BIG NEWS!!! Carnival Corporation Expands Next-Generation Wi-Fi Connectivity with SpaceX's Starlink

[LACruiser88]

 

 

 

January 18, 2023 10:30 AM EST Carnival Corporation Expands Next-Generation Wi-Fi Connectivity with SpaceX's Starlink

New agreement with satellite technology leader Starlink set to transform guest and crew connectivity experience with faster and greater capacity to ships, beginning with the company's Carnival Cruise Line and AIDA Cruises brands   As part of its ongoing strategy, world's largest cruise company has nearly tripled fleetwide bandwidth and continues to enhance connectivity as part of its focus to provide guests and crew across its world-class cruise brands with the best available Wi-Fi experience at sea   MIAMI, Jan. 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), the world's largest cruise company, today announced an agreement for the next-generation of internet connectivity across its global fleet, the latest in a series of moves that have nearly tripled ship bandwidth since 2019. The company has signed a new agreement with SpaceX's Starlink, the leader in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite technology, to provide faster service, greater capacity and more reliable Wi-Fi on a global scale.   Fleet roll-out of Starlink began in December 2022 with Carnival Cruise Line and AIDA Cruises ships, with plans to expand Starlink to several of the company's other world-class cruise brands, which include Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn, P&O Cruises (Australia), Costa Cruises, P&O Cruises (UK) and Cunard.   Rivaling on-land connectivity experiences, Starlink greatly advances Carnival Corporation's focus on providing the best available Wi-Fi experience for its guests to stay connected while on vacation, including sharing photos and videos, streaming movies and live sporting events, and enjoying other content onboard with a reliable connection at even faster speeds.   "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," said Josh Weinstein, CEO of Carnival Corporation. "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."   According to Weinstein, "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. And importantly, adding Starlink's innovative technology to the company's existing connectivity platform will also help our amazing crew stay in touch with friends and loved ones." "High-speed, low-latency broadband internet is critical in our modern age, and we're excited to provide Carnival Cruise Line and AIDA's guests an internet experience that makes their travel even more enjoyable," said Jonathan Hofeller, vice president of Starlink sales for SpaceX. "In even the most remote waters, guests onboard Carnival Corporation ships will be able to share real-time updates with friends and family."   Starlink agreement advances Carnival Corporation's connectivity leadership strategy Starlink joins a growing portfolio of world-class communications service, satellite and other technology providers that make up Carnival Corporation's industry-leading, fleetwide connectivity ecosystem. As a global cruise company with nearly 100 ships visiting over 700 ports worldwide, Carnival Corporation's innovative, multi-provider connectivity framework is designed to strategically route internet traffic to optimize network speeds across its fleet anywhere in the world.

[gottagocit]

This is great news. Hopefully it will not increase cost significantly. 

[Ken the cruiser]

We'll be on the Celebrity Eclipse starting in mid-April on a TP cruise from Sydney to Vancouver where Starlink has already been implemented on the ship as well as on other Celebrity ships. It will be interesting to see how well it performs, especially out in the middle of the Pacific.

Edited January 18, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[Sea Hag]

I wonder how soon this will filter out to all Princess ships. Could be a while. Or not.

[Geoffa30]

Thank goodness for that. Have no doubt it will be on Sun Princess from launch which is great as we’ll be doing our first TA. Didn’t fancy eight straight days at sea without internet.

[Jadn13]

Yessss!! I never had issues with wifi, streamed shows on all my Enchanted sailings recently but maybe this justifies the cost increase and help with Alaska and TA.

Edited January 18, 2023 by Jadn13

[LACruiser88]

1 hour ago, Sea Hag said:

I wonder how soon this will filter out to all Princess ships. Could be a while. Or not.

I hope all of the Princess ships have it by the end of this year!

[Rick&Jeannie]

Hallelujah!  Of course...I'm expecting an even further rate increase...

[c-boy]

 "In even the most remote waters, guests onboard Carnival Corporation ships will be able to share real-time updates with friends and family."

 

🤔

 

so now while crossing the Pacific. I will be able to notify friends and family that there has been great exaggeration about my death. 

[Wildcatllamas]

I have Starlink at home and absolutely love it. This is wonderful news.

[Bgwest]

About time

[fpsphil]

Honestly the cost of Starlink versus the GEO the MEO providers they are using right now should be significantly less. 

[billco]

Seems like I have heard this before.

https://www.rivieramm.com/news-content-hub/news-content-hub/carnival-commits-key-brand-to-gigabyte-vsat-connectivity-57865

[c-boy]

10 minutes ago, billco said:

Seems like I have heard this before.

https://www.rivieramm.com/news-content-hub/news-content-hub/carnival-commits-key-brand-to-gigabyte-vsat-connectivity-57865

a lot has happened since that press release.

[billco]

21 minutes ago, c-boy said:

a lot has happened since that press release.

I haven’t noticed anything on the cruises I have been on. Europe, Alaska, Coastal, and next month Discovery. All in the 1-2 Mbps down range. Not to mention last years Enchanted Princess cruises in Europe. And don’t forget the TAs.

 

Also, Princess keeps saying they are the fastest at sea when they aren’t.

https://www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/ocean-medallion/medallionnet/

Edited January 18, 2023 by billco

[c-boy]

8 minutes ago, billco said:

I haven’t noticed anything on the cruises I have been on. Europe, Alaska, Coastal, and next month Discovery. All in the 1-2 Mbps down range.

I'm glad your still with us. Some have threatened mutiny, emailed Princess and Carnival corp. execs. He!! some have even left Princess altogether. All due to the poor/ bad WiFi service while onboard. This has been a real learning curve for Carnival and family. Hopefully this new partnership will benefit Carnival and passengers alike. 

Edited January 18, 2023 by c-boy

[billco]

25 minutes ago, c-boy said:

I'm glad your still with us. Some have threatened mutiny, emailed Princess and Carnival corp. execs. He!! some have even left Princess altogether. All due to the poor/ bad WiFi service while onboard. This has been a real learning curve for Carnival and family. Hopefully this new partnership will benefit Carnival and passengers alike. 

Hopefully is the key word. I’m not going anywhere, I just don’t trust press releases. I am currently on a 15 day Panama Canal cruise on the NCL Joy. Internet has rarely exceeded 2 Mbps. My plan that does not include streaming cost $229. I believed if I had wanted streaming, it would have been $379.

[Astro Flyer]

4 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

We'll be on the Celebrity Eclipse starting in mid-April on a TP cruise from Sydney to Vancouver where Starlink has already been implemented on the ship as well as on other Celebrity ships. It will be interesting to see how well it performs, especially out in the middle of the Pacific.

Starlink was on Celebrity’s Solstice in early December but we didn’t use it because of the cost. As I recall, it was about $20 per day for basic Internet and $30 a day for the streaming service. Being in Mexican coastal ports for half of the days we got by with using our cell phone plans with free data in port.

[Ken the cruiser]

35 minutes ago, Astro Flyer said:

Starlink was on Celebrity’s Solstice in early December but we didn’t use it because of the cost. As I recall, it was about $20 per day for basic Internet and $30 a day for the streaming service. Being in Mexican coastal ports for half of the days we got by with using our cell phone plans with free data in port.

We’ve learned from previous Celebrity cruises since the restart to upgrade our All Included “Basic” internet service to Premium if I want to post to a Live From thread and my DW wants to do what she needs to do. With Princess on our recent CB Panama Canal and Regal Med cruises, we were just fine with the regular unlimited service provided in the Best package. 😁

[Potstech]

5 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

We'll be on the Celebrity Eclipse starting in mid-April on a TP cruise from Sydney to Vancouver where Starlink has already been implemented on the ship as well as on other Celebrity ships. It will be interesting to see how well it performs, especially out in the middle of the Pacific.

We will be on the Eclipse end of March for an 11 day cruise.  Hope it is better than past reports.

[azbirdmom]

52 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

We’ve learned from previous Celebrity cruises since the restart to upgrade our All Included “Basic” internet service to Premium if I want to post to a Live From thread and my DW wants to do what she needs to do. With Princess on our recent CB Panama Canal and Regal Med cruises, we were just fine with the regular unlimited service provided in the Best package. 😁

 

We had purchased the old Indulge package for our very first Celebrity cruise later this year partially because of what you said many months ago when we were in the planning stages about upgrading from the basic internet.  Sounds like this turned out to be a very good move - thank you!

[azbirdmom]

I sure hope that it comes to Princess soon.  In the meantime I wonder if the loss of AIDA and Carnival use of the SES satellites will lessen the strain on them?  Not sure if that will be helpful but it will be nice if it is.

[Bobbiegentry]

2 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

I sure hope that it comes to Princess soon.  In the meantime I wonder if the loss of AIDA and Carnival use of the SES satellites will lessen the strain on them?  Not sure if that will be helpful but it will be nice if it is.

Excellent thought. Had not considered that. 

[Rick&Jeannie]

5 hours ago, azbirdmom said:

I sure hope that it comes to Princess soon.  In the meantime I wonder if the loss of AIDA and Carnival use of the SES satellites will lessen the strain on them?  Not sure if that will be helpful but it will be nice if it is.

Possibly...but I still think that Princess switched to a lower class of service coming out of the pandemic.  Internet on almost all ships was much better pre-pandemic except for the obvious location constrained spots around the globe.

[AZjohn]

Sorry but Princess holds credibility with their previous lies about speed of their current Wi-Fi.

Fool me once - shame on you. Fool me twice - shame on me!

 

Those of you feeling optimistic this time around, I wish your hopes come true 🙂