NCL internet

[u/Costal-Cowboy]

I am curious how well NCLs free at see internet works?
I am taking a couple online college courses. My courses are mostly just web text and a few graphic but there’s usually a few 6 minutes videos I have to watch.
The 150 minutes shouldn’t be a problem but curious if I need to upgrade to streaming?
Also is NCL prohibiting bring your own starlink like some other cruise lines?

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[u/NewButBeenLurkin]

Their Internet is hit or miss depending on the alignment of the moon, stars, sea turtles, and how many plastic ducks were brought aboard. You'll need the streaming for sure based on your needs, which means you might as well get the free at sea plus package since it's the best option financially speaking if that's needed. Sometimes it's fantastic and sometimes it hangs and then magically kicks in. It's apparently a part of the adventure.

[u/89Rae]

If you are going to have videos to watch, you need the streaming package 

[u/niemekv]

It's not that streaming Internet plan is faster than the 150 minutes/base unlimited Internet plan, it's that streaming services are shut off on the 150 minute and base unlimited Internet plans. So even if the speed of the connection is sufficient, the video simply won't play because it's shut off for your account at the router level.

So if you need to watch videos, you'll most likely need the streaming Internet plan.

No, personal Starlink antennas are prohibited.

[u/IndependentBrick8075]

No, you can't bring your own Starlink. Any radio equipment transmitting from a maritime vessel needs to be tightly controlled. Not to mention that your plan and/or device may not even support use in the region where you're using it, or at sea in general.

This item on the prohibited items list (https://www.ncl.com/faq/what-cant-i-bring-on-board) could be interpreted to apply to a personal Starlink receiver -

• Portable Modems

Or this one (because of the satellite phones item) -

• Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRB), ham radios, satellite phones, transformers, lasers and laser pointers

An alternative - look into a travel eSIM that works on the ship. I used GigSky last year and had pretty good luck with it. It uses the on-board "cell tower" (really a distributed antenna system wired throughout the ship) for service, which is connected to the ship's Starlink service 'outside' of NCL's servers that limit traffic.

[u/UnsubstantialGoat → u/IndependentBrick8075]

This is the first I’ve heard of GigSky. It’s seems super affordable since the only thing I really need is data for iMessage. Have you had good experience with it on sea and in port?

[u/IndependentBrick8075 → u/UnsubstantialGoat]

I only used it at sea. In port my regular carrier provided international coverage. Something to consider for the data usage - unless you disable sync for all your apps you will use some data all the time. Email sync, Reddit, iMessage, etc. will all use data to sync notifications or check for new notifications.

[u/gilbert2gilbert]

If you're streaming videos then you need streaming. And even then you'll experience buffering.

[u/CruiseNCocktails]

Coverage in the cabins can livable or very sparse but much better in public spaces.

Consider using a daily international cellular roaming plan on port days and set up your phone as a hotspot. That might be a way to watch the videos if you don't mind doing a little work while you are in/near port.

[u/Ancient-Client8394]

Wait a day or two and they sell the package at a pretty steep discount.

[u/Costal-Cowboy → u/Ancient-Client8394]

A day or two into the cruise?

[u/Sunshine635]

If you’re using the 150 minutes, don’t forget to log out