Worked like a charm last cruise on Princess . Used a cell phone usb power battery brick when out of the cabin . Had enough power for 5 ish hours of usage .
Hi! I’m on a cruise in 4 days and I bought the exact same router the guy in the video bought but got confused at the password bit. I thought to connect a device to medallian net, you have to input your cabin number and name? Or am I mistaken? If so, how can I do this through the configuration panel online. Thanks!
You need to connect your computer/phone to the router first. Then from there you can select the MedalionNet and enter your cabin number, name, etc. Re-watch the video from about the 4 minute mark and the Client Setting portion at around the 5:50 mark is where you fill in your specific info.
Just wanted to help others out here. No need for an extra device! Im on an MSC cruise to Bahamas right now. I purchased the Cheapest wifi package (Email and basic browse, no streaming) and simply turned on the VPN on my phone ( im using surf shark but others may work). Not only did the VPN allow me to get full speed internet but By turning on the Hot Spot on my phone Im also able to share that Internet with my son and my laptop. And yes, airplane mode is on so this is strictly through wifi. So yes, they maybe ripped me off at $120 for basic wifi for 1 device for 8 days, at least they didnt screw me times three.
@@kimpod8418 Actually coincidentally my wife and I are on another MSC cruise right now and this trick also worked with her Samsung Galaxy Android phone. Its two workarounds in 1. The first by enabling a VPN you are able to get the more expensive $200 internet speed for the price of the cheapest tier (around $120). Then by enabling a mobile hotspot on your phone, You can share that faster internet out to other devices. We are now both doing it on our two devices, sharing it to our laptops and kods tablets , zero issues!
On our last cruise my husband set up his cellphone, a Google Pixel phone with VPN, as a hotspot so I conected my cellphone, a Galaxy A53, to his and as long as we were within 30 feet of each other we both had full service as long as the WiFi was working properly. At night, he would then connect his gaming laptop to play his games or watch anime. We never had any issues with all three devices on the one WiFi plan, and we didn't have to buy any extra devices that needed setting up and could only be used in the cabin.
I'm currently on Royal Caribbean "Wonder Of The Seas" ship, out in the middle of the ocean, and I have the same AX750 (TP-WR902AC) with me. Unfortunately, the ships now use a captive portal with a distinct username and password that you setup once you get onboard and connect to their Voom system. This means that your video is no longer applicable (at least on this ship and presumably the Icon Of The Seas as these are their newest ships). Specifically, the AX750 doesn't have the options to pass both a username and password authentication to their captive portal. And as you said, the speed isn't that good to begin with, so splitting a 'barely there' internet signal isn't going to net you much improvement. So, in the same conclusion you came to, we have paid for 1 account w/ 3 devices. (As opposed to 3 accounts w/ one device, which costs a bit more for the same internet)
Interesting alternative. I cruise frequently, and I have different needs. I use a Solis global 4G hotspot for wifi in 130 countries. It's tiny and portable (like a hockey puck). Just put it in a fanny pack or backpack. All my devices are connected to the local tower whenever the ship is docked (usually 6 am to 6 pm). I get much faster internet than the ship provides. Its rechargeable battery lasts all day. It supports up to 10 devices, and an unlimited global day pass is cheaper than the ship's fee for one device per day, and the data doesn't expire. Best of all, I can use it off the ship as well. There is no need to buy SIM cards in every country, since I can make calls over WiFi. The only downside is that it won't work overnight or on sea days (because it needs a cell tower). Ship activities usually keep me busy from dinner until bedtime anyway. It will test all the local networks and automatically connect to the strongest signal. I can always purchase one day of wifi from the cruise line on sea days if necessary for emergencies.
@@BlueMonkey4n6 FYI, a few times each year Solis has a big sale on data (Black Friday, etc). Right now they're offering 20 unlimited Global Day Passes for $72 USD. That's $3.60 per day! You can use a Global Day Pass whenever, and best of all, they don't expire. The normal price is around $9 per day (which is still lower than cruise line prices). This package easily covers me for 2 cruises. Had I known about this sooner I could've use it to request an Uber in London, or to use Google Maps overseas, etc.
One perk of having a travel router is that you can always use it to connect all your devices to no matter where you go. This would include Fire sticks, echo dots, game consoles, etc. So no need to reconnect every device everywhere you go. My experience with the TP Link is that it lacked VPN support - I bought it and returned it due to its lack of feature set. The other travel router displayed in the video was the gl.iNET Beryl. I suggest this one since it comes built with more features and especially VPN. The thought here is that your connection will always be encrypted so anyone listening on the wifi cannot see your browsing details. It supports multiple types of VPN services from many different providers - including your own VPN to home if you have it set up.
@@kabukidreamboy for the average user with some vpn options, the difference can be near negligible. My recent test hardly saw a difference in jitter and speeds.
A tip is that you could bring a powerbank next time. The travel router doesn't use much power. Just keep the router and the powerbank connected in a small bag and you will have wifi everywhere on the ship. Then load the powerbank when you're back in the cabin.
Just got off Royal Carb Serenade of the Sea. Paid 25$ a day for internet. It was the fastest speed I have ever used. I tested my phone by dialing my home number (wifi calling). From off the coast of Guatemala my home phone rang instantly. I can connect at home this fast. My lap top was lightning fast.
@@lemon9.9 I was off the coast of South America or central america. I called my home phone and was connected in 1 sec. The phone rung as soon as I pushed send. I can not call anyone with out a 3 second delay. That is how I interpret fast. I only bought wifi for one day to book my next cruise and the internet seemed like I was at home. I have comcast at home and it is quite zippy. I experienced no lag.
I you have an android phone (I know nothing about iphones) then you can set up a hotspot from your phone, click on network name, click on advanced setings, then scroll down to Wi-fi sharing and click On to share your phone's wifi connection iin addition to mobile data. It may ask you if you have the network's permission to do this. Yeah, who's gonna know ? Switch off mobile data first. Worked a treat on both Royal Caribbean and Princess.
Great idea and thanks for sharing. The hot spotting feature is not available for iPhones and only for some versions of Android. Glad you got it working for your cruises, enjoy!
Was on Princess and they give internet traffic priority by program, so Messenger is lightning fast (even in camera conferencing), Facebook the same… but like you said, regular browser surfing is very very slow…. waiting for your neighbor on Netflix to give you a chance…
Just call your cell service, let them know your cruising and that you will be out of the country. I only got charged for on ship days $10 a day. When in port no charge. The ship WiFi was $225 per person, so nope.
The various cruise lines should understand that we are NOT prisoners until we actually board. We have choices. For those of us for whom the internet is very important (I am one), we might have to cruise other lines that offer free wifi. It costs the ship essentially nothing. I am going on a Japan cruise in a month or so, and I am getting sim cards for all my devices. I also have a cabin that faces land, so we will see how that works out. My question for this device is: Do you log out of the device or log out of YOUR individual phones etc to not charge your account for unused minutes?
I dont think Princess charges by the minute anymore. Their plans are for 24 hour blocks. So you dont need to logout of your account. They dont track "unused" minutes.
i think on Celebrity (and RCL owned in general) it's faster because its on starlink. Was superfast, could not complain - i was watching my home cameras the entire time.
is it because of the captive portal at the hotel that asks for the room number and your name? You will need to get all that done in the setup of the router before it will connect to the Internet
All modern devices can service as hotspots. On PAL flying to Manila I make my laptop a hot spot and share with my cell or my Kindle. If I have a nice seatmate, I will share with him/her. I use travel routers but for other reasons.
Royal Caribbean uses starlink and it has been fast for streaming. Only problem is on the older ships, the wifi ship's routers are usually in the hallways and wifi signal weakens the farther you move away from the cabin door. I was planning to bring my travel router on the next trip and I'm glad I found your post. I will probably continue to have two accounts because I like being connected while we are out and about on the ship. But, at least this method using the travel router might help by placing the travel router near the door to provide better wifi coverage within the cabin. Thanks!
FYI for Princess cruisers. This doesn't work on their networks, unless you know how to spoof the MAC address of a logged in laptop/tablet/phone, etc. The Tp Link router doesn't have that MAC changing feature. I'm currently on a Princess ship at this moment with this issue. There is NO password for their network that you can plug into the router in the setup mode. The Princess system is MAC based and since the router has no screen you can't assign that device to connect indepently. They use a sign in screen that requires your room number & date of birth. While you can do this on a laptop, once you disconnect it from the travel router, the router loses connectivity. A more conventional router usually has that MAC spoofing ability, so in the future I'm bring a cheap/small regular router that I can mod the MAC of.
This router WORKS on Princess cruises, I was on two of them within the last year and used this travel router. You do not need to spoof the MAC address. Turn on the travel router and use your phone/table/phone to connect to the router. Then use a browser to go to the config page of the router to connect the router to the ship. Then you will be led to the page where you enter your cabin number and birthdate. Disconnecting your phone/tablet/laptop from the router will not cause it to lose connectivity. You are correct that spoofing the MAC address of a connected device would work but that seems too complicated for most people so the router solution is simpler in my opinion.
A RavPower all in 1 file hub maybe worth a try. It's a power bank & router all in one, so you could keep it on your person and connect all your devises as you travel around the ship. Also has a USB reader, so you can stream films from the router to your devises. I have had it for years, will see if its works on my next cruise.
Question... if you use a router, does this count as your ONE DEVICE connection? Meaning that everything else has to go through the router. Is that correct?
Sad that you can’t manage without internet between ports. I’ve always found a bar with internet at each location. I don’t pay for wi-fi or the drinks package. Better internet, better beer and the satisfaction of not being overcharged by the cruise line!
Thank you for this video. Would it be possible to sign up for WiFi data just one device and use it as a hotspot to share data with your other devices without a travel router?
Yes, if you have an Android phone that allows hotspotting off WiFi then you can do that. iPhones only allow hotspotting off cellular and not all Androids have that feature.
I have the TPLink AC750 as in the video and I use it at hotels, many of which have a captive portal. I think he mentions Firefox near the end of the video but I use Chrome. Either way, the AC750 will present the captive portal through to your laptop/mobile to validate your room number and name, then continues as normal. The most recent hotel I was at kicked me off every 24 hours, and when I tried to access the Web after that, it just brought up the captive portal without problem to validate my information and continue from there.
How about simply connect your phone to the ship's network and enable the phone's hotspot functionality as a router. Therefore, one does not need to buy and carry another device.
In regards to speed... you are in the middle of the ocean with 3000 other passengers. It's not going to be as fast as your home internet. I am actually surprised at the signal we do get. I do have a question... how do you use a travel router when you are out of your cabin?? I take my IPAD down by the pool or outside deck.
When i go out to the rest of the ship, I bring the travel router with me connected and charged by a battery pack (Enegon Portable charger & power bank. amzn.to/42Rn47y)
On a cruise, there's no need for travel routers (NAT gateways) to connect multiple devices to one account. Instead, use the built-in hotspot capabilities of modern mobile phones (iPhone, Pixel, etc...), even when in Airplane mode with Wi-Fi enabled (and its Cellular turned off). This approach ensures seamless connectivity for all devices that are connected to your hotspot, allowing everyone onboard to fully enjoy their vacation experience without any unnecessary equipment like a travel router.
And yet most iphones and the majority of android devices other than a pixel do not have multiple WiFi radios so cannot share a WiFi connection via WiFi. Plus having your phone stuck in the cabin - sucks. I prefer to use a dedicated device so I'm not leaving my phone in the cabin or rinsing through my battery. Then you also have the benefit that a travel router means you can configure all of your travel kit to the same hotspot, signing into the WiFi network is a single step thing. So when I travel I rock 2 WiFi cameras, an amazon echo and a firestick. I don't configure these beyond my first setup at home ahead of travelling. Everything just works via the router.
@@lmaoroflcopter I have a TP-Link travel router and have the SSID and password set to the same as my home network, so I just have to connect to the ship's WiFi and and then my partner's phone just connects as it would at home with no changes.
Great idea! To not test your wife's patience, why not set up connectivity to the router before even leaving home? And then just connect the router to the ships wifi once on board...and then.. good to go!
You do realize you’re also sharing bandwith when you use multiple devices at one time through a single stream, so the internet speed per device will be even slower than it already is.
I just used blyetooth connections between devices. One device account using ghe ohone as a hub. Shios network was flaky for the price. Starlink roll out may improve this functionality. Downside the dhips UT guy wont help you!😢😢😢
You mentioned paying an extra 150-200 bucks to have internet every where on the ship can you tell me which router you would use to get that much range that can be used on a cruise ship?
keep in mind that the router is not reaching out from the room, I am taking it along with me with a power bank battery (amzn.to/42Rn47y). Most ships have internet all over the ship so I take the router on the pool deck so that my wife and I can both get on the Internet at the same time. The two routers I have used are the TP Link (amzn.to/3oc9Aoh) and GLi-Net Mango (amzn.to/3Fa5iCY)
The down/upload speed was already running at 2.5 MB per second for 1 device. Does sharing of that single connection through that single router and splitting it between 2 devices cut the down/upload speed to 1.25 MB / per second? Or Was the speed on the ship already so slow that it wasn't really noticeable?
The split doesnt exactly work like that. It depends on what each device is doing. If both devices are just reading emails, there shouldnt be any noticeable difference. But if both devices are streaming video then you would be competing for the bandwidth. It would probably depend on how the router handles the traffic. (In short, I dont really know!)
Once you have the travel router setup, use your phone or computer to connect to it then go to any website. This is where the captive portal page will come up. You should be able to fill in your cabin number or what ever info here and get on to the Internet.
My cruise was on Starlink and worked well. I even shared my extender up my son's room down the hall. Don't forget, it works on Airline WiFi as well. I sell 2 or 3 connections and get my money back. I use JayZ's iPhone as my ssid
The travel router will take up an IP and if you connect your phones and tablets to the travel router then that should be the only IP used and MAC address seen by the ship.
You will have to read the terms and conditions for RC and make your own determination of policy compliance. I have seen “experts” argue over this. Plus the T&Cs change constantly. And I just heard that on one of the RC ships, they have implemented a new login scheme via a captive portal that is incompatible with this method.
I would say yes. This would be the same as two people sharing the access and having one logoff in order to let the other login. Also, I would like to clarify that (usually) the wifi portion does not have a cost associated, it is only when you wish to access the internet that the device requires to be the active device that you paid for. For instance, you can access the ship's services via their app using wifi with as many devices as you want, but you could only get your email simultaneously on the number of devices that you have paid for.
Yes, if you turn off the router then another device can connect to the ship wifi. Basically you can only have as many devices connected as you paid for
I dont know how it is on iphones but cant you just use the mobile hotspot feature to share wifi? Bc on android you can share your normal wifi connection as long as your phone has 2 wifi antennas. So probably just buy an old android phone and a powerbank. Than you can walk around on the ship and stay connected. You dont even have to get te powerbank with you all the time if the battery isnt completely dead already. I think it works with all androids but i only confirm that this is possible on samsung(ATTENTION You need to look that it has more than one wifi antennan, for example the Galaxy A40 doesnt.)
Excellent suggestion. And you are right that iPhones cant be a hotspot when it connects to the Internet via WiFi. For Android phones, it depends on the model and each one is different. The old Android with a battery pack is an excellent idea!
If I am understanding your issue correctly, the password for the tplink and the password for the cruise ship are for different purposes. You need the tplink password to login to the tplink first with a web browser from your phone or computer. From the tplink admin page, you select the ship's WiFi. Here is where you use the 4 digit pin that the ship gives you to connect the router to the ship. Once the router connects to the ship, you should not need the 4 digit pin anymore. On your phone or computer, you should now choose your router's WiFi, connect via the tplink's password/security key, and you should be on the Internet.
Hi Bluemonkey i am at video 5:57 client setting SSID and key type. key type require is the 4 pin password they gave us to log into device? but when i type it in it show require min 8 digit need? thanks
Unfortunately not. If your phone radio is only 2.4 GHz and you pocket WiFi is only 5Ghz the. They wont talk to each other. But I want to say that most devices should support 2.4GHz and 5Ghz
I am allowed 300 minutes of wifi in our package (expandable). When do those minutes start being used? As soon as you plug in the powered up router (and if you forget to detach while your gone, so too are your minutes?), or only when data is flowing from a device such as a laptop? Thanks, J-
I’m on Princess and followed the steps in the video for the travel router but there’s no splash screen for the WiFi access. Just says no connection when trying to browse a website while connected to the travel router. How do I connect?
The way I've done it on royal cruise is you have to clone the Mac address from your mobile device to the router on set up. Mac address (to be bridged) erase what's there and replace it with phone wifi MAC address from your phone. leave key type alone. After the device is set up you will be able to see the login splash screen and you login with your ships internet username and passwoord.
Thanks for the feedback, that's a great suggestion that I neglected to address. Once you have the travel router setup, use your phone or computer to connect to it then go to any website. This is where the splash page will come up. You should be able to fill in your cabin number and payment info here and get on to the Internet.
These are called Captive Portals. Some routers (but not all) have inbuilt functionality to connect to captive portals. There are also different types of captive portal and, again, not all routers handle all types.
You use you phone/tablet/laptop to log into the TP-link then select the ship’s WiFi to connect to. Then from a browser go to 192.168.0.1 which is the setup page of the router. From there touch configure the router by entering the info that the ship needs like you cabin number, name, birthday, etc. save the settings and reboot the router. Once rebooted, connect to the routers wifi and that will allow you to connect to the Internet.
Hoping someone may be able to help. I can select the network, but with our WiFi pass, we had to create an individual username and pin. Can anyone tell me how to add these credentials when setting up the router. Thanks
I am assuming that the popup webpage you are referring to is the captive portal which asks you for the cabin number, etc. Once you have the travel router setup, use your phone or computer to connect to it then go to any website. This is where the captive portal will come up and asks you to fill in information and you can click OK here.
Thanks for your very clear info. Great idea about a router with clear instructions :). I'll be using princess medallion but do not want to pay very high rates for internet, and now it is bundled with the very high beverage daily charge---$60 a day per person, so for a cabin with two people and a 16 night cruise, you will be paying over $2000. This is as costly as a medium hotel stay of $120 a night, and these prices are in addition to the thousands you may have spent for the cabin.
This is the problem with bundles. It's not a good value. We stopped getting the bundle on Princess, and then we stopped sailing on Princess once we realized that we were paying about $270 pd/pp on Princess for a Mini Suite (all in). And prices for luxury cruise lines like Oceania start at $275 pp (similar cabin all in). Apples to apples (except for the luxury and elevated food and free self-serve laundry on Oceania). Our decision was confirmed when Princess removed Alfredos from the included food offerings.
@BlueMonkey4n6 I mentioned free laundry because the commenter mentioned a 16-night cruise. We tend to do 12 to 24 day cruises, now that we're retired. Laundry becomes a big deal after 10 days. Some cruise lines like Holland don't even have self-serve laundry, while others charge a small fee (if the token machines are working - Princess).
How old was the info used for this video? Princess was $15 a day on my cruise 4 months ago and you don't get a password to sign onto Princess Medallionnet (the screenshot of the screen you used to alleged show it in action), you use your cabin number and birthdate, which you can't enter on the router.
Thanks for your feedback. The info from the video was from March 2023 so sounds like the procedure for MedallionNet has changed. I will get an update out when i get a chance to get on another Princess ship.
These routers have apps or web pages that you access via whatever end device you are using that has a setup page for the travel router that allows you to login to the network.
How often you get password on PCL cruise ? You must login with you cabin #, surname and DOB. Laptop with W10 and Mobile hotspot is only solution. You can login to PCL internet and share it from your laptop
That’s the question I would like to ask. For Princess MedallionNet, there is a login page when you would like to access the internet. How the router can pass through this page?
@vr2xmb when you setup the router to connect to MedallionNet, you should see the splash page for MedallionNet where you can enter the Room number or whatever info they are asking for. If the page does not come up by itself, just launch a web browser and try to go to any page.
You need to connect your computer/phone to the router first. Then from there you can select the hotel wifi and enter your room number, name, etc. Re-watch the video from about the 4 minute mark and the Client Setting portion at around the 5:50 mark is where you fill in your specific info.
I've never been on a cruise but there are several possible solutions to wanting to wander around the ship: 1) Use a low power travel router such as the GL.iNet Mango. Then run this from a powerbank and carry both with you.| 2) Clone the MAC address of your phone onto your travel router. You should then be able to leave the router in your cabin and still walk around the ship. The ship will think the router and phone are the same device because they have the same MAC. A MAC address is the unique number that belongs to the network "card" in your phone and router. Some routers let you override the MAC to clone another device. 3) Use your phone as the main device and setup a hotspot from it. For example my Pixel 7 can create a hotspot while still connected to WiFi. So all other devices connect to it, and it connects to the ships WiFi. You can still use the phone but the phone also acts as the router. Paying for allfour devices is simpler and more versatile though. But I thought I would suggest some alternatives.
Thanks for the other possible solutions which are all perfectly valid. Speaking of the GL.iNet, here is a video where i use the Mango with a Wyze security camera. ruclips.net/video/qfdBnw_zHA4/видео.html
@@BlueMonkey4n6 have you tried it?, wanted to buy this product however i wasn't able to confirm if it works, choosing either this if theres usb tethering or gl inet opal
Thanks for the video. Does anyone know if this will work on Carnival Cruise? I tried an old HooToo Titan travel router and couln't get it work on a recent Carnival Cruise. Maybe this one will work?
I tried using different travel routers on Carnival but it didn’t work. The way they have Wi-Fi app formatted, wouldn’t allow you to connect the router. However, Royal Caribbean’s Wi-Fi app, allows you to access ship’s Wi-Fi in order to connect the router. I have done this many times, most were successful.
Yup, definitely a drawback. But on a Princess ship (at least the ones I have been on recently), you can use your phones to communicate via chats on the ship network without being on the payment plan. This is similar to being on United Airlines, you can use chat for free but cant get other services.
I am mot sure i understand your question but if you are setting this up the steps are: 1. From your phone or computer connect to the WiFi that the router is broadcasting 2. From a web browser, go to the setup page of the router which is usually 192.168.0.1 3. From the web browser, setup the router to connect to the ships WiFi and enter what info the ship needs in terms of room number or name or whatever the ship is asking for 4. Once the router has rebooted, you can connect to the newly created network from all your devices
On my cruises, we pay for only one device and use all our devices as long as we only use one at a time. If you sign in to your account with a new device, it would just disconnect the previous one. It’s perfect if others don’t HAVE TO be on at the same time.
I tried this with my Beryl router on Viking Ocean, and I failed miserably. Has anyone been successful routing on Viking? I was on the Neptune, in case it matters.
@@BlueMonkey4n6 I tried everything we log in to the Wi-Fi via the app with just our folio and birthday so no password but still need to confirm the access
I have not connected to the Carnival HUB but am trying to connect the TP-Link to a hotel network which requires similar verification such as room number and last name. On my TP-Link, using the quick setup, i selected the hotel access point with the strongest signal, the key type should have no security selected as the Key Type. Then i set my Local SSID and at the last screen click Finish. The network connection was then disconnected so i had to select the Network i created (in my case BlueMonkey-5G). Then a pop-up window from the browser pops up from the hotel asking for the room number and last name. I entered those and was able to get on the Internet via the router. 2 things to note: 1. make sure your browser had pop ups enabled. Some people turn these off. 2. Make sure you look at all the windows of each browser as the pop up may have popped up then hidden by other windows you are working in. Hope this helps.
On NCL last year, the new friends I made instructed those who are iPhone owners to use iMessage to eachother. It was great way of communicating across the ship. The 'kids' taught an old dog a new trick. (iMessage uses the ship's wifi)
This Mango router is also excellent for the price and size: GL-iNet Mango portable travel router: amzn.to/3Fa5iCY But be aware that the metal walls between the cabins will probably suck up all the signal so you will need a separate router for each room.
hi there, when setting up this travel router on Princess Medallion net, do you need to disconnect the Wifi on your phone first? (assuming I purchased medallion net for 1 device and connected my phone first?) i want to use multiple devices thru the router.
Hi. If you bought the package for one device then you will need to disconnect your phone first (I dont remember if the network will ask you when you connect the second device if you want to bump off the first device). But its just easier to just disconnect the first device
@@BlueMonkey4n6 thank you. I believe Princess Medallion net asks to switch between devices if only 1 connection plan is purchased. With this router in the room after connection is set up, would you need to SWITCH back to your phone once you are ready to get out of the room? then when you return to the room, you would need to SWITCH again back to Router?
@hidavidhuang ah, I understand your question now and yes you are correct. You would need to switch back and forth between the router and the phone unless you bring the router with you on a battery pack.
@@BlueMonkey4n6 thanks so much again for the reply. Do you know how long this battery of the travel router lasts likely after a full charge if i bring it out of the cabin without a battery pack?
@hidavidhuang sorry if i was misleading. The travel router in the video does not have a built-in battery. I was referring to an external battery like the Enegon Portable charger & battery mentioned in the video
how do I get the ship password? I had purchased Ship wifi but never receive the ship password, is it something like your folio number and birthdate in order to login?
Interesting that Princess is blocking your VPN. The tp-link router mentioned in this video does not have VPN capability but the Mango from GL.inet does and I was able to use the VPN successfully on my last Princess cruise
Ah, excellent suggestion! There are a few reasons that the travel router is used instead. First is that iPhones cannot share their WiFi and not Androids do either. Second is that you can use your router as a VPN tunnel so when you are traveling overseas, you can still access your Netflix or streaming services for your home country.
@@peterli3058 I don't know of any phone > $100 that can not do it. My 6 year old phone can do it. You can pick up a used phone for like $10-20 that will do the same. The wifi hotspot router is only good if you need to plug it to a network or if you want to use VPN and can't set that up on the phone. Not saying that this device is useless, because I have one myself. I just think that many folks actually do not need it for what they are trying to do. Most people have a phone, so bringing yet another device is just more stuff.
Use powerbank to power the router and take it anywhere in the ship
This is excellent. Thank you for this. It's $39.99/day per Device on Norwegian Cruise line. I'm traveling with a 19 yr old. This will be saving us.
Thanks for the info on NCL pricing. Glad this will save you some $$
Did it work on NCL?
@@pingelandco.823 unfortunately NCL overbooked the cruise and didn't let my family on board! Flew from Toronto to Rome for nothing 😭
Worked like a charm last cruise on Princess . Used a cell phone usb power battery brick when out of the cabin . Had enough power for 5 ish hours of usage .
Awesome! Thanks for the feedback. I currently carry this battery/charger: amzn.to/42Rn47y
Can you advise which brick you used to give you 5 hours up time? Looking for one for this exact router, thanks.
Hi! I’m on a cruise in 4 days and I bought the exact same router the guy in the video bought but got confused at the password bit. I thought to connect a device to medallian net, you have to input your cabin number and name? Or am I mistaken? If so, how can I do this through the configuration panel online. Thanks!
my current favorite charging brick/battery is the Enegon Portable charger & power bank (amzn.to/42Rn47y)
You need to connect your computer/phone to the router first. Then from there you can select the MedalionNet and enter your cabin number, name, etc. Re-watch the video from about the 4 minute mark and the Client Setting portion at around the 5:50 mark is where you fill in your specific info.
Just wanted to help others out here. No need for an extra device! Im on an MSC cruise to Bahamas right now. I purchased the Cheapest wifi package (Email and basic browse, no streaming) and simply turned on the VPN on my phone ( im using surf shark but others may work). Not only did the VPN allow me to get full speed internet but By turning on the Hot Spot on my phone Im also able to share that Internet with my son and my laptop. And yes, airplane mode is on so this is strictly through wifi.
So yes, they maybe ripped me off at $120 for basic wifi for 1 device for 8 days, at least they didnt screw me times three.
Thanks for your sharing your experience and glad to hear that you are able to share your Wi-Fi connection with your son and save some money.
What kind of phone did you use?
@@TechnozSki I have the Google Pixel 6 Pro, Android phone
This only works with Pixel phones
@@kimpod8418 Actually coincidentally my wife and I are on another MSC cruise right now and this trick also worked with her Samsung Galaxy Android phone. Its two workarounds in 1. The first by enabling a VPN you are able to get the more expensive $200 internet speed for the price of the cheapest tier (around $120). Then by enabling a mobile hotspot on your phone, You can share that faster internet out to other devices. We are now both doing it on our two devices, sharing it to our laptops and kods tablets , zero issues!
On our last cruise my husband set up his cellphone, a Google Pixel phone with VPN, as a hotspot so I conected my cellphone, a Galaxy A53, to his and as long as we were within 30 feet of each other we both had full service as long as the WiFi was working properly. At night, he would then connect his gaming laptop to play his games or watch anime. We never had any issues with all three devices on the one WiFi plan, and we didn't have to buy any extra devices that needed setting up and could only be used in the cabin.
Excellent! Thanks for sharing your solution.
On Princess you can swap between devices. I use my iPhone and iPad paying for one device.
I'm currently on Royal Caribbean "Wonder Of The Seas" ship, out in the middle of the ocean, and I have the same AX750 (TP-WR902AC) with me. Unfortunately, the ships now use a captive portal with a distinct username and password that you setup once you get onboard and connect to their Voom system. This means that your video is no longer applicable (at least on this ship and presumably the Icon Of The Seas as these are their newest ships). Specifically, the AX750 doesn't have the options to pass both a username and password authentication to their captive portal.
And as you said, the speed isn't that good to begin with, so splitting a 'barely there' internet signal isn't going to net you much improvement. So, in the same conclusion you came to, we have paid for 1 account w/ 3 devices. (As opposed to 3 accounts w/ one device, which costs a bit more for the same internet)
Thank you for the info on the “Wonder of the Seas”. Enjoy your cruise 🚢😀
Interesting alternative. I cruise frequently, and I have different needs. I use a Solis global 4G hotspot for wifi in 130 countries. It's tiny and portable (like a hockey puck). Just put it in a fanny pack or backpack. All my devices are connected to the local tower whenever the ship is docked (usually 6 am to 6 pm). I get much faster internet than the ship provides. Its rechargeable battery lasts all day. It supports up to 10 devices, and an unlimited global day pass is cheaper than the ship's fee for one device per day, and the data doesn't expire. Best of all, I can use it off the ship as well. There is no need to buy SIM cards in every country, since I can make calls over WiFi. The only downside is that it won't work overnight or on sea days (because it needs a cell tower). Ship activities usually keep me busy from dinner until bedtime anyway. It will test all the local networks and automatically connect to the strongest signal. I can always purchase one day of wifi from the cruise line on sea days if necessary for emergencies.
Excellent suggestion, thank you!!
@@BlueMonkey4n6 FYI, a few times each year Solis has a big sale on data (Black Friday, etc). Right now they're offering 20 unlimited Global Day Passes for $72 USD. That's $3.60 per day! You can use a Global Day Pass whenever, and best of all, they don't expire. The normal price is around $9 per day (which is still lower than cruise line prices). This package easily covers me for 2 cruises. Had I known about this sooner I could've use it to request an Uber in London, or to use Google Maps overseas, etc.
One perk of having a travel router is that you can always use it to connect all your devices to no matter where you go. This would include Fire sticks, echo dots, game consoles, etc. So no need to reconnect every device everywhere you go.
My experience with the TP Link is that it lacked VPN support - I bought it and returned it due to its lack of feature set. The other travel router displayed in the video was the gl.iNET Beryl. I suggest this one since it comes built with more features and especially VPN. The thought here is that your connection will always be encrypted so anyone listening on the wifi cannot see your browsing details. It supports multiple types of VPN services from many different providers - including your own VPN to home if you have it set up.
Awesome, thanks for your input
Sadly a vpn will slow you down even more.
@@kabukidreamboy for the average user with some vpn options, the difference can be near negligible. My recent test hardly saw a difference in jitter and speeds.
Establish a VPN connection, connect to the address you what Then disconnect the VPN
@@kabukidreamboy Not if you set up your own.
A tip is that you could bring a powerbank next time. The travel router doesn't use much power. Just keep the router and the powerbank connected in a small bag and you will have wifi everywhere on the ship. Then load the powerbank when you're back in the cabin.
Excellent idea, thank you
Just got off Royal Carb Serenade of the Sea. Paid 25$ a day for internet. It was the fastest speed I have ever used. I tested my phone by dialing my home number (wifi calling). From off the coast of Guatemala my home phone rang instantly. I can connect at home this fast. My lap top was lightning fast.
Great, thanks for sharing
Are there any test results like speed or ping?
@@lemon9.9 I was off the coast of South America or central america. I called my home phone and was connected in 1 sec. The phone rung as soon as I pushed send. I can not call anyone with out a 3 second delay. That is how I interpret fast. I only bought wifi for one day to book my next cruise and the internet seemed like I was at home. I have comcast at home and it is quite zippy. I experienced no lag.
I you have an android phone (I know nothing about iphones) then you can set up a hotspot from your phone, click on network name, click on advanced setings, then scroll down to Wi-fi sharing and click On to share your phone's wifi connection iin addition to mobile data. It may ask you if you have the network's permission to do this. Yeah, who's gonna know ? Switch off mobile data first. Worked a treat on both Royal Caribbean and Princess.
Great idea and thanks for sharing. The hot spotting feature is not available for iPhones and only for some versions of Android. Glad you got it working for your cruises, enjoy!
Was on Princess and they give internet traffic priority by program, so Messenger is lightning fast (even in camera conferencing), Facebook the same… but like you said, regular browser surfing is very very slow…. waiting for your neighbor on Netflix to give you a chance…
Use a VPN, encrypted traffic is faster.
@@mscolli3 VPNs don't work on Royal. I'm pretty sure they have some strict traffic filtering.
Just call your cell service, let them know your cruising and that you will be out of the country. I only got charged for on ship days $10 a day. When in port no charge. The ship WiFi was $225 per person, so nope.
interesting idea! thanks for sharing.
The various cruise lines should understand that we are NOT prisoners until we actually board. We have choices. For those of us for whom the internet is very important (I am one), we might have to cruise other lines that offer free wifi. It costs the ship essentially nothing. I am going on a Japan cruise in a month or so, and I am getting sim cards for all my devices. I also have a cabin that faces land, so we will see how that works out. My question for this device is: Do you log out of the device or log out of YOUR individual phones etc to not charge your account for unused minutes?
I dont think Princess charges by the minute anymore. Their plans are for 24 hour blocks. So you dont need to logout of your account. They dont track "unused" minutes.
i think on Celebrity (and RCL owned in general) it's faster because its on starlink. Was superfast, could not complain - i was watching my home cameras the entire time.
Brilliant and very funny. Testing my wife’s patience had me in giggle.
Here is a 👍 to boost your Ego
Thanks for the ego boost!
Great video. I have that travel router and it never works for me. Not in any hotels at least. I'll try it on my next cruise.
is it because of the captive portal at the hotel that asks for the room number and your name? You will need to get all that done in the setup of the router before it will connect to the Internet
Serious question. Can you connect your router to VPN that's a really important thing for me
Yes I have used the Mango router to connect to a VPN. I believe there is a link to that router in the description
@@BlueMonkey4n6 i only see link for the tp link one
@danzen6246 sorry, I just added it now. GLi-net Mango Travel router (amzn.to/3H8cfFK)
All modern devices can service as hotspots. On PAL flying to Manila I make my laptop a hot spot and share with my cell or my Kindle. If I have a nice seatmate, I will share with him/her. I use travel routers but for other reasons.
good info, thanks for sharing.
Royal Caribbean uses starlink and it has been fast for streaming. Only problem is on the older ships, the wifi ship's routers are usually in the hallways and wifi signal weakens the farther you move away from the cabin door. I was planning to bring my travel router on the next trip and I'm glad I found your post. I will probably continue to have two accounts because I like being connected while we are out and about on the ship. But, at least this method using the travel router might help by placing the travel router near the door to provide better wifi coverage within the cabin. Thanks!
Glad the video gave you some ideas!
Ha! I used the wifi package and using voip provider in Airplane mode was able to make calls while walking around the ship
FYI for Princess cruisers. This doesn't work on their networks, unless you know how to spoof the MAC address of a logged in laptop/tablet/phone, etc. The Tp Link router doesn't have that MAC changing feature. I'm currently on a Princess ship at this moment with this issue. There is NO password for their network that you can plug into the router in the setup mode. The Princess system is MAC based and since the router has no screen you can't assign that device to connect indepently. They use a sign in screen that requires your room number & date of birth. While you can do this on a laptop, once you disconnect it from the travel router, the router loses connectivity. A more conventional router usually has that MAC spoofing ability, so in the future I'm bring a cheap/small regular router that I can mod the MAC of.
This router WORKS on Princess cruises, I was on two of them within the last year and used this travel router. You do not need to spoof the MAC address. Turn on the travel router and use your phone/table/phone to connect to the router. Then use a browser to go to the config page of the router to connect the router to the ship. Then you will be led to the page where you enter your cabin number and birthdate. Disconnecting your phone/tablet/laptop from the router will not cause it to lose connectivity.
You are correct that spoofing the MAC address of a connected device would work but that seems too complicated for most people so the router solution is simpler in my opinion.
A RavPower all in 1 file hub maybe worth a try.
It's a power bank & router all in one, so you could keep it on your person and connect all your devises as you travel around the ship. Also has a USB reader, so you can stream films from the router to your devises.
I have had it for years, will see if its works on my next cruise.
Interesting product, i will have to check it out. Thanks for the suggestion
I’ve used the TP Link travel router on royal ships. Works great. You can connect a portable charger to the TP Link without issue.
Excellent, thanks for the feedback and confirmation on Royal ships
It works with RCL cruise ship. I have done it before.
Question... if you use a router, does this count as your ONE DEVICE connection? Meaning that everything else has to go through the router. Is that correct?
Correct, the router would count as a device so if you only paid for one device at a time, everything else would have to go through the router.
Sad that you can’t manage without internet between ports. I’ve always found a bar with internet at each location. I don’t pay for wi-fi or the drinks package. Better internet, better beer and the satisfaction of not being overcharged by the cruise line!
Sounds like you got the cruising secrets down pat, awesome!
Why is it sad?
Thank you for this video. Would it be possible to sign up for WiFi data just one device and use it as a hotspot to share data with your other devices without a travel router?
Yes, if you have an Android phone that allows hotspotting off WiFi then you can do that. iPhones only allow hotspotting off cellular and not all Androids have that feature.
After my first cruise, I decided that I would enjoy a root canal a lot more.
😂
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Just 1/2024 recently Princess has changed their wifi pricing from $14.95 a day per device by 65% to $24.95 a day.
Uggh, they know that people cant live without Internet so they keep jacking up the prices!! Thank you for the update.
Do I need to bring a laptop to set this up or can I do everything from my phone?
You can do all the configuration from your phone or tablet.
Other way is tethering from your phone which is connected to the ship. MSC does not let you to timeshare the wifi. Locks in on the Mac address
If the ship locks in on the Mac address then the travel router method would work as its Mac address is the only one that the ship will see.
I like this option if you have kids.
As adults, it is hard to be not be connected at all.
How about captive portals, how to make the router make a proper login in the captive portal to open the internet access
I have the TPLink AC750 as in the video and I use it at hotels, many of which have a captive portal. I think he mentions Firefox near the end of the video but I use Chrome.
Either way, the AC750 will present the captive portal through to your laptop/mobile to validate your room number and name, then continues as normal. The most recent hotel I was at kicked me off every 24 hours, and when I tried to access the Web after that, it just brought up the captive portal without problem to validate my information and continue from there.
Thanks @realShadowKat, that's pretty much what I would have told @lile5341
How about simply connect your phone to the ship's network and enable the phone's hotspot functionality as a router. Therefore, one does not need to buy and carry another device.
Good idea but not all phones have hotspot capability especially when the phone is on Wifi
In regards to speed... you are in the middle of the ocean with 3000 other passengers. It's not going to be as fast as your home internet. I am actually surprised at the signal we do get.
I do have a question... how do you use a travel router when you are out of your cabin?? I take my IPAD down by the pool or outside deck.
When i go out to the rest of the ship, I bring the travel router with me connected and charged by a battery pack (Enegon Portable charger & power bank. amzn.to/42Rn47y)
On a cruise, there's no need for travel routers (NAT gateways) to connect multiple devices to one account. Instead, use the built-in hotspot capabilities of modern mobile phones (iPhone, Pixel, etc...), even when in Airplane mode with Wi-Fi enabled (and its Cellular turned off). This approach ensures seamless connectivity for all devices that are connected to your hotspot, allowing everyone onboard to fully enjoy their vacation experience without any unnecessary equipment like a travel router.
And yet most iphones and the majority of android devices other than a pixel do not have multiple WiFi radios so cannot share a WiFi connection via WiFi.
Plus having your phone stuck in the cabin - sucks. I prefer to use a dedicated device so I'm not leaving my phone in the cabin or rinsing through my battery.
Then you also have the benefit that a travel router means you can configure all of your travel kit to the same hotspot, signing into the WiFi network is a single step thing. So when I travel I rock 2 WiFi cameras, an amazon echo and a firestick. I don't configure these beyond my first setup at home ahead of travelling.
Everything just works via the router.
@@lmaoroflcopter I have a TP-Link travel router and have the SSID and password set to the same as my home network, so I just have to connect to the ship's WiFi and and then my partner's phone just connects as it would at home with no changes.
@tlangdon12 Yeah, I used to do this. Moved to a separate SSID when I started taking kit specifically for travelling with me.
@tlangdon12 awesome way of doing it! Thanks for sharing
Great idea! To not test your wife's patience, why not set up connectivity to the router before even leaving home? And then just connect the router to the ships wifi once on board...and then.. good to go!
That's a great idea!
in a pinch, i've also changed my mac address to match the first device connected
good tip, thanks for sharing
Just take a starlink dish and set it up on the upper deck. 😄
Great, will try this next time. Even though cruise ship wifi isn’t the best, good to know you can use multiple devices on one! 👍
He could have made laptop or a phone a hot spot. I do it all the time on airplanes. He took an extra device for no reason.
Even United Airlines WiFi... I sell 2 or 3 access and get my money back
Interesting how you ended with the opinion I figured you would have from the beginning.
The wife always wins!
You do realize you’re also sharing bandwith when you use multiple devices at one time through a single stream, so the internet speed per device will be even slower than it already is.
If the ship offers a wifi upgrade package from the standard that will improve the speed for you. Just need to decide if the upgrade price is worth it.
Yes, but thats the tough decision as I am cheap 😳
I just used blyetooth connections between devices. One device account using ghe ohone as a hub. Shios network was flaky for the price. Starlink roll out may improve this functionality.
Downside the dhips UT guy wont help you!😢😢😢
You mentioned paying an extra 150-200 bucks to have internet every where on the ship can you tell me which router you would use to get that much range that can be used on a cruise ship?
keep in mind that the router is not reaching out from the room, I am taking it along with me with a power bank battery (amzn.to/42Rn47y). Most ships have internet all over the ship so I take the router on the pool deck so that my wife and I can both get on the Internet at the same time. The two routers I have used are the TP Link (amzn.to/3oc9Aoh) and GLi-Net Mango (amzn.to/3Fa5iCY)
The down/upload speed was already running at 2.5 MB per second for 1 device. Does sharing of that single connection through that single router and splitting it between 2 devices cut the down/upload speed to 1.25 MB / per second?
Or
Was the speed on the ship already so slow that it wasn't really noticeable?
The split doesnt exactly work like that. It depends on what each device is doing. If both devices are just reading emails, there shouldnt be any noticeable difference. But if both devices are streaming video then you would be competing for the bandwidth. It would probably depend on how the router handles the traffic. (In short, I dont really know!)
You didn't speak at all on how to work around captive portals when setting these up. What's your recommendation on getting thru those hurdles.
Once you have the travel router setup, use your phone or computer to connect to it then go to any website. This is where the captive portal page will come up. You should be able to fill in your cabin number or what ever info here and get on to the Internet.
Answered all my questions, thanks for sharing!
Thanks for watching and commenting!!
My cruise was on Starlink and worked well. I even shared my extender up my son's room down the hall.
Don't forget, it works on Airline WiFi as well. I sell 2 or 3 connections and get my money back.
I use JayZ's iPhone as my ssid
Great, but the rules for carnival state that this is prohibited: Satellite disk, routers and other internet related equipment
Thanks for the info. Just curious as to whether you would consider streaming sticks as “internet related equipment”?
@@BlueMonkey4n6 well the wording "internet related equipement" is intentionally vague. So they can do what they want.
@@HVG67 very true 😞
Carnival added network equipment as a prohibited item and can be confiscated.
Yikes, thats not good to have my gear confiscated! Thanks for the update
sounds like a greedy company to me
Does this travel router have an ip address because msc let’s you only use 1 ip per account and will this work like that?
The travel router will take up an IP and if you connect your phones and tablets to the travel router then that should be the only IP used and MAC address seen by the ship.
2 questions. 1) Does this break any Royal Caribbean policy? 2) Does it work on RC?
You will have to read the terms and conditions for RC and make your own determination of policy compliance. I have seen “experts” argue over this. Plus the T&Cs change constantly.
And I just heard that on one of the RC ships, they have implemented a new login scheme via a captive portal that is incompatible with this method.
Would the router TP-Link AC750 work on MSC cruises?
I don't see why not although I have not bee on a MSC ship
If you leave the cabin, and turn off the router, at least one of you could connect to the ships wifi directly with your phone while roaming the ship?
I would say yes. This would be the same as two people sharing the access and having one logoff in order to let the other login.
Also, I would like to clarify that (usually) the wifi portion does not have a cost associated, it is only when you wish to access the internet that the device requires to be the active device that you paid for. For instance, you can access the ship's services via their app using wifi with as many devices as you want, but you could only get your email simultaneously on the number of devices that you have paid for.
Yes, if you turn off the router then another device can connect to the ship wifi. Basically you can only have as many devices connected as you paid for
Will this work on cruise that you need to log in to the ships wifi with your name & state room #, etc? They dont give a password
Yes, when you log in via the router you just respond to whatever questions the ship is asking for.
Good info! Does anybody know if this will work on Holland America and Celebrity?
I dont know how it is on iphones but cant you just use the mobile hotspot feature to share wifi? Bc on android you can share your normal wifi connection as long as your phone has 2 wifi antennas. So probably just buy an old android phone and a powerbank. Than you can walk around on the ship and stay connected. You dont even have to get te powerbank with you all the time if the battery isnt completely dead already. I think it works with all androids but i only confirm that this is possible on samsung(ATTENTION You need to look that it has more than one wifi antennan, for example the Galaxy A40 doesnt.)
Excellent suggestion. And you are right that iPhones cant be a hotspot when it connects to the Internet via WiFi. For Android phones, it depends on the model and each one is different. The old Android with a battery pack is an excellent idea!
Hi Bluemonkey please help im on the cruise and they only gave me 4 digital pin..the tplink security key require 8 digit min?? please help thanks
ssid user i have the pw is only 4 pin
If I am understanding your issue correctly, the password for the tplink and the password for the cruise ship are for different purposes. You need the tplink password to login to the tplink first with a web browser from your phone or computer. From the tplink admin page, you select the ship's WiFi. Here is where you use the 4 digit pin that the ship gives you to connect the router to the ship. Once the router connects to the ship, you should not need the 4 digit pin anymore. On your phone or computer, you should now choose your router's WiFi, connect via the tplink's password/security key, and you should be on the Internet.
Hi Bluemonkey i am at video 5:57 client setting SSID and key type. key type require is the 4 pin password they gave us to log into device? but when i type it in it show require min 8 digit need? thanks
Hi sir, question.
I have 5.0Ghz pocket wifi. Can i connect this to have 2.4Ghz signal for old Smart phone?
Unfortunately not. If your phone radio is only 2.4 GHz and you pocket WiFi is only 5Ghz the. They wont talk to each other. But I want to say that most devices should support 2.4GHz and 5Ghz
Why not simply hacking into the ships internal network and create your own personal wifi in your cabin? No data restrictions as anonymous user.
I recommend that people dont hack the ship but you got me intrigued . Tell us more about how to hack the ships internal network!
@@BlueMonkey4n6 hook up with a member of the ships IT Crew and invite them into your cabin.
I am allowed 300 minutes of wifi in our package (expandable). When do those minutes start being used? As soon as you plug in the powered up router (and if you forget to detach while your gone, so too are your minutes?), or only when data is flowing from a device such as a laptop? Thanks, J-
That's a good question, I dont know. Maybe other viewers have an answer.
Yes, you are allowed 300 minutes of connection. If you leave it connected for 5 hours your time is used up.
I’m on Princess and followed the steps in the video for the travel router but there’s no splash screen for the WiFi access. Just says no connection when trying to browse a website while connected to the travel router. How do I connect?
Have to force the captive splash page
The way I've done it on royal cruise is you have to clone the Mac address from your mobile device to the router on set up. Mac address (to be bridged) erase what's there and replace it with phone wifi MAC address from your phone. leave key type alone.
After the device is set up you will be able to see the login splash screen and you login with your ships internet username and passwoord.
Why making a hotspot from your phone does do the trick?
Some phones can be WiFi hotspot and some cannot, it depends on what you got.
That's mad money my wigga.
i wish you covered how the travel router handleed splash pages
Thanks for the feedback, that's a great suggestion that I neglected to address. Once you have the travel router setup, use your phone or computer to connect to it then go to any website. This is where the splash page will come up. You should be able to fill in your cabin number and payment info here and get on to the Internet.
These are called Captive Portals. Some routers (but not all) have inbuilt functionality to connect to captive portals. There are also different types of captive portal and, again, not all routers handle all types.
Do you still need to purchase the cruise ships wifi in order to connect?
Yes you still need to pay for at least one device to connect to the Internet.
Thank you very much
I think the 3G/4G is for the Device to R/T on the DCOM that you might don't need purchase.
ok, thanks for the info.
Hey, thank you for your video! Would this work while sailing or only in ports?
This definitely works while the ships’s wifi is turned on so both at port and at sea.
Hi folks ! Does anyone knows if this works in MSC (seascape). Thx
Hi, did it work for you?
@@yucheng967 no. It didn’t
Just one more reason we quite cruising. I don't like to be ripped off.
Carnival opens a web-page to sign in to your Wifi, how would you do this with the TP-Link?
You use you phone/tablet/laptop to log into the TP-link then select the ship’s WiFi to connect to. Then from a browser go to 192.168.0.1 which is the setup page of the router. From there touch configure the router by entering the info that the ship needs like you cabin number, name, birthday, etc. save the settings and reboot the router. Once rebooted, connect to the routers wifi and that will allow you to connect to the Internet.
Great suggestion! Thanks for a really smart idea.
Cant help myself, I am cheap 🤑
Hoping someone may be able to help. I can select the network, but with our WiFi pass, we had to create an individual username and pin. Can anyone tell me how to add these credentials when setting up the router. Thanks
How does work if there is a popup webpage you need to click okay on?
I am assuming that the popup webpage you are referring to is the captive portal which asks you for the cabin number, etc. Once you have the travel router setup, use your phone or computer to connect to it then go to any website. This is where the captive portal will come up and asks you to fill in information and you can click OK here.
Princess hasnt a password! Medallionnet uses cabin number and date of birth. To swap devices you had to enter both.😮😂😂😂
Smart idea! Couldn't you. do the same with your hot spot?
It depends on your phone. Some phones can only share a hotspot when in cellular mode and not wifi mode.
@@BlueMonkey4n6 Ah makes sense.
Thanks for your very clear info. Great idea about a router with clear instructions :). I'll be using princess medallion but do not want to pay very high rates for internet, and now it is bundled with the very high beverage daily charge---$60 a day per person, so for a cabin with two people and a 16 night cruise, you will be paying over $2000. This is as costly as a medium hotel stay of $120 a night, and these prices are in addition to the thousands you may have spent for the cabin.
Yeah, they know people cannot live without the Internet l! 😡
This is the problem with bundles. It's not a good value. We stopped getting the bundle on Princess, and then we stopped sailing on Princess once we realized that we were paying about $270 pd/pp on Princess for a Mini Suite (all in). And prices for luxury cruise lines like Oceania start at $275 pp (similar cabin all in). Apples to apples (except for the luxury and elevated food and free self-serve laundry on Oceania). Our decision was confirmed when Princess removed Alfredos from the included food offerings.
Thanks for the info on Oceania. Free self-serve laundry may seem like a small thing but laundry is one of those things that I keep worrying about 🤨
@BlueMonkey4n6 I mentioned free laundry because the commenter mentioned a 16-night cruise. We tend to do 12 to 24 day cruises, now that we're retired. Laundry becomes a big deal after 10 days. Some cruise lines like Holland don't even have self-serve laundry, while others charge a small fee (if the token machines are working - Princess).
How old was the info used for this video? Princess was $15 a day on my cruise 4 months ago and you don't get a password to sign onto Princess Medallionnet (the screenshot of the screen you used to alleged show it in action), you use your cabin number and birthdate, which you can't enter on the router.
Thanks for your feedback. The info from the video was from March 2023 so sounds like the procedure for MedallionNet has changed. I will get an update out when i get a chance to get on another Princess ship.
These routers have apps or web pages that you access via whatever end device you are using that has a setup page for the travel router that allows you to login to the network.
How often you get password on PCL cruise ? You must login with you cabin #, surname and DOB. Laptop with W10 and Mobile hotspot is only solution. You can login to PCL internet and share it from your laptop
That’s the question I would like to ask. For Princess MedallionNet, there is a login page when you would like to access the internet. How the router can pass through this page?
@vr2xmb when you setup the router to connect to MedallionNet, you should see the splash page for MedallionNet where you can enter the Room number or whatever info they are asking for. If the page does not come up by itself, just launch a web browser and try to go to any page.
But what about hotels where the log-on screen asks for guest’s last name and room number? Where do you enter that info?
You need to connect your computer/phone to the router first. Then from there you can select the hotel wifi and enter your room number, name, etc. Re-watch the video from about the 4 minute mark and the Client Setting portion at around the 5:50 mark is where you fill in your specific info.
just get a USB battery pack and take the hotspot with you around the ship.
I have T-Mobile hotspot. This will work on the ship?
@@veronicaleon8075 No
I've never been on a cruise but there are several possible solutions to wanting to wander around the ship:
1) Use a low power travel router such as the GL.iNet Mango. Then run this from a powerbank and carry both with you.|
2) Clone the MAC address of your phone onto your travel router. You should then be able to leave the router in your cabin and still walk around the ship. The ship will think the router and phone are the same device because they have the same MAC. A MAC address is the unique number that belongs to the network "card" in your phone and router. Some routers let you override the MAC to clone another device.
3) Use your phone as the main device and setup a hotspot from it. For example my Pixel 7 can create a hotspot while still connected to WiFi. So all other devices connect to it, and it connects to the ships WiFi. You can still use the phone but the phone also acts as the router.
Paying for allfour devices is simpler and more versatile though. But I thought I would suggest some alternatives.
Thanks for the other possible solutions which are all perfectly valid.
Speaking of the GL.iNet, here is a video where i use the Mango with a Wyze security camera.
ruclips.net/video/qfdBnw_zHA4/видео.html
Shouldn’t the cruise allow those devices onboard?
Good question, seems to be some controversy
Does it support usb tethering from a phone?
yes, that should work
@@BlueMonkey4n6 have you tried it?, wanted to buy this product however i wasn't able to confirm if it works, choosing either this if theres usb tethering or gl inet opal
Thanks for the video. Does anyone know if this will work on Carnival Cruise? I tried an old HooToo Titan travel router and couln't get it work on a recent Carnival Cruise. Maybe this one will work?
I tried using different travel routers on Carnival but it didn’t work. The way they have Wi-Fi app formatted, wouldn’t allow you to connect the router. However, Royal Caribbean’s Wi-Fi app, allows you to access ship’s Wi-Fi in order to connect the router. I have done this many times, most were successful.
@@oliverwaterman1012 Thank you.
Thank you for your insight
Also, someone in another message indicated that Carnival prohibits routers.
Device has tiny light grey type on white, and also white on light grey. When will designers learn?
Yeah, some things just are not thought about when folks dont have a design mindset.
That's great until you split up around the ship and want to communicate with each other........
Yup, definitely a drawback. But on a Princess ship (at least the ones I have been on recently), you can use your phones to communicate via chats on the ship network without being on the payment plan. This is similar to being on United Airlines, you can use chat for free but cant get other services.
how do u connect devices after to connect?
I am mot sure i understand your question but if you are setting this up the steps are:
1. From your phone or computer connect to the WiFi that the router is broadcasting
2. From a web browser, go to the setup page of the router which is usually 192.168.0.1
3. From the web browser, setup the router to connect to the ships WiFi and enter what info the ship needs in terms of room number or name or whatever the ship is asking for
4. Once the router has rebooted, you can connect to the newly created network from all your devices
On my cruises, we pay for only one device and use all our devices as long as we only use one at a time. If you sign in to your account with a new device, it would just disconnect the previous one. It’s perfect if others don’t HAVE TO be on at the same time.
Or you could plug the repeater into a powerbank to make it portable. Sure it's clunky, but anything to beat the withdrawal symptoms, right?😏
Great idea, thanks for sharing!
I tried this with my Beryl router on Viking Ocean, and I failed miserably. Has anyone been successful routing on Viking? I was on the Neptune, in case it matters.
Will the main device that bought the wifi still have wifi all over the ship?
You should have coverage for the number of devices you paid for all over the ship.
What if I don't' have password for the cruise ship wi-fi ?We are are connecting via Carnival HUB now doesn't have password.
If the ship wifi does not have a password, choose “no security” for the key type then you will not be asked for the password.
@@BlueMonkey4n6 I tried everything we log in to the Wi-Fi via the app with just our folio and birthday so no password but still need to confirm the access
I have not connected to the Carnival HUB but am trying to connect the TP-Link to a hotel network which requires similar verification such as room number and last name. On my TP-Link, using the quick setup, i selected the hotel access point with the strongest signal, the key type should have no security selected as the Key Type. Then i set my Local SSID and at the last screen click Finish. The network connection was then disconnected so i had to select the Network i created (in my case BlueMonkey-5G). Then a pop-up window from the browser pops up from the hotel asking for the room number and last name. I entered those and was able to get on the Internet via the router.
2 things to note: 1. make sure your browser had pop ups enabled. Some people turn these off. 2. Make sure you look at all the windows of each browser as the pop up may have popped up then hidden by other windows you are working in.
Hope this helps.
Thanks for sharing , will it's works in norwegian cruise?
good question, I have not been on a Norwegian Cruise lately. Any other viewers out there have an answer?
@@BlueMonkey4n6 Somone said , it's not worked in Norwegian , so I'm gonna try another brand .
On NCL last year, the new friends I made instructed those who are iPhone owners to use iMessage to eachother. It was great way of communicating across the ship. The 'kids' taught an old dog a new trick. (iMessage uses the ship's wifi)
Can you recommend a better router, I will be getting 3 rooms.
This Mango router is also excellent for the price and size: GL-iNet Mango portable travel router: amzn.to/3Fa5iCY
But be aware that the metal walls between the cabins will probably suck up all the signal so you will need a separate router for each room.
hi there, when setting up this travel router on Princess Medallion net, do you need to disconnect the Wifi on your phone first? (assuming I purchased medallion net for 1 device and connected my phone first?) i want to use multiple devices thru the router.
Hi. If you bought the package for one device then you will need to disconnect your phone first (I dont remember if the network will ask you when you connect the second device if you want to bump off the first device). But its just easier to just disconnect the first device
@@BlueMonkey4n6 thank you. I believe Princess Medallion net asks to switch between devices if only 1 connection plan is purchased. With this router in the room after connection is set up, would you need to SWITCH back to your phone once you are ready to get out of the room? then when you return to the room, you would need to SWITCH again back to Router?
@hidavidhuang ah, I understand your question now and yes you are correct. You would need to switch back and forth between the router and the phone unless you bring the router with you on a battery pack.
@@BlueMonkey4n6 thanks so much again for the reply. Do you know how long this battery of the travel router lasts likely after a full charge if i bring it out of the cabin without a battery pack?
@hidavidhuang sorry if i was misleading. The travel router in the video does not have a built-in battery. I was referring to an external battery like the Enegon Portable charger & battery mentioned in the video
how do I get the ship password? I had purchased Ship wifi but never receive the ship password, is it something like your folio number and birthdate in order to login?
On some ships there may not be a password but you just need to enter info like your cabin number, folio number, etc
We found that Princess wifi blocked our VPN access, would this router solve that issue?
Interesting that Princess is blocking your VPN. The tp-link router mentioned in this video does not have VPN capability but the Mango from GL.inet does and I was able to use the VPN successfully on my last Princess cruise
Why not just see up a mobile hotspot on one phone?
Some phones can only do a hotspot via cell signal and not wifi.
Thanks you@@BlueMonkey4n6, that makes sense.
Ah yes, the all-important Wife Tolerance Factor. The other WTF. A critical factor when evaluating any new project.
WTF 😳 , I love it!!
why not just use your phone? connect the phone to wifi and share the network as a Hotspot with your other devices.
Ah, excellent suggestion! There are a few reasons that the travel router is used instead. First is that iPhones cannot share their WiFi and not Androids do either. Second is that you can use your router as a VPN tunnel so when you are traveling overseas, you can still access your Netflix or streaming services for your home country.
@@BlueMonkey4n6 what, android can do all that
Not all phones support Hotspot when connected to Wi-Fi
@@peterli3058 I don't know of any phone > $100 that can not do it. My 6 year old phone can do it. You can pick up a used phone for like $10-20 that will do the same. The wifi hotspot router is only good if you need to plug it to a network or if you want to use VPN and can't set that up on the phone.
Not saying that this device is useless, because I have one myself. I just think that many folks actually do not need it for what they are trying to do. Most people have a phone, so bringing yet another device is just more stuff.
This doesn’t work on a cruise ship