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

[Honolulu Blue]

12 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

 

 

 

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.

Thanks for sharing. Obviously good news, but the devil is in the details. We'll see what happens when Princess gets their ships outfitted with the latest and greatest. I doubt it will be ready by April on the Ruby, but we'll see.

Edited January 19, 2023 by Honolulu Blue

[Jeter02]

6 hours ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

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.

Completely agree, but was incredibly happy when I saw the news yesterday about starlink. Woohoo! 

[justafem]

I sure hope this happens.  I like to use my internet onboard.

 

That said, I KNOW princess can raise their bandwidth, I was part of the covid experience Grand princess Hawaii 2020.  Internet was spotty most of that cruise and for the first day or two while we floated.  There were several announcements about increasing bandwidth and 'suddenly' everything was accessible at all times.   And it never went down.  

 

But that was an extremely one of a kind experience and they pay by the amount of bandwidth used.  They're not going to increase bandwidth and expenses unless they have to. 

 

When we traveled with only 700 pax, internet was extremely useable, next cruise had 1700 pax, a little slower and 3500, very spotty.   This was for the exact same cruises, exact same ship.  Yeah, we do that. 

 

Keeping my fingers crossed for better internet access. 

Edited January 19, 2023 by justafem

[emmak8]

REALLY? I was on Sky Princess transatlantic March 2022 and we had NO INTERNET for the entire crossing. Picture the chaos and line at guest services with passengers complaining every day. We received credit but we wanted the internet.

 

Connect  to Starlink Princess ASAP PLEASE!

[StrawberryHill]

Sorry........ The very LAST thing I think about while cruising is internet connectivity.  its supposed to be a vacation.  My phone goes in the safe along with my wallet and keys.   I wear a watch on board to tell time if I need to.

[cruisequeen4ever]

IF it performs as well as it’s supposed to, it will be a very helpful advance for Princess! We all know MedallionNet helped but not enough. 

[billco]

2 hours ago, StrawberryHill said:

Sorry........ The very LAST thing I think about while cruising is internet connectivity.  its supposed to be a vacation.  My phone goes in the safe along with my wallet and keys.   I wear a watch on board to tell time if I need to.

Then there wasn’t much point in you responding to this thread. "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."

Edited January 19, 2023 by billco
Respond to numbness

[Teeara]

We had Starlink in October/November last year on Royal Caribbean's Wonder of the Seas transatlantic crossing from Barcelona to Port Canaveral.  It was fantastic.  Even in the middle of the Atlantic we had fast internet and hardly any issues.  I had more problems with Cruise Critic at that time (there was some kind of glitch that affected some of us from being able to post on CC) than I did with the internet itself.  So hopefully Princess will be as successful with it as Royal Caribbean has been.

[jeromep]

20 hours ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

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.

I recall Princess making a big deal about their new fast Internet a few years back, and now, crickets; and lots of people expressing dissatisfaction on the boards.

 

I follow a lot of full time and weekend warrior RVers on various social channels and Starlink is a big topic for many of them.  General consensus is that Starlink delivers on its promises, but visibility to the sky is key.  This is not an issue for a ship at sea since there are no trees or tall ground based obstructions in the sky at sea.  So, if the Starlink receiver on a ship can see enough Starlink satellites in the sky, bandwidth on a ship should be excellent.

 

It also helps that the satellites that a ship can "see" at sea are going to be used by fewer terrestrial receivers because the satellites that are over the ocean at that time are not likely being used by receivers on land.  At least that is my understanding.

 

It is also my understanding that Starlink speeds can be negatively impacted by having too many receivers in a "cell", which means that one or a few satellites hovering over a geographic area have too many clients asking for data through that satellite.  This shouldn't be a tremendous factor at sea.