Elon Musk's SpaceX’s Starlink in an Industry-first to Provide High-speed Internet Onboard Full Cruise Fleet

[HMR74]

3 minutes ago, Moonarino said:

People would get dizzy just trying to keep up these days.

Mike Ditka, coach of the 1985 Bears that won the super bowl, said a year earlier that "in life you teach and learn" and after the Bears lost to SF the year before he said "today we learned".

 

Differences  in everything can be enhanced , or you become better if we allow ourselves to teach AND learn by listening to others. If emotions allow it.

 

Like Musk or not he is a genius , with flaws like everybody else. I am "upset", because  rather than buying into Tesla I bought into Fisker because Al Gore, who I did not particuarly like,  did and he had a great track record with KKR; till Fisker.

 

[NutsAboutGolf]

52 minutes ago, D C said:

AMEN to that! 

The less I can do to support that petulant child and his space junk, the better.  I wish there was a way to prevent any of my tax dollars going towards him and his businesses, but he does nothing without govt $. 

 

You probably don't care about the other side of the world but that space junk literally saved the Ukraine after Russia severed their telecom/internet...

 

[D C]

22 minutes ago, HMR74 said:

once again , politics will rise  to the top.

 

imagine if we all stopped using the products and services of people or companies that do not think the way we do, what would happen.

 

We do have this thing called free speech, and we should embrace that liberty even if it sometimes drives us nuts. Where would we be without it? Just need to have a give and go with it and people havung the respect for free speech.

 

Just do not need to polticize everything. Then determin if its a lack of resect for a guy like Musk, or just jealous.

If you see anything political in my post it's because you're trying to find something political. 
Likewise, if you saw anything contrary to freedom of speech in my post, it's because you were trying to find it.

Pointing out that his companies receive a copious amount of money from the government isn't political, it's a fact.  

Calling him a petulant child certainly is opinion, and it seems to fit him well I think.  Likewise with his space junk as a ridiculously unnecessary quantity of satellites that disrupt views of the sky for many so that a few can have internet. That's my opinion and I'm sticking with it 🙂  

[HMR74]

6 minutes ago, D C said:

If you see anything political in my post it's because you're trying to find something political. 
Likewise, if you saw anything contrary to freedom of speech in my post, it's because you were trying to find it.

Pointing out that his companies receive a copious amount of money from the government isn't political, it's a fact.  

Calling him a petulant child certainly is opinion, and it seems to fit him well I think.  Likewise with his space junk as a ridiculously unnecessary quantity of satellites that disrupt views of the sky for many so that a few can have internet. That's my opinion and I'm sticking with it 🙂  

may the good lord bless you. I am happy the folks at RCL do not think like you because then Starlink and other things available would  not have been available if a criteria was not liking a purveyor with new ideas.

Edited August 31, 2022 by HMR74

[Moonarino]

14 minutes ago, HMR74 said:

Mike Ditka, coach of the 1985 Bears that won the super bowl, said a year earlier that "in life you teach and learn" and after the Bears lost to SF the year before he said "today we learned".

 

Differences  in everything can be enhanced , or you become better if we allow ourselves to teach AND learn by listening to others. If emotions allow it.

 

Like Musk or not he is a genius , with flaws like everybody else. I am "upset", because  rather than buying into Tesla I bought into Fisker because Al Gore, who I did not particuarly like,  did and he had a great track record with KKR; till Fisker.

 

Mike Ditka's late-in-life generosity helped me recover from a very bad debt problem. A lot of people didn't like him because they only believed the "bear" image (or whatever his haters wanted to say about him).

 

Mark Twain, oh so long ago: "If you don't read the newspaper, you're uninformed. If you read the newspaper, you're mis-informed."

 

Edit to add: Musk is smarter than all of us put together.

Edited August 31, 2022 by Moonarino

[D C]

1 hour ago, HMR74 said:

may the good lord bless you. I am happy the folks at RCL do not think like you because then Starlink and other things available would  not have been available if a criteria was not liking a purveyor with new ideas.

I'm not faulting RCL for working out an agreement which may give them a perceived competitive advantage.   I certainly would have exhausted all other options before going that route if I was in a c-suite there, which I'm not.  

[mnocket]

2 hours ago, PTC DAWG said:

He only provides jobs to 100k plus folks, what a drain on the economy.

He has also brought high speed internet to rural, underserved, communities worldwide - including Ukraine.  Urban folk don't seem to realize there are many of us who had no option for high speed internet until Musk solved the problem.

 

He has also arguably done more than any other person to actually do something about climate change.

 

He has also made major contributions to rocket technology and space exploration.  Reusable rockets that return to earth and land? No one had the audacity to even think that was feasible.  He did it.

 

The problem of course is that he is politically moderate - neither far left nor right, and for some that is unforgivable. 

Edited August 31, 2022 by mnocket

[HMR74]

26 minutes ago, D C said:

I'm not faulting RCL for working out an agreement which may give them a perceived competitive advantage.   I certainly would have exhausted all other options before going that route if I was in a c-suite there, which I'm not.  

the issue is there are no alternatives and RCL did what it did to enhance the experience of its guests and crew (which will make the crews very very happy) and enhance profits and growing cash flow.

 

Actually, and I know its controversial, the #1 goal of business is to maximize profits. I was in c-suite and our priorities  of getting there were customers, employees, suppliers and community.  And our Chairman of the Board taught ethics at a major University MBA program, and he was great but not perfect, and perfection eludes most everybody.

[HMR74]

Putting aside the side issues, give props to RCL for getting to SpaceX Starlink first and it probably has an exclusive for a short period of time to use it.

 

From a business perspective X is going after the premium demographic and that means people higher up in the corporate chain who for better or worse have to keep in touch with home base.

 

A leg up like great internet at sea gives X and RCL a head start. For RCL, think of the parents of the kids they bring on Oasis class, who need to be in touch. Oftentiems even the grandparents need to be in touch for various  reasons. The rest of the RCL fleet will also benefit. Being a mid to high level exec means long hours and committment.

 

It is product differentiation and theris a price point where some will do without it which should keep prices sensible .

 

 

 

 

[Honolulu Blue]

Best Internet at sea, eh?  It looks like VOOM has been given the BROOM!

[NutsAboutGolf]

55 minutes ago, HMR74 said:

Putting aside the side issues, give props to RCL for getting to SpaceX Starlink first and it probably has an exclusive for a short period of time to use it.

 

From a business perspective X is going after the premium demographic and that means people higher up in the corporate chain who for better or worse have to keep in touch with home base.

 

A leg up like great internet at sea gives X and RCL a head start. For RCL, think of the parents of the kids they bring on Oasis class, who need to be in touch. Oftentiems even the grandparents need to be in touch for various  reasons. The rest of the RCL fleet will also benefit. Being a mid to high level exec means long hours and committment.

 

It is product differentiation and theris a price point where some will do without it which should keep prices sensible .

 

 

 

 

The big three cruise lines are all copy cats…Rhetorical question for anyone, how long before CCL or NCL announce a starlink partnership?

[HMR74]

2 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

The big three cruise lines are all copy cats…Rhetorical question for anyone, how long before CCL or NCL announce a starlink partnership?

depends on how long the exclusive use period there is , if there is one.

[NutsAboutGolf]

1 hour ago, Honolulu Blue said:

Best Internet at sea, eh?  It looks like VOOM has been given the BROOM!

Thanks for the laugh, RCL isn’t the fastest speed wise but based on the cumulative total of passengers and crew, they are.  Many Vlog who routine upload videos have stated virgin and princess was the fastest 

[NutsAboutGolf]

53 minutes ago, HMR74 said:

depends on how long the exclusive use period there is , if there is one.

There isn’t any mention of it; if there was you can be sure marketing would have shouted “exclusive” from the rooftop.

[canderson]

1 hour ago, Honolulu Blue said:

Best Internet at sea, eh?  It looks like VOOM has been given the BROOM!

 

They were only a middleman anyway.  They don't own satellites.

[canderson]

4 hours ago, D C said:

Likewise with his space junk as a ridiculously unnecessary quantity of satellites that disrupt views of the sky for many so that a few can have internet. That's my opinion and I'm sticking with it 🙂  

Once again, what you believe about low earth satellite communication technology, Starlink bandwidth and what the limitations are for each of those pieces of 'junk' are apparently an opinion based upon little fact.  I presently LIVE in the world of LEOs (no, not Law Enforcement, Low Earth Objects), and would be happy to provide to you (again) the data - only this time in another forum - that supports the planned number of satellites and what bandwidth will be available even when the entire constellation is up.  It's not nearly as much as you seem to imagine.  You may certainly feel free to 'stick with it', but there are still a collection of flat-Earther's out there, too, who think these satellite aren't exactly in 'orbit' to begin with.

 

I take it you must be an astronomer?

[HMR74]

19 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

There isn’t any mention of it; if there was you can be sure marketing would have shouted “exclusive” from the rooftop.

Hard to tell--could  be anything. But in return for being the first and helping starlink get started with moving vehicles and getting FCC approval, , and doing the  testing  and first implementations RTnvesCL musg=t have received something.

 

Investor relations will have something more than the marketing press release in a few days.

 

 

[RichYak]

26 minutes ago, canderson said:

You may certainly feel free to 'stick with it'...

I would have omitted a word, but that's the kind of thing gets me in trouble on CC 🤣

[canderson]

@RichYak

I haven't been in the official doghouse since 2005 when I mentioned that a permanently banned RCG passenger had switched to WD-40 for personal protection.  Think about a dozen of us were given a hiatus. Yeah, my protest of being in the doghouse is where the avatar came from.

 

As for Starlink...

 

If my research on the current REAL satellite service provider is for RCG ships is correct, not the middlemen, the service is presently provided to the ship's via satellites distributed along a geosynchronous orbit.  The two major downsides to this are bandwidth (much higher orbit requiring a great deal more power per bit) and a diminishing signal as the latitude increases.  The upside is that it's a lot cheaper to deploy, especially as it doesn't require the large number of ground stations that a LEO constellation requires.  Bandwidth costs money.  

 

I'm pleased that RCG has, earlier than some others, come to the conclusion that shipboard data demands are, as they are everywhere else, inevitably headed nowhere but up, and are trying to find ways to meet expectations.

 

I'll confess to pulling my phone out at the dinner table in Luminae to check on an unfamiliar wine, something I am now accustomed to doing regularly on land.

Edited August 31, 2022 by canderson

[Straughn]

Ok, I am probably going to get beat up with this comment.

 

How in the heck did we all survive before the ability to constantly be in touch 24/7? My late DH and I loved cruising because, for 7 days, his office (he was the CEO) could not reach him. He DID NOT want to work for seven days. That was why he had a deputy. 
 

Today, I read posts about cruisers having concerns that the Wi-Fi connection might not be good enough for their daily FaceTime call with their pet at the sitters or pet spa. What did folks do when they went on vacation and left their pet?

 

My grandchild is having a birthday party. Will I be able to Zoom in to participate? What did you do when there was no Zoom?

 

There are concerns that about being able to be on a Zoom call for work. Will the Wi-Fi  support a video conference call with X number of people?

 

Does anyone just go on vacation to chill out anymore?

 

 

[canderson]

15 minutes ago, Straughn said:

Ok, I am probably going to get beat up with this comment.

 

...

 

Does anyone just go on vacation to chill out anymore?

Definitely not going to beat you up for that comment, no.  Definitely understand where you are coming from.  But for many, it's no longer a question of 'chilling'.  Some people relax while being connected for one reason or another. 

 

I DO feel sorry for those who are obligated to worry about work-related issues while on vacation, and to an extent, I am one of them.  Technically, I'm on 24/7 call to support issues that could come up with the GEODSS program (too much to explain, so I'll leave the reader to Google it).  It's not ever happened - yet - while I've been on vacation, but if things really went south in a couple of technical areas, I'd need to make myself available.

 

But mostly, I DO chill, and as the last paragraph of my previous post indicates, being connected can actually contribute to my 'chilling':

 

"I'll confess to pulling my phone out at the dinner table in Luminae to check on an unfamiliar wine, something I am now accustomed to doing regularly on land."

 

Having a reliable internet connection really is necessary if you want to do that kind of thing, and I really do enjoy a glass, strictly for chilling purposes, mind you!

 

[HMR74]

5 minutes ago, canderson said:

Definitely not going to beat you up for that comment, no.  Definitely understand where you are coming from.  But for many, it's no longer a question of 'chilling'.  Some people relax while being connected for one reason or another. 

 

I DO feel sorry for those who are obligated to worry about work-related issues while on vacation, and to an extent, I am one of them.  Technically, I'm on 24/7 call to support issues that could come up with the GEODSS program (too much to explain, so I'll leave the reader to Google it).  It's not ever happened - yet - while I've been on vacation, but if things really went south in a couple of technical areas, I'd need to make myself available.

 

But mostly, I DO chill, and as the last paragraph of my previous post indicates, being connected can actually contribute to my 'chilling':

 

"I'll confess to pulling my phone out at the dinner table in Luminae to check on an unfamiliar wine, something I am now accustomed to doing regularly on land."

 

Having a reliable internet connection really is necessary if you want to do that kind of thing, and I really do enjoy a glass, strictly for chilling purposes, mind you!

 

let's go anther way-some people remember whats paying for these vacations. Their jobs or businesses.

 

-I do check my e mails late night but I do get a lot of them and with the existing internet it takes forever to download them to scan and see that nothing is important, except from kids and grandkids. This new internet will give  me an extra 45 minutes a day as I see it. Thats an extra cup of decaf coffee late night sitting somewhere on ship.  coffee

 

My son in law has his manufacturing business. If a problem surfaces, he needs to give direction. The sooner the better. He is less tense if he knows they can contact him. Thanksgiving is a perfect time except air and cruise rates are high. The price one pays, deal with it.

 

Everybody is a little different and has a different situation. If I can get away on a cruise and only spend a few hours related to work, thats a big win.

 

But another issue is those in retirement years, for the most part, did not depend on computers and smart phones in their careers. So they do not have the business and social dependency. on the technology that younger folks might have.

 

As long as people are in a happy place, good for them.

 

 

 

[NutsAboutGolf]

2 hours ago, canderson said:

Definitely not going to beat you up for that comment, no.  Definitely understand where you are coming from.  But for many, it's no longer a question of 'chilling'.  Some people relax while being connected for one reason or another. 

 

I DO feel sorry for those who are obligated to worry about work-related issues while on vacation, and to an extent, I am one of them.  Technically, I'm on 24/7 call to support issues that could come up with the GEODSS program (too much to explain, so I'll leave the reader to Google it).  It's not ever happened - yet - while I've been on vacation, but if things really went south in a couple of technical areas, I'd need to make myself available.

 

But mostly, I DO chill, and as the last paragraph of my previous post indicates, being connected can actually contribute to my 'chilling':

 

"I'll confess to pulling my phone out at the dinner table in Luminae to check on an unfamiliar wine, something I am now accustomed to doing regularly on land."

 

Having a reliable internet connection really is necessary if you want to do that kind of thing, and I really do enjoy a glass, strictly for chilling purposes, mind you!

 

I 100% agree with you.  I will add that “back in the good old days” of cruising they competed well against land based resorts.  To stay competitive today against land based resorts, they need fast Wi-Fi.

[sbcs5390]

For me, it's great. When I cruise solo, often I work remotely the whole time. I take the position that the ship has become my apartment in a warm climate, just like many people rent a seasonal rental and in this day and time may work from there. I might take a day off for a port I really like to see, but at this point I've been to so many Caribbean ports (what I do for these warm weather winter escapes, to stay roughly in the same time zone). When I'm cruising with family, I take off. 

[grandgeezer]

If you think the price is going to go down, or stay where it is now, you are sadly mistaken.

The current price, whatever it is, gets you a marginal to poor product. The new internet is supposed to be much better and faster, which means it’s worth more money to the customer.  Also, the start up cost, for implementing this on all 24, in this ships, will be astronomical. They have massive debt and supposedly in business to make a profit so hold on to your wallet. Look at the alcohol mark up, when buying by the drink. For example, we drink mostly domestic beer so today I stocked up because of a Labor Day sale. I paid about $.55 per 12oz. serving, tax included. I don’t buy any on the ship but I believe it’s pushing $9, tip included. My cost was per case, no quantity discount, at the quantity they buy, that probably get a better price than my sale one.