Yacht Club internet

[JoLoca2208]

We are booked on MSC Belissima for the Christmas cruise this year and we are in the Yacht Club. I know it includes premium internet package, which will be crucial for me, as I will have to work remotely for 1 day between Christmas and NY and I will need fast and reliable wifi.

For those who has experience with premium internet package while using laptop, will I be ok connecting it and working away for a full day, while using email, google drive, zoom etc? Or will I be better connecting my phone and using hotspot for the laptop?

 

 

[hamrag]

11 minutes ago, JoLoca2208 said:

.....I will have to work remotely for 1 day between Christmas and NY and I will need fast and reliable wifi.....

Good luck with that....you do know there could be another 4499 passengers on board?! 😉

[JoLoca2208]

14 minutes ago, hamrag said:

Good luck with that....you do know there could be another 4499 passengers on board?! 😉

I'm aware. I also know we are full day in the port that day, so unlikely that those 4499 people will be jamming internet all day. 

[NMsunset]

Hi JoLoca-

As another work-cation person (based in GC Ireland)...but with global responsibilities...brace yourself. 

Highly suggest that you have a backup plan.

What port? Buy a data Sim for mobile or MiFi device...maybe go ashore to hotel or resort that offers WiFi and or a business center.

 

I have been on 5 MSC cruises on 3 ships in last 12 months...always purchasing/using the Browse & Stream.  If the ship has >30% capacity...the speeds are very slow to zero. My last cruise was 12 days this Oct.  best speed anywhere on the ship was 270kbps. Was never able to host or join a video call/conference, losing even voice only most of the time. Sending or receiving large files, the connection would time out...even at 02:00-05:00 thinking most users were asleep/offline...

 

Go in with an open mind that connectivity and speed will be an issue...

any other outcome is a bonus😀

Think about most folks during holidays will be facetime and other heavy bandwidth usage...remember this includes the ~1,000 crew members wanting to communicate with family/friends...plus streaming various media for R&R.

 

Best of Luck

Enjoy your cruise!

 

 

 

 

 

[bumper31]

I was on Seaview in the Med, Internet was patchy. Although my wife did upgrade to the streaming package and it seemed more stable than the standard included browsing package.

 

I found myself switching between 4/5G when in port and the Wi-Fi. But it never seemed stable enough consistently on one type

[Hlitner]

"Fast and reliable" Internet is not something that one should expect on any ship (although RCI is moving in that direction).  Your Internet might be OK (it will never be fast) or not!  It might work all the time, or it might not work at all (this has happened to us on a few cruises).    Frequent cruisers (including me) have learned to simply accept that onboard Internet is what it is (or isn't).  If your job depends on you having decent Internet you would be wise to avoid any cruise ship.

 

Hank

[Heartgrove]

We were in YC aboard the MSC Splendida two weeks ago. There was a marked difference in port and at sea for service. Better have a backup plan.

[mscdivina2016]

On 11/4/2022 at 3:55 AM, JoLoca2208 said:

We are booked on MSC Belissima for the Christmas cruise this year and we are in the Yacht Club. I know it includes premium internet package, which will be crucial for me, as I will have to work remotely for 1 day between Christmas and NY and I will need fast and reliable wifi.

For those who has experience with premium internet package while using laptop, will I be ok connecting it and working away for a full day, while using email, google drive, zoom etc? Or will I be better connecting my phone and using hotspot for the laptop?

 

 

I too have taken 5 in the last 10 months and like the others.

 

Have a backup plan!  Zoom was choppy even on a port day and I was sailing at half capacity.

Xmas week.....many kids many users of the system. 

[eagletwo]

Don't know about speed outside the Caribbean.  We were on the MSC Meraviglia last week and had good service the entire week.  I have to download huge files from the TSA website and it only took 5-8 minutes longer than at home with very high speed internet.  Just depends where you cruise. 

[JoLoca2208]

On 11/4/2022 at 2:50 PM, NMsunset said:

Hi JoLoca-

As another work-cation person (based in GC Ireland)...but with global responsibilities...brace yourself. 

Highly suggest that you have a backup plan.

What port? Buy a data Sim for mobile or MiFi device...maybe go ashore to hotel or resort that offers WiFi and or a business center.

 

I have been on 5 MSC cruises on 3 ships in last 12 months...always purchasing/using the Browse & Stream.  If the ship has >30% capacity...the speeds are very slow to zero. My last cruise was 12 days this Oct.  best speed anywhere on the ship was 270kbps. Was never able to host or join a video call/conference, losing even voice only most of the time. Sending or receiving large files, the connection would time out...even at 02:00-05:00 thinking most users were asleep/offline...

 

Go in with an open mind that connectivity and speed will be an issue...

any other outcome is a bonus😀

Think about most folks during holidays will be facetime and other heavy bandwidth usage...remember this includes the ~1,000 crew members wanting to communicate with family/friends...plus streaming various media for R&R.

 

Best of Luck

Enjoy your cruise!

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks! Fully expecting now it will not go without issues. We will be in Palma that day, so if things won’t work with ship’s wifi, I will be covered by unlimited data within EU on my phone. I wouldn’t expect having many zoom calls, but I can use my phone for that. Also, going offshore to use wifi is another option. Thankfully it’s only for one day! 

[Ryan82]

I was not in YC on a recent cruise (can't believe that makes a difference) I had the premium internet - as too needed to work briefly. It was unusable for work. Had to hotspot off my phone. Internet tends to be okay first thing in the morning, and tends to be usable from 5pm-7pm whilst a lot of people are at dinner. Outside of those times it's not stable enough to work off.

[Barbee524]

The best connection is usually at the ship's computer center. But I would defiantly look into a back up plan.