Hotspot for wifi

[Annesharlie]

Hi…my husband and I are looking forward to our first cruise. Trans Atlantic on the Oosterdam.  If he buys wifi  can he hotspot his phone so I could get online at the same time? 
 

thanks

Anne

[CurlerRob]

22 minutes ago, Annesharlie said:

Hi…my husband and I are looking forward to our first cruise. Trans Atlantic on the Oosterdam.  If he buys wifi  can he hotspot his phone so I could get online at the same time? 
 

thanks

Anne

 

No. The type of hotspot you appear to be referring to is created when a phone connects to the internet through the cellular data network, then shares access to that connection to other devices.

 

If he buys an internet logon (accessed through wifi), it will be restricted to one user at a time. You can purchase separate connections if you need to both be online at the same time.

 

Two other points - at sea, you will find that the ship has a cellular network - one of them is called "Cellular at Sea". Unless you are independently wealthy, don't use it for connectivity - it's extremely expensive and most cell plans don't allow roaming on it (esp. Canadian ones). Secondly, "wifi" is just the way a device connects to the internet - it's not the internet service itself. You'll find that wifi is available on the ship for connection via the Navigator app to selected services, even if you don't pay for an external internet hook. 🍺🥌

[YourWorldWithBill]

35 minutes ago, Annesharlie said:

Hi…my husband and I are looking forward to our first cruise. Trans Atlantic on the Oosterdam.  If he buys wifi  can he hotspot his phone so I could get online at the same time? 
 

thanks

Anne

If he buys wi-fi, after you get onboard you can probably add another connection or three for a fairly decent price.

[Annesharlie]

Thanks for the information. So I am assuming a portable wireless router in the cabin won't work either? We do not want to have to pay for 2 WiFi logins if there is a way we could share. 

[Crew News]

When you first login to your Navigator app internet connection on board, you will be offered adding three additional connections for just $10 for the bundle.  This is a big savings from purchasing two separate accounts. 

[Crew News]

4 minutes ago, Annesharlie said:

Thanks for the information. So I am assuming a portable wireless router in the cabin won't work either? We do not want to have to pay for 2 WiFi logins if there is a way we could share. 

You can share the same account but only one connection at a time is possible.  The person trying to login has the option of booting the one currently connected without their knowledge/permission.

Edited March 18, 2023 by Crew News

[CurlerRob]

26 minutes ago, Annesharlie said:

So I am assuming a portable wireless router in the cabin won't work either? 

 

Many have tried, on multiple cruise lines, but I've not seen any success. The issue is what do you connect your router to? The various ethernet cables in the cabin are either not easily accessible or transmission is blocked. I'd be happy to learn otherwise ... 🍺🥌

[firsttimer1971]

What you would need is a portable wireless router that supports WISP.

Then you should be able to connect to WiFi and create a hotspot for additional devices.

I haven't tried it out myself yet but recently bought a portable wireless router with WISP and will be trying it out later this year on our first cruise. 

 

Just as an example, I bought this one:
https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Wireless-Travel-Router-TL-WR902AC/dp/B01N5RCZQH/

[VMax1700]

I vaguely remember a post some years ago by @POA1 which explain how he connected a wireless router and was able to use it for two devices simultaneously.

Maybe he kept the his instruction manual filed somewhere?  Though at $10 to connect a second device, I don't think I would bother with the router.

[0106]

FYI-I did a transatlantic on the Oosterdam in November.  The internet barely worked during the crossing.  Best time was very early in the morning but still unable to send photos.  Streaming and video calls were impossible.  Even the officers were joking about it.  I stayed connected by sending brief iMessages before I went to sleep.  I keep hearing about Star Link but I have no idea if HAL has stated connecting their ships.

[Annesharlie]

13 hours ago, Crew News said:

When you first login to your Navigator app internet connection on board, you will be offered adding three additional connections for just $10 for the bundle.  This is a big savings from purchasing two separate accounts. 

Is this $0 per day or a one time charge?

[Annesharlie]

Just now, Annesharlie said:

Is this $0 per day or a one time charge?

$10

[Crew News]

54 minutes ago, Annesharlie said:

$10

$10 per day for the days remaining on your cruise and billed in a lump sum.  So, if you wait until your last two days, the charge would be $20.

[firsttimer1971]

8 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

Though at $10 to connect a second device, I don't think I would bother with the router.

 

Apparently it is $10 per day, depending on the length of the cruise a $40 router would be (a lot) cheaper. 

[YourWorldWithBill]

Repeating what 0106 said: on our Alaska cruise in September internet was worse than spotty, and we were in a Neptune suite. There were a couple of areas onboard with decent connections, but never strong in our room.

[CurlerRob]

18 hours ago, firsttimer1971 said:

What you would need is a portable wireless router that supports WISP.

Then you should be able to connect to WiFi and create a hotspot for additional devices.

I haven't tried it out myself yet but recently bought a portable wireless router with WISP and will be trying it out later this year on our first cruise. 

 

Just as an example, I bought this one:
https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Wireless-Travel-Router-TL-WR902AC/dp/B01N5RCZQH/

 

Clever little device - but it appears that in order to set up the hotspot, you will need to know the password for the ship's WiFi network - which is different than the login credentials one uses if you purchase internet and access it via Navigator. That info might be hard to come by.

 

Please let us know how it works out when you have tried it ... Bedankt. 🍺🥌

 

 

[The-Inside-Cabin]

On 3/18/2023 at 2:12 AM, Annesharlie said:

Hi…my husband and I are looking forward to our first cruise. Trans Atlantic on the Oosterdam.  If he buys wifi  can he hotspot his phone so I could get online at the same time? 
 

thanks

Anne

You can easily create a local hotspot with a laptop and windows 10 or 11.  This works very well in your cabin.   I used to use a travel router, which will also work, but not as well or is as easy to set up.   Go to your local Starbucks and experiment.   The process will be similar once onboard.

Edited March 19, 2023 by The-Inside-Cabin

[firsttimer1971]

5 hours ago, CurlerRob said:

 

Clever little device - but it appears that in order to set up the hotspot, you will need to know the password for the ship's WiFi network - which is different than the login credentials one uses if you purchase internet and access it via Navigator. That info might be hard to come by.

 

Please let us know how it works out when you have tried it ... Bedankt. 🍺🥌

 

I am not yet sure if it will work but I read several people using this device, some also on cruise ships. 

For example from a Royal Caribbean forum:

"I have a TP-Link AC750 TL-WR902AC which I use when I am on a ship. It basically takes the Royal-wifi hotspot and and creates a wireless network with your cabin. 

It is easy to setup, you set a switch on the side of the device to hotspot mode and then connect to router, usually by address entered into a browser. There is a quick setup where you search for the available wifi connections and connect to one. You can also setup the wifi network name you want your devices to connect to." 

It does mean of course that once you leave your cabin and connect your phone to the ships' wifi, the router will be disconnected. I'll probably end up paying for premium internet and multiple devices but I just like to try these things out.
 

I will let you know how (and if) it works on HAL once I have tried it out. 

[CruisinNana]

On 3/18/2023 at 3:54 AM, firsttimer1971 said:

What you would need is a portable wireless router that supports WISP.

Then you should be able to connect to WiFi and create a hotspot for additional devices.

I haven't tried it out myself yet but recently bought a portable wireless router with WISP and will be trying it out later this year on our first cruise. 

 

Just as an example, I bought this one:
https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Wireless-Travel-Router-TL-WR902AC/dp/B01N5RCZQH/

Please describe how to connect this gizmo to ship internet that has been paid for. I would like to use my iPhone and iPad at the same time on one paid for internet connection. Thank you. 

[Annesharlie]

10 hours ago, CurlerRob said:

 

Clever little device - but it appears that in order to set up the hotspot, you will need to know the password for the ship's WiFi network - which is different than the login credentials one uses if you purchase internet and access it via Navigator. That info might be hard to come by.

 

Please let us know how it works out when you have tried it ... Bedankt. 🍺🥌

 

 

I think you know a lot more than we do! We'll just go one at a time, if we decide to get wifi at all. Thanks! 

 

[firsttimer1971]

3 hours ago, CruisinNana said:

Please describe how to connect this gizmo to ship internet that has been paid for. I would like to use my iPhone and iPad at the same time on one paid for internet connection. Thank you. 

 

I haven't tried it out myself yet, but I know it can be made to work on cruise ships. The problem is that it might require some technical knowledge and adjusting settings so I can't describe at this moment how to connect it to the ship's internet. Using a travel router has some limitations and is only an option if you know what you are doing, else paying $10 for multiple devices might be the best option.

[cruisn71]

Depending on the capabilities of your phone, you may be able to share the internet with a hotspot.  I have a Galaxy S21+ and it allows me to share a wifi connection via hotspot.  It cannot be in airplane mode.  I have done this on several HAL cruises.  My partner just connects to my hotspot network.

[Annesharlie]

1 hour ago, cruisn71 said:

Depending on the capabilities of your phone, you may be able to share the internet with a hotspot.  I have a Galaxy S21+ and it allows me to share a wifi connection via hotspot.  It cannot be in airplane mode.  I have done this on several HAL cruises.  My partner just connects to my hotspot network.

Thanks.. Good to know. We will give it a try. I thought they may somehow block that kind of sharing. 

 

[IPB4IGO]

On 3/17/2023 at 6:12 PM, Annesharlie said:

Hi…my husband and I are looking forward to our first cruise. Trans Atlantic on the Oosterdam.  If he buys wifi  can he hotspot his phone so I could get online at the same time? 
 

thanks

Anne

To use up Covid-releated Future Cruise Credits, we took four HAL cruises last year. On every ship I was able to the the hotspot feature of my phone and the hotspot feature of Windows 11 to share the ship's Internet connection. Easy-peasy, no technical skill required.

In the past I have used a travel router for the same purpose. No ethernet connection required. Plug the router into power, connect with the router through your computer and tell the router to connect with the ship's Wi-Fi. Since the hotspot function has been included with Windows and with Android on the phones, I have had no need for the router.

[Annesharlie]

1 hour ago, IPB4IGO said:

To use up Covid-releated Future Cruise Credits, we took four HAL cruises last year. On every ship I was able to the the hotspot feature of my phone and the hotspot feature of Windows 11 to share the ship's Internet connection. Easy-peasy, no technical skill required.

In the past I have used a travel router for the same purpose. No ethernet connection required. Plug the router into power, connect with the router through your computer and tell the router to connect with the ship's Wi-Fi. Since the hotspot function has been included with Windows and with Android on the phones, I have had no need for the router.

Thanks so much. It will definitely help to use a hotspot