Despite Freebies, Wi-Fi Can Be Costly on Luxury Cruise Ships

Luxury cruises are usually an extremely inclusive experience. Guests don’t pay extra for five-star meals, butler service, alcoholic beverages, or most onboard activities.

Most luxury cruise lines, however, expect their customers to pay for Wi-Fi Internet connectivity.

Crystal Cruises will now give each passenger on its vessels at least an hour of free internet access each day beginning August 30. Guests staying in pricier suites will receive 90 free minutes.

“We are continually refining our all-inclusive experience to offer an array of choices for our global guests,” Crystal Cruises CEO and president Edie Rodriguez told Skift. “We’ve found our guests are business owners and entrepreneurs, so they appreciate staying plugged in when traveling around the world.”

But cruisers will still pay traditional fees if they exceed the new free daily allotment:

• Plan A: “Pay As You Go” for $0.74 per minute
• Plan B: 2 hours (120 minutes) for $55 ($0.46 per minute)
• Plan C: 5 hours (300 minutes) for $127 ($0.43 per minute)
• Plan D: 10 hours (600 minutes) for $220 ($0.37 per minute)

Other luxury cruise lines offer similar internet packages. Silversea offers up to four free hours a day on most cruises, depending on what category of cabin is booked.

Azamara Club Cruises offers free minutes to members of its Le Club Voyage loyalty program, but otherwise charges guests per minute of use or $69.95 for a full 24 hours of access.

Regent Seven Seas Cruises offers unlimited free Wi-Fi access to elite members of its Seven Seas Society loyalty program and cruisers staying in suite cabins; a separate unlimited package is available for $29.99. Seabourn charges a flat $0.40 per minute.

Luxury cruise Wi-Fi fees on most lines are more expensive than similar access plans on mainstream cruise lines.

Carnival Cruise Lines will soon start charging a maximum of $25 per day for unlimited “premium” Wi-Fi access and a cheap $5 per day plan for social media access. Royal Caribbean International’s new vessels offer unlimited access for $15 per device per day, while its older ships charge $20. Norwegian Cruise Line also charges $24.99 or $19.99 for unlimited access, depending on length of cruise.