are salivating over this like Pavlov's dogs

If you did I missed it.  Have they already started on Serenade?   That would be so nice.  It will help on your live review...... 

[John&LaLa]

1 hour ago, Ozark_Kid said:

If you did I missed it.  Have they already started on Serenade?   That would be so nice.  It will help on your live review...... 

 

No idea, they've implied something is up.

 

It's an included perk for everyone. They need to do something 🙄 

[twangster]

1 hour ago, John&LaLa said:

 

No idea, they've implied something is up.

 

It's an included perk for everyone. They need to do something 🙄 

 

They've got to be thinking hard about Serenade.   Speedcast on Mariner is pretty dreadful.  Couldn't imagine trying to do the Word Cruise on geostationary satellites.  So many different birds in play around the world with geo. On the other hand you may have a lot of days looking for something to do so waiting an hour to upload one photo might help kill some time.  🙂 

[John&LaLa]

7 hours ago, twangster said:

 

They've got to be thinking hard about Serenade.   Speedcast on Mariner is pretty dreadful.  Couldn't imagine trying to do the Word Cruise on geostationary satellites.  So many different birds in play around the world with geo. On the other hand you may have a lot of days looking for something to do so waiting an hour to upload one photo might help kill some time.  🙂 

 

The amount of people coming along who are planning on working and needing video conference capabilities is mind boggling. Then add in the home schoolers needing to video conference and people wanting to stay current on Netflix😱

 

One dude wants to have acess to ship a day early so he can install a 54" TV. 😇

 

 

[twangster]

2 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

The amount of people coming along who are planning on working and needing video conference capabilities is mind boggling. Then add in the home schoolers needing to video conference and people wanting to stay current on Netflix😱

 

One dude wants to have acess to ship a day early so he can install a 54" TV. 😇

 

 

 

54"?  I'd want 86" minimum.  Bigger is better right?  But I don't need to board a day early.  I'd skip the SL happy hour on day one and get 'ur done. 🙂 

[John&LaLa]

4 minutes ago, twangster said:

 

54"?  I'd want 86" minimum.  Bigger is better right?  But I don't need to board a day early.  I'd skip the SL happy hour on day one and get 'ur done. 🙂 

 

Seriously though. Sitting 5' away from a 54"🤔

 

You'd physically need to turn your head to follow the soccer ball

 

Oh, and you'll love this.  Some folks want Royal to add electrical outlets to their cabins.

 

I really need to stop sharing this stuff

Edited July 19, 2022 by John&LaLa

[twangster]

1 minute ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Seriously though. Sitting 5' away from a 54"🤔

 

You'd physically need to turn your head to follow the soccer ball

 

Better than being there live!

[Rick-n-Lisa]

Twangster:  just curious what the sailing capacity is on Mariner this week. We leave in a couple weeks and I have checked all rooms types in a mock booking and it is only showing a total of about 8 staterooms left period. No suites, 3 balconies, only guarantee for inside and I think no oceanview.  
not sure if they have just blocked off a portion or if we are back at full capacity.

thanks! 

[cruiselvr04]

16 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

 

Oh, and you'll love this.  Some folks want Royal to add electrical outlets to their cabins.

 

I really need to stop sharing this stuff.

 

The only thing I’d want is a passenger laundry room.  
It will be interesting to see how the internet works out for those who want to work from the ship.  

[Ourusualbeach]

16 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

I really need to stop sharing this stuff

Edited 16 hours ago by John&LaLa

You should write a book.

 

Could be a 5 part series. One for the events leading up to the cruise and another for each leg.

[Anton]

Starlink....coming soon to a cruise ship near you.Royal Caribbean Group Starlink Announcement

[mo&fran]

12 minutes ago, Anton said:

Starlink....coming soon to a cruise ship near you.Royal Caribbean Group Starlink Announcement

That is what they said when Oasis started using O3B.  Did not happen to all ships.

[Plum Happy]

Starlink....coming soon to a cruise ship near you.Royal Caribbean Group Starlink Announcement

 

 

Fantastic News!

Edited August 30, 2022 by Plum Happy

[Plum Happy]

2 hours ago, Anton said:

Starlink....coming soon to a cruise ship near you.Royal Caribbean Group Starlink Announcement

Fantastic News

[twangster]

Starlink has coverage in the Bahamas now.  They should do all the ships that offer short FL service starting now.