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The Cost of Internet on Cruise Ships | Frommer's  

The Cost of Internet on Cruise Ships

The ability, and cost, of staying connected wirelessly varies by cruise line and ship. Most lines offer Internet access via Wi-Fi or computer stations located throughout the ships in their fleet, and break down pricing by minutes — the more minutes you purchase in bulk, the less you pay per minute.

If you’re expecting the same speed of connectivity as you have at home, however, you’re out of luck. Satellite connections are spread pretty thin, and the result is an aggravatingly slow link (think dial-up era). Use Internet onboard to send a quick email home or browse your Facebook feed, but leave the heavy lifting (image uploads and streaming video) for your high-speed internet at home. Here’s the breakdown:

Line Wi-Fi Cost

Azamara Club Cruises

Available in cabins and public areas of all ships. 65 cents per minute; Packages: $19 for 30 minutes, $27 for 45 minutes, $48 for 85 minutes, $80 for 150 minutes, and $100 for 235 minutes.

Carnival Cruise Lines

Available in cabins and most public areas of all ships. 75 cents per minute; Packages: $29 for 45 minutes, $59 for 120 minutes, $89 for 240 minutes, and $159 for 480 minutes. On Breeze, Freedom, and Sunshine, Carnival also offers a social media package with unlimited access to Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and other sites for $5 per day or $25 per voyage.

Celebrity Cruises

Available in cabins and most public areas of all ships, except on Celebrity Century, Celebrity Xpedition, and Celebrity Constellation, which only offer it in public areas. 75 cents per minute; Packages: $25 for 38 minutes, $50 for 90 minutes, $100 for 208 minutes, $200 for 555 minutes, and $400 for 1,666 minutes. A one-time activation fee of $4 applies.

Costa Cruises

Available in cabins and most public areas of all ships. 66 cents per minute; Packages: $13 for one hour and $32 for three hours. A one-time activation fee of $4 applies.

Crystal Cruises

Available in cabins and all public areas of all ships.

74 cents per minute; Packages: $50 for 120 minutes, $115 for 300 minutes, $200 for 600 minutes, $300 for 1,500 minutes. As of September 19, 2014, repeat cruisers will receive 60 minutes a day of free internet access.

Cunard Line

Available in most public areas of all ships. 75 cents per minute; Packages: $48 for two hours, $90 for four hours, and $168 for eight hours. 

Disney Cruise Line

Available in most public areas of all ships. Disney prices its Internet packages by megabytes rather than minutes. 25 cents per MB; Packages: $19 for 100 MB, $39 for 300 MB, $89 for 1,000 MB.

Holland America Line

Available in cabins and most public areas. 75 cents per minute; Packages: $55 for 100 minutes and $100 for 250 minutes. A one-time activation fee of $4 applies.

MSC Cruises

Available in cabins and most public areas. $5 for the first 10 minutes and 50 cents for every subsequent minute; Packages: $15 for 30 minutes, $25 for 60 minutes, and $80 for 250 minutes. 

Norwegian Cruise Line

Available in cabins on the Norwegian Gem, Star, Epic, Pearl, Jade, Jewel, Sun, and Breakawayand most public areas on other ships in the fleet. On Norwegian Epic, Breakaway and Getaway, a new smartphone app for Apple, Android, and Windows 7 (called iConcierge) allows passengers to stay connected onboard and make excursion and dining reservations. 75 cents per minute; Packages for cruises 5 days and shorter: $17 for 30 minutes and $24 for 60 minutes; Packages for cruises 6 days and longer: $55 for 100 minutes and $100 for 250 minutes. A one-time $4 activation charge applies. 

Oceania Cruises

Available in cabins and most public areas. All suites also include laptops (the Vista, Owner’s, and Oceania suites also come with an iPad) for use onboard. 99 cents per minute; Packages: $160 for 200 minutes. There is also a $28 package for one day of unlimited usage, and $22 per day for unlimited usage for the duration of the cruise. A one-time $4 activation fee applies.  As of Oct. 25 2015, suite and Concierge Level staterooms will receive blocks of complimentary Internet time based on cruise length, starting with 200 minutes for a seven-night cruise.

Princess Cruises

Available in cabins and most public areas. 79 cents per minute; Packages: $69 for 100 minutes, $99 for 200 minutes, $159 for 400 minutes, $199 for 600 minutes, and $249 for 1,100 minutes. Discount plans are available in advance. A one-time $4 activation fee applies.

Regent Seven Seas Cruises

Available in cabins and most public areas of all ships. MagicJack® and Skype® software are prohibited onboard for bandwidth reasons.

99 cents per minute, $160 for 200 minutes, or unlimtied for $30 per day. Starting in January 2015, passengers in Master, Grand, Seven Seas, Horizon View, Mariner, Navigator, and Voyager Suites will receive free, unlimited internet. Concierge suites will receive up to 500 minutes of free WiFi based on voyage length (approximately 30 minutes per day), and can upgrade to the unlimited package for $15 per day.

Royal Caribbean International

Available in most public areas of all ships. 65 cents per minute; Packages: $35 for 60 minutes, $55 for 100 minutes, $75 for 150 minutes, $100 for 250, and $150 for 500 minutes.

Windstar Cruises

Available in cabins and most public areas. During transatlantic cruises, no Internet is available. Windstar prices its Internet packages by megabytes rather than minutes. Two packages are available: The “Email Plan,” which is $50 for 75 MB of data, is recommended for checking email and some browsing. The “Surfing Plan” is $100 for 160 MB of data and is recommended for more extensive browsing and small file transfers, such as sharing photos online.
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