internet access

Internet access on cruise ships varies in speed and reliability, but is often known for being slow. Recently, Royal Caribbean announced their intention to work with Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet service and even appears to be testing it on one of their vessels.  The reality is, however, that what stands in the way of staying connected at sea isn’t fast satellite service, it’s how cruise lines use it, and Royal Caribbean isn’t using it well... read more

With more people than ever enjoying the flexibility of remote work, and broadband technology improving, much of the world can be your office.  What about cruise ships though?  Working from cruise ships may be possible for some, but it’s critical to understand whether it’s possible for you, before setting sail... read more

MedallionNet, Princess Cruises' high speed shipboard internet/WiFi service, part of the Ocean Medallion program is itself picking up steam.  While available only on Regal Princess just months ago, the service, allowing guests fast and affordable internet access, as well as a number of guest experience enhancements, is now available on four Princess ships, and will soon be available on a total of ten ships - nine of them before the end of 2019... read more

This week Oceania Cruises, a subsidiary of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, announced "Wavenet", a new internet technology coming soon to the fleet, which includes free basic access for all guests.  WiFi on cruise ships was once, and in many cases still is quite expensive and slow, but it's become much better and cheaper over the past couple of years - changes certainly welcome by many guests as well as crew members... read more

In a world where we're constantly connected, those new to cruising are frequently shocked to find out about the high cost and sometimes poor speed of cruise ship internet connections.  We've written before about staying in touch at sea, as well as various lines' efforts to better connection speeds and prices on-board cruise ships.  What we haven't discussed is why it's so tricky.  We'll try to keep things relatively simple, but be ready to get nerdy as we examine why the speed of light isn't fast enough when it comes to WiFi on the high seas.

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Miami-based Carnival Corporation & PLC, the world’s largest leisure travel company and parents to numerous cruise lines announced that they’ll be deploying new connectivity to their ships which will be enabled by SES Networks.  

The service – delivered in connections with SES networks – will use geostationary earth orbit and medium-earth orbit constellations, managed services, and shipboard technologies to deliver reliable and high-speed connections at sea.  By combining multiple sources of bandwidth, over different bands and different satellite systems, connected to an “unprecedented volume” of shipboard access points, the aim is to deliver guests what they want when they want it, regardless of... read more

Whether you want to share your vacation memories as they happen or you're looking to be able to keep in touch with those back home, many of you have asked questions about staying connected while cruising, and there is no single answer.  In the past couple of years cell phone carriers have made international roaming a bit more palatable, but cell phone roaming rates on ships are still completely impractical, at least for calls and data.  What are your options if you want to stay in touch while cruising?  We've got 11 tips to keep you connected without breaking the bank... read more