Cruise industry is seeking big jump in telecom speeds

Faced with accelerating demands by passengers for digital connections for their mobile devices, cruise lines are pushing vendors for faster, cheaper, more reliable telecommunications at sea. In response, the satellite providers are getting creative in their efforts to provide the bandwidth that enables Internet access, social media use and other telecom services. Solutions include creating a hybrid of satellite and land-based carrier networks, installing additional antennae on ships for more flexible, reliable signal tracking and using satellites in lower orbits to reduce signal transmission times.
In some cases, passengers can expect a dramatic rise in the speed of Internet access from the ships, one analyst said. The innovations from companies such as MTN Satellite Communications and Harris CapRock are being implemented now, although they won’t start being ready for use until next year or 2015. "There are a whole series of new technologies and satellites that are going to be available in the coming couple of years that will greatly improve the performance and the available bandwidth on those ships," said Rick Simonian, president of maritime solutions at Harris CapRock. Simonian said a key piece of the puzzle is installation of more than one satellite antenna on each ship. Most ships, he said, have a single antenna, housed in a spherical dome fixed to the ship’s mast. "The problem with that is that if the ship is turning and the line of sight to the satellite gets blocked by the smokestack, or if they’re in some other obstruction, then the service goes down," he said. Two antennae mitigate that problem and will also be capable of switching back and forth between different radio frequencies, C-band and Ku-band, using the resiliency of one and the greater bandwidth of the other as conditions change. Earlier this year, Harris CapRock completed installing gear on 33 ships belonging to Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises. It will also integrate an ambitious new satellite system from O3b Networks, starting with the Oasis and Allure of the Seas.
O3b is launching satellites that orbit about 8,000 miles above the Earth, rather than the 23,000-mile distance of existing, geostationary satellites. That cuts the back-and-forth signal speed to the satellites from 720 milliseconds to 130 milliseconds. "It will dramatically increase the amount of bandwidth available, to kind of unheard-of rates," Simonian said. "The only ships that get rates like this would be Navy aircraft carriers, just for comparison." O3b has launched four of its eight-satellites constellation and should be ready to serve the Oasis and Allure next spring, Simonian said. But the O3b concept has some limitations and is unproven, said Chris Quilty, who covers satellite companies for the Raymond, James & Associates brokerage. "Royal Caribbean has made a huge, very expensive bet on a category-killer solution for the cruise industry," Quilty said. One limit is that coverage doesn’t extended beyond latitudes up to 45 degrees north and south of the equator, which excludes cruise areas such as the Baltic Sea and Alaska. Also, O3b’s satellites aren’t fixed in geosynchronous position like higher-orbiting satellites, so they have to be tracked. "One is coming up over the horizon as the other is going down," Quilty said. The tracking system that’s required, he said, "is much more complex. I would say it’s a high-risk, high reward proposition." MTN Communications is offering a different solution, one that seamlessly switches satellite signals from satellites to land-based networks when ships approach or are in ports.
When that happens, existing satellite bandwidth is freed up for use by cruise ships farther out at sea. "Adding more satellite bandwidth will no longer solve the ‘constantly connected’ demand, said Errol Olivier, president and CEO of MTN. "And, way too often, adding more bandwidth just raises the costs for cruise operators."
As cruise lines roll out MTN’s hybrid system and other solutions, such as the one offered by Harris CapRock, the retail cost of Internet service, which is currently 50 cents to 75 cents per minute, should come down, even as performance improves. How much prices will drop and speeds will increase is up to the cruise lines, Simonian said, adding, "That information is proprietary. They [the cruise lines]

want to protect that." MTN once held upward of 90% of the cruise industry communications market, and it still serves Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, Pullmantur, Windstar Cruises and others. For more information on this and to make a reservation for a cruise, contact TheCruiseOutlet.com at 203-288-1884 or email at info@thecruiseoutlet.com

Miami Dolphins cheerleaders to christen Norwegian Getaway

South Florida's version of the Rockettes? That would be the Miami Dolphins cheerleading squad. Norwegian Cruise Line announced that the cheerleaders for the NFL franchise will be godmothers of the Norwegian Getaway when the ship debuts in February. Getaway is designed to sail year-round from Miami and be iconic of all things from South Florida. It has Latin restaurants, and a Miami artist designed the hull art. As part of the package, Norwegian becomes the official cruise line of the Miami Dolphins and Sun Life Stadium, where the football team plays home games. Previously, Norwegian picked Radio City Music Hall troupe The Rockettes to be godmothers of the New York-themed Norwegian Breakaway, which debuted earlier this year.
For more information and to make cruise reservation on any Norwegian Cruise ship, contact TheCruiseOutlet.com at 203-288-1884 or email at info@thecruiseoutlet.com

Disney Magic cruise canceled to complete renovations

Disney Cruise Line has canceled a sailing of the Disney Magic in order to complete extensive renovations to the 15-year old ship. The five-day cruise was scheduled to depart Miami Oct. 20, but bad weather during a transatlantic crossing from Spain made it impossible for workers onboard to finish needed refurbishment work on time. The ship had been undergoing renovations in drydock in Spain following its Mediterranean season. Passengers booked on the cruise will get a full refund and a complimentary Disney Magic sailing between now and May 16. Airline change fees will also be covered. Alternately, they can opt for a 35% discount on a Bahamas or Caribbean cruise anytime in the next two years, excluding holiday dates. The Disney Magic is getting new restaurants, children's play areas, water slides and other features, along with a complete overhaul of furnishings, fixtures and color schemes. For more information and to make cruise reservation on any Disney ship or land program, contact TheCruiseOutlet.com at 203-288-1884 or email at info@thecruiseoutlet.com

Power Outage Hits Royal Princess; Ship Heads Slowly to Naples, Cruise Cancelled

Another cruise ship has had power issues and this time its a sparkling new one. The 141,000-ton Royal Princess, which was christened and launched in June by the Duchess of Cambridge, had a power failure on Sunday en route from Mykonos, Greece to Naples, Italy. Princess Cruises said neither the ship nor its 3,594 passengers and 1,336 crew members onboard were in any danger. After assessing the unexpected mechanical issue, though, Princess has canceled the rest of the ships 12-day cruise. "The ships technical team continued to evaluate the problem overnight and, upon further assessment, it became apparent that repairs need to be made to fully resolve the situation," the line said in its latest statement. We sincerely regret this means the remainder of the current cruise will be canceled, Princess said, also noting it was making flight arrangements to help guests return home after the ship arrives in Naples on Tuesday, a day later than expected due to the vessel's slower-than-normal speed. Guests are expected to spend Tuesday night onboard and depart the ship on Wednesday. Passengers were enjoying the seventh day of a 12-day cruise from Venice to Barcelona. As a result, they'll miss going ashore to explore Rome and Florence (Livorno), two bucket-list destinations for most first-time Mediterranean cruisers. Theyll also miss a port call at Toulon, France. Princess Care Team has been sent to Naples to assist passengers and make flight arrangements. In addition, the line said it will provide a full refund as well as a 25 percent future cruise credit to guests on the shortened voyage. The power problem surfaced at 1:30 p.m. local time on Sunday. The captain notified guests of the situation, the ship slowed to conserve existing power and the ships emergency generator kicked in to maintain such important services as lighting and toilets.

Some passengers indicated that they experienced power outages of 3.5 to six hours. Guests also reported issues with air conditioning, electrical and plumbing, but Princess told the online consumer cruise site that those issues were unrelated to the outage. Whats the status of the ships next cruise? The line said: "The impact of the repairs on the next Royal Princess cruise, scheduled to depart from Barcelona on September 27, is not yet known and we will keep passengers fully advised as details become known."  Power issues have plagued several ships this year, most notably Carnival Triumph after an onboard fire earlier this year. Princess Cruise Line is owned by Carnival Corp. The vessel is sailing throughout the Mediterranean this summer, and will reposition later this fall to Port Everglades, FL, for the winter season.

For more information, contact TheCruiseOutlet.com at 203-288-1884 or info@thecruiseoutlet.com

Norwegian to Expand Touch-Screen Signage Fleetwide

Norwegian Cruise Line will expand the interactive touch-screen signage first introduced on Norwegian Breakaway to the entire fleet by summer 2015. The digital signs let guests get directions and make reservations for dining, shore excursions and entertainment with a scan of their stateroom key. The screens will also be included on the Norwegian Getaway upon delivery in February. When the project is complete, each Norwegian ship will have 30 to 50 touch and static screens in prominent locations. Guests also can use the touch screens to order beverages, flowers, dining packages and more. The signs provide directions and maps to other locations on board. The signs also can communicate safety information in case of an emergency

Celebrity Millennium's remaining 2013 Alaska cruises canceled

Celebrity Cruises called a premature end to the Alaska season for the Celebrity Millennium, canceling the ship's remaining four cruises on its schedule. Celebrity acted after mechanical problems with the ship's propulsion units kept it in port for at least part of the last two cruises between Vancouver and Seward, Alaska. The canceled cruises, in addition to the current one, were scheduled to depart Aug. 23, Aug. 30, Sept. 6 and Sept. 13. Celebrity is in the process of contacting passengers on those cruises and rebooking or refunding them. Affected passengers are being offered a full refund and a 25% future cruise credit. The next scheduled sailing of Millennium will be a Panama Canal transit cruise from San Diego to Fort Lauderdale on Sept. 22.
For more information about the Millennium and making reservations on other Celebrity shis, contact TheCruiseOutlet.com at info@thecruiseoutlet.com or call 203-288-1884

Sun Princess cruise canceled at last minute

The first cruise of the Sun Princess after a two-week, $30 million renovation was canceled abruptly because the ship's electrical switchboard malfunctioned. According to several U.K. media reports, about 2,000 passengers were booked on the ship, which was scheduled to leave Singapore on Aug. 20 on a 14-day voyage to Australia. Most of those taking the cruise are from Australia, the reports said. In a statement, Princess said, "Regretfully, we've made the decision to cancel the cruise scheduled to depart today in order to carry out the necessary repairs." The 18-year-old Sun Princess had been fitted with new restaurants, decor and elements that reflect its predominantly Asian itineraries. Guests on the canceled cruise will get a full refund and a 100% future cruise credit.