Carnival Cruise Line Is Bringing High-Speed Starlink Wi-Fi to Its Ships
Travelers will be able to stream movies, send photos, video call, and more at much higher speeds.
Last summer, several major cruise lines—including Royal Caribbean—announced plans to bring SpaceX's high-speed Wi-Fi to its own ships for an upgraded internet experience. Now, Carnival is finally implementing the Starlink technology, USA Today reports.
"For many of our guests, it has become more and more important to maintain the type of connectivity at sea that they've become accustomed to at home, and of course to share the unforgettable experiences of their cruise with friends and family," Carnival Corporation CEO Josh Weinstein said in a news release. "We are in the business of delivering happiness, and Starlink makes it as easy as possible for our guests to share all their great moments and memories, giving them even more joy out of their cruise vacation."
This isn't just your run-of-the-mill Wi-Fi service, people. According to Carnival, it "greatly advances" the technology on board so that guests can share photos, stream movies, make video calls, and have an overall more reliable connection. Basically, it makes it easier to do all the things you want to do—like brag to your friends about your sick vacation.
"The added bandwidth will give the brands the capabilities and flexibility to introduce new guest services and features, as well as help boost operational functions like onboard equipment monitoring and real-time communications between ship and shore teams," Weinstein said.
While Carnival has not shared how this news will affect pricing, the cruise line did just increase its current costs. The Social internet plan now starts at $12.75 per person each day, while the Value plan is $17 and the Premium plan is $18.70. My guess is that number will spike even more once Starlink is in place...but, hey, worth it.