Some people boast about locking their phones in the safe as soon as they board a cruise ship. They say they want to disconnect and leave the world behind.
It's a noble ideal, but impractical for most people. Many cruise passengers have family and work reasons to stay in touch while at sea.
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In some cases, people consider staying connected as part of their vacation. That could mean sharing photos on social media, watching TikTok videos of your port stops, or relaxing by watching a streaming movie or TV show.
Just a few years ago, it was virtually impossible to do those things on a cruise ship. On my first cruise in late 2018 on the Carnival Conquest, the top-of-the-line internet package was barely capable of sending an email in a day at sea.
To send the work emails I needed to each day, I had to get up early in the morning to access precious internet bandwidth, and doing any meaningful work was basically impossible. Over the next few years leading up to the Covid pandemic, both Carnival and Royal Caribbean made marginal improvements to the internet, but the service was slow and unreliable.
As a regular cruiser during that period, I was able to work, but doing anything other than opening a web page or sending an email was best left for the days in port. Work was possible on the ship, but video conferencing was not possible and WiFi phone calls dropped out quite frequently.
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Image source: Caribe Real
Royal Caribbean and Carnival now offer Starlink
While Elon Musk may spend most of his time as a right-wing troll who has turned the old twitter into a hate-filled cesspool, he has also remained a tech visionary. His company Starlink has brought internet service to places that lacked it, provided a lifeline to Ukraine during Russia’s illegal invasion, and offered an affordable and viable option for internet on cruise ships.
Carnival Cruise Line (CCL) It has adopted it in all its brands, as has Royal Caribbean. However, both cruise lines have been largely silent about adding Starlink to their ships.
This may be an attempt to modify expectations, or it could be part of an effort to keep the system manageable by encouraging more passengers to purchase internet packages. However, Carnival CEO Josh Weinstein commented on the improved Internet service during his company's press conference. Second Quarter Earnings Conference Call.
“This quarter we completed the implementation of Starlink, another revenue growth opportunity and a true game changer for our onboard connectivity experience, allowing us to offer the same high-speed Wi-Fi service available on the ground across our fleet. Not only does this technology provide our guests with more flexibility to stay connected, it also enables our crew to stay in touch with friends and loved ones, and enhances our onboard operating systems – a win-win situation,” he shared.
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How well does Starllink really work on cruise ships?
Weinstein may be getting ahead of himself when he calls Starlink “the same high-speed WiFi service available on land.” Royal Caribbean makes a similarly boastful, but more nuanced, claim about its Voom internet service on its website.
“Royal Caribbean Voom, the fastest Internet service at sea, is now available on all Royal Caribbean ships. With onboard WiFi speeds six times faster than you'll find on any other cruise ship in the world, connectivity to the Internet is unlike anything you have ever experienced on board a cruise ship,” says the cruise company.
Royal Caribbean's claims are a little truer than those of Carnival's CEO.
Starlink, which I've used on several Royal Caribbean and Celebrity ships but not a Carnival ship, offers a much improved cruise internet experience. However, it still has its limits and its effectiveness varies depending on demand and your location on the boat.
Generally speaking, I can usually attend a one-on-one video conference on board if I find a spot with a good signal. I can attend video conferences with multiple people, but it works better if I turn off my own video.
Starlink doesn't offer land-like speeds or reliability, and is worse on sea days when more people use the internet, but it generally lets you work on a cruise ship. It is possible to post photos on social media and calls usually (but not always) work.
Carnival and Royal Caribbean took a clear problem and pretty much solved it. Starlink isn't the same as sitting in a Starbucks, but it's generally pretty good, which is a major improvement.
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