Just when a passenger may have found a way to navigate the seven seas without utilizing cruise line WiFi packages during a Carnival Cruise Line voyage, the cruise line swooped in and confiscated his portable satellite dish, he said.
YouTuber Richard Shillington, creator of the “No Pants Profits” channel, is currently sailing a 15-night roundtrip voyage aboard the 2,124-passenger Carnival Miracle from San Francisco to Hawaii, with nine sea days.
Wanting to film for his channel and worried about connectivity while deep in the Pacific, he brought a Starlink Mini to provide Internet at sea, which he says cost $599 to purchase and $250 a month to use over the ocean.
Showing the ship’s position midway between San Francisco and Hawaii, Shillington created an episode for his channel about traveling with his portable satellite dish.
Filming initially from the pool deck, he tested the ship’s WiFi speed through the ship’s Premium Wi-Fi package and found download rates of less than 4 Mbps.
Shillington then showed users how to work the portable satellite dish, retesting his download speed from the same location at 123 Mbps, drastically outperforming Carnival’s for-purchase package.
But his triumph was short-lived. After posting a video to his YouTube channel, he was called to the hotel director’s office, where his satellite dish was confiscated due to a violation of Carnival’s policy.
Shillington shared in his follow-up post that Carnival’s “prohibited” list was vague as it specifically said no “satellite discs.” However, Carnival Cruise Line has corrected its typo, which now correctly states that “satellite dishes” are not allowed onboard.
Wi-Fi Pricing and Connectivity Challenges
Shillington isn’t wrong to complain that WiFi onboard cruise ships can be pricey and unreliable.
Carnival Cruise Line’s Premium WiFi Plan starts at $21.25 per person per day, which equates to $318.75 aboard Shillington’s cruise. Although, if pre-purchased, he would have saved 15 percent (about $48).
The cruise line’s cheapest WiFi package, the Social Plan, starts at $15.30 per person daily. This package allows users to access social websites like Instagram and Facebook but excludes streaming services like Netflix and music streaming accessible in the Premium option.
The Value Plan, at $19.55 per person per day, provides faster service for social media use, while the new Multi-Device Premium WiFi Plan can connect up to four devices for $75 per day.
Although Shillington found the service lacking during an at-sea day, Carnival Cruise Line and all its sister brand ships under the Carnival Corporation umbrella, including Holland America and Princess Cruises, were upgraded with Starlink Wi-Fi access as of May 2024.
Josh Weinstein, CEO of Carnival Corporation, said of the fleetwide rollout to more than 90 ships, “Starlink has been a game-changer for the onboard connectivity experience our cruise lines deliver to their guests, and we’ve already seen a surge in guest satisfaction and positive feedback from the super-fast and reliable Wi-Fi service we provide onboard.”
Read Also: What to Expect When You Go on a Carnival Cruise
The satellite service developed by SpaceX uses more than 6,000 low-Earth orbit satellites to provide faster download speeds and lower latency than traditional satellite services.
It is touted as having download speeds of over 100 Mbps, although Shillington’s test video, which also showed the ship’s TVs in its sports bar not connected to the Internet, showed that it is still not 100 percent reliable.
Shillington willingly gave up his satellite and still loves Carnival Cruise Line. He is slated to take two more cruises on Carnival this year.
