When considering a cruise vacation, you may be wondering ‘Do cruise ships have WiFi?’. Thankfully, the answer is yes! But connecting to the internet while at sea isn’t quite the same as on land. To help you navigate how much cruise internet costs, what’s included, and more, we’ve put together this helpful guide.

Is there internet on a cruise ship?

If you’re thinking about taking a cruise and wondering if you’ll have to disconnect from the world while at sea, don’t worry. Cruise ships do have wifi, and these days it’s faster and more reliable than ever before.

Whether you’re taking a cruise on a mainstream line such as Carnival or Royal Caribbean, sailing in luxury on Seabourn or Viking, or even taking an expedition cruise with Atlas or Silversea, you should have internet access for all (or nearly all) of your sailing. The caveat is that you have to pay to access the internet on many cruise lines, but we’ll get into that more below.

How good is the internet on cruise ships?

When considering whether to purchase internet on a cruise — or you’re wondering whether you can do some work or share photos and videos with friends while on board — you’re probably thinking, ‘How fast is the internet on a cruise ship, anyway?’. This answer varies.

With the recent introduction of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet for use on cruise ships, onboard WiFi is much faster and more reliable. Nearly all of the large cruise brands have implemented Starlink, including Carnival, Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean, MSC Cruises, Princess Cruises, and many others. Luxury lines including Explora Journeys, The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, Crystal, and Ponant — among others — have also recently outfitted their ships with Starlink satellite internet.

The point is, Starlink was a game-changer for the cruise industry, and internet on any ship that’s equipped with it is bound to have a very fast and dependable connection.

Remember, though, that not every ship has Starlink and even those that do may experience interruptions here and there. The internet on a cruise ship is seldom ever quite as reliable as the internet at home. A ship is essentially a moving vehicle that can sail hundreds of miles from land at any given time, and thus needs to rely on a wireless connection with satellites instead of wired options, such as fiber optics, that many of us depend on on land.

Connections with the satellites can be interrupted due to things like weather, the terrain around the ship (such as a fjord), and other factors. The ship may also experience technical issues on its end that temporarily affect the availability of wifi for those on board. However, modern day cruise ship internet is generally quite reliable and many guests use it for both personal and professional purposes.

How much does cruise ship wifi cost?

Now that you have an idea of how good the internet is on a cruise ship, your next question is probably ‘How much is wifi on a cruise?’. As with pretty much anything, this depends on the cruise line you’re sailing. To give you a general idea, the per-day, per-device cost for most cruise lines starts at $12 to $20. That’s right, if the internet is not free on your cruise, you are not only paying a per-day price, but it’s actually per-device on most lines as well. The good news is, you can switch between devices and aren’t stuck with a singular device for the sailing (on most cruise lines).

Notice that we said the starting cost is $12 to $20 per day. This is because many lines have multiple internet plans. The base plans usually include access to email, social media, and general internet browsing. Higher-level plans, which cost more, allow for streaming things like TV shows, movies, YouTube, music, and video calling like FaceTime and Zoom.

What are the internet packages offered by cruise lines?

Here are some examples of the packages major cruise lines offer to their guests. For a complete listing of all cruise lines, we have this guide to internet at sea.

Carnival Cruise Line

Carnival Cruise Line has three different internet plans: Social, Value, and Premium. The Social plan includes access to social media and airline apps. The Value plan adds on email and internet browsing. The Premium plan promises the fastest possible connection at speeds up to three times faster than the Value Plan, and supports video streaming and calling. The Social plan starts at $15.30 per day. The Value plan starts at $19.55 per day. The Premium plan starts at $21.25 per day.

Disney Cruise Line

Disney Cruise Line offers three internet packages: the Stay Connected plan, the Basic Surf plan, and the Premium Surf plan. Stay Connected allows for social media use, while Basic Surf adds email, web browsing, and voice calling. The Premium Surf package includes a faster connection speed along with the addition of streaming short videos and music, plus video calling. Longer-form video streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu are not supported on any Disney Cruise Line wifi plan. The Stay Connected package starts at $16 per day, the Basic Surf starts at $24 per day, and the Premium Surf starts at $34 per day.

Princess Cruises

There are two internet plans available on Princess Cruises: MedallionNet and MedallionNet Max. MedallionNet, which costs $25 per device, per day includes messaging, social media, browsing, streaming, and video chatting. Basically, it’s an all-inclusive wifi package. MedallionNet Max includes the same things, but features higher-performing wifi service with prioritized bandwidth access. Only guests who purchase Princess’ Plus or Premier bundles have access to MedallionNet Max.

Is wifi on a cruise worth it?

Answering the question of whether wifi on a cruise is worth the cost is dependent upon the person asking. If your cruise is purely vacation and you won’t need to connect to work or family back home, you may not need (or want) to purchase internet access. But if you need to stay accessible for a big work project, want to check in on family members, or don’t want to disconnect from social media for entire days at a time, you might consider purchasing wifi.

The good news is, if you do want internet you don’t need to purchase it for the entire sailing. Most cruise lines charge a per-day fee to get online, and you can pick and choose the days you do and don’t want to take advantage of it. So, for example, if you’re fine with using your cell service or the wifi in port, you can just purchase internet on the ship on sea days. Or, if you just want to check in with those back home halfway through your sailing and purchase internet for that one day, you can do that too.

If you’re wondering whether internet access is worth the cost in regards to how well the wifi actually works, we’d say it is worth it. As mentioned previously, most lines now use Starlink which is very quick and reliable as far as shipboard satellite internet goes. Even non-Starlink cruise ship internet can be very good. If your ship has internet and you think you’ll get good use out of it, go ahead and make the purchase.

How do you get cheap/free internet on a cruise?

Assuming you’re sailing on a line that does not already include wifi access in the cruise fare, there are some ways to get discounted or free internet during your voyage.

Purchase ahead of time

One easy way is to purchase an internet package ahead of time. Not every cruise line has this option, but some lines that do provide a discount for purchasing in advance. However, you will likely only be able to buy in advance if you’re getting internet for the whole cruise. If you’re planning to just purchase a day here and there, you’ll have to do that once on board.

Move up the loyalty program ranks

Another way you can get discounted (or even free) internet on a cruise is by moving up the tiers in the line’s loyalty program. Cunard and Celebrity both reward loyal cruisers with free wifi. Other lines, such as Royal Caribbean and Princess, offer discounts on internet packages as you move through the ranks.

Watch for promotions

If you’re looking to get free internet on a cruise, among other perks, keep an eye out for sales and promotions that the cruise line is running. Many cruise lines run sales that range from fare discounts to onboard credit and perks like a free drinks package or free wifi.

Purchase an inclusive add-on package

Many cruise lines offer packages that you can add onto the base cruise fare to make your vacation a more inclusive experience. These packages often include things like drink packages, specialty dining, daily gratuities, shore excursions, and — you guessed it — wifi. The actual inclusions vary based on the cruise line, but internet is very often part of these perks.

While the upgrade will cost you an extra per-day fee, overall the full value of the package is more than what you’ll pay for it. So if you’ll take advantage of enough perks to make the package worth it, it’s a great way to get wifi as part of your cruise fare. Examples of this include Holland America’s ‘Have It All’ package, Princess’ ‘Plus’ and ‘Premier’ packages, and Celebrity’s ‘All Included’ package, among others.

Norwegian Cruise Line’s ‘More at Sea’ program, which is included in the base cruise fare for almost all sailings, also includes internet access.

Consider sailing a line that includes wifi

Perhaps the most obvious way to get free wifi during a cruise is to simply sail with a line that includes internet in the base fare. Luxury lines are the most likely choices, which obviously cost more money up-front than a cruise on a premium or mainstream line does. These include brands like Silversea, Regent Seven Seas, Crystal, Ponant, and Viking. Virgin Voyages, which is a premium line, also includes wifi in its cruise fare.

Comments

Did you find our guide on do cruise ships have WiFi helpful? Do you usually purchase internet at sea? Drop us an anchor below to share your experiences using WiFi on a cruise.