Once they were expensive and oh-so-slow…
But modern cruise ships are being fitted out with the latest technology to keep you connected while you’re on holiday.
Sharing Instagrams with your friends, keep colleagues updated On Facebook or sending Snapchats of your shore excursions to your family are all now quite normal, even if some lines are a bit patchy.
It’s all an enormous leap forward from the days when you crowded round the communications towers on deck.
Royal Caribbean this week announced it would be rolling out high speed Internet on its entire fleet. The first successful rollouts were on the line’s Quantum-class and will also include Ovation of the Seas.
MSC Cruises earlier this year announced a new multi-device package which is currently the best value at sea. There are two Internet bundles – Social, or the Surfer Package.
Star Cruises also has cheap Internet packages starting at around SGD$13.50 for one day. But you can only get WiFi access in certain areas of the ship like the Pavilion Room, Star Club 1,2 and 3 and the Library.
So where to get the best value? If staying in touch is important to you, our listings below will help:
Royal Caribbean
- Surf provides guests the opportunity to surf the web, stay in touch via email, and share their holiday photos on social media. Surf packages start at US$12.99 per device per day with additional devices added at a discounted cost. Family packages – 5 devices or more – start as low as US$8.99 per device per day.
- Surf and Stream, which is ideal for guests looking to do more than connect via email or social channels, but also want the capability to stream movies and music from Netflix or Spotify, and to connect using video chat apps such as Skype. This package is available for US$17.99 per device per day. Additional devices can be connected at a discount and family packages – 5 devices or more – start as low as US$11.99 per device per day.
MSC Cruises
- Social Package is is the cheapest, priced from €3.90 (A$5.70) per day or €14.90 (A$21.70) for a seven-night cruise. The package includes unlimited access for social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, Pinterest, WhatsApp and more for one device.
- The Surfer Package offers general internet access for for two devices for €9.90 (A$14.40) per day or €29.90 (A$43.60) for a seven-night cruise. The Streamer Package allows up to four devices to connect to the internet and stream audio or video services like Netflix for €19.90 (A$29.00) per day or €59.90 (A$87.30) for a seven-night cruise.
Star Cruises
- Star Cruises have different WiFi packages onboard their ships which are available in areas like the karaoke rooms, library, sauna & spa and restaurants like Noble House, The Taj and the Gelato Café. There are one and three day packages available starting from SGD$13.50 for one day and SGD$38.25.
