Starlink is amazing! 🤩

[johnnyswitzerland]

Onboard ms Nieuw Amsterdam and internet is as good as shoreside.  I am impressed.  For those who work remotely maybe it's time to consider permacruise…

[Moriah]

This is great news - I'm going to board NS in a couple of weeks and it will be my first cruise with Starlink.  I'm really looking forward to it.  I just wish wifi on board wasn't so expensive...

[Crew News]

Aboard the Eurodam, premium plan, measured 107/10 in aft stateroom.

[POA1]

Yes. It's pretty impressive. It's a bit more asynchronous than home, with the down speed much higher than the up speed. All things considered, it worked really well. (Nieuw Statendam, mid December 2023.)

[Laminator]

And HAL is now offering new more expensive internet plans due to Starlink!

[RynoWally]

2 hours ago, johnnyswitzerland said:

Onboard ms Nieuw Amsterdam and internet is as good as shoreside.  I am impressed.  For those who work remotely maybe it's time to consider permacruise…

Curious, seems like there are different plans now than when we were in Alaska last Summer. My wife does alot of video calls for work, which worked fine on the higher end program they had last summer. Seems from the wording on the package that the lower end would work for this now. Do you have the Premium or Streaming package that you are using, If Premium are you using it for video calls?

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Ryan

[Heidi13]

3 hours ago, johnnyswitzerland said:

Onboard ms Nieuw Amsterdam and internet is as good as shoreside.  I am impressed.  For those who work remotely maybe it's time to consider permacruise…

 

When dealing with Starlink, other ships may not be consistent, as the speed is dependent on how many satellites are visible and at an acceptable elevation, and the amount of traffic the ship is generating. If close to shore or in port, you also share the bandwidth with shore users.

 

Those speeds are also a fraction of our shoreside speed, as we attain about 700 mbps download and 100 mbps upload. The ping, or transmit time is also slow, as our normal is 10.

[johnnyswitzerland]

1 hour ago, RynoWally said:

Do you have the Premium or Streaming package that you are using, If Premium are you using it for video calls?

@RynoWally I just have the “surf” plan that was included in HIA.

[OlsSalt]

Leave all your devices at home: $-0-

Send post cards.

 

( Duck, incoming imploding heads.)

[Ottawa traveller]

I was on the Westerdam twice last year in Japan and Southern Asia. I worked extremely well in Japan and very well in Indonesia.  I just came home from the Antarctca cruise on the Oosterdam. At times it was non-existent and very slow most of the rest of the time. As Heidi13 said it is entirely dependent on where you are.

[OlsSalt]

July 2022:  (Yahoo News) Thousands more Starlink satellites will be launched into orbit before the network is complete, with each new batch bolstering speed and reliability of the broadband service.

[OlsSalt]

Watch SpaceX Starlink launches in real time:  https://www.spacex.com

Quite amazing, and we see their streaks across the sky from our back deck.

[*Miss G*]

It’s amazing how far technology has come in our lifetimes.

[OlsSalt]

28 minutes ago, *Miss G* said:

It’s amazing how far technology has come in our lifetimes.

 

Amazing also how quickly the Age of Information morphed into the Age of Disinformation. Times of transition are historically unsettling. One can only speculate what history will ultimately conclude about this revolutionary  era - on the cusps of the 20th and 21st Centuries. 

 

First computer - a Kaypro "portable" in 1987. Non cell phone user - 2023.

[*Miss G*]

12 minutes ago, OlsSalt said:

Amazing also how quickly the Age of Information morphed into the Age of Disinformation

 

SO true.

 

13 minutes ago, OlsSalt said:

First computer - a Kaypro "portable" in 1987. Non cell phone user - 2023.

 

Mine was the Commodore 64.  Had to learn programming to use that one.  I recall a College class where we were required to use the Commodore PET.  That thing would have had better purpose as an anchor.

 

I love my iPhone!  It takes really high quality pictures.  I also love that I can plug it into a port in my car et, voila!, it’s now an interactive part of my vehicle.  That’s pretty awesome when you have long road trips.  On cruises, however, it’s my camera.

[OlsSalt]

iPhones do produce amazing photos. 

[crystalspin]

4 hours ago, RynoWally said:

Do you have the Premium or Streaming package that you are using, If Premium are you using it for video calls?

Thanks in advance,

Ryan

It appears they are using "Streaming" as the name for the new level, even though video-audio streaming was already included in the "Premium" level. Hulu/PrimeVideo/Netflix were NOT included in either Surf or Premium, and I'm assuming that is what you get for the new Streaming level.

 

The "Ship Life/Wifi Plans" page is not updated yet, although the two boxes for Surf and Premium have been slid left leaving room for the new level!

 

But thanks to this thread, I am reminded that my husband will have to upgrade his Surf (came with HIA) to Premium to join Zoom calls.

[RynoWally]

12 minutes ago, crystalspin said:

It appears they are using "Streaming" as the name for the new level, even though video-audio streaming was already included in the "Premium" level. Hulu/PrimeVideo/Netflix were NOT included in either Surf or Premium, and I'm assuming that is what you get for the new Streaming level.

 

The "Ship Life/Wifi Plans" page is not updated yet, although the two boxes for Surf and Premium have been slid left leaving room for the new level!

 

But thanks to this thread, I am reminded that my husband will have to upgrade his Surf (came with HIA) to Premium to join Zoom calls.

Surf was available (we never putchased) when we went to Alaska, but for this cruise there is only Premium and Streaming available for precruise purchase. Given that my wife only uses it for video calls, I'm sure the Premium will be enough. 

[crystalspin]

4 minutes ago, RynoWally said:

for this cruise there is only Premium and Streaming available for precruise purchase. Given that my wife only uses it for video calls, I'm sure the Premium will be enough. 

IME, the Surf (and before that Surf & Social) were never available for pre-purchase, but the Premium at 20% off was barely more than Surf on board. (But couldn't buy with OBC pre-sailing.)

[Heidi13]

2 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

 

Amazing also how quickly the Age of Information morphed into the Age of Disinformation. Times of transition are historically unsettling. One can only speculate what history will ultimately conclude about this revolutionary  era - on the cusps of the 20th and 21st Centuries. 

 

First computer - a Kaypro "portable" in 1987. Non cell phone user - 2023.

 

Also a non-cell phone user.

 

First computer was a Sinclair ZX81 in 1982. Came with 2K memory and you had to write everything in Basic, saving any programs written to a cassette tape.

[Haljo1935]

7 hours ago, RynoWally said:

...Do you have the Premium or Streaming package that you are using, If Premium are you using it for video calls?

I used the Premium on NS (Nov Dec) and K'dam (Dec Jan) for video calls.

Edited February 4 by Haljo1935
Typo

[VMax1700]

13 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

First computer was a Sinclair ZX81 in 1982. Came with 2K memory and you had to write everything in Basic, saving any programs written to a cassette tape.

Mine was the ZX80 until it self ignited! 

Then Dragon 32.  Such a giant technological jump.

[Mary229]

19 hours ago, Ottawa traveller said:

I was on the Westerdam twice last year in Japan and Southern Asia. I worked extremely well in Japan and very well in Indonesia.  I just came home from the Antarctca cruise on the Oosterdam. At times it was non-existent and very slow most of the rest of the time. As Heidi13 said it is entirely dependent on where you are.

I was on the 10th floor of that cruise. As you might imagine my speed was blazing fast.  I videoed tai chi and had full Apple Music at will.  Remote workers are well advised to grab  those rooms in the future 

Edited February 5 by Mary229

[WriterOnDeck]

I agree that StarLink is a huge improvement (spent 10 months on HAL ships in 2023, 7 pre-Starlink).

 

If you want to work or play from your cabin, just keep in mind that the signal may be poor at your desk. I found that on the Zaandam, (perhaps the magnetic walls played a role). I had a router just outside my cabin, but hardly any signal inside. It isn't always easy to find a place to work in the public areas, and your fellow passengers will not appreciate you zooming or calling from those areas.

 

All that said, it's much better than in 2011, where I recall that I paid $250 for 1,000 minutes of VERY slow service. Popped on briefly to get email assignments, logged off to work, then back on to submit work. I think I went through 3,000 minutes on a 45-day cruise.

[spkack]

Add my approval to the list.  Just returned from the Eurodam and internet connectivity was light years ahead of where it was previously.  Thank you HAL!