Reviewed: Carnival Cruise Wi-Fi Service Speed, Reliability, Cost, and More
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Carnival has made staying connected at sea easy with its improved Internet access. Some people need to use a virtual private network (VPN) when working or simply use one for more privacy online. While we didn’t specifically test out a VPN while sailing, Carnival says they do not support VPNs on their ships. The good news if that you don’t have to purchase wi-fi access to use the app. All the features can be used without buying an Internet plan.
Onboard internet speed is getting much faster
On a sailing on one of the Carnival ships outfitted for faster internet, Carnival Sunrise, I did notice a significant improvement in cruise Wi-Fi speed. But the promised access to Netflix streaming wasn't quite as smooth as I had hoped. Clicking on a favorite show, I only could watch for a few minutes before the connection inevitably froze.
Connection Varies
Many of these apps also will show you a schedule of daily activities, offer ship deck plans and sometimes port maps to help you get around, and let you check your onboard account statement in real time. On Celebrity Edge and other Celebrity Cruises Edge-class ships, you can even use an app to remotely open your cabin door, change channels on the television and turn off the lights. While all these apps work off cruise ship Wi-Fi, the good news is they don't require the purchase of a plan to use.
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You can also stay connected with fellow cruisers who’ve purchased this plan via messaging apps or iMessage. But perhaps the biggest development in cruise internet costs in recent years is that many higher-end lines have begun offering internet access for — get this — free. Viking, Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Silversea Cruises are among lines now including unlimited internet time in the base cost of a voyage. At some of these lines, such as Regent, you can pay extra for faster service. Note that you might be able to make Wi-Fi calls from an iPhone or via WhatsApp, even with the less expensive plan. Passengers who pay for a Carnival Cruise Wi-Fi plan in advance of sailing get a 15% discount.
There may be restaurants that offer wi-fi to customers or ports of call that offer access for a cheaper fee than what’s on the ship. You can also access the Internet with a day-pass so you don’t have to pay for access the entire week. Bottom line is that yes, you can stream in at least some cases. The better option, however, is to go ahead and download any shows you want to watch ahead of time. That way you don’t have to worry about wi-fi service at all. Even if you are able to stream, there might be points where a slow connection makes the show appear choppy or pixelated.
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On cruise ships, every packet of data you are downloading onto your phone or computer, for the most part, is coming over a satellite, which is not a quick or inexpensive proposition. On some ships operated by Carnival, you even can order beer and pizza to wherever you happen to be using an app. Another line bringing down internet costs dramatically is Carnival.
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Royal Caribbean still claims Voom is the fastest and best Wi-Fi option on cruise ships today. But we're a bit skeptical – not because the Wi-Fi is slower than stated, but because other cruise lines, like Carnival Cruise Line, are quickly catching up. And there are certain parts of the world where satellite coverage is too thin or nonexistent to allow for internet access on cruise ships. To start, there is no Comcast cable wire running to your cruise ship.
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A slightly more expensive Value Wi-Fi plan, at $19.55 per day when bought in advance ($23 per day when bought on board), adds access to email and most websites. Yes, all cruise ships today offer an internet connection, but it might not be the seamless experience you've come to expect on land. AT&T does offer a "Cruise Plus" plan for a flat fee of $100 that allows unlimited talk and text during sailings up to 30 days in duration. But it only comes with 1 gigabyte of data (which may seem like a lot until you start streaming movies), with any overage billing at a still-hefty $10 per 100 megabytes.
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For example, you will likely have the best connectivity early in the morning or late at night when many guests are in bed. But before you run down to Guest Services, try simply reconnecting first. One thing to note is that many ports of calls offer wi-fi service in some shape or form.
The breakdown of the three levels of Internet packages available for purchase is simple. For instance, visiting YouTube took about 10 seconds before video thumbnails started to load. A visit to CNN.com brought up the text headlines relatively quickly, but images were delayed.
If you simply want to stay connected, check email occasionally and text some friends, then paying that much seems too high to us (that’s where the cheaper Social and Value plans are nice). However, if you have work obligations or things going on back home that you simply can’t miss, then by all means, hop online. The good news is that cruise lines — including Carnival — offer wi-fi access across their fleets. Whether you want to hook up to the Internet with your laptop or post to Facebook from your phone, you can get service anywhere on the ship on any device. Personally, I find it easier to just hit the airplane mode button. Once in airplane mode, I reactivate the Wi-Fi feature on my phone to access the cruise Wi-Fi, and sign up for a shipboard plan that will let me stay in touch by email or a VoIP service like WhatsApp.
First, you can buy more than one package, giving access to multiple devices at once. If you had to use the connection every day to surf, it would be slow by modern standards. It definitely took some time to load images onto posts for Cruzely.com when we live-blogged the cruise.
However, less-intensive tasks should be perfectly feasible. For most of us, we message a lot more than we actually make calls on our phone. In this case, during our tests we noticed that texting iPhone to iPhone seemed to work with no problems. We were able to send and receive messages when connected to wi-fi, including messages with pictures. On our trip we tested FaceTime calls from an iPhone with the Premium plan. We were able to talk, but there were some times where the image was blurry or froze for a few seconds.
Many offer free cruise Wi-Fi or discounted package pricing to customers who hit mid- to upper-tier levels. Well, the highest-speed version of Royal Caribbean's Voom connection currently costs $26.99 per day for one device. In the old days of 75 cents-a-minute pricing, that same amount of money would have gotten you just 36 minutes of web time. The maritime communication companies that specialize in providing internet connections to ships have been trying to speed things up in recent years. Solutions have included adding more satellites and linking their systems to land-based towers that connect with ships as they near shore. Depending on the location and time of day, the wifi may vary in connecting speeds.
For both cruise internet packages, there are discounts for adding more devices and purchasing a package online before your sailing. 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. The “Social” package is just $8/day and includes access to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Linkedin, Facebook Messenger, and WhatsApp. The ability to message friends and family from these apps makes this package particularly attractive, as you can easily stay in touch with a friend back home who’s watching your house or pet.
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