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As many cruisers have found the hard way, international phone plans such as AT&T's $10-a-day International Day Pass do not apply to cruise ships at sea. If you let your AT&T phone roam while you're on a vessel, you'll pay $2.05 per megabyte of data — even if your base plan at home offers you unlimited data. You'll also pay $3 per minute to make a call, $0.50 per text and $1.30 to send a photo. Royal Caribbean also offers a slower-speed version of Voom that can't support streaming for $19.99 per day for one device.
Connection Varies
There is a discount if you buy service before the cruise compared to the onboard price. Don’t forget to download the Carnival Hub app before your cruise. Doing so on your cruise can rack up data charges if you’re not careful. It’s likely you’re traveling with other people that want access to the Internet.
Three Plans of Access
At Celebrity Cruises, for instance, the top Zenith tier in the line's Captain's Club loyalty program comes with unlimited free Premium-level internet (the fastest plan at the line). Carnival cruise Wi-Fi is also fast enough to support Netflix streaming on some ships, the company says. 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.
TPG app
That has recently changed and guests can purchase internet through the cruise manager at Carnival.com. If you buy the internet plan before your cruise, you can save 15 to 20 percent (depending on the plan). If you want until embarkation day to purchase the WiFi, it will not be at a discounted rate. As we are increasingly staying connected with friends and family by sharing photos and videos via social media, it has become more important to stay connected even while on vacation.
Nor do they come with any other sort of fee — at least for most features. On some cruise ships, the signal has become so much faster you now can stream Netflix from the comfort of your cabin — something that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago. I can guide you through the ins and outs of Wi-Fi on cruise ships.
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You are able to connect and get data from the app at no cost. If you’re about to sail, you’ve likely seen mention of downloading the HUB app to use on the ship. This app is extremely useful on the cruise, and you can use it to access everything from dinner menus to ship maps to tracking your onboard spending account. In that case, messaging apps like WhatsApp might be a better option.
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Using the wi-fi here and there to check the news or email, however, was just fine. The old pay-by-the-minute system, which could leave even modest internet users with sky-high bills, is now giving way to simpler and more affordable "all you can browse" plans on many lines. There were times when the connection seemed faster than others, but you wouldn’t confuse the speed with broadband you have at home or the office. Not that long ago, Internet on a cruise was largely a luxury. While someone might buy access to be able to work remotely from the ship or buy a few minutes to check email, broad access by many people on the ship wasn’t common.
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Cruise Radio prioritizes well-balanced cruise news coverage and accurate reporting, paired with ship reviews and tips. Our experience, however, is that you can actually stream at least some of those services that are supposedly no supported. To transfer access between devices, you simply follow the login procedures as normal. It will notify you that the account is already in use and ask if you want to switch devices. Simply confirm the switch and you’re good to go on the second device. When you choose to apply (and are approved) for a new credit card through our site, we may receive compensation from our partners, and this may impact how or where these products appear.
Here are five things to know about onboard internet before you set sail. It’s not cheap, but if you only need to get online for a short time once or twice during your cruise, it might be better than purchasing a package. As a bonus, printing is free of charge at these cafes as well. Finally, the “Premium” plan is $25/day and promises everything from the Value plan as well as video calling such as Skype and Internet speeds that are three times faster.
Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information. But, in the end, there are limits to just how well a satellite system can work. For starters, a ship needs a clear "line of sight" to a satellite to exchange data, something that isn't always the case. Cruise ships traveling through the famed Norwegian fjords, for instance, can lose their satellite signal due to the height of surrounding mountains. In other words, access to work that requires a reliably fast and solid connection could have issues (you are at sea, after all).
At Carnival, you'll pay $5 per cruise to add a "chat" feature to the line's otherwise free HUB app that will let you communicate via text-like messages with other app-enabled passengers. Norwegian Cruise Line also requires passengers to pay a fee (currently $9.95 per cruise) to use a messaging and calling feature of its Cruise Norwegian app. Another way to get free or cheaper internet time on ships is to join cruise line loyalty programs.
So while onboard cruise Wi-Fi speeds are getting better, they'll never be as fast as at home, where a hard wire brings the signal straight to your router. For most of the many years I've been writing about cruising, the typical internet connection at sea hasn't just been slow. You'd click on a website only to experience many seconds of frustration. Maybe the cruise would end while you were still sitting there.
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