eSIM Cheap Data On Cunard Queen Anne & Others

[Carbon13]

Hello, I'm travelling on my first cruise in a few weeks and refuse to pay the daft internet costs charged onboard. Looking at what else is available the telecoms provider Telenor now appear to allow eSIMs to be used on all the Cunard ships to access their network if bought as a package deal through their contracted provider Red Bull Mobile.

 

15 Euros per 1GB data only valid for 30 days after registration.

 

Working through the App when selecting the Maritime package all the Cunard ships including Queen Anne are shown as being available .

 

I wondered if anyone had tried it yet and what experience you had with an eSIM on the ocean waves.

 

https://console.telenormaritime.com/coverage.php

 

Cheers

Edited August 8 by Carbon13
Added link

[Catchum]

As you are in the UK  your regular mobile provider may have included or cheap data in Europe. I just quickly check emails when on shore and stick my phone on flight mode for the rest of the time. 

 

It depends on where you are sailing and how port intensive the trip is to see if you need data on the ship.

[Carbon13]

3 minutes ago, Catchum said:

As you are in the UK  your regular mobile provider may have included or cheap data in Europe. I just quickly check emails when on shore and stick my phone on flight mode for the rest of the time. 

 

It depends on where you are sailing and how port intensive the trip is to see if you need data on the ship.

I am from the UK and use O2 inclusive all over Europe on land but would like data on the ship without the Cunard mark up which I estimate to be in the region of 500% on their Premium Plan over an eSIM on the same network.

[Host Hattie]

It looks fairly new, it might be worth asking on the Cruise Technology board in case anyone has used it on a different cruise line.

I tried a search but it didn't bring up anything. 

[Pushpit]

I haven't tried to use it, but I regularly get notifications that the maritime cell system is available, particularly on the outside deck. I suspect the signal won't be good in inside staterooms, at the other extreme.

 

Some routes, notably Southampton to Hamburg, have land based cellular networks pretty much the whole way.

[Wonky]

Thanks for posting, will be very interested to see how well it works as could be good way of supplementing the diamond package which won’t be enough to cover whole cruise.

[ElmaLee]

Pricing:

 

How it works

It works with an eSIM from Red Bull MOBILE Data.
All you have to do is download the app – register and buy a TELENOR MARITIME package.

Packages we offer:

250 MB  / valid for 30 DAYS €5 ,-

1 GB  / valid for 30 DAYS €15 ,-

[JT1101]

Something like that is better for shorter cruises that stay mostly close to land than, say, a Transatlantic. 

[david63]

Also from what has been posted it uses an eSIM which not all mobile phones are able to use.

[ElmaLee]

18 hours ago, JT1101 said:

Something like that is better for shorter cruises that stay mostly close to land than, say, a Transatlantic. 

Why is that?

[JT1101]

1 hour ago, ElmaLee said:

Why is that?

Because cellular type communications usually are based on range to cellular towers. Something like Starlink on the other hand is satellite based. 

[Pushpit]

15 minutes ago, JT1101 said:

Because cellular type communications usually are based on range to cellular towers. Something like Starlink on the other hand is satellite based. 

The local transmission is from cellular towers - you can see them on the ship. But the transmission to the ship is via satellite, just a different network from Mr. Musk's satellites. So they are both satellite systems but Telenor emulates the cell system, Starlink broadcasts as wifi. This means that Telenor is natively set up for voice protocols, whereas with wifi you have to pass through some software such as Skype.

[Carbon13]

Currently in the middle of the North Sea on this esim, 4g all working fine, perfect for what's app FB insta BBC etc I think £13 for 1gb is a bargain compared to the prices Cunard charge and should last a week. Running on an A55 and a Pixel 7a no hiccups and no areas of poor reception anywhere we've wandered. 

[Host Hattie]

Thanks for the update, it's always good to have another option, and that seems a good price if that will last all week. 

 

[alc13]

Can you use this with a phone that has a physical SIM card?

[Pushpit]

Most cellphones have a physical SIM, many are also compatible with e-SIM cards too. You don't have to use an e-SIM package, though it may well be cheaper than just using your usual cell provider's tariffs.

 

As mentioned upthread, it all depends on your phone type and whether it's unlocked for e-sim use.  

 

Here is one site which lists e-SIM compatible phones but you may want to Google around to double check.

 

https://esimcard.com/esim-compatible

[Goagirl]

On 8/9/2024 at 1:27 PM, ElmaLee said:

Why is that?

 

On 8/8/2024 at 6:18 PM, ElmaLee said:

Pricing:

 

How it works

It works with an eSIM from Red Bull MOBILE Data.
All you have to do is download the app – register and buy a TELENOR MARITIME package.

Packages we offer:

250 MB  / valid for 30 DAYS €5 ,-

1 GB  / valid for 30 DAYS €15 ,-

How do you do that please. Do you get the Telenor Maritime package through the Red Bull app? Thank you

 

[cmrm123]

Has anyone used this service on the Queen Anne.  The Red Bull website lists the ships that the service is available and the Queen Anne is not on the list (although the other Cunard ships are on the list).  I contacted Red Bull and their rep wasn't sure if the list simply hasn't been updated since the Queen Anne was launched and suggested I contact Telenor directly.  I've emailed Telenor over a week ago but still haven't received a response. I'd like to take advantage of this esim rather than purchasing the Cunard internet plan but am not sure if it will work.

[Host Hattie]

Queen Anne is shown on the link in the first post in this thread.