Via MJ on Travel, Carnival Cruise Lines will be upgrading its internet speeds to 10X faster on Caribbean cruises later this year. And the service will expand to other destinations through 2016 such as Alaska and Western Europe.
I’ve never been on a cruise, but a lot of readers do like going on cruises. So this may be useful!
But will this really keep you connected while you’re at sea?
Carnival’s WiFi@Sea
To improve Wi-Fi speeds onboard, Carnival will use satellites, long-range Wi-Fi, and internet connections at port. They are calling this project, WiFi@Sea.
Carnival has yet to release the exact speeds and pricing of this service.
Internet Connectivity on Other Cruise Lines
While it’s great that Carnival is increasing internet speeds onboard, the cost of staying online on cruise ships is often extremely expensive.
We don’t know how much Carnival will charge, but here’s a look what other cruise lines charge to stay connected:
| Cruise Company | Internet Pricing | Get More Information |
|---|---|---|
| Holland America | - 40 to 75 cents per minute - Initial log-in fee of $3.95 | Internet Access on Holland America |
| Norwegian Cruise Lines | - 40 to 75 cents per minute - Initial log-in fee of $3.95 | Stay Connected on Norwegian Cruise Lines |
| Princess Cruise Lines | - 79 cents per minute or you can choose from a variety of packages -$3.95 activation fee | Princess Cruise Lines Internet Access |
| Royal Caribbean | - 65 cents per minute | About Royal Caribbean SMART Connect Interent |
Royal Caribbean is also in the process of upgrading to faster internet on its ships, Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas.
While cruise lines such as Carnival offer packages to bring down the cost-per-minute of their internet, it’s still far from cheap!
Bottom Line
Carnival Cruise Lines will be introducing higher internet speeds to some of its Caribbean ships.
The fact that cruise lines are working to keep folks online at sea is fantastic news for those who like to stay connected with friends and family. And it’s helpful to those who work while they travel.
However, we still don’t know the pricing of this new service or the reliability. So this may not be the solution to make it easy for folks to stay connected while cruising.
Have you tried the internet service on a cruise recently? Tell us about your experience!
I went on the Carnivale Freedom on 12/13/2014 which had the new upgraded internet. They offered 3 plans, each opening up additional internet sites. The first one was basically for social media, the second was any website and the third was any website at high speed. I chose the slower any site one. I paid $60 for the entire 8 day cruise. It wasn’t blazing fast but, fast enough for what I needed to do e.g. check prices on watches, jewelry, etc… I liked it so much I paid another$60 so my wife could have it on her phone. This enabled us to communicate via imessage. I was extremely happy with the service and will not go on another cruise without it.
I just received an offer from IHG to purchase points with up to a 100% bonus.
You have commented during prior offers that it is a pretty fair deal as now one can get 120000 miles for $690.
(60,000 points x 2) which equates to less than 6 cents per unit wherein most offers give it to you for .07 cents.
Do you know if a person can buy with one of the cards that offers incentives for hotel / travel purchases in effect getting an extra bonus or is this deal through a broker like points.com?