Luxury cruise specialist Crystal Cruises has significantly upgraded its onboard computer network with new state-of-the-art technology and applications that enable guests to optimize their time online with faster connections and quicker downloads regardless of where in the world the ships travel.
Due to the need to use satellites for transmission, Internet access aboard a ship will always be significantly slower than on land. To dramatically improve performance, the award-winning Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony have become the first cruise ships in the industry to purchase and install the new WebAccelerator™ technology, a highly specialized device designed to compress the data in transit between the ship and satellite, optimizing communication and transmission time. Developed by F5, a global leader in application delivery, the technology has been proven to dramatically reduce web page load times.
Crystal has also undertaken a number of additional steps to upgrade the performance and speed of its shipboard networks, including increasing bandwidth by 33 percent, upgrading components responsible for routing traffic within the ships’ networks, and implementing equipment specially designed to deal with the delays inherent in satellite communication.
“Guests will notice an immediate benefit and significant improvements in the pace and performance of our shipboard networks, whether they are checking e-mail, surfing the net or sending digital photos to family and friends,” says Thomas Mazloum, Crystal’s senior vice president, hotel operations.
“We know that e-mail and Internet are an integral part of our guests’ way of life. With the most extensive shipboard labs and hands-on instruction programs in the industry, Crystal has chosen to be a leader in onboard computing,” continues Mazloum. “While it was an expensive undertaking, our recent network upgrades and our decision to be the first and only cruise line to invest in the new WebAccelerator™ is in line with our commitment to provide guests with the best computer technology and performance at sea.”
These upgrades follow the recent debut of the luxury line’s wireless Internet and cell phone service aboard Crystal Symphony and Crystal Serenity.
