How much does it cost to use cruise ship internet?

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

Connection speeds have improved dramatically in recent yeras, but if you’re expecting the same speed of connectivity as you have at home, however, you’re out of luck. Use Internet onboard to send emals, post a photos to Instagram, or browse your Facebook feed, but leave the Netflix for your high-speed internet at home. Here’s the breakdown:

Azamara Club Cruises

Wifi: Available in cabins and all public areas of all ships.

Cost: Packages are 60 minutes for $20, a 24-hour pass for $30, or a full voyage pass for $20 a day.

Carnival Cruise Line

Wifi: Available in cabins and all public areas of all ships.

Cost: Carnival offers three internet plans, all of which exclude video streaming such at Hulu and Netflix, as well as Snapchat.

• Social Package: $5 per day for social media access only - Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger.
• Value Package: $16 per day for surfing the internet, social media, and checking email.  It does not support music streaming or video calling.
• Premium Package: $25 per day for email, Skype, social media, and surfing the internet with 3x faster connection than the other packages.

Celebrity Cruises

Wifi: Available in cabins and all public areas of all ships, with the exception of Celebrity Xpedition which only has wifi in public areas (not cabins).

Cost: 

• $143 per person for unlimited use on 4 to 6 day sailings if booked pre-cruise, or $159 onboard
• $224 per person for unlimited use on 7-9 day sailings if booked pre-cruise, or $249 onboard
• $269 per person for unlimited use on 10+ day sailings if booked pre-cruise, or $299 onboard

Celebrity's iLounge - Photo by Celebrity Cruises

Costa Cruises

Wifi: Available in cabins and all public areas of all ships.

Cost: Pay per minute is $0.25/minute or guests can choose one of  the following packages: 250 mb for $26.65 (25 euros), 500 mb for $41.58 (39 euros), or 3 gb for $106 (99 euros).

Crystal Cruises

Wifi: Available in cabins and all public areas of all ships.

Cost: All guests receive at least 60 minutes of free wifi each day, and beyond that guests can pay as they go for $0.74/minute or choose one of the following packages: 2 hours for $55, 5 hours for $127, or 10 hours for $220.

Cunard

Wifi: Available in every cabin and most public areas of all ships.

Cost: As a minimum, guests will receive 120 minutes for $45.  However, the line is currently upgrading their internet system fleetwide and hasn't released any additional internet package information yet.

Disney Cruise Line

Wifi: Available in cabins and all public areas of all ships.

Cost: Pay as you go is $0.25/megabyte or guests can choose from the following packages: 100 mb for $19, 300 mb for $39, or 1,000 mb for $89.

Holland America Line

Wifi: Available in cabins and all public areas of all ships.

Cost: Pay per minute is $0.75/minute.  Packages are 100 minutes for $55, 250 minutes for $100, 500 minutes for $175, and 1,000 minutes for $250.

MSC Cruises

Wifi: Available in cabins and all public areas of all ships.

Cost: 3 packages that can be bought on a "per day" or "per cruise" basis:

• Social Package: access to social media such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and LinkedIn on one device.  $9.90/day or $19.90 for a 7-night cruise.
• Surfer Package: everything in social plus access to check email and surf the web on two devices.  $14.90/day or $44.90 for a 7-night cruise.
• Streamer Package: everything in surfer plus audio and video streaming on four devices.  $29.90/day or $79.90 for a 7-night cruise.

Norwegian Cruise Line

Wifi: Available in all public areas of all ships and in cabins aboard Norwegian Breakaway, Dawn, Epic, Gem, Getaway, Jade, Jewel, Pearl, Sky, Spirit, Star, Sun, and Pride of America.

Cost: A variety of packages listed below:

• Ultimate Plan for cruises 1-12 days: $30/day
• Ultimate Plan for cruises 13+ days: $25/day
• Time Plan: 100 minutes for $75 or 250 minutes for $125 (all ships except Breakaway and Sky)
• Norwegian Sky Time Plan: 60 minutes for $39 or 100 minutes for $55
• Norwegian Breakaway Data Plan: 300 mb for $59 or 1,000 mb for $125

Computers on Norwegian Jewel - Photo by Norwegian Cruise Line

Oceania Cruises

Wifi: Available in cabins and all public areas of all ships.

Cost: Guests in Concierge Verandas and Penthouse Suites receive a free internet package, and guests in Oceania, Vista, and Owner's Suites receive free unlimited internet.  Other guests may pay $0.99/minute plus a $4 activation fee, or can choose from the following packages:

• 200 minutes (or equivalent data amount) for $164
• Unlimited internet access for $28/day

Princess Cruises

Wifi: Available in most cabins and most public areas.

Cost: 120 minutes for $69, 240 minutes for $99, 460 minutes for $159, or 680 minutes for $199.

Regent Seven Seas Cruises

Wifi: Available in cabins and all public areas of all ships.

Cost: Wifi is included in the cost of the cruise and is unlimited.  Each room may use only one device at a time, except for Gold-level members or higher who may use multiple devices at the same time.

Royal Caribbean International

Wifi: Available in cabins and all public areas of all ships.

Cost: If guests pre-purchase their internet packages ahead of time through the Cruise Planner, they will receive a discount.  You can also pay per minute, but otherwise the package options are listed below:

• Surf - 1 device for $13/day, 2 devices for $12/day/device, 4 devices for $10/day/device, and a single day pass for $20/device.
• Surf and Stream - 1 device for $18/day, 2 devices for $16/day/device, 4 devices for $14/day/device, and a single day pass for $28/device.

Viking Ocean Cruises

Wifi: Available in cabins and all public areas of all ships.

Cost: Wifi is included in the cost of the cruise and there is no limit on amount of devices used.

Windstar Cruises

Wifi: Available in most staterooms and public areas of all ships.

Cost: For the unlimited plan, if it is pre-purchased two devices can use it.  If it's bought once onboard, only one.

• Email Plan: 200 mb for $60
• Surfing Plan: 500 mb for $120
• Unlimited Plan: 7 days for $250, 8 days for $280, 9 days for $315, 10 days for $350, 11 days for $385, 14 days for $490, and 15 days for $525.

This article was updated on February 26, 2019.