Using a VPN with the ship's wifi

[Jim_Iain]

3 hours ago, pisces223 said:

Thank you everyone for your thoughtful and concise responses! Would you recommend Nord for a VPN? If so, about how much is it? I saw the different plans and am wondering if there is something I should know about how to choose. Thanks!

Really depends on how you plan on using.   If just going to use it for a cruise I would recommend the 30 day plan about $14.00.    If planning on using it all the time go with the promotional 1 year basic at $58 for first year (goes up to $99 year 2 on)   I just  cancel subscription at end of first year and then sign up for another 1 year.    It is always on sale.

 

For the 2 year plan ($78 per year for first 2 years).    

[Charles4515]

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

I use both Express VPN and

 

Express VPN was bought last year to by a company with sketchy reputation, a  company that used to distribute malware.  That has been buying VPNs. They also bought Private Interent Access and Cyberghost. The VPNs are supposed to be independent but I am leery of the connection. 

[Heymoe]

I'm on the Infinity now and can confirm that Celebrity blocks most VPN traffic. Their DNS definitely blocks lookups of sites with "VPN" and it appears they block ports commonly used by VPN programs.

 

If your VPN provider has an option for using TLS protocol (Port 443), you're in luck.  That's the protocol used to break China's Great Firewall - also used to break the great Waterwall of Celebrity.  It's very hard to stop because websites using "https://" transfer their data over port 443

 

Most VPN standalone programs don't offer a TLS connection, but one that does appears on StackSocial.com with good discounts.  It's KeepSolid/VPN Unlimited.  Not the fastest, but has quite a few endpoints.  I'm not affiliated with KeepSolid but found it's pretty resilient.

 

And the cost to bypass Celebrity's 'curation' is $50 a day!!!

[Jim_Iain]

I've used VPN  Express, Nord, Tunnel Bear, Cisco etc on all classes of ships and never had a problem.   Actually I'm using Nord on Solstice right now.

 

You are correct they do block all VPN's dns lookup so if you try to log onto Nord or Express you can't get through.   Make sure you have it installed prior to boarding.

 

Once on board I just fire it up.    I'm also using NordVPN via my Firestick app and can spoof location.

 

Proof of concept

 

[D C]

On 12/4/2022 at 7:41 PM, Jim_Iain said:

I've used VPN  Express, Nord, Tunnel Bear, Cisco etc on all classes of ships and never had a problem.   Actually I'm using Nord on Solstice right now.

 

You are correct they do block all VPN's dns lookup so if you try to log onto Nord or Express you can't get through.   Make sure you have it installed prior to boarding.

 

Once on board I just fire it up.    I'm also using NordVPN via my Firestick app and can spoof location.

 

Proof of concept

 

Can Nord or the others give me remote access to home? I use OpenVPN now when I'm away to be able to access my home network (files, cameras, and whatnot).  Doesn't work on Celebrity with the crummy internet (pre-starlink), but did on Princess. 

[Jim_Iain]

2 hours ago, D C said:

Can Nord or the others give me remote access to home? I use OpenVPN now when I'm away to be able to access my home network (files, cameras, and whatnot).  Doesn't work on Celebrity with the crummy internet (pre-starlink), but did on Princess. 

 

Nord recently came out with something called NordMesh -  Both both machines need to be logged onto Nord account via VPN and from that you can connect securely to your home PC.    I tried it in December using Starlink and worked perfect.

https://support.nordvpn.com/General-info/Features/1845333902/What-is-Meshnet.htm

 

Another options is TeamViewer free for individuals as long as being used for non-commercial use.   If they expect you are using for commercial purposes they will freeze the account but you can e-mail them assuring our not commercial and they unlock it.

 

I've use TeamViewer many times while on Celebrity. 

Edited February 6, 2023 by Jim_Iain

[CruisinShips]

Bringing up this old thread. Going to be on the Apex in the Caribbean, and using ExpressVPN. Does anyone know if it matters what specific US city you spoof to/from?

[Wineaux007]

44 minutes ago, CruisinShips said:

Bringing up this old thread. Going to be on the Apex in the Caribbean, and using ExpressVPN. Does anyone know if it matters what specific US city you spoof to/from?

I used Atlanta.

[Esmerelda]

We have had Surf Shark for about 4 years. We have never had any issues onboard a ship and were able to log in from different countries to watch shows late at night. 

[GVM]

On 12/4/2022 at 11:53 AM, Heymoe said:

I'm on the Infinity now and can confirm that Celebrity blocks most VPN traffic. Their DNS definitely blocks lookups of sites with "VPN" and it appears they block ports commonly used by VPN programs.

 

If your VPN provider has an option for using TLS protocol (Port 443), you're in luck.  That's the protocol used to break China's Great Firewall - also used to break the great Waterwall of Celebrity.  It's very hard to stop because websites using "https://" transfer their data over port 443

 

Most VPN standalone programs don't offer a TLS connection, but one that does appears on StackSocial.com with good discounts.  It's KeepSolid/VPN Unlimited.  Not the fastest, but has quite a few endpoints.  I'm not affiliated with KeepSolid but found it's pretty resilient.

 

And the cost to bypass Celebrity's 'curation' is $50 a day!!!

Lifesaver! I am on the Edge, sea day, between Vancouver and Juneau.

 

I always use OVPN, and indeed, first it didn't work. After switching to TLS Protocol (Port 443) I able to stream my local Dutch television. Needs some buffering every few minutes and it seems that the max quality is about 480p resolution. But hey, beggars can't be choosers! 🙂

 

Thanks for this tip!

Edited May 12 by GVM

[Heymoe]

2 hours ago, GVM said:

Lifesaver! I am on the Edge, sea day, between Vancouver and Juneau.

 

I always use OVPN, and indeed, first it didn't work. After switching to TLS Protocol (Port 443) I able to stream my local Dutch television. Needs some buffering every few minutes and it seems that the max quality is about 480p resolution. But hey, beggars can't be choosers! 🙂

 

Thanks for this tip!

You're welcome!  I didn't know Starlink equipped Celebrity ships still did this blocking.  My latest cruise was on the Edge (SYD-HNL) and I was able to use Cloudflare Warp tunneling, which didn't work in 2022.  But Celebrity may be switching onboard purchases of Internet to the faster/unmonitored tier of service (The onboard rate is $33 a day, or $50 for 3 days).

 

Have a great cruise!

Brad

[jelayne]

On 2/3/2024 at 7:54 AM, Esmerelda said:

We have had Surf Shark for about 4 years. We have never had any issues onboard a ship and were able to log in from different countries to watch shows late at night. 

I have Surf Shark and got off the Edge on 5/1.  The internet would not work on my IPad unless the they disabled the VPN, which they did.  However my IPhone worked fine for about 2/3 of the cruise then it would not work.  The iLounge staff said that the ships internet would not work with a VPN and that I was lucky the IPhone worked as long as it did.  Left the ship and reconnected the VPN and on the phone and it was fine.  We got to our hotel and the IPad  not work with VPN enabled.  Very frustrating as now I can’t get the iPad to to to connect with the VPN on .

[Jim_Iain]

On 2/1/2024 at 4:53 PM, CruisinShips said:

Bringing up this old thread. Going to be on the Apex in the Caribbean, and using ExpressVPN. Does anyone know if it matters what specific US city you spoof to/from?

 

It depends on what you are spoofing for.   For YouTubeTV often if you use a server other than one in your TV Market it thinks you are out of area and won't allow you to watch your usually local stations but can still view your recordings.  

 

For Netflix - really doesn't matter as long as Netflix tags the IP as heavily used --- in that case just choose another - often a little used server like Kansas City