If you’re going on a Carnival cruise, one of the most important things to know is your internet options and how much they cost.
We’ll cover everything you need to know about Carnival Cruise Internet plans and WiFi pricing. We’ll also give you tips for getting the best deal on the internet while you’re on your cruise!
Table of Contents
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 Carnival’s 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.
Social WiFi Plan
The Social WiFi plan is excellent if you just want to use the internet for basic use, like checking email and browsing social media. It offers low-speed internet access and starts at $10.20 per person per day.
The Social WiFi Plan gives you access to social media sites, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Linkedin, Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp, Snapchat, and airline sites. However, you won’t be able to access most other websites, emails, or apps.
Value WiFi Plan
The Value WiFi plan is a good option if you need a bit more speed and want to stream music or videos. It offers medium-speed internet access and starts at $14.45 per person per day.
The Value WiFi plan provides access to social media, email, and most of the internet.
According to the cruise line, this plan does not support streaming, FaceTime, or WiFi calling. However, this plan does provide faster speeds than the Social plan.
Premium WiFi Plan
The Premium WiFi plan is best if you need high-speed internet access. It offers fast internet speeds and starts at $17.00 per person per day.
Carnival’s Premium plan is their highest tier of internet service. This plan offers everything in the previous two plans, along with the fastest connection speeds, video chatting, and streaming (on select ships).
Some Carnival cruise ships are Netflix-enabled, but the cruise line doesn’t support video or music streaming.
The Carnival Hub App
The Carnival Hub App allows passengers to manage their cruise accounts, book excursions and dining reservations, purchase Carnival drink packages, and more.
The app is available for download on Google Play and the ios App Store.
With the Carnival Hub App, you can:
- Purchase gifts, WiFi, spa services, shore excursions, drink packages, and more
- Make dinner reservations
- Complete Online Check-In
- Chat
- View ship maps
- Reserve select shows, spa services, shore excursions, and specialty dining
- View food and drink menus via QR scans
- Order food for delivery (great for those days when you’re lounging by the pool)
- And much more
How Do You Access the Internet Once on the Ship?
Accessing the internet is a straightforward process. Just follow the steps below to get your device connected in minutes.
- Open your device’s WiFi settings and select “Carnival WiFi, ” “Carnival Vista WiFi,” or a similar WiFi connection.
- If you aren’t redirected automatically, open up a web browser and visit “CarnivalWiFi.com”
- Sign in using your folio number and birthdate.
If, for some reason, your device won’t connect to the ship’s internet, visit guest services for assistance. If they can’t help you connect your device, you can usually get a refund on the internet package.
How Fast is the Internet on Carnival Cruise Ships?
We performed a speed test on our last cruise to get real-world data on Carnival’s internet speed. During our speed test of the Premium plan, it returned a ping of 723ms, a download speed of 8.94 Mbps, and an upload speed of 2.71 Mbps.
In other words, our tests indicate that Carnival’s internet speed is much slower than you are probably used to back home but fast enough for basic web use.
Sending emails, checking the news, and basic web browsing is a breeze. Connecting back home through video and voice chatting worked great for the most part. There was some choppiness during video calls and YouTube videos, but the internet works very well, considering it’s a cruise ship traveling in the middle of the ocean.
Do I Have to Buy the Internet Package for Every Device? Can I Share My Internet Plan?
Of course, you can buy an internet package for every device, but that gets expensive. Fortunately, you can share internet access on multiple devices using a simple trick.
Carnival Cruise Line allows you to use one internet on multiple devices. The caveat is that you can connect only one device at a time.
Let’s say one person connects to the WiFi on their phone. When they finish, another passenger can log in on their laptop to access the internet. If you don’t need a constant WiFi connection, sharing the internet plan is an easy way to save money on your cruise vacation.
To transfer the internet plan between devices, you simply connect as usual. After connecting with the ship’s WiFi on the second device, your device will ask if you want to switch devices. After clicking “confirm,” your device will connect to the WiFi.
Note: Once you confirm the switch, the ship will kick off the previously connected device of the internet. It’s an excellent tool for parents to ensure their kids don’t spend too much time on their phones. You are on vacation, after all!
Is Carnival’s WiFi Worth It?
A seven-day cruise costs just a little over $100 to purchase the Premium WiFi plan. It’s a steep price, but it may be worth it, depending on your needs.
If you simply want to browse social media, post the occasional vacation photo, and check your emails, we don’t think the Premium plan is worth the price. It would be better to opt for the Social or Value plan or find free WiFi spots at the ports of call.
However, if you need to stay connected for work or want to connect with family and friends back home via voice and video chatting, the Premium plan might be worth it for you.
The most significant benefit of the Carnival cruise internet plans is the ability to share internet access with your travel buddies. On our last trip, we shared the internet package with four people. Sharing the internet package decreased the cost from $115 to about $29 per person.
For us, the internet plan was well worth the price because we could all use and share internet access.
Which Internet Plan Should I Choose?
When deciding which internet plan to choose, it’s essential to consider your browsing needs.
Want to watch YouTube videos, video chat back home, and check your emails? Then you will want to purchase the Premium plan.
But, if you just need access to FaceBook, Twitter, and Instagram, you could save money by choosing the Social WiFi Plan.
In our opinion, we always select the Premium plan. That’s because Carnival throttles the internet speeds so that the Social and Value plans are far slower by comparison. You won’t get blazing-fast internet when you purchase the Premium package, but we think it’s worth the price for the speed advantage.
To purchase the internet plan, visit: https://www.carnival.com/internet-plans
Carnival Cruise Line WiFi Tips and Tricks
- Purchase your WiFi plan in advance to save 15%. Once you are on the cruise ship, the price for the WiFi package is higher than if you purchase it before your cruise.
- You can use the internet plan with multiple devices. But, only one device can use the plan at a time. So, several people can share the plan, but only one can connect at any given time.
- If you try to log in when someone is using the plan, a notification will ask you if you want to kick them off the internet. This way, you won’t suddenly interrupt your travel partner while video chatting back home. On the plus side, parents can use this feature to kick their kids off the internet.
- If you want to watch Netflix while on the cruise ship, it is best to download the movies and tv shows before you leave home. Even if you can access Netflix streaming, it will take forever to load, and the video quality will be subpar.
- If you’re having internet issues of any kind, you can visit guest services to help connect your device.
FAQs
Can I Stream Movies and TV on Carnival’s Wi-Fi?
You can stream movies on Carnival Cruise Line’s “Netflix-enabled” ships. Carnival’s website states that none of its internet plans support video or music streaming. However, some ships, such as Carnival Vista, Carnival Horizon, and Carnival Sunshine, are “Netflix-enabled.”
If you sail on one of these ships, you should be able to stream Netflix.
During our trip on Carnival Horizon, we could access Netflix, Amazon Prime, YouTube, and HBOMax with the Premium WiFi Plan. The video quality was good, and the buffering was minimal.
So, can you stream movies on Carnival’s WiFi? As long as you sail on a “Netflix-enabled” ship, you should have no problem streaming Netflix, YouTube, and Amazon Prime Video. Just make sure you purchase the Premium Plan.
We still recommend downloading shows and movies before you leave home, just to be safe.
Can I Make Video Chat on Carnival Cruise Line?
If you have the Premium Plan, you’ll be able to make video calls on messaging apps such as Facetime, Skype, Signal, or WhatsApp.
Can I Send Messages With Carnival’s Wi-Fi?
Yes. You can send and receive messages over Carnival’s internet service using messaging apps such as Signal, Facebook Messenger, or Whatsapp.
In our experience, we had no difficulty using the apps for messaging back home. Further, Carnival does support them as part of their WiFi service.
Do I Have to Purchase an Internet Plan to Use Carnival’s HUB App?
You don’t need to purchase the WiFi plan to use Carnival’s HUB app. You can use all of the app’s features on the ship without purchasing an internet plan.
