NCL Gem Internet

If you have recently cruised on the NCL Gem, I would like to get people's opinion on this. My last cruise on the Gem was 10 years ago, so I know technology may have changed. I will be sailing next month (August 2024) on the Gem and I am debating on whether to "upgrade to the unlimited Wi-Fi package".

Question: Do you think upgrading to the unlimited Wi-Fi package is worth it?

I know that the NCL Gem now has "Starlink Internet", but I don't know if the signal/connection even with Starlink is still extremely slow. I would only be using the internet onboard the ship to check my email and for basic Internet searches. With my booked cruise, I currently only have 150 minutes.

Tags: Norwegian Cruise Line Norwegian Gem

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1 Answer

maryred

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Contributor Level: First Mate

Posted: 4 months ago

The only speed impact a specific ship has in regards to The Starlink WiFi is how many repeaters they have on board for the number of passengers using the WiFi package at any given time. The bigger impact is your itinerary in relation to the more common shipping/cruising lanes, which is how the bulk of Starlink satellites are currently deployed for coverage.

With that said the Starlink is in some cases 100X faster than the previous system of satellites, but for other itineraries that are along lesser used (or rerouted out of popular lanes due to weather) courses it's about the same. Currently there are less Starlink satellites but they have a faster processing and a larger signal "gateway" allowing for more users at a time. The old system has been up there for over 10 years now which can represent like 3 generations back in technology time (remember if you can the height of 3G use after the whole country went through tower upgrades vs. the first year of 5G service as many areas were slow to switch the new technology on the towers).

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