Voom streaming internet: In your stateroom-Will a Travel Router on a Symphony of the seas cruise have connectivity?

[steveru621]

17 minutes ago, Pinballs83 said:

I think you are just being stubborn at this point. 😉 I am literally on the ship doing it on wifi to wifi hotspot ... and trying to argue about it doesn't exist.  Oh well, this is pointless.  Time for trivia.

Google "what is the difference between tetherhing and mobile hotspot".  Basically mobile hotspot is like a wireless access point.

 

"

In hotspot, your mobile phone acts just like your WiFi router and people can connect to it and access internet using your mobile or wifi data.

In tethering, a phone's data is shared to other devices but through different means like bluetooth or a USB wire. If it's Bluetooth, then it's called Bluetooth tethering. If it's USB, it's called USB Tethering. They fall under Tethering, which is a general term.

They both are really similar but a few notable differences are that, tethering is more secure as compared to hotspot and it can be used for different things as well like sharing files between devices. You must have heard of Shareit, which is a popular file sharing app for smartphones in which two devices are connected and then the file is shared from one device to another. In this process, the sender device's location, Bluetooth and mobile data has to be turned on. This is a form of tethering."

 

So I agree with you and I'm stubborn? Safe travels.

[twangster]

Back on Radiance in a different cabin and my TP Link TL-WR902AC (AC750) continues to work.  While it did slow me down compared to direct I'm still getting ~30 Mbps down and 22 Mbps up.  Direct I was getting 129 Mbps down.

 

For this trip I installed OpenWRT on the 902.

 

Radiance uses 20 Mhz channels and in this cabin I don't have great proximity to the access point in the hall.  I've been seeing between -65 dBm and -79 dBm signal strength.

 

My primary reason for using the 902 is because I brought a Roku with me this time.  It works great at the 30Mbps speed.  The issue I'm having is that Radiance switches to Mexico City Starlink gateway just as we near Cuba heading South.  That messes up the ESPN app on Roku which sees me as being in Mexico.  My secondary reason for using a travel router is so that I can use my phone from the bed deep in the cabin far away from the access point in the hall.

 

The TP Link TL-WR902AC is a 8/64 device and running the latest versions of OpenWRT is pushing it.  With so little flash space available installing a VPN package is out of the question. While once great, the 902 is now old and outdated.

 

I've ordered a GL NET Beryl AX which as a modern device has a lot more CPU, memory and flash space for running VPN packages on the router itself.  It also features a WiFi6 radio.  By using a VPN capable router I can have the Roku appear to be in the US so apps like ESPN and others will continue to function around the world from hotel rooms or ship.

 

For my last Radiance trip a few weeks ago I had a friend on Mariner with the same itinerary so we compared Starlink notes.  Mariner uses South Florida Starlink gateways and remained on South Florida even when she was in Cozumel and Costa Maya.  It seems the Starlink gateways used varies by ship, I'm assuming so that no particular gateway city is overloaded by dozens of cruise ships with tens of thousands of combined passengers.  Royal isn't the only cruise line using Starlink so from Starlink's perspective they have many ships in play and with Florida being the cruise ship capital of the world there will be many ships connected just about all the time.

 

The Beryl AX runs OpenWRT out of the box so I'm expecting it will function just like the 902 running OpenWRT does.  With much better hardware resources the Beryl AX should work much better.

 

On a side note, I also brought my trusty but old RavPower WD03 travel router.  It is strictly a 2.4G device based on the Hootoo platform.  It worked fine but with slower throughput.  Back in the days of 4 down and 2 up that wasn't an issue.  I was getting around 6 Mbps down and 10 Mbps up using the WD03 this time.   

 

One last thing.  In April while on Radiance I noted that all the access points in an area of the ship were all set to use the same channel.  This is not how it is supposed to be configured and it caused huge performance issues.  I'm happy to report they have reconfigured the channel assignments.  Now the access points in a particular area of the ship are using different channels and they are not interfering with each other.   While they haven't upgraded Radiance to Cisco access point like I was led to believe they would, the WiFi5 based platform is working fine for Starlink except in high density areas.

[twangster]

Beryl AX update:

 

Very capable device but the software is a little buggy.  It runs OpenWRT but the wireless uses a special firmware so they warn you not to use Luci or the CLI to modify any networking settings.  As long as you do everything in their GUI it works.  If you do anything in Luci it breaks the wifi.  

 

That's a bit of a let down for me as there are other OpenWRT configurations I use.  I did get one VPN tunnel mapped to an SSID working on it.

 

The Beryl AX is larger than the 902AC but not so much that it's a problem.  

 

I've been playing with some older Linksys Velops home mesh wifi routers and OpenWRT.  They are a little larger than the Beryl AX but they were free so that may be my new go to travel router.  They are WiFi5 and I'm getting speeds between 500-800 Mbps at home.  

 

OpenWRT let's many consumer grade wifi routers connect to a wifi connection and then you have the full suite of OpenWRT features available.  For anyone that is a network geek and isn't afraid of Linux it's a pretty feature rich platform.

 

My second experience on Radiance was pretty good with Starlink speeds usually around 90-120 Mbps down.  The old 902AC brought that down to around 30Mbps which isn't terrible considering they are capping some ship Voom connections at 9 Mbps down.  

 

 

[Debgra6057]

Can somebody please tell me, are the Vroom Wifi packages on RCL for Unlimited use?

[Biker19]

5 hours ago, Debgra6057 said:

Can somebody please tell me, are the Voom Wifi packages on RCL for Unlimited use?

Yes, no data limits on the package. There's a device limit - you can only connect concurrently the number of devices of your package (one device package, one device at a time - unlimited number of devices).

[steveru621]

On 12/2/2023 at 6:55 AM, twangster said:

Back on Radiance in a different cabin and my TP Link TL-WR902AC (AC750) continues to work.  While it did slow me down compared to direct I'm still getting ~30 Mbps down and 22 Mbps up.  Direct I was getting 129 Mbps down.

 

For this trip I installed OpenWRT on the 902.

 

Radiance uses 20 Mhz channels and in this cabin I don't have great proximity to the access point in the hall.  I've been seeing between -65 dBm and -79 dBm signal strength.

 

My primary reason for using the 902 is because I brought a Roku with me this time.  It works great at the 30Mbps speed.  The issue I'm having is that Radiance switches to Mexico City Starlink gateway just as we near Cuba heading South.  That messes up the ESPN app on Roku which sees me as being in Mexico.  My secondary reason for using a travel router is so that I can use my phone from the bed deep in the cabin far away from the access point in the hall.

 

The TP Link TL-WR902AC is a 8/64 device and running the latest versions of OpenWRT is pushing it.  With so little flash space available installing a VPN package is out of the question. While once great, the 902 is now old and outdated.

 

I've ordered a GL NET Beryl AX which as a modern device has a lot more CPU, memory and flash space for running VPN packages on the router itself.  It also features a WiFi6 radio.  By using a VPN capable router I can have the Roku appear to be in the US so apps like ESPN and others will continue to function around the world from hotel rooms or ship.

 

For my last Radiance trip a few weeks ago I had a friend on Mariner with the same itinerary so we compared Starlink notes.  Mariner uses South Florida Starlink gateways and remained on South Florida even when she was in Cozumel and Costa Maya.  It seems the Starlink gateways used varies by ship, I'm assuming so that no particular gateway city is overloaded by dozens of cruise ships with tens of thousands of combined passengers.  Royal isn't the only cruise line using Starlink so from Starlink's perspective they have many ships in play and with Florida being the cruise ship capital of the world there will be many ships connected just about all the time.

 

The Beryl AX runs OpenWRT out of the box so I'm expecting it will function just like the 902 running OpenWRT does.  With much better hardware resources the Beryl AX should work much better.

 

On a side note, I also brought my trusty but old RavPower WD03 travel router.  It is strictly a 2.4G device based on the Hootoo platform.  It worked fine but with slower throughput.  Back in the days of 4 down and 2 up that wasn't an issue.  I was getting around 6 Mbps down and 10 Mbps up using the WD03 this time.   

 

One last thing.  In April while on Radiance I noted that all the access points in an area of the ship were all set to use the same channel.  This is not how it is supposed to be configured and it caused huge performance issues.  I'm happy to report they have reconfigured the channel assignments.  Now the access points in a particular area of the ship are using different channels and they are not interfering with each other.   While they haven't upgraded Radiance to Cisco access point like I was led to believe they would, the WiFi5 based platform is working fine for Starlink except in high density areas.

Thank you for the information.

 

Brings some sanity to the Starlink vs. router access points.

 

I use WIN 11 Wifi on my 14" laptop because I like to have an actual screen and a PC with all my passwords.

[snoopycr]

On 12/12/2023 at 4:25 PM, twangster said:

Beryl AX update:

 

Hello there

 

Which cheap travel router would you recommend? the gl.inet opal or linksys ac750? I want a small router that I can put in a backpack with a power bank on royal Caribbean

 

Thanks!

[twangster]

1 hour ago, snoopycr said:

 

Hello there

 

Which cheap travel router would you recommend? the gl.inet opal or linksys ac750? I want a small router that I can put in a backpack with a power bank on royal Caribbean

 

Thanks!

 

You should be aware I didn't have great success on Mariner recently.  I'm hesitant to make a recommendation because I don't know if one will work well on any given ship.

[ah33919]

I went on the Quantum last August to Alaska. I had 2 balcony rooms next to each other, 2 device plan. 2, 902AC's.  Everything ran great. I brought an Onn Google TV box ($19) and a firestick for the room next door. The Onn box worked flawlessly but the Firestick was sluggish. I used a cheap IPTV service for my channels which included my local channels at home. (No need for a VPN). The 902AC had a tough time sending a signal to the room next door (metal walls). When we would venture out of the cabin, I would take one of the 902AC's in a Crown Royal bag connected to a small power bank (Again, everything worked great). Everyone already had the specific ssid/password from the 902's saved on their phones. I did have to reconnect to the new BSSID through the GUI when we did that. I'm going on the Icon in March (2 balcony cabins) and I was thinking of adding a small but powerful wifi extender to the ethernet port of the 902AC to see if it would help reaching the cabin next door. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

[Jialat]

On 2/2/2024 at 7:41 PM, ah33919 said:

The 902AC had a tough time sending a signal to the room next door (metal walls)

Hello, could the devices next door pick up the WiFi signal at all from the TL-WRAC902 in your cabin?

[ah33919]

Yes they could but it had to be pretty close to the wall of the next room and the signal was diminished significantly.

[RogueMonk]

Newbie question -- how does a travel router get through the ship login information? Is there a step-by-step guide anywhere for first timers? Thanks.

[ah33919]

There are videos posted online on how to do this. I really don't want to post a step by step on this forum.

 

[Biker19]

1 hour ago, RogueMonk said:

how does a travel router get through the ship login information?

The same way you do - it usually needs to have a browser based login capability. 

[hova]

On 11/12/2023 at 1:25 PM, Happytime22 said:

I have always used a wireless travel Router at Hotels (TP-Link AC750 Travel Router) as I do not like being ‘open’ on wireless connections.

I read somewhere that many ships, even with Starlink, had very poor connectivity in your stateroom? 

I’m will be more aft on the 12^th floor on Symphony and want to make sure that I actually would get connectivity without a problem… as I do most of my on-line work in my cabin and if the connection is bad… would not buy the daily package.

 

Anyone have experiences?

Three months ago during the Symphony TA, I successfully used the TP Link AC 750 in our cabin which coincidentally was on deck 12 Aft.  No issues at all, and we were able to hook multiple devices up to it while in our cabin.  Speed was good, and easy to connect once you configure it to ship wifi.  

[Happytime22]

Thanks HOVA!

[ah33919]

10 hours ago, Biker19 said:

The same way you do - it usually needs to have a browser based login capability. 

Once you connect the travel router to the ships wifi (no credentials needed), then you connect your device (i.e. iPhone) to the travel routers hotpot. Once connected, then safari will pop up asking for RC login credentials for access to internet. The 1 device that RC sees is the travel router, not the multiple devices that can connect to the travel router.

[RogueMonk]

Thanks, all.

Is this what I am looking for? TP-Link AC750 Wireless Portable Nano Travel Router

I don't need super speed. Just something easy and reliable.

[ah33919]

3 hours ago, RogueMonk said:

Thanks, all.

Is this what I am looking for? TP-Link AC750 Wireless Portable Nano Travel Router

I don't need super speed. Just something easy and reliable.

yes

[twangster]

Liberty working well.

 

Better Starlink speeds compared to Oasis class as well.  

[ah33919]

1 hour ago, twangster said:

Liberty working well.

 

Better Starlink speeds compared to Oasis class as well.  

Thanks

I'll be on Icon on Sat....gonna play with the GL.iNet GL-MT3000 and the AC750.

[rustycruzr]

On 3/14/2024 at 3:17 PM, ah33919 said:

Thanks

I'll be on Icon on Sat....gonna play with the GL.iNet GL-MT3000 and the AC750.

 

@ah33919Was following this thread with great interest as I picked up the MT 3000 a few days ago. I've been plodding my way through the set up process.

 

As you are on the Icon tomorrow with the MT3000 in tow, will be interested in your impressions of it if its not too much trouble...hopefully you'll post them at some point when you return.

 

Thanks and enjoy your cruise...

[ah33919]

So

I’ve been on the Icon since Saturday. The TP Link AC750 has been working flawlessly. I was getting 9-11 Mbps connecting directly to the ships WiFi with my phone and I’m getting pretty close to the same through the AC750. I have 2 connecting balconies but the signal it struggling to get though the metal walls so I placed an additional AC750 outside between our 2 balconies hanging from a strong magnetic hook in a Crown Royal bag powered by a small power bank (which lasts all day). Now both cabins are getting internet. I’ve got a Google Tv ONN box connected to 1 tv, and a firestick in the other cabin. I’m using my Directv streaming account to watch everything including my locals from home. I needed a VPN (Surfshark) when we sailed further from the US. The ship automatically boots Wireguard protocol so I changed it to IKEv2 and it works flawlessly. 
I also tried the MT 3000 and it connected for about an hour the it would disconnect itself. While connected, I got the 9-11 Mbps but it kept disconnecting so I just stuck with the AC750.

[jean87510]

2 hours ago, ah33919 said:

So

I’ve been on the Icon since Saturday. The TP Link AC750 has been working flawlessly. I was getting 9-11 Mbps connecting directly to the ships WiFi with my phone and I’m getting pretty close to the same through the AC750. I have 2 connecting balconies but the signal it struggling to get though the metal walls so I placed an additional AC750 outside between our 2 balconies hanging from a strong magnetic hook in a Crown Royal bag powered by a small power bank (which lasts all day). Now both cabins are getting internet. I’ve got a Google Tv ONN box connected to 1 tv, and a firestick in the other cabin. I’m using my Directv streaming account to watch everything including my locals from home. I needed a VPN (Surfshark) when we sailed further from the US. The ship automatically boots Wireguard protocol so I changed it to IKEv2 and it works flawlessly. 
I also tried the MT 3000 and it connected for about an hour the it would disconnect itself. While connected, I got the 9-11 Mbps but it kept disconnecting so I just stuck with the AC750.

We once put ours in the hallway for the cruise when we were in our cabin for the night the entire cruise.  No, I don't recommend this even though the speed was fantastic.  My husband did it.  I was the worrywart saying I don't think this is a good idea.  We also did what you have here for adjoining cabins on Carnival.

[rustycruzr]

5 hours ago, ah33919 said:

I also tried the MT 3000 and it connected for about an hour the it would disconnect itself.

Thanks for your comments on the MT 3000.

 

Which firmware do you have? The current is 4.5.0. released in late January.

 

Apparently some of the prior releases had issues which could result in disconnects...