Cruise Ships & Wifi Free Internet on Cruise Ships? Updated 2024

Table Of Content

• What happened to minutes-based pricing?
• Silversea Cruises Wi-Fi and Internet
• Cruise Ship Wi-Fi: A Guide to Onboard Internet Services
• Is there a best time to use the onboard Wi-Fi?
• Why Is StarLink Internet a Game-changer for Cruise Ship Internet?
• Hotels With Cruise Shuttles For Every Major Port in America
• Can you stream movies on a cruise ship?

You might even wonder if you can make that Zoom meeting for work. Depending on the destination, cruise ship capabilities, and even your stateroom location, the variances in coverage can be significant. One of the primary advantages of Starlink Internet is its exceptional speed. Traditional satellite internet systems often suffer from latency issues due to the long distance signals must travel to reach the orbiting satellites and back to Earth.

What happened to minutes-based pricing?

You can pick a plan that works best for you based on how often you want to use your phone or other devices while on the cruise. Cruises often install multiple antennas on board that are able to receive signals from multiple sources. Passengers can then access the Wi-Fi network on their own devices, such as phones and tablets. The cost of Wi-Fi may vary depending on the cruise line and package purchased, but we’ll cover more on that later on. For example, if you’re sailing with Princess Cruises, you can purchase Princess Plus at the time of booking. With Princess Plus, you’ll get WiFi for one device per person, a beverage package, the crew gratuities included.

Silversea Cruises Wi-Fi and Internet

Celebrity Cruises uses Starlink as a provider for internet service across its entire fleet, with the exception of its Galapagos-based ships. Carnival Cruise Line offers guests the option of three plans via the line's satellite providers. As mentioned above, we recommend using the ship’s wi-fi to use your phone. This will allow you to make calls (you may have to use an app like WhatsApp to do so), send messages, email, and browse the web. Cellular Service in Ports of CallIn port (and off of the ship’s cellular or wi-fi service), you phone will work just as if you had taken a flight to another country.

Cruise Ship Wi-Fi: A Guide to Onboard Internet Services

Another line bringing down internet costs dramatically is Carnival. A slightly more expensive Value Wi-Fi plan, at $19.55 per day when bought in advance ($23 per day when bought on board), adds access to email and most websites. And there are certain parts of the world where satellite coverage is too thin or nonexistent to allow for internet access on cruise ships. The plans below are for browsing the internet, checking email, and checking social media sites. Video streaming services are not accessible with these plans.

Ambassador Cruise Line Installs Starlink Wi-Fi Connectivity - Cruise Industry News

Ambassador Cruise Line Installs Starlink Wi-Fi Connectivity.

Posted: Sat, 18 Nov 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]

By purchasing your WiFi plan in advance on the cruise line’s website, you can save 15% or more on the internet package. Many first-time cruisers make the mistake of waiting until they board their cruise to purchase wi-fi, and then they have to pay the price. Whether you’re on a cruise ship with Starlink internet or a cruise that claims to have the “fastest WiFi at sea”, the WiFi speed will still be slower than on land.

Is there a best time to use the onboard Wi-Fi?

If the ship is in port or close enough to land, you may be able to utilize the local 4G/5G network on your mobile phone. On some routes, cruise ships will remain close to the land network, and with an international data plan, you can use the package you purchased. All cruise ships today provide access to the Internet via onboard wifi services.

Why Is StarLink Internet a Game-changer for Cruise Ship Internet?

Celebrity suggests if you book it in advance, you’ll save 10% than if you were to wait and purchase it on board, but often there will be additional deals when paired with other upgraded packages. Overall, users have good things to say about the service, though it does appear there can be some spotty coverage depending on your itinerary. You can also use Royal’s app without having to pay to connect to their Wi-Fi. We live in a digital age where social media is prevalent in many aspects of our lives.

Princess Cruises Makes a Significant Price Increase - Cruise Hive

Princess Cruises Makes a Significant Price Increase.

Posted: Mon, 22 Jan 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]

Hotels With Cruise Shuttles For Every Major Port in America

Although some cruise lines have moved towards free Wi-Fi onboard, you will most likely need to pay for internet when cruising. Let’s go over a few basics when it comes to onboard Wi-Fi, including how much you can expect to spend, what you’re able to do online and the type of speeds you can anticipate. These innovations are good news for ALL cruise lines passengers. Cruise lines are striving to meet the need of cruisers to maintain a reliable connection with home and work.

Can you stream movies on a cruise ship?

The upcoming new Queen Anne will also receive the SpaceX internet connectivity when it launches in May 2024. One login is provided per suite for use with one device at a time. Gold and higher-level members of the Seven Seas Society and guests in Concierge Suites and higher receive up to four logins/devices per suite. Princess Cruises claims the "fastest Wi-Fi at sea" with its MedallionNet technology, with download speeds of 12.6 Mbps and upload speeds of 1.9 Mbps. Carnival Corporation and Princess achieve this speed by working with SES Networks, a leading satellite connectivity provider.

Royal Caribbean has an extensive app for guests to manage their cruise experience both before and during the sailing. Once onboard, access to the app is available without buying a Wi-Fi plan, in fact, it’s where you go to sign in to or purchase your Celebrity Wi-Fi package. The Celebrity Cruises app allows guests to preview menus, find venues onboard, book shore excursions and plan their entire cruise. Checking in and performing the onboard safety drill are easier with the app.

Yes – upgrades are available for our Surf Wi-Fi plan, the plan included as part of the Have It All fare. Once on board, guests can upgrade to Premium or Stream, higher service level packages or to multiple devices. Premium is available for a 24-hour or daily purchase once onboard. Stream is only available for the length of the guest’s voyage or remaining days in voyage and not available for a 24-hour or daily purchase. Premium Plan – $13.60/person per day (can save 20% if purchased online pre-cruise). Boasts three times faster connection to allow for streaming and video calling (where coverage allows).

Carnival offers three different internet packages that vary in speed in restrictions. Keep in mind that if you pre-pay for internet access before your cruise you will save money. If you decide to wait and buy a Wi-Fi package after you get onboard the ship it will cost a few dollars above the listed price. On most cruise lines, you'll need a minimum of $100 in onboard credit per device for a week's worth of free basic Wi-Fi. On lines that offer premium plans designed for streaming, you'll need around $20 per day per device. Seabourn Venture and Seabourn Pursuit are the first ships in the luxury fleet to use Starlink.

This discount can be significant — often 10-20% off the price of booking onboard. Cell service is provided on the ship at sea, but it can be expensive. A much easier thing to do is simply use the ship’s wi-fi to send messages and even make calls. Celebrity CruisesCelebrity Cruises offers wi-fi service to its passengers across the fleet. Like sister cruise line Royal Caribbean, Celebrity now offers one level of service known as the Premium Wi-Fi Package.

Guests staying in suites in The Retreat are treated to Premium Wi-Fi at no added cost. Premium Wi-Fi is also bundled with a selection of onboard amenities like unlimited room service in a package called Premium Access, available for purchase by all guests. It allows fast web browsing, less time spent waiting for pages to load and video-streaming capabilities with access to Netflix, YouTube, FaceTime and Skype. Carnival HUB is Carnival's free-to-download app and can be used onboard without a Wi-Fi package.

The lowest level of connectivity, Surf, is not available for purchase. Users have access to email, news apps and messaging apps, minus their audio and video features. If internet connectivity is important to you, there are more and more cruise ships outfitted with technology that enables high-speed internet. Many cruise lines offer lower tiers of service that are less expensive, but do not offer streaming capabilities. But perhaps the biggest development in cruise internet costs in recent years is that many higher-end lines have begun offering internet access for — get this — free. Viking, Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Silversea Cruises are among lines now including unlimited internet time in the base cost of a voyage.

Passengers in other suite categories can upgrade for a charge of $19.95 per day. Passengers can receive a discount by purchasing packages that bundle a drink package with internet access. If guests are interested in streaming, they can pay for a higher-bandwidth plan at the cost of $9.99 per day.