AT&T Cruise Package versus Disney's Wifi?

[mkm1998]

First time going on a Disney Cruise, and wondering if anyone can give any advice.

Before the 'turn your phone off crowd' comes in, the reason for needed the internet onboard is to run payroll for clients. Little difficult to tell clients that they won't be able to pay their employees for a week!

Anyways, I've read some horror stories here about the internet on the ship being awful. Wondering if anyone knows firsthand if the AT&T internet packages are any better. We're going to be on the Disney Magic. Our wireless plan already includes unlimited everything in Mexico, so we're good when the ship is near shore. However for our 3 days at sea, trying to figure out our best option for reliable internet access. Ideally will only need it for like an hour, but will need to VPN into a work computer.

Thanks!

 

[mjstaceyuofm]

Following - having my own debate internally about using the ATT cruise package or spending $ for the DCL wi-fi... We cruised to Mexico on DCL a few years back and the ATT coverage there was meh... Might be better now, but just throwing that out there for you. My understanding is the ATT cruise package only works when on-ship, at-sea, and >11 nautical miles form shore.

 

[hmsTigger]

Following

 

[mkm1998]

Following - having my own debate internally about using the ATT cruise package or spending $ for the DCL wi-fi... We cruised to Mexico on DCL a few years back and the ATT coverage there was meh... Might be better now, but just throwing that out there for you. My understanding is the ATT cruise package only works when on-ship, at-sea, and >11 nautical miles form shore.

Yes, that's my understand too, that AT&T cruise will only work while at-sea. However, once we're near shore, it appears we'll be covered by AT&T with our plan already, so we're really only concerned with the at-sea days. My first question is if Disney's WiFi is the same connection as if we purchased the AT&T cruise package, or if they are using different equipment on the ship?

 

[lanejudy]

My understanding is they both use satellite and thus are both subject to weather or poor reception depending on location. I can't say whether one is better than another. There were some recent posts about poor wifi.

Also keep in mind that whatever he needs to do -- may take longer than usual due to slower/poor connection. Does he need to run payroll every day? Or could he plan to use a coffee shop in port one day? Often Starbucks or such will give free wifi to cruisers who stop in for a cuppa.

 

[deerh]

Following... Going on DVC Member Cruise and need to know if ATT Cruise Internet is good.. OR DCL cruise package is better.....

 

[OpieDoodle]

So a couple things to keep in mind from a fellow AT&T customer. The cruise ship plans only include either 100MB or 1GB of data which gets eaten up QUICKLY and the overage charges are insane. It's like $10 per 100MB over. Both the cruise wifi and the ATT internet likely will be similar speeds and will depend on a lot of factors.

When I've used it, the internet was pretty slow and hard to get anything done. So, depending on how complex the systems he is running I'd be trying to find a plan B for payroll. Like can he run it a day early so he's in port or have someone from home run it for him?

I'd just make sure you have a plan B ready to go in case you get on the ship and aren't able to do what you need to do with the internet.

 

[SteveMouse]

I think ATT partners with https://www.wmsatsea.com/ for, ag least, cellular services (and it may very well be that ATT (WMS) provides cellular access to the Internet aboard ship, not via wi-fi.

I think Disney may use SES out of Maryland as a satellite provider for Disney-sold wi-fi. I don’t know if/who WMS uses as a contracted satellite provider.

Some cruise lines/ships have converted to StarLink. I haven’t seen one way or the other what Disney has/is planning to do.

 

[soniam]

Disney is charging by day now right, instead of by MB? That could make a difference.

Have you tried to VPN into the machine away from home before? I ask, because my husband had issues trying to get the VPN gateways for his job to work in Europe. This wasn’t a wifi issue; it was happening on land too. Since it’s your machine, it might be easier.

For anyone curious, the premium Star link wifi on Celebrity in Europe was otherwise pretty good. He actually did some video calls.

 

[SteveMouse]

I think ATT partners with https://www.wmsatsea.com/ for, ag least, cellular services (and it may very well be that ATT (WMS) provides cellular access to the Internet aboard ship, not via wi-fi.

I think Disney may use SES out of Maryland as a satellite provider for Disney-sold wi-fi. I don’t know if/who WMS uses as a contracted satellite provider.

Some cruise lines/ships have converted to StarLink. I haven’t seen one way or the other what Disney has/is planning to do.

To clarify: both Disney’s service and ATT’s service use satellites, It is possible that they are using the exact same equipment, just a different destination point. I wouldn’t rely on either for a critical function, especially one that was highly time sensitive. These are consumer-class services, with limited guarantee of availability.

In port, you should have access to a land-based cell tower. I would not assume equal access from anywhere on the ship. The ship’s metal infrastructure may interfere with signals, especially if you are on the side of the ship furthest from a cell tower.

 

[cedricandsophie]

I can’t say what will work better but I’d just caution you about doing anything with confidential financial information over the Disney wifi. It’s not very secure. I know from experience after being hacked. I never check bank balance or do anything requiring a credit card through wifi, except when I‘m home On my own secure system. I’m sure you have all sorts of safeguards built in already but just a cautionary tale.

 

[OpieDoodle]

I can’t say what will work better but I’d just caution you about doing anything with confidential financial information over the Disney wifi. It’s not very secure. I know from experience after being hacked. I never check bank balance or do anything requiring a credit card through wifi, except when I‘m home On my own secure system. I’m sure you have all sorts of safeguards built in already but just a cautionary tale.

This is a really good point. Many companies also will not let you VPN in on an wifi that is not secure. I work for a hospital for example and I can only use my VPN on secure wifi connections or it will not work.