Monday, March 25, 2024

Does Carnival Cruise Have Wifi

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Carnival Cruise Ship Internet Cafe

Carnival Cruise WiFi – Is It Worth It?

The Internet Cafe is open 24-hours, as a venue, it features private PC terminals for web browsing, chat, and e-mail services. For guests convenience, there is an Internet Cafe Manager for assistance. Here passengers can browse through the following Carnival’s “free of charge websites”: Carnival.com, GoCCL.com, JohnHealdsBlog.com, CellularAtSea.com, and BarclayCardus.com .

All these websites can be accessed without purchasing an Internet plan. At the PC terminals, you can’t edit MS Office documents, but most files can be viewed .

Can I Stream Movies/tv On Carnivals Wi

Whether you can stream on your cruise may be hard to say. Heres the issue: Carnival says that none of its plans support video or music streaming. However, some ships are Netflix-enabled so you can watch on those ships.

For our cruise, we sailed on the Carnival Vista with the Premium plan. During that trip, streaming seemed hit or miss. For instance, we were able to access and watch YouTube videos. We also streamed Amazon Prime videos multiple times with no issues. The picture was nice, and there was minimal buffering. When trying to stream Showtime, however, we encountered an error and werent able to watch.

Bottom line is that yes, you can stream in at least some cases. The better option, however, is to go ahead and download any shows you want to watch ahead of time. That way you dont have to worry about wi-fi service at all. Even if you are able to stream, there might be points where a slow connection makes the show appear choppy or pixelated.

Green Eggs And Ham Breakfast Is Back

Some good news came out of the email, though. Carnival said theyre finally bringing back the popular Green Eggs and Ham Breakfast. This themed breakfast is inspired by Dr. Suess famous book Green Eggs and Ham. During this event, the dining room is decorated with Suess-inspired decorations and characters walk around. In addition, kids can choose from a variety of food options, such as the actual green eggs and ham or cereal-crusted French Toast.

Carnival has confirmed the cost is $10 for adults and $8 for kids. Babies and toddlers ages two and younger were free.

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Is There Free Wifi On Carnival Cruise Ships

Onboard Carnival cruise ships you can use the WiFi for free, but only to access the Hub app. This app lets you see the deck plans, view drinks and dining menus, check your account balance and book dining reservations, spa treatments and other services.

When youre in port, you will be able to access WiFi for free by heading to the nearest WiFi hotspot. The crew will be able to help you to find this.

What Are You Waiting For

Carnival Cruise Tips

Theres a reason that the Carnival Hub app has been downloaded more than 8 million times. Its extremely handy and well-loved by Carnival travelers, whether youre a frequent cruiser or a first-time cruiser. So, what are you waiting for? Download the Carnival Hub app now and be prepared for your next cruise.

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Can I Use The Wi

Cell service is provided on the ship at sea, but it can be expensive. A much easier thing to do is simply use the ships wi-fi to send messages and even make calls.

Depending on your phone, it may be easiest to use a messaging app like WhatsApp. Weve noticed that the iMessage service on iPhones seems to work well to send messages to other iPhones, but doesnt easily text Android users over the wi-fi. Services like WhatsApp work with no issues.

As well, you can setup your phone to call over wi-fi or call through a communication app. Either way, you can use the ships wi-fi to keep in touch.

Can I Text Message Over Wi

For most of us, we message a lot more than we actually make calls on our phone. In this case, during our tests we noticed that texting iPhone to iPhone seemed to work with no problems. We were able to send and receive messages when connected to wi-fi, including messages with pictures.

However, when messaging to an Android phone, our messages had trouble going through. In the end, we ended up just emailing the person we were trying to text as we couldnt send the text.

In that case, messaging apps like WhatsApp might be a better option. We didnt test any messaging apps on our cruise, but they are specifically mentioned by Carnival as being supported on its wi-fi service.

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How Fast Is Carnivals Wi

As mentioned above, for our cruise we tested the fastest Premium plan of service. Doing a speed test, it returned a ping of 680 ms, a download speed of 9.09 Mbps, and an upload speed of 2.64 Mbps.

Those numbers likely mean little to most people, but for a cruise ship, they are pretty good.

In laymans terms, surfing the web did seem sluggish. There were times when the connection seemed faster than others, but you wouldnt confuse the speed with broadband you have at home or the office. Sites would load, but took their time.

For instance, visiting YouTube took about 10 seconds before video thumbnails started to load. A visit to CNN.com brought up the text headlines relatively quickly, but images were delayed.

If you had to use the connection every day to surf, it would be too slow by modern standards. It definitely took some time to load images onto posts for Cruzely.com when we live-blogged the cruise. Using the wi-fi here and there to check the news or email, however, was just fine.

Are There Data Caps On The Plans

Carnival Cruise Line Internet Wifi Plans

Most of the cruise line plans these days are unlimited plans that dont put a cap on your data.

That said, we wouldnt push it by trying to download the Lord of the Rings trilogy. First of all, it would take forever at the connection speeds. Beyond that, the Internet is being provided by satellite for thousands of passengers at any given time. Its likely that you would be asked about using such a massive amount of data.

If youre doing what the service is designed for streaming shows, checking email, etc. you likely wont be running into issues. But if you are using a ton of data, you might be asked about whats going on.

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Just Be Upfront And Honest Carnival

Unfortunately, price increases just seem to be the norm these days. While no one enjoys them, theyre understandable. But the way Carnival tried to hide it and put it in a confusing email is the issue here. Be upfront and direct with changes.

John Healds explanation about room service was much clearer and more understandable than the marketing departments attempt to downplay the additional charge. They shouldnt have to hide it. In terms of the internet package, theyre still cheaper than most mainstream cruise lines in price per day.

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Cruise Internet Seems Expensive How Can I Save Money

You are right that getting online access is pricey on a cruise. The good news is that there are ways you can save. Weve covered them in more detail here, but here are some ideas:

Book a Cruise With Free Internet as a PerkNorwegian, Celebrity, Princess and other lines have started to offer sales that provide free perks for cruising. One of those perks is usually free wi-fi during your cruise. Book one of these and you dont have to worry about the cost of access. Its already included in your fare.

Wait Until Youre in Port to Get OnlineIf you dont need access every day, theres a free way to get service: wait until you get to port. In many cruise ports there are stores or restaurants that offer free wi-fi to customers. You can sit down, have a bite to eat, and check email, etc. Now you might not be able to spend all day loitering while you watch a movie on your phone, but its a good way to check your email for free.

Pay For a Smaller PackageWhile the Internet is most widely sold in a package that lasts the length of your cruise, there are options for smaller amounts of time. Head to the ships Internet Café and youll find that you can access the Internet by the minute. It can be pricey on a per-minute basis, but still much cheaper than buying a package for the length of the cruise.

It wont make the service cheap, but it can take the sting off the high price tag.

Have more questions about getting online during your cruise? Let us know in the comments below

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Watch Out For Free Perks When Booking Your Cruise

Many cruise lines offer free perks every now and then to entice more passengers.

These special offers can include free Wi-Fi or free onboard credit , which you can use to purchase a wifi package.

Royal Caribbean normally offer free onboard credit to encourage guests to pick an outside cabin rather than an inside one, or upgrade from an outside cabin to a balcony stateroom.

Some cruise lines such as Carnival Cruise Line do not offer free wifi, but they have 3 internet packages you can choose from:

Social, Value, and Premium. For about $5, you can buy the Social plan and connect to your favorite social networks and several airline websites.

Do I Have To Buy Access For Every Device Can I Share Access

Phone Service On Cruise Ships

Its likely youre traveling with other people that want access to the Internet. In that case you have two options. First, you can buy more than one package, giving access to multiple devices at once. Or, you can simply share access on different devices.

Carnival allows you to login to the wi-fi from separate devices, but you can only use one device at a time. So one person could connect with the wi-fi on a laptop and when finished, another person could login to have access on their phone. If you dont need access every moment of the day, its an easy way to save some money by sharing.

To transfer access between devices, you simply follow the login procedures as normal. It will notify you that the account is already in use and ask if you want to switch devices. Simply confirm the switch and youre good to go on the second device.

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Carnival Internet Package Prices Going Up In October

If you scroll down to the bottom of the email beneath the signature of the Chief Operations Officer, theres a small call-out almost designed to be ignored. It indicates that the prices for internet will go up on October 1.

While the email did not reveal the new pricing, a Carnival spokesperson provided the new pricing below. The prices will go up by 18 30% depending on the package. They continue to offer a pre-cruise discount of 15% if you buy before your sailing.

Current Price
$17.00

Guests who only need a day of access can book 24 hours of value internet for $20 or premium internet for $30.

The Whats Happening Feature

The Whats Happening feature gives you full access to everything going on, on the ship, at any given time. You get day-by-day schedules for all of the activities and you can view the cruises most popular activities, too .

Theres also a day-by-day schedule for all the kids activities, so you can keep tabs on whats available for the youngest cruisers in your party, as well as receive notifications and reminders for childrens programming check-in and check-out times, so you can manage your childs schedule just as easily as your own.

Each schedule includes activity times and locations. You can also set reminders for events you want to attend.

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If You Want To Stream Or Have A Video Call You’ll Need To Pay More

As we’ve said, if you absolutely need to stream TV or have a video call at sea, you’ll need to shell out for your ship’s most powerful internet plan. However, depending on how many people are using it and any blockages to the satellite signal, you still shouldn’t expect streaming shows and video calls to happen with the same quality as they do at home.

How Fast Is Internet On A Cruise

Carnival Cruise Line internet plans explained

Expecting to have blazing fast Internet on the ship like you would back at home? Well, its time to lower your expectations a little bit before you get online. While the cruise lines love to boast about the speed of their service, the actual speeds you see can vary.

In our tests across different cruise lines, the speed of the fastest service offered varied, but was consistently in the 3-5 Mbps range. Sometimes it may be a little faster, sometimes it may be a little slower. For reference, many broadband Internet services you see back home are in the 30-50 Mbps range or about 10 times faster.

While this doesnt speak for every cruise line, in our experience it is typical of what you can expect.

So when surfing the browser will often feel sluggish compared to back at home. For lower-tier plans that are less expensive, the speed is even slower.

In other words, while you may find service fast enough to meet your needs, but be prepared for slower speeds than you are used to.

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Carnival Cruise Internet Plans And Prices

You can choose from three types of internet plans on Carnival cruises: Social, Value, and Premium.

You can get a 15% discount on all of Carnivals internet plans when you purchase before your cruise begins. Once you are on board, you will pay full price for their internet.

The plans are typically sold for the entire length of your cruise. But, if you only need internet service for one day, 24-hour passes are available for the Value and Premium plans. The 24-hour plans are slightly more expensive than the ones offered for the entire length of your cruise but are great if you only need internet for a single day.

The Carnival cruise internet plans include unlimited access to basic web browsing, including access to Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Carnival’s Wifi Internet Technology

The line’s owner Carnival Corporation started rolling out the WiFi@Sea Internet across technology not exclusively to Carnival Cruise Lines ships, but to all its brand lines fleets. The new technology features a hybrid connectivity system. It combines bandwidth with several available for pre-purchasing Internet plans, different levels of pricing and also new Internet packages.

The process of implementing the new system started in 2014. Carnival Corp’s largest brand – the Carnival cruise line – was the first that moved from the traditional pay-as-you-go Internet to pay-per-day packages. The cheapest is the “social” package priced US$5 per-day allowing access to popular websites and apps. Next is the “value” package US$16 per day . The third “premium” package costs US$25 per day .

The new Carnival “cruise WiFi” system is first-of-its-kind in the passenger shipping industry It’s an enhanced hybrid wireless network service to be rolled out to all ships in the fleets of all 9 Carnival brand lines. The new system is expected to encourage the interest in ship cruising among the new tech-savvy generation. The new plans already show better penetration and higher usage rates. The new system allows a greater number of mobile devices, while the new Internet pricing is easier to understand.

All system upgrades, hardware changes, and new Internet equipment installations were done during the ships’ dry-dock refurbishments.

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How Much Does Internet Cost On A Cruise

At your home, things are pretty simple. You pay one amount for your Internet service and connect as many devices as you want and they all have access to the full Internet.

On a cruise, things are a little different. The cruise lines charge different amounts for different tiers of service. They also charge based on the number of devices used at one time. So if you want to connect two devices at once , then youll pay twice as much.

All that said, expect the price of service on a cruise to be much more than you pay back home. Weve rounded up the costs of Internet for several major cruise lines below.

In general, expect to pay about $20-30 per day, per device for wi-fi access.

CarnivalCarnival offers three different tiers of service: Social, Value, and Premium wi-fi plans. Each offers different levels of access to the Internet. One tip to save money: purchase your plan ahead of time to save off the rates on the ship.

Social Plan: Carnivals Social plan offers access to social media sites, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and airline sites. However, most of the Internet are blocked. You also cant stream music or movies. The cost is $12 per day for one device once you are on the ship.

Value Plan: The Value plan offers access to much of the Internet, including websites for news, weather, sports, and most importantly email. The service is also faster than the Social plan. For the extra access, youll pay $17 per day if you wait to purchase once you are on the ship.

How To Connect To Carnival Wifi

I want the cheers package but my roommate doesnât drink, is there a way ...

Connecting to Carnival WiFi is pretty easy. On your device, open your WiFi settings and youll likely see a network named either Carnival WiFi or it may be named after your ship, e.g. Carnival Vista WiFi. Click on that network, and your device should direct you to a webpage to fill in your details and get connected.

If that doesnt work, just try navigating to carnivalwifi.com which should take you to the same page, and if youre still having problems then you can head to Guest Services and they should be able to get you set up.

Just try to avoid visiting Guest Services as soon as you board the ship as the line will likely be very long.

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