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If you like to read books on your mobile device, listen to audiobooks, or watch Netflix while you’re on a cruise, then be sure to download them before your cruise. It’s a good idea to check the available plans, ask questions and read the fine print, to see what is best for you. Join us on this exciting voyage where we share not just tips but insider secrets and money-saving gems about cruising. Read the news, check your email and keep up with your favorite sites. It will depend on where in the world/ocean you are, where in the ship you are, how many other people are using at the same time, etc. Ships also will deal with bandwidth and data issues, which means the more people that are using it at the same time, the slower it will generally be.
Price: Starting at $17.15 per day
Your best bet is to buy a package, which brings the per-minute pricing down. On some ships, packages are the only way to buy internet, and many lines offer discounts for purchasing your package online before your cruise begins. Additionally, newer ships typically have fast internet because they were built with high-speed connectivity in mind. Most of the major cruise lines are rolling out technology to older ships to significantly speed up the internet onboard, but it's a ship-by-ship process and could take several years to complete. Expecting to have blazing fast internet on the ship like you would back at home?
Silversea Cruises WiFi Packages
Windstar Cruises has aimed to implement Starlink across most of its fleet by now, midway through 2023. Wind Spirit will get the service once it is available in French Polynesia. The technology supports the line’s existing geostationary satellite service, Anuvu.
Cost of Wi-Fi for Main Cruise Lines
Windstar also offers an all-inclusive package that bundles Wi-Fi, drinks and gratuities. Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) offers 24-hour internet cafes and ship wide satellite wireless internet access on all of its ships. Wi-Fi is not available on NCL’s private island experiences Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas and Harvest Caye in Belize. The Essential plan provides access to web browsing, email and social media. The line offers discounts for multi-device plans and on voyages of 16 nights or more.
Using Your Phone in a Port of Call
Ships can lose their satellite signal due to the local terrain or close to surrounding mountains or glaciers. There are also some areas in the world where satellite coverage is almost non-existent, which prevents internet access for cruise ships. We were recently on a cruise in the Arctic, and there was no internet access for five days due to no satellite within range.
Preview: Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Aqua
Carnival, for instance, has stated clearly in the past that “VPN connections are not supported” on their network. Royal Caribbean doesn’t explicitly state one way or the other, but we’ve seen several reports that using a VPN can be hit or miss for passengers. In our experience, using a VPN led to some interruption in the connection. However, if you are trying to look at pages with adult themes, then you’ll likely find you’re unable to connect. For example, Carnival says that “access to certain sites such as mature or violent content is blocked” over their network.
Virgin Voyages Deploying Unmatched Internet Speed at Sea - Cruise Hive
Virgin Voyages Deploying Unmatched Internet Speed at Sea.
Posted: Mon, 26 Feb 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]
For a fee, passengers ages 13 and older can access the app's chat feature to message other family members and friends onboard. On older ships, as well as on some riverboats and expedition ships, internet is only available in specified locations, such as a lounge or an internet cafe. If you're booking an older ship or an expedition ship and you want the most coverage available, ask your travel agent or the cruise line if the ship has bow-to-stern Wi-Fi. Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL) is one of the few we’ve found that explicitly says they will let you access via a VPN.
Still, we’d suggest downloading any programs you want to watch beforehand if possible. That will allow you to watch without worrying about connection quality. We were able to stream a show on Netflix, but the majority of the time the image was pixelated, though it did play continuously without buffering and eventually cleared up. Starlink service is currently available on Regent Seven Seas Cruises' Seven Seas Mariner and Seven Seas Grandeur, with a fleetwide expansion of the service to be completed by the end of 2024.
The cruise line uses a hybrid system that combines faster satellite connections at sea with a network of less-expensive land-based towers that take over as its vessels near coastal areas. When I ran a speed test of Voom on Adventure of the Seas, I found the line's fastest option, the Surf + Stream service, usually offered download speeds of just around 3 megabits per second. I never found download speeds exceeding 4 Mbps, but I did see it drop as low as 1.5 Mbps. While still significantly slower than many home connections, that's fast enough to enjoy Netflix and other streaming video services, though I did experience grainy video and buffering issues on occasion.
It’s likely that you would be asked about using such a massive amount of data. Second, given the internet speed, you could see some lagging or lower-quality pictures. We’ve personally have had issues as well in tests we’ve done on cruises. In our tests across different cruise lines, the speed of service has varied widely, but seems most consistently in the 3-5 Mbps range. That said, we’ve been on cruises with speeds in the 1 Mbps range and some that approached 60 Mbps. You pay one amount for your internet service and connect as many devices as you want — and they all have access to the full internet.
Examples are Norwegian's Free at Sea program or Windstar's All-In package. Aside from these occasional circumstances, ships generally provide internet connectivity 24/7. Internet on riverboats -- at least in the United States and Europe -- is slightly different, as most boats are connecting to land-based signals. These tend to be of average speed but can be blocked by landmarks like shipping locks and high towers or landscape features like hills and mountains. This allows you online access without the cost of paying for service during the entire cruise. If you’re doing what the service is designed for — streaming shows, checking email, etc. — you likely won’t be running into issues.
Unlimited Wi-Fi Package – 1 device is $25.50/day when purchased prior to your cruise. This allows you to browse websites, use social media apps (except for TikTok), and access email (no VPN). If you want to be able to stream as well as browse the internet, the VOOM Surf and Stream package would be for you at an average of $22.99/day. Again, these prices vary based on ship, sailing and number of devices you wish to connect. We certainly don’t expect the same sort of speeds we see at home, but it seems that 5-10 Mbps is a “typical” speed for cruises that we’ve been on with other lines.
Concierge guest categories can get 100Mb of internet usage for free while others may get free unlimited internet for the duration of the cruise. This can cause websites and applications to load slowly, or even not at all. The spinning wheel of death is all too common on voyages in remote locations. The wi-fi tends to be slower during the day, as many people are using the internet at the same time and there is some congestion. If you need to use the WiFi for work or school, you will want to go on the internet in the morning or in the evening.
To start, the internet onboard relies on satellites while you’re out at sea. Cruise lines team up with maritime communication companies to provide Wi-Fi on their ships. Since cruise lines can’t afford to launch satellites specifically for their ships, it’s standard practice for the cruise lines to rent bandwidth. Based on guest feedback we have moved away from pricing based on minutes or megabytes. Our aim is to reduce friction in the guest experience by ensuring guests do not have to monitor their usage – they only need to purchase the package which includes the sites they want and enjoy.
Another tip to save money is to use one a PC laptop to create a hotspot in your cabin. Although this might not always work depending on the cruise ship’s enabled capabilities, I’ve successfully used my laptop as a hotspot multiple times. This allows us to purchase Wi-Fi for just one device and then create a hotspot for other devices to connect to. First, cruise lines normally have a loyalty program that is free to sign up for.
Holland America’s Have it All promotion is all-inclusive plan consisting of WiFi , a beverage package, and specialty restaurant. In my experience and that many other cruise passengers, the internet is usually better on Caribbean cruises than in other destinations. Mountainous regions like the Norwegian Fjords are notorious for having bad wifi connections.
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