World Cruise News?

[Biker19]

9 hours ago, WorldCruiseForMe said:

They're installing Starlink - how well will it work on this ship (especially for "work") vs. how it works on other ships/lines, plus which geographies won't it be permitted?

Welcome to CC.

The platform being used for Starlink maritime should not matter and there's no reason to expect performance to be any different, at the ship level, than any other ship. Inside the ship could be another matter - they'd have to install/update a robust network of access points to make that incoming signal usable in all areas of the ship.

[Ourusualbeach]

39 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

I can see St. Petersburg...but which other ports?  So far I have only booked RCI tours.  Probably a good move.  

I believe that Odessa was dropped

[John&LaLa]

2 hours ago, Kbonner said:

Black Sea. Well Royal does not want you to sleep on the pool deck during a Black Sea voyage. Too many stray mines drifting down even to Turkey and Romania

 

Big highlight of the trip for me. 

 

Royal swapped out Odessa for a stop in Georgia and turned Constanta into an overnight

[John&LaLa]

53 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

I can see St. Petersburg...but which other ports?  So far I have only booked RCI tours.  Probably a good move.  

 

Odessa

[John&LaLa]

28 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Welcome to CC.

The platform being used for Starlink maritime should not matter and there's no reason to expect performance to be any different, at the ship level, than any other ship. Inside the ship could be another matter - they'd have to install/update a robust network of access points to make that incoming signal usable in all areas of the ship.

 

Royal needs to do the same. 

 

It was ok on Serenade, horrible on Jewel

[island lady]

14 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Odessa

 

Ah, thanks.  3rd leg cruise I believe?   We are not on that one.

 

Of course we did not book 2nd leg either, due to already having Australia booked (again, after first time cancelled due to Covid).   But of course RCI decided to cancel our 2nd attempt at Australia when they yanked Radiance out to put her in NO.  

 

Have once again booked Australia, but not with RCI.  Viking circumnavigation cruise in January 2025. Thinking about adding in two connecting legs that go to SP islands, Taz, and NZ.   

[island lady]

18 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Royal needs to do the same. 

 

It was ok on Serenade, horrible on Jewel

 

Currently on second leg Jewel, have not had any problems.

[time4u2go]

10 hours ago, WorldCruiseForMe said:

The two restaurants - a buffet and...a bigger buffet? - don't inspire either.

According to this website https://www.lifeatseacruises.com/faq/are-there-any-sit-down-restaurants, it's not just buffets.

[John&LaLa]

3 minutes ago, time4u2go said:

According to this website https://www.lifeatseacruises.com/faq/are-there-any-sit-down-restaurants, it's not just buffets.

 

Its not a very warm and fuzzy explanation 😉

 

[WorldCruiseForMe]

5 hours ago, vacationlover_mn said:

Sadly, my power of google failed me a few days ago, when I tried to find out more about the company.  Thanks for posting the details about them!  Also, and my following question comes from a place of real curiosity (and not snark)- where did you find that much detailed info about them?

Google was friendlier to me than it was to you. Maybe I should try ChatGPT? 😁

I found it difficult to source information - about Miray, about the cruise ship, about...well, anything except their brand-spanking-new website. Although the FAQs on their website do help. Well over an hour of seeking...while watching basketball, so it wasn't a complete waste of time.

I did find one rather short review of a Miray cruise from...2021? But how much or little that will apply to the new cruise is total speculation on my part.

[WorldCruiseForMe]

4 hours ago, Biker19 said:

Welcome to CC.

The platform being used for Starlink maritime should not matter and there's no reason to expect performance to be any different, at the ship level, than any other ship. Inside the ship could be another matter - they'd have to install/update a robust network of access points to make that incoming signal usable in all areas of the ship.

Thanks for the warm welcome. A few concerns about Starlink maritime:

• The number of concurrent connections to satellites ("downlinks") to support 800 people trying to stream their favourite shows. On a 1-week cruise, who bothers to watch TV? On a 36-month cruise...I expect different patterns of internet use. What I don't know is how that will play out IRL. Hopefully easily fixed if they find the internet slow during the first few weeks. (350Mb/s peak download doesn't go very far any more. And voice may be a challenge when congestion occurs - anyone w/ experience?)
• The onboard network ("access points") is easier to understand, but quite costly to implement well. They speak about remote work, but it's not clear if they expect everyone to shoehorn into their office space area or if work-from-room (or much better - work-from-pool-deck) is being engineered for. And no one will know until the first reviews start coming in. And definitely not an easy fix at sea unless planned for in advance.
• Starlink needs to be authorized per-country. Many nations have not been authorized. I'm not concerned about the middle of the Atlantic or Pacific (ocean, land, all the same to a satellite). I am concerned about port days in China. Or weeks sailing the African coast. I'm not familiar enough with their maritime offering to know all the rules; perhaps days-at-sea (12-mile rule? 24? 200?) won't be an issue. And maybe all-but-China get authorized over the next 12 months?

[Biker19]

8 minutes ago, WorldCruiseForMe said:

Starlink needs to be authorized per-country.

Unlikely to be the case for maritime for a cruise ship. We have no idea how many sat receivers they plan to install (unlikely to be just one- RCI ships have at least 4 and up 12 per ship). Not sure going down this rabbit hole is useful when the cruise itself may be doubtful. 

[WorldCruiseForMe]

4 hours ago, time4u2go said:

According to this website https://www.lifeatseacruises.com/faq/are-there-any-sit-down-restaurants, it's not just buffets.

The one review of the ship on a sea cruise a couple years ago suggested that the main (and only one of two I think?) restaurant was set up as a larger buffet, not table service. Whether that applies to the refurbished ship on the 3-year cruise is unknown...but as John said the FAQ didn't inspire confidence in there being multiple specialty restaurants offering fine dining. Nothing mentioned in the refurb info about additional restaurants.

 

If I was booking today, I'd assume the open-air "Lida" buffet and the more traditional open seating "Dining Room" with a higher-end buffet offering. Then hope to be pleasantly surprised once on-board. Definitely not expecting a Johnny Rockets to grab a milkshake, or a separate steakhouse for intimate dining - the deck plans show just the two restaurants, and a couple of bars/lounges. Again...subject to change I'd suspect.

[WorldCruiseForMe]

5 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Unlikely to be the case for maritime for a cruise ship. We have no idea how many sat receivers they plan to install (unlikely to be just one- RCI ships have at least 4 and up 12 per ship). Not sure going down this rabbit hole is useful when the cruise itself may be doubtful. 

Very likely to be the same for a cruise ship as an individual subscriber, since telecom is heavily regulated (and often very tightly controlled with serious punishment) on a per nation basis. How far that control extends into the sea (12/24/200 miles) I don't know. Just as you can't gamble on a cruise ship while in port in Qatar, you won't get Starlink while in port in Shanghai. Other places...I don't know. I'm guessing Starlink has such high authorization in Caribbean countries precisely to support cruise companies?

If anyone has sailed the Eastern Caribbean w/ Starlink on board I'd love to hear your experience. Although most RCI ports appear to have Starlink authorized - it's St. Lucia or Antigua or Barbados that would be instructive.

FWIW: 71% of days on the current LifeatSea itinerary are in port. With plenty of 10PM departures listed.

[Biker19]

2 hours ago, WorldCruiseForMe said:

Very likely to be the same for a cruise ship as an individual subscriber

Maritime subs are likely to be very different from an individual sub.